Ascent is one of the ten playable maps in VALORANT. This map is in the sky above Venice, where chunks of the city rose after the events of the DUELISTS cinematic. Ascent features closable doors which can be destroyed, and a breakable window.
An open playground for small wars of position and attrition divide two sites on Ascent. Each site can be fortified by irreversible bomb doors; once they’re down, you’ll have to destroy them or find another way. Yield as little territory as possible.
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Lore[]
Ascent is located in Venice, Italy, the city which rose from the ground after the events of DUELISTS. The city is broken up into many pieces, and Ascent is played on one of the largest. The Range is also part of the floating city, however it is a much smaller island. Many of Venice's other floating islands can be viewed from the map's spawns, which both seem to be open areas.
Although not as much as other maps, Kingdom does have some influence in Ascent. This is mainly on the A site half of the map, where what seems to be a Kingdom office is in Mid, along with radianite crates littered around, a machine on A Site and what look like turrets pointing to the rift on A Site. Although the B site half has much less Kingdom influence, it does contain a door which is of Kingdom aesthetic and radianite crates at the plant site.
Layout[]
A Site[]
Ascent is divided in two halves, with Kingdom's takeover primarily on A Site. A Site contains a ruined church with a rift floating above it, causing the fragments to be trembling, seemingly frozen in time. There are various devices resembling turrets pointed towards this rift, powered by a machine located on site.
The origins of the rift above the Santa Maria della Salute church on A Site are unknown. It may have appeared as a result of Venice's rising, or may have been the catalyst for such unnatural results of the spike explosion during DUELISTS.
There is very little Radianite located on site, with only one processed Radianite crate within the spike's explosion radius. This may imply that there is another source of Radianite near the site, such as the rift or the power source for the 'turrets'.
In A Lobby, a gelato store named La Crusca and a butcher can be seen, as well as some radianite crates and a mysterious device. On the A half of Attacker Spawn, a café named Bar Volante, meaning 'Flying Bar', is opposite to the Negozio Di Esche, or 'Bait Shop'. There is also a advertisement for Kingdom's Radianite Springs on the wall.
Mid[]
Mid is a mix of the traditional and Kingdom-influenced parts of Ascent.
Mid Pizza and Mid Market are both true to Italy's culture, with a pizza shop named Pizzeria de Marzio and grocer present in Pizza and Market respectively. Mid Courtyard and Mid Catwalk are taken over by Kingdom, with many Radianite crates dotted around. There are also various posters depicting rats and people in suits, as well as various articles, typical anti-Kingdom propaganda that can be seen on other maps as well (such as Bind).
Catwalk has a ticket booth, signed by BIGLIETTI, or 'tickets' in Italian, which likely means Kingdom is capitalizing off the destroyed church on A Site, most probably after the rift appeared there. Interestingly, a book store with a sign depicting one of the Tactifriends has been preserved. Graffiti of someone holding a rose, with the words Mi Manchi Amore Mio, translating to 'I miss you, my love', can be seen on Mid Top.
An area that shoots off Mid Link has several houses as well as the Mercato Del Pesce, or Fish Shop, which sells Pesce (Fish), Calamari (Squid) and Crustacei (Crustacean). There is also a smudged out sign, that likely says 'Hotel Beval San Marco'.
B Site[]
The B half of Ascent preserves more of Venice's traditional influence, with few traces of Kingdom around the area. B Lobby has a large mural of an octopus holding a key as well as a small stall signed Negozio Di Esche', which translates to 'Bait Shop'.
The upper walls of B Main consist of various wall paintings of sea life, with murals of a lobster, two shells, a mermaid, a large fish, a crab and a dolphin. B Main has a storage room with the sign L'Insidia Pescheria, which roughly translates to The Trap Fish Market, and a stock garage for the Negozio Di Esche, whose garage door can been seen from the offshoot at Mid Link. Two signs saying Crostacei (Crustacean) and Pesce Fresco are also visible through B Main, however it is not known which company owns these signs. A large sign that reads Mercato Del Pesce (Fish Market) is fitted at the entrance to B Main from B Site
B Site may be a port or docking area for boats due to the presence of various boat related buildings. After entering B Site a small construction area with tools, boat schematics and a work bench made from an old boat can be seen. Due to the small size of this workshop, it was likely built for one person to use at a time to repair their boats.
A mural of a sea dragon can be seen on the workshop's rear exterior wall, possibly to greet travellers entering this area after docking their boats. Although the tradition of this location has been preserved, Kingdom influence is still visible around B Site in the form of Radianite crates, cameras and a large poster of a giraffe. There are also solar panels and other devices on the roofs of some buildings, however, these may have been installed by the residents of Venice.
B Boat House, named Carpentiere Navale, or 'Naval Carpenter', is a shed that houses the residents' boats, implying that a river was located next to B Site prior to Venice Rising. Gondolas and other types of boats can be seen around the boat house, along with more tools and a crate owned by the Negozio Di Esche.
A large rift similar to the one seen on the Santa Maria della Salute church has destroyed a building above the boat house. This building does not have any unique features or objects inside of it, meaning it may not be as significant as the Salute.
Easter Eggs[]
Kench on a Bench[]
Kench on a Bench is a reference to a meme among the League of Legends community, called 'Unbench the Kench'. The origins of this meme root from the constant banning of Tahm Kench in ranked games of League of Legends. The bench with a carving of Tahm Kench's head on it is visible in Mid Bottom on Ascent.
Flying Newspapers[]
1906 Newspaper Article
There are newspapers seen flying around the edges of Ascent, however, they cannot be seen in game. These newspapers show a real life newspaper article covering the 1906 earthquake of San Francisco.
Scrapped Content[]
The Rise of Venice Short Story[]
A short story explaining the Rise of Venice prior to VALORANT's open beta was written by an unknown author, and was datamined from the game files by players shortly after VALORANT's full release. This story was written a considerable amount of time before VALORANT's open beta, with scrapped Agents and Kingdom's old name, Atlas (not to be confused with ATLAS, an organization on Omega Earth), being incorporated throughout. For these reasons, the story is considered completely non-canon and it has no impact on the VALORANT universe.
Piazza[]
Being one of the three original maps released for the Team Deathmatch gamemode, Piazza is a simulation based on Ascent created by Maxbot with a heavier Kingdom presence than the original.
While the simulated city of Venice in which Piazza takes place is also floating, the rest of the map is vastly different to Ascent. The featured Kingdom building in Piazza has a much more industrial look that the ticket-selling facility in Ascent, instead looking more like the architecture in Split. Also borrowing from Split, a Crown Coffee shop can be found in Piazza.
Another notable difference between the simulation and the real map is the cathedral found in both. In Piazza the building is intact, while in Ascent it is completely torn apart by a rift, hinting towards the simulated nature of the map. Notably, the top of the building features a shape that resembles the flower symbol relevant to the Flower Cult Theory.
In the plaza to the right of the industrial Spawn is a statue of an Earth globe, hinting towards Kingdom's presence around the world and their obsession with reaching further beyond.
