TL;DR
- Updates 10.00 and 10.04 added agents Tejo and Waylay, respectively; there’s no extra agent for update 11.00.
- It’s the first new map since 8.11’s Abyss in June 2024.
- The new map is situated in North-West France, on Normandy’s coast, within the small medieval castle town of Mont-Saint-Michel.
- Corrode is more of an old-school FPS map where precision and optimal angles are hugely rewarding.
- Corrode’s mid-lane is a fairly direct and uncomplicated route across the map, making the lack of cover a significant factor.
VALORANT is entering a new era, and with S25 Act 3 ushering in a fifth anniversary, the VALORANT Season 2025 Act 4 has some plans of its own. Riot has assured players that it’s here for years to come, which means more content to look forward to. But, while updates 10.00 and 10.04 added agents Tejo and Waylay, respectively, there’s no extra agent for update 11.00.
Instead, a new VALORANT map helps to shake up the meta/chaos. It’s the first new map since 8.11’s Abyss in June 2024, so here we’ll look at the map, including what you need to know about gameplay impact, the agents perhaps best suited to clearing a path to victory on it, and a look at insights from the map design team.
Firstly, we start with the key details of the VALORANT’s new map, the lore, and some ideas on how best to approach VALORANT Act 4’s ‘Corrode’, a new playground for all agents.
What is Corrode?
Situated in North-West France, on Normandy’s coast, is the small medieval castle town of Mont-Saint-Michel, the home to VALORANT’s Corrode map. Corrode is named for VALORANT’s lore, given that after the Omega First Light event, which caused drastic climate change, Mont-Saint-Michel’s setting was transformed, as radianite salt flats were exposed by the evaporated waters surrounding the town.
As the town’s inhabitants sought to mine these flats, the map’s medieval masonry and architecture are joined by industrial machinery and sneaky corners, but limited full-cover opportunities. Corrode is a three-lane map with two plant sites. It also lacks dynamic map elements, focusing the action on gunplay and tactical use of agents’ abilities. VALORANT Act 4 does little to boost individual agents with the new map (quite the opposite), as it’s more of a classic FPS-friendly arena in the intended play style, and less ability-driven.
All you need to know
FPS gunplay where utility matters
While the official VALORANT Season 2025 Act IV Corrode map trailer shows agents discussing the best way to approach Corrode, there’s plenty of chatter about the best agents for the map and the meta being developed by the community, which we’ll come to.
What’s clear is that this is more of an old-school style FPS map (Counter-Strike’s Dust comes to mind in both aesthetic and function), where precision and optimal angles are hugely rewarding. Combined with a neutral and lightly coloured backdrop, agents and threats will more easily ‘pop’ from the background, potentially making it trickier to be sneaky.
How will Corrode impact gameplay?
VALORANT’s lead map designer, Joey Simas, has pulled back the curtain on the thinking of Corrode: “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 defences. This focus gives Defenders more opportunities to play on-site and weather the barrage of utility attackers thrown 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.”
Plain as day, then, off-site action will be trickier to plan and strategise, which is intended to push more coordinated on-site team defence and attacks. Even post-plant, teams will want to stay near because of a key factor – mid.
Corrode’s mid-lane is a fairly direct and uncomplicated route across the map, making the lack of cover a big factor. Conversely, this also means it’s important to be wary of, with sharpshooting players likely deployed mid to prod and keep pushes at bay.
What are the best agents for the Corrode map?
Theories of ideal team compositions are always an evolving equation. However, with Riot delivering a map not specifically designed to be suited to any agent’s skills makes things become uncertain. YouTuber, Thinking Man’s Valorant, has delivered an initial assessment of the ‘Corrode Meta’ with a few things to keep in mind, and we can understand his view with the following highlights:
Controllers
- Omen – Paranoia offers great early intel, and Dark Cover blocks LoS options and adds extra cover.
- Viper – Toxic Screen could be a real issue for players to traverse, blocking off easy access through to A or B, while offering cover for a push in.
- Astra – Astra’s Cosmic Divide has potential for limiting ‘cringe’ plays with players spamming walls.
Duelists
- Yoru – Yoru’s Gatecrash TP could offer value in rotations and offensive plays, while defensively it may be less useful, but Yoru overall feels like a good pick for Corrode.
- Neon – Neon’s relay bolt stands out as a potential stun engage in mid, for a second duelist pick.
Initiators
- Fade – Fade’s Haunt ability seems useful for Corrode, revealing enemy positions around tricky corners, with Prowler potentially useful in mid for keeping agents on their toes.
- Sova – Sova players are likely to feel at home and highly valuable in a map where precision shocks and the extra ‘eyes’ from Recon Bolt and Owl Drone could offer intel.
Sentinels
When it comes to Sentinels, it’s less clear which agents could come out on top in the meta, as each offers a decent ability to lock down sites effectively, depending on player proficiency, helped by the necessary ‘layered defence’ that Corrode promotes.
Very relevant in any picks, though, are the VALORANT Season 2025 Act 4 updates to duelists, where nerfs for the kit of Phoenix, Reyna, and Neon are part of Riot Games’ drive to pull VALORANT away from an ability meta and back to more classic gunplay. Which options are best? Check our Best VALORANT Agents list for inspiration.
Conclusion
What’s clear is that with VALORANT’s latest update, Corrode presents a novel challenge for VALORANT players, with a map that offers a fairly uncomplicated mid-lane but trickier plant sites. Strategy and well-thought-out tactics will be required for site lockdown and rotations, while the lack of strong access across Corrode and its focus on gun-play precision demands focus and agent proficiency.
FAQs
It depends on the role and player, but as S-tier picks, we rate Neon and Yoru as the best duelists, Sova, Breach, and Gekko as the best initiators, Astra and Omen as the best controllers, and Vyse as the top sentinel option.
The new VALORANT season will start in January 2026, as each season lasts a year.
The latest VALORANT Act, Season 2025 Act IV, started on June 25. The next Act, Act V, is expected to begin in August 2025.
