Valorant Patch 7.01: Premier Ignition Stage, In-Game Bans, More

Valorant has released Patch 7.01 a few weeks after the start of Episode 7 Act 1 on 11^th July. As per details, the biggest feature is the introduction of the highly anticipated Premier Ignition Stage which builds on the initial Premier Global Open Beta.

Apart from this, the developers have updated the ability action icons for all Agents and added new ones where necessary. The latest character Deadlock has also received new voice line interactions with Gekko.

Finally, in-game punishments have been introduced to Valorant for players being involved in the following, Away From Keyboard (AFK), Friendly Fire, and Queue Dodge.

Here are the complete patch notes and changes that have been rolled out along with Valorant Patch 7.01.

Valorant Patch Notes 7.01 - Complete Details

Valorant Patch 7.01: Agent Updates

• Updated ability action icons to become more consistent across all Agents and Abilities that have a common cast paradigm or output.

• New ability action icons have also been added where necessary. These icons appear above your equipped ability.

• New voiceover line interactions added between Gekko and Deadlock.

Valorant Patch 7.01: Competitive Updates

Premier Ignition Stage

• After the Premier Global Open Beta, all players will be starting from scratch for the Premier Ignition Stage. This means that players will need to join or create new teams once again. However, from this point forward the team and match history will carry forward to the launch in August, so make sure you choose the team's name carefully because it cannot be changed later.

• Enrollment runs until 20^th July, so get your team together and make sure to choose a Zone before then. The exact time for the end of Enrollment varies by Zone, so make sure to check the schedule in the client for more information.

• Matches start on 20^th July and run through 12^th August, with the Playoffs on 13^th August. Earn a Premier Score of at least 375 by then to qualify and to have a chance to be crowned as one of the best teams in your Division.

_{Note: For more information, interested players can check out the FAQ which has all the finer details.}

Player Behaviour Updates

• Developers have added in-game bans for repeated AFK, Friendly Fire, and Queue Dodge in Competitive and Unrated modes.

• Players who are text-muted in real-time will now also be voice-muted for the entire match.

Interestingly no Agent or Map balance changes have been made for Valorant along with Patch 7.01, despite many in the community pointing out how absurdly strong Deadlock's ultimate ability has proven to be.

Maybe the developers want to ride out the wave a bit longer and make some more serious gameplay changes along with Patch 7.02 whose test servers are scheduled to go live on the Valorant PBE (Public Beta Environment) from 14^th July onwards.