Over the weekend, Riot Games announced that in “Season 2025 // Act IV” of ‘VALORANT’, a new map will be dropping on the 25th of June—welcome to “Corrode”, which features medieval streets repurposed with industrial equipment and layered defenses perched high above vast salt flats.
A 5v5 map set in a French castle town transformed into a radianite salt mining facility, Corrode is set on the climate-ravaged world of Omega Earth. Corrode will be available in the competitive pool immediately upon launch. During the first two weeks, players lose 50% less RR for losses on Corrode, but still gain 100% RR for wins to help them get in and practice the map in a competitive setting without the fear of deranking. Additionally, Swiftplay will have a dedicated Corrode queue from the map’s launch on 25 June through to the 30th.
Key features of the map include:
- 2 Spike Sites
- 3 Lane Layout
- Layered defenses and fall-back positions
- Reduced overwhelming ability aggression in map design
Riot Games also dropped a short Q&A with three key senior talents regarding the new map:
What were your design goals for Corrode?
VALORANT has evolved a lot over the last five years. With Corrode we wanted to solidify everything we’ve learned so far while also taking on new challenges that our players are facing – like overwhelming Agent utility. The foundation of Corrode is a core three lane tactical fps map with a particular focus on layered defenses. This focus gives Defenders more opportunities to play on-site and weather the barrage of utility attackers throw their way while also limiting post-plant play from off-site. This also means the sites are a bit more complex than our usual ones, so to compensate Mid is fairly simple while still offering strong rotation options making it important to control. Our hope is that Corrode relieves some of VALORANT’s utility pressure while rewarding careful planning and well-executed strategy, making every choice matter that much more.
Joey Simas, Lead Map Designer on VALORANT
What did you take inspiration from / any notable concepts you wanted to convey with Corrode?
Corrode is the third map set on Omega Earth, and we wanted to showcase how First Light dramatically altered the planet’s climate. Following First Light, the waters surrounding Corrode evaporated, exposing vast salt flats and creating conditions for radianite supercell storms. The whipping winds from these storms drive salt crystallization across the map’s architecture, creating a unique visual identity. We drew inspiration from French castle architecture for one side of the map and traditional village structures for the other, creating a striking contrast between the two areas. Corrode also features one of our most ambitious vistas to date—players will spot moving trucks, trains, an ATLAS carrier in the distance, and an active supercell storm on the horizon.
Daniel McGowan, Senior Manager for Art Direction on VALORANT
Anything else you would like to share about Corrode?
We’re implementing a new feature to incentivize players to try to learn the map: Corrode will be available in Competitive Queue immediately upon release when patch 11.00 drops. During the first two weeks, players lose 50% less RR for losses on Corrode, but still gain 100% RR for wins. We think this will help them get in and learn the map in a competitive setting without the fear of deranking.
Armand Asdourian, Game Product Manager on VALORANT
This act also brings players the Phaseguard Collection, a skinline that embodies cutting-edge technology and tactical precision. Weapons included in the collection are the Vandal, Outlaw, Ghost, Bulldog and new melee – the Splitter. The new Battlepass will feature items such as the 5 Years: Kill All Radiants Card, Bonsai Gun Buddy, ATLAS // CMD Vandal and more.
And looking over the Battlepass for Season 2025 // Act IV:
- Price: 1,000 VP
- Highlight Items
- Free Track
- ATLAS // CMD Classic
- Bonsai Gun Buddy
- 5 Years: Kill All Radiants Card
- Crispy Shot Spray
- Free Track
- Paid Track
- ■ ATLAS // CMD Baton (Melee)
- ■ Perch Phantom
- ■ Space Piercer Sheriff
- ■ ATLAS // CMD Vandal
- ■ Bear With Me Gun Buddy
- ■ Teleporter Gun Buddy
- ■ 5 Years: Shattered Card
- ■ ATLAS // CMD Card
- ■ Surprise Portal Play Spray (Animated)
- ■ Peace! Spray
VALORANT is a free-to-play tactical first-person shooter and is available on PC via Riot Games’ client, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5 consoles—with goodies available for Xbox Game Pass members that link their accounts to their Riot Games IDs.
