For every player of popular shooters, there's a personal ranking of the best and worst maps, and Valorant is no exception. With just nine maps, the project from Riot Games has a relatively small map pool compared to other titles, and lacking the ability to personally select a favourite map, the community continues to debate which ones are the worst for the majority of players. Today, the Bo3 editorial team has created its own list of the five worst maps in Valorant, reflecting the subjective opinion of our authors.
Fracture
The first map on our list will probably not surprise you. The community often considers it the worst in Valorant, and various esports portals have repeatedly expressed concerns about its terrible balance. The map was added in patch 3.05, created based on the cosy city of Santa Fe, USA. The main complaint about the map is its two zip lines in the middle, which divide the Spike plant sites.
Unlike ropes on other maps, the zip lines on Fracture are incredibly long, and it takes 5 seconds to travel from one end to the other, which is a lot for a dynamic shooter like Valorant. Additionally, while riding them, players can only shoot and do nothing else. You cannot change direction, use abilities, disconnect, or even stop. All you can do is shoot, and not very accurately at that because your aim constantly moves during the ride. Moreover, these zip lines are significantly more beneficial for the attacking side, making playing defence quite unpleasant. That's why Fracture is considered one of the worst maps in Valorant.
Breeze
The next map is the sunny beach of Breeze, added to Valorant in patch 2.08. Although there's nothing particularly special about it, the main problem with this location is its size. Breeze is the largest map in the game, leading players to face many difficulties. Checking every nook and cranny is practically impossible, so often an enemy awaits just around the last corner. The community also complains that moving from one Spike plant site to another takes a lot of time, which is impossible when only a few seconds are left in the round. The most spacious part of the map, which is considered the most challenging, is the central area.
Players usually complain that Mid is too open, and when engaging in combat there, enemies can flank you from many different places. More often than not, this makes it impossible to win a round if there are fewer of you than enemies, as checking all points with two or three people is not feasible. Despite Breeze being removed from the general pool for a long time, Riot Games failed to completely change it, and after its return, players' complaints remained the same.
READ MORE: The Best Skins in Valorant for 2023
Pearl
Another map that did not appeal to the game community is Pearl, based on the Portuguese city of Lisbon. First of all, the map differs from others in its colour palette. Although it's not very noticeable in the game, players note its dark background, which significantly differs from other brighter maps in the game. On Pearl, the main problem, as with the previous map, lies in the central part. But if the problem with Breeze is its size, then on Pearl, Mid is the only chance for the attacking side to win a round.
The paths to the Spike plant sites are very difficult for the attacking side. The way to point B goes through an incredibly long straight stretch, which can be perfectly controlled by one or two players with an Operator. Point A is defended by a narrow corridor, which can be controlled by many agents. Therefore, for the attacking side, mid is the only realistic option for a successful round. This makes the map completely unbalanced, which is why the community does not like Pearl.
Lotus
Next, we have Lotus, the second-newest map in the game, added to Valorant with patch 6.0, modelled after an Indian state. The main complaint about this map is primarily its three Spike plant sites. This makes the map quite unusual and very difficult for newcomers. Also, considering the three plant sites, one might assume the map favours the attacking side, but this is not entirely the case. Defenders can effectively use the newly added rotating doors located on the sides of the map, at points A and C.
These doors are the main difficulty for the attacking side, especially at point C. Behind the doors, there can always be an opponent, and most abilities can't check for their presence because they are completely closed. Besides the doors, there are many different corners and hidden places at the Spike plant sites, complicating the game for the attack.
Bind
One of the first maps in the game, created during the beta-testing period and depicting the deserts of Morocco, is Bind. Although the map is considered one of the best by the community, there are aspects that make players hate it, leading to complaints to the developers. The issue is that the map is divided by two portals, connecting point B with the central part of the map, and point A with point B.
It's these portals that the community dislikes about Bind. They are hard to control without certain agents, like Killjoy or Cypher, so there's always a risk of enemies flanking you. Also, various problems and bugs often arise with the portals, and although Riot Games tries to fix them in time, new ones appear after each update. We recently wrote about a player who managed to stay in a portal at the end of a round and thus started the next round behind the enemies. Read more about it in our article.
Now you know which maps, according to our editorial team, are the worst in Valorant. We want to note again that each player has their own list of the best and worst maps, and the article only reflects the subjective opinion of the author and is based on the general opinion of the game community. Also, remember that in Valorant, there is no option to personally choose the map you want to play, so from time to time in the general pool, you will encounter locations that are the worst for you.
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