Skye Receives Huge Nerf In Valorant Patch 8.01

After four months, Riot finally released a new Valorant patch, the 8.01 update. Breeze received small reworks, while Skye, Iso, and Raze underwent some changes.

Changes To Breeze Halls

There was only one change to the map Breeze.

• A Hall reopened.

If you guys were living under a rock, you’d notice that A Hall was blocked off. Attackers and Defenders could still see each other through some gaps, but they could no longer lurk past Halls. 

In patch 8.01, the Hall is reopened, meaning Defenders will have another location to be wary of. This change could bring Chamber back to the meta since his Trademark can secure Halls for a while.

Image: Valorant

Skye Gets Destroyed In The New Patch

The highlight of the patch is Skye getting absolutely ruined by the new changes.

• Guiding Light (E) no longer regenerates charges during a round.

This first change means Skye will only have a maximum of two flashes per round. Back then, you could expend both flashes and wait for another one. This nerf limits Skye’s information-gathering skill and will make players think twice about using her bird.

• Guiding Light (E) now automatically activates the flash at the end of its lifetime.

Back then, most experienced Skye players would “fake flash” using the Guiding Light. The ability to perform a fake flash makes it very tricky for the enemy players to identify whether it will pop. This change means Skye players can no longer use fake flashes for their teammates.

• When a Seeker (R) gets close to its target, the target player will now get a yellow directional warning indicator.

When players are about to get hit by the Seekers, they will get indicators to help them look clearly in chaotic situations. This is another nerf to Skye as her ult becomes less annoying in high-pressure situations.

Iso Gets A Handful Of Buffs

The newest agent, Iso, received changes to two of his abilities.

• Double Trap (E) Shootable orb duration increased 2 >>> 3 seconds

The orb duration has been increased by one second, giving Iso players more time to shoot the orb, which is a buff.

• Double Trap (E) Initial buff and shield duration increased 15 >>> 20

Iso received another buff where his shield duration was increased by five seconds. This change will help Iso players get more time to pick proper fights.

• Double Trap (E) Shield width reduced 120 >>> 100

A reduction in shield width might sound like a nerf, but it is actually a buff. Iso players can now surprise enemies with different peeks when swinging around the shield. 

Finally, the last change for Iso is a 50 credit reduction (From 250 to 200) on his Contingency (C). 

Raze Slight Audio Changes

Raze only received one change to her Blast Pack, which is an audio tweak.

• Audio for Raze traveling through the air with Blast Pack (Q) is now louder when she is traveling towards you.

This audio change makes it clearer for players to hear where Raze is coming from/heading toward. 

Besides Agent changes, Valorant tweaked jump-throwing, performance issues, and mostly fixed some bugs.