Gift comes, the agent changes and more

Act III of Season 2025 has landed with VALORANT Patch 10.08, bringing a wave of exciting updates, including the long-awaited gifting feature, adjustments to Brimstone, Astra, and Yoru, a host of bug fixes, and a delightful blast from the past with the return of Episode 1 music!
Kenny “Karnifexlol” Cameron kicked off the patch notes with a warm welcome, highlighting the key additions in this significant update. Let’s dive into the details:

VALORANT Fifth Anniversary: Episode 1 Music Returns!

In celebration of VALORANT’s fifth anniversary, Riot Games is treating players to a nostalgic journey by bringing back the iconic music from Episode 1. Prepare to hear those familiar tunes in the menus, during character select, and during the Victory/Defeat screens in both Patch 10.08 and the upcoming 10.09.

Spread the Love: VALORANT Gifting is Officially Here!

The moment many have been waiting for has arrived! Patch 10.08 officially introduces the gifting feature to VALORANT. Now, you can send select Featured Store bundles and individual items directly to your friends.

Here’s how gifting works:

• Head to the Store.
• Open the details page for the desired Featured bundle or item.
• Click the Gift button located in the bottom-right corner.
• Select your recipient (note that restrictions apply).
• Choose to gift the full bundle or individual items.
• Hit Send!

Your lucky recipient will receive a notification to accept or decline your generous gift the next time they log in. Currently, gifting is limited to Featured Store items, but Riot has plans to expand this feature in future updates. For complete details and gifting requirements, be sure to check out the official Player Support site.

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Last Chance for Your Ranked Gun Buddy!

Act III marks the final act to climb the ranks before the distribution of Ranked Gun Buddies. Remember, you’ll receive a gun buddy based on the highest rank you achieve across the first three acts of Season 2025, delivered with Patch 11.00 at the start of Act IV. So, get grinding!

Agent Updates: Balancing the Battlefield

VALORANT Patch 10.08 brings targeted balance adjustments to three key Agents:

• Brimstone: In an effort to improve gameplay clarity, Brimstone’s Incendiary (molotov) audio has been updated to be more easily discernible, especially when deployed underneath smokes.
• Astra: Continuing their efforts to manage ability power creep, Astra’s Nova Pulse stun duration has been adjusted to match the standard duration of most non-ultimate concussive abilities.
• Nova Pulse stun duration: 4s >>> 3.5s
• Yoru: Recognizing the power and attention-demanding nature of Yoru’s ultimate, Dimensional Drift, its duration has been standardized with similar ultimates, and its point cost has been increased.
• Dimensional Drift duration: 12s >>> 10s
• Dimensional Drift point cost: 7 >>> 8

Bug Squashing Bonanza!

The latest patch also addresses a significant number of bugs across various Agents and game systems:

• Agents: Numerous fixes have been implemented for Waylay, Harbor, Deadlock, Vyse, Yoru, Skye, Gekko, Tejo, Reyna, and Iso, resolving issues ranging from ability reactivations and visual glitches to unintended interactions and tooltip inaccuracies. Notably, a bugfix for Yoru’s clone movement has been reverted.
• PC Only – Premier Updates: Stage V25A3 of Premier kicks off on May 7th. The patch introduces updated Premier Restrictions, moving from a flat 30-day ineligibility to a system based on the severity of disruptive behavior. A bug causing oversized hover text for Rank Shields in the Summary screen has also been fixed.
• Console Only – Bug Fixes: Issues causing long player names to overlap in the Timeline screen and the absence of rank requirement text on the Act Rank screen have been resolved. The Act Rank screen text has also been updated to refer to Seasons.