Act updates in VALORANT tend to rearrange how people play, complain, and eventually adapt. Patch 12.05 arrives on March 18 with a new Controller, a fresh limited mode, map rotations, and a batch of ability tweaks meant to push the game toward clearer teamplay.

New Controller: Miks

Miks is the new Controller agent. His kit is themed around music and rhythm. He offers standard smokes like other Controllers but builds his support toolkit around teammate utility, including an area heal. Expect him to favor coordinated pushes and hold setups that rely on team synergy.

New mode: Knockout

Knockout replaces All Random One Site and the 2v2 Skirmish queue. It is an evolution of Team Deathmatch with the same maps and familiar loadout rules, but the mode pushes team-focused play and trading rather than solo score-chasing. It is intended for warming up or practicing teamwork in a lower-stakes environment.

Map pool and Lotus changes

Patch 12.05 removes Abyss and Corrode from the Competitive map rotation and brings back Lotus and Fracture. Lotus receives targeted changes on the A side to reduce certain exploitative plays and excessive weapon spam.

Lotus A-site adjustments

  • Lobby wall thickened to stop wall penetration from the barrier drop.
  • A Lobby exit position shifted to give attackers a clearer path out and reduce utility dumps.
  • A Tree wall reinforced to remove wall penetration.
  • Outside A Stairs area expanded to better control the A site.
  • A-site plant zone moved to prevent planting for A Link and encourage on-site play.

These changes target common A-site strategies such as dumping utility into A Lobby and planting from A Link. Players holding A Tree should also be safer from spam through walls.

Agent adjustments: Yoru, Clove, Skye and others

The goal of these nerfs and adjustments is to encourage more team coordination and create clearer trade-offs for ability use.

Skye

  • Guiding Light: Now has a 60 second cooldown.

Yoru

  • Gatecrash: Duration reduced from 30 seconds to 15 seconds.
  • Blindside: Charges reduced from two to one.

Clove

  • Ruse: Smoke duration when cast while dead reduced from 14 seconds to 6 seconds.
  • Meddle: Area of effect reduced from 6 meters to 4 meters.

Gekko and Killjoy

  • Wingman and Alarmbot: These abilities now apply their effects through smokes.

Assist banners and killfeed updates

Pertinent UI updates add more clarity to team fights. When your utility or damage helps secure a teammate's kill, you will see an assist banner at the bottom of your screen and an ability icon in your team-side killfeed. This information is visible only to your team.

Patch 12.05 also contains additional UI polish, bug fixes, an updated Sage model, and a new bundle release. Expect the usual round of post-patch balance discussions and strategy adjustments as players explore the new agent and map tweaks.