Why is Waylay Disabled in VALORANT?

Ranked players might notice that one of their favorite VALORANT Duelists is missing. A new bug leaves Waylay disabled from Competitive queues: let’s recap why this happened and when she may return.

Why is Waylay Disabled in VALORANT?

Early on July 31, 2026, Riot Games announced that Duelist Agent Waylay has been temporarily disabled in the VALORANT Competitive queue. This means players won’t be able to access her in their Ranked games.

The studio revealed the decision on X.com, clarifying:

“We’re aware of a bug that’s causing Waylay to see incorrect visual information after using her refract ability. Due to the implications on competitive integrity, we are disabling Waylay until we deploy a fix. We’ll send out an update when the fix is live.”

The bug reportedly gives Waylay an unfair advantage, allowing her to see enemy player positions that shouldn’t be visible. This is particularly troublesome for a Duelist, who creates a major impact for their team by quickly running onto sites and getting kills. Duelist is one of the game’s riskiest roles, and relies on players being able to adapt and quickly secure kills with very little information.

VALORANT players can still access Waylay in Spike Rush, Custom, and other non-Ranked game modes. However, she appears completely restricted in Competitive queue across all maps.

When Will Waylay be Back in VALORANT?

VALORANT has not yet revealed when Waylay will return to the game. It’s important to note that this isn’t the first time a VALORANT Agent has been disabled. Reyna experienced similar issues in Patch 10.05 due to a severe bug that altered her Devour utility. In addition, Omen was disabled in June 2025 after a smoke exploit gave teammates unintentional wallhacks. Cypher glitches that allow players to place weapons in his Spycam have also popped up from time to time, requiring Riot to take the character away from competitive play for some periods.

Usually, VALORANT Agents stay disabled for anywhere from a day to a week while Riot Games fixes the issue. Waylay will definitely return to the Agent pool, as the studio says she’ll be “back in a flash.” She just needs a little time to get her abilities in order.

Official VALORANT media platforms, including the title’s X.com account, have promised to provide updates once the situation is resolved.

What Does This Mean for Esports?

Waylay’s restrictions arrive in the midst of VCT Stage 2. While she isn’t the most popular pick, this decision could have some impact on her play time in the esports circuit.

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