Since its release, Pearl has been one of VALORANT’s most-picked maps in professional tournaments. However, with some strategies exposed by different pro teams, it was time to make substantial changes to the map. For Patch 6.11, Pearl’s B Site received massive changes which addressed the problem of the site. We will look at the major changes to Pearl in this comprehensive article.
What is Pearl?
Pearl is one of VALORANT’s most recent maps, released in Patch 5.0 (June 2022). It was a hit among professional players and was chosen during tournament map picks until the recently concluded VALORANT Champions Tour International Leagues.
The map is based on an underwater city by Kingdom Industries. based in Lisbon, Portugal. As Lisbon experienced higher sea tides due to Omega Earth’s rapidly rising climate, Kingdom Industries and VALORANT Protocol decided to make Geo Domes, with Pearl being one of such projects.
In VALORANT, the map is structured in the traditional A, Mid, and B lanes with long sight lines and tight spaces. The first major revamp was in Patch 5.06, where some boxes in A Art have been modified to keep defenders at bay, among other changes across the map.
Common Strategies
Back in the Chamber meta when Pearl was introduced, the map was hard for attackers to push sites because of Chamber’s Rendezvous. This was also compounded by the fact that B Site was a battle of throwing utilities before the attackers could reach the mid-point of B Long, which favors defenders by not having to spend utilities or have Controller Agents like Astra (a top pick in Pearl before the introduction of Harbor) to spend at least one star for her various utilities.
When Chamber was nerfed in Patch 5.12, the top Sentinel Agent pick was Killjoy. Her effectivity in Pearl rose, with optimal strategies in B Site, such as the Nanoswarms covering almost the entire length of the default plant areas, and a well-placed Turret can halt the push of the opposing team. However, Killjoy’s viability in this map was strong as an attacker with strong post-plant capabilities. This, coupled with the double Controller shell of Viper and Harbor has posed problems for teams defending Pearl’s B Site, which became a prompt to revamp the whole Site.
Major Changes in Pearl B Site
Note: All images and text in this section are taken from VALORANT Official Site.
We’ve felt that Pearl’s B Site has been problematic due to how difficult the site is to hold as a defender in conjunction with the amount of strong post-plant options available to attackers. With that in mind, we wanted a smaller-scale update before Champions to address those concerns.
Adjusted the B Ramp Screen and removed the attacker cubby
Adjusted B Site Screen
Added a new cubby in B Hall
Widened the pillar on B Site
How Will These Changes Impact Playing on Pearl?
Since Pearl’s B Site has a lot of strong post-plant options, having these changes will have a huge impact on how the map will be played.
For instance, by making the B Ramp Screens into a jump box, the mind games for this particular area will be lessened. Having the attacker commit to peeking while on top of the box will help the defender be more alert.
The cubby in B Hall/Museum is also a significant one. This will make attackers check a new angle. At the same time, defenders can play outside the cubby, which makes an interesting mind game against the attackers.
B Site Screen and B Pillar are also points of contention. Having the Screen extend a little makes smokes or a Sage Wall more viable (meaning, there’s no gap) as a line of defense. While B Pillar’s widening sets up options for defenders to get in site safely from their spawn during rotations.
While Pearl’s changes may see an impact in the upcoming VALORANT Champions Tour Masters Tokyo (June 11 – 25), these changes are already exciting as it is because it was a pain to defend B Site in Pearl. These changes come as a breath of fresh air for VALORANT players.
What do you think of the changes?
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