VALORANT Season 26 Act 5 went live on August 18, 2026, through patch 13.04. The update kicks off with a rank reset, a swap in the competitive map pool, and the start of a fresh Premier stage. It also brings a new skin collection and a short list of Agent bug fixes.
This act arrives right before VALORANT Champions Shanghai, so Riot kept the patch lighter than usual. Most of the changes here are practical: cleanup work on a handful of Agents, a map rotation update, and the Premier calendar shift. Riot has also hinted that a bigger content drop, possibly a full Dev Update, is coming in September.
Below is a full breakdown of what changed with Act 5, what’s confirmed about the new Battle Pass, and what to expect from Premier this stage.
When Season 26 Act 5 Started
Act 5 launched with patch 13.04 on August 18, 2026, across PC and console. The update closed out Act 4 and triggered the usual soft rank reset, so players need to finish placement matches again to lock in their new rank.
Server maintenance for the patch rolled out in stages by region. North American servers came down first, early Tuesday morning Pacific Time, with European servers following a few hours later. Riot flagged the downtime in the client a few days ahead of the update.
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Competitive Map Pool Update: Abyss Is In, Breeze Is Out
The main gameplay change in this patch is a map swap in Competitive and Deathmatch queues. Abyss is back in rotation, and Breeze has been pulled for the time being.
| Map | Status in Competitive / Deathmatch |
|---|---|
| Abyss | IN |
| Breeze | OUT |
This is a straightforward one-for-one swap rather than a full map pool overhaul. If you had strategies built around Breeze’s long sightlines, it’s time to shelve them and get reps in on Abyss instead, especially if you’re grinding rank early in the act.
Act 5 Battle Pass: What's Confirmed So Far
Riot hasn’t published the full Battle Pass reward list yet, so treat anything beyond the basics as unconfirmed. What’s solid: the Premium track costs 1,000 VP, and it follows the same structure players are used to, including a free track and a paid track with the usual mix of gun buddies, sprays, player cards, and skins.
Skin names and tier-by-tier rewards are still circulating as leaks rather than official info. Once Riot publishes the real list, this section will need an update, so don’t lock in your VP purchase plans around leaked skin lines just yet.
Aeris Collection: The New Act 5 Skin Bundle
Act 5 brings the Aeris Collection, a card-themed skin line that leans into a magic and fantasy look. The set includes:
- Vandal
- Bandit
- Guardian
- Marshal
- Suit of Aeris melee
The melee is the standout piece. It transforms during different attacks and turns into a glowing magic card mid-animation. The whole set carries matching reload, equip, and inspect animations built around card tricks and shuffling effects, plus a finisher where cards surround the eliminated enemy before a burst of energy closes it out.
Act 5 also adds a new interactive Flex featuring a deck of animated cards. There’s a small twist here: a 10% chance the deck swaps to cards from Riftbound, the League of Legends trading card game, with six possible card variants. It’s a nice touch for players who collect flex variations, even if the odds mean most people won’t see it right away.
Agent and Stability Bug Fixes
Patch 13.04 is light on balance changes but does clean up a few longstanding bugs:
- Cypher – Spycam’s minimap icon no longer displays at the wrong rotation.
- Viper – Snake Bite’s equip animation now looks correct from an enemy’s point of view.
- Deadlock – GravNet’s visual effects no longer disappear if a player disconnects and reconnects mid-round.
- Stability – Fixed a bug where switching repeatedly between Clove’s Meddle and Ruse could freeze a player’s client and force a disconnect.
- Cosmetics – Transforming melee weapons, including Kuronami 2.0 and Nocturnum, now animate properly during inspect instead of staying stuck in one form.
None of these are game-changing, but the Clove fix in particular was overdue. Client freezes during ability switching were causing real problems in ranked matches.
Premier Stage V26A5: A Shorter Schedule
Premier kicked off its new stage, V26A5, alongside the patch. This stage runs shorter than usual, which changes how teams should plan their season.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Stage length | 5 weeks (down from the usual 7) |
| Playoff qualification | Premier Score of 450+ |
| First round of Playoffs | September 19 |
| Finals | September 20 |
Contender and Invite division teams qualify by standings placement rather than Premier Score, and their playoffs are split across two days this time. Teams that win their first-round match come back the next day to play the finals, so there’s no rest week built in between rounds.
If your team is grinding Premier this stage, the compressed timeline means less room for a slow start. Five weeks goes by fast.
What's Coming Next in Act 5
Riot kept this patch intentionally quiet ahead of VALORANT Champions Shanghai, but the patch notes hinted at more news landing in September, possibly including a full Dev Update. Given the timing, expect Act 5 to pick up pace once the Shanghai event wraps and Riot has more room to focus on regular content updates.
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