VALORANT is getting a dedicated Manila server with the release of patch 11.04 on August 19th.
The addition will bring the total number of servers available across the Asia Pacific region to six, the same as in North America.
The Philippines community so far has played on Hong Kong servers, and while the ping difference wasn’t a lot for casual players, it has impacted professional players.
This shift will not only lower pings but also improve the game’s performance, while reducing instability issues.
Riot Games stated: “Over the past five years, our Southeast Asian community, particularly in the Philippines, has grown significantly. We’re grateful for this incredible passion and want to ensure that we are properly supporting our player base!”
The Asia Pacific VALORANT community overall has seen massive growth, especially after the introduction of the VCT partnership league, which introduced new talent from the Philippines.
In fact, most recently, Patrick ‘PatMen’ Mendoza from Paper Rex became the first Filipino player to lift a VALORANT Masters trophy. With improved infrastructure, up-and-coming talent in the country will have the chance to showcase their potential without disadvantages.
Hong Kong server will remain unaffected
Riot Games also ensured that the overall player base in the Asia Pacific region is quite healthy, so players don’t need to worry about the quality of matchmaking moving forward in Hong Kong.
That said, those who still want to play on Hong Kong servers can continue to do so, as the Manila server is being added as an “alternative option for players.”
Manila Server will be part of VCL Southeast Asia
Premier teams in the Philippines can also switch to the Manila server without losing their eligibility or access to VCL competition. The top-performing squads will join the Asia zone, which falls under the Challengers Southeast Asia circuit.
