Riot released Fracture with the release of VALORANT’s Episode 3 ACT 2. Fracture is so unique that even veteran players are having difficulties understanding the map.
Unlike other maps, Fracture brings a different kind of style to VALORANT’s map pool. As a competitive FPS title, Riot’s decision to release a map like Fracture also indicates their ambitions with VALORANT’s future.
Since Fracture features a complicated layout and several choke points, it’s very common for anyone to fall into confusion as soon as they see it. However, the map is actually designed to promote teamwork and communications. Playing solo in Fracture is destined to bring no result as Attackers can spawn on both sides of the map while defenders can only spawn in the middle.
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So the decision to focus more on strength and manpower has to be done pre-round, meaning communications with your teammate will be an absolute necessity. With two bomb sites and a huge amount of chokepoints present on the map, memorizing the map’s layout will also be challenging. Riot clearly left out a series of hints about VALORANT’s lore scattered throughout the map. Additionally, the map itself seems like a part of the lore.
At first glance, Fracture seems like a distant cousin of Bind. Although it doesn’t feature any Portals. On the other hand, Fractures map design has some distant similarities with Icebox & Breeze. The alleyways and tunnels kind of resembles a better-designed Split while the outside of the map gives us some clues about what happened to the place before an “Incident“ took place.
In this guide, we’ll be talking about some primary things about Fracture, how to play it and where to be when necessary.
Bomb Sites & Spawns
There are two bomb sites split across the map. Both sites are in near proximity of the defenders, but the attackers might have a little upper hand since they have the freedom to access these sites from multiple directions. In addition to that, attackers can decide where they would like to spawn even before the round starts meaning they can stack together and push a single site. Meanwhile, the defenders have to figure out where the main attack is coming from, and then prepare and defend. So, in a summary, this map seems to be favoring the attackers.
A site callouts
The A bombsite has two floors with minimal protections. Virtually, the defenders can pretty much most of the areas in A bombsite. Although callouts of the sites aren’t decided or agreed upon among the players yet, some common callouts are A-Main, A Link, & A Drop. Attackers are expected to appear from A Main & A Drop, even from A Link too if they decide to rush across A Halls and access the A door. The two floors can be called out as Top and Downfloor, although it’s up to the majority on what callout they settle upon.
B site callouts
B site is accessible for the attackers in two different ways. B Tower, B Arcade & B Tree. Unlike A site, B bombsite offers more open spaces and elevated positions. Some primary callouts in B site should be, Generator, Main, and Tower. Inside the location of the bombsites, some stairs and deep corners are present. In typical fashion, players might designate the deep corner as Dark. Even though such callouts are not currently being used by anyone. The B bombsite also has Default boxes like other maps.
Attackers
Access to A site
Depending on the side you decide to assemble, the A site is accessible through A Gate or A Hall. The A Gate will lead you to A Dish & A Drop while the A Hall will lead you to A-Main or A Door. However, the A Door area is pretty risky as a literal Door is separating the path and the defenders will be instantly alerted as the Door makes a huge noise while opening. So, whatever path you chose, make sure you have sufficient plans to retreat and recover if necessary.
Access to B site
Access to B site can be gained through B Bench, which leads to B Arcade or B Link. Similarly, B Tree can also lead to B Main or B Tunnel, ending up in B site as well. With all these locations leading to one single site, it’s best to take advantage of the situation and prepare for smokes early. Some Sova / Viper lineups will also multiply the advantages in both post-plants and early rounds.
Attack Strategies
A Site Smokes
If you are planning to enter A site from A Gate then the most optimal decision would be to smoke off A-Main, A Rope, and A Link as soon as you cross the Dish area. Similarly, if you plan to enter A site from the Hall, then the best choice would be to smoke A Drop, Link, & Rope. In this way, you will be less vulnerable from off angles, and entering the site will be easier.
Brimstone is a great pick in Fracture since there are always more than two positions that you might need to smoke by default, so it’s better if you give a second thought before picking Omen. Unless you are absolutely sure, it’s best to pick Brimstone as his post-plant potential is also great in this map. A good alternative can be Astra since it’s expected that Fracture will be a heaven for Operators. Using abilities like Gravity Well & Nova Pulse can significantly increase your advantages even before you get to see your enemies.
B Site Smokes
Entering the B site can be a bit tricky since there are many elevated positions all around the place. However, if you or your team decides to go B from the B Tree /Main area then smoking off B Canteen, Tower and Generator will grant you maximum safety. Although it depends on your execution-style, these three should at least be the default smokes for entering B from the Tree side.
Meanwhile, pushing the B site from B Bench is extremely risky if you don’t pre-plan everything with your team. First of all, taking control of B Arcade will require one smoke in the B Tower/Rope. Moving further, two more smokes will be required to block off B Canteen & Link. Depending on the agent composition & playstyle of your team, drop smokes exactly in these places or try something else as plans are not meant to go accordingly.
Site execution demo
A site execution from A Gates
Here we have taken 5 Agents with good pick rates to make a composition. Executing A bombsite will be a hefty task on Fracture. For this example, we will theorize a 5 man execution scenario on A site.
As shown above, using utilities will be crucial in this map. Upon coming close to A Drop, Brimstone has to smoke off A main, Link & Rope. After that Raze will clear the angles below with her Boom Bot. Sequentially, Jett will need to use her Tailwind to secure a spot in the site while Sage will proceed to make a Wall and block the A Main entrance. Meanwhile, Brimstone can provide cover or watch the entire site from A Drop. Killjoy can place her turret and watch over A Rope and Link to defend against any unexpected push from the defenders.
A site execution from A Main
Considering the number of angles, off-angles, and positions you or your team might have to cover, accurate usage of utilities is heavily required to gain entry into any site.
In this specific scenario, Sage can use her wall to split the entire A site and make rooms for her teammates. Above all, the main task of entering the site be upon Reyna. Reyna must use her Leer to gain entry while being aided by Raze’s Boom Bot to clear the boxes on the immediate left side. Even before that, Brimstone will smoke off the Rope, Link & Drop area. After that, Killjoy can place her turret over the sage wall while Brimstone can play post-plant or lurk from the A Door area.
B Site execution from B Main
In a similar fashion, performing any execution on the B site will require perfect usage of utilities. In this instance, we have added a Sova to gain information about the defenders prior to entering the site.
While Sova will be feeding information to his teammates, Reyna’s task will be to enter the site using her Leer. Prior to that, Brimstone’s Sky Smokes will block off all chokepoints and off angles such as B Canteen, Tower & Generator. Sage can then further block off the area between Canteen & Generator by using her Barrier Orb. Raze, Brimstone & Reyna will then proceed to the site. Depending on the using situation, Raze might use her Boomb Bot to clear or detect anyone hiding near the Generator area. Additionally, her Paint Shells can be used to eliminate or push back anyone controlling the Tower or Stairs.
B Site execution from B Bench
Among all the executions possible on the B site, this one will require some heavy teamwork. If you decide to lead your team to B site through the Arcade area then the execution has to include two stages. During the initial stage, most of the heavy will need to be handled by Sova and Reyna as their ability to gather information & disable enemies will play a crucial role to take control of the B Arcade & Ropes Area.
After establishing control over Rope & Arcade, an opportunity to attack B site from two different locations will open up. Reyna & Brimstone can proceed to the tower and wait for Sova, Raze & Sage to gain entry. Before entering the main portion of the Site, Sova will need to use his Recon Bold to detect any enemies entrenched inside the B site. After that Raze will let go of her Boom Bot to clear out the Generator area. Meanwhile Sage will push further into the site to wall off the Canteen Area; Reyna will aid the entire team with her Leer in the process.
Default defensive setups
Defending on Fracture can be really challenging. Normally, Sentinels agents are tasked with holding/anchoring sites but require good chemistry between Initiator & Sentinel agents. Getting early information should be the top priority for Initiator agents while Sentinels like Killjoy, Sage, or Cypher will set up their defenses accordingly. Due to the multiple openings presence in every site, just assuming things will be difficult. In that case, Initiators like Sova or Skye must maintain constant communication with the rest of the team.
On the other hand, flanking will be beneficial for the defenders. Unlike other maps, flanking on Fracture is not an optional move. Lots of flanking routes are also available on the map & performing rotations can be done. As the defenders are going to spawn in the middle of the map, leaving one anchor between two sites can be a good idea too.
Best Agents for Fracture
Choosing the perfect agent in a new map is a big hassle. Considering the amount of variables players have to go through before picking an agent can be a complicated task. Fracture imports all the interesting features from every other map currently active in VALORANT. The map is designed to give a certain amount of advantage to all classes of agents in the game. Duelist players can find lots of open spaces to roam around and eliminate their opponents. Sentinels & Initaotrs will also enjoy plenty of freedom to take defensive or offensive measures. Due to the presence of a high amount of angles & off-angles, Sentinels like Killjoy and Sage will have crucial roles to play during defensive rounds. Meanwhile, Duelists like Jett, Raze & Reyna are also likely to get high pick-rates in Fracture. Initiators like Brimstone will get more preference over Omen due to his larger inventory of smokes and lethal Ultimate ability.
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Fracture has brought a new style to VALORANT’s existing map pool. Critics are not so happy with the design of the map. However, the majority of the casual players are demanding standard competitive maps instead of such new unconventional maps. Riot is continuing to pushing the limits with map designs but it might be affecting the casual player base in an unexpected way. Surely, Fracture is fun to play map but the competitive aspects of the map remain questionable.
