Ready. Set. Draw! Valorant introduced Neo Frontier Skinline to celebrate new episode
In a galaxy far far away…
Valorant has unveiled their newest incoming skin bundle, and it’s inspired on two fronts. According to Laura Baltzer, Producer for the Neo Frontier Skinline, the skinline is meant to be a ‘true homage to the western genre- both old and new.’ To represent this, the skinline includes two distinct flavors, the traditional ‘Western’ model and the ‘Sci-fi Western’ model. The inspiration for this skinline is meant to ‘blend the Old West with the Neo future.’ With its design, it is meant to embody a ‘promise to continue Frontier’s dominance for centuries to come.’
Two for the Price of One
Whether you are a fan of the former or the latter model, the Valorant design team designed the Neo Frontier skinline with the theme as the foremost important focus. Unlike prior skinlines, where the animations and VFX would be included on the final upgrade levels, the Neo Frontier skinline will include the animations and VFX on the second tier for the ‘Old-West’ theme. The upgrade includes custom animations and firing audio.
Upgrading the skin further will unlock the custom ‘Sci-Fi’ model change, where the skin will receive a ‘new ADS reticle, custom Sci-fi animations, custom Sci-fi visual effects, and custom Sci-fi firing/equip/reload/inspect audio’ according to Riot.
As for the finisher, that lies behind the fourth tier of unlocks, allowing players to utilize the custom finisher and killbanner. According to Laura Baltzer, the reason for the unique change to this skinline was due to them feeling it was ‘important that the animations and audio were reflected in both the old school and futuristic versions of the skin.’ Thus, allowing players to unlock their theme as quickly as possible.
What’s in the Bundle?
This latest Valorant bundle includes a Phantom, Axe (melee), Sheriff, Marshal, and Odin. Moreover, the bundle will also include a gun buddy, two player cards (one Western and one Neo), as well as a spray. There will be three variants for this collection: Purple, White/Blue, and Orange/Blue. The variants will only be for the ‘Sci-fi’ model.
Notable Features/Easter Eggs included in the bundle:
- Reactive Gun Buddy: Gun buddy will be a Wanted poster, and updates to reflect the current top-fragger on the server. If the player themselves is the top-fragger, the gun buddy will turn red. (“Noting how popular some of our gun buddies have been recently, we made a new feature that we think players will love.”- Laura Baltzer, Producer)
- Odin Barrel Rotates: Unlike other Odin skins, this particular skinline debuts a new custom feature for the Odin, showcasing one that has an actual rolling barrel while firing. (“The Odin barrel rotation took a combination of efforts from animation, tech art, and audio in order to get it right.”- Laura Baltzer, Producer)
- Custom Ricochet Sounds: When firing any of the guns in this skinline, a custom ricochet sound will play.
- Inspect Animation Music: Depending on whether the ‘Western’ model or ‘Neo’ model is selected, a custom theme will play during the inspect animation. Both themes are distinct and meant to embody the period chosen.
- Unique Inspect/Attack animations: The Axe melee includes a new melee attack animation when swinging it. The sheriff also includes a custom inspect animation that pays homage to both Spaghetti Western and Counter-Strike’s infamous Desert Eagle with the signature spin inspect.
It’s all in the Sound
In terms of skin design, this may be one of Valorant’s most ambitious one. The previous massive skin bundle, the Radiant Entertainment System, paid homage to arcade games and the old retro style of gaming. This one, pays homage to ‘old school Spaghetti Westerns’ according to Laura Baltzer.
Sound Design head Drew Olsen highlighted how ‘sound plays a pivotal role in shaping the feel of the theme.’ When designing the sound behind the skinline, they started with an ‘Old West atmosphere of grit, tension and adventure.’ This was blended with ‘futuristic twists of electronic and synthesized sounds’ as the theme progressed towards the Neo future. According to Drew, they ‘incorporated nature reverberations and echoes’ from the period to convey the ‘environmental nuances associated with the genre.’ For the Neo future aspect of the skinline, they ‘incorporated more traditional sci-fi sounds to accent the visual elements’ while maintaining the ‘core charm established by the Old West feel.’
Inspiration from Within
Laura Baltzer also credits the initial idea for this skinline to Valorant itself. They were inspired by the question of the in-game skin manufacturers and how they would have progressed their gun-design over the century. Moreover, while entertaining this line of thought, they also wanted to maintain that ‘satisfying cowboy feel’ of the weapon. Elements such as wood still being incorporated into the weapon design, pieces of the Marshal being maintained allowed them to essentially keep the flavor but with a twist.
The Neo Frontier skinline will launch with the start of the new Valorant episode (Evolution) at 2pm PT/5pm ET on June 27th.
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Credit: Riot Games