Split is one of the ten maps in VALORANT. Currently, it is one of seven in rotation for competitive and unrated. The map shows a city with a traditional side and a modern, business side to it, and it is 'split' between the two. Split is also the first map in VALORANT to use rope ascenders to reach higher ground.
If you want to go far, you’ll have to go up. A pair of sites split by an elevated center allows for rapid movement using two rope ascenders. Each site is built with a looming tower vital for control. Remember to watch above before it all blows sky-high.
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Lore[]
Split is the location of Kingdom's Headquarters and Main Research Labs. It has two sides. The side closer to A Site is the developed side, taken over by Kingdom. This side consists of a train station, Kingdom's main headquarters and other Kingdom related buildings. Kingdom is slowly taking over the side closer to B Site of Split, with barely any cultural value left.
Kingdom's Influence[]
The A side of Split has a significant Kingdom presence to it. Much of the area around Mid is under construction with the previous homes being remodeled into new, clean-cut wood and concrete buildings sporting shining gold Kingdom logos, and new Kingdom-run businesses. Aside from the new construction, there is also the looming image of the Kingdom-owned tower behind Defender's spawn that can be seen from almost every point in the map. Not much is known about the tower itself, but it does serve to further emphasize the control the company has over the surrounding area.
Anti-Kingdom Sentiment[]
Much like the other maps, a collection of anti-Kingdom and anti-radianite posters can be found throughout the area. Most of the posters are limited to the area surrounding A Sewer, especially where A Sewer meets Mid Bottom. Unique to Split, however, are several signs on the sides of a couple buildings on B side that have a picture of a crown crossed out and the slogan "Take Back our Home" on them. Since these signs are only found on the B side, it appears that residents of the area don't like Kingdom gradually taking over and redeveloping their homes.
Map layout and design[]
A Site[]
When going from Attackers' Spawn towards A site, there are two shops in A Sewer. The first is a small shoe store selling sneakers while the second is a large coffee shop called Crown Coffee. The coffee shop has more of a western influence than the surrounding shops as its interior signage is in English and along the walls are several paintings reminiscent of classical European art. The signage at the train station also has translations in both Japanese and English, demonstrating some of the cultural shift brought on by the arrival and growth of Kingdom in the region.
Further into A site is a train station that goes to various areas connected to the Kingdom buildings further away from the map. According to the announcements that play in the area, these stops include the Kingdom business center, Kingdom gift shop, Kingdom sales department, and a Kingdom research facility. One announcement also notes that both Kingdom employees and civilians are taking these trains, but that there are separate platforms for employees and citizens. (For a full list of the announcements at the Split train station, please visit Kingdom Archives here)
At the back of A side in Defenders' Spawn is a store featuring VALORANT GO merchandise. Unlike the comic shop on Pearl, this store is non-canonical as the VALORANT PROTOCOL is not known publicly on Alpha as the VALORANT LEGION is on Omega.
B Site[]
From Attackers' Spawn heading left towards B site leads into a small shopping district. In B Lobby is another of Kingdom's brands called "Kingdom Cola", from here turning into B Link is a fish stall called the Scuttle Shack, and a ramen shop. Further along in B Tower is an apartment complex with a sushi shop behind it in B Alley. Most notably on the B side of Split is another generator at the heart of B Site is a large power generator similar to the one found on A site, except it glows orange instead of blue. Spreading out from the generator are several cables linking from it to the surrounding buildings.
The entire aesthetic of the B side of the map is more mismatched and chaotic. It shows that the area is much older than the new construction on A brought about by Kingdom. On B there also appears to be greater use of the Japanese alphabets kanji and hirigana as opposed to the great use of katakana seen on the Kingdom-influenced parts of the map. Unlike the other two alphabets, katakana is used for translating foreign words into Japanese, and is often more common in areas greater occupied by foreign people.
District[]
The Team Deathmatch gamemode introduced a number of maps, amongst which District can be found. It is a simulation created by Maxbot that is heavily based on Split but that differs significantly layout-wise.
In District, the contract between traditional and modern is still made quite evident, with one side having a wooden restaurant as the Spawn area and cobblestone floors and the other having a look-alike of the vast Kingdom tower and more industrial floors. Also of interest are the Maxbot self-inserts found in both Spawn areas, which alongside the voicelines throughout the match highlight the simulated nature of the environment.
District being a simulation seems to also have an impact on the representation of Radianite in the map, as can be seen in the images below. The Split inverted pyramid has the appropriate α-Earth Radianite coloring, while the District one has Ω-Earth coloring.
Development[]
Making the layout[]
The objective behind designing Split was to make a map where off-site positions were crucial for both attacking and defending the objectives.
First Version[]
The original design had a single tower in the center with bullet proof glass that allowed Defenders to see the approach of the Attackers. Later it was decided to break the tower into two smaller towers that focused on each site.
Second Version[]
The next version pushed more of the action to the objective sites with Mid giving players access to the new smaller towers. Instead of looking at Attacker spawn, these two spots overlooked each objective site and provided strong overwatch as Attackers or Defenders.
Third Version[]
The third major revision firmly connected the towers to the sites which allowed them to be a core part of the combat around the objectives. Players could jump out of the towers onto the sites and use ladders to travel in the reverse direction.
Fourth Version[]
During the third stage, mid had become a large, porous mess of connections. The best solution was to break Mid into two halves and then connect these directly with hallways, which became the “Vent” and “Sewer” that was seen from the open beta till the final version