Riot Rolls Out Valorant 12.01 Patch Notes

The Valorant 12.01 update was released on January 20, 2026, by Riot Games, fully emphasizing patch updates related to playing integrity, quality of life, and bug fixes for the upcoming VCT 2026 season. This patch note comes as a follow-through from Valorant 12.00, which involved numerous backend changes.

Effective immediately, all players and accounts marked as Ascendant+ for sharing in the EU region are required to enable Riot Mobile MFA to participate in the competitive queues. This helps prevent cheating and account boosting, and regular queues remain unaffected. The hidden MMR algorithms from the previous patch keep improving the matches to prevent stomping.

With the latest 12.01 update, the Esports Hub is back in 2026 with a focus on providing fans with convenient viewing experiences in-game for the VCT. It comes at a time when the excitement for the VCT Kickoff hype trailer is being shown on January 14th.

Several skill bugs have been eliminated. Harvey’s Harbor and Reckoning finally have 2-second slows applied to them. Gekko’s Dizzy, Phoenix’s Run It Back, and Hot Hands VFX trails, and Sage’s Healing Orb targeting improved for accuracy. Yoru’s Dimensional Drift and Fakeout abilities are now functionally fixed.

No balance changes, new content is here to keep the meta unchanged after those 12.00 buffs hit agents like Sova, Vyse, and more. Make sure to update your clients quickly since queue issues will arise, especially in the EU region.

Valorant 12.01 Patch Notes

ALL PLATFORMS

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

• Starting in 12.01 in EU, accounts detected for sharing and all Ascendant+ players must enable Riot Mobile multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access Competitive queue. Other modes will remain unaffected.
  • You can check out this article for more information on why we’re making this change, or get yourself set up with MFA now using this how-to guide .

ESPORTS FEATURES

• The Esports Hub is back for VCT 2026! Meet the teams on the Path to Champions and follow their journey through the International League Kickoffs.

BUG FIXES

• Agents
  • General
    • Fixed a bug where ability icons would not update if a player was debuffed repeatedly with the same type of debuff by the same agent.
  • Harbor
    • Fixed a bug where Harbor’s Reckoning overworld range indicator was not lining up with the actual ability.
    • Fixed a bug where Harbor’s Cove was missing an ability icon when viewing it on the placement minimap.
  • Fade
    • Fixed a bug where Fade’s Prowler was missing a VFX asset when viewed in Left Handed Mode.
  • Gekko
    • Fixed a rare bug where Gekko’s Dizzy would sometimes aim at detected players incorrectly (and miss).
    • Fixed a bug where Gekko’s globules were sometimes visible on the enemy minimap even when out of sight.
  • Viper
    • Fixed a bug where Viper’s Viper’s Pit was only showing inconsistent VFX when an observer was on freecam within it.
  • Chamber / Veto
    • Fixed a bug where Chamber’s Rendezvous and Veto’s Crosscut indicators would overlap on agents and make them difficult to see.
  • Killjoy
    • Fixed a bug where Killjoy’s neck and hair clip would shift inconsistently while moving with an Odin equipped.
  • Sage
    • Fixed a bug where Sage’s Healing Orb targeting UI was still visible on allies who broke Sage’s line of sight.
  • Phoenix
    • Fixed a bug where Phoenix would remain nearsighted from certain abilities after respawning from Run It Back .
    • Fixed a bug where Phoenix’s Hot Hands VFX trail would sometimes emerge from an inaccurate location when thrown from B Window on Bind.
  • Yoru
    • Fixed a rare bug where Yoru could use and instantly cancel Dimensional Drift by casting Gatecrash right as the buy phase barrier dropped.
    • Fixed a bug where Yoru’s Fakeout clone could be pushed away by Veto’s Chokehold if Chokehold was on an elevated surface.
• Modes
  • All Random One Site
    • Fixed an issue where Agents with continuous Ultimates (e.g. Reyna) drop an Ultimate Orb on death.
    • Fixed a text overrun that could occur in certain localizations on console within the Next Random Agent widget.
    • Fixed a glass breaking audio event on Ascent when A site is out of bounds.
    • Fixed an issue where Loadouts would occasionally reset to default selections.
• Gameplay Systems
  • Fixed an issue where bullet tracers sometimes wouldn’t appear after shooting through a wall.

PC ONLY

BUG FIXES

• Premier
  • Fixed an issue where Premier team tags were sometimes not displayed in the custom game lobby and other social modals.
  • Fixed an issue where long Premier team names and tags were sometimes overlapping.