Valorant patch 4.04 introduced a list of extensive changes, including a massive rework of Icebox and nerfs to Astra. On top of that, Riot Games is also working on a new “deterministic map system” to reduce the chances of repeated maps in Valorant.

We all know the feeling of being forced to play Breeze again right after losing on it, so this change can’t come soon enough.

The system is currently being tested on Valorant’s Latin America servers, but if there are no issues, Riot plans to implement it in other regions within the next week.

How Riot’s ‘deterministic map system’ will improve map variety in Valorant patch 4.04

Valorant Bind

The system follows three rules when picking a map, after players have been selected to play a match.

For starters, it looks at all the maps that players in the lobby have played over the last five games for that particular mode. The system then removes all maps that anyone has played twice in the past five games.

If all maps have been removed due to the “Twice Played” rule, they will be added back to the pool and the least-played map will be selected.

Despite Riot’s previous attempts to reduce the occurrence of repeated maps, it’s still something that happens often to many players. If the new system works as planned, players should start to encounter a wider variety of maps.

Unlike CS:GO, Valorant doesn’t allow players to choose which maps they want to play, leaving them at the mercy of the game’s map selector. Some CS:GO players are notorious for only ever playing maps like Inferno or Mirage, so it’s not difficult to see why Riot doesn’t want a similar dynamic to take hold in Valorant.

Riot might still add a map selector in the future as it creates more maps, but the new “deterministic map system” should help reduce player frustration in the meantime.

You can read the full notes for patch 4.04 here.

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