VALORANT Patch 13.06 releases on September 22, 2026, and it is one of the biggest VALORANT updates of the year. Riot is adding the Warden rifle, the experimental Gauntlet: Glitched mode and a complete Agent Mastery progression overhaul, alongside profile improvements, a refreshed home screen and the long-requested ability to enter the Practice Range while matchmaking.
VALORANT Patch 13.06 release date
VALORANT Patch 13.06 is scheduled for September 22, just before Champions Shanghai begins on September 24. Riot announced the date ahead of the full reveal when Patch 13.05 warned players that the Agent Gear system would change with 13.06.
The patch is deliberately large, but Riot is keeping the new Warden out of Champions Shanghai. That avoids dropping a brand-new premium rifle into professional play only two days before the biggest VALORANT event of the year.
The new Warden rifle
The most immediate gameplay addition in VALORANT Patch 13.06 is the Warden, a 2,900-credit automatic rifle competing directly with the Vandal and Phantom. It has a 2x scope, an 18-round magazine and unusually strong first-shot accuracy for long sightlines.
It deals 200 damage to the head, 50 to the body and 42 to the legs at all ranges. Our VALORANT Warden Rifle guide has the full stat table and comparison with the existing rifles.
Gauntlet: Glitched ability-draft mode
VALORANT Patch 13.06 also adds Gauntlet: Glitched, a 16-player mode built around eight teams of two. Rather than selecting a normal Agent kit, players build hybrid Robo-Agents from randomized abilities and improve those powers as the run progresses.
The short tournament is designed to last around 8 to 15 minutes. Abilities can reach higher levels and gain deliberately absurd effects, while Glitches alter familiar powers in ways that would never make sense in standard Competitive play. Our Gauntlet: Glitched guide breaks down the format.
Agent Mastery replaces Agent Gear progression
The progression side of VALORANT Patch 13.06 is just as substantial. Agent Mastery ties progress to the Agent you actually play, awarding Mastery Points and feeding both permanent lifetime levels and Act levels that reset each Act.
Players can customize new Agent IDs with backgrounds, poses, frames, quotes and stat trackers. Existing Agent Gear rewards remain owned, while still-locked gear moves into the new progression structure. Our Agent Mastery guide explains the rewards in detail.
Practice Range while matchmaking
One of the smallest-looking VALORANT Patch 13.06 changes may end up being one of the most popular: players can enter the Practice Range while waiting in the matchmaking queue. That means queue time can finally be used to warm up aim rather than sitting on the client home screen.
October 14 update: Practice Range while matchmaking is temporarily disabled as of Patch 13.08. Riot found that entering the Range while queued could leave some players stuck in a broken matchmaking state. The September 13.06 addition described above is therefore no longer available at the moment.
If you cannot enter the Practice Range while waiting for a match, you are not missing an account unlock and reinstalling VALORANT will not restore the disabled feature. Riot says it is testing a fix, but has not confirmed a return date. You can still use the normal Practice Range outside matchmaking while waiting for Riot to re-enable Range in Queue.
This change comes from Riot’s official Patch 13.08 notes. The rest of this article still covers the features introduced with VALORANT Patch 13.06; the temporary restriction was announced later.
Riot is also refreshing the home screen, giving the client a cleaner presentation around the same update.
Competitive profiles and 2027 rewards
VALORANT Patch 13.06 improves how competitive progress and achievements are shown in the client. Riot has also revealed a new Competitive Flex that evolves through the year based on ranked achievements, but that reward begins with the 2027 season rather than being an immediate September 22 reward.
Keeping that distinction clear matters: the profile and Competitive presentation changes arrive with the patch, while the evolving Flex belongs to next year’s ranked reward structure.
Console expansion and the next Agent
Console VALORANT expands to Australia and New Zealand around VALORANT Patch 13.06. Riot also teased that another Agent is planned for after Champions, but the new character is not part of the September 22 patch itself.
That leaves 13.06 with plenty on its own: a new weapon choice, an entirely different mode, a rebuilt Agent progression system and several useful client improvements. Riot’s official Patch 13.05 notes confirm the September 22 transition date ahead of the launch.
The September 22 timing also makes this a patch worth preparing for rather than treating as a routine balance download. VALORANT Patch 13.06 changes what players can buy, how they can spend a short casual session and what long-term Agent progression looks like, all at once. The Warden will need real match testing before anyone can call it meta, while Gauntlet and Mastery are systems that should become clearer after players have had a few days with the live build. That is a much broader impact than a normal numerical tuning patch.
