Valorant servers will be taken down temporarily from 06:00 PDT in preparation for new map Pearl and Episode 5

Valorant's brand new episode, Dimension, will be dropping in some hours, and the new update has an exciting number of changes and content in store for fans.

One of the biggest highlights of the upcoming 5.0 patch will be the arrival of the new map Pearl, along with a brand new skin line for weapons, a new Battle Pass, and new stickers, sprays, and gun buddies.

In their official Server Status Website, Riot Games has officially announced that in light of the upcoming episode and patch 5.0, the Valorant servers will be taken down temporarily at 06:00 PDT for the regions of North America, LATAM, and Brazil.

The servers are expected to be down for an hour or two as the update is a rather big one. However, before the patch drops, the Competitive queue will also be disabled, with player ranks getting a complete reset.

---

Valorant’s upcoming map Pearl is a wonder beneath the waves

One of the most attractive features that Pearl is set to arrive with is its core aesthetic and how Riot Games was able to champion the "wonder beneath the waves" concept for the map, boasting multiple pathways to the plant sites and a chaotic mid section.

This will be the first map from Omega Earth or Earth-2 from the game's mirrorverse lore, and it will be quite exciting to see how it plays out in both Standard and Competitive matchmaking.

Unlike the previous maps, Pearl will not be boasting any special features like zip lines, doors, ropes, or even teleporters. It's quite traditional by design and will be supporting three-lanes like Haven, devoid of any mechanical hooks.

Aesthetically, the arena will have a cooler color palette, which will induce a sort of a night map-like feel which has been absent in Valorant's previous maps thus far. Strategically, it will include many hiding spots and angles that would open up new ways to ambush the opponent and outmaneuver them.

Speaking of maps, as Pearl makes its way to the live servers later today, Split will be making an exit, and the map will be taken out of the rotation for both Competitive and Standard matches. Riot is concerned about the map pool health for Valorant; hence, they will be looking to temporarily remove Split from the game.