Riot Games has added Hush, VALORANT's 31st agent, in patch 13.09. She's a telekinetic Duelist from Guangdong, China who can steer her flash and pull mid-air, grab weapons and the Spike from range, and lift a whole team into the air with her ultimate. Riot published the patch notes on 27 October 2026 at 6:30 p.m. IST. The patch also buffs the Warden, cuts Clove's speed boost from 15% to 10% and redesigns every ability tooltip.
Below we cover Hush's full kit, every balance change worth knowing, how unlocking her works, and what players in India should check before queuing ranked.
What Riot announced in patch 13.09
The official patch 13.09 notes open simply: "New Agent Hush is here, along with some updated tooltips, Warden buffs, and a plethora of bug fixes." Riot describes her as an agent who "uses her telekinesis to close the most classified cases", fighting by redirecting her utility mid-air to "disrupt and displace the enemy team before suspending them helplessly for the killing blow."
Riot's VALORANT Wiki entry lists her as Agent Number 31 and a Duelist with the internal codename Paprika, added on 27 October 2026 in V26 Act 6 (version 13.09). Fans first saw her at the end of the VALORANT Champions 2026 event in Shanghai, where Riot showed her reveal trailer, "RISE AND FALL". She's the third Chinese agent after Sage (Xi'an) and Iso (Chongqing).
Hush's full kit, explained
Most of Hush's kit uses the same pattern. You throw an ability, then reactivate it to send it towards your crosshair. That makes her utility harder to predict than a standard flash or grenade, because it can change direction after it leaves her hand. Here's each ability, based on Riot's descriptions:
Ability | Type | What it does (per Riot) |
|---|---|---|
Telekinesis | Passive | Pick up weapons, the Spike (on attack) and interact with switches from an increased range |
Flow | Basic | Instantly create an anchor. If airborne, briefly levitate in place, then propel towards the anchor |
Flashbulb | Basic | Throw it or prepare it with alt fire, then reactivate to redirect it to your crosshair. Flashes everyone looking at it |
Displacement | Signature | Same throw-and-redirect control. Pulls all players to its centre and concusses anyone who hits a surface or another player. Resets every two kills |
Suspension | Ultimate | Send the orb forward, steering with your crosshair, then detonate it to levitate all players |
Source: Riot Games, VALORANT Patch Notes 13.09. Ability types from the official VALORANT Wiki.
Infographic: NextPlayIntel, built from Riot's patch 13.09 notes and the VALORANT Wiki.
Why her kit matters
Duelist entry with control: Displacement pulls enemies out of corners and can concuss a whole stack hiding behind boxes. That's usually an Initiator's job, but Hush does it as a Duelist.
Kill-based resets: like Jett's Tailwind dash, Displacement resets every two kills, so a good Hush gets to keep using her strongest tool.
Retake tricks: her passive lets attackers pick up the Spike from further away, which could change how teams recover a dropped Spike in open areas.
A team-wide ultimate: Suspension levitates everyone it catches. Levitating players are easy targets, so it's a strong ultimate for retakes and site executes.
Riot also notes that Hush is "our first new Agent since Performance Score launched". It warns that your scores on her "may be a bit bumpy in the first few days" while it tunes what good utility use looks like. Don't worry if her Performance Score looks odd this week.
Every balance change in patch 13.09
Hush isn't the only change. Riot also reviewed movement buffs across the roster, and two of the changes will affect your games straight away:
Change | Before | After | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
Clove — Pick-me-up bonus movement speed | 15% | 10% | Nerf |
Clove — killed after Not Dead Yet | No reward | Killer gets 1 ult point + signature refresh point | Nerf |
Warden — 2nd bullet error | .25 | .2 | Buff |
Warden — 3rd bullet error | .6 | .5 | Buff |
Warden — pitch recoil | — | Smoothed for the first few bullets | Buff |
Source: Riot Games, VALORANT Patch Notes 13.09 (27 Oct 2026).
Chart: NextPlayIntel. Data: Riot Games patch notes 13.09.
Riot says the Warden changes are meant to improve "the Warden's base versatility and handling to better fit its current 2900 pricing". In practice, follow-up shots are more accurate and the first few bullets are easier to control. The Clove changes bring her in line with similar abilities. Riot says she had "a higher movement speed bonus value compared to similar movement speed bonus abilities" and different kill rewards after Not Dead Yet.
Other changes worth knowing
Haste is now an official buff for movement speed boosts from Brimstone's Stim Beacon, Clove's Pick-me-up, Miks's Harmonize, Neon's High Gear and Overdrive, and Waylay (whose Convergent Paths buff has been renamed Haste). Combat Stim stays separate.
Snapshot is the new name for the still-image silhouette reveal from Cypher's Neural Theft and Spycam.
All ability descriptions have been rewritten. Tooltips now show the agent, role and keybinds, and passives such as Neon's Battery are listed in Agent Select and the Agent Hub.
Your Act Best Match now has a bigger impact on Map Rating, and the First Blood accolade is harder to earn. Past accolades aren't affected.
Radianite Points can now be bought in-game, but only in Korea.
Many bug fixes for Clove, Cypher, Deadlock, Gekko, Omen, Raze, Sova, Tejo, Yoru and Miks, including a Tejo Special Delivery that could carry over into the next round.
What it means for players in India
Indian players are on Riot's Asia-Pacific shard, which uses the Mumbai servers. Riot rolls out patches region by region and hasn't published an exact Asia-Pacific deployment time for 13.09. The notes went live at 6:30 p.m. IST on 27 October. If Hush isn't in your Agents tab yet, restart the Riot Client and let it update. On console, check for a game update.
Expect to see a lot of Hush in unrated and Swiftplay this week. Most players need time to learn how to counter a new agent's utility, and her redirected flash is designed to catch players out. A safe habit is to turn away from any glowing orb in the air, even after it has passed you, because Hush can send it back.
Prices: unlocking an agent with VALORANT Points costs the same number of VP worldwide, but Riot sets the rupee price of VP bundles for each region. We haven't independently confirmed today's India store prices, so check the in-game store before you buy.
How to unlock and play Hush: step by step
Update VALORANT through the Riot Client on PC, or through your console's update menu on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S.
Open the Agents tab from the main menu and select Hush.
Unlock her for free by earning the XP the recruitment event asks for, or unlock her instantly with VP. Community trackers report the target as 200,000 XP or 1,000 VP, which matches recent agent launches.
Practise in the Range first. Patch 13.09 shows the new tooltips when you test a new agent there, so you can practise throwing and redirecting Flashbulb and Displacement.
Play her in unrated or Swiftplay before ranked so the early Performance Score tuning doesn't count against you.
Level her Agent Mastery track to unlock her cosmetic rewards. Strafe lists a lifetime track up to level 30 with Kingdom Credit rewards, including titles such as Preoccupied, Paranormal and Telekinetic.
What's not confirmed yet
Recruitment event dates and XP target: community sites such as VALORANT Spind report a free event from 28 October to 25 November that needs 200,000 XP. The patch notes don't mention the event, so treat these details as reported until they appear in your client.
Exact Asia-Pacific patch time: Riot hasn't published it.
Competitive availability: new agents usually reach ranked after a short wait. Riot's 13.09 notes don't say when Hush can be picked in Competitive, so check the in-game queue rules.
Rupee price of VP: we haven't verified it today. Check the in-game store.
Background: VALORANT's agent pipeline
Riot has released new agents steadily since VALORANT launched in 2020, and the roster has now reached 31. Hush was revealed at the VALORANT Champions 2026 Finals in Shanghai and arrived about a week and a half later. That's a shorter gap than many earlier agents. According to Strafe, her Agent Mastery pass was revealed on 23 October, days before launch. Riot fixed her release for 27 October, which fits its usual Tuesday patch schedule.
Hush arrives right after the end of the 2026 competitive season, so pro teams have the off-season to work out where she fits before VCT 2027.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Who is Hush in VALORANT?
Hush is VALORANT's 31st agent. She's a Duelist from Guangdong province in China who uses telekinesis, and Riot added her in patch 13.09 on 27 October 2026.
What are Hush's abilities?
Telekinesis (passive), Flow, Flashbulb, Displacement (signature) and Suspension (ultimate). She can steer her flash and pull ability mid-air, and her ultimate levitates players.
When did patch 13.09 release?
Riot published the patch notes on 27 October 2026 at 13:00 UTC, which is 6:30 p.m. IST. Riot releases patches region by region and hasn't published an exact Asia-Pacific time, so update your Riot Client and check the Agents tab.
How do I unlock Hush for free?
Community trackers report a free recruitment event that needs 200,000 XP, or an instant unlock for 1,000 VP. Riot's patch notes don't list these details, so check the in-game Agents tab.
What else changed in patch 13.09?
The Warden got recoil and spread buffs, Clove's Pick-me-up speed bonus dropped from 15% to 10%, ability tooltips were redesigned, and Haste and Snapshot became official buff terms.
Is Hush on PS5 and Xbox?
VALORANT is on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Riot's patch 13.09 notes cover all platforms and mark only some changes as PC-only, which suggests Hush is part of the console update as well. Check the Agents menu on your console to be sure.
Sources & verification
Sources last verified on . This article covers published information, not hands-on testing.