Valorant Ascent guide - Dominate the field in Valorant!

Valorant has a lot of things to offer; from team-play-based mechanics to impressive special abilities. This game has it all to get you stuck to your chair for a while.

To get good at Valorant there are a lot of things you have to keep in mind, such as the different agents and special abilities, but also the way the game works and how the maps are designed. In its visual style, it looks kind of Overwatch, but the way to play feels more like CS GO. 

If you are new to Valorant and you still want to figure out the basic aspects at work of this delivery from Riot Games, we suggest you take a look at our Valorant Beginner’s guide too! But if you're already going on the search for a way to dominate on the new map called Ascend, then you landed in the right place. This will be the best guide you’ve seen, and soon, you'll turn into a pro.

Valorant Ascent Map

This was the New map that came just after the official release of Valorant, along with the new game mode Spike Rush. As informed by Riot Games, more maps will be added to Valorant in the months to come. Ascent came as a well-deserved refreshing update! The game originally had only 3 maps.

This Valorant map came with a fast and explosive playing rhythm due to its small size and Its open Middle Section right between the two spike sites. Do not let its reduced size fool you! The approaches you can take to play on this map are countless. So let us give you some practical tips that will help you and your team to spark a riot, right at the center of the enemy field! With a few boxes around every corner to hide in, and the content of each corner being enemy agents, this is really a make-it-or-break-it kind of map.

Ascent is an open map ideal for close encounters and many vicious battles over the control of the middle ground and the two Spike sites (Just search for "Valorant Ascent video" so you get the idea). The two fortified bomb doors can be irreversibly closed, and after they are down, you’ll have to destroy them or find your way around them. 

So let’s get started with this new map's guide right away and what makes it so great.

Callouts

Generally, the callouts focus is around the spike sites, which are the most frequented places on this map. Ascent has only two Spike Sites just as Split and bind.

In this map, the callouts often refer to the elements around those Spike sites, for instance, the window on the area on A Site near the stairs is “A Window”, the lobby next to the B Site is “B Lobby” and so on. The middle section is called just “Mid” or "Middle" and the same logic applies here: "Mid Catwalk", "Mid Court", or "Mid Market". 

These callouts allow players to identify the entire map so the team communication flows. It is far better to say on your feed: “I have 2 at the left of B Lobby, head there” than saying: “Help at the bomb, by the crate location.”  Make sure to use them, most wil mix them with strategies like “let’s take mid control.”

Here are the map and the most used Ascent callouts in no particular order.

• A Site
• A Rafters
• A Main
• A Link
• A Garden
• A Window
• A long

• Mid Top
• Mid Cubby
• Mid Courtyard
• Mid Bottom
• Mid Pizza
• Mid Market
• Mid Link

• B Lobby
• B Mail
• B Site
• B Back

Defense

When defending a site, you have to remember this is a small map and the other team will appear over your shoulder at any moment, so your team has to move in a precise and coordinated way to find the best place to hide. Get two players, they need to take Mid Court while 2 defender scouts search for the best (most empty) Spike Site for retaking. Once located, share the information with your team, send the heavy guns upfront, and the fast players through the flanks. 

By default, this is a map designed for teams to get an advantage of its high grounds and numerous corridors; get behind a wall, take cover and stay on a defensive position, take control of all key spots. There are truly few places for hiding. A Rafters, for example, offers great views of the two main entry points so you can have a good shot when defending A Site, just remember the other team may also know this. Be prepared to get some early bruises.

As in almost any other map in Valorant, Middle control is maybe the most important strategy of the round. Gain control of it to be able to easily protect an entrance and get a good rotation.

The fun part about Ascent is there are so many options, high grounds, and corridors that your team will always find a way in or cut to the spike site and prevent a plant, no matter which side you spawn.

Leading the most useful alignment while defending is having one anchor for each Spike site, one Catwalk player, and two more on Mid Court. That way you still can recover if you lost any Spike Site. Remember to share what you see with your team.

Offense

The same tactics apply here: Get Middle Courtyard first. Once you get total control in the middle, your enemies have no option than pass through you if they want to get to any Spike site, so take advantage of that to add some kills to your headcount using your skills. Once you find the other team trying to plant, get them! Approach the Sites with your Controllers firepower through the lobbies and let your duelists find some other way through catwalks and corridors. Remember this is a small map where the action happens very quickly. Get prepared for intense short rounds. 

B Lobby is a strategic position both for attackers and defenders since it allows you to defend B Site quick while taking an eye on the Mid Courtyard. Take it if you’ll love to be planting the spike as soon as possible.

Best Agents for Ascent map

Riot Games delivered a small map completely filled with corridors and catwalks, where encounters are short and intense. Ideal for the Valorant Duelists to show off, or for controllers to prove how good they are at holding positions. An Agent that can safely rotate, wall, push, hold, launch a CC orb  and/or smoke entrances is amazing. If you are new to Valorant, we suggest you try and learn Phoenix or Brimstone. You can’t go wrong coming with utility agents Sage, Sova, and Cypher either. Look up our guides on our site or YouTube if you find it difficult. 

Summary

People agree that Ascent is an intense map because it has a lot of corners, angles, catwalks, a box, and corridors; it has a small size, compared to other Valorant Maps, and almost limitless possibilities to attack or defend with many skills. It’s rather easy hear enemies and be found, so be ready to block incoming attacks and retreat. 

Every Valorant Agent will find some creative ways of using their abilities, due to the high windows and open space of each room and angle... It almost invites you to test if your bots, arrows, or large grenades can hit something on the other side.

Ascent offers a lot of fun for everyone! Even beginners will find this one to be an extremely exciting place to test Duelist as Phoenix and Raze, or Controllers as Brimstone with their amazing ability pool. Surprise foes controlling the map without resistance put a bullet into their hopes and dreams. 

While offense and defense have their intricacies, the Ascent map favors greatly the team with Middle Courtyard control. If Your team has it: Congratulations! It is time to kick those invaders on your Spike Site! If your team doesn’t have it… then why are you reading this instead of taking it? Don’t go easy on the enemy and clear them to take the set!

On a side note, remember to support the gaming community as much as possible. Subscribe to channels you like, follow them, copy their strategies, and share them. The Valorant community is not huge, but is slowly getting traction. Every support we can give to the game might be crucial to establish it as the next big esport.

FAQ

What are the Valorant ascent callouts?

Callouts in the Ascent map are focused on the three main areas: A Site, B Site, and Middle. Everything around A is called after that Spike Site spot, for instance, the garden near A is “A Garden” while the lobby next to B is called “B Lobby”. Everything in the middle is called “Mid Courtyard” or “Mid Market”

The most common callouts are A Site, A Rafters, A Main, A Link, A Garden, A Window. Mid Top, Mid Cubby, Mid Courtyard, Mid Bottom, Mid Pizza, Mid Market, Mid Link. B Lobby, B Mail, B Site, B Main, and B Back. Just look up for a Valorant Map Guide, Ascent, Split, Heaven, or depending on the map.

What are the best Valorant Ascent Tips?

This is a small map that gives many ways to move from one point to another. There will be a lot of peaking kills since it is filled with catwalks and corridors in a matter of seconds. The best you can do, either defending or attacking is to dominate Mid Courtyard and organize your team from there. Remember to move your settings accordingly.

How do you close doors on Ascent?

There are two front doors you can close. The one on the B Site can be closed with the lever that’s on the wooden table, and the door in A site has a switch on one side. Once closed they cannot be opened again, but they can be destroyed.

All copyright belongs to Riot Games.