VALORANT Patch 13.08 is live as the opener for Season 2026 Act 6, and it is a map patch first. Riot reworked parts of Corrode, put Corrode and Bind back into Competitive and Deathmatch, and pulled Ascent and Split out of both queues. On top of that, a new Map Rating system now grades how good you actually are on each map, on a 0 to 500 scale with a C to S letter grade. There are no agent balance changes this time beyond a small Killjoy feedback fix, so the meta shift you will feel in ranked tonight comes almost entirely from the map rotation.
Everything below comes from Riot's official VALORANT Patch Notes 13.08, written by Kenny "Karnifexlol" Cameron and published at 8:00 AM CT on Tuesday October 13. Where we lean on other coverage, mostly Dot Esports' 13.08 breakdown for describing Riot's before and after map images, we say so. If you missed the last big client drop, our Patch 13.06 guide covers Warden, Gauntlet: Glitched and Agent Mastery.
When Did VALORANT Patch 13.08 Go Live?
Riot posted the 13.08 notes on October 13, 2026 at 8:00 AM CT, and the official VALORANT account on X shared them a few minutes later. Riot's TL;DR sums up the whole thing in one line: Vanguard numbers, Map Rating, Performance Score updates, Corrode changes, Ascent and Split out, Corrode and Bind in, and bug fixes.
The notes do not list regional downtime windows, so we are not going to guess at them. If your client has not updated yet, restart Riot Client and check again. Riot's opening line is "Act 6 starts now," so 13.08 is also the first patch of V26 Act 6.
Map Pool Update: Bind and Corrode In, Ascent and Split Out
This is the change that will decide how most of your games feel for the next few weeks. Riot's wording is short and direct:
- Bind and Corrode are in the Competitive and Deathmatch queues.
- Ascent and Split are out of the Competitive and Deathmatch queues.
Bind comes back with no layout changes listed in the notes. Corrode comes back with the changes covered in the next section. If you queue Deathmatch to warm up, keep in mind that the warmup pool follows the same swap, so you can actually practice Corrode angles before your first ranked game instead of seeing the new mid for the first time on a pistol round.
What losing Ascent and Split means for ranked
Ascent and Split were two of the more structured maps in the old pool. Ascent rewards mid control and doors, Split rewards vertical play and rope fights. With both gone, players who leaned on them for wins lose two comfort picks at once. Bind brings back teleporters and long rotations through them, which tends to reward teams that track enemy movement and punish players who ignore sound cues. Corrode, after this patch, is meant to be a faster map for defenders to retake on.
If you were a Sentinel main who lived on Ascent B or Split A, expect a short adjustment period. Bind's lack of a mid lane changes how lurk and flank timings work, and the new Corrode mid is built to give attackers more room, which changes how much a single Sentinel setup can delay a push.
Corrode Map Update Explained
Riot opens the Corrode section with "Happy belated birthday, Corrode!" and says the team spent more than a year watching games and gathering data before deciding what to change. There are three parts to the update: defender paths to both sites, a rebuilt mid, and a smaller A Site plant zone.
A Site and B Site: shorter defender rotations
Riot's reasoning here is simple: rotations took too long. Rotation times vary across every map, but Riot says Corrode's were making it especially hard for defenders to get back into the action for a retake. The fix:
- Riot adjusted Defender spawn pathing toward site so defenders can rotate safely and a bit faster.
- Riot adjusted Defender paths into the back of A Site and B Site to shorten rotations and help with retakes.
Mid: metal half wall, moved boxes, raised wall
Riot says Mid "has felt like a bit of a brawl." Attackers were funneling through a single choke into Lower Mid, and defenders could slow that push down by spamming through the half wall. Here are the three changes Riot lists:
- The Mid half wall is now metal and was moved out 1 meter. Riot's goal is to reduce wall spam and let attackers sneak into A Link without being seen from Top Mid.
- The boxes at the back of Lower Mid were moved toward B, and Riot added a jump-up.
- The wall in Lower Mid was raised so players cannot peek over it from the relocated boxes.
A Site: plant zone adjusted
The last Corrode change is a short one. Riot adjusted the A Site plant zone to make playing post-plant from A Link less effective. If your team's default A execute ended with a plant that let you hold from Link, that spot is likely gone or weaker now. Pull up the new zone in a custom and find your new default plant before you need it in a ranked round.
How the Corrode Changes Should Play in Ranked
This part is our read on Riot's changes, not something Riot says outright.
Defenders get faster retakes. The shorter paths into the back of both sites mean a defender who gave up a site early has a better shot at getting back in time with the rest of the team. That should mean fewer rounds where one bad read lets the attackers plant and hold with no real response.
Attackers get a cleaner mid. The metal wall, moved boxes and new jump-up all point the same way: Riot wants attackers to be able to work through Lower Mid toward A Link without getting chewed up by spam. Mid control should feel like a real fight with real angles, not a coin flip.
A post-plant gets harder. With the plant zone adjusted, attackers who took A will need to rethink how they hold. Expect more of the post-plant play to happen from inside or near the site instead of from Link.
Put together, Riot is trying to make Corrode feel less one-sided at both ends of the round. Attackers get an easier route through mid, and defenders get a faster way back for retakes. Whether that balance holds up is something only the first few weeks of ranked data will show.
Map Rating Explained
Riot's pitch for Map Rating is "Time to see if your favorite map is your best map." It is a new competitive feature that tracks how your skill on each map changes over time. Here is everything Riot lists:
A few more details from the notes:
- Recent matches count more toward your rating and stats than older ones.
- Improving any of the four stats can raise your rating.
- You can see your rating, stats and extras like your Top Agents in Agent Select, the End of Game screen and Career.
- Other players cannot see your Map Rating. It is private to you.
- Map Rating is available for Competitive and Premier.
- Everyone starts fresh. Historical match data does not count.
How to actually use Map Rating
The fact that it shows up in Agent Select is the useful part. When your team is locking agents, you can glance at your own rating for the map you are on and your top agents for it, which is a better signal than "I think I'm good on this map." Because Map Rating splits attacker and defender win rates, it can also show you something a plain win rate hides, like being strong on defense on Bind and weak on attack.
Since recent matches weigh more, Map Rating is built to move. A bad week on Corrode is not permanent, and neither is a hot streak. And since everyone starts at zero with no historical data, the first couple of weeks of Act 6 are a clean slate for every player, so a strong start on the new pool will show up quickly. If you are starting a fresh climb this Act and want a cleaner starting point than a brand new account, AccountShark lists curated VALORANT accounts.
Nothing in Riot's notes says Map Rating feeds into matchmaking or your rank. Riot presents it as a personal tracking tool, so do not read it as hidden MMR.
Performance Score Adjustments From 13.06
Performance Score launched with Patch 13.06 as a way to value more than kills. Riot says it has been doing "a great job" of valuing different agents and roles while still recognizing fragging. At launch, Performance Score and ACS agreed on Match MVP about 70% of the time, which Riot says was in line with expectations given the extra factors Performance Score measures.
Riot also says it noticed edge cases where it "overswung" on those extra factors. To reduce them, Riot made changes that went live during 13.06 and are documented in the 13.08 notes:
- Increased the score impact of Damage, Adjusted Kills and Adjusted Deaths. These adjusted metrics include both First Bloods and First Deaths.
- Made Chamber-specific adjustments to better reflect his utility use.
Act 5 Penalty Numbers
Riot opened the 13.08 notes with something new: a commitment to share penalty numbers more often. The figures count accounts fully banned for 3 days or longer during Act 5's detection period, August 18 to October 1:
Riot says rank manipulation covers boosters, boostees, hitchhikers, wintraders and others. The notes show the breakdown of that 76,000+ figure in a graphic rather than in text, so we are not repeating sub-numbers here. Riot also says it still has a lot of work to do and asks players to keep reporting in-game, since reports help improve its tooling and detection.
Agent, Client and Bug Fixes
There is no agent balance pass in 13.08. The full list of smaller changes:
Agents
- Killjoy's Alarmbot projectile destruction VFX and audio feedback now trigger when the projectile is destroyed by moving doorways.
Client
- A new Queue and Mode Select interface for matchmade and custom game types.
- A navigation bar in Career for Rank Legacy, Accolades and Map Rating.
Bug fixes
- Competitive: fixed the wrong threshold being shown for the Masterful accolade.
- Gameplay systems: alternate footstep sounds sometimes did not play while a character was in Fog of War; fixed.
- Gameplay systems: bodyfall audio failed to play at the right location when agents died in Fog of War; fixed.
- Gameplay systems: gun bounce audio sometimes did not trigger; fixed.
- Weapons: fixed Warden scope reticle misalignment during full auto fire.
Known Issues in Patch 13.08
Riot lists two known issues:
- Team MVP does not show correctly in Match History. Riot calls it a visual bug and says a fix is in progress.
- Range in Queue is disabled. Some players were put into a bugged queue state while using the Practice Range during queue, so Riot turned the feature off. Riot says it is testing a fix and hopes to bring the feature back as soon as possible.
Does Patch 13.08 Change Champions Shanghai?
No source we have says it does. VALORANT Champions Shanghai finals weekend runs October 16 to 18, and international events are played on a tournament build, not the live ranked client. As covered in our Champions Shanghai finals weekend preview, the event map pool is still Abyss, Ascent, Haven, Lotus, Split, Summit and Sunset. So you will keep seeing Ascent and Split on the broadcast this weekend even though they are out of your ranked queue.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was VALORANT Patch 13.08 released?
Riot published the official 13.08 patch notes on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 8:00 AM CT. The patch starts Season 2026 Act 6. Riot did not list regional downtime windows in the notes.
What maps are in the VALORANT competitive pool after Patch 13.08?
Riot added Bind and Corrode and removed Ascent and Split from Competitive and Deathmatch. Based on the pool before this patch, the rotation is Abyss, Bind, Corrode, Haven, Lotus, Summit and Sunset, which matches Dot Esports' list.
Did Bind get any changes in Patch 13.08?
No. The 13.08 notes list layout changes for Corrode only. Bind returns to the pool as it was.
What changed on Corrode in Patch 13.08?
Riot shortened defender paths into the back of A and B sites to speed up rotations and retakes, changed the Mid half wall to metal and moved it out 1 meter, moved the Lower Mid boxes toward B with a new jump-up, raised the Lower Mid wall, and adjusted the A Site plant zone so post-plant from A Link is less effective.
What is Map Rating in VALORANT?
Map Rating is a 0 to 500 rating with a C to S letter grade that tracks how your skill on each map changes over time. It is based on overall win rate, attacker win rate, defender win rate and Performance Score, with recent matches counting more.
Is Map Rating retroactive?
No. Riot says everyone starts fresh with the Map Rating launch, and historical match data does not count. Your rating builds from Competitive and Premier matches played from 13.08 onward.
Can other players see my Map Rating?
No. Riot says other players cannot see information about your Map Rating. You can see your own in Agent Select, on the End of Game screen and in Career.
What changed with Performance Score?
Changes that went live during 13.06 raised the score impact of Damage, Adjusted Kills and Adjusted Deaths, which include First Bloods and First Deaths, and added Chamber-specific adjustments for his utility use. Riot says Performance Score and ACS agreed on Match MVP about 70% of the time at launch.
Why is Range in Queue disabled?
Riot disabled Practice Range during queue after it put some players into a bugged queue state. Riot says it is testing a fix and hopes to restore the feature as soon as possible.
Will Champions Shanghai use the new map pool?
Nothing in the 13.08 notes or tournament coverage says so. Champions is played on a tournament build, and the event pool remains Abyss, Ascent, Haven, Lotus, Split, Summit and Sunset for finals weekend, October 16 to 18.
Final Take
Patch 13.08 is light on balance and heavy on change. The pool swap alone means two comfort maps are gone and two maps you may not have played in months are back. Corrode now has faster retakes, a fairer mid and a weaker A Link post-plant, and Map Rating will show you, privately and per map, whether your best map is really the one you think it is.
Load into a custom on Corrode first. Walk the new defender paths, test the metal half wall, and find a new A plant. Then queue, and let your first Act 6 matches set your starting Map Rating.
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