Valorant Patch Notes 7.07 Review – 5 Stacks and Cypher Buffs

Valorant has released patch notes 7.07, including bug fixes and competitive updates. Here’s our review of the changes 

Patch 7.07 is here, and while most of it includes insignificant bug fixes and map updates, competitive changes can play a massive role in altering the ranked experience. Looking at this patch, we were satisfied with the highly-needed bug fixes for Cypher, which has been an issue in the game for a long time. Moreover, there is a minor change to Haven alongside other fixes. Let’s have a look at these updates and review their potential effects on the game.

Valorant Patch Notes 7.07 – Competitive Updates

During patch 7.06, Valorant’s competitive update restricted player boosting by not allowing participants below the Platinum rank to queue with the ones with Ascendent or higher ranks. This made it hard to five-stack with your friends who have a lower rank. However, many from the community were pleased with this change as it was supposed to prevent boosting.

During this patch, Valorant has decided to revert those changes with the following statement –

“Initially, the rank restriction was made to prevent people from illegitimately boosting to the highest ranks like Radiant. In the end, we realized that your ability to have flexibility with your 5 stack was more important than the very small number of people who abuse this exploit.”

Moreover, Riot Games stated that they are looking for a long-term solution to boosting problems. 

While this change helps people queue with their low-ranked friends in competitive games, the other side of the coin will be player boosting. As a result, many in the community, including analyst Jakub “Lothar” Szygulski, were not happy with this update. 

Valorant Patch Notes 7.07 – Agent Updates

Only Cypher and Gekko changes were mentioned in this patch, and even those are small bug changes. This could be because of the Episode 7 Act 2 ending pretty soon, meaning there will be significant updates coming not long after this patch goes live. For now, these are the Agent updates of patch 7.07 –

Cypher Buff

Valorant has fixed the bug where Cypher’s ultimate ability (Neural Theft) would not complete if he dies after casting it. This problem has been in the game for a long time, and if this change takes effect, Cypher’s Neural Theft will now be stronger as it will allow your teammates to have valuable information even if you die casting it. 

Another Cypher bug fix is related to the Agent remaining blinded when his camera (Spycam) gets flashed. This was the announcement –

“Fixed an issue where you could remain blinded if spectating a flash through Cypher’s Spycam (E) as the round ended.”

Many have pointed out that this issue also occurs even during a round, as Cypher players get blinded even though they saw the flash only through their camera. 

Overall, these changes will make Cypher somewhat better than before. However, Killjoy will still remain as the queen of the Sentinel role, and unless we see some major nerfs to her kit or buffs coming for Cypher, the meta will be dominated by Killjoy for a long time. 

Gekko Nerf

Gekko’s flash (Dizzy) range has been fixed inside Viper Ultimate, meaning the flash range is now lowered. As a result, while Gekko’s Dizzy used to be a much stronger counter to Viper’s Pit as it helped find her inside the smoke, it will now be harder to spot her. As a result, this is a Gekko nerf while being a Viper buff. 

Valorant Patch Notes 7.07 – Performance Updates

With this patch, players with discrete Intel GPUs can take advantage of multithreaded rendering, making the game perform better. Moreover, the CPU core count requirement has been lowered. Valorant primarily used four cores, and now, people with lower-end CPUs can run the game much better.

Valorant Patch Notes 7.07 – Haven Changes

Haven’s garage double doors bug has been fixed, and it will now be easier to spot enemy players through the particles of the door breaking. This seems like a very insignificant update, as most players didn’t even notice the issue. Nonetheless, here’s the official statement from Riot Games –

“Updated the destruction VFX for the destructible door panels located at Mid Doors/Garage in order to make it easier to see through as it falls away.”

Valorant Patch Notes 7.07 – Other Bug Fixes

Aside from the Agent fixes, there are two more bug fixes mentioned in this patch note. These are also minor changes – one related to surround sound systems and the other concerning Premier. 

No Deadlock Buffs Yet

After arriving as the latest addition to the Sentinel role, Deadlock has failed to make a splash as she remains a weak Agent compared to characters like Cypher and Killjoy. As a result, we expect to see major buffs coming towards her soon, likely after this act.