Pearl was the new Valorant map released in patch 5.0 and at the time, Valorant hadn’t had a new map in a while, and with the release of Pearl, it was certainly worth the wait! Pearl’s release date was June 22nd, 2023.
Pearl came with a load of new callouts, and we are here to teach you all of them! Set under the sea in a town encased within a dome on the Omega Earth in the Valorant universe, we have all the callouts you would want from a new Valorant map! How does A Secret or Defender Side Water sound to you?
Riot Games split Pearl into two sides of the map, A and B, as well as a Mid area. This is standard with all maps in Valorant except Haven, so this is no surprise. We have some important callouts for both the attacking side and on defense too!
Valorant Pearl Map Callouts
On the attacking side, you will spawn with four options of where to go, one of which leads to A Main and A Site (A Restaurant), another heads to B Site, through B Club and B Main and two to Mid Plaza. These are Mid Top and Mid Shops.
When you spawn as a defender, you will once again be able to go four directions. You have Defender Side Records leading to B Site, Defender Side Water, leading to Mid Connector and A Secret and A Flowers leading to A Site.
Other important callouts include Mid Plaza, which is surrounded by Mid Top and Mid Shops on the attacking side, and A Art and Mid Doors on the defending side.
Understanding Pearl
The reliance on Mid Plaza to determine where attackers are is one of the most crucial parts of any match on Pearl. The winning side of the Mid Plaza duel can then attack either spike site from multiple angles, whether it be attacking or in a retake situation on defense.
The decent elevation levels and lack of ceiling on either spike site, means that lineups are key to scouting out the enemy team, especially as from Mid Plaza, attackers can go anywhere!
Any range gunfight is possible on Pearl, with the most dominant long range fights being along B Main and B Link, and the most upclose fights being in Mid Connector and on A Site - just be careful not to go B Ramp with a Stinger!
Bombsite A
A Main
Pushing along A Restaurant leads to A Main, when attacking, there are some small deep pockets that defenders can hold, so make sure you clear those! There is also a box on the curve of A Main, which is possible to wall bang, but only from the thinner sides! Taking Control of A Main allows you to get control of the ultimate orb.
This is the main way to A Site, with the other being through Mid Top to Mid Plaza, through to A Art and A Link.
A Art
Attacking A Art is somewhat challenging. This is because it actually starts in the hands of the defending side. To get there you have to push through Mid Plaza. Because of the way Mid Plaza works, the only way to attack A Art is from Mid Top. If you try from Mid Shops, any enemy agents will shoot you if they are holding Mid Shops.
You want to be careful of the boxes in A Art, as enemy agents will lurk behind them. You can also use the holes in the walls for lineups however, so make sure you learn them!
How to Attack Bombsite A
Going through Mid Top is riskier, as enemy defenders will probably be lurking in Mid Connector waiting for you. You also have to pass through Mid Plaza.
You will want to smoke off A Flowers and A Secret, as A Site is small, that is where enemies will be playing. One of the main places that attackers will plant is in the corner by the building on A Site - A Cafe we will call it. It is possible for enemy defenders to play ontop of A Cafe and behind it, so be careful! You will either want to plant in the corner or in the cubby immediately to your right.
This plant position is exposed to enemies from A Link and A Main however, so make sure you have control of A Link, or have it smoked off before you plant! We recommend having an agent such as Viper use her Toxic Screen and wall off both A Link and A Flowers.
How to Defend Bombsite A
A Site is a very small site, so defending it can be relatively easy. This is because you have access to the whole site in the buy phase, so you can prepare your utility beforehand. The Attackers only have access to A Site through A Main or A Link, which starts in control of the defenders!
We recommend using a Viper Toxic Screen from the cubby on A Site and wall across the A Site and A Link Entrances. The A Main chokepoint is very good for throwing grenades, such as Brimstone’s Incendiary into. This will drastically slow down a push and force attackers to wait!
You want to be positioned either in A Flowers or A Secret if you want to play at the back of A Site, or alternatively, as we said, on top of A Cafe. You will also need someone defending A Art.
Bombsite B
B Main
As an attacker, you can’t get onto B Site without going through B Link or B Main - and B Link requires control of Mid Plaza.
After pushing through B Club, you will find yourself at the top of B Main, at B Ramp. This is where you will see countless teammates die peeking an Operator or Chamber - so be prepared! The ramp isn’t the best cover, as it is possible to wallbang it! The middle pillar isn’t able to be wallbanged, but the stacked boxes at the end are!
B Link
If you want to get to B Link, you have to go through Mid Plaza on attack. This is no mean feat, but if you win the imminent fight in Mid Plaza, go through Mid Doors. B Link is one of the hardest places on the map to push, as there are so many places enemies can be.
You need to watch out for defenders rotating from Mid Connector, as well as multiple cubbys and boxes that you can lurk in on defense, but they can be wallbanged!
How to Attack Bombsite B
Once you have pushed down B Main, you will reach B Site. The entrance to B Site is very open, so you will have to make the most of your utility!
The best place to smoke will be B Hall. This is because it has two entrances, and you can smoke off the left one by itself, but you can also use a smoke to smoke off the right entrance and the entrance from B Tunnel. Be careful though, this smoke will have to bleed out onto site, so the enemy team can get on easier!
You want to plant behind one of the boxes, the right box with pipes is not possible to wallbang, so that is your best bet.
Another way onto B Site is through B Link, but be careful, as this requires your team to gain control of Mid Plaza, to get to. B Link starts in the hands of the defenders, so if you are pushing here, be weary of rotating enemies from Mid Connector.
How to Defend Bombsite B
B Site is accessed from three ways as defenders, through B Link, B Tunnel or B Tower. The latter two will likely become known as B Hell and B Heaven though! The difference with B Tower compared to other Heaven areas on other maps is that there is only one way up - unless you are an agent with movement!
The best places to hold on B Site as a defender are B Tower, B Hall and B Link. This is because B Tower offers a lot of verticality, with only one way up for most agents. B Hall allows you to peek B Main, and then fall back after gathering intel. B Link is where you will need someone stationed, just incase an enemy pushes through Mid Doors.
Middle
How to Attack the Middle
The main area of Mid is Mid Plaza. This allows access to every part of Pearl, which is crucial for attackers. This means if you gain control of Mid Plaza, you can easily rotate through A Art or Mid Doors.
As an attacker, you can access Mid Plaza through two ways, Mid Top or Mid Shops. Mid Top has the advantage of verticality. Both ways are vulnerable to the defender entrance next to it, but have a relative amount of cover from the entryway opposite it. You want to make sure you have control of both of these areas.
For example, Mid Doors and Mid Shops both have a decent view of each other, but Mid Shops and A Art do not, due to the statue in the middle of Mid Plaza. If a defender wanted to peek an attacker in Mid Shops from A Art, they would be heavily exposed to attackers in Mid Top.
From Mid Plaza, you can push to A Art or Mid Doors, which both lead to Mid Connector. This allows for easy rotates between A and B Site. Mid connector also leads to Defender Side Water, which means you can get to B Tower through Defender Side Records! This is crucial as this is the only way up to B Tower!
How to Defend the Middle
Defending Mid is fairly similar to attacking it. You can either come from A Art or Mid Doors. If you are A Art, you want to watch over Mid Top, and if you are Mid Doors, you want to watch Mid Shops.
There is some elevation near A Art, with a box that the likes of Jett, Omen and Raze can get onto, as well as the middle statue that anyone can.
Fights will occur very quickly in Mid, due to how close the barriers are to Mid Plaza in the buy phase, so be ready to get into a gun fight immediately! You can also rotate around Mid Connector if you lose Mid Plaza. This means you can easily rotate between sites, or flank behind enemies!
Attacker Side Spawn
From Attacker Side Spawn you have access to four different directions. These being A Restaurant, for a direct path to A Site, B Club, for a direct path to B Site and the two Mid paths. These are Mid Top, which has a verticality advantage, and Mid Shops, which has more cover.
You should always contest Mid Plaza, as especially on Pearl, the middle of the map is crucial. If you control the middle, you can limit where the enemies can be!
Defender Side Spawn
Defender Side Spawn has access to four areas as well! Two towards A Site, A Secret and A Flowers. There is a window in the middle of these, so you can quickly hop between the two. There is Defender Side Water, which is a small crawl space leading to Mid Connector, although be careful, any enemy agents will have height advantage!
The last area you can access from Defender Side Spawn is Defender Side Records. This leads to B Tunnel and B Tower - both leading to B Site.
Tips and Tricks for Pearl
Wallbanging Cover
Most of the cover on this map is possible to wallbang! This includes part of A Cafe on A Site, Mid Doors, and B Screen and B Ramp leading to B Site - so make sure to shoot through cover!
A lot of the cover is glass screens or wooden crates, so if you aren’t sure, then shoot the cover! If it leaves a black hole, it means it is able to be wallbanged.
Rotating is Easy
On Pearl, you don’t have to choose where to attack early. If you take Mid Plaza, you can then choose what site you attack from there. Also don’t be too worried about a flank, as it is a long way around A Main and B Main to get behind you in Mid Plaza!
Because of the importance of Mid Plaza, attackers should always put pressure there, as without it, enemy defenders have to go all the way around to get behind you - so don’t rush!
Learning Lineups
Both spikes sites are very open - so learn your lineups! The only issue might be Sova Bolts, which might bounce off of the sides and top of the dome. Use this to your advantage if you can!
Pearl is one of the coolest Valorant maps Riot Games has released, and considering it was in the works since before Fracture and its unque design were released, we can safely say all of its tight angles make for what may be the perfect map for Valorant style up close gun fights. The Competitive queue release date of Riot Games’ new valorant map in patch 5.0 was July 12th, 2023, a couple of weeks after the battle pass was released.