Valorant battle pass: No loot boxes or Agent skins in Riot Games’ FPS

Riot Games’ Valorant is set to include weapon skins, but what else do we know about cosmetics in the tactical shooter? Here’s a breakdown on everything we know from their battle pass system.

Riot Games’ venture into the realm of shooters has undoubtedly got fans from all corners of the gaming world excited. Valorant is set to take the first-person shooter genre by storm, with many hailing it as the perfect hybrid between Overwatch and Counter-Strike.

Of course, Riot are no stranger to producing quality, well-balanced games. League of Legends is arguably the most popular esport of the past 10 years, with a lot of its success being attributed to its ever-expanding roster of Champions.

Riot Games

Valorant’s alpha featured eight Agents, with another four reportedly being added before launch.

Yet while Riot has had plenty of success from the cosmetics offered for their playable Champions on the Rift, they are taking an alternative route for Valorant’s Agents.

• Read more: Valorant dev explains why every agent will have the same stats

According to a report from Polygon, Riot has no intention of mirroring their League of Legends approach — a formula which has clearly paid dividends.

“There are no character skins in the game, nor are there specific plans to add them,” the article reads. “The development team said that they’re a possibility in the future, but for now, the focus is on gun skins.”

Polygon (Riot Games)

Weapon skins will be featured in Valorant from the get-go.

Moreover, according to the report’s sources, there will not be loot boxes in the game — something which other AAA multiplayer titles have received praise for.

“Valorant will not have loot boxes. Players will be able to directly purchase the skins they want from the store… Though there are skin packs that bundle a few weapon skins together based on their theme.”

• Read more: Riot reveal Valorant features: High tick-rate, anti-cheat & more

So while there won’t be RNG loot boxes, there will be bundle packs, meaning that there will be an added element of transparency for players.

Perhaps most significantly, however, is Riot’s intention on adopting a battle pass system into their free-to-play title. “There is a battle pass-like system in Valorant, that gives players new cosmetic rewards the more they play.”

Riot Games

It is unclear whether Valorant’s battle pass system will be season-based as of yet.

It appears that Riot are doing everything in their power to appeal to the masses with Valorant. Alongside having the capability to run on a moderately low-spec machine, Riot’s FPS won’t be supporting a feature where players wager their hard earned cash to potentially receive an unwanted item.

So it appears that Riot really are leaving their MOBA roots behind in more ways than one with Valorant. Stay tuned as we keep you updated with the latest Valorant news as it surfaces.