Valorant's maps and agents are what truly make Riot Games' shooter unique. With each agent bringing its own set of abilities and each map having tenths of spots and calls, learning them is important to start consistently winning your Valorant competitive matches.
However, logically, there are some agents that will be better than others, and the same happens with Valorant's maps. While we have already explored what the best Valorant agents are in our Valorant Agent Tier List, here's a deeper look at the Valorant maps included in the game's competitive map pool, while we answering some of the community's most asked questions.
What is the best map in Valorant?
There's no accounting for taste and each player will have its preferred map. However, if we have a look at aspects like map design and features, we believe the answer is clear: Valorant's best map is Bind.
Bind was first playable in Valorant in the game's beta stage. Therefore, after almost five years in Riot Games' shooter, Bind is a highly-popular pick due to its large history in Riot Games' FPS.
In terms of map design features, Bind is divided into two bomb sites (A and B) which are perfectly communicated through two corridors that go past the two spawns. Additionally, each bomb site can be attacked through two paths, which gives attackers multiple ways to plant the spike.
The possibilities to play in Bind are infinite. The map design allows smokers to feel free in the game, with Brimstone and Omen being the better picks in this area. Agents like Cypher and Killjoy are also extremely welcomed, as stopping flanking and protecting bomb sites takes a huge role in Bind — with players having found tenths of combinations with Cypher's camera, cables, and cages. Finally, it's also a great map for Duelists, specially Jett and Raze, who can reach spots nobody else can thanks to their jumping abilities.
Last but definitely not least, Bind has a unique map feature that automatically makes it one of the greatest in Valorant: teleporters. These allow players to quickly move around the map, with the A teleporter letting players quickly move from A to B and the B teleporter doing the opposite.
All in all, Bind has it all. While being a big part of Valorant's history, Bind offers many playstyle options and includes the only set of teleporters in the game. Bind really is a work of art!
Valorant map tier list in competitive
While we think Bind is Valorant's best map, it's important to not forget about Valorant's other maps.
We have made a tier list ranking all of Valorant's competitive maps from S Tier to D Tier, based on the current competitive map pool. Keep in mind that this is our opinion, and yours could be different!
S Tier
Bind - Logically, the S Tier includes Bind. Bind is a map with a large trajectory in the game, allows players to compete in it using multiple playstyles, and it has unique features that no other map currently possesses. Unfortunately, Bind isn't part of the competitive map pool as it was removed from it in Patch 10.04.
A Tier
Lotus - Similarly to Bind, Lotus includes a great map design and unique map features that make Lotus a breath of fresh air. We're obviously talking about the rotating doors, which allow players, especially attackers, to quickly move across bomb sites.
Moreover, Lotus is one of the only two maps that includes three bomb sites, A, B, and C. This makes it more difficult for defenders to move around them, but it allows attackers to surprise their opponents and plan different tactics. However, this is a double-edged sword; some players don't like that Lotus is so big.
Haven - Haven is another classic map in Valorant, as it has been part of the game since its Closed Beta. Just like Lotus, Haven includes three bomb sites, A, B, and C, all of them offering different options. While C requires long-distance weapons, B is a mixture of playstyles and weapons, as players can both play the short or the long play. Meanwhile, A is more about close-distance gun fights.
B Tier
Icebox - Some would have placed Icebox a bit higher, and we understand that. However, we think that, nowadays, Icebox is a bit stale and it can't be placed above Bind, Lotus, and Haven.
Icebox has two bomb sites. Usually, smokes like Brimstone, Omen, and Cloud are welcomed, with Jett and Raze as the Duelists. Some players will also bring Sage, because it can heal teammates and because her wall is a great asset to have especially while attacking.
Split - Split is an underrated map in Valorant. It has received a lot of hate throughout the years. It's a map that whether you hate or love.
Split offers many possibilities. With two bomb sites and a couple of different ways to rotate around them, players tend to enjoy a match in Split. The only negative aspect we can think of Split is that players tend to do the same boring lineups despite offering the chance to use multiple playstyles.
Pearl - Pearl is an underwater map that's loved by many. It offers many ways to play the map and ability lineups are always really strong there, especially Fade's and Brimstone's. However, its size makes it a love-or-hate map. Some players like to play from the mid and then decide which site to attack.
C Tier
Sunset - Sunset is a map that's very easy to navigate through. It's quite small and rotating from one site to the other is relatively easy. Additionally, the mid area is well-defined and it often leads to interesting gun fights. It has also received some minor map tweaks, which have refreshed the players' experience there. However, Sunset is always a boring map to play in; lineups always look very similar (One or two Duelists, Cypher or/and Killjoy, Sova or Gekko, and Smoke) which means the playstyle is usually the same.
Abyss - Abyss was introduced to the game in June 2024 and it quickly became a popular map due to its uniqueness and size. Despite having a well-defined mid area and two greatly designed bomb sites, Abyss is more popular for being the only Valorant map to have no outer boundaries. This means that players can jump to the abyss and kill themselves. We have seen some professional teams doing this in economy rounds.
Despite Abyss being so unique, players slowly realized that Abyss being so big wasn't a good map quality. It made it complicated for attackers to rotate sites, as they needed a lot of time to do so. The same could be said about defenders who tried to rotate from a bomb site to the other when the Spike was planted.
Fracture - Fracture was removed from the competitive playlist with the release of Patch 10.08 only one month ago and it's known for being the only Valorant map with one-way automatic ziplines.
Fracture is a really big map with two bomb sites. While the design allows players to play this map in many different ways, and the mid area is mostly only accessible for defenders, players tend to not like it because it's quite complicated to learn and to play. Simple as that.
D Tier
Breeze - Breeze is Valorant's worst competitive map. Although it has been part of the game since Patch 2.08, Breeze is a map that's extremely stale and boring. It doesn't offer many ways to play it and it's quite chaotic. Additionally, retakes are difficult to perform, which makes Breeze an unbalanced map. It probably needs a rework.
Fun fact, Breeze has been out of the competitive map pool for almost a year, as it was removed from it on June 11, 2024.
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