Split's departure from the VALORANT map pool was a bit controversial, to say the least. Upon the release of Pearl, Split was taken off the Competitive and Unrated map pool while developers made some changes. It was a bit of a strange move, especially with other maps in the game having more pronounced problems.
Well, all the people who want Split to return to VALORANT's map rotation can finally rejoice again! In a succinct blog post, Joe “Pearl Hogbash” Lansford talked about the imminent return of Split to the rotation. However, in that same post, it was also announced that both Breeze and Bind would be taken off the map pool.
What does this all mean? Why were Breeze and Bind removed? And will there be a new VALORANT map? Let's answer all these questions below.
Split returns to VALORANT
First, let's talk about Split. The map, based in Croatia, was one of the first maps introduced in VALORANT. The map was a lot more tame compared to its contemporaries, especially Bind and Haven. However, just because it was vanilla doesn't mean that it didn't have problems.
Many players complained that Split was too much in favor for the defenders. Usually, maps in tactical shooters such as VALORANT are balanced to be at least even for both sides. There might be an advantage for one side, but it's usually not by much and doesn't influence the outcome of the game. That wasn't the case with Split: without going too much into detail, it was incredibly hard for attackers to get mid control, forcing them to either brute force rushes or die trying to get mid.
The blog post from “Pearl Hogbash” doesn't go into too much depth about the changes made to Split. However, we can expect a myriad of changes that would hopefully make playing this map a bit more balanced in the future.
Bye-bye, Bind and Breeze
Meanwhile, the developers also said that they would be taking Bind and Breeze off of VALORANT's main map pool. That means that both maps won't be available for both Competitive and Unrated queues. However, you could still play those maps in other game modes.
Why are Bind and Breeze being taken off the map pool? Well, for one map at least, it's easy to see why. Breeze has long been the most hated map in VALORANT, and it's not even close. The reason for that is due to how restrictive the map is when it comes to team compositions. Here's what the devs had to say about the matter:
“For Breeze, we feel like this map has some room to improve in terms of Agents and team comp diversity, as well as some opportunities for simplification of the space.”
Viper is basically a must-pick in this map, due to how large the angles that need to be covered are. If you're a Controller main, it sucks having to be pigeonholed into one agent just to have a chance at winning the map.
Bind, on the other hand, is fine on the surface. It's not really a well-loved map, but you won't catch VALORANT players trashing the map too. It's a pretty straightforward map to play, all things considered. Because of that, though, the map development wants to try and see if they can make the map more interactive to play.
“And for Bind, it’s mostly about strategic diversity. We’d like to open up more play around the teleporters and potentially rethink how teams execute, and defend against executes, on both sites.”
“Wait, but the math doesn't add up?”
If you're an astute observer, you may have already noticed something odd. The map team is giving back one map to the community, but they are also taking away two maps. If you recall, VALORANT has already implemented a strict 7-map pool at all times. With these planned changes, the pool will only be at six maps.
Well, this all but confirms that the next map will be released at the same time that these changes are scheduled (January 2023). The new map, set in Omega Earth, has been nicknamed “The City of Flowers” by the VALORANT community. The first patch of 2023 will most likely remove Bind and Breeze, while introducing this new map and Split back to the lineup.
Riot is doing a great job listening to player feedback and making changes to their maps while keeping the game feeling fresh. I'm sure plenty of people are now burnt out playing Breeze or Bind, and want a change in scenery. Come 2023, that's exactly what's going to happen.
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