Everyone has that one map that appears on the loading screen that just invokes a heavy groan. Do I dodge or do I put up with this map? Why is this map so bad? Do I just suck on here or is there genuinely something wrong with it? Let’s go through each map and find out what really is wrong with every map in Valorant.
Valorant’s maps offer a lot of variety. From color scheme to level design, to each map’s unique gimmick. It’s hard not to have a favorite to play on. It is also hard not to have a least favorite to play on too. The very gimmicks and level design we love on one map, can be the things we dislike about another. Let’s be pessimistic together as we complain about your favorite and least favorite maps.
Split is a very Defender-sided map and offers a lot of rat angles that Defenders can use to their advantage. The biggest problem Split has is its main entrances to the sites. The chokes choke so tenaciously that attacking teams have to default to taking Mid control every round to have a chance at successfully entering a Spike site.
Because it is such a Defender-sided map, it is easy for attacking teams to start with a large deficit, due to the horrible entrances onto site. A well-coordinated attack is the only viable option if the attacking team cannot gain Mid control and you can throw that out of the window when solo-queuing in Competitive. It’s an ability dumpfest trying to Attack, which is why it earns 3/5 Reyna HUH?s.
Pearl is the second newest map in Valorant and like every new addition to the game, it got flamed pretty hard. I personally like this map, but it does have its flaws. The biggest flaw this map has is B Main. The entrance to B Main is looooong. It is an open pathway with nothing but a towering obelisk in the middle for cover. It is Operator favored and dependent on a Viper or Harbor wall to get onto site. Once you’re in the site, you realize the site is really awkward to clear and control.
In addition to the walkway of death in B Main, its hallways are claustrophobic and a maze to get through, which means the map is infested with rats. I don’t know how rats made their way into a village underwater, but this map offers so many cheese angles to play that need to be cleared, it can get repetitive and annoying. This map’s B Main earns 3.5/5 Reyna HUH?s.
With it being the newest map in Valorant, naturally, people complained about it. It is a unique map featuring 3 Spike sites, but it feels a lot more closed in compared to Haven’s 3 site map. The biggest problem with this map is that it feels (and probably is) too small. A player’s footsteps can be heard from halfway across the map. You see more close-range fights than far. The spawn barriers give both teams acres of room to work with and already control before the round begins.
Because of this layout and how far the spawn barriers eat into the map, it makes A Main way too important to control over areas in B or C Site. Attackers must plan around taking space in A Main before they can adapt to another game plan because of the breakable door that gives them access to B Site from A Main. Having this much map control is too important, so it makes gameplay repetitive. With how small the map feels and the importance of A Main, Lotus gets a 4/5 Reyna HUH?s.
Haven is a good map. One of the original Valorant maps and the first map to feature 3 Spike sites, Haven has a lot of fans. But, if I had to nitpick, I’d say that B Site isn’t a feasible first option to attack. B Site is nice to fall back on when your team’s first plan of attack fails, but that’s pretty much it. It is really hard to control and hold post-plant when planting on B Site. It doesn’t offer great cover and a team needs to be coordinated to lock down the many paths leading to B Site.
Another nitpick I have is that since it features 3 sites and feels so large, your defense will be stretched thin at the start of the round. It is easy to rotate early on this map since you want to go help as quickly as possible, but rotating on this map is perilous since it offers a lot of space for lurkers to work with.
Overall, I like this map a lot and I don’t think the bad aspects of this map take away any joy from playing on it, which is why B Site and a thin defensive line only earn Haven 2/5 Reyna HUH?s.
Oh, Fracture. I love how unique you are. I hate how unique you are. Fracture drew a lot of eyes upon release due to how unorthodox it was. The entire map layout was a gimmick and people were either excited to try it out or loathed having to endure a match on it. This is why Fracture’s worst aspect is the entire map; it is just too gimmicky.
Fracture exists only because it is quirky and different. Sometimes that can be a fun map to play on, to switch it up once and a while. But other times, it can get in the way of gameplay. If you just want to play Valorant on a normal map and you see Fracture in the loading screen, it can be an awful blow. Having an unorthodox setup is fun, but it could be frustrating to play on this map because of how different it is compared to the rest of the map pool. But can’t Defender Spawn just be on the other side of Attacker Spawn instead of in Mid? Why are there two sides to enter on each Spike site? There are too many entrances to cover. Fracture, you either love it or hate it. Too bad I hate it, 4/5 Reyna HUH?s.
I’ve seen a lot of people excited about Bind coming back into the map pool. Especially with the new changes to make it a better experience, players are welcoming it back with open arms (especially since it will be replacing the much-hated Icebox). But guys, I have something to say: I think Bind is the worst map in Valorant.
Ever since I started playing the game, I’ve hated Bind. I hate the teleporters. I hate the chokes, especially Hookah making me jump out of a window onto site. I hate the layout. I don’t like sand. It’s coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere. The biggest problem I have with Bind, other than the teleporter, is that THERE IS NO MID. How do we have an incomplete map this late in the game’s life? Riot forgot to add a middle section to this map. Instead of rotating or controlling a mid-section, they just threw in teleporters?!?!
“I’m attacking A! Just kidding!”
*Instantly teleports to B*
“Im actually attacking B! hehe.”
No, I hate this map with a passion, and I wish it was out of the map pool forever. 5/5 Reyna HUH?s.
Ascent is the perfect map. The gold standard for Valorant maps. The size is good. It has a great Mid area that feels good to take and control. The entrances to sites don’t choke too hard. There are great alternate routes to both sites through Mid. It is a great map and my personal favorite. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that it favors an Operator player too much. If the other side has a good Opper, it shuts down mid entirely unless some abilities are used to negate them. Overall, it is a well-balanced map that is a joy to play after playing it for years. Ascent being favorable to Operators gets a 0.5/5 Reyna HUH?s.
I feel like I am one of the few players who enjoys every map (except Bind). I even enjoy playing Pearl, Fracture, and Lotus. No map is perfect and there are bad aspects to every map, even your favorite. Most of the time it’s not always the map, we just suck. But sometimes it really is the map’s fault, because there’s dumb things about them.
