Valorant map Split is no longer an attackers' nightmare
Riot added a cheeky new location to plant the Spike
Do you ever play Valorant and just do a little sigh when you see what map has been picked from the pool for your next match? For me, that's Split (and also Icebox actually, but this post isn't about that freezy fiend). Split's always been a tough one for attackers, with its annoyingly tight choke points you'd need to funnel down, and far too many 50/50 angles for defenders to hide in. But last night, Riot Games released a patch with tons of little changes that should make Split a whole lot less frustrating to play.
In the patch notes, Riot say the whole point of Split's update is to "improve attacker options", open up those pesky choke points, and do away with a bunch of those 50/50 angles (entryways with a corner on each side that defenders can hide in).
Some of the best changes revolve around the map's B Site. As you can see from the before and after pics above, the main choke point from Garage is a whole lot wider, making it easier for attackers to push through. They've also extended the Spike plant zone boundary a tiny bit, which now allows attackers defend the Spike from Garage. This is a huge and very welcome change, as previously you'd need to hide somewhere on site or up on the high ground to be able to catch defenders trying to defuse.
I jumped into a custom game to have a look at the new planting location, and while it might be risky to get the plant off (defenders could watch the area from high ground), being able to back off into Garage to watch it seems very worth it.
Some of the more annoying 50/50 angles across the map have been altered too, including this one on mid. It basically means that attackers pushing this area don't have to pick a side to look at and chance the defender being on the other one.
As for A Site, the biggest change there seems to be the addition of a big slanted wall in A Tower. They've also widened the doorway, overall making it a little less safe for defenders to hole up in there. This one is a perfectly good change, though I am personally offended by it because I almost always stand there when I defend.
Map reworks aren't all that arrived in patch 2.1, however. Riot have given a little nerf to duelist agent Jett, decreasing her smoke duration from 7 seconds to 4.5 seconds. This is a follow-up to some of the controller changes from the last patch, to make sure Jett's smoke utility doesn't outperform the likes of Omen and Brimstone.
In case you missed it, last week's big Valorant update added sneaky new agent Yoru, who can go invisible and do cool teleports.
