The new act is finally here, and this Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Overview will help you catch up on everything that changed. We break down the new agent Miks, the Knockout mode, Battle Pass rewards, map pool changes, and the biggest gameplay adjustments from the latest patch.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Key Takeaways:
- Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 started on March 17, 2026, with patch 12.05.
- The headline addition is Miks, a new Controller from Croatia built around team support, smokes, healing, and utility coordination.
- The new limited-time mode is Knockout, a 5v5 round-based elimination mode where every kill revives one fallen teammate.
- Lotus and Fracture are back in the Competitive and Deathmatch map pool, while Abyss and Corrode have been removed.
- Lotus also got direct A-site changes to reduce wall spam and make attacker entries cleaner.
- The main gameplay updates include Assist Banners, a clearer killfeed, updated Status Effect Tags, and replay-visible Ability Map Targeters.
- Skye, Yoru, and Clove received balance changes, while Sage got updated ally targeting UI and a model update.
4.9Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Release Date
The Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 release date is March 17, 2026. Riot launched the new act with patch 12.05, which also marks the start of Miks, the new Battle Pass, map pool changes, and the rest of the Act 2 update
With the start of Valorant Season 2026 Act 2, many players jump back into ranked to place higher and chase better rewards. If you want a smoother climb without wasting time on random teammates and messy solo queue games, our Valorant Ranked service can help you move through the ladder with far less stress.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Battle Pass
With the start of Valorant Season 2026 Act 2, there is also a new Battle Pass to go through. This one is similar to the others, with a free pass, a paid pass, and a set of skins to give the act a unique look. Riot has also moved Battle Pass progress to their new Progression Hub, making it a bit easier to view your progress.
The Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Battle Pass is available for 1,000 VP. From what is available, the cosmetic rewards look to feature Paceline Vandal, Dragon Gate Phantom, Soulburst Spectre, and Paceline’s Edge Melee, while the free rewards look to feature Soulburst Bandit.
The easiest way to move through the Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Battle Pass is simple: win more matches. Valorant Victories help you make steadier progress, while long losing streaks usually turn the grind into a much slower process. If you want to speed things up and make Battle Pass leveling feel less frustrating, extra wins can save a lot of time.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 New Bundle
The major new bundle for Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 is the Blackthorn bundle. Riot Games announced this bundle just before the beginning of the new act. It is quite evident that this bundle has been designed with the theme of the new act. The bundle has Vandal, Guardian, Marshal, and Classic gun skins, along with the Blackthorn Blades melee.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Gameplay Changes
The biggest Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 gameplay changes are aimed at cleaner teamplay. Riot says patch 12.05 focuses on coordinated utility use and better pick diversity. In practice, that means a few strong solo agents got toned down, while the UI now does a better job of showing what is happening in a fight.
On the systems side, Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 adds Assist Banners, a clearer killfeed for assists and setup abilities, and updated Status Effect Tags on the HUD. Observers and spectators can also see Ability Map Targeters now, and those targeters show up in replays as well. These are not huge meta shifts, but they make fights easier to read for both players and viewers.
The balance side is more noticeable. Skye now has a 60-second cooldown on Guiding Light, Yoru lost one Blindside charge and got his Gatecrash duration cut from 30s to 15s, and Clove was nerfed after death, with Ruse dropping from 14s to 6s when cast dead and Meddle shrinking from 6m to 4m. Sage also got updated ally targeting and a visual model update, while Breach received new voice lines.
Gameplay changes can be hard to adjust to at first, especially when agent balance, map flow, and teamplay habits all shift at the same time. If you want to understand the new act faster, fix the mistakes that keep costing you rounds, and adapt to the meta with less trial and error, Valorant Сoaching is one of the easiest ways to improve.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Map Pool Changes
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 does not add a brand-new standard map. Instead, Riot rotates the pool and brings back two older picks. Lotus and Fracture are now back in the Competitive and Deathmatch queues, while Abyss and Corrode have been removed from both queues. Maps currently in the Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Competitive pool:
- Bind
- Breeze
- Fracture
- Haven
- Lotus
- Pearl
- Split
However, Riot also made a few direct changes to the game of Lotus in this act. For instance, the team has reinforced some areas of the A Lobby, the Tree, and the walls. There is also a move of the jump up to Vines and more space around the stairs at the A-site. There is also a change in the A-site plant zone so that you can no longer plant for Breakable/Link.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 New Mode
A new mode in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 is called Knockout. It is a limited-time mode, played in teams of 5, on Team Deathmatch maps, with a gameplay style closer to a round-based elimination mode. With each kill, a dead team member comes back, so the battle can turn around quickly, especially with a good trade.
What makes the new mode special is the speed of the gameplay. There is no economy in this mode, so you choose your loadout, the guns become stronger, and the team that wins four rounds wins the entire match. At the same time, Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 removes the old limited-time modes All Random One Site and Skirmish: 2v2.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 New Agent
The new agent for Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 is Miks. Miks is a Controller agent from Croatia. His release accompanied patch 12.05. The rollout for the agent in the region happened on March 18 at 10:00 AM PST after the release of the new act.
The agent looks like a team-play-focused agent and not a solo-play-focused agent. Miks has abilities such as smokes, healing, pressure with a Concuss device, and a Combat Stim buff. This suggests that the agent is best used in a team play environment. The release of the second act has centered around team utility and more variety of picks for the game.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Ranked Changes
There are also a couple of ranked-facing tweaks in the background. Riot adjusted the Ranked Rating thresholds for Immortal 2, Immortal 3, and Radiant to better align leaderboard requirements across regions, while keeping the underlying MMR system the same. The new rank summary screen from patch 12.04 also got a small QoL pass, so getting back into the queue is smoother.
Ranked changes always push more players back into the ladder, and that usually makes solo queue even more unpredictable. If you want to climb in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 with less stress, Duo Play is often the easiest fix, since it gives you better coordination, cleaner comms, and fewer games ruined by random teammates.
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Overview FAQ
Below, you can quickly check the release date, new agent, mode, map pool changes, Battle Pass, Premier updates, and the biggest gameplay additions from patch 12.05.
When Does Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Start?
Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 started on March 17, 2026, with patch 12.05. That is the update that added Miks, Knockout, and the new map pool rotation.
Who Is the New Agent in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2?
The new agent in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 is Miks. He is a Controller from Croatia.
What Is the New Mode in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2?
The new mode in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 is Knockout. It is a limited-time 5v5 mode on Team Deathmatch maps, where every kill revives one fallen teammate, and the first team to win 4 rounds takes the match.
Does Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Add a New Map?
No, Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 does not add a brand-new standard map.
What Changes Were Made to Lotus in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2?
In Valorant Season 2026 Act 2, Riot changed Lotus A-site to reduce early spam and make attacker entries cleaner.
What Is in the Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 Battle Pass?
The Valorant Battle Pass brings a new cosmetic lineup with a free and paid track. Early coverage lists items like Paceline Vandal, Dragon Gate Phantom, Soulburst Spectre, Paceline’s Edge, and the free Soulburst Bandit, while the price is reported at 1,000 VP.
What Is the New Bundle in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2?
The main new bundle in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 is Blackthorn. Riot has officially revealed skins for the Vandal, Guardian, Marshal, and Classic, plus the Blackthorn Blades melee.
What Are the Biggest Gameplay Changes in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2?
The biggest gameplay changes in Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 are the new Assist Banners, a clearer killfeed, updated Status Effect Tags, and balance changes for Skye, Yoru, and Clove. Riot also updated Sage’s ally targeting and added Ability Map Targeters for observers and replays.
4.9Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 may not bring a new standard map, but it still changes a lot of what players interact with every day. Between Miks, Knockout, the updated map pool, Premier Stage V26A2, and the latest balance changes, this act gives both casual and ranked players enough reasons to log in and adjust.
