Valorant New Map: Lotus

Valorant starts the year 2023 with a brand new episode and a brand new map! Indeed, patch 6.00 brings with it Lotus, a new blooming game zone that will be part of the list of competitive maps for this new year.

An Indian and flowery map

Lotus is a map located in the Western Ghats of India which, as its name suggests, is full of lotus flowers. It is a map located on Earth Omega whose architecture and scenery should allow us to learn more about the lore of Valorant, although we don't know all the details yet. All that is known at the moment is that the place is linked to the Guardians that Astra and Harbor were talking about in the Episode 6: Revelation.

The Particularities of Lotus

Before talking about the new features brought by Lotus, let's first note that like Haven, Lotus has 3 sites to plant the Spike. This promises very different attack and defence dynamics to what we have become accustomed to.

As with all new maps in Valorant, Lotus also brings new gameplay mechanics. Thus, Lotus will be the first map to offer pivoting doors. According to Brian Yam, Lotus was originally intended to be based on a space station that used airlocks to isolate different parts of the map, but the idea wasn't so fun once it was in play and the designers finally decided to incorporate these new pivoting doors.

Another specificity of Lotus, some walls will be completely demolishable. This opens up new strategic avenues by literally forcing one's way into the background.

Finally, Lotus should integrate quiet landing zones. It is not yet known exactly what form this will take, but it is imagined that soft floor surfaces will cushion falls and muffle noise.

When is Lotus coming out?

Lotus will be available in normal games from 10th January, with patch 6.00. However, it is not expected to be available in ranked games or competitions until 24th January. When it arrives, Riot Games will rotate the maps in competitive mode. Split will return, while Bind and Breeze will disappear for a while.

We will have the opportunity to tell you more about Lotus and the other new features of patch 6.00 before its release.