Valorant patch 13.09 releases Hush, nerfs Clove and buffs Warden

Riot Games has released Valorant's 13.09 update, making the new telekinetic Duelist Hush fully playable and implementing balance changes for Clove and the Warden rifle.

The patch, which began rolling out on October 27, also introduces a major overhaul of ability descriptions and new official terminology for in-game buffs.

Hush, who hails from Guangdong, China, becomes the game's ninth Duelist.

"Because she is the first agent released since the Performance Score launched, Riot noted that scoring on Hush might be a bit bumpy for the first few days as the system tunes what constitutes 'good utility use'," the developer said.

Riot Games has issued two nerfs to Clove to standardize their kit with the rest of the agent roster.

The movement speed bonus from Clove's Pick-me-up ability has been decreased from 15% to 10%.

Additionally, killing Clove after they cast Not Dead Yet now grants the killer an ultimate point and a signature refresh point.

The Warden rifle has received handling improvements intended to make it feel more controllable and justify its 2,900 credit price.

Riot said the recoil for the first few bullets has been "smoothed out" and the spread on subsequent bullets has been reduced.

Patch 13.09 categorizes specific status effects with new official terms for clarity.

The "Haste" tag now refers to increased movement speed buffs, separate from Combat Stim buffs which affect fire rate and other stats.

This tag appears on abilities including Brimstone's Stim Beacon, Clove's Pick-me-up, Miks' Harmonize, Neon's High Gear and Overdrive, and Waylay's Convergent Paths.

The "Snapshot" term is now the official name for the still-image silhouette reveal debuff, such as from Cypher's Neural Theft or Spycam.

Riot has rewritten every ability description in the game for consistency, with passive descriptions now appearing in more places like Agent Select and the Agent Hub.

Ability tooltips have been redesigned to show an agent's role and keybinds at a glance and appear during relevant moments like testing in the Range.

For consistency, Jett's passive ability has been removed from the Buy Menu to match other non-purchasable passives.

Clove's old Pick-me-up timer bar has also been removed to avoid duplicating the new Haste timer.

Several competitive and quality-of-life updates are included.

PC players now get hover text for trades on the scoreboard and a new "learn more" screen explaining Performance Score.

Map Rating now weighs a player's best match of the Act more heavily, and the threshold for earning the First Blood Accolade has been raised.

Players in Korea can now purchase Radianite Points directly in-game.

The patch also includes a large batch of bug fixes addressing ability interactions, visual and audio issues, and minimap information.

Redington Cybersport reported in October that Hush would join the roster on October 27.

The update is live in North America, Brazil, and LATM, with Europe and the rest of the world following on October 28.