# VALORANT 2.02 — VALORANT Patch Notes 2.02

- Product: VALORANT (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/valorant)
- Vendor: Riot Games
- Date: 2021-02-02
- Version: 2.02
- Original notes: https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/game-updates/valorant-patch-notes-2-02/
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/valorant/releases/2.02
- Labels: Platforms: Windows, PlayStation, Xbox

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **changed** — Increased running error across rifles (Bulldog, Guardian, Phantom, Vandal) from 3.75 to 5.0
- **changed** — Increased walking error across rifles (Bulldog, Guardian, Phantom, Vandal) from 0.8 to 1.1
- **changed** — Increased crouch-moving error across rifles (Bulldog, Guardian, Phantom, Vandal) from 0.3 to 0.8
- **changed** — Doubled the effectiveness of Rank Rating convergence so players reach their match making rating faster
- **added** — Players Iron through Diamond who perform exceptionally well in a match gain bonus Rank Rating
- **changed** — Changed Diamond 3 to a premade size capped at 2 players
- **changed** — Leaderboard rank now displays on the Career Act Rank tab and is preserved on Act Rank Badges at the end of an Act
- **added** — Added a rate limiter to the in-game weapon store to prevent spam purchasing
- **fixed** — Fixed a bug where players could silently plant the spike
- **fixed** — Fixed an issue where picking up stacked weapons resulted in attempts to pick up both
- **fixed** — Fixed a bug where the Chat Box would remain open in-game
- **fixed** — Fixed a bug where enemy messages appeared in Deathmatch while Mute All Enemies setting was enabled
- **fixed** — Fixed a bug where the queue restriction penalty did not always scale properly for players who queue dodged repeatedly
- **fixed** — Fixed a bug causing the Promotion screen to show for a shorter amount of time than intended
- **fixed** — Fixed a bug showing the wrong Immortal icon in some places
- **fixed** — Fixed various localization issues that made text hard to read in End of Game screen, Lobby, and Match History
- **fixed** — Fixed issue where various abilities did not work inside Brimstone and Jett's smoke even when visible to their target
- **fixed** — Fixed issue with Omen's Shrouded Step targeting causing it to get stuck on corners at a greater distance
- **fixed** — Fixed issue where Skye's Seeker could not find enemies on the zipline platform on B-Site of Split
- **fixed** — Reduced brightness on initial visuals when blinded from flashes

This is the patch where we start to tackle the feeling that running accuracy isn’t where it should be. [As we’ve mentioned](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/dev/ask-valorant-jan-28/), we’re taking this on in increments and are ready to jump in if you’re not comfortable with the changes.
There are also a few shifts to the Competitive system that together should go a long way to getting you to your proper rank faster and stabilize the battle for rank at the top. We recommend you check out our deep dive (there’s some Act II info too!).
WEAPON UPDATES
Rifle Movement Accuracy update (Bulldog/Guardian/Phantom/Vandal)
We've significantly increased the amount of error that all Rifles get when moving and shooting to help combat the sensation of running kills with rifles. These changes will make kills while moving with rifles more rare, especially at longer ranges—but still possible up close. We'll be monitoring this closely and will continue to fine-tune as necessary.
- Running Error across rifles increased 3.75 >>> 5.0
- Walking Error across rifles increased .8 >>> 1.1
- Crouch-moving Error across rifles increased .3 >>> .8
COMPETITIVE UPDATES
[Editor’s Note: [Please read our full 2.02 Competitive changes rundown, which also goes into what’s next for Episode 2](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/game-updates/competitive-changes-2-02-and-what-s-next/)]
- Increased the effectiveness of Rank Rating convergence: players will now converge to their match making rating (MMR) faster, requiring less games to prove their rank
- This will make it so players get to the rank they deserve in fewer matches.
- This will help everyone get to a rank/Leaderboard Rank that best illustrates their skill more quickly. We wanted to be a little conservative launching the new ranked system, but believe in some cases you were having to play too many games to reach your intended rank. By doubling the effectiveness of convergence, players on the extreme ends might see 40+ Ranked Rating gains, pushing them to their proper rank faster.
- Players Iron through Diamond who perform exceptionally well in a match (weighed against their own average performance) will gain bonus Rank Rating
- We want to reward players that “pop-off” in a match, performing above expectations.
- This will help highlight those matches where you “outclassed” your average performance. In turn, you will rank up just a little faster, and be rewarded for games where you kill it. Remember, this is you doing better than your average, not you doing better than your teammates or opponents.
- Consider this another system that helps combat the smurfs who do real well in a game. They will now more quickly rank up so that their rank better reflects their skill (along with getting put into higher skilled matches).
- Changed Diamond 3 to a premade size capped at 2 players
- We needed “proving grounds” before getting into Immortal, and this should prepare players for the leaderboard and create a 5-stack buffer before Immortal.
- While we value and want to support those of you able to play and compete with your friends as much as possible, we also want to ensure there is a high degree of trust and competitive integrity for players who make it onto the Leaderboard.
- We want to maintain the prestige of Immortal+, and believe we need a small buffer to ensure players are proving their skill before getting into Immortal. This will prevent 5-stacking just before Immortal, and prepare Diamond 3 players for what they are about to get into. Diamond 3 will essentially become the final proving grounds for Immortal+.
- Your current leaderboard rank will now display on your Career: Act Rank tab. At the end of an Act, your final leaderboard rank will be preserved and displayed on the Act Rank Badge you earned.
MODE UPDATES
- Added a rate limiter to the in-game weapon store to keep players from spamming purchases in quick succession, which caused a potential performance issue
- The rate limiting is lenient in most modes

_[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/game-updates/valorant-patch-notes-2-02/]_