VALORANT 13.06 explained: Warden, Agent Mastery, and Performance Score

This article was researched and drafted by Softcap staff, then edited by Sam Okonkwo. Sources are linked.

Riot Games published VALORANT Patch Notes 13.06 on 22 September 2026 (timestamp 2026-09-22T13:00:00.000Z on playvalorant.com), authored by Kenny “Karnifexlol” Cameron. Riot’s own TL;DR calls it a same-day launch for a rebuilt Home/Lobby, the new Agent Mastery system, limited-time Gauntlet: Glitched, Practice Range while queued, the Warden rifle, competitive scoreboard and career tools, and more. The notes frame 13.06 as one of the year’s largest VALORANT drops — systems first, weapon second.

Every figure and rule below is taken from that primary. Riot did not publish a full Performance Score equation, a Gauntlet end date, or a complete glitch-upgrade list; those gaps stay gaps.

Primary: VALORANT Patch Notes 13.06.

Antiboosting: Riot’s published figures and the Vanguard retro

In the General Updates block, Riot says recently rolled-out boosting detection is hitting smurfs and boosters. The published numbers in the 13.06 notes are exact: 1,600 accounts banned per day, totaling over 90,000 accounts since July 20. Riot adds that the Anticheat team published a retro on how the new antiboosting tech is working so far, courtesy of Vanguard, and points readers at a graph plus a “read more here” link.

That companion piece is Riot’s Vanguard antiboosting retro at riotgames.com/en/news/vanguard-anti-boost. Ban figures in the body below are Riot’s published numbers from the patch notes, plus that official pointer — no alleged boosters are named.

Client: Home and Lobby become one hub

Home and Lobby are merged into a single hub. Riot’s stated goal is a clearer overview of what is happening in VALORANT and a shorter path into the next match — pick a mode, assemble a squad, queue. From that hub, players can check Events, Missions, the active map pool, Leaderboards, and more while keeping the party front and center. New Home tiles are meant to surface limited-time features such as new modes and Pick’ems.

Riot also revamped Global Navigation so moving between major hubs is clearer and less crowded. Active pages, secondary navigation, and back behavior are described as more consistent across the client.

New Item Indicators land in Collection: if a player earned new content in recent matches and has not viewed it yet, indicators mark what is new. They disappear when the player views Collection or leaves the game, and Riot says they will not keep showing for the next session.

Mode Select interface updates are not in 13.06. Riot flagged those for Patch 13.08.

Competitive: Range while queue, Performance Score, Accolades, Rank Legacy

Riot opens the Competitive Updates block by saying VALORANT is going big on competitive features this patch.

Range and Queue

Players can enter the Range while in queue — warm up aim while waiting for the next match. Entry works two ways: from the lobby after matchmaking has started, or by starting matchmaking from inside the Range. If Riot expects a short queue, the Range may not be available right away; if the wait stretches longer than expected, the Range becomes available again. Premier, Deathmatch, and other modes without Agent Select do not support queueing from the Range.

Performance Score replaces ACS

Average Combat Score (ACS) is out. Performance Score is in: a 0–500 number that, in Riot’s wording, “measures more than just damage and kills” to paint a fuller picture of contributions. The End of Game screen breaks down what impacted the score, where a player can improve, and how close they were to a Masterful performance. Performance Score is available in Competitive, Unrated, Swiftplay, and Premier. MVP and scoreboard position in those modes are now determined by Performance Score. Riot says it will watch feedback and plan updates. The notes do not publish a public equation or weights.

System	Detail (per 13.06 notes)
Scale	0–500
Modes	Competitive, Unrated, Swiftplay, Premier
MVP / scoreboard	Driven by Performance Score in those modes
Feedback	End of Game breakdown of score drivers

Accolades

Accolades track standout performances across a variety of stats, including many contributions measured by Performance Score. Each Accolade tracks a personal best for the current Act and across lifetime play. Tracking begins with this patch and reflects gameplay going forward — historical match data does not count. Accolades appear throughout the End of Game experience, including on the MVP screen, and in greater detail in the Competitive Hub. Accolades can only be earned in Competitive and Premier.

Rank Legacy

Rank Legacy is framed as a Competitive career trophy case: how many times a player has reached each rank. Open Competitive Hub from Career to see current rank and lifetime ranks achieved. Each time a player earns a rank, its counter increases, or a new peak is marked. Each existing rank can increase the Rank Legacy counter once every three Acts (Acts I–III and Acts IV–VI). Demoting into a rank does not increase its counter.

Career and Competitive Hub

The Career page gets a fresh look and new pages. Career shows top Agents, Match History, and Rank on one page with personal flair. Competitive Hub, opened from Career, holds a Competitive Act snapshot, dedicated Accolades and Rank Legacy pages, and peeks at what is coming soon. Friends can still view Career and the Competitive Hub Overview; dedicated Competitive Hub pages are visible only to the account owner.

Roadmap named in the same notes

Riot flagged later competitive work in the same 13.06 text: Map Rating in 13.08, Competitive Flex in 14.00, and updates for the Radiant experience in 14.00.

End of Game, rebuilt

Under Gameplay Systems Updates, Riot revamped the End of Game experience into a clearer summary of the match and what happens next. Performance, rewards, match details, and more sit in one place, with the most important moments highlighted. Highlights include earning MVP or a rank promotion, plus progress across Agent Mastery, Accolades, and Performance Score.

The flow progresses automatically, but players control the experience: move through it at their own pace, dive into more detail, requeue immediately, or return to the Lobby when ready.

Gauntlet: Glitched — and Retake rotates out

Gauntlet: Glitched is the new limited-time mode. Riot calls it the most ambitious mode yet: 2v2 battles against seven other duos, ability drafts from different Agents, upgrades as the match progresses, new arenas, and familiar abilities pushed past their limits. If a Yoru decoy starts shooting, the notes say that is working as intended.

Eight duos, one Gauntlet

Sixteen players enter as eight duos. Each round is a 2v2 showdown — Riot’s flavor names include Purple Corgis and Red Elephants. Lose a round and the team loses health; hit zero and the duo is out. Once eliminated, players can leave and queue again without waiting for the remaining teams to finish. As the match progresses through stages, weapons change and round losses cost more health. Riot’s advice: use early rounds to find footing before stakes climb. Queue solo or with a friend.

A one-line Hybrid Robo Agents tease asks “KAY/O, is that you?” without further rules in the notes.

Ability draft tools

Between rounds, players draft from randomized ability options to build a kit with abilities from different Agents. A pick can add another ability or invest in one already owned, upgrading it from Level 1 to Level 3. Builds can lean into mobility, defensive bots and traps, or something new each draft.

Draft tools in the notes are specific: use rerolls, or craft on another slot, to chase a desired combo — and scout the lobby to see what other builds might be waiting.

Glitched upgrades and arenas

At Level 2, abilities have a rare, random chance to “glitch.” Riot published two examples and withheld the rest: send out Raze’s Boom Bot and decide when it goes boom; make Gekko’s Wingman really, really big. Fights use four arenas that remix familiar VALORANT map spaces for 2v2, stitched by glitching seams.

Winner’s Circle

Win a matchup and the duo heads to the Winner’s Circle above the four arenas. There, winners can spectate the remaining fights, take shots at targets, or jump around until the lobby ends.

Riot ends the mode section by saying that is a taste of Gauntlet: Glitched and leaves further discoveries to players. Exact end date is not in the 13.06 notes.

Leaving limited-time modes

Retake is heading out of the limited-time mode rotation as Gauntlet arrives. Riot’s line: thanks for playing.

Player behavior: RVE expands language coverage

Riot Voice Evaluation (RVE) expands to Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean. Riot updated the in-game voice-comms tech to better detect those languages. Toxic incidents should be reported via the in-game Voice Comms Abuse category. Riot points to its Playing with Respect article for more context.

Agent Mastery: per-agent progression from zero

Agent Mastery is the progression headline. Play Clove, progress Clove; play Sova, progress Sova. Every Agent gets Act levels, Lifetime levels, a Reward Track, and an Agent ID.

Everyone starts at zero Act Level and Lifetime Level progress on each Agent. Riot’s framing is a level playing field for a system that evolves Act-by-Act and Agent-by-Agent. Previous Agent playtime and progress do not carry into Mastery Points.

Progression math

Two tracks, both powered by Mastery Points (MP):

Act Levels track progress with an Agent during the current Act and reset at the start of each new Act.
Lifetime Levels permanently track progress with that Agent across Acts.

Earn MP to progress Act Levels. Raising an Act Level also raises the Lifetime Level. Riot’s shorthand: 1 Act Level = 1 Lifetime Level.

Earning MP

Play matches in supported game modes on an Agent to earn MP for that Agent. Wins and strong performance grant bonus MP. The notes do not list the full supported-mode set or bonus weights.

Act levels and portrait accents

Each Agent has 10 main Act levels per Act. Reach levels 4, 7, and 10 to unlock Portrait Accents, which upgrade the Agent Portrait and showcase investment from the current and previous Act. Reach Act Level 10 and Overleveling continues for the rest of the Act.

Lifetime levels, Reward Track, Agent IDs

Lifetime levels unlock access to rewards on each Agent’s Reward Track. Spend Kingdom Credits to unlock rewards. Tracks include rewards from the previous Agent Gear system plus new rewards. Already unlocked Agent Gear rewards are kept.

Agent IDs are a new showcase: unlock, customize, and equip components through each Agent’s Reward Track.

Warden: third automatic in the 2900-credit rifle tier

Warden joins Phantom and Vandal in the 2900 credits automatic-rifle tier. Riot frames it as a distinct long-range tactical choice. Official specifications from the Weapons Updates block:

Spec	Value (per 13.06 notes)
Class	Rifle
Price	2900 credits
Projectile	Bullet
Scope	2× magnification
Mag / reserve	18 / 36
Damage	50 body at all ranges; 200 headshot; 42 leg
Fire rate	6.5 rounds per second
Reload	2.5 s
Equip	Normal 1.0 / Fast 0.6 / Instant 0.2
Wall penetration	Medium

Flat all-range body damage plus a scoped automatic at 2900 credits is the published design bet. Riot did not publish pick rates or a recommended buy path in these notes.

Bug fixes

The Bug Fixes section is short and specific.

Agent

Fixed Ultimate Ability Voiceover being cut off when casting a different ability immediately after.
Fixed Agents with possessable abilities (Tejo, Sova, Gekko, Cypher, Skye) not being flashed when they exited a possessable ability at the exact same time an enemy activated a flash.
Fixed Cypher Trapwire looking active after Cypher was killed or suppressed at the exact moment the trap was reactivating.

Competitive

The threshold shown for the ‘Masterful’ Accolade is incorrect and will be fixed next patch. Riot says this is purely visual and does not impact earning the Accolade.

Cosmetics

A known bug that allowed players to jiggle peek with Flex equipped was fixed. Riot notes the fix actually shipped in Patch 13.02 but was omitted from those patch notes.

Console: Australia and New Zealand

With Patch 13.06, VALORANT Console is available in Australia and New Zealand. Riot’s console-only welcome line: “G’day and kia ora, gamers!”

Known issues

Riot lists two known issues with 13.06:

Competitive / console: mode selection issue when in Range in Queue.
Modes: after exiting queue, a player may be unable to enter the Range for a moment even while not in any queue. Riot says this will be fixed in a following patch.

Who it hits

Rifle buyers: a third 2900 automatic with 2× scope, 18-round mag, flat 50/200/42 damage, and 6.5 RPS — buy-menu math changes before any guide consensus does.
Agent mains: Mastery starts at zero for everyone; Gear already owned stays unlocked, but Act/Lifetime leveling and Agent IDs begin now.
Scoreboard / MVP chasers: ACS is gone in Comp, Unrated, Swiftplay, and Premier. Ordering follows Performance Score (0–500).
Post-match readers: End of Game now surfaces MVP, rank promotion, Mastery, Accolades, and Performance Score progress in one controllable flow.
Long-queue players: Range-while-queue is the practical QoL win, with Riot’s mode caveats and the two known issues above.
Limited-time mode players: Gauntlet: Glitched is the new queue, including Winner’s Circle and ability-draft tools; Retake leaves the LTM rotation.
Spanish / Portuguese / Korean voice chat: those languages are now in Riot’s published RVE set.
Console players in AU/NZ: region launch with 13.06.
Ranked integrity watchers: Riot’s antiboosting line cites 1,600 bans per day and over 90,000 since July 20, with a Vanguard retro companion — figures only, no named accounts.

Why it matters

This patch reshapes incentives across progression, scoreboard signaling, client navigation, post-match presentation, and mode rotation — not a quiet bug week.

Agent Mastery is the sticky systems change: a clean-slate Act/Lifetime ladder on every Agent, Kingdom Credits gating the Reward Track, prior Agent Gear preserved. That is both a fairness reset and a long-term engagement loop. The published rules are the story; the “level playing field” framing is Riot’s, not a verdict on anyone’s past grind.

Performance Score rewires what the post-game screen rewards. ACS was a familiar damage/kill shorthand; a 0–500 “fuller picture” metric will change how MVP screenshots travel, even if MMR is a separate system. Until Riot publishes weights, the score remains a black box with a published range and mode list.

Warden is buy-tier competition, not a declared Phantom or Vandal killer. Flat all-range damage plus a scoped automatic at 2900 credits is a clear design bet; adoption belongs to follow-up logs, not this explainer.

Gauntlet: Glitched is the weekend-mode energy — ability mashups, glitch upgrades, health-stock elimination, Winner’s Circle downtime — and the reason Retake rotates out. The antiboosting line is policy context only: Riot’s own 1,600 bans/day and over 90,000 since 20 July, plus the official Vanguard retro link. No names.

What to watch

Warden buy rate over the next 48–72 hours — Riot did not publish a pick rate in these notes; a tracker follow-up is a separate story if the numbers appear.
Performance Score feedback — Riot says it is watching; End of Game breakdowns show what the system values.
Agent Mastery Act Level 10 / Overleveling pace once the Act settles.
Accolades freshness — no historical data; early Act Accolades are a new genre, not a career retrospective.
Masterful Accolade threshold display — visual bug flagged for next patch.
Gauntlet duration and balance — Riot left most glitch examples sparse; expect discovery, then possible hotfixes. Exact end date is absent from the notes.
Roadmap already named: Map Rating (13.08), Competitive Flex (14.00), Radiant experience updates (14.00), Mode Select UI (13.08).
Known issues: console Range-in-queue mode select; temporary Range lockout after exiting queue.