VALORANT Breeze Map: Release Date, Teaser, Leaks

Riot Games has stayed on course on their roadmap for their tactical FPS shooter VALORANT, releasing new maps and champions frequently. After their last release of a map in Icebox in mid-October, we’re due another release again and thus a new map is en route and is looking to be deployed soon. Aptly named Breeze, the ocean side map looks to be situated in a castle of sorts at the coast, with futuristic boats and buildings set in the distance. Large arches connect the locations and make for clean peaking and opportune long-range setups. Slowly but surely, the VALORANT map pool is inching towards the point during which map bans will have an actual effect on the outcome of a best of five.

VALORANT breeze map release date

Update: VALORANT's Breeze Map was added on April 27, 2021 - coming as part of the v2.08 update

Given how much we already know of Breeze, it’s likely that the map is about to be released, While it hasn’t been officially announced, there is reason to believe we could be seeing Breeze go live as a beta version as early as April 27th. When the map will enter the map pool for good and will be allowed to be played in ranked play is also unknown, even though two weeks are a likely duration judging by how long it took Icebox to become available. 

VALORANT breeze map leaks

After initial bits and pieces of animations and graphics, it appears that the official trailer has now leaked as posted by Twitter account @Valorleaks. Showing off several map locations, the trailer demonstrates the verticality of the map, its VALORANT-typical mix of old architecture mixed in with technological ornaments, and its beautiful beachside. In part reminding a bit of CS: GO’s page de_cobblestone, the castle setting allows for long-range angles with great visual clarity. The map also appears to have quite a few positions which would generally be referred to as “heaven” or “balcony” in gaming lingo, allowing for high ground advantage with bombsite and key location control being easier from those angles.

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New VALORANT MAP Breeze Early Access

Some content creators and media outlets were able to explore Breeze, and we now know the ins and outs of the map, with the first players already exploring line-ups and executes to get a headstart once the map is available first in unranked and later on in ranked and pro play.

As such, a lot of footage of the map is available, with players exploring the layout of the map and trying to envision how the geometry will impact the way the map will be played.

VALORANT Breeze Map Layout

According to Senior Game Designer Sal Garazzo, Breeze had been designed with the idea of long sightlines to shift the power levels of weapons and agents usually found on the other maps.

The usually fairly compact maps in the relevant play areas in VALORANT had at times forced less diverse agents compositions, with most metas only having a couple of flexible picks to adjust to map geometry. With Breeze trying to break the paradigm, it adds another level to the topic of balance, giving power to long-range weapons and taking it away from weapons such as shotguns and pistols. 

More than just the entrances to the bomb sites, the spots themselves feel more spacious than on other maps, allowing for more angle manipulation and room to manoeuvre through.

B Site, for example, does have multiple bulky geometric objects to hide behind, with three paths of access to enter it. Masters of game sense will excel in these parts of the map, giving them ample opportunity to outplay their opponents.

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A Site with its pyramids begs to be covered in utility in order to get an advantage, and already the first players are finding solid executes to find solutions to traverse the space opened up by Breeze’s map design. Verticality adds to the fun, arguably giving attackers a leg up even though we will have to see how the win rates for both sides develop once the map is live.

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Much like the bombsites, the middle area is also wide and allows for long sightlines with several angles to peek from. There’s also the area in which the gimmick of the map is located, with a Middle Chute that allows players to drop into mid to from A Halls in a mechanic that hadn’t been used yet in a VALORANT map. Other than that, ropes are back to move up to high ground position, of which there are a couple on the map. Of course, Mid Nest also provides the popular window area that maps like Haven have in their middle.

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When can you see pro play get in on it?

Riot Games has announced that the map will be eligible for play during the VALORANT Champions Tour Masters 2 event, which caused a bit of an uproar in the community. With not much time left to prepare for opponents before the event goes live, the introduction of a map veto, as well as the injection of Breeze into the map pool, could change competitive VALORANT so significantly that the integrity of the competition could be at risk.

Given the intricate and complex nature of VALORANT strategy and tactics, a week can take months to explore in a community effort. If that process is not given enough time to breathe, it could end up adding an arguably random element to the competition.

In past interactions between Riot Games and its community with similar outrage based on a feature introduction, Riot was quick to listen to their community so it stands to reason that they will discharge the situation at least in some way before the competition kicks off at the Masters in Reykjavik, Iceland.

If you want to stay up to date with the developments of the map, potential changes to the layout, and the ruleset going into VCT Masters 2, be sure to stay tuned with our socials: Twitter | Facebook | Discord

Images via Riot Games