"City of Flowers" is the name of the city Lotus is set in, but also the name of a cinematic released when Lotus was launched. For more information about the cinematic, see its page.
Lotus is one of the ten maps in VALORANT. This map is set in a temple-like location in India. It is the second map that contains 3 planting sites with the other being Haven and is the second map taking place on Ω-Earth with the other being Pearl.
Lotus is an Omega-only location. While it did once have a counterpart on Alpha Earth, it has since been destroyed (allegedly due to sabotage), and is no longer accessible or functional[1].
A mysterious structure housing an astral conduit radiates with ancient power. Great stone doors provide a variety of movement opportunities and unlock the paths to three mysterious sites.
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Lore[]
Astral Guardians[]
One of the engravings of an Astral Guardian found around Lotus
Lotus carries an explicit connection to a group known as the Astral Guardians. Currently, the only remaining of their members we know of is Astra. In order for her to be able to learn a little about them, the Guardians who came before Astra left her some information about themselves and a series of artifacts that include Harbor's bracelet and Astra's golden arm.
These same artifacts also played a major role in granting the Agents access to the lost city. As seen in the REVELATION cinematic, both of them had to be used in conjunction to open the door to the city - Astra's Gauntlet revealed the mechanism, while Harbor's Bracelet served as the 'key' which unlocked it.
The location Lotus inhabits, also known as the 'City of Flowers', was created for and carries multiple depictions of the Guardians. Much like Astra, the Guardians depicted in Lotus are dressed in hooded shawls and can be found in poses similar to the cross-legged pose Astra takes when entering the Astral Plane as part of her ability set.
From the reliefs seen on the walls of B Site, and from Astra's comments about it in the City of Flowers map trailer, we know that the city was built by both the Guardians and ordinary humans working in collaboration (for more information about these, see below)
The Nexus[]
Aside from just the depictions of Astral Guardians dotted around the city, Lotus itself is a location that was important to the Guardians, and likely tied into their links between worlds. The City of Flowers housed a structure called a 'Multiverse Nexus', which is currently inactive and covered up, at B Site.
We still are not aware what exactly the Nexus is, what it did when activated, or why it was of such great importance to the Guardians. As stated before, the name suggests that it is related to linking the various universes, and it is possible it also facilitates interdimensional transport in some way.
We have seen the Nexus been activated, albeit just temporarily, in the The Flower Blooms YouTube short. Once activated, the circular plate at the base of B Site retracts back, and a powerful yellow-and-pink beam emerges from underneath, blasting into the sky.
The City of Flowers assumedly has a counterpart in each universe (although the city on Alpha was destroyed[1]), and as such a version of the Nexus likely exists on each universe too. When any Nexus is activated, it seems to require another corresponding Nexus for it to 'connect' to. The activation also seems to launch a 'shockwave' of sorts to the receiving Nexus. Normally, this shockwave is absorbed by the city in which the receiving Nexus is housed, thanks to which little to no lasting damage is incurred by the surroundings.
This was something of particular concern to Alpha Earth, as their version of the city had been destroyed. Should an activated Nexus ever be targeted towards them, the undampened shockwave it released would cause calamitous destruction (the Protocol's estimations have the expected death toll in the millions[2]).
This concern is what drove the Protocol to send a team of Agents (Harbor, Astra, and Skye) over to Omega Earth, in order to ensure that Legion would never be able to activate their Nexus. They managed this by planting a Spike on the map, which blocked the Nexus' power supply system by stealing the radianite in the city (see Root Circuitry and Radianite below for more information)
Lotus Imagery[]
As is the namesake of the map, Lotus features a plethora of lotus flowers, as well as depictions of lotuses in both the art and architecture found around the map. The most obvious of the lotuses around the map are the pink iterations of the flower that still appear to be living.
The giant lotus on B Site tower
Stashed in alcoves and running along the walls are dozens of gently glowing pink lotus flowers, the majority of which have 5 petals at their base. These are all in various stages of opening ranging from a fully closed bud to the fully opened flower. While some of these flowers are built into the buildings itself, even more of them are found along large vines weaving their way across the map.
Some of the lotus flowers and their roots appear to be out of control and somewhat destructive to the structures around them. Most of these wilder flowers stem from the cluster of roots on a portion of the map called A Roots, which then extend over to towards B site. The exceptionally large lotus flower on B Site specifically appears to be responsible for breaking the tower located above the site.
'Root Circuitry'[]
Beyond their striking appearance, the larger-than-life plant roots that populate the abandoned city also served a purpose for the Guardians that once inhabited it. As described in the Lotus: Unearthing VALORANT's Lost City article, these plants functioned as an elaborate system of harvesting and transmitting energy that the Guardians had devised by genetically modifying them with Radianite.
The roots lighting up in The Flower Blooms
The supersized plants were capable of absorbing large amounts of energy through natural photosynthesis, which was then transmitted around the city through the 'root circuitry'. The long cable-like root formations that make up this circuitry can be seen almost everywhere on the map[3].
This system is used to power many of the mechanisms used by the Guardians in the city, which include the revolving doors. As seen in the The Flower Blooms YouTube short, the vines also glow an eerie pink when the Nexus activates, suggesting that they also supply power to it when needed.
Radianite[]
Some of the root 'circuitry' and radianite panels found near B Site
While all other spike plant sites have obvious sources of radianite--generally taking the form of green or orange glowing crates--there doesn't appear to be any obvious or concentrated source of radianite on any of Lotus's three sites. The radianite for Lotus is instead found in the architecture and in the pink lotus flowers scattered around site, and in the panels on the walls that glow with the signature bluish green of radianite.
From the Lotus: Unearthing VALORANT's Lost City article, we are told that these panels are actually made up of Lotus leaves encased in radianite. They serve as power storage for the energy collected by the root circuitry system (see above), allowing it to be saved up for future use[3]. These petal-based panels can be found in certain parts of the walls, such as those found in B Site or A Hut
Some of the lotus flowers radiate a similarly colored mist, such as those found on the top of the pillars on C Bend. Unlike the other map that takes place on Omega, Pearl, the radianite on Lotus is green instead of the orange that is typically associated with Omega. A primary theory for this change of color is that Omega uses a different method to refine radianite than Alpha, with the green being the color of natural radianite. The ancient City of Flowers containing green radianite appears to support this theory.
ATLAS Presence[]
The first ATLAS email found in Defenders' Spawn
This section only includes information pertaining to ATLAS's role on this map. For analysis of their emails that can be found on this map, see ATLAS's article.
In Defenders' Spawn are several crates set up by the Omega organization ATLAS. While they are not part of the VALORANT Legion on Omega, ATLAS has been shown to work with the Legion in the SHATTERED cinematic, on Pearl, and on Lotus. However, their relations appear to be somewhat strained.
In the first email introduced on a laptop in Defenders' Spawn, it's revealed ATLAS communicates with the Legion through a designated Legion Ambassador (though which Legion member performs this function is unknown). In the same email, the writer--Lt. Delacroix--notes that they "suspect information was omitted" from the Legion's latest report and say "I will conduct my own investigation and submit my findings.", presumably to someone higher up in the ATLAS organization.
For the time being, ATLAS will be keeping its presence on Lotus "to a minimum per orders.". Once the Nexus on Lotus is briefly activated, Lt. Delacroix notes that the activation is very apparent and was omitted from the report of the situation given to them by the VALORANT Legion, thus stressing the need for an ATLAS investigation of events.
Murals, Sculptures, and Reliefs[]
Lotus is a map inspired by Dravidian architecture of southern India[3] and as such it has been adorned with various murals, sculptures and reliefs engraved over the walls and ceilings of each section of the map. The Dravidian temples are often embellished with detailed stone sculptures of various gods and goddesses and animals; So having this characteristic of Dravidian architecture reflected in the map reinforces the notion that Astral Guardians might have been viewed in a god-like status in ancient times.
1. Statues and Sculptures[]
The sculptures around the map can be sorted in three categories. Astral Guardian statues; Elephant Statues and the small human statues seen holding platforms above their heads.
1-1) Astral Guardian statues: The Astral Guardian sculptures across the map show the guardians in three main poses;
First pose is a guardian standing in a pose similar to a dance with a hand towards the sky and another one lowered with its palm towards the viewer; This pose is seen only twice in the map once close to the defender spawn and once inside A main.
Second pose is a guardian standing and seemingly holding something between their hands. this pose is similar to how we see Harbor hold his hands when he is about to use his ultimate. This pose is seen 7 times in the map, twice in A lobby, one in B main and four on the roof of B site where there is an opening for the seal to be released from the shutter below. There is also a very large bust of an astral guardian on the roof here.
The third pose is a guardian sitting down in what seems to be a modified lotus posture. In the City of Flowers map trailer for Lotus we can see a parallel between this pose and the meditative pose Astra goes into when she is in her Astral form. This pose can be seen six times around the map in and around A site and B site. The guardians seen in this pose are the only ones that can be seen wearing a medallion, a bracelet and an armband in addition to their robes.
The standing guardian poses can seem quite similar to the poses we see with Hindu deities, a good example can be Lord Shiva on the exterior wall of sculpture in Virupaksha temple.
Other than the ones on the map, there are two statues holding their hands towards a lotus on the façade of a rock-cut temple outside the map's playable bounds behind the attacker spawn. These maybe a nod to the twin guardians that usually can be seen at the main entrance and the inner sanctum of temples in Dravidian architectural style.
1-2) The Elephant statues: There are various statues of elephant heads or half bodies around the map. They are mostly seen in and around the C site and one in A stairs. C site, which is the main place we can see these statues, is also fully carved out of a rock face; which is an older architectural style than what we see in the rest of the temple. It is worth noting that in Hindu culture elephant is a sacred animal. The elephant head symbolizes the ability to acquire wisdom and knowledge, while his big ears bestow the patience to listen carefully. the small eyes can behold the future and recognize truth, while the long trunk is able to sniff out good and evil. In a sense the elephant can have a combined symbolism of power and divinity.
The elephant statues we see on the map are intricately adorned with head covers as well as jewelry on the trunk, tusks and legs with circular motifs visible on their ears and tusks. The half body elephant statues are standing on a platform that is being held up by three small figures and the elephant heads are adorned with Lotus motifs under them.
1-3) The three small Human sculptures: The three small human sculptures are a recurring motif across the map, seen in all three sites. Two of the three humans are usually holding a platform above their head and one is sitting in a pose similar to the lotus posture. The platform they are holding either hosts an elephant with a closed lotus motif on its head, or it holds an open lotus on it with a beam going upward. These small statues could be inspired by similar statues in Kailasa Temple at the Ellora Caves in India, as ornate small carvings of humans in groups of three can also be seen on the walls of the temple there.
Lastly, a large sculpture of Tactibear is also present in a hallway near Defender Spawn, along with a large host of other Tactifriends near it, although it is only visible when exploring in ghost mode. As with most of the Tactifriend-related content, it is unlikely that this is relevant to the canon.
2. Murals[]
Around the map and in different sites, a collection of various murals can be seen; the only site that does not have any murals adorning it is A site. There are 5 murals in total around the map, depicting what seems to be key beliefs of creators of the place.
Banyan tree mural seen in defender spawn
In defender spawn there is a large mural depicting a Banyan tree in a circular border inside what looks like a scallop shell. Some points similar to heavenly bodies are seen in orbit around the tree. The Banyan Tree is among the most venerated trees in Indian culture. For centuries, it has been likened to the shelter that God provides for his devotees. This tree is mentioned in many scriptures as a Tree of Immortality, Tree of life or World Tree. The tree has also been mentioned to symbolize Trimurti: The bark of the tree is said to be of Vishnu the preserver, Brahma the creator as the roots, and Lord Shiva the destroyer as branches.
The Naga Mural visible on the wall of C Lobby
A large vertical mural of a cobra snake crowned with a tiara adorned with a blue lotus can be seen in C Lobby. two open blue lotuses can be seen on the top and the bottom of the arch that frames the mural. In Indian culture the cobra is a symbol of cosmic energy coiled and slumbering within man. In Hindu ritual and spiritual tradition, a snake is not an evil creature but a divinity representing eternity as well as materiality, life as well as death, and time as well as timelessness. Nāga is the Sanskrit word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a very large snake that when it uncoils, time moves forward and creation takes place; when he coils back, the universe ceases to exist.
Mural depicting three peacocks
In C link there is a mural depicting 3 peacocks, apparently dancing; the two peacocks on left and right have lowered their heads in a pose similar to bowing towards the peacock in the middle which has a blue lotus on its tail as it holds its head high. The peacock is India's national bird and has been a popular motif in Indian art for a long time. This bird represents strength and power and its feathers symbolize immortality and immunity to evil and resurrection, as well as wealth and luxury.
Elephant Mural in B Pillars
Another large mural can be seen in B Pillars, depicting a large blue lotus floating on water, with a black halo behind it. A depiction of what seems like galaxies holding heavenly bodies can be seen in the background. two mirrored elephants are pictured standing in front of two temples raising their trunks towards the lotus. The elephants raising their trunks in a saluting pose has been mentioned as a symbol of harmony between nature and human kind.
The last mural we can find on the map can be found in C bend section of the map. It depicts three panthers among trees under sunlight. one of the panthers is lounging on a tree looking at its two companions as the other two are sitting and laying on the ground looking back at him. Big cats such as panthers, leopards and tigers are often seen as symbols of power and protection.
3. Reliefs[]
Entering the main structure of B site in Lotus, a few panels can be seen near the ceiling that bear various reliefs that seem to depict interactions between humans and astral guardians. The reliefs seem to picture the Guardians arriving on earth embraced by a lotus and rays of light; them teaching humans agriculture and domestication of animals as well as building and construction, there is also a panel that seems to depict the creation of the Nexus.
In the City of Flowers map trailer for Lotus, Astra found these murals to be of particular importance, exclaiming "They worked together? Guardians... and people" in surprise when she first saw them. It is possible that the entire city was built in collaboration between the Guardians and regular humans.
In general, these engravings show Guardians as larger than humans, and often placed in superior positions - watching and guiding, while the smaller humans labor on. One of the Guardians also appears to radiate a star-like circular energy from their hands.
Layout and Design[]
Attackers' Spawn[]
Attackers' Spawn is located in a small courtyard at the shore of a small lake. On the floor is a depiction of a six-petal lotus flower similar to the ones found underneath the rotating doors and at A Lobby, but without glowing green petals. This depiction is covered half-way by loose sand. Further behind the spawn and across the water is a large temple structure separate from the main structures of the map. This temple is carved into the side of a mountain and appears to have several doors on it, one at water level and one farther up. Flanking the sides of the temple are two carvings of Guardians with their hands outstretched towards a large partially closed lotus flower. This door appears to be where Astra and Harbor entered the City of Flowers in the REVELATION cinematic.
Aside from the distant temple, on a closer shore of the lake lies a large lotus petal matching the size, shape, and color of the petals found on the massive lotus flower above B Site. Given that the flower itself appears to face where the petal landed, it seems that this petal was thrown off the main flower at some point.
Defenders' Spawn[]
ATLAS's setup in Defenders' Spawn
The back side of Defenders' Spawn is dominated by a three-tiered cascade of waterfalls leading down into a sizeable pool and river. Similar to Attackers' Spawn, this area is covered in a fine sand. Off in the distance to the side of the waterfalls lies another stone temple-like structure, though this one is not particularly detailed.
On the A side of Defenders' Spawn is a large structure containing a dim hallway lit only by a small amount of light from the radianite-infused wall carvings of lotus petals. This area contains one of the few instances of the lotus flowers on the map that are the color of radianite instead of pink. Further back inside the structure is a small room containing a large depiction of Tactibear, with several other Tactifriends gathered around its base, almost as if worshipping it.
Defenders' Spawn is also notable for containing a laptop from ATLAS that is updated each patch with new emails from the organization. See above for more about ATLAS's role in Lotus.
A Site[]
The radianite panels in A Hut
Occupying the portion of A where the Spike is planted is a small hut fittingly called A Hut. In this section, radianite appears to be stored in the roof of the structure, hence where radianite would be taken from during a spike detonation.
The roots at A Roots
Snaking through much of the A side of the map are a collection of oversized roots bearing larger than life lotus flowers. Many of these roots appear to be digging into the walls of the areas they occupy and thus causing damage to the surrounding structures. Several noticeable instances of this occurrence can be seen on A Hut, A Rubble, and A Lobby. A series of the roots also make their way along the B portion of the map and appear to be causing the tower above B Site to collapse. The origin for many of these roots appears to be a large cluster of them found in the corner of A Roots. While some of these roots are within channels carved into the building, these larger roots do not seem to be intentional, hence why they are causing issues with the buildings they come in contact with.
B Site[]
B Site featuring the shutter and lock mechanism
The B portion of the map is by far the most dense area in terms of explicit lore. It's central location--B Site--is the location of the inter-dimensional bridge or mechanism known as The Nexus. During the YouTube short The Flower Blooms, The Nexus is briefly powered. The circular mechanism on the Defenders' side of B Site acts as a controlling point in which Astra can insert her golden arm to activate the shutter on the floor of the site. At this point, a large magenta, yellow, and orange beam is fired into the sky. What the element is supposed to do beyond this is unclear as it is quickly shut off again during the short. Through the short, however, it becomes clear that the true color or material of the trimming of the control mechanism and the shutter itself is a gold that matches the gold used on other pieces of Astral Guardian technology such as Harbor's bracelet and Astra's arm.
The crack in the ceiling near B site
The other notable element of B is the ceiling between B Pillars and B Mid where part of the radianite wall has cracked and has several leaves and plants sprouting from it. Just in front of this crack is a jagged depiction of purple energy that hovers and pulses gently in the air. The nature of this area is identical to the reality distortion found on Pearl, and similar to the distortion of reality found in Icebox and Ascent, though the distortion on both those locations is white instead of purple. It seems, then, that this too is an example of reality distortion, possibly caused by the breach in the radianite on the wall.
C Site[]
The lotus flowers on C Towers
The architecture of the C portion of the map differs slightly from that of the other two sites and locations. Unlike the freestanding structures of the other sites, nearly all of the site is carved into a large rock/hill. The area is noticeably warmer in tones as well, lacking in many of the blues, greens, and foliage found on A and B. While it is less clear than the other two where the radianite for the site is stored, there are two large towers topped with glowing lotus flowers that suggest they are the primary source for the radianite in the area.
Development[]
Lotus was always intended to be a three-site map. The mechanism was not intended to be a unique element to Haven, the only other three-site map in the game. Unlike with Haven, Lotus was designed with the idea of allowing movement between sites to be somewhat restricted due to the rotating doors, but still add for many options for teams to 'flow between pathways' on the map. On the lore side, the dev team notes that they designed the entirety of Lotus with the idea of it being a structure used for a greater purpose by an ancient civilization.[3]
Another developmental aspect of note for lore is a piece of concept art for B Site. In the concept, three statues were looking in over the site. If this concept had come to fruition, it would be the only image of a Guardian on the map where they are shown without their hood up. It's possible this would have depicted a mix of humans and Guardians more strongly than it is in the current iteration of the map, as what we can take to be all Guardians are shown with hoods and all humans are shown in only skirts.
[]
While Lotus did not get many 'traditional' teasers (such as a full social media campaign or mentions in out-of-game content like cinematics), the map did have an extensive history being teased in the live story updates in the Range. Most of the voicemails and emails in E5A3, and some in E5A2 as well, were building up the narrative behind the map.
In Patch 5.04[4] and 5.07[5], Astra sent voicemails to Brimstone, urging him to recruit Harbor. While she didn't explicitly mention it in them, she did this because she recognized Harbor's artifact to be the key to the City of Flowers. While not an explicit teaser, this was a setup for the path the narrative would take following Harbor's recruitment, which would eventually lead to unlocking Lotus.
The first real mention of Lotus was in the the 'Artifact' audio log from Patch 5.08, where Astra inspected newly recruited Harbor's artifact and discussed the results with him. She read engravings on the inside of Harbor's bracelet, which referred to the City of Flowers, describing how the artifact was the 'key' for unlocking the city's entrance.
While working for REALM, Harbor had already discovered the location city, but when he tried to go to it he had found it utterly destroyed. This left the Protocol no choice but to head to Omega Earth if they hoped to access the ancient city. In the same patch, the Episode 5: Act 3 battlepass was launched, which had the Astral Conduit playercard available at Tier 50, making it abundantly clear that the City of Flowers was going to be the next map.
The Astral Conduit card shows a single massive flower (possibly a lotus. judging from the color of the petals, growing on land instead of in water), in front of some old temples. In the corner, below the flower, one can see a dark humanoid figure. This card was a teaser for Lotus.
In the next patch, Astra and Harbor discovered that the City of Flowers was indeed a Multiverse Nexus, and learned of the destruction that would ensue if Omega activated it. As a result, Harbor spurred Brimstone into making sure that Omega never could - which resulted in him sending a team of Agents (Harbor was on it, per his insistence, along with Astra and Skye) over to Omega Earth[6].
Over the following patches, the live story elements in the Range conveyed the events that followed: an interdimensional trip across Omega Earth, with the three Agents trying to get to India, while being relentlessly pursued by ATLAS (an Omega-only security organization)[7]. Ultimately, they made it to the city, although Skye stayed back at the last moment to fight off a group of ATLAS troops who were behind them[8] (see the Brimstone's Office/Episode 5 page for more detail about these events).
The fateful events that took place after were depicted in the REVELATION cinematic and the City of Flowers map trailer. Harbor and Astra got into the city, but got knocked unconscious, and by the time they woke up Legion had found their way in as well. In the ensuing battle, Ω-Astra was able to slip in and activate the Nexus, although it was deactivated just seconds later by a well-timed Spike detonation.
Social Media Campaign[]
The Night.Market teaser
As stated above, Lotus never received a full social media campaign. This is in large part due to the various social media posts around the time teasing the REVELATION cinematic instead. There were only two real posts that teased Lotus were those announcing the Night.Market[9][10] - which showed the general thematic that the map would exhibit (that of a rundown and ancient city, but with more to it than met the eye), as well as its definite connection to Lotus flowers.
Notes[]
- The team was originally inspired by the ruins at Petra in Jordan, but pivoted to Dravidian rock-cut structures to match with Harbor as an Agent from India.
- Prior to the release of The Flower Blooms, it was unknown why the Protocol would want to plant Spikes in the lost city. In the short, it was explained that this was a method of forcibly deactivating the Nexus.
- An early version of Lotus had the map be a space station, with the key mechanic being an airlock which locked out a particular site each round[11]. This was later reworked into the rotatable doors seen in the map currently.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Astra and Harbor's voice comm from Patch 5.08 from Kingdom Archives Go.
- ↑ Harbor talking about the potential consequences of Omega activating their Nexus - Patch 5.09 Voicemail, archived by Kingdom Archives Go
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lotus: Unearthing VALORANT's Lost City, an article about Lotus from the official VALORANT site
- ↑ Astra asking Brimstone to try and recruit Harbor - Voicemail from Astra, Patch 5.04 Go
- ↑ Astra insisting that Brimstone recruit Harbor before REALM catches up to him - Voicemail from Astra, Patch 5.07 Go
- ↑ Harbor's comments on the Nexus - Voicemail from Harbor, Patch 5.09 Go
- ↑ Astra's status update on the mission to Omega - Voicemail from Astra, Patch 5.10 Go
- ↑ Skye's rampage against the ATLAS soldiers behind the trio - Audio Log in Patch 5.12 Go
- ↑ The first post mentioning the Night.Market - Twitter Go
- ↑ The second post mentioning the Night.Market - Twitter Go
- ↑ Early design ideas for Lotus - Dot Esports' article interviewing Level Designer Joe Lansford Go