Besides new skins, new agents, or a new map, one of the most exciting times for VALORANT players is when the competitive map pool changes. In Riot Games’ upcoming Patch 9.08, the map pool is changing, along with some much-needed balance changes for Sunset.
VALORANT Patch 9.08, set to drop on Tuesday, Oct. 22, is shaping up to be one of the biggest patches for competitive players since there will be two new maps added. These maps will not, however, be undergoing any design changes at this time, and are being swapped in for the sake of changing the overall variety of the pool.
If you’re keeping track of your ranked grind, here are all of the map changes in VALORANT‘s Patch 9.08.
All map changes in VALORANT Patch 9.08
New competitive map pool
Starting with VALORANT Patch 9.08, Riot will be removing Icebox and Lotus from the ranked map pool, and replacing them with Pearl and Split. In particular, Icebox has been one of the most controversial maps in the game, and its removal has been celebrated by many in the community.
Players did, however, point out that Ascent has avoided the map pool shuffle once more, making it one of the longest-lasting maps in the competitive queue. As a result, the fanbase is asking for Ascent to be taken out in the next competitive map shuffle, and possibly revamped before it returns.
Incoming balance changes to Sunset
In a Sept. 20 Dev Updates video, Riot showcased all the changes coming for Sunset with Patch 9.08, with its B site and mid-area getting the bulk of the tweaks. The highlight of Sunset’s changes is the removal of the box at the B attacker entrance, which means you can no longer run Cypher’s unbreakable trip while defending once the update goes live.
The back of the B site received slight tweaks to its layout and the spammable big box in B main has been moved to the side, to allow for different post-plant situations. The massive pillar at the middle of B site in Sunset also features some cover, just like Icebox’s B rope area, which is again undoubtedly a great addition to defend the site after the spike’s been planted.
Aside from this, the mid-area got light changes with the tree now replaced with a small wooden box that will let you make a sneaky aggressive play.
