VCT Champs Finals just aired over the weekend, revealing the newest Valorant map Sunset will go live with the next update: Episode 7 Act II.
It may always be sunny in Philadelphia, but the sunset will always be stunning in Los Angeles. Aside from the bad pun, the Valorant Championship Tour (VCT) Finals wrapped up another great season for Valorant pro players. During the broadcast, Riot Games unveiled the new map launching in Valorant for Episode 7 Act II: Sunset. The video walkthrough and gameplay explained how it will be a “mid-control” map influenced by Riot Games’ own hometown of LA, as it will feature iconic architectural and street art similarities. The new episode also will be bringing the new gun skinline called Imperium. CGMagazine was able to get early access to the new map and share some initial first thoughts, and some do’s and don’ts.
It was a tough match between North America’s (Canadian-based, woo!) Evil Geniuses (EG) versus Singapore-based team Paper Rex (PRX), but EG methodically stripped away the competition with a 3-1 win. They also made history by becoming the first North American team to win VCT. Marking this incredible moment is a new map to pay respect to the place that celebrates the homely roots of Riot Games‘ esports origins.
Sunset will contain several cultural landmarks that include food trucks, art deco and mission-style architecture, traffic jams, a neon sunset and graffiti spotlighting a few local artists. It will have 3 lanes, 2 sites, and quite an interesting central area in the middle (mid). Riot Games highlighted that this will be a heavy mid-control map because A-Site and B-Site are spread out quite a bit. It looked and played similar to Ascent, with a sprinkle of Breeze-ish. The corners and alleys were fairly tight but spacious enough where one-way smokes may be a bit tricky to execute for both Attackers and Defenders.
Riot Games’ Valorant Lead Map Designer, Joe Lansford discussed some thoughts about what went into designing Sunset. He noted how Valorant had created a few three-lane maps but none that really pressured players to fight for mid control. “Sunset features a mid that is fairly difficult to control and doesn’t really favour one team or an other; it’s generally good for rifle ranges and opens up a bunch of opportunities for whichever team can take it. We expect to see both teams make mid-control a central part of their strategy on Sunset.” Looks-wise, It definitely had some Fortnite vibes too.
After getting the chance to check out Sunset myself, I was able to verify that the mid area will be a tricky one for both Defenders and Attackers to control. But not impossible. It really came down to finding potential picks in Mid Courtyard. I felt like the box in the middle does favour CT-side slightly. However, if T-side manages to get quick control of Mid Top it could easily open up their possibilities of rushing either site through A-Link, Alley or Boba. Yeah, you heard that right, there is a boba shop for a callout. CT-side has straight access between sites, so they could quickly get to choke points on-site fairly fast. Although, the choke points do have some interesting Attacker-sided advantages as well. I thought the pillar on B-Site was just as manoeuvrable to trick teams/kill time for the bomb to explode as the one on Split.
Most importantly, Sunset has no gimmicks! Finally, a map without the distractions of ropes, revolving doors or teleporters. This will be a nice addition to the map pool because of Lotus’ recent release that had the two weird revolving doors, nor was it as strange as Fracture’s ropes in Mid. This will bring about some strategic thinking more similar to Pearl. Lansford also talked about finding the right lighting to match the well-known LA skyline. “We wanted to the hit the mood of an LA sunset with a pink skyline and long shadows, but those aren’t great for gameplay. After a lot of back and forth, we think we found that sweet spot that captures both the tone and clarity we want.”
As for the Imperium skin bundle, the dragon finisher in every colour looked sick! Its default version was the Jade and gold, and then the variants included red (ruby), white (pearl) and black (obsidian). Each one had their own custom dragon finisher. The dual-handed semi-circle blades were a nice touch on the previous single-handed one, but was not nearly as satisfying as the axe from the Neo Frontier bundle. The whole Imperium bundle included four gun skins, one melee weapon, two gun buddies, one player card, and one non-animated spray. The whole bundle costs 8,700 VP. Here is a breakdown of the cost of each single item if the whole bundle is just not for you:
- Blades of Imperium (dual-handed melee): 4,350 VP
- Judge: 2,175 VP
- Operator: 2,175 VP
- Sheriff: 2,175 VP
- Vandal: 2,175 VP
Valorant Episode 7 Act II will start on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. Be sure to grind out your last day before the update hits and stay up-to-date on tips, lineups and tricks on the new map Sunset with the latest patch notes and news. Stay frosty out there in comp!
