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Valorant devs have “no plans” to alter Pearl map just yet

Riot's developers say that the long engagement on Pearl's B side requires a "bend not break" approach, and no changes are currently planned

No changes to Valorant Pearl map: A bank of glowing orange screens is set in a ramp overlooking a long corridor containing a monolithic pillar. A sign for the metro is on the left-hand wall.

Valorant’s Episode 5 introduced the map Pearl, and so far, players seem to dig it – although there’s one area of the FPS game’s newest map that’s proving difficult, especially for defenders facing a push from an offensive team that’s taken the high ground. Riot says there are no current plans to adjust the level, however, since everyone’s “still learning.”

In a recent AMA with Valorant’s developers, redditor xW4RP asked about the ‘B long’ section of Pearl – it’s the long, wide corridor connecting B Site and B Club, with a pillar and a niche in the central ‘no-man’s land.’

“Does the team have any plans to adjust the geometry on B long?” xW4RP asked. “It feels like a constant game of chicken between attackers who manage [to] take the high ground headshot angle, and any defenders brave enough to hold pillar or nook. Even agents like Jett are hard-pressed to escape from an offensive push on B long, which just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Pearl level designer Joe Lansford fielded the question, saying the team has “no plans to change anything at the moment” since Pearl just launched – players are still learning the map and working out the best approaches to its particular layout.

“Long B is a ‘bend not break’ engagement,” Lansford says. “As a defender, you can take a forward position and push to control [the] headshot box even. You can play pillar and/or nook if you have an escape tool (Chamber is great here). Or just take the first fight from [B Site].”

“Try using utility to slow down attackers and buy time for a rotate rather than re-peeking,” he adds. “Defenders have a handful of fallback options.”