Shroud explains how new Fracture map will finally fix “stale” Valorant gameplay
Riot Games / Twitch: ShroudRiot Games have hit a winner with their latest Valorant map Fracture, claims Twitch superstar Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek — the ex-Cloud9 pro is convinced the Episode 3 Act 2 map will fix the game’s “stale” gameplay, and in a big way too.
On Sep. 8, Riot added a new Valorant map: Fracture.
Unlike any other map, “Fracture” sees Attackers spawn on the outside of the arena, with Defenders starting any given match smack bang right in the middle.
The arena (inspired by The Lord of the Rings’ iconic Helms Deep battle, funnily enough) was designed to force players to “rethink fundamental assumptions” and give them “unique problems to solve” that other FPS titles like CSGO or Call of Duty wouldn’t quite do with their multiplayer maps.
It’s this bold decision that has Shroud praising Riot and Fracture; according to the Twitch star, the new Valorant map may have just saved the title’s gameplay.
Riot GamesTwitch’s human aimbot, who has had a hefty helping of experience with competitive FPS maps over the years during his pro CSGO career and streaming follow-up, said he is already looking forward to playing Fracture in ranked queues.
“Every round will be different [on Fracture],” he said.
“When you play Valorant right now, when you play ranked, you play Bind… really, literally everyone plays Bind exactly the same. Everyone goes to the same spots, does the same exact things.
“That’s because there’s no flexibility. You could stack a site, five-man push, but for the most part, the defaults in Valorant are very stale.
“[On Fracture] that will be different. There’s four different ways to get to the site, four different pathways, means things have to change. F**king incredible.”
He continued: “The give and take… oh boy, that’s going to be so much fun to watch, so much fun to play. It’s going to make playing the map [Fracture] really hard too.
While some may be concerned over that difficulty hike, Shroud was instead eager for it; it’s the breath of fresh air Valorant has been needing to pull away from the pack, the Twitch streamer explained, and he can’t wait to play.
“It’s a good thing, yeah!” he said of the “They [Riot], they’re finally pushing the limits of what they can do in this game. Making maps more challenging as they come out, that’s a good thing for the game.
“Meeting in the middle [is good],” the Twitch star explained. “Easier gunplay than Counter-Strike, but providing more challenges with the maps.”
Fracture, which marks Valorant’s seventh map since release, is available in casual play right now. The map (previously known as “Canyon” before a pivot) will join ranked queues and pro play following a short testing period.
Shroud added Fracture’s design has handed Riot a ‘clear plan’ moving forward: “There’s so much strategy in Valorant. This is what they should be doing.”