Riot has now confirmed that VALORANT Season 2025, the first official “season” the developers are moving away from episodic, will primarily focus on improvements. There will obviously be new content across the six acts planned for 2025, but the priority will be to get the game “in the best shape it’s ever been,” according to the most recent development diary.
What does this mean for VALORANT in 2025? This means balancing the strongest and weakest agents, improving the ranked experience, keeping map rotation fresh, and introducing two new mystery agents.
VALORANT 2025 Agent Changes
Agents remain the main focus of VALORANT in 2025. Because the unique cast of characters is what sets this game apart from other tactical shooters. After several balancing changes in 2024, more changes are set for 2025.
Iso, who received a massive buff to Double Tap Shield in Patch 8.11, will receive a “power budget reallocation”. However, VALORANT’s agent team was hesitant to make any changes to Neon. They’ll revisit her “if necessary” after the drastic but necessary Patch 9.11 nerfs.
The team worked on improving the two least popular and least powerful agents: Deadlock and Harbor. The team says that with Deadlock, they aim to further increase the value of the sound sensor and give her more offensive potential. With Harbor, they want to make him “more satisfying” to play.
Rankings and Map Pool Changes
There are six Acts planned for the 2025 season of VALORANT, and Riot has promised to change the active map pool for each Act. At the start of each Act, Riot rotates between two maps, swapping two, but said that number is “subject to change” throughout the year.
When it comes to VALORANT’s competitive mode, which is now the official entry point into the esports ecosystem, two key changes will make it easier to move up. Players will now receive a “rank shield” that prevents them from falling directly between skill rank divisions. For example, this shield gives you one more chance to win before dropping from Gold I to Silver III. Finally, 2025 will see the addition of rank tier rollbacks (or refunds). If a player is banned for cheating, you can get a refund for any RR you lost by playing against that player.
For more VALORANT coverage, check out our latest launch agent Tejo’s full feature kit.
For more from Insider Gaming, read about new Xbox Game Pass titles. And don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
