Summary

    • Patch 11.05 brings visual clarity for Harbor, re-launches Pick’Ems with creator factions, and increases penalties for AFK and remake abuse.
    • It also addresses various bugs across agents and platforms, which are all designed to improve the player experience before Champions 2025.

Recently, Riot Games released VALORANT Patch 11.05, the final update before the Champions Paris 2025 event. In this patch, Riot focuses on improving visuals, reintroducing esports features, and implementing new penalties. Although the changes are minimal, they prepare the community for the competitive months ahead. 

Visual Improvement of Harbor

In the VALORANT Patch 11.05, Harbor gets an improvement on how his abilities look in-game. He gets an update in his Reckoning visuals with cleaner ground indicators, less noise, and a shorter water splash effect. This makes it easier for players to track ability effects without affecting the gameplay. 

Another improvement is his Cove, wherein it sees better shield health visuals displayed in the water animation. With these refinements, teammates and opponents will understand ability states more clearly.  

The Return of Pick’Ems

Along with the new VALORANT Patch 11.05 update, Pick’Ems are officially back. Starting September 4, you can predict which teams will advance through the Group Stage in clients or on the web. If you guess the exact placements correctly, you will earn extra points. 

In addition, there will be a new feature this year: you can join a creator’s faction. This feature lets you earn unique in-game rewards for your picks. Points you earn during Groups and Playoffs contribute to your Faction’s leaderboard score. 

AFK & Remake Penalties and Other Bug Fixes

For VALORANT Patch 11.05, Riot will target disruptive behaviors and will increase penalties for players who repeatedly AFK and dodge queues. The starting penalty now begins at 6 RR instead of a light consequence. This ensures the genuine players don’t face unfair circumstances and makes the match fair for everyone while upholding its quality. 

Moreover, VALORANT will also undergo some fixes for several issues. This includes:

    • Detection systems like Prowlers and Wingman will now detect better
    • Audio glitches across rounds are now cleaned up automatically.
    • Agents like Astra, Chamber, Clove, Deadlock, Gekko, Jett, Sova, Vyse, Waylay, and Yoru receive various bug fixes, such as accurate ability icons, restored sounds, and spectator fixes.
    • Correcting Premier Awards tab issues on PC
    • Fixing Immortal+ threshold in Console leaderboards

Riot has also temporarily disabled New Player Tips on console while they resolve a display duration bug. 

VALORANT Patch 11.05 Summary

Since VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 is around the corner, enhancing the gameplay is great for both the players and the system itself. For a quick scan, here’s the recap and summary of the VALORANT Patch 11.05: 

Feature

Update 

Harbor Visuals

Cleaner effects, less visual noise, better animation feedback

Pick’Ems & Factions

Returns on Sept 4, new creator Factions with rewards and leaderboards

AFK Penalties

Higher penalties, starting at 6 RR, and stricter enforcement on repeated behavior

Bug Fixes & Tech

Detection accuracy, audio cleanup, agent-specific bug fixes

Platform Fixes

Premier UI fix (PC), leaderboard thresholds (Console), and temporary tip disablement

This new update ensures that pro-gamers, casual players, and fans enjoy VALORANT with minimal to no issues at all. Also, Riot Games wants to uphold the integrity of the game’s competitive scene with these fixes.

Final Thoughts

The VALORANT Patch 11.05 is a warm-up as players get ready for Champions 2025. This includes polished Harbor visuals, the return of Pick’Ems with additional features, stricter rules, and other improvements. The upcoming tournament in Paris matters, and fine-tuning the gameplay, reward engagement, and improving the protection for the competitive scene is necessary. 

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