KAY/O is on the way; Valorant Episode 3 Act 1 is almost fully here

Episode 3 Act 1 is just about here and we've got everything you need to know as we head into the new update. There's a new Agent, the YR1 Event Pass is out now, and there are changes to almost everything.

It's a big update and it marks the start of another huge year for Valorant.

LATEST - NA Servers Have Been Updated

For some reason, Riot Games has opted for a staggered update pattern when tackling Valorant Episode 3 Act 1. It looks like the NA servers were the first to get the update, following a short downtime, but EU servers are still waiting.

There's no word on when the EU servers are going to get the update, but it should be at some point today. If we use the NA server update as guidance, we could be looking at the EU servers going down at around 14:00 BST / 15:00 CEST on June 23rd.

KAY/O Is The New Agent Joining The Roster

Earlier in the week, Valorant revealed KAY/O as the next Agent to join the game's roster of characters. He's an Initiator by trade with suppressive abilities that should make him a bit of trouble for the opposing team.

You can check out his Agent Reveal Trailer below, which shows us a little bit of gameplay alongside cinematic sequences:

Following this, here's a run-down of his Agent Abilities so you know what to expect going into things:

• E - ZERO/POINT
  • Equip a "Suppression Blade" that sticks to surfaces, then suppresses anyone inside the radius of its explosion;
• Q - FLASH/DRIVE
  • Equip a Flash Grenade that blinds anyone in the line of sight of its explosion;
    • Right-Click Throw charges the Flash Grenade, offering a 1s cooking time as opposed to the standard 1.6s

• C - FRAG/MENT
  • Equip an "Explosive Fragment" that sticks to the floor and explodes in a cluster effect.
• X - NULL/CMD
  • Overload KAY/O with polarized Radianite energy that empowers him and causes suppressive energy pulses to emit from his location;
    • KAY/O gains a Combat Stim while Overloaded;
    • KAY/O can be revived if he goes down while Overloaded;

There's A New Battle Pass

Of course, there's a new Battle Pass. Of course, there's still no word on Agent Skins. It's as if nothing has changed between Episode 2 and Episode 3, in a way.

Still, there's quite a lot on offer from the Episode 3 Act 1 Battle Pass and we have a quick run-through of what's been leaked regarding that below:

Weapon Skins

New Playercards

More Gunbuddy Charms

Finally, More Sprays!

Early Patch Notes Reveal Huge Changes

Riot Games is changing up Valorant's Buy Phase in a pretty big way. Firstly, there's a whole host of Weapon Price changes being introduced in Episode 3 Act 1.

• Sidearms
  • Shorty - 150 Points
  • Frenzy - 450 Points
  • Ghost - 500 Points
  • Sheriff - 800 Points
• SMGs
  • Stinger - 950 Points
  • Spectre - 1,600 Points
• Shotguns
  • Bucky - 850 Points
  • Judge - 1,850 Points
• Rifles
  • Bulldog - 2,050 Points
  • Guardian - 2,250 Points
  • Phantom - 2,900 Points
  • Vandal - 2,900 Points
• Sniper Rifles
  • Marshall - 950 Points
  • Operator - 4,700 Points
• Machine Guns
  • Ares - 1,550 Points
  • Odin - 3,200 Points
• Armor
  • Light Shields - 400 Points
  • Heavy Shields - 1,000 Points

Secondly, there's going to be quite a few changes to the Agent Ability prices. Below, we have the Agent-specific changes being made...

• Astra
  • Astral Stars are now 150 Points
  • Astra starts with only one free star
• Breach
  • Aftershock now costs 200 Points
  • Flashpoint now costs 250 Points
  • Flashpoint has 2 charges
• Brimstone
  • Incendiary now costs 250 Points
• Cypher
  • Neural Theft now requires eight Ult points
• Jett
  • Cloudburst now costs 200 Points
  • Updraft now costs 150 Points
  • Blade Storm requires seven Ult points
• Omen
  • Shrouded Step now costs 150 Points
  • Paranoia now costs 300 Points
• Phoenix
  • Curveball now costs 150 Points
• Reyna
  • Leer now costs 250 Points
• Raze
  • Boombot costs 400 Points
  • Showstopper now needs eight Ult points
• Sage
  • Slow Orb now costs 200 Points
  • Resurrection now requires eight Ult points
• Skye
  • Trailblazer now costs 200 Points
  • Guiding Light costs 150 Points
  • Guiding Light now has two chargers
  • Guiding Light flashes now regenerate after 40s
• Sova
  • Owl Drone now costs 400 Points
  • Shock Bolt now costs 150 Points
  • Hunter’s Fury now requires eight Ult points
• Viper
  • Snake Bites cost 200 Points
• Yoru
  • Blindside now costs 250 Points

Act 1 Release Date & Duration

The next update for Valorant is due to arrive on June 22nd. At the moment, though, we still don't have any confirmation on the specific time Riot Games are going to implement the update.

That being said, we're expecting the update to drop between 10:00 PST / 13:00 EST / 18:00 BST and 13:00 PST / 16:00 EST / 21:00 BST. Valorant has been known to update with smaller updates a little earlier than "Act Change" updates like the one today.

Episode 3 Act 1 is going to follow the standard duration of a Valorant season and is expected to conclude on August 24th.