Riot Games has detailed changes to damage and healing assists in Valorant’s patch 13.10 notes, published November 10. Smaller damage contributions can earn credit when teammates finish an enemy quickly, while healing assists depend on a post-heal kill window.
Riot says the adjustments are meant to encourage trading, reward players who help secure kills, and make healing assists better reflect their contribution to a fight.
Damage assists have two qualifying routes
The damage requirements separate quick contributions from heavier damage dealt earlier:
- Timed damage assist: Deal more than 10 damage to an enemy within 3 seconds of a teammate securing the kill.
- Higher-damage assist: Deal at least 50 damage to an enemy your teammate kills, regardless of when that damage was dealt.
The timing requirement applies to the lower-damage route. Players who meet the higher threshold still qualify without needing an immediate follow-up, so the shorter window does not replace the existing damage rule.
Riot introduced these assist changes alongside the Performance Score updates in Valorant patch 13.08. The developer left them out of that patch’s notes and has now explained them in the 13.10 breakdown.
Healing credit depends on the recipient’s kill
A healing assist is awarded only if the teammate you healed gets a kill within 10 seconds after the heal effect ends. The countdown starts at the end of the effect, not the moment the heal begins.
The deadline concerns the healed player’s kill, not an elimination by any member of the team. For players using healing abilities, who gets the finishing blow determines healing credit alongside when it happens.
