"We aimed to make a map with high flexibility and movement for both teams" - Valorant dev reveals goal behind creating new three-site map Lotus

Riot Games has just revealed a new Valorant map, Lotus, featuring three sites, a few exclusive mechanics, and Indian-inspired archaic structures. Based on its unique design, players can expect Lotus to promote an active style of gameplay and fresh tactical executions.

Design Lead Joe Lansford revealed the team's intention to build a second three-site map to break the belief that it's exclusive to a single map (Haven). Furthermore, Lotus hasn't been built to favor one team in terms of playstyle. He stated:

"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."

The playstyle will be similar to that of Haven, the other three-site map in Valorant that's known to favor attackers. However, Lansford's statement is worth considering, at least until Lotus' launch.

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Exploring Valorant's Lotus map ahead of its release

Lotus will be Valorant's ninth map (after Pearl's addition in Episode 5) and will be added to the game on January 10, 2023 alongside the arrival of Episode 6 Act 1. The upcoming competitive frame will also see the return of the iconic map Split in a slightly new avatar.

Lotus is set in Omega Earth's India in the mysterious Western Ghats, to be specific. The developers were inspired by popular Indian archaic elements, namely traditional Indian stepwells and rock-cut Dravidian architecture while creating this map. Lotus' design is based on certain elements from undying Indian structures such as Badami Cave Temples, Ellora Caves, and Rani ki Vav.

The new map is filled with intriguing and mysterious features. Players will likely discover visual ties to the popular Indian mythological group, the Guardians, as they explore the map.

The central lore begins with Lotus' ancient structures and mutated plants nestling Radianite relics, which the Guardians harvested for power. Omega Earth's Legion ran into the City of Flowers a while ago and discovered its immense power. Now, Alpha Earth's Valorant Protocol has caught up with Legion's plan and will have to stop the rogues from implementing it.

Valorant's ongoing Episode 5 Act 3, including the Battlepass and competitive queue, will end on January 10 (PT). Once it concludes, the developers will disable the game's servers for a few hours to conduct pre-patch maintenance for patch 6.0.

After the maintenance, the team will reinstate Valorant's servers and deploy the patch. Players will be able to access Episode 6 Act 1's content, including Lotus, once they download the patch and launch the game.

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Apart from its obvious Indian origins, Valorant's Lotus map grew into its final form through multiple mystical and fantastical inspirations and a singular goal of developing a balanced gameplay style.

In general, Lotus is a huge map, with plenty of space to take control of, which will undoubtedly lead to varying strategies on both sides. Fortunately, Lansford states that this new map will not give one team a visible advantage over the other through its design.

There are plenty of opportunities for defenders to take space, rotate, and intimidate attackers. On the other hand, attackers can flank and easily cut defender rotations through sites.