Valorant Ascent map guide: tips, strategies, spike sites
Ascent’s unique feature is its deployable doors. The doors can’t be activated until 10 seconds after the round begins, can be raised and lowered by anyone on the site, and can be destroyed. This map requires perfect Mid control because it connects both sites directly.
On A Site, the door blocks the entrance from Catwalk/A Link, and on B Site, the entrance from Mid Pizza/Market.
Holding Mid can completely stop any rotation, and cut off enemies from splitting entrances to A Site.
Moving from A to B through Defender Spawn is quick, which allows for fast rotations, giving defenders an optimal chance when playing safely.
Retaking sites on Ascent is very difficult, particularly A due to its many hiding places and corners you must check.
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While explaining the map strategies, I might use the most common callouts to indicate each placement.
A Site - Attack
When attacking A Site, most teams will have one agent in Mid looking for aggressive Pizza and Catwalk enemies. Be sure to not stand out in the open, allowing for easy double peeks, and putting yourself in a dangerous situation.
Players pushing A Main must be silent, as any noise whatsoever will cause A defenders to panic, shut the door, and hide on site while their teammates huddle up on Heaven.
When pushing onto site, you should have one member stay in A Main with the sole purpose of watching Heaven, to ensure no enemies peek and kill allies while they check all the nooks and crannies on A Site.
Generally, two players will push in, sweeping from left to right, looking behind objects, and eventually meeting towards Hell below Rafters. Only peeking at extreme angles will allow you to see defenders tucked away on either side - ensure everything is clear before pressing onward.
The most optimal place to plant the Spike is in the open in front of the center box, as it can be seen by players in A Main, Heaven, and A Link.
A Site - Defense
In order to defend A Site, you need two players: one on Heaven, and the other near the door. The latter must be ready to fall back behind the metallic box on the west side of the site, or behind the center boxes, and prepared to peek out and attempt to get a kill.
Third player strategy
You may also have a third member on A Link, peeking out Mid to play against early round aggression at Mid Link towards B. If there is no aggression, you may push up trying to pick an enemy at Mid Top aiming towards Pizza.
However, if you are pushed at A, you can fall back to a corner in A Garden near Link, which allows you to peek into the entrance of A Main. This is a fantastic defensive location.
I highly recommend this strategy if you are a Phoenix player or a Reyna, as your healing capabilities allow you to play aggressively and not be punished as heavily for it.
B Site - Attack
To attack B, you usually require Mid control, as it is very difficult to sneak through the hallways and push out of B Main without being punished. There are just too many stalling abilities in Valorant to prevent this kind of rushes.
Bait out utility, and play slowly.
Be prepared for Omen to teleport to the right side of B Main, or for Raze/Sova to throw utility through the windows.
Sage can wall on top of the boxes at B Main, allowing for a wide view of the site, and possible picks into Market against enemies who are not prepared for this approach.
Be warned: using Sage’s wall this way can be worthless, as it is the most expensive ability in the game, and this strategy doesn’t give you value all of the times.
Once your members gain Mid control, you can begin pushing together onto site.
As soon as you conquer the area, shut the door and have one member plant while the others set up defense quickly, most importantly against Defender Spawn, as it is the fastest rotation on the map.
The image below shows the most optimal planting location on B Site. It can be defended from Stairs on the north side of the shack, Walkway on the south side, both openings in B Back, and can be easily stalled with utility and ultimates against the back wall from a safe location.
B Site - Defense
When defending B, you will have only one player somewhere on site, looking at B Main at all times.
This player can be on top of the barrels on the right side of Defender’s side hallway, crouched on the stairs leading to Market, or close to the southern corner of the Shack in the center of B.
All of these are unfavorable positions as they are hard to fall back from, or to play aggressively. Some players like to peek into B Main and play aggressively there.
Market defender
The agent with the strongest chance of survival is the one in Market, as they can fall back easily, and are generally there only once the B Site defender calls for help, as most times the Market defender is holding Mid control looking for picks at Mid Top.
If the enemies take over Mid control, and are pushing into B Main, the Market defender is going to have an extremely hard time surviving. However, if they are fast enough, they might be able to sneak out through Defender’s side hallway, and back around to Defender Spawn to try to regain Mid control at Pizza.
Teams who cannot maintain Mid control will find it very difficult to defend their sites, and will often be required to rely on their retaking skills to come out on top on defense.
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Credit to Drowsy Boar who provided information and image for this article.
