What to expect from Valorant Episode 6 Act 1 – Leaks

The days keep passing, and we are much closer to the new year. This means that many video games will present their different season updates.

VALORANT is one of them, and soon, they will welcome Episode 6 Act 1 to their calendar. In addition to the various new features they have become accustomed to in the Acts, this update is also expected to have content updates, goal changes, and much more.

Now, with just a few weeks to go, you can speculate about many things, so here’s what you can expect from this VALORNAT Episode 6 Act 1.

What you can expect from this new update

As has been customary in recent updates, Riot has not revealed any details regarding Episode 6 Act 1, which raises fans’ expectations.

History tells us that we can expect significant updates every time a new Episode is reset every six months. Riot usually targets the introduction of a new agent or map, as well as essential feature updates.

According to the game’s countdown, Episode 5 will end next January 10, 2023. Once this concludes, and as has been customary, Riot will take the servers offline for pre-update maintenance.

Depending on regional time differences, the VALORANT 6.0 update will start on January 10, PT, or January 11. The exact time for each zone will be announced as the last day approaches.

New map

Since the introduction of the latest agent, Harbor, Riot has added some in-game easter eggs with hints about the following map they will be releasing for the game.

According to different leakers, who are never lacking on the internet, the new map will supposedly be called Jam, and they say it will be based on the Indian city of Jaipur.

Recently, Joe Lansford, VALORANT’s current head of design, revealed that the following map to be introduced to the game would have a new mechanic but left the comment in the air.

Several weeks ago, leakers highlighted that they came across a “secret” audio called “Play_Jam_StoneDoor_Break.uasset”, with a sound effect of a stone door being knocked down.

No current map has stone constructions, so that the structures could be a unique feature of Jam.

Split Return

Split has been one of the game’s favorite maps since launch, but it was removed from the Map Pool in June due to the limitation of seven maps and making room for Pearl.

This removal has caused a lot of upset in the VALORANT community, and while Riot has not announced a date for its return, it is likely to be with Episode 6 Act 1.

However, they will also remove two maps, Breeze and Bind, from the rotation. This means that one last map would be missing from the Map Pool of seven, and it will most likely be Jam.

Updating ranks

At the beginning of Episode 6, Act 1 players will have to play five games to unlock the competitive rank, unlike how it has been these last months in each new Act.

The ranking system will assign the rank to the players based on their performance and previous MMR. Generally, they are given a lower rank than the one they had in the last Episode.

Smurf detection system

This new VALORANT patch will directly influence gameplay. According to Riot, the team has been working on automatic smurf detection systems, which have been tested in the NA region.

This system could be implemented worldwide this time.

Header: Riot Games