Hey, Valorant fam! The latest patch, 4.05, is finally here, and it's packed with some super impactful changes that are going to shake up how we play. I've been grinding the PBE and digging through the notes, and let me tell you, Riot is cooking with this one! It's not just bug fixes; we're talking major agent balance tweaks, a fantastic new quality-of-life feature, and smart updates to how our weapons work. Let's break it all down so you can hit the ground running in 2026.

First up, the headline change: Brimstone's Stim Beacon got a massive nerf. Remember the 'Brimmy with the stimmy' meta? It was getting a little too wild. Riot felt that having two stims made it less about timing and more about spamming. So, they've reined it in hard.

Agent Updates: Brimstone

  • Stim Beacon Charges: Reduced from 2 >>> 1. 😱

  • Stim Beacon Cost: Increased from 100 >>> 200 credits. 💸

This is a huge shift! It means Brimstone players have to be way more strategic with their single, expensive stim. No more throwing one down for a lurk and saving another for the execute. It's a one-shot deal now, so you better make it count during that crucial site hit or retake. This change really pushes Brimstone back into his identity as a 'burst execution' specialist. Goodbye, stim spam!

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Now, for one of the coolest features I've seen in a while: Crosshair Profile Sharing! 🎯

This is a game-changer for the community. You can now generate a code for your perfect crosshair and share it with your friends, your stream, or copy it from your favorite pro. Setting it up is a breeze:

  1. Go to Settings > Crosshair Tab.

  2. Click the downward arrow icon next to 'Crosshair Profile'.

  3. Paste in your friend's code and hit 'Import'!

No more manually copying 15 different settings. It's seamless and honestly, so overdue. I can't wait to see the creative crosshairs people come up with.

Next, let's talk about the revamped weapon auto-equip system. This might sound technical, but it's actually a brilliant quality-of-life update that gives you more control.

The old 'Prioritize Strongest Weapon' setting has been completely reworked and renamed to 'Auto-Equip Prioritizes: Most Recent | Strongest'. They've also added a totally new setting: 'Don't Auto-Equip Melee'. 🙌

Here’s the new priority order for what your agent pulls out automatically:

1. Ultimate & Primary Weapons

2. Secondary & Chamber's Headhunter Pistol

3. Melee

If there's a tie (like between your primary and your ultimate), it picks the one you equipped most recently. The real magic is in the new 'Don't Auto-Equip Melee' option. This stops your agent from whipping out the knife after you use an ability or interact with the Spike. You'll go straight to your gun, which feels so much smoother for aggressive play.

Riot's reasoning here is genius. They realized that deciding if Jett's knives are 'stronger' than her Vandal depends entirely on the situation—how many knives are left, how close the enemy is. The best guess for what you want is usually what you just had out. These new settings let you customize that behavior based on your personal preference, which is awesome.

Competitive & Bug Fixes

  • The Deterministic Map System is now live everywhere! This should make map rotations feel more predictable and less streak-based.

  • A bunch of bugs from the last patch have been squashed across Competitive, Agents, and Social systems.

  • Riot has also acknowledged the Icebox bug and confirmed a fix is coming soon. So hang in there if you've been dealing with that!

Final Thoughts & The 2026 Meta

This patch, while seemingly small, has some profound effects. Brimstone's nerf might see his pick rate dip slightly in favor of other controllers, but it makes his kit more thoughtful. The crosshair sharing is a fantastic community tool, and the weapon priority settings are a subtle but powerful upgrade to game feel.

To thrive in 2026's meta post-4.05:

  • Brimstone mains: Budget carefully and make that one stim count. It's a premium tool now.

  • Everyone: Experiment with the new auto-equip settings. Turning off 'Auto-Equip Melee' is a revelation for duelists and entry players.

  • Content creators & friends: Share your wildest crosshair creations! The era of the perfect imported crosshair is here.

What do you guys think of the changes? Are you sad about the stimmy, or happy to see it go? Let me know your thoughts down below! 💬 #Valorant #PatchNotes #GamingTips #Valorant2026