VALORANT 13.05 Patch Notes: Pick ‘Ems and Agent Gear Changes

As Champions Shanghai approaches, Pick ‘Ems are opening up, and VALORANT Patch 13.05 is here. Let’s explore a quick recap of all its changes.

What’s in VALORANT Patch 13.05?

There’s a ton to cover in VALORANT Patch 13.05. While this update doesn’t prioritize Agent balance changes, it goes all-in on quality-of-life adjustments, esports and pick ’ems features, and bug fixes. Here’s a quick list of what to expect:

• Spray sound changes
• Esports changes for Champions Shanghai 2026 and Pick ‘Ems
• Stream sniping and instalock penalties
• Agent Gear changes
• Bug Fixes
• Range changes

Patch 13.05 Agent Buffs and Nerfs

There are no Agent balance changes in VALORANT Patch 13.05. This is partially because the competitive season is drawing closer to its conclusion, and Champions Shanghai 2026 is coming up. Teams are preparing to compete on the current Patch, so Riot tries not to shake up the meta too much before the tournament begins. You can expect power levels in your Ranked games to look pretty consistent after the update.

Esports and Pick ‘Ems

Pick ‘Ems are back for Champions Shanghai 2026. Players can find them in the in-game Esports tab. You can also pick up Champions skin bundles for your favorite VCT teams taking part here if you’re interested. (Check out our helpful Teams list here.)

In Pick ‘Ems, players predict which teams will win each VCT bracket matchup. The more accurate your guesses are, the more prizes you recieve. Players get free rewards just for participating, too.

Pick ‘Ems must be locked in before September 24, 2026. This is when Champions Shanghai starts and the Group Stage kicks off!

Stream Sniping and Instalock Penalties

Stream snipers will see extra punishments after the update rolls out. Any players who use live Twitch or YouTube broadcasts to cheat are in for a bad time. In addition, Riot Games is cracking down on Agent instalock macros. These are tools that let players automatically select and lock in an Agent by controlling the mouse with an algorithm. The team notes that penalties will increase in severity, and you could permanently lose your account if the behavior is frequent. “Players found using these tools will be subject to temporary game bans that will escalate to permanent with repeated usage.”

Spray Sound Changes

VALORANT’s in-game spray cosmetics sometimes make an added noise. The dev team is fine-tuning the range you can hear these sounds from, so they’ll prioritize nearby teammates instead of making long-distance noise.

“Based on your feedback, we’ve adjusted the sound attenuation for all sound sprays so you’ll only be able to hear the sounds if you’re nearby to ensure teams can communicate effectively. This will be a standard for all future audio sprays.“

Agent Gear Changes in 13.06

Previously, VALORANT’s Agent Gear contracts let you progress with XP from any game mode and Agent. However, starting in Patch 13.06, unlocking free Agent Gear skins will depend directly on how much you play the character. We have a more in-depth guide to this here. You’ll still keep any Agent skins you earned before this change, and you’ll still be able to use Kingdom Credits for some items.

Bug Fixes

There are a ton of bug fixes in Patch 13.05. Most of these focus on quality-of-life changes. For a full list, check out the official Patch Notes, but we’ve listed the most important ones:

• Agent Ultimate voicelines will no longer play after Agents are eliminated.
• Fixed a bug that caused smokes to block flashes after disappearing.
• Fixed lag issues with Chamber’s kit.
• Fixed lag issues with KAY/O’s kit.
• Fixed a Cypher cage bug that blocked flashes and detection abilites.
• Fade’s Seize indicator is more consistent on Lotus.

Range Bot Changes

Riot has added new default bot count settings to the Range. Players can now select between 10, 5, or 1 to spawn in. You can change these in the Range Settings tab. 5 bots is now the default count without any setting changes.

Stay tuned for more VALORANT esports and in-game news!