Valorant 11.05 patch notes bring Harbor tweaks & AFK clampdown

Valorant update 11.05 is here, with Riot Games clamping down on people who AFK queue dodge with some harsher penalties. So, lets get into the patch notes.

This summer has been a big one in the world of Valorant. Riot Games’ 5v5 shooter has been celebrating its fifth birthday, so there have been some sizable changes. New Agents aplenty, the switch to Unreal Engine 5, and even a Finisher Cam. Oh, and replays are still to come too.

There have also been plenty of little tweaks as well, addressing some quality-of-life issues that have bugged players for a while but aren’t exactly headline additions.

Well, patch 11.05 is a bit more on that side than the others. There isn’t a new agent or new map here, but some changes for Harbor, and a clampdown on AFK and remake abusers. 

Harbor updates in 11.05 patch

That’s right, the big change in this patch comes in the additional clarity around Harbor’s abilities. 

“These aren’t the larger updates we’ve been talking about. But you will hear more about those at Champs, so stay tuned. For the moment, we’re updating the visual clarity of his abilities,” Riot said. 

The Controller will see “reduced visual noise” on his Reckoning and “improved visual clarity of shield health states” for Cove. That will help. 

Riot Games

As noted, there is a clampdown on AFK abusers who remake queues, with increased penalties coming.

The full patch notes for Valorant’s 11.05 update can be found below.

Valorant 11.05 patch notes

ALL PLATFORMS

Agent Updates

Harbor

• Visual effects updated for clarity. Hold your horses 🏇– these aren’t the larger updates we’ve been talking about. But you will hear more about those at Champs, so stay tuned. For the moment, we’re updating the visual clarity of his abilities.

Reckoning 

• Reduced visual noise. Updated ground indicator to more clearly show its impact range. The yellow wisp is now closer to the Agent being hit, so it’s easier to see where someone is hiding before the concuss comes down. Shortened water splash on the ground for visibility.

Cove 

• Improved visual clarity of shield health states. The health state is now more reflected in the visual water animation.

ESPORTS FEATURES UPDATES

• It’s time to make a choice—Pick’ Ems have returned in time for Champions Paris! Starting on September 4th, you will have access to the Group Stage in-client and on the web. Predict the advancing teams for points, earning extra points for correctly guessing the exact placement. You’ll be able to earn rewards for participating
• This year, we’re adding something extra to up the ante-you can align yourself with your favorite creator’s Faction! Choose carefully, as you can only join one faction. Each group offers a unique in-game reward.
• If you do well, the points you earn in Groups and Playoffs stage will contribute to the Faction leader’s score. See if your Faction wins it all!

PLAYER BEHAVIOR UPDATES

We have adjusted our behavior system to address Remake Abuse and Gameplay Participation.

• Penalties will increase for those who repeatedly AFK and dodge queues. This affects those who consistently abuse and disrupt our systems so don’t worry, we won’t be unfairly penalizing players who are genuinely trying to play

BUG FIXES

General

Improved the backend technology around detection abilities (i.e. Prowlers, Wingman, Dizzy, etc) so they can more reliably detect opponents within their field of view.

• Added audio cleanup logic to make sure unexpected audio events don’t continue playing across transitions.

Agents

Astra

• Fixed an issue where bullet tracers pass through Astra’s Cosmic Divide. This fix does reintroduce an audio bug where there is a slight audio hitch when passing through Astra wall.

Chamber

• Fixed an issue where Chamber’s Trademark in-world icon would not change color when aimed at.

Clove

• Fixed an issue where Clove’s Pick-Me-Up cast sound was silent for enemies.

Deadlock

• Fixed an issue where Deadlock’s Sound Sensor and Cypher’s Trapwire were more difficult to place than intended
• Fixed a Spectator bug with Deadlock’s Annihilation deafen where audio processing was not cleaning up as expected after a spectated player was impacted by the ability
• Fixed issue where use of Deadlock’s Annihilation on Yoru’s Fakeout clone would apply audio effects to the real Yoru.

Gekko

• Fixed a bug where “Spike Down” VO would play if Wingman was destroyed right after planting the Spike.

Jett

• Fixed a bug where Jett’s Tailwind audio would continue into the next round.

Sova

• Fixed audio issue where the “being watched” sonic feedback of Sova’s Owl Drone wouldn’t trigger if the drone had line-of-sight to the player when the drone spawned.

Vyse

• Fixed issue where Vyse’s Steel Garden audio could trigger twice after Observers swap targets.
• Fixed a bug where Vyse’s Razorvine would leave circles on the minimap for observers when Vyse died.

Waylay

• Fixed a bug where Waylay’s Saturate could affect enemies after they left the range of the area of effect.

Yoru

• Fixed an issue where Yoru’s Gatecrash in-world icon would not change color when aimed at.
• We have fixed a bug where in some cases after turning invisible, Yoru and Reyna would reappear in their original location when the invisibility ends.

BUG FIXES

Premier

• Fixed an issue on the Awards tab where long names were not displayed correctly in some languages

CONSOLE ONLY

Competitive Updates

• Updated leaderboards to display Immortal+ ranked rating thresholds

Bug Fixes

• New Player Tips have been switched off while we fix an issue where they are being displayed for a much shorter time than intended to new players. We are actively investigating having the feature switched back on as soon as possible.