Unlike Season 21, the new chapter of Apex Legends will bring a truckload of changes. Apart from the fact that we are getting a new Battle Royale map, E-District, we are also getting some major balance changes.

There’s a lot more to learn. Here are the complete patch notes of Apex Legends “Shockwave” Season 22.

Season 22 Patch Notes

Balance Update

Care Package

• EVA-8 returns to the floor
  • Blast pattern size slightly increased
  • Damage increased to 7 (was 6)
  • Fire rate decreased
  • Now takes Boosted Loader Hop-Up
    • 4 shots remaining activation
    • Quick reload overflows Magazine by 2
  • Slight increase in recoil
• R-99 enters the Care Package
  • ADS strafe speed increased
  • Improved recoil
  • New Feature: Damage fall-off
    • Damage increased to 14 at close range
    • Damage falls off to 10 at 11+ meters
  • No movement penalty when equipped
• EVO Cache Spawn Rate in the first wave increased to 100% (was 50%)

Gold Weapon Rotation

• Mozambique Akimbo, P2020 Akimbo, R-301, Rampage, Sentinel

Gameplay Update

Aim Assist

• Console crossplay into PC lobbies: Aim Assist strength reduced by 18%
• Console performance mode crossplay into PC lobbies: Aim Assist strength reduced by 22%
• Controller on PC: Aim Assist strength reduced by 25%

Aim Flinch

• Aim Flinch has been removed from all weapons & most abilities
• Damage from the ring still incurs Aim Flinch

Loot Bin Reset

Starting with Shockwave, all loot bins will close and reroll their loot with a significantly increased chance at the high tier and rare loot at the mid-way point of the match.

• Bins that have been rerolled will appear slightly differently than ones that have never been opened
• After the reset, multiple bins will convert into Legendary loot bins that provide smart loot, guaranteeing that the contents to be relevant upgrades for a squad

Mythic Bin

• One Mythic bin will spawn into the match with:
  • One random Care Package weapon
  • Gold version weapons of those that the squad is running at the time of opening the bin
  • Medical supplies and grenades
  • Large XP bonus to the squad
• Mythic bins are locked and require players to interact on them for a significant amount of time to crack them open for their team
• Displayed on the map and minimal

Loot Pool

• Reduce the spawn rate of Purple and Gold attachments by about 50%

Reorganization: Death Boxes and Loba’s Black Market

• Healing items now have a dedicated row and have been removed from the consumables category
• Shield Cores have been moved to the top of the Gear category

Traversal

• Mantling at the same time in the same spot as a teammate no longer forces both players to drop

Battle Sense

Better Ammo Awareness & Feedback

• Critical Ammo state will now kick on when a player has 0 relevant ammo in their inventory
• On-screen Low Ammo indicators kick on earlier, allowing players more opportunity to find ammo
  •  The indicator also now displays the icon of the ammo type
• Pinging for ammo will now display the ammo icon in the kill feed
• When emptying a weapon of all reserve ammo, it will now automatically ping that the player is in need of ammo 
• When looking at ammo on the ground, the tooltip now displays compatibility with any of your currently equipped weapons

Enemy Health Bars

When damaging an enemy, players are now shown the enemy’s Armor and Health state. This Health Bar is only active for a brief time after dealing damage and then fades away. Health Bars, like Enemy Highlights, require direct line of sight.

Enemy Highlight

Enemy players will now be highlighted with a red outline, similar to how allies are highlighted with a blue one. The highlight is most prominent at close ranges and the intensity fades as targets get farther away. Enemy Highlights require a direct line of sight (you can breathe now, Bangalore mains).

Both Enemy Health Bars and Enemy Highlights can be toggled on/off in Settings.

Ammo and Attachments

Ammo Spawn rates

• Energy ammo: reduced individual spawn rate
• Light & Heavy ammo: slight increase to individual spawn rate
• Shotgun & Sniper ammo: increased individual spawn rate

Ammo Stack Changes

• Light ammo stack size increased to 72 (was 60)
  • Individual brick size increased to 24 (was 20)
• Energy ammo stack size decreased to 54 (was 60)
  • Individual brick size decreased to 18 (was 20)
• Shotgun ammo stack size increased to 20 (was 16)
  • Individual brick size increased to 10 (was 8)

Dev Note: Light ammo weapons have been overshadowed by our Heavy and Energy arsenal the last few seasons. With this set of changes we’re hoping the ammo economy for Light will improve their viability and earn back a place in player’s loadouts. 

Hop-ups

• Disruptor Rounds removed from floor loot
• New Hop-Up: Gun Shield Generator
  • Usable by all LMGs (Spitfire, Rampage, L-STAR, Devotion)
  • When aiming down sights automatically deploy a frontal Gun Shield
  • Gun Shield absorbs 40 damage
  • Gun Shield is recharged 12 seconds after taking damage or breaking
  • Improves Gibraltar’s Gun Shield
    • Gun Shield health increased to 75
    • Gun Shield recharge time remains the same as his passive

Weapons

Akimbo

Dual wield two P2020s or two Mozambiques this season by finding and interacting with a second P2020 or Mozambique to automatically enter Akimbo mode. 

• Aiming tightens hip-fire spread instead of looking down sights
• Attachments are mirrored to the second weapon
• Both P2020 and Mozambique are automatic in Akimbo
• Increased rate of fire 
• Longer reload times
• Magazine size is doubled 
• Optics are disabled while in Akimbo
• Toggle select fire to holster your second weapon and re-enable your optic. 

LMGs

• All LMGs now benefit from the Reverse Hipfire mechanic found on the Care Package Devotion
• New Hop-Up: Gun Shield Generator (see Hop-Ups section above)

Alternator

• Magazine size changes
  • Base: 19 (unchanged)
  • White: 23 (was 22)
  • Blue: 26 (was 25)
  • Purple/Gold: 28 (was 27)

CAR

• Magazine size changes
  • Base: 19 (unchanged)
  • White: 22 (was 21)
  • Blue: 24 (was 23)
  • Purple/Gold: 27 (was 26)

Devotion (Care Package)

• Empty reload speed decreased
• Gun Shield Generator added
• Reverse hip fire improved; shots needed for max hip fire reduced to 14 (was 21)

Flatline

• Magazine size changes
  • Base: 19 (was 20)
  • White: 23 (was 25)
  • Blue: 27 (was 28)
  • Purple/Gold: 29 (was 30)

Havoc

• Hipfire accuracy significantly reduced

Hemlok

• Burst Delay slightly increased
• Damage reduced to 19 (was 20)
• Magazine Size Reduction
  • Base: 18 (unchanged)
  • White: 21 (was 24)
  • Blue: 24 (was 27)
  • Purple/Gold: 30 (unchanged)

P2020 (Single)

• Damage increased to 21 (was 18)
• Hammer Point damage decreased to 23 (was 27)
• Magazine size changes
  • Base: 10 (was 14)
  • White: 11 (was 16)
  • Blue: 12 (was 18)
  • Purple/Gold: 14 (was 21)

Mozambique (Single)

• Hammer Point Damage for a full blast reduced to 54 (was 60)
• The rate of fire significantly increased
• Shotgun Bolt rate of fire multiplier decreased at all levels

Mastiff

• Damage increased to 15 (was 11)
• Pellet count reduced to 6 (was 8)

Old	New

Peacekeeper

• Damage increased per pellet to 11 (was 9)
• Pellet count reduced to 9 (was 11)
• Blast pattern shape changed

Old	New

R-301

• Magazine size changes
  • Base: 21(was 18)
  • White: 23 (was 20)
  • Blue 28: (was 25)
  • Purple/Gold: 31 (was 28)

RE-45

• Magazine size changes
  • Base: 18 (was 16)
  • White: 20 (was 19)
  • Blue: 23 (was 22)
  • Purple/Gold: 26 (was 25)

Rampage

• Increase projectile size while Revved Up

Legends

New Class Perks + Adjustments

• Controller Legends
  • Class Perk – Zone Overcharge: extra shield capacity when playing in the zone (see above)
  • QoL – Remote Pick-Up: remotely pick up their undamaged Tacticals by looking back at them and pressing a button (see above)
• Recon Legends
  • Class Perk – Threat Vision: gain threat vision when aiming down sights (see above)
  • Survey Beacons: multiple updates (see above)

Alter

• Void Nexus
  • Channel time when knocked decreased to 2s (was 3s)
  • Chase portal duration decreased 8s (was 10s)
  • Chase portal opening delay increased to 8s (was 6s) 
  • Increased travel speed to void nexus by about 40% (was 1800) 
  • Ult cooldown reduced to 3 min (was 3.5m)
  • When knocked, you can travel to a friendly Void Nexus without looking at it by pressing character action (H key/D-pad down)

• Removed option to press character action to destroy your own Void Nexus (H key/D-pad down)

• Upgrades: Level 2
  • Ult Cooldown: removed ( Level 2 )
  • NEW Ringmaster: gain access to Ring Consoles

Ballistic

• Whistler: lock-on time decreased to 0.1s (was 0.3s)

Crypto

• Surveillance Drone: cooldown decreased to 30s (was 40s)
• Upgrades
  • NEW: It’s called Off the Grid: Crypto becomes cloaked when in a drone
    • While hidden from sight, Crypto’s cloaking will still emit a close-range cloaking sound to sus his location, and ability scans will still reveal his location
    • Threat Vision-related skills will not reveal Crypto
  • Improved Satellite Imagery: Ult now scans anyone it hits for 4s and will track through walls
  • Quick Ping: removed, improved handling now integrated into the base kit

Lifeline

• Upgrade – Gold-Plated: replaced Gold EVO Cache with Battery

Rampart

• Sheila
  • Ammo drains from pip charge with us
  • The maximum number of place turrets allowed is now 1
  • Need 1 PIP of Ultimate change to draw or place Sheila
  • No longer requires a full charge to equip
  • Now uses an Ammo-Style Ultimate model

Seer

• The focus of Attention: Health persists for the duration of Silence
• Heartbeat Sensor
  • Passive move speed has been increased to weapon sprint speed
  • Passive is now quieter when active
• Upgrades
  • Focus Scan: removed
  • NEW Split Focus: gain an additional Tac charge

Vantage

• Echo Relocation: no longer requires LOS to Echo to launch
  • Can launch when LOS is blocked
  • Can now cancel the tac mid-charge
  • Tac reticle will turn red when the echo is behind you and you are launching
  • Will slide-around boxes and geometry as best it can reach Echo
• Sniper’s Mark
  • 2nd Shot Multiplier is now 2.5x (was 2x)
  • Can hit “Reload” when in Ult to use an Ult Accel
• Spotter’s Lens
  • NEW Ranged Tracking
    • Waypoint on PING within Passive range will track the enemy for 10s
    • Will not show within 100m (for each ally individually)
  • Recon Info
    • added to all optics
    • expanded passive scanning screen area to be more consistent
• Upgrade – Ult Reload: now also doubles Ult Accel use speed in addition to providing 2 extra bullets

Wattson

• Upgrades
  • Power Pylon: now regenerates shield charge
  • Split Current: removed
  • Emergency Power – Added
    • Increases Shield Regen Rate of Interception Pylon

Maps

• Pubs & Ranked Rotation
  • Broken Moon
  • E-District
  • Stormpoint
• NEW E-District
  • Urban island district of the city of Suotamo on Gaea
  • Features 17 POIs
  • Designed for verticality with areas perfect for CQC
  • Exclusive map at launch
    • Pubs: for the first week after launch, August 6-12
    • Ranked: for the first 72 hours after launch, August 6-9

Modes

Bot Royale

• New mode for Apex’s new and learning players
• Battle as a squad against a smaller lobby of enemy bot squads in a quicker version of a standard battle royale match
• Game rules are the same as in standard battle royale modes
• Play with Bots in your squad, or bring your own Human friends
• Bot Legends: overhauled as part of Bot Royale
  • Improvements made to pathfinding, shooting, ability deployment, and interactions with game objects
  • Several Legends were added as Bots in Bot Royale including Bangalore, Bloodhound, Conduit, Fuse, Gibraltar, Lifeline, Octane, Seer, Vantage, and Wraith

Revival: LTM ft. New Respawn Mechanic

• Respawn into a skydive near your teammates as long as one teammate is still alive
• If all players die, the team is eliminated
• Respawn Timers:
  • Respawn timers increase with each passing round
  • Respawn timers for your squad increase each time a squadmate dies
  • Respawn timers decrease when squad members:
    • Deal damage
    • Earn knockdowns
    • Earn kills
    • Execute enemies
• Killing an enemy will reveal their squadmates for a brief time
• Players start with blue knockdown shields (knockdown shields removed from the loot pool)
• Respawning ends, and all deaths are final upon reaching a specific round
  • Trios Revival: Respawning ends at Round 5
  • Straight Shot Revival: Respawning ends at Round 4

Straight Shot Revival (Starts August 20, 2024)

• Straight Shot returns as Straight Shot Revival
• Features new respawn mechanic found in Trios Revival
• Akimbo P2020 and Mozambique replace the single versions in loot
• Enemy Highlight and Enemy Health Bars are enabled
• Purple and gold tier LMGs will include the new Gun Shield Generator hop-up

Mixtape

• Akimbo weapons added into all Mixtape Loadouts and Gun Run
  • R99 moves out of all loadouts, replaced with akimbo weapon variants
• Mixtape Map Rotations
  • August 6-12, 2024
    • TDM: Skull Town, Habitat
    • Control: Thunderdome, Production Yard
    • Gun Run: The Core, Monument
  • August 13-19, 2024
    • Control: Barometer, Lava Siphon
    • Gun Run: Fragment, Skull Town
    • Lockdown: Zeus Station, Thunderdome
  • August 20-26, 2024
    • TDM: Habitat, The Core
    • Control: Barometer, Lava Siphon
    • Gun Run: Fragment, Skull Town
  • August 27-September 2, 2024
    • TDM: Habitat, Skull Town
    • Control: Production Yard, Thunderdome
    • Gun Run: The Core, Wattson
  • September 3-9, 2024
    • TDM: Habitat, The Core
    • Control: Barometer, Lava Siphon
    • Gun Run: Fragment, Skull Town
  • September 10-16, 2024
    • TDM: Skull Town, Zeus Station
    • Control: Production Yard, Thunderdome
    • Gun Run: The Core, Wattson
• LTM: Akimbo & LMG Only Loadouts
  • August 13-19, 2024
    • TDM: Habitat, Skull Town, The Core, Zeus Station
  • August 30-September 3, 2024
    • Weekend of Lockdown
    • Gameplay Rules: decreased Ult charge while capturing points
    • Zeus Station, Monument, Skull Town, The Core, Thunderdome
  • September 3-9, 2024
    • Big TDM
    • Gameplay Rules
      • 15 Minute Time Limit
      • Score limit increased to 75
      • Shield Regen activates on kills
    • Thunderdome, Habitat, Zeus Station, Skull Town, Fragment, The Core

New Player Experience

Welcome Pass and Challenges

• For new accounts created after the launch of Shockwave
• Complete Welcome Challenges to progress through the Welcome Pass
  • Challenges can be completed in any BR mode, and Bot Royale
  • A unique set of challenges designed around foundational skills
  • Welcome Challenges do not refresh
• Receive rewards for reaching each level of the Welcome Pass
  • If the player already has the reward in their inventory, they will receive the Crafting Metals value instead
• Start with three Legends: Wraith, Bloodhound and Lifeline
  • Unlock Bloodhound, Pathfinder, Gibraltar, and a Legend of their choice through progression

Ranked

We will implement a brand new reset rule at the start of the new season.

• New Season Reset Rules
  • No RP reset for Rookie IV to Rookie I; players will keep the RP they have from the last split
  • Bronze IV to Platinum IV will reset to Bronze IV 1000 RP
  • Platinum III reset to Bronze III 1500 RP
  • Platinum II reset to Bronze II 2000 RP
  • Platinum I reset to Bronze I 2500 RP
  • Diamond IV reset to Silver IV 3250 RP (with +250 demotion protection)
  • Diamond III reset to Silver III 3600 RP
  • Diamond II reset to Silver II 4200 RP
  • Diamond I reset to Silver I 4800 RP
  • Master and above reset to Gold IV 5650 RP (with +250 demotion protection)
• Special Cases
  • New Players (complete onboarding and above Level 20): Starting Rookie IV 1 RP
  • Returning Players who didn’t play last season (excluding Rookie tier which won’t reset): Starting RP threshold for Bronze IV 1000 RP

Ranked

Ranked Rumble returns September 13-17, 2024, with a new best-of-10 matches format and free rewards.

• Players can participate in matches without 10 match limitations
• There is no Re-Entry mechanic; play as much as you want
• Only your top 10 match results count towards your final standings
  • If you get a better match score, it will replace your current lowest score

World Systems

• Improved end-ring generation system

Bug Fixes

• Can no longer use Death Boxes through walls
• Cleaning up disconnected players in Mixtape
• Firing Range: Mythic weapons are no longer taken away after respawning
• Fixed a storm point zipline that could kick players off too early
• Fixed bad actor ping crashes
• Fixed prowler spawn den bullet collision hull

Adaptive Supersampling

• Fixed an issue that caused screen tearing
• Fixed an issue that caused Legend banner poses to appear distorted

Death Boxes

• Improvements to help stop death boxes from getting stuck in doorways and blocking exits
• Should now be lootable in broken doorways
• Will now contain a shield core if the enemy disconnects before dying

Legends

• Alter’s ult can no longer be used for free if you place it onto a moving object and use it immediately
• Bangalore smoke highlights should no longer get blocked by other players
• Fixed an issue that let players affected by Catalyst Ultimate to see through Bangalore smoke
• Movement hitch when using Seer’s passive while unarmed should no longer occur
• No more thefts from an explosive hold without warning, destroying Loba’s Black Market

Quality of Life

• Mantling in the same location as your teammate won’t knock you down
• Mixtape Gameplay
  • Additional starting grenade added for Control & Lockdown
  • EVA 8 back into Close-Quarters loadout
  • Faster health regen for all mixtape modes
  • Lockdown Score Limit reduced to 400 (was 500)
  • Reconnect match timer reduced to 2 minutes (was 5 min)
  • Team Deathmatch Score Limit reduced to 40 (was 50)
• Mixtape’s Skull Town got a spawn audit (adjusting positions & angles)
• Nessies can once again bounce to their heart’s content in the firing range (just not anywhere else)
• Speaking of, a new Nessie (with an appreciation for cinema) has appeared around the firing range

Graphics

• Largely optimized Performance Mode on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 for more consistent frame rates and fewer resolution drops
  • Xbox Series X and PS5 can expect 10 FPS or higher improvements in GPU-intensive scenarios

• DX12 (PC)
  • Fixed several causes of graphical corruption issues
  • Large optimizations to both CPU and GPU performance. With these changes, we expect that the DirectX 12 beta should now perform better than DirectX 11 for the majority of players.
• PC: removed the Adaptive Supersampling video settings option. A small percentage of players used this option, and those that did received no benefit from it unless they had a powerful GPU and low-res monitor
• Mitigated the performance impact of looking at Death Boxes and intermittent performance spikes from champions’ banners.

Related: Alliance is your EWC 2024 Apex Legends champion, Team Falcons takes the second position

The post Apex Legends Season 22 “Shockwave” Patch Notes appeared first on GameRiv.

The Apex Legends tournament for EWC 2024 has proven to be surprising for the majority of the community. Reject Winnity’s 20th finish and TSM not qualifying were two of the most unexpected moments for an Apex Legends grand finals LAN.

Despite the uncertainties, the tournament favorites Alliance and Team Falcons did not disappoint. Team Falcons secured 2nd position, and Alliance won the match point finals by defeating two other match point finalists, Team Liquid and Luminosity Gaming, in the 13th match.

With a total of 107 points, Alliance was also the Group Stage winner on day 2. The team remained relatively consistent throughout the tournament with their placements, as well as kills. Moreover, with a total of 54 kills, Alliance had the highest kills in the grand finals, followed by Luminosity Gaming, who was shy of 2 kills.

On the other hand, despite being the first team to reach the match points, the tournament’s favorite team, Team Falcons, failed to win the tournament, getting second place in the EWC 2024 Apex Legends tournament. However, in terms of accumulated points, Team Falcons is still 2 points ahead of Alliance.

However, this is the beauty of Battle Royale and why we love to see Apex Legends tournaments. The grand finals of EWC 2024 might have been the most dramatic Apex Legends’ LAN final to this date.

The showdown is not yet over. The ALGS 2024 Split 2 Playoffs is just around the corner. The teams that have not done well still have the chance to amend themselves and prove to the world why they deserve to be on that stage.

Related: Everything we know about ALGS 2024 Split 2 Playoffs

The post Alliance is your EWC 2024 Apex Legends champion, Team Falcons takes the second position appeared first on GameRiv.

VALORANT‘s most prestigious tournament for the year, Champions, has arrived. 16 teams from 4 different regions have made their way into the final stage, waiting to face each other at the COEX Artium and INSPIRE Arena in Seoul and Incheon, South Korea. Naturally, fans from all over the world are eagerly waiting for the tournament to start so that they can enjoy the thrilling experience of the highest level of competitive VALORANT.

Related: VALORANT Champions 2024 bundle will feature a Phantom skin and a Katana melee

All Qualified Teams for Champions 2024

4 teams from each region: Americas, EMEA, China, and the Pacific have qualified for the VALORANT Champions 2024 event. The top 3 teams, alongside the team with the most points from each League standings, will play in the Champions event.

Here are all the qualified teams in VALORANT Champions 2024:

VALORANT Champions 2024 Format

VALORANT Champions will follow a GSL format and a Double Elimination Bracket. All matches will be best of 3, except for the lower and grand finals, which will follow best of 5 formats.

Group Stage: What is GSL Format?

If you don’t know what the GSL format means, there will be 4 randomly selected teams within 4 groups. 2 sets of opening matches will be held within the groups. The two winning teams from each group will advance to the next stage within the group. The undisputed seed from the group will automatically advance to the next stage.

Here are the respective teams within the groups:

• Group A: Fnatic, DRX, KRÜ Esports, BiliBili Gaming
• Group B: Gen.G, Team Heretics, FunPlus Phoenix, Sentinels
• Group C: Leviatán, Team Vitality, Trace Esports, Talon Esports
• Group D: EDward Gaming, G2 Esports, Paper Rex, FUT Esports

The losing teams will fight against each other in the lower bracket within the groups. The winner from the losers bracket will go to the next stage, where the team will fight against the stage two losing team. The hard-fought winning team will also go to the next Playoffs stage along with the undisputed group seed.

Bracket Stage: Double Elimination Bracket

After that, the 8 seeds from 4 groups will be placed randomly in a double-elimination Playoffs bracket. However, teams from the same group will be placed on the opposite side of the brackets. Teams will fight against each other until a single team remains, that will be titled the VALORANT 2024 World Champion.

VALORANT Champions 2024 Schedule

We don’t want you to miss any of the action. So, here’s the detailed schedule for all VALORANT Champions 2024 live matches across different time zones.

Group Stage [August 1 – August 11]

• Day 1: August 1
  • Gen.G vs. Sentinels – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Team Heretics vs. FunPlus Phoenix – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 2: August 2
  • DRX vs. KRU – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Fnatic vs. BLG – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 3: August 3
  • Leviatán vs. Talon Esports – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Vitality vs. Trace Esports – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 4: August 4
  • G2 Esports vs. Paper Rex – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • EDG vs. FUT Esports – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 5: August 6
  • TBD vs. TBD – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • TBD vs. TBD – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 6: August 7
  • TBD vs. TBD – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • TBD vs. TBD – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 7: August 8
  • TBD vs. TBD – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • TBD vs. TBD – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 8: August 9
  • TBD vs. TBD – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • TBD vs. TBD – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 9: August 10
  • TBD vs. TBD – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • TBD vs. TBD – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 10: August 11
  • TBD vs. TBD – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • TBD vs. TBD – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST

Playoff Stage [August 14-25]

• Day 1: August 14
  • Upper Round 1 Match 1 – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Upper Round 1 Match 2 – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 2: August 15
  • Upper Round 1 Match 1 – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Upper Round 1 Match 2 – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 3: August 16
  • Lower Round 1 Match 1 – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Lower Round 1 Match 2 – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 4: August 17
  • Upper Round 2 Match 1 – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Upper Round 2 Match 2 – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 5: August 18
  • Lower Round 2 Match 1 – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
  • Lower Round 2 Match 2 – 4 AM PST / 7 AM EST / 8 PM KST / 12 PM BST
• Day 6: August 23
  • Upper Final – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
• Day 7: August 24
  • Lower Final – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST
• Day 8: August 25
  • Grand Final – 1 AM PST / 4 AM EST / 5 PM KST/ 9 AM BST

VALORANT Champions 2024 Match Result and Standings

We will also provide the result for each match so that even if you miss any match, you can immediately know the current status of the tournament.

Match Results

Day 1: August 1

• Gen.G 2 : Sentinels 0
• Team Heretics 2 : FunPlus Phoenix 1

Overall Standings

Group Stage

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Where to Watch Champions 2024

Like most others, if you don’t get the chance to enjoy the match physically in the venues, don’t worry; you still have the chance to watch the matches live. VALORANT will broadcast every match live on various online platforms in different languages, so you don’t miss out on a single action that will happen in the VALORANT 2024 Champions.

The tournament will be broadcast in many languages, and the full list of channels can be found below:

• Twitch
  • twitch.tv/valorant
• YouTube
  • English YouTube

Related: VALORANT 9.01 Patch Notes: Abyss Update, Pick ‘Ems Beta, Bug Fixes & More

The post VALORANT 2024 Champions Guide: Qualified Teams, Format, Schedule, Result & More appeared first on GameRiv.

VALORANT has different game modes, such as Deathmatch, Spike Rush, Unrated, and Competitive. Additionally, there are three rotating game modes: Escalation, Replication, and Snowball Fight, which change with every patch. Among these, Competitive, or Ranked is the most popular game mode in VALORANT.

Read More: How Radianite Points Work in VALORANT: A Complete Overview

What is VALORANT Rank?

As mentioned earlier, there’s a competitive game mode in VALORANT. This game mode is also referred to as Ranked. Players are given specific ranks based on skills and Rank Ratings in this competitive mode.

The point of having a competitive or Ranked mode is to play against similarly skilled opponents so you can enjoy the thrilling and nail-biting experience of the matches. If you are new to this game, you must play 10 Unrated matches to unlock competitive mode and get a specific rank.

There are 9 tiers of ranks in VALORANT. These tiers also have 3 sub-tiers, except for Radiant. Radiant is a special rank category representing the best of the best. Only the top 500 from each Region can reach Radiants.

Previously, there were 22 ranks in VALORANT. However, Riot Games also added a new tier called Ascendant in Episode 5 Act 1. So, in addition to Ascendant, there are currently a total of 25 ranks in VALORANT.

VALORANT Rank Distribution

Riot Games released API for VALORANT starting in 2020. Esports Tale and Tracker.gg uses this API to provide official rank data based on the whole player base. So, the rank distribution data shown below is accurate. Additionally, this rank distribution considers combined players from all regions.

Note: We updated the article on August 1, 2024.

Here’s the rank distribution in July 2024 for different tiers:

• Iron 1: 0.8%
• Iron 2: 2.4%
• Iron 3: 3.9%
• Bronze 1: 5.7%
• Bronze 2: 8.7%
• Bronze 3: 7.8%
• Silver 1: 9.4%
• Silver 2: 8.1%
• Silver 3: 8.2%
• Gold 1: 7.8%
• Gold 2: 6.5%
• Gold 3: 5.4%
• Platinum 1: 4.8%
• Platinum 2: 4.0%
• Platinum 3: 3.5%
• Diamond 1: 3.3%
• Diamond 2: 2.6%
• Diamond 3: 2%
• Ascendant 1: 1.4%
• Ascendant 2: 0.82%
• Ascendant 3: 0.45%
• Immortal 1: 0.24%
• Immortal 2: 0.094%
• Immortal 3: 0.070%
• Radiant: 0.021%

Overall Rank Distribution

• Iron: 7.10%
• Bronze: 22.20%
• Silver: 25.70%
• Gold: 19.70%
• Platinum: 12.30%
• Diamond: 7.90%
• Ascendant: 2.67%
• Immortal: .4%
• Radiant: 0.02%

When Will Rank Reset?

VALORANT resets everyone’s ranks with every new Act. When a new Episode begins, all players need to play 5 placement matches to be placed, with Ascendant 1 being the highest initial placement. To receive your rank in Act 2 or 3, you’ll need to play 1 placement match.

After placement, your Act rank will rise and fall with your wins and losses. Nonetheless, as millions of players grind VALORANT ranks daily, the rank distribution keeps changing. Currently, Episode 9 Act 1 is ongoing. The next rank reset will happen when Episode 9 Act 2 begins on August 27, 2024.

Read More: Best Weapons for Eco Round in VALORANT

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Aim assist has always been a controversial topic in Apex Legends. Although it wasn’t a serious issue at the beginning, as soon as players started to get better in the game, the integrity of aim assist started being questioned, especially by the MnK players.

Even in the most competitive Apex Legends scene, the aim assist’s superiority is evident. According to the stats shared by Liquipedia, more than 64% of the players used controllers as their main input method in the ALGS 2024 Split 2 Pro League NA. The supremacy of aim assist is further demonstrated by the fact that 75% of the best 20 players in the Pro League are controller players.

Due to that reason, many pro players who built their Apex Legends career as MnK players shifted to controllers for its aim assist superiority. ImperialHal, Lou, and Albralelie are some of the examples of those who have switched to controller from MnK.

As a result, players have been grumbling about aim assist and requesting Respawn nerf it for a while so that MnK players can compete with them on an equal footing. And now it looks like Respawn had been listening all along as a new leak emerged that suggests aim assist will get nerfed in Season 22.

Osvaldatore, a reputed leaker in the Apex Legends community, recently shared on X that two aim assist nerfs are coming to Apex Legends in Season 22. The nerfs include the decrease of aim assist’s intensity from .4 to .3 and an increase in camera shake while taking damage. According to the leaker, the aim assist changes will only come to the PC version of Apex Legends.

On paper, the decrease in aim assist intensity may not seem big. However, it is a 25% decrease from the original value. So, players will definitely feel the difference while playing in an actual game. Moreover, the increase in camera shake will also have an impact while having gunfights.

Although the leak of aim assist nerfs has made many MnK players happy, the majority of the controller players have not taken it well.

However, keep in mind that it is only a leak. So, there might be a possibility that the aim assist nerf may not go through. As Apex Legends Season 22 patch notes are dropping on August 5, we will have to wait til then to get concrete evidence regarding whether aim assist on Apex Legends PC will actually get nerfed or not.

Related: Everything we know about Apex Legends Season 22 “Shockwave”

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Counter strafing is the most important movement technique you can learn in Counter-Strike. If you don’t know what counter strafe is, it is simply a technique where you completely stop your momentum while moving. As Counter-Strike has an enormous moving inaccuracy, every player must learn it in order to improve in the game.

It may be a simple technique to learn, but mastering it and doing it flawlessly is quite hard. Even pro players find it difficult to do it perfectly 100% of the time. In order to counter that, companies like Razer and Wooting have innovated new features like Snap Tap and SOCD that allow players to counter strafe in CS2 without any mistake, making the movement possible 100% of the time.

Naturally, it feels unfair for players who don’t have the specific keyboards or don’t want to waste hundreds of dollars just to enjoy a feature. Thankfully, there’s a feature called Null Bind that you can use in Counter-Strike 2 and get the similar benefits of Snap Tap and SOCD on any keyboard.

Related: Donk Counter-Strike 2 Settings: Video Settings, Mouse Sensitivity, Crosshair & More

What is Null Bind?

Null Bind is a combination of commands in Counter-Strike 2 that works similarly to Razer’s Snap Tap and Wooring’s SOCD. Similar to Snap Tap and SOCD, the Null Bind basically nullifies the movement of a direction [W, A, S, D] when the opposite directional button is pressed, making the counter strafe possible without human error. Although the bind has been public for a long time now, due to Snap Tap and SOCD’s releases, everyone has started using it.

How to Use Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2

Using Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2 is pretty easy. All you have to do is copy the commands in a config file and execute it through the launch option or in-game console command. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to bind and use the Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2:

• Go to Steam. Right-click on Counter-Strike 2> Properties> Installed Files> Browse.
• Open game> csgo> cfg folders.
• Create an Autoexec file. Make sure to change the type of file to .cfg in order for the commands to work. If you can’t see the file extension type, go to View> Show> File name extensions and check it.
  • Note: If you already have an Autoexec.cfg file. Ignore the above step.
• Now, open the Autoexec.cfg file with Notepad. Copy the commands from below, paste them into the Autoexec.cfg file, and save it.

alias "checkfwd" ""
alias "checkback" ""
alias "checkleft" ""
alias "checkright" ""
alias "goForward" "-forward; +forward"
alias "goBack" "-back; +back"
alias "goLeft" "-left; +left"
alias "goRight" "-right; +right"
alias "+mfwd" "-back; +forward; alias checkfwd goForward"
alias "+mback" "-forward; +back; alias checkback goBack"
alias "+mleft" "-right; +left; alias checkleft goLeft"
alias "+mright" "-left; +right; alias checkright goRight"
alias "-mfwd" "-forward; checkback; alias checkfwd"
alias "-mback" "-back; checkfwd; alias checkback"
alias "-mleft" "-left; checkright; alias checkleft"
alias "-mright" "-right; checkleft; alias checkright"
 
bind "w" "+mfwd"
bind "a" "+mleft"
bind "s" "+mback"
bind "d" "+mright"

• Now, go to Steam> Library. Right-click on Counter-Strike 2> Properties> General. Type “+exec autoexec” under the LAUNCH OPTIONS and exit the menu.
• There you go. You have successfully bound the Null Bind.

Now, get into the game and try Team Deathmatch or practice servers. You will immediately feel the difference when you try to counter strafe and shoot. Although there is still a chance that you may miss the shots, it won’t be because of your counter strafing skill.

Is Null Bind Safe to Use?

There is obviously the question of whether you can get banned for using the Null Bind commands in Counter-Strike 2 or not. As of this writing, it is completely safe to use Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2 official matchmaking and FACEIT.

However, keep in mind that Null Bind is not allowed in any kind of tournament, including the ESL/ESEA-branded tournaments. So, if you are a professional CS2 player, we recommend you don’t use Null Bind in the game.

Note: The use of Null Bind is subject to change. We’ll update the article if Valve, or FACEIT make any changes to their rules regarding Null Bind.

There is also a question of competitive integrity regarding using the Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2, as many players in the community, including the pros, think that it should not be allowed in Counter-Strike 2. However, they also believe that features like Snap Tap and SOCD that are built-in, as well as the Wooting and Razer Huntsman V3 keyboards, should also not be allowed. So, it is possible that we may see some restrictions against Null Bind, Snap Tap, and SOCD in the future.

Related: Counter-Strike 2 Premier Rank Distribution [Updated Rating]

The post How to use the Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2: Free Snap Tap/ SOCD for any keyboard appeared first on GameRiv.

After the two major Master events, the most-awaited Champions tournament is here. 16 teams from all 4 different regions have qualified for the event, but only 1 team will lift the trophy in front of the world and be crowned as the VALORANT 2024 World Champions.

To make the event more memorable, Riot Games will release Like previous VCT events, the VALORANT 2024 Champions tournament will also give away some event-themed cosmetic items just for watching the games live.

Read More: VALORANT Champions 2024 bundle

VALORANT 2024 Champions Drops

Like last year, just by watching live 2024 Champions matches you will be able to earn exclusive drops and rewards. This year you can get a Spray and a Playercard.

Here’s how to get them:

• First, you will have to link your Twitch and YouTube with your Riot Games account.
• Then watch games on specific dates to get rewards:
  • To earn Spray: Dan the Champ – watch a live match between August 1 – 24
  • To earn Playercard: Agents on Leave: Seoul – watch the live match during the Grand Final on August 25

Here’s where you can watch the tournament:

• Twitch – twitch.tv/valorant
• YouTube – English YouTube

The post How to Get VALORANT 2024 Champions Watch Drops and Rewards appeared first on GameRiv.

Pretty much nothing has worked well with Apex Legends Season 21. Despite the initial optimism, the hype was short-lived as the season went on. Further concerns about the game’s survival were questioned by the community surrounding the possible Battle Pass overhaul, which has already been reversed.

In light of what’s been happening to the game, players are curious about Respawn’s plans for Season 22, which will be called ‘Shockwave.’ And thanks to the teasers, official news, leaks, and rumors, we know some of the content that will come to Apex Legends in Season 22. Are you curious to know more? Stay with us until the end as we go through all the known upcoming changes for Season 22.

Season 22 Battle Pass Changes

Apex Legends Season 22 will feature some interesting Battle Pass changes. From Shockwave, there will be two Battle Passes divided into two splits. Because there will be less time for completing the Battle Passes, the levels have been reduced to 60 instead of 110.

Rewards that were infrequently used have also been removed to make place for better rewards. However, do not worry. Rewards such as 1300 Apex Coins and 1200 Crafting Materials are still obtainable through a single Battle Pass. This also means you can earn twice as many AC and Crafting Materials in a single season.

You can also buy the Ultimate and Ultimate+ Battle Passes with real money, which will earn you some instant rewards. Exotic Shards have also been included in the Premium, Ultimate, and Ultimate+ Battle Passes.

The key Season 22 Battle Pass changes are:

• 2 BPs are divided into 2 splits.
• Each BP has 60 levels.
• Reactive skins are still there.
• Ultimate and Ultimate+ BPs can be purchased with real money.
• Ultimate and Ultimate+ BPs provide extra rewards like 8 Apex packs and 1200 Crafting Materials.
• 10 Exotic Shards are included in Premium, Ultimate, and Ultimate + BPs.

District BR Map

A new Battle Royale map named District will be released in Season 22. Unlike most BR maps in Apex, the District will feature a city-based structure and will most likely be played in a nighttime setting with beautiful lighting in all POIs.

You can learn more about the District map here.

No New Legend, but Possible Lifeline Rework

As we already know, Respawn has stopped releasing a new legend every season as the roster is already filled with too many characters. So, starting from Season 16, Respawn has been releasing 1 legend per 2 seasons. So, following this trend, we can expect that Season 22 will see no new legend in the game. However, we may witness a legend rework. And according to the leaks and rumors, Lifeline will get a complete rework in Season 22.

Release Date

Apex Legends Season 22, “Shockwave,” will go live on August 6, 2024.

More Related: Everything we know about ALGS 2024 Split 2 Playoffs

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Champions 2024 is VALORANT’s 4th major Esports event, to be held in Seoul, South Korea. Similar to previous years, Riot Games will release a bunch of physical goodies, free in-game skins, and a purchasable bundle to celebrate the event. These goodies and cosmetic items are usually popular among the community as they remind players of the beautiful memories that the entire event creates.

Among all the goodies and cosmetic items, the Champions bundles are the most sought-after reward players look forward to. These bundles usually contain a weapon skin and a melee skin. The 2021 bundle included a Vandal and melee, the 2022 bundle included a Phantom and melee, and the 2023 bundle, again, included a Vandal and melee. So, the predicted pattern did come true as the 2024 bundle will contain a Phantom skin alongside a melee.

Read More: VALORANT Rank Distribution

Champions 2024 Skins Details

Previous leaks from various sources confirmed that the Champions 2024 bundle would include a Phantom skin and a sword. Fortunately, Riot Games just announced the Champions 2024 bundle and confirmed the leaks to be true.

The Champions 2024 bundle will include a Phantom skin and a Katana melee that resembles pretty much the Sovereign 2.0 sword with a few adjustments made. The color combination and design are similar to the 2023 Champions bundle that included the Vandal and Kunai.

The bundle includes:

• Champions Phantom
• Katana Melee

Champions Phantom

Katana Melee

Champions 2024 Skin Bundle Price

Similar to the previous Champions bundles, we can expect the Champions 2024 Skin Bundle price to range from 6000 – 6300 VP.

Release Date

One of the highly anticipated skin bundles, VALORANT Champions 2024 Bundle officially releases on August 1, 2024.

The post VALORANT Champions 2024 bundle will feature a Phantom skin and a Katana melee appeared first on GameRiv.

On July 8, 2024, Respawn made an announcement on the X platform regarding an upcoming Battle Pass overhaul that was meant to go live at the beginning of Apex Legends Season 22. Several modifications were implemented as part of the overhaul, one of which was removing the ability for players to buy the Battle Pass with 950 Apex coins and restricting it to real money purchases.

Chaos broke out among the Apex Legends community as soon as the news was made public. Unsurprisingly, almost everybody hated the new Battle Pass changes and urged Respawn to revert them back. The potential Battle Pass overhaul had such a negative impact that the community started negative-review-bombing Apex Legends on Steam. As of this writing, the game has received overwhelmingly negative reviews in the past 30 days, with a whopping 93% thumbs down.

However, Respawn was not sitting idle. After quietly observing the community feedback, Respawn finally broke the silence and made an announcement on X on restoring the Battle Pass system to the old one. Moreover, Respawn also admitted that they messed up.

You’ve spoken, and we’ve listened. With the release of Season 22, we will restore the ability to get the premium Battle Pass for 950 Apex Coins. We recognize that we could have handled the Battle Pass changes better– that’s on us.” Said Respawn.

Although most new changes are going away, changes like 2 BP in season [1 BP in each split], 60 levels inside each BP and the introduction of a new Premium type BP still remain.

Apart from the BP revert, Respawn also addressed the community’s biggest complaints concerning cheaters and game-related issues. Respawn promises to be more transparent and acknowledges the fact that they need to improve their communication with the community moving forward.

Moving forward, we recognize that we need to be more timely, transparent, and consistent in our communications with you. Your priorities are our priorities: cheaters, game stability, and quality of life updates are top of mind. We need to get better and it’s why we’re acknowledging them here.” Said Respawn in the statement.

Hopefully, Respawn will learn from its mistakes, listen to the community in the future, and work toward making Apex Legends the best Battle Royale game once again.

More Related: Everything we know about ALGS 2024 Split 2 Playoffs

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