After months of complaints from the VALORANT player base, Riot Games has finally made a massive change for the map pool system in the game—and casual players are rejoicing.
Product manager Tiffy Tsay announced today that when Patch 8.11 releases, there will no longer be a restricted map pool for any non-competitive queues in VALORANT, meaning every map in the game will be available in Unrated, Swiftplay, Spike Rush, and Escalation.
The map pool isn’t the only thing changing 👀 pic.twitter.com/rCv7s6qm2z
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) May 22, 2024
This was a heavily desired improvement when players were dissatisfied with the lack of map variation, particularly those who are not interested in ranked play. Some players were sick of seeing the same maps in ranked, but because the same map pool was used in other, more relaxed modes, there was only one way to enjoy the whole map rotation: custom games.
Riot originally implemented these adjustments to help newer players adjust to the game while keeping the map rotation limited, while also assisting casual players in making the transition to the ranked queue by preserving the same map pool.
However, the player base reacted negatively to this. From pro gamers and ranked demons to swiftplay enthusiasts, the majority of users were dissatisfied with the climb’s adjustments and repetition. Many players deemed this season to be one of the worst in the game’s short existence owing to the insurmountable climb with the current maps in rotation.
When Patch 8.11 is released in June, casual gamers and novices will be able to enjoy every map in the game in a more relaxing setting, while longtime veterans will find the variety they want in several modes. With the impending changes to the competitive map pool, fans may finally be free of the suffocating map selection as we enter the second half of the year.