Random map queues make each sport enjoyable and distinctive in VALORANT.
When VALORANT got here out on June 2, 2020, gamers had been positioned in a queue that will put them in one among 4 maps within the sport – Bind, Cut up, Haven, and Ascent.
This four-map rotation stayed largely the identical whereas gamers discovered their approach across the sport and its distinctive Brokers.
Over time, Riot Video games slowly added much more maps to VALORANT, beginning with Icebox, which was added only a few months after the sport’s preliminary launch, adopted by Breeze, Fracture, and the Pearl.
Quick ahead to 2023, and VALORANT now has greater than twice as many maps with the current addition of Lotus.
With as much as 9 maps at the moment in-game, you’re in all probability questioning how the devs handle the map rotations to ship a balanced expertise for all gamers.
Don’t worry; we now have included all the pieces it’s good to find out about how the VALORANT map rotation works on this information.
How does VALORANT’s map rotation work?
Within the early days, VALORANT’s map rotation was virtually fully random, with every map giving a 25% probability of being chosen, which regularly meant gamers may find yourself queuing the identical map twice and even 3 times in a row in a single sitting.
This was excellent news for gamers who find yourself queuing of their favourite map a number of occasions in a row, however dangerous information for studying and mastering different maps within the map pool. (Suppose CSGO gamers who solely queue Mirage for 90% of their video games.)
After listening to neighborhood suggestions, the VALORANT devs have improved how the sport picks maps for many sport modes.
Deterministic Map System
Again in Patch 4.04, Riot Video games silently rolled out a “deterministic” map system in Latin America which sought to “improve the number of maps gamers will encounter.”
With this aim in thoughts, the devs added three queue situations that apply to all ten gamers queueing for a selected sport mode:
- The system will have a look at all maps gamers have performed over the past 5 maps for that mode.
- The system will take away any maps a participant has performed twice prior to now 5 maps.
- The system will choose the least performed map.
- If all maps have been eliminated because of the “Twice Performed” rule, these maps shall be added again to the pool, and the least-played map shall be picked.
It’s price noting that this method capabilities on a per-game-mode foundation, which suggests the situations above will apply as separate situations between Unrated, Ranked, and different sport modes.
By April 2022, the variety of gamers experiencing the identical map a number of occasions in a row had dropped to a really low 0.06%.
What maps are in rotation VALORANT?
The maps in VALORANT’s map rotation as of Patch 6.01 are:
- Ascent
- Haven
- Cut up
- Icebox
- Fracture
- Pearl
- Lotus
Patch 6.0 marks the return of the refreshed Cut up, which comes with map adjustments to stability gameplay between the Attacking and Defending groups. Nonetheless, Riot Video games additionally eliminated two maps from the present rotation – Bind and Breeze.
Riot Video games briefly removes Bind and Breeze from the Aggressive and Unrated queues in Patch 6.01, very similar to how they eliminated Cut up from the map pool again in Episode 5 Act 1.
The devs say they are going to be working to enhance Breeze’s Agent and workforce comp range, whereas Bind is getting some work completed to enhance strategic range and enhance play across the map’s signature teleporters.
The transfer can be in step with Riot Video games’ choice to keep up a 7-map pool which they imagine offers gamers an excellent stability of range and mastery.
Regardless of being faraway from Unrated and Aggressive, followers of Bind and Breeze can nonetheless play their favourite map in alternate sport modes equivalent to Spike Rush and Customized Recreation.
All Mapped Out
VALORANT’s 9 maps are distinctive and supply a various gameplay expertise for gamers of all ranges. The devs have taken nice strides in making certain gamers can get an equal expertise of what every map affords by means of map pool adjustments and map queue system updates.
