Valorant Episode 8 Act 1 has been released, bringing fresh content and new changes to shake up the meta. Here’s the E8A1 release date along with everything you need to know about the eighth Episode in Valorant.
Valorant steps onto its fourth year in 2024 and the beginning of the year also marks the start of Episode 8 with Act 1. Like all previous instances, Episode 8 will be divided into three Acts throughout which we’ll get to see various changes, buffs, nerfs, map rotations, and everything a competitive game does.
Having that said, here’s when Valorant Episode 8 Act 1 was released including what new content it brought along.
Valorant Episode 8 Act 1 release date
Valorant Episode 8 Act 1 was released on January 9, 2024. Episode 7 ended earlier on the same day and as per previous Acts, E8A1 went live in a matter of a few hours.
Similar to previous Acts, E8A1 also launched at 2 PM PT (5 PM ET/10 PM BST). Ranked queue ended earlier for servers to go under maintenance so that the new update could take over.
What’s new in Valorant Episode 8 Act 1?
To start off with, Riot brought Icebox back to the competitive map pool along with some changes to Lotus while taking Haven away. The maps included in the current rotation are Ascent, Bind, Breeze, Icebox, Lotus, Split, and Sunset.
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Episode 8 Act 1 also brings a new sniper, Outlaw, the first weapon since release. It’s a double-barrel sniper with variable reload speeds sitting right between the Marshal and Operator.
We’re introducing the Outlaw, an updated Lotus and Icebox, and more. Read Patch Notes 8.0 here:
➡️ https://t.co/hCyI2RClrU pic.twitter.com/g1oeCZX8bI
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) January 9, 2024
Apart from that, there have been some Agent balances with patch 8.0 as well. Deadlock has been buffed, where you can recall her Sonic Sensors in rounds and its pickup distance has been increased from 12m to 27m. Killjoy on the other hand has been nerfed, with its Turret’s vision radius reduced from 180 degrees to 100 degrees.
Riot also added a secondary management role to rosters called ‘Team Captain’ in the game’s Premier game mode. They can help with team management like inviting and removing team members. However, Team Captains won’t be able to delete the team or kick the Team Owner out.
So, there you have it — that’s everything you need to know about Episode 8 Act 1. For more about the game, be sure to check our other Valorant tips, guides, and content:
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