In the midst of so many good intentions destined for who knows what end and various restarts, the new year also brings with it the Episode 6 Act I of Valorant: between battle pass and Araxys models, from January 10 a horde of new cosmetic items will invade Riot Games’ 5 VS 5 tactical FPS. The most interesting news though is Lotusthe new map that we tested in preview.
Developer / Publisher: Riot Games / Riot Games Prezzo: Free to play Location: complete Multiplayer: Competitive Online GO: 16 Available on: PC
Set in the Western Ghats of India on Terra OmegaLotus is the ninth map of the online shooter that is so popular among the most competitive, characterized by a series of peculiarities and a three-site setting that recalls Haven.
VALORANT, IT’S TIME FOR LOTUS
Directly from Riot Games they let it be known that “Lotus is inspired by the traditional architecture carved into the rock of stepwells with Dravidian-style structures”. Equipped with environmental mechanics (such as revolving doors e destructible walls) unpublished to this day, the lost city in which there is no a moment of respite for the nerves it manages to make the atmosphere of each match even more tense thanks to the combination of Indian-inspired depictions and mazes steeped in mystery.
The lost city where there is not a moment of respite for the nerves manages to make the atmosphere of each match even more tense
Il Game Designer Joe Lansford, about the new map, said “with Lotus we wanted to create another three-point map and show that it’s a format that we will continue to use rather than having it in one map. We also aimed to create a map with a lot of flexibility and movement for both teams.”
Lotus is far less welcoming than it appears from this distance.
To this he later added a curiosity on the early stages of working on the new map: “When creating Lotus, I had initially thought of a space station with an airlock mechanic to block off large areas of the map. It didn’t turn out to be a fun idea, so we scrapped it and moved in the direction that led to today’s result.”
Waiting for the opinion of the community, the outcome of the Lotus test is positive
Waiting for the judgment of the community, the outcome of the Lotus test it is positive. From perpetual tension and adrenalinein the limited number of games played, there was time to notice the good alternation of areas suitable for close quarters and wider areas where every cover is precious.
As this image from one of the three sites well demonstrates, danger can be anywhere in Lotus.
The numerous corridors and secondary passages allow to avoid the deadly bullet traffic which flows through the most obvious ways, thus increasing the possible approaches to the three sites responsible for placing the Spike. Good the labyrinthine map design therefore the novelties such as the mobile doors to be activated or the wall to be demolished are also good, but the applause also goes to a setting with the charm of India mixed up to the exotic Indiana Jones-esque sense of adventure.
STYLISH DEATH COMES FROM THE STARS
As usual, Episode 6 Act I is the right occasion to kick off even to a new battle pass. Inspired by holidays around the world at this time of year such as New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day and the Lunar New Year, the battle pass will include special gadgets such as the 9 SCREW model for the Classicwith which it will be possible to train an entire team of agents in the form of… gatti.
Available in free version (9 Lives Classic Gun Skin, Big Announcement Gun Buddy, PlayZilla Dan Card, Shock Heart Spray) e premium (Venturi Vandal, Venturi Knife, Rift Rider Card, Perfectly Roasted Spray, Folded Wish Gun Buddy), il nuovo pass è an explosion of rewards designed with the aim of ideally prolonging the holidays that have just ended.
the new pass is bursting with rewards
Laura Baltzer, producer per Riot Games, a proposito of the objectives of the Battle Pass says that in Riot Games “we always try to celebrate the start of a new Episode, especially if it coincides with the start of a new year. This year, we wanted to focus on the unity and teamwork aspects of Agents in Valorant, but in a fun tone. With the 9 Lives model line, you can build a whole team of agents in a cat guise. Items like the Good Luck spray and the New Year’s Knot accessory remind us of celebrating the New Year with family and friends. The Peace and Love accessory was also created keeping in mind the theme of unity and the spirit of conviviality”.
Pass Battaglia is synonymous with customizations for all tastes.
The circle of customizations closes with the new line of Araxys modelswhich will offer style fanatics a set of weapons from a mysterious and possibly hostile alien race. Not much is known about these beings, it is only known that they are technologically more advanced than us and who have practically conquered the firmament undisturbed thanks to their highly evolved arsenal.
The circle of customizations closes with the new line of Araxys models
Speaking of Araxys, the producer Riot Games Victoria Kim he explained that “one of the biggest challenges we faced with this line was creating the variations. Not because we couldn’t decide on colors, no, but because we decided to create a system to help design and produce variations faster and better. There has been a lot of collaboration between the various teams to get this system done and we’ve run into a lot of problems trying to optimize it. It sure gave our engineers, our art director and our visual effects director some serious headaches, but the end result is incredible! Now we can create great looking models more easily and Araxys, as a collection, is just that – great. It’s one of my favorite model lines that I’ve had the honor of working on”.
An Araxys model in action.
All the news described above, from Lotus to the Battle Pass without forgetting the Araxys model line, will arrive on Valorant on January 10th. Waiting to do battle in India while we show off new glittering skins from space, I remind you that Riot Games’ online FPS is available for free on PC through client Riot or via Xbox Game Pass.
