Valorant is filled with tons of unique and creative maps that can be played in a variety of ways. As of the latest patch, Valorant has a total of 9 maps, each with its own gimmicks and set in different locations on Future Earth.
Of the 9 maps, only 7 are currently in rotation and playable in your ranked games. We’ll make sure to indicate which ones are currently out of the map pool.
Here’s our take on the best Valorant maps!
The Best Valorant Maps
Let’s take a deep look at each map and what makes them great and unique. We’ll discuss their pros and cons, a few tips to attack or defend, and some of the best Valorant agents to play on each map.
Note: We’ll be updating this list with roster changes and updates to each map as soon as they happen!
Ascent
Release Date: Episode 1 Act 1 (June 2, 2020)
Exact Map Coordinates: 45°26’15” N 12°20’9” E
Location: San Marco, Venice, Italy
Offers many different entryways to both sites.
Wide middle-area that can be contested by both attackers and defenders.
Many wall bangable locations that can help you get easy kills.
Rushes on B site can be easy to stop by a Sentinel or through wall bangs.
Little post-plant options on B site.
The doors can sometimes do your team more harm than good.
Ascent is the first map on our list and is one of the most popular maps both in pro play and in ranked. It’s very easy to play, making it a beloved map by the community.
It’s slightly a defender-sided map, but it’s known as one of the most balanced Valorant maps. Both sites can be attacked in different ways and offer a lot of different angles and areas to pick and hold from.
Its middle area is also a great tool for attackers, giving them plenty of options to choose from. However, mid is often contested by Opers because of the open spaces. Mid is often challenged by both sides and can give your team a big advantage if you can hold on to it.
Overall, Ascent is pretty balanced, and it’s always fun to play. It features tons of different corners, cubbies, and boxes that always allow both sides to play in unique and unpredictable ways.
Best Agents to Play on Ascent
- Jett
- Sage
- Killjoy
- Omen
- Sova
Bind (Currently Out of Map Pool)
Release Date: Beta Launch Map (April 7, 2020)
Exact Map Coordinates: 34°2’0” N 6°51’0” W
Location: Rabat, Morocco
It’s very easy to rotate because of the small map size and teleporters.
The ultimate orbs can easily be secured.
Offers a lot of different post-plant locations and lineups.
You can easily be killed by enemies waiting outside of teleporters.
Flanking can easily be heard if you aren’t careful due to the small map size.
Showers/baths and hookah can become chokepoints if you aren’t careful.
The next Valorant map on our list is Bind. Bind is one of the more unique maps because it features teleporters that take you to two different locations on the map. You can use the teleporters to easily rotate from one site to another. However, the teleporters only go one way and aren’t interconnected.
Bind is a fairly balanced map where both sides have decent chances to win. However, it does lean a little bit toward the defenders, especially if you use your utility properly.
Both sites offer “long” and “short” entrances that can help you execute different attacks. Defenders also have plenty of space to position themselves and their utility throughout the site. The teleporters also play a huge role for both sides, because they can easily be used to quickly rotate between the sites.
Bind is a great representation of how chaotic yet beautiful Valorant can be. It offers a mixture of cheeky corners, Operator angles, rush opportunities, and quick rotations.
Best Agents to Play on Bind
- Raze
- Sage
- Reyna
- Skye
- Fade
Haven
Release Date: Beta Launch Map (April 7, 2020)
Exact Map Coordinates: 27°28’0” N 89°38’30” E
Location: Thimphu, Bhutan
Many potential attack routes.
Many different areas where you can effectively use an Operator.
Lots of different shotgun cheese spots for eco rounds.
A heavily attacker-sided map.
It can be hard to defend sites if you don’t have any sentinels on your team.
Garage and A short can be a chokepoint on the attacker’s side.
The unique feature about Haven is that it has three different plant sites. Both A and C have “long” and “short” entrances, allowing you to play different styles. There are also numerous Operator areas on the map but are also balanced out by the close corners and blind spots.
As you have probably guessed, Haven is an attacker-sided map. Defending two sites is already hard enough; what more if there were three sites.
Both the A and C sites offer two different ways to attack, allowing attackers to mix things up a bit. While the middle area of Haven connects directly to the entrance of the B site or to a garage area that you can use to enter the B or C site.
However, defenders can still hold sites pretty effectively. Usually, a setup in Haven involves quick rotations between different sites, especially the players holding B site. You can also stack players on A and C and simply have a couple of “rotator” players ready to run to B.
Best Agents for Haven
- Sova
- Jett
- Killjoy
- Omen
- Reyna
Icebox
Release Date: Episode 1 Act 3 (October 13, 2020)
Exact Map Coordinates: 76°44’0” N 149°30’0” E
Location: Bennett Island, Sakha, Russia
Has a ton of verticality that agents like Jett, Raze, Chamber, and Omen can abuse.
Offers tons of unique plant spots on both sites.
It can be easy to play post-plant situations.
It can be hard to control mid if you have no sentinels on your team.
It can be hard to retake a site.
Has many unique angles that you have to check.
Icebox is the first map that Valorant released after its worldwide launch. The map is covered in a snowy landscape and offers amazing sceneries, making for a good Valorant wallpaper.
One unique thing about Icebox is that it has a lot of verticality. This is why agents like Jett, Raze, and Omen were great picks in Icebox when it was first released. Now, these agents are still good on Icebox and you can even add Chamber to the mix.
Most players like attacking A site because it’s, quite frankly, the easier site to attack. There are a few close corners, but nothing that a Sova or Skye can’t clear. There are also multiple great areas to plant on, with matching lineups to boot.
However, the minor rework in Patch 4.04 has made the B site easier to attack. It still provides some challenges because of the open areas, but it’s way better than what it used to be.
Best Agents to Play on Icebox
- Jett
- Raze
- Sova
- Sage
- Viper
Lotus
Release Date: Episode 6 Act 1 (January 10th, 2023)
Exact Map Coordinates: 14°07’03″N 74°53’21″E
Location: Western Ghats, Karnataka, India
Players can easily rotate between sites.
The rotating doors can make for some very unique plays.
A ton of unique locations to play from.
Many different close corners and cheeky angles.
Can be hard to attack if you’re not on the same page with your team.
A lot of tight spaces where utils can kill you.
Like Haven, Lotus has three sites. The size of the map is shockingly small and allows for quick rotates through the different passages. Of course, Lotus also comes with its own gimmick, which is the rotating doors found on A and between B and C.
New maps often come with growing pains, but it seems like that’s not the case with Lotus. While players slowly got used to the map, they discovered that it can be quite enjoyable both when attacking or defending.
Lotus just presents so many unique strategies for attacking and defending. This makes the map feel very difficult at times, while sometimes it can be one of the easiest maps to play. That’s probably the only reason why Lotus isn’t higher on the list.
Regardless, it’s a solid map that does require some getting used to. Once you find your preferred playstyle on Lotus, you’ll be racking up those wins in no time. You can check your Lotus win rate using Valorant stat trackers so that you’re always updated with your performance.
Best Agents to Play on Lotus
- Raze
- Neon
- Breach
- Killjoy
- Omen
Split
Release Date: Beta Launch Map (April 7, 2020)
Exact Map Coordinates: 35°41’23” N 139°41’32” E
Location: Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Defenders can easily rotate between the two sites through mid vents or defender spawn.
The ropes provide easy ways to get to high ground, especially in the B site.
The middle area gives you easy access to both sites’ “heaven” areas.
It can be hard to enter the sites if you don’t take middle control.
It can be difficult to defend on Split without a Sentinel.
It can be hard to attack A site if you’re team is uncoordinated with ability usage and corner checking.
Split is considered a mid-tier map. It’s a hit-or-miss map that you either love or you hate. Its main features are the vertical ropes and the middle area of the map that literally splits into the two heaven areas on both sites.
It used to be a very defender-sided map. However, the changes in Patch 6.0 helped make Split a bit more balanced and fun to attack. Luckily, it didn’t lose its identity and still feels like the original Split, just more balanced.
There are still plenty of unique areas that defenders can play from. Operators are decent on Split as well. Not to mention the sneaky Cypher or Killjoy setups that make it a pain to enter sites.
Split’s mid-area is widely contested because it gives you access to the heaven area on both sites. This is why Sage walls are pretty much a staple in every Split game. It’s one of the more unique Valorant maps in this aspect, but everything else is pretty standard.
Best Agents to Play on Split
- Sage
- Omen
- Killjoy
- Cypher
- Skye
Pearl
Release Date: EP 05 Act 1 (June 22nd, 2022)
Exact Map Coordinates: 38°42’43″N 9°08’27″W
Location: Lisbon, Lisbon District, Portugal
Many unique ways to attack.
Many wall bang spots.
Provides various flank opportunities.
B site can be difficult to attack because of the long and open area.
It can be hard to retake sites.
Rushes through mid can be hard to stop.
Pearl is often compared to the Lost City of Atlantis. Aside from the aesthetic similarities, it also shares a sunken city parallel. Pearl exists in Portugal inside a geo-dome that was eventually taken to the ocean’s depths.
Pearl strayed away from all the gimmicks found in other Valorant maps and was a more “normal” map. This made it quite unique because it was the first traditional map that didn’t have any distinct elements.
Attacking and defending A site is pretty straightforward. However, the B site requires a bit more creativity because of the long and wide open area, similar to CS:GO’s Dust 2 map. The middle area of Pearl leads to both sites and opens up a secondary point of attack.
Pearl is mostly an attacker-sided map because there aren’t that many safe areas to defend from. Oftentimes, defenders are forced to retake or die trying to defend a site. Of course, having agents with skills that can delay pushes can help a lot.
Best Agents to Play on Pearl
- Jett
- Chamber
- Fade
- Viper
- Astra
Fracture
Release Date: Episode 3 Act 2 (September 8, 2021)
Exact Map Coordinates: 35°48’18” N 106°08’19” W
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Players can easily rotate from one side to the other using the one-way ziplines.
Each site has multiple entrances from opposing sides, allowing attackers to pick where they want to go.
Fracture allows different types of playstyles to shine and lurkers to become more effective.
Forces players to use different playstyles and strategies because of the unique map layout.
You’ll often end up needing to hold multiple angles at once.
It can be one of the hardest maps to play on with randoms.
Fracture’s main gimmick isn’t actually bad. Attackers spawn in between the two sites and they can use a zipline to travel between the two sides of the map. Each site essentially has 2 entrances, making for some really interesting play.
At its core, Fracture is actually a pretty unique map. It forces you to play with a different playstyle and use different strategies, compared to the other Valorant maps. Unfortunately, people don’t like change and therefore don’t like the map. This was especially evident when the map was new, and players were dodging it left and right.
Luckily, Fracture started to grow on you once you got more comfortable with it. The Fracture changes in Patch 5.07 also greatly helped in making the map more fun to play.
Fracture’s gimmick is one of the more unique ones introduced to Valroant. It forces you to go out of your comfort zone and play differently. However, Fracture is still a decent map at best. At least people aren’t dodging it as much as they used to.
Best Agents to Play on Fracture
- Viper
- Breach
- Raze
- Killjoy
- Brimstone
Breeze (Currently Out of Map Pool)
Release Date: Episode 2 Act 3 (April 27, 2021)
Exact Map Coordinates: 26°11’06” N 71°10’31” W
Location: Bermuda Triangle, Atlantic Ocean
Operators are very powerful on Breeze.
There are a lot of creative areas that defenders can play on.
Attackers have a lot of options and ways to enter the sites.
It can be hard for controllers to provide cover for their team because of the huge open spaces in each site.
It can be hard to retake sites without any smokes.
Some blinds can’t reach far enough to blind players playing in the back of sites.
Breeze is a beach-themed map with tons of open spaces and very few areas and objects to hide behind. It was a super attacker-sided map when it was first released, but they have changed it a bit to help the defenders more. It’s still heavily attacker-sided, though, even after the changes.
It’s one of the biggest maps in Valorant and it can be difficult to figure out how to play on the map. It has a very wide and open middle area which is a popular spot for OP players. A lot of people run double OPs on Breeze because they know that you will oftentimes end up doing long-range battles.
The overall theme of Breeze isn’t actually that bad. We all love the chill vibe and vacationesque aura surrounding the map. However, it’s just an extremely difficult map to defend because of the lack of “safe” angles.
You’re also often forced to play specific agents because some don’t work well at all on Breeze. This can make gameplay on the map feel a bit erratic. In one game, you’re going 13-5, while in the other, you’re getting 2-13. That’s just the Breeze experience.
Best Agents to Play on Breeze
- Chamber
- Sova
- Yoru
- Cypher
- Viper
