Valorant devs keen to push limits of map design, but won’t abandon “tradition”

There’s no two ways about it ⁠— some Valorant maps are easier to wrap your head around than others. Moving around Ascent or Split is a lot easier than figuring out Fracture or Breeze. While Riot wants to push map design innovation, they’ve promised to not abandon tradition in the process.

Each new Valorant map has a gimmick that keeps players enthralled. The ziplines and teleporters of the game’s first battlegrounds were interesting, but Riot has taken it to the next level with each release.

Sometimes it’s a simple layout change, other times it’s reengineering what a tactical FPS map could be. Regardless, it has given the title some flavor compared to others in its genre.

This is a deliberate decision by Riot. Of course, game developers want to be ambitious and push the boundaries. The developers want players to load into a map and be amazed by the tactical depth.

However, players still want something simple. A Dust 2, for example. And Riot are still figuring out the balance between innovation and tradition when it comes to their upcoming map releases.

• Read More: Valorant devs confirm multiple new maps in the works

“We want each new map to come with it’s own set of challenges and puzzles for players to overcome and solve,” developer Joey ‘Joeganaut’ Simas said. “Breeze pushed for larger more open combat spaces and Icebox introduced a lot more vertical complexity, for example.

While Breeze certainly showed what was possible in terms of map size, and Fracture did something unlike any other tactical FPS, Riot are wary of trying to innovate without alienating players.

For every ground-breaking new map that pushes the limits, the developers want something that’s a bit easier to digest ⁠like Ascent and Split.

“While we enjoy pushing those boundaries with our new maps there’s always room for something more ‘traditional’ as well.”

Riot have floated the idea of the Siege-style night maps in their vast array of battlegrounds in development. However, with map 8 just around the corner, exactly what the developers have cooking up remains to be seen.