ElevateBoost
Valorant
On September 14, 2026, Riot Games used its official Dev Update to reveal the biggest VALORANT patch of the year: 13.06, shipping September 22. It brings a third main rifle — the Warden — a brand new mode, and a full replacement for the Agent Gear system. Below are every announced value, a straight comparison against the Vandal and the Phantom, and what all of it means for your climb. These numbers come from Riot's pre-release reveal and remain provisional until the official patch notes land on September 22.
Patch 13.06 in one minute
Patch 13.06 goes live on September 22, 2026, two days before the Champions Shanghai group stage begins. Riot has already confirmed the Warden will not be enabled for the event, so pros stay on Vandal and Phantom. Ranked is a different story: you can buy it from day one. It is the second new weapon of 2026, after the Bandit sidearm in January.
Warden: the full official stat sheet
Warden sits in the rifle class and lands halfway between a standard assault rifle and the sniper family (Marshal, Outlaw, Operator). Here is everything Riot announced.
- Price — 2900 credits
- Weapon class — Rifle
- Attachments — 2x magnification scope
- Bullets per magazine — 18
- Damage — 200 headshot / 50 body / 42 leg, at all ranges
- Fire rate — 6.5
- Ammo reserve — 36
- Reload timing — 2.5
- Equip timing — 1.0 normal / 0.6 fast / 0.2 instant
- Wall penetration — Medium
- First shot spread — 0.15 hip-fire / 0.04 ADS
The real argument: best-in-class first shot accuracy
This is where the Warden genuinely separates itself. Riot is claiming the best first shot accuracy in the game, both from the hip and while scoped. On a long angle that means your opening bullet lands exactly where your crosshair sits — something that is never fully true on a Vandal.
- Warden — 0.15 hip-fire / 0.04 ADS
- Phantom — 0.2 hip-fire / 0.11 ADS
- Vandal — 0.25 hip-fire / 0.157 ADS
Scoped in, Warden spread is roughly four times tighter than the Vandal. Pair that with 200 headshot damage at every range and you get a rifle that kills a fully shielded player with a single bullet, no matter the distance.
Warden vs Vandal vs Phantom: which one should you buy?
- Warden — 2900 credits, 18 rounds, 6.5 fire rate, 200 headshot at all ranges. Built for holding long angles, taking the opening duel and clean refrags.
- Vandal — 2900 credits, 25 rounds, 9.75 fire rate, 160 headshot at all ranges. The reliable all-rounder.
- Phantom — 2900 credits, 30 rounds, 11 fire rate, 156 headshot from 0 to 15 m, then 140 up to 30 m and 124 beyond. Suppressed, and still king of close range and spray transfers.
The simple rule: if your round comes down to a single long-range duel, Warden is probably the better buy. If you expect to fight two or three enemies back to back on site, an 18-round magazine and a 6.5 fire rate become a real liability — stay on Phantom.
The rest of patch 13.06: Gauntlet: Glitched, Agent Mastery and Champions Shanghai
- Gauntlet: Glitched — a new mode with 16 players split into 8 duos. Each duo drafts abilities from a randomised pool to build a hybrid Robo-Agent, then upgrades it. Glitches alter those abilities in unpredictable ways.
- Agent Mastery — fully replaces Agent Gear. Progression now runs through Act Levels that reset each season plus lifetime levels fed by Mastery Points. Anything you already unlocked stays unlocked.
- Agent Gear — last call: Riot confirmed in the 13.05 notes that each piece will be tied directly to how much you play that specific Agent. Grind out anything you want on Agents you rarely touch before the switch.
- Champions 2026: Shanghai Event Pass — September 24 to October 19, 122,700 XP in total across 6 tiers (Frag or Die: Last Strike and Summit cards, Fragment Shell buddy, Instinctual title, 2 lots of 10 Radianite Points).
- Quality of life — refreshed home screen, improved profiles, and the long-requested ability to enter the Practice Range while you queue.
PS5 and Xbox: what Warden changes on controller
On console, the Warden's 2x scope matters even more than on mouse and keyboard: it partly offsets how slow a stick is on long angles, exactly where the Vandal demands a perfect micro-adjustment. The catch is the margin for error — with 18 rounds and a 6.5 fire rate, a missed first shot rarely gets a second chance. Worth repeating: VALORANT console crossplay is PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only. There is still no crossplay with PC, and rank and MMR stay locked to your platform. Only skins and the Battle Pass carry over through cross-progression.
September 22 reshapes the buy phase for the first time since launch. The players who get ahead of the new meta — and who finish their Agent Gear unlocks before the switch — will start the next stretch of the ladder a step in front. If you want your division locked in before Act 5 ends, the ElevateBoost team runs VALORANT boosting and coaching on PC and console alike. And if you would rather climb yourself, a session focused on crosshair placement with an ElevateBoost coach is the best investment you can make before Warden lands.
