The main Valorant maps and their characteristics

Valorant has become in recent months one of the most popular and top rated PC games by players around the world. Its success lies in combining the adrenaline of classic shooters with the intellectual challenge of strategy games. Thus, knowing the maps at Valorant it is a key condition for success.

Originally, Valorant was presented in October 2019 under the name from Project A. Its developers are Riot Games, the same successful game makers as League of Legends. In March 2020 it was finally introduced under its current name.

This "Tactical shooter" face two teams of five players. One team has the mission to attack and the other to defend itself. The main game mode is "Search and Destroy": the attacking side aims to plant a bomb and detonate it; Obviously, the role of defenders is to avoid it at all costs.

To prepare for the fight, each player has 30 seconds to buy weapons and equipment. However, it is the question of tiempo the one that makes this game so fast-paced. Each round lasts 120 seconds. In this short period of time you have to eliminate the enemies or survive them. A real adrenaline rush. In the next round, the roles are reversed: the attackers go on to defend and the defenders go on to attack. Final victory goes to the first team to win 13 rounds. There is also a quick mode, called Spike rush, in which victory is achieved with 7 rounds won.

In these frenzied combats one of the elements that can throw the balance to one side or the other is the control of the stage where the action takes place. That is why it is so important to know the game maps well. In total they are six playable maps plus a shooting range where you can practice.

BIND

It is one of the Valorant maps most loved by players, both for its playability and its aesthetic quality. BIND takes us to a suggestive setting, that of a city in the Middle East, surrounded by desert and with buildings of an Arab style.

It has two portals or access point correctly distributed. Expert players assure that this map gives defenders a slight advantage, that can surprise the attacking team from the rear at various points. There are many ideal places to ambush and wreak havoc on enemy ranks.

Some practical tips for playing in Bind:

• The use of teleporters is especially effective on the part of the defending team, as it can create a lot of confusion for the enemy.
• You have to move slowly through the laboratory area, because the footsteps sound very loud and that noise attracts enemies.
• The best place to be as a sniper is undoubtedly Tower A.

HAVEN

In opposition to BIND, in HAVEN it is the attackers who will have more facilities to carry out their mission, given the configuration of the map. The first reason is because in this scenario there are three point spike (and not two, as is usual). That is, three places to place the pump. That, coupled with the fact that HAVEN is also the largest map out there on Valorant, makes the work of the defenders really demanding.

The big question when facing a round in HAVEN is this: Which of the spike sites is easier to attack or defend?

Site A is located in a high position on the map, so in principle it is the one with the best defense facilities. Instead, site B occupies a central position with three entrances that leaves the defending team quite exposed to attack. Finally, Site C is on paper the best place for attackers, although on the other hand it is the ideal place for a defense sniper to shine.

Finally, it should be added that HAVEN reproduces the appearance of an Asian city (in the game it is detailed that it is the country of Bhutan), with many nooks and crannies and buildings with roofs similar to those of the pagodas.

SPLIT

Perhaps the most complex of Valorant's maps. It is situated in the setting of a current Asian city, where modern buildings and examples of traditional architecture are mixed. In principle, it has a more favorable disposition to the defenseAlthough communication between team members and the choice of profiles have a lot of weight in the outcome.

A unique feature of SPLIT is the strings to get on and off the roofs of buildings. Used properly, they can provide a significant tactical advantage. We must bear in mind that when we climb them we are very exposed to the attacks of our rivals.

Speaking of technical details, in SPLIT We found no teleporters. This aspect reduces the mobility of the players and at the same time makes the static defenses more effective than on other maps. The spike B site in particular requires a lot of imagination and skill on the part of the attackers.

ASCENT

The aesthetic theme of ASCENT transports us to a classic Italian city, so it can be said that from the outset it is the most elegant setting that we are going to find in this game. Morphologically, it bears a lot of resemblance to SPLIT, although here with a large open space or central square, where it is almost impossible to walk without taking risks.

There is, however, a very important differentiating element: the doors. The control of these doors, which are activated by buttons, also means the control of the spike points. However, it is a vulnerable resource that can be destroyed, causing the situation and the balance between the two contenders to change radically in a matter of just a second.

The defense of point B is relatively simple, but not that of point A, which should be by simple deduction of the attackers' objective (as long as you do not want to cheat, which is another possibility).

ICE BOX

ICE BOX it is one of the second batch Valorant maps. I mean, it didn't exist when the game was first released. Beyond its evocative aesthetic, of icy beauty, it is distinguished by its convoluted plane full of angles and verticals.

This hidden base somewhere in the arctic It consists of two levels. You can go from one to the other using a series of ropes and zip lines very similar to those found in SPLIT. The two spike points (A and B) are located at different levels or heights.

It is a wide and open stage where, in addition to the building blocks, players can climb to the top of the icy hills that surround the base. A lovely detail is that, at the start of the game, all players get off a ship, thus representing their arrival on that remote and inhospitable battlefield.

IN ICEBOX the possibilities of attackers and defenders are equal. Actually, both teams have a lot of tactical options. This is probably the map of the game where players have the most space to display their creativity.

BREEZE

And from the ice we go to the tropical heat of the southern seas. BREEZE is the last Valorant map to be released, set on some island south of the infamous Bermuda Triangle.

This map is even bigger and wider than the one in ICEBOX, which favors long-range confrontations and gives a small advantage to players with better aim. If anything, being the newest map in the game, its features are still being explored by players. It could be said then that there is still a lot of room to devise strategies and tricks.

It may only be due to the appeal of the novelty, but the truth is that, at the moment, the one that has already been baptized as Valorant's "Caribbean map" is undoubtedly the most popular of this game.

Shooting range

Finally, and even not being a map in the strict sense, it is mandatory to include the Valorant shooting range on our list.

This is the ideal place to hang out while we are waiting to join a game, times that can sometimes be desperately long. That was precisely why the game creators decided to implement it. But it is not just a simple "waiting room": as its name indicates, the Shooting range It is a very useful setting to test, practice and perfect our skills as players.

Our recommendation is that you take advantage of those idle moments to go through the shooting range, thus gradually improving your level of play.