Riot responds to player backlash over Valorant Champions Skin easter egg
Riot GamesWhile a special easter egg with Valorant’s new Champions Skin bundle has come under fire for being “too slow,” developers at Riot Games have already addressed the criticism and explained how the unique function was designed.
With every new bundle in the Valorant store comes an entirely unique finisher. From wrapping your enemies up in a box to having Zedd’s music blast through the entire map, each of these finishing animations serve as a way to flex at the end of a given round.
If you’re able to clean up the final kill, you’re rewarded with one of these rare animations. Unsurprisingly, the latest skin set is no different. With the Valorant Champions bundle, players can create a massive sphere above their target that plays ‘Die For You,’ this year’s theme song for the major esports event.
That’s not all, however. Also crammed into this bundle is a special easter egg that can easily be missed. If you’re not in the right position at the right time, you may never spot one of the biggest animations in Valorant to date.
As a result, players were quick to vent their frustrations. Although the rare animation is “super cool,” many believe it’s “too slow.”
After claiming the final kill in a round, everyone can see the giant sphere blasting music through the Champions bundle. But if you actually step inside this sphere, something even grander takes over your screen.
The sky turns red and a giant version of Brimstone appears overhead, reminiscent of the animated music video for the Champions event. Though making it into the sphere and watching this transition is hard to “appreciate,” Reddit user ‘Breadynator’ stressed.
“The next round starts before the sky even turns red,” the disgruntled Valorant fan said. “I think the effect should either be instantaneous or faster.”
Riot Games“We thought about this in development because this finisher is so different,” Valorant dev Riot_Preeti responded.
Rather than having this animation take effect instantly for all to see, the team opted for its current delay so as to not “interfere” with gameplay. With lighting across the map changing for a brief moment, it could be more of a challenge to “pick up a gun skin or defuse the bomb,” they explained.
“So we made the ‘box’ it triggers in pretty small and also added a 1-2 second delay so you need to be standing still for it to happen. It would be confusing if you ran through it accidentally and then bam, you were taken into this red world.”
While you may rarely see the unique red animation in a proper game, there’s still plenty to admire with the initial finisher, the dev added. “In the normal finisher, the person killed turns to stone and crumbles.”
Not only that, “the lighting syncs with the music” as well. So even if you miss out on the easter egg, the Champions bundle is still one of the more unique skins.