VALORANT finally adds Range Queue as Patch 13.06 overhauls competitive play

Rituraj Halder Published September 23, 2026

After years of players begging for something to do while waiting for matches, Riot Games is officially answering the community’s demands. With the release of Patch 13.06, VALORANT has finally introduced Range Queue, allowing players to load into the Practice Range and warm up their aim while sitting in matchmaking.

You no longer have to doomscroll between games or stare blankly at the timer. The long-awaited quality-of-life feature heads up a massive update that also introduces the brand-new 2,900-credit Warden rifle, an experimental 2v2 “Gauntlet: Glitched” mode, an Agent Mastery progression system, and a complete revamp of how performance and ranked achievements are tracked.

How does range queue work in Valorant?

With this new feature, players can jump into the Practice Range directly from the party lobby after starting matchmaking or simply kick off the search from inside the Range itself while already shooting bots.

Riot also shared details on how this feature will work. If the system expects a quick match start, access to the Range might be temporarily withheld, but if wait times drag on, the option reopens. Additionally, game modes without a traditional Agent Select screen, such as Deathmatch or Premier, won’t support Range Queue.

Nevertheless, for high-ELO players facing long queue times, being able to tap bots and practice recoil control while waiting is a massive win for keeping the head in the game. 

ACS gets scrapped 

While Range Queue is a big addition, Patch 13.06 completely reshapes VALORANT’s competitive ecosystem from top to bottom. Most notably, Riot is officially retiring Average Combat Score (ACS) in favor of a new 0–500 “Performance Score” system.

Rather than over-indexing purely on kills and raw damage, Performance Score evaluates a wider spectrum of player contributions, including utility usage and high-impact plays, to determine MVPs and scoreboard rankings across Competitive, Unrated, Swiftplay, and Premier modes. 

The patch also debuts an Accolades tracking system to record lifetime personal bests, alongside a “Rank Legacy” feature inside the new Competitive Hub that acts as a permanent trophy case for peak VALORANT ranks.

Between firing up Range Queue and testing out the new Warden rifle, VALORANT players have plenty of reasons to hop into the server once again after this new patch. 

Featured image credit: Riot Games