A new VALORANT map is coming, and it is a great time to be a VALORANT player. It feels as if it was only yesterday when Riot released Pearl as the newest map into the competitive servers. Now we have another map that we need to analyze to get ahead of our peers.
Riot Games teased the new VALORANT map yesterday January 6, 2023. Set in the Western Ghats of Omega Earth’s India, Lotus is primarily based on a civilization of ancient times. Furthermore, its design clearly shows that this is the case.
Lotus features plenty of greenery and beautiful scenery, relatively similar to that of Breeze. The visually stunning map looks pretty straightforward, but it does share similarities with another map in Valorant.
The VALORANT map, Lotus, possesses an “ancient vibe.” Apparently, the inspiration for the design is the popular movie, Indiana Jones. This is according to Brian Yam, the art and concept lead at Riot.
Lotus Map Features
For the first time in a VALORANT map, the game developers are introducing rotating doors, a destructible door/wall, and a silent drop. All these features are a first to the Best Esports Game of the Year.
While we know what it is, the interactions with the new features are still not available to the public. We can only wait for more information once the map is finally playable.
Another important feature of the map is probably more known to the fans and players alike. Lotus will feature three sites, a feature previously exclusive to VALORANT map, Haven.
Joe Lansford, VALORANT’s map design lead, reported: “We wanted to make another 3-site map and show that this is more of a format we’ll keep using than just a single map. Additionally, we aimed to make a map with high flexibility and movement for both teams.”
Lotus is designed to be different from previous VALORANT maps, with Yam saying, “Our past maps are mostly urban or had modern architecture.” On that aspect, Lotus is certainly different offering its own appeal with ancient design and inspiration.
“For the visual experience for players, we wanted players to experience an Indiana Jones moment. For example, going into C-site, you are greeted with the Rock-Cut cave, and a stream of sunlight from above gives a sense of wonder and discovery of a lost city.”
-Brian Yam
Story Behind the VALORANT Map, Lotus
The map comes with a mystical backstory with the Radianite relics. According to Yam, the giant mutated lotus at the center of the map represents one of the relics.
“These relics suggested that the ancient inhabitants used them as a power source for rotating stone doors on the map. In addition, we started playing around with the idea of how the mutated plants could store and provide energy output from Radianite.”
According to Joe Lansford, VALORANT’s Map Design Lead, the original plan for Lotus was to create a space station with an airlock mechanism that would shut out large portions of the map. However, they eventually scrapped this idea. It led to the creation of the ancient-style map instead.
VALORANT Map, Lotus, will be live on the servers on January 10, 2023. If you liked this article, you can read more on our website. You can also follow us on social media to stay updated with the latest esports and gaming news.
