Do the agents in Valorant hinder the map design?

Valorant is the 1st esport that I have gotten invested in, but sometimes I will look at CS:GO tourneys and see some really interesting maps like Vertigo and Nuke that from what I've heard have evolved the tac fps genre in a really meaningful way.

Now, I know that Valorant has made their own maps that evolve the tac fps genre like Haven with its 3 bomb sites, but besides that I think most of the other maps seem more gimmicky or are just kinda bland.

So considering that Valorant is the newer game that can take all the learned lessons from CS:GO, why haven't we gotten a map that has interesting verticality like Nuke?

To me it seems like the agents, especially the controller class have basically stopped any opportunity of a vertically based map in Valorant, because right now I don't think agents like Viper or Brim would even work in a vertically based map. Which is a shame cause I think it would be really cool to have a Nuke or Vertigo esque map in Valorant.

All in all, valarente child game.

00nation news/leaks: adverso is out, Xand negotiations are not progressing despite interest from all parties

Noyn first reported mutual interest from Xand and 00nation, however according to Brazilian outlet VALORANT Zone and Argentine reporter Lucas Benaim, negotiations are not progressing.

VALORANT Zone verified that KRÜ asked for 60k USD as a transfer fee and certain additional expenses, while Xand agreed to take a salary cut in order to join 00. https://valorantzone.gg/noticia/kru-dificulta-acerto-de-xand-com-a-00nation-entenda/

Lucas Benaim says that 00 initially asked for a free transfer, however KRÜ rejected it. Their second offer was for 5000 USD. https://twitter.com/LucasBenaim/status/1637989553066655745 and https://twitter.com/LucasBenaim/status/1637989554933080068

Later, adverso confirmed he was allowed to look for offers https://twitter.com/adversogg/status/1637886335405944832

I'm sorry Knights, but your format is shit

I have several problems with how knights for formatted VCL NA and I'm sorry, but I feel like its not being said enough, but this format is really inexplicably shitty and needs to be fixed next year. I'll outline the problems here.

1. Tiebreakers, we all round diff is a terrible tie breaker. IMO the tiebreakers should go first, H2H, if it is 3+ way tie it should be done by H2H record within the tied teams, map win rate, and then round win rate.

2. This brings me to the second problem with the format, the seeding that is done after the group is finished. The seeding should be done in groups of two (1-2, 3-4, etc) based on group placement not record because the teams play different teams.

3. how points are distributed, according to VLR points are distributed different from 1-2 and 3-4. Seeds 1 and 2 and all the way down the board should have points assigned in pairs. Those are my biggest problems, that, in my opinion, are the most egregious and indefensible formatting issues.

Hot take: I do have one thing that I don't like about the format and this one is more of a hot take. I think that less teams should make playoffs than eight. My problem with this is it kind of diminishes the whole value of the season. This is because whoever places like top 3 after split one is really not playing for anything other than seeding, which in a double elimination tournament really doesn't matter much. However, I think that there is more options to solve this problem than just less teams. I think that another way this could be done is that the top 2 teams get a bye and the bottom two teams start in lowers (how it was done in NA challengers) you could also do it six team style like how EMEA challengers did it.

Edit: formatting lmao

my cheeks

Talon 2-0 13-0 incoming
Jitboys master class time

Asuna

match fixing alert

Conclusive look at the meta post LOCK//IN

With Fnatic beating Loud, we had 32 games in a post chamber meta to really see the best agents and strats on every map. With that we can take a deep dive into the meta and the best strats for the upcoming tournaments.

• Is the Bald Buff back?

Derke was insane. At 3-11, boaster and mini told derke "it's derkin time" and he derked all over everyone. The Egg Curse also remains, an integral part of the bald buff. I can't think of any other bald players at the event, so it looks like this is an irrefutable conclusion.

• The Headband: A new challenger

Boaster is known for being a big brain IGL but he has surpassed all expectations this time. He brought out the new strat, a trump card if you will, of the headband. Jimmy Butler had shown us the potential of the power of the ninja headband before the NBA banned it to ensure competitive integrity. Boaster took advantage of Rito's lax approach to gain an immediate advantage, which even prevented the infamous FNC choke.

• Thicc buff? A false prophet

After C9 destroyed PRX (sadge) it appeared that a new superteam had been formed built on one defining superpower: the power of thiccness. However, whether because of Zellsis's rock hard abs or merely the collective thundering of dem cheeks clapping on stage, its power was too great and it appeared to be nothing more than another graveller commiting self-destruct taking out your favourite Pokemon after you missed your attack, and then fucking died.

• Is anime actually a debuff?

Bang and Asuna were good, but not as good as we expected. Forsaken and jinggg also lost. Zeta division, the hope of Japan, lost. Skrossi, from India which is known to be big on anime, underperformed. What is the common thread here? Anime.

Nadeshot, I'm asking you directly. Put a ban on anime for Bang and Asuna. Shave their heads. Leave stellar with his hair, he's too handsome to go bald. Give him the mythical headband instead. My DMs are open for a position as GM, coach or player management. I am willing to go bald and wear a headband, and I promise to not watch anime and maintain my fitness.

Do you think the Americas will ever have a "1 region" mindset?

I found quite interesting that even though BR/NA/LATAM are all part of the same region, quite a few people from NA were cheering for DRX today even with the additional masters spot being into play.

​

Do you guys think that with time and the teams playing each other every week the region identity will eventually merge into one, sort of like how the EMEA is seen?

There's still a massive divide in region identity and pride within the Americas but I reckon if teams were able to capitalise on talent from the entirety of the Americas, some insanely competitive rosters could be made, kind of like what SEN is doing right now but at a bigger scale. It almost feels like a waste that EMEA gets to pick players from dozens of countries but the Americas are kind of still limited by the regional bubbles despite no "import" restrictions being in place within the Americas

Tier 1 NA is a one-team region, whichever team has FNS

Compared to EMEA, NA really lacks good IGL's that are internationally proven. The only one with consistent success is FNS, who is a really good caller but his poor mechanics will hold him and his team back. In the pre-franchising era, when the talent was more diluted, this was okay, and the rest of Optic could pick up the slack in terms of fragging. However, with how stacked teams are now, it's really such a disadvantage
to have someone going perma negative. I do think his calling makes up for it though for the most part, and I do think NRG is the best NA team. I just don't see how NRG's lack of firepower will compete with the very best teams
like Navi and Fnatic, who have IGL's as good as FNS but who are much better fraggers. Both teams also have 4 S-tier fraggers in other positions. While Liquid had a really poor showing, Redgar is another internationally proven IGL who can frag. In South America, Saadhak from Loud and King from Leviatan fulfill that same niche. Saadhak is actually probably the most complete IGL, in terms of firepower and calling.

This isn't to say NRG won't make deep runs in international LANS, I think they will. But compared to the absolute top level, I don't see NRG having any hope beating Navi or Fnatic. I don't see any current NA team having any chance either. Looking at the other franchise teams, they don't have IGL's that really inspire confidence to perform consistently at the top level. Dephh got outcalled super hard by Boaster - although that was only one series, it was such a huge diff that it's really troubling. He's also a bot mechanically. Vanity hasn't had consistent success either and has a troubling reputation of having a poor mental. Yay being dropped from C9 is a big red flag. Stellar is actually really good, but I just don't see him standing up to the best of the best. And I don't even know who IGL's for EG. Looking at Tier 2, Valyn is probably the best fragging IGL in NA. I'd say he got diffed internationally, but that was by prime PRX and Optic so that's not fair. Anyway that guy should really be in TIer 1. Shazham is a question mark because Sentinels had a really bad year, but I think he also has the talent.

Not to say these guys aren't good - anyone who competes at this level is amazing. It's just that with these post franchising superteams, it's kinda unfair now how good some of the non-NA teams are. And FNS is the only IGL I'd consistently trust on the international stage, but he's gonna get aim-diffed. Think about it this way: if you had a fantasy Valorant draft all time starting 5, you're legit not picking anyone in NA except for Yay and Marved. If you aren't thinking about language barriers: you're picking Saadhak Angel Boaster King Stax Redgar for IGL/flex, Yay Derke Aspas Jinggg for duelist, Marved Mako Pancada for smokes, Shao Leo Chronicle for initiator/flex, Nats Suygetsu Alfajer for sentinel. The thing is some iterations of these teams actually exist lmao.

Also this post will probably get hate cuz Im straight up hating on players. But these guys already get paid stacks to play a video game and they're professionals. It's an occupational hazard to get hated on. If we're gonna legitimize e-sports as a sport, you gotta accept that fans are assholes lol. The only difference is Lebron doesn't browse r/nba.

Edit: I changed my mind about FNS. I think that guy is top-tier and can field a world-beating superteam. I still maintain that the other IGL's in NA are bots though and any non-FNS teams will get bodied unless current IGL's make a leap or new talent comes up. And because of that, only NRG will see international success imo. I still don't think NRG has the chops to contend with Navi, Fnatic moving forward but not cuz of FNS, but because Victor is too inconsistent.

yessir

cum shot

navi sand fnatic played against actual bots

nt ur not bear14

at least he ain’t like boaster

ur fucking stupid or smthing idk

AHAHAHAHHA BOTQUID FAN EXPOSED BIGGEST FRAUD TEAM FROM SHITMEA LOSER

vitality is going to shit on ur dumbasses

LMFAO

the comments are too sus

https://twitter.com/Sentinels/status/1626340060265078788?s=20

can u please translate what pancada is saying

she broke
you up

saying that to a team that had no LAN experience and first international tournament is p cringe

also idk why prx fans are butt hurt cause all he called them were ‘fucks’ . and it’s true caused the played like dog shit and he got this revenge

dawg why does he need proof this isn’t some court case

but that’s not the case tho lmao
prx were being toxic and saying completely different things

Reduce the number of pacific teams and give slots to NA and EMEA

Or just start importing talent like GE, only hope for pacific to at least win a game or two