Riot rolling out fix to OP camping strat on Bind in Escalation

Fariha Bhatti Published 23/02/2021

Riot Games has added unique mechanics to each map in Valorant to give them all an interesting feel. However, Bind’s teleporters are squeezing the fun out of the new Escalation game mode.

While Icebox has horizontal ziplines and Haven adds a third bomb site, Bind brings teleporters into the game, linking the A and B bomb points with each other. This feature helps the defenders in competitive mode, but in fast-paced Escalation mode, teleports have become a nuisance.

In Escalation, players have a limited time to gain an edge over the opponents and grab those extra 200 points win bonuses. The new game mode provides random weapons to use and challenges to complete in order to climb levels. Whoever finishes 12 levels within the span of 10 minutes is awarded a winning bonus.

Valorant gets a new fast-paced Escalation mode

However, teleporting has become problematic in Escalation. Players are abusing the shortcut and camping around the teleporters, putting opponents at a huge disadvantage. A strong team can slide inside the teleporter and simply wait for enemies. There isn’t really an effective counter to this tactic.

Teleporting in for a pincer attack is completely neutralized, as the campers can efficiently take out players once they faze in. The position is also easily defensible as teams cannot wallbang into the teleporters, even if they know enemies are waiting around the corner. While Raze’s Showstopper could blow all enemies in Teleporter, or Sova could help with intel and damage, agents don’t have abilities in Escalation. On top of all that, teams have random weapons and toolkits, making this mode annoying to play on Bind.

Valorant reducing chances of playing Bind in Escalation mode

Fortunately, Valorant devs have listened to fans’ complaints and responded. Unfortunately it doesn’t involve actually playing the map, but simply makes it less likely that players will end up on the map.

We heard your concerns about the chaos that is playing Escalation on Bind. With Patch 2.04, we’re working on ways to stop camping at the TP.

For now, we’re adjusting the pickrate for Bind to lower your chances of playing Escalation on this map. Hope this helps!
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) February 22, 2021

While this problem is not precisely an exploit, it’s probably going to take a significant retouch in Escalation mode. For the time being, the map will be available less frequently in Escalation. It’s possible that Bind’s layout will be changed in Escalation mode, but it’s unclear if Riot will move in that direction. Another possibile fix would be tinkering with the objectives, demotions, and time limits in a way that makes it so players can’t camp.

It remains to be seen how Riot handles the exploit, as teleporters are a crucial part of map Bind. Riot has confirmed that a fix will be delivered as soon as patch 2.04.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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