‘Valorant’ 12.09 Patch Notes Bring Massive Neon And Shotgun Nerfs

TechGames‘Valorant’ 12.09 Patch Notes Bring Massive Neon And Shotgun NerfsByMike Stubbs,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Mike Stubbs covers esports, competitive games and the creator economy.Follow AuthorMay 12, 2026, 09:00am EDTNeon is in line for some big nerfs in the new Valorant patch. Credit: Riot GamesThe Valorant 12.09 patch notes have been released and they bring some major nerfs to two very strong areas of the game; shotguns and Neon. Neon has been one of the stronger and more disruptive agents for a while in Valorant, with her speed and mobility giving her too much of an advantage in fights. In the patch notes, the developers acknowledged that this is somewhat down to a larger, game wide, issue when it comes to pacing, but that will take longer to address, so for now Neon is getting some significant nerfs to try and reduce the issue somewhat. The Neon nerfs include a major change to High Gear, which grants her the majority of her movement abilities. Now, when jumping, High Gear will not provide any speed bonuses, and your speed while in the air cannot exceed melee speed. This should have a massive impact on how Neon players can move in and out of combat giving opponents little chance of predicting their movement. Now you should see fewer Neons appearing above head height round a corner at lightning speeds. The other significant Neon nerf means her fuel will now only regenerate with a kill when her ultimate is active, which should mean less fuel in general for aggressive Neon players. Of course, her fuel will still regenerate passively. Shotguns are the other big loser when it comes to the 12.09 Valorant patch notes, but these changes are also, in a way, tied to the Neon nerfs as many players paired the two together. The shotgun changes are designed to move them from an aggressive offensive weapon to a more defensive weapon. The biggest change comes to all shotguns, which are now less accurate when moving. Ac...