Rina SatoVALORANT Patch 13.06 Explained | Performance Score, Agent Mastery & Warden
VALORANT Patch 13.06 explained: Performance Score, Agent Mastery, Rank Legacy, Warden, Gauntlet: Glitched and the biggest competitive changes.
VALORANT Patch 13.06 Explained: Performance Score, Agent Mastery & Warden
VALORANT Patch 13.06 is one of the biggest updates of 2026.
The September 22 update introduced major changes to the competitive experience, a redesigned Home and Lobby, the new Performance Score system, Accolades, Rank Legacy, Agent Mastery, the new Warden rifle, and the limited-time Gauntlet: Glitched mode.
Riot also added the ability to enter the Practice Range while waiting for a supported matchmaking queue.
This guide breaks down the most important Patch 13.06 changes and what they mean for ranked players.
VALORANT Patch 13.06: What's New?
The biggest changes include:
- New Home and Lobby experience
- Performance Score replacing ACS for several competitive displays
- New Accolades system
- Rank Legacy
- Competitive Hub improvements
- Practice Range while queueing
- Agent Mastery
- New Warden rifle
- Gauntlet: Glitched
- New End of Game experience
- Additional player-behavior improvements
Patch 13.06 was released on September 22, 2026. Riot describes it as one of the game's largest updates in recent years. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="2"}
Performance Score Explained
One of the biggest competitive changes in Patch 13.06 is the introduction of Performance Score.
Average Combat Score, commonly known as ACS, has been replaced by Performance Score in the supported game modes.
Performance Score uses a 0–500 scale and is designed to measure more than simply kills and damage.
It is available in:
- Competitive
- Unrated
- Swiftplay
- Premier
Your MVP and scoreboard position in these modes are now determined by Performance Score rather than ACS.
Does Performance Score Change Your RR?
Performance Score does not replace the VALORANT Rank Rating system.
Your Competitive rank and RR system remain separate from the new performance measurement.
Instead, Performance Score gives you additional information about how the game evaluated your contribution.
This makes it useful when reviewing a match and looking for areas to improve.
Where Can You See Performance Score?
You can see your Performance Score in the End of Game experience.
The game also provides additional information about what contributed to the score and where you can improve.
What Are VALORANT Accolades?
Patch 13.06 also introduced Accolades.
Accolades track standout personal achievements.
Examples include personal records and performance-related accomplishments.
Accolades are available in:
- Competitive
- Premier
The system begins tracking your achievements from Patch 13.06 onward.
Historical match data does not count toward the initial Accolade tracking.
You can view your Accolades through the new Competitive Hub.
Rank Legacy Explained
Another new competitive feature is Rank Legacy.
Rank Legacy allows players to see how many times they have reached each rank throughout their Competitive career.
Think of it as a career history for your ranks.
You can access it through the Competitive Hub from the Career section.
Each time you reach a rank, its counter can increase.
Riot also introduced restrictions on how frequently a rank can increase its Legacy counter.
A demotion into a rank does not increase that rank's counter.
New Competitive Hub
The Career experience has been redesigned to provide more information about your competitive progress.
The new Competitive Hub includes:
- Current Competitive information
- Accolades
- Rank Legacy
- Competitive progress
- Additional personal statistics
Your friends can still view your Career and the Competitive Hub overview, while dedicated Competitive Hub pages are visible only to you.
Practice Range While Queueing
One of the most useful quality-of-life changes for ranked players is the ability to enter the Practice Range while waiting for a supported matchmaking queue.
You can:
1. Start matchmaking from the lobby.
2. Enter the Practice Range while waiting.
3. Warm up your aim.
4. Leave the Range when the match is found.
You can also start matchmaking from inside the Range.
However, the feature is not available for every mode.
Premier, Deathmatch and other modes without Agent Select do not support queueing from the Range.
Why the Queue Range Matters
Instead of sitting in the lobby waiting for matchmaking, you can use the time to practice:
- Crosshair placement
- Flicks
- Recoil
- Movement
- Counter-strafing
- Spray control
- Ability lineups
If you are trying to rank up, turning queue time into practice time can make your sessions more productive.
For more practice advice, check our Valorant Aim Training Guide.
Agent Mastery Explained
Patch 13.06 completely changes how VALORANT tracks your relationship with individual Agents.
The new system is called Agent Mastery.
When you play an Agent, you earn progress specifically for that Agent.
Every Agent now has:
- Act Levels
- Lifetime Levels
- A Reward Track
- An Agent ID
Everyone starts Agent Mastery from zero.
Previous Agent playtime and progress does not carry over into the new system.
How Agent Mastery Works
Agent Mastery uses Mastery Points, or MP.
You earn MP by playing supported game modes with an Agent.
Wins and strong performances provide bonus MP.
There are two main progression systems.
Act Levels
Act Levels track your progress with an Agent during the current Act.
They reset when a new Act begins.
Each Agent has 10 main Act Levels.
Reaching levels 4, 7 and 10 unlocks Portrait Accents.
Once you reach Act Level 10, you can continue progressing through Overleveling for the remainder of the Act.
Lifetime Levels
Lifetime Levels permanently track your progress with an Agent across Acts.
Unlike Act Levels, they do not reset.
They are designed to represent your long-term investment in an Agent.
Lifetime progression also unlocks access to that Agent's Reward Track.
Agent Mastery Rewards
Agent Reward Tracks allow you to unlock rewards using Kingdom Credits.
The Reward Tracks contain rewards associated with the Agent system.
Players keep Agent Gear rewards they already unlocked before the transition.
Patch 13.06 also introduces Agent IDs, which provide another way to display your investment in an Agent.
The New Warden Rifle
Patch 13.06 also introduced the Warden, a new automatic rifle.
The Warden joins the Vandal and Phantom in the 2,900-credit rifle tier.
Its design focuses on providing another long-range rifle option.
Warden Stats
| Statistic | Warden |
|---|---:|
| Price | 2,900 Credits |
| Magazine | 18 |
| Fire Rate | 6.5 |
| Scope | 2x |
| Headshot Damage | 200 |
| Body Damage | 50 |
| Leg Damage | 42 |
| Ammo Reserve | 36 |
| Reload | 2.5 seconds |
| Wall Penetration | Medium |
The Warden fires bullets and includes a 2x scope.
Its 50-damage body shots at all ranges give it a very different profile from many existing rifles.
How Should You Practice With the Warden?
The Warden rewards players who are comfortable with deliberate, accurate shooting.
Start by practicing:
- Long-range taps
- Burst firing
- Crosshair placement
- Scoped accuracy
- Holding long angles
- Switching between scoped and unscoped firing
Don't immediately treat it as a direct replacement for the Vandal or Phantom.
Its smaller magazine and different firing characteristics require a slightly different approach.
Gauntlet: Glitched Explained
Patch 13.06 also introduced Gauntlet: Glitched, a limited-time game mode.
The mode uses:
- 16 players
- 8 teams of two
- 2v2 battles
- Multiple stages
- Ability drafting
- Upgraded abilities
- Four arenas
Each round puts your duo against another duo.
Losing rounds removes team health, and a team is eliminated when its health reaches zero.
You can queue solo or with a friend.
Ability Drafting in Gauntlet: Glitched
One of the most unusual parts of Gauntlet: Glitched is the ability-drafting system.
Between rounds, players receive randomized ability options.
You can:
- Add a new ability
- Upgrade an existing ability
- Reroll
- Build around a specific strategy
Abilities can reach Level 3.
Some abilities can also receive random Glitched effects at higher levels.
That means two players can potentially create very different builds during the same match.
New Gauntlet Arenas
Gauntlet: Glitched features four arenas.
They remix familiar VALORANT map environments into smaller 2v2 battlefields.
The familiar visual locations do not mean the normal map strategies apply directly.
Because the matches are 2v2, positioning, ability combinations and individual mechanics become much more important.
New End of Game Experience
Patch 13.06 also redesigned the End of Game screen.
The new experience brings several pieces of information together:
- Match performance
- Rewards
- Match details
- MVP information
- Performance Score
- Agent Mastery
- Accolades
- Rank progress
The experience can also be navigated at your own pace.
You can review details, requeue immediately or return to the lobby.
New Home and Lobby
VALORANT also merged the previous Home and Lobby experiences into a single hub.
The new interface provides access to:
- Game modes
- Events
- Missions
- Current map pool
- Leaderboards
- Pick'Ems
- Limited-time content
- Your party
The goal is to make it easier to see what is happening in VALORANT before entering your next match.
Patch 13.06 and Ranked Players
For competitive players, the most important changes are not necessarily balance changes.
The bigger change is how VALORANT now shows your progress.
You can now track:
- Your rank history
- Agent-specific progress
- Performance Score
- Personal achievements
- Competitive statistics
This gives players considerably more information to work with after each match.
If your goal is climbing, however, the fundamentals still matter.
You should continue focusing on:
- Crosshair placement
- Aim
- Positioning
- Utility usage
- Trading
- Communication
- Economy management
- Round planning
For more climbing advice, see our How to Rank Up Fast in Valorant guide.
Does Patch 13.06 Change the Valorant Rank System?
Patch 13.06 adds new competitive tracking features, but it does not replace the basic Competitive ranking structure.
Rank Legacy records your historical rank achievements.
Performance Score provides a broader measurement of match contribution.
Neither system should be confused with RR or hidden MMR.
If you want to understand the underlying system, read our guides on Valorant RR and Valorant MMR.
Patch 13.06: Biggest Changes at a Glance
| Feature | What Changed |
|---|---|
| Performance Score | 0–500 performance measurement replaces ACS for supported displays |
| Accolades | Tracks personal performance achievements |
| Rank Legacy | Tracks historical rank achievements |
| Agent Mastery | Agent-specific progression system |
| Practice Range | Available while waiting for supported queues |
| Warden | New 2,900-credit scoped rifle |
| Gauntlet: Glitched | New limited-time 2v2 mode |
| Career | New Competitive Hub and redesigned Career |
| End of Game | Expanded match summary and progression information |
| Home/Lobby | Combined into a new central hub |
Final Verdict on Patch 13.06
Patch 13.06 is much more than a normal balance update.
The update changes how VALORANT presents competitive performance and long-term progression while also adding a new rifle and a completely different limited-time mode.
For ranked players, the biggest features to understand are Performance Score, Rank Legacy, Accolades and the ability to practice in the Range while queueing.
For players who enjoy progression, Agent Mastery adds a new reason to specialize in individual Agents.
And for players looking for something different, Gauntlet: Glitched provides a completely separate 2v2 experience.
VALORANT is also already planning further competitive changes, including Map Rating in Patch 13.08 and Competitive Flex in Patch 14.00. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="3"}
