Update Applied: Patch 1.06 permanently closes ‘Air Shotgun’ terminal

The Valorant team is back from its vacation and ready to start writing the wrongs that ail us all. And while Patch 1.06 is the smallest patch release to date, it no less has an effect on the meta at all levels and may radically change some tier-lists moving forward. Someone get Jett a rosary because she’s got some shotgun-based sins that need forgiven. Here is what’s up in patch 1.06, available right now.

For the full list of patch changes and notes be sure to visit the Official Valorant notes available on the game’s home screen.

Figuring out the timing on flashbangs is, perhaps, the hardest aspect of playing characters like Phoenix and Breach. Twitch chat jokingly calls them ‘North American Flashes,’ but all the same, it’s hard when starting out to avoid flashbanging yourself in a match and hearing a sad trombone sound as you get fragged.

New visual and audio cues are an immense help and provide more quality of life to mechanics that the game doesn’t outright tell the player how to wield. While a flashbang in-game tutorial might still be needed this is a good step to keep us out of our team mate’s collective dog houses for bad flashes.

Thank you to everyone who showed up to today’s funeral service as we say goodbye to the old ‘jump and gun’ shotgun technique. We’ve all had some laughs, good times, and moments where an enemy Jett fell from the sky and dropped you with a judge out of nowhere. And while those days are most likely not gone for good, a tripling of the spread penalty on shotguns is a pretty clear disincentive for the tactic.

The big question remains: Where does this leave shotguns in the meta? The Shorty, Bucky, and Judge all still play a valuable role in the gun meta-game and I don’t think the spread penalty is as big a change to the fundamentals of using said guns. Sure, one-trick Raze and Jett players just had one of their favorite toys taken away. Yes, strafe-jumping onto a point will take more precise timing. However, this too shall pass and the game’s three shotguns still serve their purpose.

Short patch, this patch. In fairness, the Valorant team has been on a break the past seven days, so perhaps when we return in two weeks we’ll see more pronounced obvious changes. Until then, make sure to go update your Valorant client as Patch 1.06 is out and available now.