What maps are in the VALORANT competitive map pool for Season V26 Act Five?

According to Dot Esports, the seven maps currently in the competitive pool are Haven, Ascent, Split, Sunset, Abyss, Lotus, and Summit.

What maps were removed from the VALORANT competitive pool?

As reported by Dot Esports, the maps currently outside the competitive rotation are Bind, Breeze, Icebox, Corrode, Fracture, and Pearl. Breeze was the most recent removal, rotating out with Patch 13.04.

When did the VALORANT seven-map pool system start?

According to Dot Esports, the map rotation system was introduced with Patch 5.00 in June 2022.

What changed with Patch 13.04 in VALORANT's map rotation?

Patch 13.04 brought Abyss back into the competitive rotation and rotated Breeze out, as reported by Dot Esports.

VALORANT Season V26 Act Five Map Pool Has Seven Maps

Seven Maps, One Pool

If you have been dodging queues with suspicious frequency lately, the current VALORANT competitive map pool might be partly to blame. According to Dot Esports, the active roster for Season V26, Act Five sits at exactly seven maps: Haven, Ascent, Split, Sunset, Abyss, Lotus, and Summit. Riot holds the line at seven, which means whenever something new or reworked earns a spot, something else has to go.

The most recent shuffle came with Patch 13.04. Abyss returned to the competitive rotation, and Breeze got the boot. Six maps are currently sitting outside the pool entirely: Bind, Breeze, Icebox, Corrode, Fracture, and Pearl.

What Changed and When

Riot has been running this rotating seven-map system since Patch 5.00, which launched back in June 2022, as reported by Dot Esports. Split was actually the first casualty of the new format, pulled from rotation to make room for Pearl when that map debuted. It spent a full Episode on the sidelines before returning with Patch 6.00.

Haven, on the other hand, has been a near-constant presence since the rotation system began. It disappeared briefly during Episode Eight, Act One, but was back two acts later. Three plant sites and a layout that rewards creativity have apparently kept it in Riot’s good graces.

Lotus rejoined the pool with Patch 12.05 after a break since Patch 11.08. That return came with actual changes: wall penetration adjustments on A-site in A Lobby and A Tree, plus a reworked plant zone that removes the option to plant for A Link. Post-plant players will need to rethink their setups there. Ascent came back with Patch 12.08 after nearly six months away, this time without any modifications, keeping the reinforced B wall that went in during Patch 10.04.

Sunset returned with Patch 13.00 after leaving the pool at Patch 12.00, also without layout changes. Its last meaningful update was Patch 9.08, which overhauled B site. Dot Esports also notes that Patch 13.00 marks the first time the agent Miks will be available on Sunset in competitive play.

What Is Not in the Pool

The maps currently locked out of ranked are Bind, Breeze, Icebox, Corrode, Fracture, and Pearl. Breeze is the freshest cut, having just rotated out with Patch 13.04 to make room for Abyss. Whether any of these maps return in a future act depends entirely on how Riot wants to balance the pool going forward.

Riot’s reasoning for the rotation system has always been straightforward: keeping seven maps prevents the competitive meta from calcifying around a handful of layouts, and it gives the team room to rework maps before returning them. Lotus is a good example of that philosophy in practice, coming back with targeted changes rather than being identical to what players last saw.

For players grinding ranked this act, the pool is what it is. Summit joins the mix as the newest entry, and stalwarts like Haven and Ascent continue to anchor the rotation. Anyone who has developed a strong Breeze agent lineup will have to wait for its next return before putting that preparation to use in competitive matches.