The Spike is a device designed to steal radianite from its environment, and the Defuser is a device designed to deactivate it.
Lore[]
Usage[]
The Spike is used to steal massive amounts of radianite from its immediate environment. To do this, it must first be planted down, and then allowed a short wind-up. During the wind-up, the Spike cannot be moved. It emits a pale blue light, and slowly rotates around.
At the end of the wind-up, the spike pulses out a large burst of energy, engulfing and stealing the Radianite in its vicinity. In-game, any Agent in the radius of the explosion is instantly killed, although other organics (such as plants) and structures remain intact.
So far, we have only seen a Spike canonically detonate once - in the YouTube short, The Flower Blooms, released with the launch of Patch 6.01. In it, we saw that the canonical effects of the detonation are pretty in-line with that shown in-game. There are no (visible) lasting effects on the local terrain, other than apparently taking away all the nearby radianite.
The closest we have been to seeing a Spike detonation other than that was in the DUELISTS cinematic, were we saw the after-effects of the explosion (see the Ascent page for more information). This behavior is radically different to that seen in the short, or in-game. Most of these apparent distinctions are attributed to the Spike in DUELISTS being a prototype.
The Defuser is a gadget used to counteract the effects of the Spike. If it is allowed a few seconds of continuous proximity to a planted spike. The Defuser can safely defuse it back into an inactive state. The Spike, once deactivated, is free to be picked up and moved again. After a safe defusal, the Protocol packss up the Spike and carries it back to VPHQ for further research, as seen at the end of the DUALITY cinematic[1].
On most of the maps, the Legion Agents (from Omega Earth) use the Spike to steal from α-Earth's Radianite stores. The Protocol Agents (from Alpha Earth) in turn use the Defuser to deactivate the Spike, and protect their Radianite.
On the maps set on Omega Earth, the roles are flipped - the Protocol uses reverse-engineered Spikes, and Legion uses the Defusers. On Pearl, the Alpha Agents are trying to get back their stolen radianite. On Lotus, the Spikes are used as an effective means of keeping the Nexus in the city deactivated.
Representation In-Game[]
For gameplay purposes, the attackers are the ones who have to plant the spike, and defend it until it can detonate. The defenders are tasked with getting to the planted Spike and safely deactivating it with a Defuser. In most of the maps, the attackers are Omega and the defenders are Alpha. However, as stated above, the roles are switched on the maps which take place on Omega Earth (Pearl and Lotus)
Unlike in the cinematics, all the Agents from α-Earth come equipped with their own Defusers. In the cinematics, only one Defuser is carried by the entire team. This can be seen most clearly in DIE FOR YOU, where Phoenix has to pass the Defuser to Sage so that she could defuse the Spike.
Development[]
It is implied that the Spike and the Defuser have been developed by Ω-Killjoy and α-Killjoy respectively. While it is unknown how much time Ω-Killjoy spent developing the Spike, α-Killjoy likely only had a day to develop the Defuser (as α-Earth witnessed its first Spike detonation in the events of the DUELISTS cinematic, and Killjoy had a functional prototype of the Defuser ready for the DUALITY cinematic, which took place one day later[2][3]).
It is likely that the Defuser seen in DUALITY was a prototype. First of all, it required a massive amount of energy to functions: the Defuser didn't work until it was fuel by a superheated Radi-Core[4], while Killjoy's turret functioned normally throughout the cinematic with a cold one. Alongside this, the Defuser in DUALITY took a little more than 8 seconds to defuse the Spike[5], as compared to the 7 seconds taken in-game, and the 6 seconds taken in the RETAKE cinematic[6].
Both the Spike and the Defuser have the Kingdom logo on them, implying the corporation's involvement in their development. It is unknown whether this is simply due to Kingdom having manufactured the parts that go into the Spike, or whether they play a larger role. Knowing the extent of their influence, both are possible.
When the Protocol was about to go on the offensive against Omega Earth, they needed to develop Spikes of their own to use on missions. This was done by α-Killjoy in collaboration with α-Chamber. In Patch 4.10, Chamber sent an Email to Brimstone detailing their progress on the matter, stating that they'd have a prototype ready "in a matter of days".
Effects of the Spike on Local Environment[]
Radianite Crates floating near the Spike, RETAKE
During the wind-up period, the Spike causes several unnatural occurrences in the local environment, such as the tendency to periodically generates sparks. As we saw in The Flower Blooms, none of these seem to be permanent.
The Spike goes through multiple stages in its wind-up period. In the first stage, it is relatively inert, not visibly affecting the environment in any major ways (other than the occasional sparks mentioned above).
Once about 75% of the wind-up is complete, the Spike enters its second stage. This is characterized by it emitting a blue pulse of energy, that causes minor disturbances to anything in its path (for example, throwing snow into the air in RETAKE, or causing Viper's hair to wave in DUALITY). In The Flower Blooms, a small explosion shook the ancient city around 16 seconds before the Spike detonating, which could have been because of this as well.
During the second stage, the Spike's effects are much more pronounced. The rate at which it spins and beeps increases. The sparks grow into large bolts of electricity emitted from the Spike's core, arcing towards nearby Radianite crates. Lighter objects in its vicinity (such as traffic cones or loose metal scraps) start to float in the air. The same effect is exhibited by all the radianite crates which are near the spike. The crates also begin to glow slightly from the inside.
The Spike causing nearby Metal Scrap to Float
When the Spike is being defused, the color of the sparks changes from a whitish-blue to red. The same is observed for the color of the light that the Spike emits.
Of course, none of the above effects can be seen in-game, for the sake of Gameplay. Elements such as periodic sparking, or parts of the environment randomly starting to float, would be distracting, and detrimental to the expected experience.
Differences between DUALITY and RETAKE[]
Just as the only time we saw the Spike detonate canonically was in The Flower Blooms, the DUALITY and RETAKE cinematics are the only two canon sources from which we have seen the Spike during its wind-up period. There is a considerable disparity in how the Spike works in both of these. These differences are listed below.
Functional Differences[]
The DUALITY Spike, when lifting nearby radianite crates, generates a visible stream of small particles[5], which move inwards from the crates (likely a representation of the Spike stealing radianite from its surroundings). It generates strong, outwards gusts of wind. Finally, the Spike also causes the sky to darken as it nears detonation, (this is likely just for cinematic effect).
The RETAKE Spike works in a very different manner. After going into the 2nd Stage, it generates a blue 'field' of sorts around it. The effects of the Spike remain completely contained in that area, and the field dissipates entirely once the Spike gets defused.
Alongside this, all the secondary effects of the Spike in are delayed in DUALITY. While the we see the floating and the electricity immediately after the RETAKE Spike enters its second phase, all these start several seconds later in DUALITY.
Time Period Differences[]
In DUALITY, the Spike was already planted before we see Killjoy running from Ω-Phoenix. In that cinematic, the Spike is defused exactly 131 seconds after we first see Killjoy. Counting the time it would take Phoenix to set up the Spike, find Killjoy, and give chase, and assuming that it was defused right before it detonated[5], we can say that the Spike would take somewhere around 150 seconds in total to explode after being planted. Out of these, the Spike would spent its last 32 seconds in the 2nd Stage.
In RETAKE, Yoru was able to successfully defuse the Spike 124 seconds after Ω-Viper planted it. Once again, assuming that Yoru defused the spike right before it exploded[6], the RETAKE spike would have taken 26 seconds less to detonate than in RETAKE. This time, the Spike spent 28 out of its 124 seconds in the Second Phase.
Potential Causes[]
Sadly, we don't know for sure why the Spikes behaved differently in the two cinematics. Listed below are a few potential reasons:
Environmental Causes: It is important to remember that the RETAKE cinematic and the DUALITY cinematic took place in completely different locations. One took place in the frozen tundras of the Arctic Circle, while the other in a desert. The vastly different environments could potentially have some effect on the functioning of the Spike. The immediate environment should also be considered: in RETAKE, the Spike is planted out in the open, while in DUALITY it is stuffed inside a metal box.
The Spike being 'Upgraded': There was a long gap between the events of DUALITY and RETAKE. Ω-Killjoy could have potentially spent some time improving the Spike. This could explain the RETAKE Spike's more 'refined' nature and faster Wind-Up: they were modifications made so that the process of planting and detonating the Spike would be easier and faster.
Going with this theory, we could assume that the Spike in DUALITY was a prototype, or at least at a phase much earlier in development. By extension, this could mean that the DUALITY spike could have caused similar effects to the local environment as the one in DUELISTS - we could have had another Ascent-type situation, this time in Rabat, if it were not defused.
Cinematic Creativity: The most likely reason for the differences. RETAKE and DUALITY were made by different people, working in different animation studios[7][8], 6 months apart. Their respective creators likely made their own interpretation of how the Spike should work, and produced it.
Notes[]
- Brimstone mentions the Spike in the tutorial of the game. He states that "It's how the enemy steals our Radianite"
- A Medal bearing a stylized symbol of a Spike can be seen at 0:05 in the third episode of Dev Diaries[9].
- A Large number of Spikes can be seen, ordered on a shelf, in the WARM UP cinematic.
- An early prototype of the Spike, planted during the events of the DUELISTS cinematic, caused the Rise of Venice.
Sources[]
- DUALITY // Official Lore Cinematic - VALORANT Go
- RETAKE // Episode 2 Cinematic - VALORANT Go
- DUELISTS // Official Launch Cinematic Trailer Go
- The Flower Blooms // Lotus Story Trailer - VALORANT Go
References[]
- ↑ Killjoy packing up the Spike and lugging it into the V-03, DUALITY - Timestamp Go
- ↑ DUALITY takes place on the day after DUELISTS - Discord QnA with Creative Director Riot KingKut Go
- ↑ DUALITY takes place the day after DUELISTS - The Story of VALORANT so far Article Go
- ↑ The Defuser needing a Superheated Radi-Core, DUALITY - Timestamp Go
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Spike being defused as it is about to explode, DUALITY - Timestamp Go
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Spike being defused as it is about to explode, RETAKE - Timestamp Go
- ↑ Blur Studio (the makers of RETAKE)'s article on the cinematic Go
- ↑ Axis Studios (the makers of DUALITY)'s article on the cinematic Go
- ↑ The Third Episode of Dev Diaries (Netcode and 128-Servers) - Timestamp Go