The next Valorant map could be an ancient flower city

Pearl has been integrated into Valorant for almost six months now and no other map has appeared since. However, a new map may be unveiled soon, and may even join the map-pool as early as next January. Like we did it for Pearl, we have been tracking down clues that could tell us more about this future map.

The return of Split is planned for patch 6.00. Recently, Riot Games also indicated that the Bind and Breeze maps would be released from the map pool at that time. However, the studio wants to preserve a total of 7 maps permanently. By a simple and quick calculation, 7-2+1, we realise that this famous number is not respected, unless we add another map. In other words, a new map is undoubtedly in preparation. Knowing this, we investigated... and when it comes to finding clues about upcoming agents or cards, the training range is a real goldmine!

Our investigation starts with a communication that was available in the Cypher monitoring area after the implementation of the patch 5.08. In this exchange, Astra and Harbor discuss the relic that allows him to control the water. By analysing the writings visible on its surface, Astra reveals that they are written in the language of the Guardians and recognises the terms "flower" and "key". As she searched her memory, she eventually made a connection with her knowledge of the subject:

But the lock, I think it's a place. Something called "Nexus", a lost city built by the Guardians. I could never find it.

Here is an interesting first clue! Harbor then explains that he too has been searching for this city of flowers. However, on Alpha, he found only a field of ruins:

At REALM, I studied the city of flowers. I even located it on a map from the Gulf of Khambhat. When I got there, well, it wasn't pretty.

While the city appears to be destroyed on Alpha-Earth, both Agents agree that it may still be standing on Omega-Earth. The new map could then be the Omega-Earth version of the City of Flowers. Nevertheless, this conversation alone is not a strong enough clue. What leads us to believe that the trail is credible is that the subject of the city has become recurrent afterwards. Why such a focus, if not to divulge information about the next map?

Thus, when patch 5.09 was deployed, an email could be found in Brimstone's office in which Viper wrote "it must be this lost city". In this same room, we had access to a voicemail from Harbor. This new clue clearly indicated that the Valorant team wanted to return to the city of flowers :

Brimstone. Astra, Killjoy, and I finished our analysis. We looked at it a dozen different ways and it always comes back the same. The City of Flowers on Omega is a multiverse nexus. If Legion powers up that nexus with Alpha's version of the city ruined... there's nothing left to absorb the shock. The result...The result would be catastrophic, millions of lives in my home country, lost. That's not a scenario I'm willing to entertain. No one else can stop Legion from pulling the trigger, this is on us. So get a team ready, and make sure I'm at the top of the list!

After the 5.10 update, a new email from Chamber seemed to confirm their departure to the city: "once they reach the city". This theory has become even stronger since patch 5.12. Currently, if you go to Cypher's small office, you can hear a recording of Skye. We understand that she moves in a forest with Astra and Harbor, and that they head towards a precise point, before being attacked. One sentence obviously caught our attention, as it clearly indicates the objective of their mission: "How far is the lost city? Any chance of outrunning them?". At this point, the idea of a coincidence between this pursuit of the flower city and a potential new map is greatly diminished.

The training range is not the only way developers tease out information. In the past, the Battle Pass revealed many clues, especially through the maps. So we searched the last few Passes for visuals or anything else that would support our theory. In the current free Battle Pass, the map entitled Astral Conduit piqued our curiosity. Its illustration, a kind of stone city with giant flowers, might give a first idea of what the future map of Valorant would look like.

Also, in the previous Pass, there were the Piedra Del Sol collection or Pierre du Soleil in French. The latter refers to the Aztec calendar and thus to a past civilisation whose pyramidal stone constructions are now known to all. The colours and patterns on these cosmetics could then be used to line the walls of the next map.

In this paragraph, we will mention one last point that seems to support a stone-walled map. In a recent interview, Joe Lansford, Game Designer on Valorant, said that the next map would offer a new mechanism. This revelation confirms that the studio is preparing another map, but it is more the part about the new mechanics that interests us here. While the studio has been careful not to reveal more about the mechanics, players have been speculating about the new map. One of the most popular theories is that stone walls or doors that would be destructible, to create passages if needed. The hypothesis is supported by an audio file entitled "The World of the Future". The hypothesis is supported by an audio file entitled Play_Jam_StoneDoor_Break.uasset, which would have been found in in-game files. It would fit perfectly with the idea of an old city built of stone. This would fit perfectly with the idea of an old city built of stone. Obviously, this information should be taken with a grain of salt, as nothing has been confirmed or denied yet.

Our hunt for clues continues! We will give you more information about this when we have more details to share with you.