Following Viper nerfs, Valorant community claims map pool doesn't have "any variety"
Patch 8.08 introduced Viper nerfs, lowering the Controller's efficiency out of the blue. The Valorant community was not happy with the changes. Essentially, her smokes are now less powerful, take longer to redeploy, and the Poison Cloud ability cannot be picked after the buy phase.
With all these changes, many feel that since Viper cannot be used effectively on certain maps anymore. As such, some people feel that a Valorant map pool rotation is necessary. Reddit user x4Syn voiced their opinion about the current map pool, saying:
"Lets speak about how bad the map pool is I don’t like any of the maps that are in rotation every map feels defensive sided there doesn’t feel like any variety and if you don’t have a certain agent on a map your done for like since the viper nerfs im barely seeing viper on fu**ing breeze. Idk let me hear your opinions on the maps."
There were plenty of people who agreed with x4Syn in the comment section. One player even compared Valorant to Overwatch. They feel that if the former had all the maps available like the latter title, that would make the map pool diverse and better.
Another member of the Valorant community expressed a similar sentiment. They also want the current map pool to change but suggest that perhaps the maps could be switched out every act. This would likely keep the content fresh.
However, not everyone in the Valorant community is upset about the map pool. One player has pointed out how every map has its own unique characteristics, like Icebox's verticality or the Valorant Breeze map's long-range duels. They feel that everyone should accept the outstanding aspects of the current maps.
Another fan suggested that the map pool will likely change after Master Shanghai. The international LAN event will go live on May 23 and end on June 9. This fan was surprised that the Valorant community was already so bored with the current map pool.
One member of the Valorant community has shared that they actually enjoy the current map pool. They admitted that they'd prefer Haven's return but wanted nothing to do with Pearl, a map that Viper was famous for being good on.
Will the Valorant community get the map pool rotation it seeks?
The last time the map pool saw a change was in January 2024. It could be altered with the commencement of Episode 9 Act 1. Currently, we are in Episode 8 Act 3.
This would suggest that the next map rotation could arrive sometime after Masters Shanghai. The map pool rotation would likely bring back Haven and potentially Fracture. However, so far, there has been no official confirmation from Riot Games regarding the rotation.
That said, it's worth noting that a new Agent or map can be revealed for Episode 9 because that has been a pattern with Valorant.