VALORANT Patch 12.09 Nerfs Neon and Shotguns Ahead of Americas Playoffs

VALORANT has released patch 12.09, introducing major balance adjustments aimed primarily at Neon and shotgun weapons. The update arrives just ahead of the Americas Playoffs and focuses on reducing high-mobility combat dominance while improving overall competitive balance.

According to Riot Games, Neon has remained under close observation for some time due to her ability to heavily disrupt pacing, timings, and engagements. The developers explained that the current meta is being affected by several connected factors, including powerful Duelists, overly effective shotguns, weaker Sentinels, and longer Initiator cooldowns. For now, Riot decided to begin by targeting Neon and shotgun gameplay directly.

Neon Receives Major Mobility Nerfs

The biggest changes in patch 12.09 focus on Neon’s movement and evasiveness during fights. Riot stated that her ability to break timings and create pressure remains an important part of her identity, but her current mobility pushes too far into combat dominance with too little counterplay.

HELLO ALL! Drum roll please… it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Neon and shotgun nerfs have arrived. We’re making changes to her mobility in the air and giving her a greater resource tradeoff on High Gear. We’ve also made all shotguns less accurate while moving and shooting. Read on below for more! — Riot Games

Neon Changes

High Gear

• Jumping while High Gear is active no longer grants bonus movement speed in the air
• Neon’s airborne sprint speed now matches normal melee movement speed
• Fuel regeneration from kills now only works while her ultimate is active
• Passive fuel regeneration remains unchanged
• Slide VFX have been improved to better show direction and origin

These adjustments are designed to force more deliberate decision-making from Neon players while giving opponents better opportunities to respond during fights.

Shotguns Nerfed Across the Board

Alongside Neon’s changes, Riot also introduced widespread nerfs to shotgun accuracy while moving. Developers said shotguns are intended to reward defensive positioning and close-range control, but they had become too effective in aggressive mobility-heavy scenarios.

Global Shotgun Changes

All shotguns now have:

• Reduced accuracy while moving
• Standardized accuracy values for running, walking, crouch-walking, and jumping
• A unified crouch accuracy multiplier of 15%, matching rifles
• Significantly reduced accuracy while using ropes

Rope Accuracy Adjustments

Shotguns now become far less reliable while moving on ropes:

Bucky Changes

The Bucky received direct damage and spread nerfs.

Damage Adjustments (0–8m Range). Hit Area:

• Head: 40 → 34
• Body: 20 → 17
• Legs: 17 → 14

Accuracy Changes

• Minimum spread: 2.6 → 3.0
• Walking spread: 0.075 → 1
• Running spread: 0.1 → 2
• Crouch-walk spread: 0.05 → 0.5
• Jump spread: 1.25 → 4

Judge Changes

The Judge also received heavier spread penalties.

• Minimum spread: 2.25 → 2.5
• Walking spread: 0.075 → 1
• Running spread: 0.75 → 2
• Crouch-walk spread: 0.05 → 0.5
• Jump spread: 2.25 → 4

Riot confirmed the minimum spread adjustment currently applies only to PC, with console receiving the change in patch 12.11.

Shorty Changes

The Shorty’s fire rate and mobility accuracy were reduced as well.

• Fire rate: 3.33 → 3.0
• Walking spread: 0.075 → 1
• Running spread: 0.1 → 2
• Crouch-walk spread: 0.05 → 0.5
• Jump spread: 1.25 → 4

Competitive and Performance Updates

Riot is also testing new matchmaking rating adjustments for modes outside of Competitive, Unrated, and Swiftplay. The goal is to create more balanced and consistent matches before eventually applying lessons learned to VALORANT’s core competitive modes.

On PC, patch 12.09 introduces support for AMD Anti-Lag 2, which helps reduce input latency in GPU-bound situations. Players will need compatible AMD hardware and updated drivers released after March 9, 2026.

Bug Fixes

The update includes a long list of fixes affecting agents, visuals, audio, and gameplay systems.

Notable Fixes

• Fixed Chamber’s Headhunter ADS animation blocking too much of the screen
• Resolved Jett Tailwind animation issues with left-handed mode
• Fixed performance drops caused by Jett’s Drift
• Corrected Sage’s Healing Orb interaction with Decay
• Fixed Tejo Guided Salvo audio continuing after cast
• Fixed Viper’s Pit nearsightedness inconsistencies
• Fixed Vyse wall interactions with controllable drones
• Neon exploit tied to NVIDIA settings has been fixed, and Neon has returned to the game

Player Behavior Improvements

Riot also upgraded its Riot Text Evaluation system to better detect and punish text chat abuse across multiple languages, including:

• English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Polish

Known Issues

Riot acknowledged several remaining issues affecting Skirmish Ascension modes:

• Overtime timer can become stuck at 00:50
• Agent abilities may fail to appear properly in Combat Reports during following rounds

Patch 12.09 represents one of the more impactful balance updates in recent months, especially for players relying on Neon’s mobility or aggressive shotgun strategies. With the Americas Playoffs approaching, Riot appears focused on slowing down chaotic close-range combat and creating a healthier competitive environment.

Just a reminder that the Night Market is back in the game!