When Does Valorant Season 25 Act 5 Competitive Queue End? All Regional Times

The clock’s ticking on Valorant Season 25 Act 5, and competitive grinders need to know exactly when ranked queues shut down. Here’s your complete guide to Act 5’s end times across all regions, plus what massive changes await in Act 6.

Valorant Competitive Queue End Times by Region

Important: Competitive queues close 1.5 hours before servers go down for maintenance. You can still play unrated modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Spike Rush, and Unrated during this window, but no ranked matches.

Why The Different Times?

Valorant’s Season 25 Act 5 competitive queue ends over different points in time across October 15 and 16, 2025, staggered by region to manage server load during the transition. Americas shut down first, followed by Asia-Pacific, then EMEA regions.

If your timezone isn’t listed, check the Act Rank tab in-game—Riot displays your exact local end time there. Don’t risk missing your final ranked grind!

What Happens After Queue Closes?

Once competitive queues close, servers undergo maintenance to prepare for Act 6. This typically lasts 2-3 hours. During this period, you’re completely locked out of Valorant—no unrated, no customs, nothing. Plan accordingly.

Your Act Rank gets finalized during maintenance, determining rewards like Act Rank badges and gun buddies. Unfinished competitive games won’t count toward your final rank, so avoid queueing within 45 minutes of shutdown to prevent abandonment penalties.

Act 6’s Game-Changing Competitive Updates

Buckle up—Act 6 brings the most significant gameplay overhaul in Valorant’s recent history. The changes are aimed at making the game feel more shooting-focused rather than ability-dependent. Here’s what’s changing:

Utility Nerfs Across The Board

• Breakable objects (Sage Wall, Killjoy Alarmbot, Gekko Thrash) get reduced HP
• All rechargeable abilities now take 60 seconds to return—no exceptions
• Ultimate coverage reduced for Fade’s Nightfall, Breach’s Rolling Thunder, Iso’s Kill Contract, and more
• Flash durations standardized for consistency across all agents

These changes fundamentally shift the competitive meta toward gunplay mechanics, rewarding aim and positioning over ability spam. Expect lower-rank players to struggle initially as game sense becomes more critical than utility timing.

Why The Changes? Community feedback overwhelmingly pointed to “ability spam” ruining competitive integrity. Pro players complained that utility usage overshadowed mechanical skill. Riot listened, and Act 6 represents their answer—a return to tactical shooter roots with abilities as supplements, not crutches.

Maximizing Your Final Hours

With limited time remaining, focus on quality over quantity:

For Rank Pushers: Play your main agents exclusively. Experimentation time is over. Stick to proven strategies and avoid tilt-inducing marathon sessions.

For Reward Chasers: Complete your Act Rank triangle by winning matches on different agents. Three wins per agent unlock Act Rank badges—the visible proof of your grind.

For Casual Players: Test off-meta strategies guilt-free. Act 6’s changes make current tactics obsolete anyway, so have fun experimenting before the reset.

Server Maintenance Schedule

North/South America servers go down at 6:00 AM PDT on October 15. Asian servers follow at 2:00 PM PDT. EMEA servers shut down at 8:00 PM PDT. Stagger your final games accordingly—official Valorant patch notes confirm these windows.

Act 6 typically launches immediately after maintenance completes, though Riot occasionally extends downtime for unexpected issues. Follow @PlayVALORANT on Twitter for real-time updates.

Stay updated on the latest Valorant competitive news and esports coverage for Act 6 meta breakdowns, agent tier lists, and pro tournament results.

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