Valorant players have been demanding the release of a new map since the game was released in June. With the official release came the addition of the fourth map Ascent which gained mixed opinions. However, in the following weeks players soon began to like Ascent more and saw more problems with the other three maps. Valorant developers have been fine-tuning the map layouts since June to better suit enhanced play. Icebox became the fifth Valorant map when they released Ignition: Act 3 on October 13. Unfortunately, the player’s opinions on the new map haven’t been exactly positive since the release.
There are several social media threads talking about the positives, and negatives regarding the map. Many players have expressed their displeasure about the maps size and complex corners. The various buildings and shipping containers allow for close combat with little room to plant the spike.
Other maps such as Bind and Haven still harbor close-combat fighting but have fewer corners to hide around. One of the biggest issues regarding Icebox is the number of angles the enemy can hold while defending. This makes it difficult for the attacking team to push up and plant the spike when the enemy can hold their positions. Another complaint is how short the lanes are within the map that allows the enemy to sneak into your base. This, of course, can happen on all maps but seems to happen more frequently in Icebox.
Will Valorant make changes to the Icebox map?
Valorant developers have addressed several map issues in the past that hindered gameplay. In Ignition: Act 1, the team tweaked the spawn barriers on several maps. This allowed for more open gameplay and prevented either team to have the pushing advantage. Another notable change came on Split which saw its middle area be opened further to encourage combat.
Icebox prevents players from engaging in one-on-one combat and instead encourages ambushes and camping. There is no real way to avoid campers in any multiplayer game, but the maps themselves should not encourage it with their layout.
The Valorant developers have yet to address Icebox’s layout since it was released. However, they are constantly fixing problems that are found by the community.
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