Valorant Season 26 Details: Patch 12.00 Overview

Riot Games officially kicks off Season 2026 with Valorant Patch 12.00, one of the most content-packed updates in recent memory. This patch introduces long-awaited replays, a fully reworked Breeze, significant Agent balance changes, a brand-new sidearm, an experimental limited-time mode, and major improvements to player behavior systems. Let’s break down everything coming with Patch 12.00.

General Updates

Replays are finally making their debut in Valorant, allowing players to enable them in Custom Swiftplay and Standard matches. The feature must be activated by the party leader in the Custom lobby settings and is ideal for strategy review, team practice, and VOD analysis, marking Riot’s first step toward a full replay ecosystem in the game.

Competitive Updates

Riot has updated the hidden MMR calculation to improve overall match quality, aiming to make ranked matches more consistent, reduce skill gaps between opposing teams, and create a smoother competitive experience from game to game. Additionally, starting with Patch 12.01, accounts detected for account sharing and all Ascendant-tier and higher players in the EU region will be required to enable Riot Mobile multi-factor authentication (MFA) in order to access the Competitive queue, while all other game modes will remain unaffected.

Agent Updates

Breach

Breach has been underperforming at higher levels of play, so Riot is restoring some power to reward coordination and precision.

Flashpoint

Projectile speed increased by 20% (2000 → 2400)

Fault Line

Width increased from 7.5m to 8m

Brimstone

Improved tactical map readability for Sky Smoke and Orbital Strike, making positioning and zone control clearer during executions.

Harbor

Harbor’s aggressive tools are receiving buffs to extend their impact windows.

Storm Surge

No longer requires line of sight to nearsight and slow enemies

Windup reduced from 0.8s to 0.6s

Slow duration increased from 0.6s to 2s

Reckoning

Slow duration increased to 2 seconds

Sage

Healing Orb targeting has been updated to better align with Agent models

Sage can now heal allies even if the mid or lower portions of their model are partially blocked by geometry

Tejo

Riot is strengthening Tejo’s supportive tools to better complement Guided Salvos and team coordination.

Special Delivery

Concuss duration reduced from 4s to 2.5s

Explosion now deals damage (35 max at center, 20 minimum)

Stealth Drone

Reveal type changed from snapshot to full reveal

Pulse radius reduced from 30m to 16m

Vyse

Steel Garden radius increased from 26m to 28m, improving reliability during site takes and defensive holds.

Map Updates, Breeze Rework

Breeze returns with its largest rework ever. Riot has reduced angle complexity, tightened open areas, and improved defender rotation timings, fundamentally changing how the map plays while preserving its open identity.

For the first two weeks of Competitive play, RR losses on Breeze are reduced by 50%, while wins still grant full RR, encouraging players to learn the updated map without heavy ranking penalties.

Haven

Mid Window now includes a breakable element to prevent early-round wallbang kills

Corrode

Wall materials on key areas of A and B sites have been adjusted, requiring more commitment and risk when holding space through wall penetration

Map Pool Changes

Breeze has been added to the Competitive and Deathmatch queues, while Sunset has been removed from both.

New Limited-Time Mode: All Random, One Site

All Random, One Site is a fast-paced 5v5 mode focused on chaos and constant action. Each round assigns players a random Agent with no duplicates per team, activates a single bomb site, removes the economy entirely, and enables ability recharging during rounds. Ultimate Orbs grant 50% charge, kills grant 50% charge, and eliminated players drop their accumulated ultimate energy, leading to frequent and unpredictable ultimate usage.

Available maps: Abyss, Ascent, Breeze, Corrode, Pearl, Icebox, Sunset, Split

Snowball Fight has been removed to make room for this new mode.

Player Behavior Updates

Players can now see their Behavior Standing directly in the Social Panel, showing active penalties, risk levels for future penalties, and detailed explanations of their current status.

With this patch, Riot introduces the annual Community Pact, reinforcing core principles: Play to Win. Play Fair. Play with Respect. Reporting categories have been updated to reflect these values, chat moderation systems have been strengthened, and repeat or severe voice and text offenders will receive stricter penalties more quickly. Players banned for inappropriate Riot IDs will also be unable to change their name until the ban expires.

Weapon Update: Bandit Sidearm

The Bandit is a new precision sidearm designed for high-skill eco and light-buy rounds, positioned between the Ghost and Sheriff.

Weapon details:

• Price: 600 credits
• Magazine: 8 rounds
• Reserve ammo: 24
• Reload time: 1.5s
• Equip time: 0.75s
• Wall penetration: Medium
• Capable of one-tap headshots

The first matches have shown that it’s hard to call it overpowered, but it certainly isn’t weak either. Overall, it will definitely find its place in the game. As for the downsides, the community has pointed out its firing sounds, which didn’t appeal to everyone.

Final Thoughts

Valorant Patch 12.00 sets a strong tone for Season 2026 by combining long-requested features like replays with impactful gameplay changes, a bold Breeze rework, meaningful Agent buffs, a fresh limited-time mode, and stricter player behavior systems. With reduced risk while learning Breeze, improved ranked consistency through MMR updates, and new tools like the Bandit shaking up eco rounds, this patch feels like a confident reset that pushes Valorant forward both competitively and socially. Season 2026 is officially underway—and Valorant truly is back.