TURN THE TIDES - Harbor's Reveal Trailer

TURN THE TIDES - Harbor Agent Trailer // VALORANT
Release date	Oct 12, 2022
Setting	Delhi, India
Characters	Brimstone, Harbor, Captain Greaves

Harbor was officially revealed on the 12th of October, 2022, with his Agent trailer, made by Lightfarm Studios and featuring the song 'RAJA'.

The video description reads "Welcome to the team, Harbor."

Synopsis

Harbor's Agent trailer is our official introduction to him, providing context about his backstory and the events that led up to him joining the PROTOCOL. Starting with a chase in Delhi, the cinematic switches to a flashback midway to reveal how Harbor got his powers, before returning to current time and ending with Harbor's recruitment.

This is the longest Agent trailer released to date (as of Episode 5: Act 3). As was done for Fade, this trailer only shows lore-related events pertaining to Harbor's past, and his gameplay was teased separately in another video.

Plot

The Chase in Delhi

Harbor's trailer begins in Delhi, the capital city of India. At this point, Harbor has been on the run from REALM for around two months, being hunted by them across India, managing to best them in every fight they get into. The latest of this long list of encounters is a high-speed bike chase through the streets of the nation's capital.

We start off staring at a wall, painted with a mural of a flower, as 3 figures on bikes zoom past - Harbor first, followed by Captain Greaves and an unnamed REALM operative in pursuit. As Harbor struggles to navigate through the crowded streets, the REALM agent sends a volley of bullets towards him from behind with his Spectre. By chance, one of the bullets strikes Harbor's bike, damaging the steering system.

While the in-built navigator on Harbor's helmet is busy finding another route for him to take, Harbor responds to the impetuous biker behind him by using a piece of custom weaponry installed on his bike (Lightfarm Studios' article on the trailer labels this device as a 'Trap Disk').

With a press of a button on the handlebars, the disk is launched backwards, bouncing once off the ground before latching onto the front wheel of the soldier's bike. The disk causes the wheel to lock, forcing the bike to come to a sudden halt and the rider to fall off.

As his comrade falls down, Greaves comes up ahead and draws his own Spectre. Undeterred even when his ally's bike explodes behind him (with the REALM agent likely dying in the blast), Greaves sends forth another round of bullets. While this one only manages to clip Harbor's rearview mirror, the stress and stakes of the situation are clearly getting to him, warranting a "change of plans".

Lifting his left hand, Harbor activates his artifact, summoning water and wrapping it around the Bracelet's orb. With a thrust of his arm, he sends the orb forwards, raising his High Tide in its wake. Keeping his left hand raised to control the orb, he directs it into the walls of a nearby house to hide its movements (no doubt causing quite a shock to the person living there), then suddenly pulls it back out.

Unable to react fast enough, Greaves drives his bike directly into the newly-formed wall of water blocking his path, causing the bike to topple which such speed that he is thrown above the barrier and lands headfirst at Harbor's feet.

Never one to miss an opportune moment, Harbor takes advantage of Greaves' crash to come to a stop himself, turning on the spot and skidding to a halt a few feet ahead. As his helmet collapses automatically (perhaps through the incorporation of nanotech, see below for more information), Harbor casually twirls his Wayfarer Sheriff in his right hand and raises it - not to kill Greaves, of course, but simply to pose.

'Alvida'

With the iconic moment over, Harbor says 'Alvida' as a parting remark [Hindi, Farewell], then turns around and rides off. However, Greaves manages to get up, and through the cracked visor of his helmet he fires at Harbor with his Ghost. Clearly winded and in pain, he fails to hit Harbor once more, but a stray bullet strikes the back wheel of his bike, causing him to apparently lose control.

The bike rides itself off a nearby ledge, driving right off the street and into the skies. As Harbor leaps off the bike mid-air, the video slows down, and switches to a close-up of his face. As time slows to a complete stop, a voiceover from Harbor begins in the background: "It's been a long day".

The Flashback

Suddenly, the scene changes, and we enter a flashback segment. It's late at night, with the full moon visible through a cloudy sky, and the skyline of a large city can be seen in the distance. As Harbor continues his voiceover, "... Ok. A long couple of months", text forms on the screen that specifies the location: 'MUMBAI // TWO MONTHS AGO'.

Harbor and Greaves exploring the ruins

The camera pans down, moving from the dark skies to the rocky terrain underneath. Despite the location being labeled as 'Mumbai', we are evidently quite some distance away from the city. A clear (and curiously well-preserved) staircase leads the way down, on which two figures walk - closer observation shows them to be Greaves and Harbor, walking down armed with guns and flashlights.

It is evident from the structures around them - such as the cracks in the stairs, and the ruined pillars that lie collapsed at their sides - that the place where they are walking is ancient . Multiple bats can also be seen flying about, further implying that there hadn't been any noteworthy human habitation near the area for quite some time.

As the pair explore deeper, they enter a section of the rocks that's sheltered under a stone roof - whether this was intentionally carved by the builders of the location, or was a naturally-formed inlet in the rock is unclear. One can see several large pillars present in the chamber that hold up the roof, which are definitely man-made, hinting towards the former.

A look at the roofed cave and the door.

A matte painting of the scene, zoomed out slightly

However, it's evident that the focus of the room isn't its shape or grandeur, but the back wall - extensively detailed with golden and blue designs that somehow appear mostly unfaded despite all the years, it has a series of colorful floral patterns that give it a pristine, timeless beauty. The centerpiece of the entire wall is a large door, at the middle of which is a motif resembling to orb of Harbor's Bracelet.

Sadly, Harbor and Greaves haven't come all the way to admire the architecture or the artistic handiwork of the creators. What they need to find, a powerful artifact stored in the cave, is hidden behind the door on the wall. To break through, Greaves uses a special piece of REALM technology - it seems to be an advanced form of a laser cutter, that can break its way through even solid rock.

Greaves plants the device on the door, and we see how it traces out a red outline of the structure, before causing a small section to collapse into rubble. With the path clear, the two look into the large underground room opened behind, and begin exploring it - Harbor first.

At the end of the first room, there is an entrance to a much larger complex of caves and tunnels, which are somehow lit by electrical lamps - a concerning sign that there are more people in the cave complex than just Greaves and Harbor. Sure enough, the shadows of two humanoid figures (likely smugglers or raiders of some kind) can be seen in the lighting, apparently discussing something among themselves.

Harbor about to kill the smugglers

With a nod of instruction from Greaves, Harbor peeks forward and kills both of the smugglers with two well-placed shots from his Phantom. With the immediate threat now neutralized, the pair split up, searching for the artifact independently in hopes of covering more ground.

Discovering the Artifact

Harbor takes the tunnel on the right (from the perspective of the camera), and the video cuts ahead to him exploring deeper into the cave system. He comes across an archway leading into an open chamber, and shines his flashlight forward, landing on something at the center of the room. As the camera slowly moves back, the object of Harbor's focus comes into view - a sculpture of an outstretched hand, with a bracelet and some rings placed upon it.

The bracelet comprises of an inner and outer band, with the inner one being white, and the outer being mostly black. The bracelet has been decorated extensively with gold. A single blue orb is placed on the top of the artifact, which is also detailed with gold lines, in a pattern matching the design on the door to the cave. Each of the five fingers has a ring placed upon it, once more made of predominantly gold, and set with large blue jewels. If not obvious enough already, this is the same artifact that Harbor used earlier in the cinematic.

As we watch, a few drops of water fall down onto the sculpture from up above. We switch to an overhead shot, as Harbor turns off his flashlight, lowers his rifle, and says "Relic secured" into his comms.

A look at the artifact's chamber

The artifact, placed on the sculpture of a hand

Harbor inspecting the artifact

We can see more details of the chamber in which the artifact is stored now: it is a large, circular room with an intricately designed floor (the pattern is similar to that of the artifact's orb), with multiple entrances from tunnels in all directions. The centerpiece of the room is a single pedestal, made of a black rock with winding patterns etched on it. The statue of the hand has been carved out of this rock, and the artifact placed around it.

As Harbor steps into the threshold of the artifact's chamber, the lines along the floor begin to light up. Apparently oblivious to this, Harbor continues further into the room, and comes to face the sculpture. He goes in for a closer inspection of the artifact, whispering "I've never seen anything like it..." to himself as he does so.

As he approaches, the artifact begins to rattle and shake about, seemingly on its own. The droplets of water falling from above grow in their frequency, and the rings start to float up and out of the statue's fingers. The droplets stop falling entirely, instead forming bubbles that lay suspended in place. The rings and bracelet break free from the sculpture, and the video focuses on Harbor's eyes as the screen fades to white, transitioning to a 'vision' in Harbor's mind.

As color returns to the video, we find that everything is now submerged in water. Harbor floats upwards in the fluid as the scattered pieces of the artifact come into view - now free from the statue that held them, and travelling through the water towards Harbor. As he watches, the bracelet zooms forwards, clasping itself around his hand.

As Harbor grasps his arm and tries to wrest the bracelet off, the rings sort themselves out onto his fingers. The bracelet's orb begins to glow with a blinding light, once more filling the screen, before transitioning back to the 'normal' world - Harbor is kneeling down on the floor, with the bracelet firmly latched onto his left wrist.

As Harbor inquisitively raises his hand to inspect the relic, a voiceover from him picks up again in the background: "We had found plenty of ancient things in our line of work. But this one... this was different...". Just as Harbor finishes inspecting the artifact, smug laughter is heard in the background. The voiceover continues, "... and he knew it.".

Standing behind Harbor, with his Phantom pointed right at his former ally, is Captain Greaves. "Sorry, Varun, but I'm gonna need that", he says, brandishing his weapon at Harbor.

Stung by the betrayal, Harbor gets up slowly, turning around to face the traitor behind him. Greaves, however, is not done with his monologue yet: "Just give me the artifact, and you can go back to being the Commander's errand boy." Unwilling to give up the relic, Harbor stands firm, to which Greaves responds "I won't ask again."

Both men refuse to budge. The music playing in the background loudens and quickens in pace, emphasizing the rising tension between the two soldiers, as the video zooms in on their eyes. Greaves is the one to give in first, raising his rifle and firing away at Harbor.

Somehow, Harbor manages to use the power of his artifact and raise High Tide to protect himself, guarding him from the onslaught of bullets. Greaves stands where he is, unloading the Phantom's entire magazine onto the wall, but none of the bullets manage to penetrate through.

As a side note, Harbor was just a second too late in summoning his wall - a single bullet fired by Greaves managed to pass through before the wall was fully formed, which missed Harbor by a narrow margin. Had that one shot been slightly better-placed, Harbor would have died on the spot, and the relic free for Greaves' taking. The fact that Greaves missed is surprising in and of itself, given that he already had his Phantom aimed at Harbor at point blank range before he started firing.

While protected by the water, Harbor makes his escape, being long gone by the time it eventually recedes. Enraged at having lost his chance to steal the artifact, Greaves yells "Agent Batra's gone rogue. Find the bastard!" into his comms.

The flashback sequence concludes with Greaves looking around the caves in a vain search for Harbor, while a voiceover in the background says "Now, instead of artifacts, REALM hunts me."

Rescued by Brimstone

With the flashback over, the video proceeds to show a short montage of the events that took place between then and 'current' time. These are short snippets of various battles between REALM and Harbor. Coincidentally, the battles shown in each scene mirror the various updates on Harbor's story that were conveyed in the Range, through new content in Brimstone's and Cypher's offices.

We start off in the Sundarbans mangroves, the largest mangrove forest in the world, connecting to Skye's voicemail in Patch 5.05. In the voicemail, Skye expressed considerable surprise at how uniform the grouping of the bullets fired at Harbor were - forming a perfect semicircle. Now, the anomalous shape is explained: Harbor was using Cove to defend himself from a large group of REALM soldiers with Classics.

We move ahead to Bhutan, where Harbor is running from a group of REALM soldiers. The soldiers are all about to get swept away by a large wave he summoned (likely a more canonical representation of Cascade). This relates to Omen's voicemail in Patch 5.06, in which he relayed chatter from REALM's camp about Harbor and his powers.

Interestingly, we can see massive hexagonal basalt pillars rising over the buildings in the background, uncannily reminiscent of those seen in Defender Spawn at Haven. Some matte art of the scene (pictured right) shows a Radianite Crate nestled within the basalt columns, directly mirroring the arrangement in Haven, further implying that he went to the map. His purpose for this going to this specific location is unclear.

The last location in the montage is somewhere in the state of Rajasthan. Unlike the other two, this encounter wasn't discussed in any voicemail, instead only being shown in an update to the Bulletin Board. In the cinematic, we see him facing off against two REALM soldiers with classics, casting Reckoning as they avert their eyes in fear of his powers.

The Mangroves

Bhutan

Rajasthan

Having caught up to speed on Harbor's past, the trailer now finally returns to where it was before we left off - the bike chase, Greaves down but not out, and Harbor's deadly leap into the air. Once again, we see a close-up of Harbor's face, and time is still frozen. The voiceover comes back for one last time: "Luckily, I have it under control".

Right as time returns to normal, and Harbor begins to plummet down, a hand reaches out and grabs him. After an audible groan from the strain of holding a grown man in the air, the arm pulls Harbor up - right into a waiting VLT/R.

Apparently, everything so far - from the chase through Delhi to the leap off the ledge - was a part of a plan to get Harbor out and away from REALM. He had managed to coordinate with the PROTOCOL, and line up his race against Greaves with the arrival of a VLT/R ready to pick up him, complete with a waiting Brimstone to catch him when things went slightly awry.

After he is hauled into the relative safety of the VTOL, Harbor indignantly says "You're late!", to which he gets the reply "Yeah, and you're heavy!". Brimstone tosses Harbor a Vandal, and in a more formal tone officially welcomes him to the team. As Harbor stares into the distance, the VLT/R's doors close and the aircraft warps off into the skies, concluding the cinematic.

Lore

Although the trailer limits itself to events related to Harbor and his past, it still provides us a lot of information, comparable in scale to some of the smaller 'main' cinematics in scale. Along with this, we're are also left with several unanswered questions, many of which focus on Harbor's artifact and the cave in which he found it.

The Artifact

See also: Harbor § The Artifact

The floor of the chamber lighting up

The artifact that Harbor found is undoubtedly the chief subject for analysis in this trailer. The first major point of interest is the startling change it underwent once Harbor came near it - while originally stable and inert, the various segments began to rattle and float off the statue entirely of their own accord. Harbor had never wanted to receive the relic, it bound itself to him.

This trend of the artifact 'activating' around Harbor's presence was shown even earlier, right from when we first saw it - the moment that Harbor first laid his eyes on the Bracelet, drops of water began to fall on it from above, and the floor of the artifact's chamber lit up once right when Harbor stepped in.

The most notable thing shown, however, isn't that the artifact 'activated' when Harbor approached - it's that it hadn't activated before. Despite having been in the chamber for several years, perhaps even multiple centuries, and despite having been approached by other people before (there were smugglers already present inside the cave system prior to Harbor and Greaves venturing in, and they had definitely discovered the artifact's chamber; see below for more information), the artifact remained in its 'dormant' state until Harbor (and only Harbor) had investigated it.

This connects directly to another piece of evidence related to Harbor and his artifact that was released around the same time: Astra's voicemail sent in Patch 5.07. While most of the voicemail discusses her concern about how Harbor would fare against continued attacks from REALM, one particular statement is of much importance to us: "... and, if this runaway can use [the artifact] - GAME. CHANGER."

Astra

Brimstone! I didn’t know before, but now I’m sure. This is the one! It has to be! Every mention of the artifact is a match. And, if this runaway can use it - GAME. CHANGER. So we must hurry, chale. Our waterboy is out of time. REALM is too close, they’re gonna get him - they cannot. It has to be us.

Astra is clearly familiar with the relic and its powers, which seems natural given its relationship with the Astral Guardians. However, she also expresses considerable surprise (bordering on amazement, or perhaps even awe) that Harbor was able to wield its powers successfully. This implies that there are some 'qualifications' or 'requirements' needed to be able to control and use the artifact, that a normal human would not possess.

There are many theories about what these qualifications are. The most popular one is also the most obvious, going back to the aforementioned relationship between the artifact and the Guardians. We know (from the Audio Log in Cypher's Office, Patch 5.08) that the artifact serves as some sort of 'key' to the City of Flowers, which would make it one of the most important relics related to the Guardians.

As such, it would be reasonable for the person using it to have some connection to the Guardians as well. Thus, it must have been quite a shock to Astra to see a random non-Guardian human (worse, an international fugitive and "runaway") use it so skillfully.

The Email in Brimstone's Office during Patch 5.05

The other major theory that is commonly discussed is a direct blood relation to someone who had handled the Bracelet in the past - perhaps its maker, or the original wielder (if that they are different), or the people who built the cave complex. This theory is primarily based on the parallels drawn between Harbor and Yoru, which were first discussed in Yoru's Email from Patch 5.05.

Yoru too is an Agent who uses an ancient Radianite artifact (namely, his Mask) to aid him. In Yoru's case, the Mask is a relic that belonged to his samurai ancestor. The ancestor went sailing on a ship that somehow ended up crashed on the shores of Icebox, and eventually was studied and researched by Kingdom scientists (for more about Yoru and his ancestor, see his page).

Eventually, Yoru broke into Icebox and stole the Mask back. Notably, they key factor enabling Yoru to use the mask is his own unique form of Radiance, a trait that his ancestor is implied to have also possessed. The connection that Yoru hints at in the Email is that Harbor too gains his 'worthiness' to use the artifact through some familial connection to a previous wielder.

If this were to be true, it would be just another addition to the long list of striking similarities that can be seen between the two Agents - both use ancient Radianite artifacts, which they both stole from large and powerful organizations in the recent past, and both have made the news multiple times, to name a few.

Furthermore, it is hinted (from both his in-game description, and his song 'RAJA') that Harbor's hometown is the city of Mumbai, the same city near which the cave was located. A potential connection between Harbor and the people who sealed away the cave is a very real possibility.

Regardless of the details behind them, the fact that the smugglers in the cave were unable to remove the relic by themselves (see below) makes it clear that there are some requirements that a potential user must fulfill before being able to control the artifact - making it all the more surprising that Harbor just happened to be able to do so.

'Greaves Planned Everything' Theory

Given all of the evidence pointing towards how rare and unlikely it is for a person to be capable of using the artifact, the fact that Harbor somehow managed to do so begins to seem quite odd. That Greaves also just happened to be waiting there, planning on betraying him to steal the artifact for himself, makes the situation feel a bit too convenient to be caused by mere chance.

A prominent theory that has emerged to explain this is that the events weren't unlikely coincidences, but had been carefully and meticulously planned out by Greaves himself in order to ensure that he could get the artifact.

Greaves seemed to have some basic understanding of the artifact and the powers it possessed, especially given how far he was willing to go to lay his hands on it. This theory suggests that he was also aware of the 'qualifications' required from any potential user, and by some means identified a candidate who could fulfil them: Varun Batra, a fellow REALM operative, famous for his exemplary performance in combat.

Knowing this, Greaves had Harbor tag along with him into the cave, knowing that he was the key to getting the artifact off of the pedestal and into his hands. The moment that Harbor had removed the relic and (in Greaves' eyes) outlived his usefulness, Greaves turned on him, ready to murder the solider if he needed to.

The plan had worked flawlessly up till that point, and indeed would have succeeded, but for Harbor defending himself at the last second with the power of the bracelet. That slight miscalculation on Greaves' part allowed for Harbor to escape with the relic. Ultimately, even his backup plan (simply killing Harbor and picking the artifact off of his dead body) failed, with Harbor making another miraculous escape, this time thanks to aid from the VP.

Harbor's Vision

Quite memorably, Harbor got transported to a scene where everything around him was submerged underwater when he was first inspecting the artifact. It was during this scene that we see the Bracelet and Rings floating around him, and attaching themselves to his body.

From the manner in which it is depicted, it is likely that the scene is not meant to be considered as 'real'. Rather, it is more likely a 'vision' of sorts that played in Harbor's mind, or a metaphorical representation of what actually happened when the artifact bound itself to him. The water droplets falling from above onto the artifact are also probably a part of this 'vision'.

While not strictly impossible, interpreting the scene as 'real' causes a lot of problems and inconsistencies that can't be explained well. The most obvious one is how everything is perfectly dry the moment that Harbor emerges from it - and while Harbor himself being dry may be excused as a unique power of the artifact (despite us never having heard of it before), how Greaves or the room they were in aren't drenched remains unanswered.

Another such example is how, while underwater, the walls that border the artifact's chamber suddenly disappear. Even if you account for some murkiness in the water, it still does not explain how we don't see any of the walls during the entire sequence.

Prior to Harbor being confirmed to be a human using a Radianite artifact, a popular theory was that the underwater sequence was a representation of Harbor gaining Radiance. This was, in large part, based on an explanation of what goes into the making of a Radiant by Riot KingKut:

Those who are Radiants, and the extent of their powers, is largely a result of two things. Their unique genetic makeup, and how it predisposes them to react, absorb and be affected by an external event or sequence of events that involves Radianite.

— VALORANT's Creative Director, Riot KingKut, during a Discord QnA Go

The reasoning at the time was that Harbor was a human who had the genetic capacity to become a Radiant, but that potential was never achieved because he had never had a suitable interaction with Radianite - until he came into contact with the artifact. On discovering it, Harbor's inner Radiance that had remained dormant until then was awakened, giving him new abilities.

Sadly, while this is a fascinating theory, it was proven incorrect when Harbor was confirmed to be a regular human from a twitter post by the Narrative Lead, Riot ParmCheesy.

The Cave

It is evident that the underground complex in which the flashback section took place was built specifically for the purpose of storing the artifact. Beyond the functional benefits of allowing the artifact to remain hidden and undiscovered for many years, the relic has also provided artistic influence to the designs and textures of the structure.

For example, several elements (such as the insignia on the door at the entrance, the carvings on the side walls inside, and the design of the floor of the artifact's chamber) are inspired from the pattern of gold set upon the Bracelet's orb. In places where color is used (such as the back wall of the entrance), the colors chosen also match the scheme of the relic, being predominantly blue and gold.

Another noteworthy point about the caves is that they are very old - even a glance at the ruined architecture bordering the stairway leading down to them can show that. The structure has evidently been abandoned for at least a few centuries. Given this, and its proximity to a city as large and populous as Mumbai, the fact that the caves were practically untouched throughout all this time is astounding.

Perhaps something even more remarkable is quality of its preservation. Aside from the ruined pillars, the stairway leading down is still in almost-perfect condition, as are the intricate designs on the back wall of the sheltered entrance to the caves. The fact that they remain so despite all the years warrants one of two explanations: either it was secretly maintained by some group of people, or the quality of its craftsmanship was of a surpassingly exceptional, almost magical, degree.

The Artifact's Chamber

The room in which the relic was stored is a large, circular chamber, with numerous entrances leading into and out of tunnels in all directions. This 'hub-like' structure of the chamber, being a place in the complex which many other sections connected to, fits with the logic of it being one of the most important rooms in the caves.

From the depiction of the Bracelet in the UNEARTHED // The Bracelet playercard, we see sunrays shining on the sculpture, which would imply that the artifact's chamber was also open to the sky (we probably don't see any sunlight in the cinematic because the flashback takes place at night). This would make it the only open-air chamber in the entire complex, further emphasizing how important and special it is.

Unearthed: The Bracelet
The Unearthed: The Bracelet card shows Harbor's Bracelet in the cave where it was discovered.

Unearthed: The Bracelet

Card

Unearthed: The Bracelet

Banner

Some concept art of the Pedestal, taken from Lightfarm Studios' article about the trailer

The only object in the chamber is the pedestal upon which the statue of the hand (and with it, the artifact) is placed. As stated earlier, the pedestal and the statue on it are carved from a single piece of unknown black rock. Along the sides of the pedestal, small designs that resemble vines and leaves are inlaid in gold.

Interestingly, the position in which the sculpture was carved (with the fingers all outstretched) makes it impossible to slide the bracelet on or off in the 'conventional' way. The only way that the bracelet can be placed on the statue is in the 'dismantled' form that we saw during the vision.

This would mean that the person who placed it there was a wielder the artifact themselves, and was capable to removing and reattaching the relic. It would also imply that, unless the Bracelet had been taken off by someone with prior experience in its handling, the only way for it to be removed was through its 'binding' to a new user as occurred with Harbor.

A consequence of this is that the new potential wielder doesn't have a choice in receiving the artifact - if it deems them worthy, they gain its powers, whether they want it or not. This coincidentally aligns with a design goal behind Harbor's backstory, of him being a hero whose power was "unasked for and unwanted, but it was nonetheless thrust upon him".

The Smugglers

A group of smugglers had discovered the caves before REALM investigated it, as evidenced by the fact that there were already (at least) two men inside before Harbor and Greaves entered. Since the only apparent method to come in through the main entrance was by breaking down the door, it is also evident that there was some other access point to the cave complex somewhere.

It seems that the smugglers had 'repurposed' large parts of the caves in recent times for an unknown purpose. For example, we can see boxes, cables, tubes, and other equipment that had been moved in, all of which are too modern to have been in the structure since when it was first sealed off. These smugglers have clearly been at this job for quite some time now, seeing as they were able to install electrical lighting as well.

However, despite the prolonged presence that the smugglers have had in the caves, they had not been able to remove the artifact from its pedestal. It's not that they hadn't discovered it yet - we can see cables trailing along the ground in the artifact chamber, which would have required the placer to enter the room while laying them down.

This naturally links back to the apparent 'qualifications' required of a potential wielder of the artifact (see above for more information), with none of the smugglers being able to use the relic because none of them were 'worthy' of its power. Indeed, it is possible that the addition of the cables was made specifically to emphasize this.

REALM Technology

Main article: REALM

Just as with Harbor, this cinematic was also our first real depiction of REALM, serving as the primary antagonists under the orders of Captain Greaves. While REALM and their lore isn't the chief subject of the cinematic, we can still piece together a lot from the bits that we are shown.

We see two major pieces of REALM-related technology in the trailer: the projectile that Harbor launches from his bike during the chase scene (although hard to notice, the logo on the face of the object is REALM's) that Lightfarm Studios' article labels a 'Trap Disk'; and the device used by Greaves to open the entrance into the caves.

• The explosion did not originate from the Trap Disk
• Concept art of the Disk, from Lightfarm Studio's article on the trailer

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The Trap Disk functioned by attaching itself onto the front wheel of the REALM operative's bike, and causing it to lock in position - notably, it did not cause the explosion that came after (that resulted from the bike crashing into the ground at high speed). While the disk was an effective way of neutralizing an enemy pursuer, it was never designed to be an explosive.

The REALM-branded tech on Harbor's bike is most probably a remnant from his days working under the organization. However, the bike is still Harbor's own custom vehicle, not one that was made by REALM - which would mean that he was allowed to use his personal bike while working with them.

The second REALM device, as stated above, was the one that Greaves used to enter the cave. It seems to be a powerful laser device, which was able to make precise cuts in order to get through while causing minimal damage to the original structure. The size of the hole that it made, while large enough for the two soldiers to fit through, was still miniscule compared to the full size of the wall.

In both cases, the technology used by REALM seems to be designed specifically to cause minimum lasting damage to the people or things nearby. While it would have been entirely possible (and, in honestly, easier and more practical) to use 'conventional' methods such as explosives, REALM went out of their way to develop solutions that are more 'ethical' and non-destructive. This aligns with REALM's general mission statement and ideologies, as well as their position as an "muscular special operations force, but aimed for good".

Weaponry

All of the weapons that are used by REALM in their missions are also part of the arsenal available to the PROTOCOL. In the cinematic, we see REALM using Spectres, Ghosts, Phantoms, and Classics - a wide assortment of weapons, produced by three separate companies (Falcon Firearms for the Classics and Spectres, Bulwark Armory for the Phantoms, and Teknika Firearms for the Ghosts).

The Helmet

Concept Art of the Helmet

In the chase sequence, Harbor uses an advanced helmet with a built-in navigator and HUD. It seems to be made out of nanotech, thus enabling it to collapse in on itself when not needed to be used. Some art of the helmet (from Lightfarm Studios' article on the trailer) shows how the helmet collapses into a disk that is placed on the side of the head, near the ear. In the video, we see Harbor's ear studs glowing in conjunction with the disc - implying that they have some function relating to the nanotech as well.

The Disc placed near Harbor's right ear

The disk, which is evidently the device (or at least one of the devices) used to store the helmet, can be removed and reattached at will - making the helmet a lot more convenient to transport or carry than a conventional one. We can see this when Harbor rides his bike into the air, as the disk is notably not present on his head. Another useful feature of the helmet is how its inbuilt navigator continues even when it has been collapsed and stowed away.

After his fall, Greaves wasn't able to make the cracked visor of his helmet dissipate away (which would have much more convenient when trying to line up a difficult shot on a moving target) in the way Harbor did, which would mean that it doesn't possess the same nanotech-based design, or that the tech somehow got damaged in the fall.

However, the first option is more likely, especially given that Harbor himself is a bike enthusiast who is likely to buy special equipment not available to everyone else. Harbor's helmet seems distinctly different from the standard-issue ones worn by the REALM soldiers (including Greaves), both in shape and in design. Although hard to notice, Harbor's helmet also has a set of gold floral/leaflike designs on the sides, which could be custom additions made by Harbor himself, seeing as they loosely resemble the floral pattern on the inside of his jacket.

Teasers

Harbor's Trailer did not get a long teaser campaign, comprising of only two twitter posts, both released on the 10th of October. It is possible that another teaser would have been posted on October 12th, but sadly the trailer had to be released a day early (see below).

The poster from the second teaser

The first teaser was a short 3-second long clip (0:19 to 0:23) from the trailer, showing the Trap Disk being ejected from Harbor's bike and activating, cutting off just before it attached itself to the REALM biker's wheel. The second teaser was a bollywood-esque movie poster made for the cinematic by Brandon Meier, showing numerous elements from the video (including Harbor's abilities, Captain Greaves, the Bracelet, and the VLT/R).

Notes

• The trailer was meant to be released on 13th October, but it was leaked half a day early, causing its release to be pushed up ahead of schedule.
• Many aspects of the cinematic, such as the narration style and the intermittent slow-motion shots, are very reminiscent of traditional Bollywood cinema.
• The sculpture of the hand upon which the artifact was stored (prior to Harbor liberating it) is a left hand. Coincidentally, the Bracelet also attached itself to Harbor's left hand during the vision scene.
• Despite popular assumption, when Harbor rode his bike off the ledge during the chase sequence, he did not jump out over the ocean - there is simply no ocean near Delhi to jump over, with the nearest one being about 540 miles away.
• Throughout the cinematic, Greaves played a rather unhelpful role in the combat encounters, always letting his partner take the greater risk before coming in himself later:
  • When Greaves broke open the door of the cave complex, Harbor was the one who entered first.
  • When sneaking up on the smugglers, Harbor peeked out and killed both of them himself, with Greaves only emerging from cover once they had been dispatched.
  • During the chase sequence, he hung back for as long as he could, until his ally's bike was toppled by the Trap Disk. Only after that did he come ahead to attack by himself.
• Unlike in-game, Harbor's High Tide is shown to be capable of blocking bullets just like Cove.
• As is seen in-game, the golden sections of the abilities that Harbor summons gradually dim and fade away as the water sustains more damage.
• When Harbor used High Tide in the flashback, he cast it without requiring the artifact's orb to move, unlike what we had seen earlier in the chase sequence.
• While we never actually see the rings arranging themselves among Harbor's fingers during the vision, they can be seen on his hands by the time he emerges from it.
• Throughout the cinematic, Harbor seemed to have abstained from killing any REALM agents. The only REALM operative who we saw die in the entire video was the biker with Greaves, and even that death can be considered an accident (see above).
• During the chase sequence, the built-in map on the helmet's HUD shows the VLT/R approaching to pick Harbor up.
• When Harbor jumped into the air at the end of the chase sequence, he did so with his helmet collapsed. However, the disk into which it collapsed had been removed from his head, and thus he wouldn't have been able to put it back on had Brimstone failed to catch him.
• As Harbor is about the enter his vision and the video focuses on his eyes, we see them reflect a strange 'glyph' formed of white light. It is unknown what the significance of this glyph is.
• During the flashback, when the water from Harbor's High Tide dissipates away, we don't see any of the spent bullet casings that Greaves fired into it (implying that they ricocheted off). However, when reporting the results of the firefight in the Sundarbans, Skye described how all the bullets fired into Harbor's water fell right where they struck it.
• Somehow, the smugglers in the cave did not notice Harbor and Greaves entering, despite them having just broken down the front door that was within sight and earshot from where they stood.

Sources

• TURN THE TIDES - Harbor Agent Trailer // VALORANT ^Go
• Lightfarm Studios' article on the trailer ^Go

References

Timestamps

It is recommended to go through the video frame-by-frame, or at least at a slower playback speed, to better observe the significant portions.