VALORANT Patch 4.04 is a massive update introducing several agent changes alongside significant tweaks to Icebox. Players can expect the controller meta to be affected by the new update and Yoru is finally receiving his much-needed rework. 

Patch 4.04 “improves the system used to place abilities at targeted ground locations,” making it easier to use abilities with several agents. Omen, Viper, Chamber, Killjoy, Yoru, and Sage players will find it easier to find valid locations for some or all of their abilities in “tight spaces.”

Omen received a much-needed buff in the latest patch, and some of his recent nerfs have been rolled back. His Dark Cover cooldown has been decreased from 40 to 30 seconds, but the price has increased from 100 to 150. The projectile speed has also increased from 2,800 to 6,400. The Shrouded Step ability now costs 100 instead of 150, and the pre-teleport delay was decreased from one second to 0.7 seconds. The Paranoia ability also no longer blinds players adjacent to Omen when used. 

Brimstone received a buff in Patch 4.04, which could increase his viability in competitive situations. His Sky Smoke deploy time was decreased from two seconds to one second, the deploy radius was increased from 5,000 to 5,500, and the smoke height has been increased to be the same as other controllers. His Stim Beacon also provides a 15-percent speed boost alongside Rapid Fire. 

Astra has received the opposite treatment in the new patch since several of her abilities have been nerfed to allow other controllers to shine. She now only has four stars instead of five, and the cooldown for retrieving stars has been increased from 14 to 25 seconds. But she can also pick up stars during the buy phase to refund their cost and can place them further across the map. The Star Placement distance has been increased from 10,000 to 30,000. 

Gravity Well’s cooldown has been increased from 25 to 45, and the ability size has been decreased from 525 to 475. The ability also “no longer affects anyone fully underneath the Gravity Well.” The Nova Pulse cooldown was increased from 25 to 45 and no longer affects anyone directly beneath the ability. The Nebula ability also received an increase in cooldown time, going from 14 to 25, and the cooldowns for the Nebula are now sequential instead of occurring simultaneously. The size of this ability has also increased from 410 to 475. Astral Form received a few quality-of-life updates as well to make it easier and more comfortable for Astra players.

Viper has also received adjustments in the new patch, causing players to pick when to use her abilities strategically. Her fuel drain is increased by 50 percent when her Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud are both active, and the “fuel bar turns red when she doesn’t have enough fuel to activate her abilities.”

Toxic Screen’s cooldown has been increased to eight seconds after deactivating, and the cooldown timer now starts when the smoke begins dissipating. The deactivation delay has been decreased from one second to 0.8 seconds, and Toxic Screen has new yellow lights indicating when the ability is on cooldown. There is no longer a delay for the Toxic Screen disabling when Viper is suppressed, and a new VO line plays when Viper’s smoke disappears because of suppression. Viper’s Poison Cloud also received the same changes as her Toxic Screen. Snake Bite was slightly changed too, with its duration decreasing from 6.5 seconds to 5.5. 

The highly anticipated Yoru rework is finally coming in Patch 4.04 and the controversial duelist may now find a place in the meta. 

Yoru now only has one Fakeout charge, but it’s a life-sized decoy with 150 HP. The decoy can only be sent running forward, but players can right-click to place a stationary marker for the decoy. When the decoy is damaged, it runs toward the enemy that shoots it and explodes, flashing enemies within the blast radius. 

The Gatecrash ability now has two charges and costs 200 credits each. The cooldown charge has been removed and it now refreshes after two kills. Players can fake the Gatecrash by pressing F, which plays the audio and portal visuals of Yoru teleporting. The time it takes to deploy the teleport beacon has also been decreased, and the beacon’s in-game audio while traveling has been reduced. The speed of the beacon has also been increased and a new decal marks the spot of a fake teleport for 30 seconds. 

Finally, Yoru’s Dimensional Drift duration has been increased from eight to 10 seconds, and Yoru is no longer revealed to enemies. The unequip delay time has increased from 0.6 to 1.2 seconds, and Yoru can now use all utility out of his ultimate. Players can hear Yoru’s footsteps within 15 meters of his location, and a new cast delay has been added. 

Icebox also received a substantial rework in Patch 4.04. Every significant area of the B site has been adjusted to change how teams defend and attack the area. The middle lane also received minor changes to make it easier for attackers to push, and the A site was adjusted to give defenders extra help. A full breakdown of the Icebox changes can be found here. 

Ascent also received a minor update. Players will now be able to grab the B orb without jumping to the top box.

The final substantial update in Patch 4.04 is the new “deterministic map system” being tested in LATAM. If there are no issues with the system, Riot Games plans to implement it in all other regions this week. 

The system is designed to “increase the variety of maps that players will encounter” and should prevent players from playing the same map repeatedly. Here are the rules the system will follow:

• The system will look at all maps players have played over the last five maps for that mode.
• The system will remove any maps that a player has played twice in the past five maps.
• The system will pick the least played map.
• If all maps have been removed due to the “Twice Played” rule, those maps will be added back to the pool and the least played map will be picked.

Patch 4.04 also addressed several bugs and glitches. Players can find a full list of these changes in the official patch notes.