VALORANT Patch 4.01: Melee Buffs, Ares Balances, And Social Updates
VALORANT's newest Episode got off to an electrifying start with the release of Neon - the closest rival to Jett that we've seen so far - and a much-needed mix-up of the deadliest weapons in the game. After releasing on January 12, the Riot Games team have been keeping a close eye on the balance of the game, and have now rolled out the VALORANT Patch 4.01, where a range of changes to the Melee weapons and the recently buffed Ares are coming into play.
So, here's everything you need to know about what is coming in the VALORANT Patch 4.01.
VALORANT Patch 4.01: Weapon Updates
Melee
Previous attempts at fixing the Melee action in VALORANT have proven to have wilted, but Riot Games are now confident that the Patch 4.01 fix will finally fix the Melee weapon.
- Hitboxes have been edited
- Right Click hitbox has been increased by 1.5x
- Left Click hitboxes are larger than Right Click, range increased.
- Target assistance - The knife will now target enemies in the centre of the screen first, to increase precision.
- Feedback - Instant feedback will be generated after knifing walls and surroundings.
- Want to up your game? Check out the best VALORANT crosshair settings
Ares
With the changes to the Ares Light Machine Gun active in Episode 4, the VALORANT Patch 4.01 will balance the deadly weapon.
- Price Change - The Ares will now cost 1,600 credits (previously 1,550)
- Recoil Increased
- Bullet Spread Altered
- Bullet spread increased before 13 bullets fired (from 0.8 to 1)
- Crouching bonus reduced - Spread and recoil bonuses reduced from 40% to 25%
Click to enlarge- Learn all about the VALORANT Neon abilities for the new agent
VALORANT Patch 4.01: Social Updates
One of the biggest changes in VALORANT Patch 4.01 is the adaptations to the muted words list. Admitting that players can often find savvy ways of writing banned words (mainly through symbols and numbers to replace letters), you can now add variations of the explicit language to a mute list, allowing you to refrain from seeing these loopholes.
VALORANT Patch 4.01: Bug Fixes
- Origin collection idle animations have been fixed in spectator mode.
- Observer player hotkeys will no longer change after teams swapped sides.
- Performance charts that require NVIDIA Reflex can now be hidden.
VALORANT Patch 4.01 will go live on January 19.