The nature of Valorant is ever-changing. The game is highly dependent on keeping things fresh by playing around with agents and keeping things fresh. Taking maps out of the pool does a multitude of things. First, it gives new players the time to learn each map and it gives developers the chance to redesign the old maps. However, this rotation game was quite recent. When Pearl was released back in 2022, Split was taken out. This helped Riot make new changes to Split. Quite recently, we saw Icebox being removed and Bind returning to the game.
Valorant Leaks Shows Heavy Changes to Mid and Sites of the Icebox Map
Icebox mini-map after possible changes | #VALORANT
🔗: @s3rius2k1 https://t.co/RvCXIYtdOC pic.twitter.com/lUVdqNN1FF
— VALORANT Leaks & News (@VALORANTLeaksEN) May 4, 2023
As we mentioned earlier, incorporating new changes to already loved maps are important as it gives the dev team the time to listen to players and encorporate their feedback into the game. Quite recently, we got to see a twitter user @s3rius2k1 leak some minimap changes that suggest some heavy mid and site changes. There are a total of six changes in the image above. However, by closer inspection we see what those exactly are.
Possible Icebox Changes | #VALORANT
🔗: @s3rius2k1 pic.twitter.com/xAlpmEEbbU
— VALORANT Leaks & News (@VALORANTLeaksEN) May 4, 2023
All the Six Changes
- For the first change we have a box in the default plant spot at B-site. This update will also increase the size of plant area a little bit.
- The second change is a window that lets you peak from snowman to B. This will be a major change and will also be connected by a passage.
- There will also be changes to the Mid Tube which is a choke point for both attack and defense.
- There will be changes to the A Screens side since it is a little difficult to hold down the site just by holding top-site or Generator. This will give more advantage to the defenders.
- The devs are also looking to remove the box on the back-site of A or make some sort of changes to it. We do not know what it will be.
- There will also be changes to Ramps near A.
These are all the potential changes we saw on the leaks. To get a detailed overview of the same, you can visit this Valorant page. Icebox was one of the best comepetitive maps in the game. We do not know when it will retain but expect it to remain away in development for atleast 3-4 months.