Valorant Kicks Off Episode 2, Act III Today With A New Tropical Island Map

The weather is heating up, both in the real world and in Valorant, where Riot Games introduced a new tropical-themed map today in Patch 2.08. It's called Breeze and is set amidst a lush and beautiful Caribbean island paradise that has everything a vacationer would want: sandy beaches, picturesque ruins, and long sight lines. Well, it's got everything a vacationer with a sniper rifle would want.

The new map comes with a Breeze-only Unrated queue for two weeks so players can get acclimated to the map without affecting their rankings. You can also play Breeze in Deathmatch, Spike Rush, Escalation, and Custom games.

Today's patch update also brings the start of Episode 2, Act III, which naturally means a new Battlepass with loot such as the Lightwave Frenzy skin, Bloodline Player Card, and Lucky Rabbit Gun Buddy. You'll have until the end of this Act, the final one in Episode 2, to earn your Ranked Gun Buddy.

Other changes coming today include Coach slots in Tournament Mode Custom Games, which Riot said is just the first step in its plans to "expand the capabilities available to coaches during a match," weapon drop sounds in HRTF, and various bug fixes. And, in a bit of cross-promotional voodoo, players in League of Legends: Wild Rift will now appear on your social panel.

Learn more about Update 2.08 from both its blog post and its patch notes on the Valorant site.