VALORANT Sunset Guide (2026): Callouts, Market Door, Attack, Defence

Sunset is the most "normal" map in the current pool, and that's exactly why it punishes sloppy play. There's no teleporter, no zipline and no wall that drops from the sky — just three lanes, two sites and a Mid that both teams fight over from the first second. Riot released it in August 2023, reworked its B site in 2024, rested it for the first half of 2026 and brought it back with patch 13.00 in June. At Champions 2026 it was the third-most-picked map. This guide covers the layout and all of the game's callouts, the Market door, how to win Mid, attack plans for A and B, how to defend after the B-site rework, the agents the pros picked, and the mistakes that lose Sunset rounds in ranked.

Sunset's layout

Riot's map page sets the scene: "A disaster at a local kingdom facility threatens to engulf the whole neighborhood. Stop at your favorite food truck then fight across the city in this traditional three lane map." The VALORANT wiki places it in Boyle Heights, a neighbourhood of Los Angeles, where a sinkhole has opened in front of the Kingdom facility. The patch 7.04 notes that introduced it on 29 August 2023 describe the same thing in game terms: three lanes and two sites.

On the route map above, attackers start at the bottom and defenders at the top. The A line runs from attacker spawn through A Lobby and A Main to A Site, with A Elbow as a side passage. The Mid line climbs through Mid Bottom and Mid Courtyard to Mid Top, which connects to A Link; Mid Tiles feeds A Lobby. The B line runs through B Lobby and B Main onto B Site, and the door connects Courtyard to B Market, the room beside B. Defenders reach A through A Alley and A Link, Mid through Top, and B through B Boba. Sunset's designer Lansford told ProSettings at launch that Mid "is fairly difficult to control" and "generally good for rifle ranges", and that's still the best one-line summary of the map.

Every Sunset callout

The 17 callout markers below are the ones the game shows on your minimap. Learn these first; they're the words your solo-queue teammates will use.

The Market door

The door is Sunset's only moving part, and in practice it favours whoever holds Market, because the switch is on the Market side. With the door shut, attackers in Courtyard can't see or shoot into Market, so a defender can hold B from Market without worrying about Mid. With it open, there's a straight line from Mid into the side of B — which is both a fast rotation for defenders and a second entrance for attackers.

Two habits from BoostPirate's coaching: listen for the door, because it opening or closing tells you someone is in Market; and don't spray at a shut door hoping to break it in the middle of a fight — 500 HP is several magazines, and the noise tells everyone where you are. If your plan needs the door open, break it early in the round with a full team ready, or take Market from B Main instead.

Winning Mid

Every Sunset plan starts in Mid. Mid Top touches A Link, and Courtyard touches B Market through the door, so whoever controls Mid chooses where the round goes. On attack, BoostPirate's default is two players into Mid Bottom with a smoke on Top, an Initiator clearing Courtyard, and a decision at around 35 seconds: if Courtyard is yours, A Link and the door are both threats, and defenders have to respect both sites. On defence, one player holds Mid from Top with a teammate who can rotate — never two players dying in Courtyard in the first 20 seconds. A smoke or a Sentinel's trip on Top lets one player watch Mid and still reach A Link in time.

The pros' composition tells the same story: Omen in every team, plus Fade (71%) for information and Neon (79%) for fast entries through Mid. Omen's two smokes and teleports let one player own Mid's sightlines without standing in them.

Attacking on Sunset

Starting plans for a ranked team — BoostPirate's defaults, not set plays.

Hitting A

1. 0–25 sMid first

   Two in Mid Bottom and Tiles, two in A Lobby, one holding B Lobby for noise and the flank.

2. 25–50 sTake Mid Top for A Link

   If Mid falls, A Link becomes a second entry. If it doesn't, hit A from Main and Elbow together.

3. On the hitSmoke Alley and Link

   A is compact with cubbies and narrow walkways — clear them with utility, not with your face. Smoke the defenders' Alley and Link routes.

4. Post-plantPlay from Main, Elbow and Link

   Three angles on the Spike from three directions make the retake guess.

Hitting B

1. 0–25 sShow Mid, gather in B Lobby

   Make Courtyard noise so the Market player stays near the door.

2. 25–50 sDecide on the door

   With Courtyard won, you can threaten Market through the door; without it, go through B Main.

3. On the hitSmoke Boba and Market

   Those are the defenders' ways in. Flash the pillar, clear the back of the site and the stairs before you plant.

4. Post-plantRespect the 9.08 changes

   Riot removed the B Main pivot box because post-plants were too strong — play the Spike from Main and Market with utility, not from one box.

Defending on Sunset

Patch 9.08 on 22 October 2024 rebuilt B for exactly this side of the round: Riot said it was updating Sunset's B site "to address defensibility, post plant, and provide more ways to play on site". Coverage of the patch lists a smaller B Main doorway, a new cubby on the central pillar, a box moved away from the back wall, altered stairs with a new ledge, and a resized Mid centre structure. BoostPirate's standard ranked setup:

Patch 13.00 brought Sunset back with buffs that suit these holds: Killjoy's Turret fires 50% faster, Cypher's Trapwire arms in .7 seconds, and Sentinel tools in general got stronger. Both of Sunset's sites touch Mid, so a retake can come from more than one side — plan the route before the plant: A through Alley and Link, B through Boba and Market.

The best agents for Sunset

The clearest evidence is what the best teams played. At VALORANT Champions 2026 in Shanghai Sunset was played 12 times; these are the shares of team compositions that ran each agent, from vlr.gg's event table:

Omen100%

Neon79%

Fade71%

Chamber67%

Sage33%

Cypher33%

Yoru29%

Sova25%

VALORANT Champions 2026 (24 September – 18 October 2026), 12 Sunset maps, vlr.gg agent table. Pro compositions follow that patch's meta; ranked lobbies differ.

The shape is classic: Omen to smoke Mid and the sites, a fast Duelist (Neon), an Initiator for information (Fade), and a Sentinel (Chamber, or Sage and Cypher at 33% each). For ranked, BoostPirate's advice is to copy the roles rather than the exact agents: one controller who can smoke Mid twice, one Initiator, and one Sentinel who anchors B. Our initiator guide and sentinel guide cover how each role plays its part.

Sunset's history

Sunset has had a busier life than most maps. Riot released it in patch 7.04 on 29 August 2023 with a week of Sunset Only Swiftplay, and it joined the Competitive rotation in the next patch, 7.05. Fourteen months later, patch 9.08 (22 October 2024) rebuilt the B site because post-plants there were too strong and defenders had too few ways to play it. Patch 12.00 took Sunset out of the Competitive pool on 6 January 2026, when the reworked Breeze came back, and patch 13.00 brought it back on 23 June 2026 together with the brand-new Summit. It has stayed in every pool since, including the Act VI pool set by patch 13.08.

The mistakes that lose Sunset rounds

Getting back up to speed on Sunset

Sunset spent nearly six months outside the pool, so many players lost their feel for it. BoostPirate's short routine:

1. Walk the three lines in a custom game and say every callout from the route map aloud.
2. Open and break the door once. Hear what it sounds like from Courtyard, Market and B Site.
3. Play two Deathmatches on Sunset to relearn Mid's rifle ranges.
4. Learn one smoke set for Mid Top and one per site for your controller.
5. Check your Map Rating and read our attacking or defending guide for your weaker side.

Related guides: the Act VI map pool · Summit guide · Haven guide · controller guide · best agents for solo queue