On 10 January, the new map Lotus will be released at the start of Episode 6 in VALORANT. We’ve already had an exclusive sneak peek!
Just in time for the new Episode 6: DISCOVERY there will be a new map in VALORANT. Lotus is its name and it is located in the Westghats mountains in India.
In addition, the agents there are on the destroyed Omega Earth, the alternative version of Alpha Earth.
The lost “City of Flowers “
The first thing that catches the eye: the name says it all. Huge lotus blossoms bloom all over the map. The place seems to be a kind of lost city surrounded by water and nature.
According to Riot, the architecture is inspired by traditional Indian stepped wells and the Dravidian stone building style.
In addition, a magical power still seems to hold sway over the place, as a blue glow surrounds many corners and sometimes even affects the ruins. This indicates the presence of the powerful material Radianite.
Familiar things reinvented
Usually, every map in VALORANT has a special game mechanic. Be it the ziplines on Icebox, the teleporters on Bind or the automatic doors on Ascent.
However, it was announced in advance by Riot Game Designer Joe Lansford that players should not expect any new mechanics on Lotus. Instead, there will be something already known from another map.
Now we know: There are several mechanics that VALORANT players are already familiar with. But slightly adapted.
Three new mechanics at the same time
As with Haven, there are now three sites on Lotus to place the spike. Two on the outer edges of the map and one in the middle. Attacker and Defender spawns are opposite each other, as in Haven, with the B-site in the middle.
On the A-site, as on Icebox and Split, there is a short vertical zipline that can be used to move to a higher platform.
Behind the A-Site is a revolving door that can be triggered from either side with a button. There are then a few seconds to move through the open gap before the door closes again.
But after that it can be opened again immediately. Such a door is also located behind the middle B-site in the direction of the C-site.
Although these doors cannot be destroyed as they can on Ascent, there is a wall at the B-site that is so unstable that with a bit of damage it falls apart into its individual parts.
Map rotation now complete
With Breeze and Bind removed from the normal and ranked queues, and Split coming back with some adjustments, Lotus now completes the rotation that has always consisted of seven maps.
Here are all the changes you can expect when Split returns to Competitive Queue in Patch 6.0 next week.
-A Main and A Tower before/after pic.twitter.com/ekVb0wsE6W
– VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) January 6, 2023
On 10 January, Act 3 of Episode 5 will end and with it an entire VALORANT season. Until then, you can quickly climb up the rankings or complete your Battle Pass. And then, in a few days, it’s off to India!
