New agent and tempting skins: Episode 10, Act 1 of Valorant starts on January 8, 2025 and, new initiator Tejo, brings exciting abilities that revolutionise tactical gameplay.
Skins remain an integral part of tactical FPS games like Valorant and Counter-Strike, not only as a key revenue source for developers but also as a beloved feature for players.
Episode (Season) 10, Act 1, officially drops on January 8, 2025, and promises more than just new skins.
Along with the tempting cosmetic upgrades, players can look forward to the introduction of a brand-new agent, adding fresh dynamics to the gameplay.
This patch should please everyone, and also offers some other small but nice improvements.
Introducing Initiator Tejo
An initiator and ballistics expert, the Columbian Tejo brings a versatile arsenal to the team:
His Stealth Drone tags enemies within a certain radius, and his Special Delivery ability stuns or blinds all tagged enemies.
Tejo drops a transmitter that flashes in a similarly large radius and sticks to walls, reminiscent of Neon Flash.
But that's not the last ability that's... shall we say, inspired by existing agents.
TEJO ABILITIES/GAMEPLAY | #VALORANT pic.twitter.com/5kt7By0cYM
— Valorant Updates (@ValorantUpdated) January 6, 2025
His E-ability is similar to Kayo's Molly, but like Brimstone's Smokes, it allows you to pinpoint the target's location on the map.
An advantage when luring hidden enemies out of hiding.
Tejo's Ultimate can truly be called an Ultimate, as it combines Breach's Thor's Hammer and Brimstone's Air Strike.
It marks an area on the map and then unleashes an area-wide attack, dealing significant damage to all enemies in that area.
Ideal for reclaiming bomb sites or creating spaces and launching attacks.
The new EX.O Skin Bundle
Whether Kuronami, Prelude to Chaos, Arcane or Singularity skins - the shop offers hundreds of weapon skins that have it all.
With special designs, effects and animations, they almost make you feel like you can play better with them. For many in the community, this is no myth.
EX.O Vandal All Variants // #VALORANT pic.twitter.com/4el2cpUnP1
— VALORANT Leaks & News (@VALORANTLeaksEN) January 6, 2025
On January 8, the most popular sets will be joined by the EX. O bundle, which features a neon katana as a knife weapon and is already causing a stir on social media.
In addition to the exotic katana, the bundle also includes Vandal, Outlaw, Spectre and Sheriff skins, which can be unlocked in 4 different colours.
All skins are designed in an electric neon style, reminiscent of a futuristic sci-fi world.
EX.O Edge All Variants // #VALORANT pic.twitter.com/LZ1sJRZGSg
— VALORANT Leaks & News (@VALORANTLeaksEN) January 6, 2025
The final price will be announced at launch, but as with the last skin packs, it will probably be around 8,700 VP, which is around 80 bucks.
The Katana alone will cost around 50 bucks.
Further changes
Riot Games has discontinued episodes as of 2025. Previously, two episodes were released each year, divided into three acts.
At the end of each episode, and thus the competitive season, the rankings were reset.
In the future, the episodes will be called seasons and there will be an annual season calendar. The 6-act structure will remain, as will the six-monthly rank resets.
In addition, the familiar Fracture and Lotus maps will be back in the ranked and deathmatch games.
However, Ascent and Sunset will no longer be available - but don't worry, they should be back soon, as from patch 10.00 the maps will rotate by act instead of episode.
Other updates include the explosion abilities of Raze, Sova and Gekko, which will no longer collide with level geometry and will deal damage more reliably.
Patch 10.00 // Brimstone Change // #VALORANT Stim Beacon Equip time after casting adjusted from Normal >>> Fast pic.twitter.com/dyNI2F8aoh
— VALORANT Leaks & News (@VALORANTLeaksEN) January 7, 2025
Brimstone's stim pack has been slightly reworked, minor bugs have been fixed for Clove, Skye and Phoenix, and new FLEX cosmetics have been added to enhance your graffiti.
All in all, the new Season 1, Act 1 offers an exciting new initiator and impressive skins, as well as practical gameplay tweaks and bug fixes.
Do you think the skins are worth the price? Let us know what you think in the comments!
