Valorant’s new map is a game changer

Valorant’s new map is its most unique so far. Fracture, which was officially announced on Wednesday, reverses attackers and defenders and makes both sides play a little differently than they’re used to.

Fracture is shaped like a giant letter “H.” There are two bombsites on the map with the connecting section of the “H” in-between. While you might expect the middle section to be the attacker’s spawn, it’s actually the other way around. On Fracture, defenders start in the middle, leaving the spawn area to defend the sites on either side. Meanwhile, the attackers can pinch in toward the defenders from either side. To help make transitioning from one area of the map to another a little easier, there are also ziplines that run from one side to the other that run below the map.

Image: Riot Games

This represents a pretty massive change to the regular format for Valorant maps, which generally place defenders in positions that encourage more passive play, allowing attackers to push into them. However, on this map, the spawns mean that defenders are often put in the position to make the first move.

Fracture also includes more lore than any previous Valorant map. The map features two mirror versions of reality, which is essentially the set up for the game’s larger story — and its explanation for why two versions of the same Agent might face off in a match. While we don’t know much about the world beyond its mirrored concept, there are interactable clues spread out around Fracture that should shed some new light on Valorant’s two realities.

Image: Riot Games

Fracture is set to come to Valorant as part of the patch 3.05 update, which players should expect to arrive next week as part of the game’s new Act update. Valorant Episode 3 Act 2 is scheduled to drop around Sept. 9.

Image: Riot Games