July 16, 2024 Despite originally saying that Escalation would be out of action until update 9.03, Riot has announced it has fixed the bug already and Escalation will not be disabled.
A shiny new set of Valorant patch notes have just dropped, and while there isn't much for PC players to write home about when it comes to balance changes, one of the tactical shooter's casual modes is getting temporarily removed. Due to an unspecified bug, Escalation will be disabled until at least two patches time.
We know that it's the round-based thrills of FPS game's coolest casual modes. For the most part, it's a traditional Deathmatch, but instead of choosing your own loadout, you and your team will progress through 12 levels which each reward you with a different weapon. The first team to clear all 12 levels is the winner. I'm not aware of any Escalation die-hards out there, so I doubt the news that it's going away for a while will be too traumatic. However, it is rather strange.
Between now (Valorant patch 9.01) and patch 9.03, Escalation won't be playable in the multiplayer game as Riot gets to work fixing a bug. It doesn't say exactly what the issue is, and from what I can find there aren't any reports from players complaining about a specific problem. Whatever Riot has found though is clearly big or important enough that it requires a decent amount of time to fix it.
Elsewhere in patch 9.01, there are some small but welcome bug fixes, including one that now prevents Neon from equipping faster than she should be after sliding. The new Valorant map Abyss has also had a bit of a tidy up, with Riot addressing bugs involving the placement of Cypher Spycams, Viper's ultimate ability, and more.
For all you Valorant esports fans, there's good news in this patch as well. Pick 'Ems is coming to Valorant Champions 2024, and there'll be in-client for it to allow you to select your predictions for each match. Right now, Pick 'Ems will be in beta, but Riot says that more details are on the way later this month.
So that's what's going down in update 9.01. As always, to keep checking back for more Valorant crosshair codes or pinching one off one of the game's top players to see if it'll sharpen up your aim.
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