shroud says Fracture is "hard to play," explains why it's good for Valorant

Fariha Bhatti Published 14/09/2021

Valorant’s brand new map Fracture hasn’t yet entered the ranked queues but Michael “shroud” Grzesiek thinks it’ll be the perfect addition to the pool.

Riot Games recently expanded the map pool by adding dual attacker base location Fracture, loaded with lore and story elements. The new location is fresh with a split layout, and shroud thinks it’ll rejuvenate Valorant’s “stale” gameplay.

Seventh map Fracture brings a unique design to the first-person shooter category. The lush location has hints of destruction and ruined facilities in a fractured arena that point at turmoil triggered by Radianite. Lore-wise, the new map is extraordinary, but it’s the design that sets it apart from the rest. Popular Twitch streamer shroud thinks that Fracture is a game-changer in a repetitive and stale Valorant gameplay.

shroud gave his verdict on the seventh Valorant map and explained why it’s different from other locations on his recent stream.

“Every round will be different on Fracture. There are four different ways to get to the site, four different pathways, which means things have to change. F–king incredible,” shroud said.

The pro player said that the current Valorant meta is quite stale due to old map designs. There’s a lack of complex strategies on locations like Bind, where all teams are utilizing the map away. Fracture brings in a change in a map layout that urges teams to opt for unique strats to take site control. While this is an exciting change, he said it’ll also make Fracture a challenging location to tackle.

“The give and take… Oh boy, that’s going to be so much fun to watch, so much fun to play. It’s going to make playing the map [Fracture] really hard, too,” shroud said.

Valorant community excited for Fracture map

Players have been voicing their reservations regarding bland maps like Icebox, where you can’t do much as attackers. There’s a single entryway to point B, making Icebox a pain to play. It seems that the developer has considered the feedback by rolling out this complex locate.

Comparing the tricky corners of Fracture with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, shroud suggested that the developer is “meeting in the middle” by introducing tough-to-play locations.

“Meeting in the middle (is good). Easier gunplay than Counter-Strike, but providing more challenges with the maps,” shroud said.

It’s no secret that Valorant’s gunplay is much easier compared to CSGO, but this new twist of double spawn will make it challenging for teams to garner map control. Agent abilities will once again come into play, putting gunplay in the backseat, at least on the new map Fracture.

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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