The snow has stopped falling, the rifles are loaded up, and the agents are ready to step foot onto the icy corridors of VALORANT‘s coldest map, Icebox, as it returns to the competitive map pool with supposed changes in Patch 8.0
Icebox has been out of the ranked map rotation since April 2023 but will be making its triumphant return on Tuesday, Jan. 9 when VALORANT‘s eighth episode begins. It is also undergoing map changes that could have a pretty big effect on the map’s meta, including team composition and weapon choices.
With Lotus getting major adjustments and a new weapon on the horizon, there is plenty of new content to be excited about in Patch 8.0.
Here are all of the leaked changes to Icebox for episode eight.
All leaked Icebox changes in VALORANT episode eight
Attacker Side Spawn
B Green
B Tube/mid
B Orange
Leaked Icebox changes: At first glance
If these changes are accurate, then defenders have been given even more leeway to hold their ground on the B side of the map. From the window in B Tube that allows them to cover mid with longer-ranged weapons, the added crate in Attackers Side Spawn to prevent any cheesy spawn peeks, and the removal of the green crate at B Green, defending VALORANT players can lock down areas with far better efficiency.
The B Orange change is also significant since both VALORANT attackers and defenders have to worry about one less pathway to the spike site. Overall, these changes should make room for more duels in mid, along with increased movement towards the A site, especially if there aren’t any changes being made to that side of the map.
