Earlier this year, VALORANT players were introduced to Lotus, a new map that came with Episode 6 Act 1. Lotus is a map with three spike sites and a new door mechanic.
Riot has continued to add new maps to VALORANT in an attempt to keep gameplay fresh and create new opportunities for strategy. Every map allows various agents to shine, improving the shooter’s balance.
On top of improving gameplay, maps are also a way for VALORANT developers to continue expanding the game’s rich lore. This time, the agents were brought to a location in India where Astra feels a sense of familiarity. The location appears abandoned, but she says it’s “far from dead” in the trailer.
“The amount of power held here is staggering,” Astra continues.
At the end of the trailer, it’s hinted that Astra’s “counterpart” has arrived. It appears as if this location is connected to the mystery of the cloned agents working for Kingdom.
Lotus Introduces New Map Gimmick
VALORANT’s maps have been accused of being a lot more simple than Counter-Strike when it comes to layouts. This may be true, but each map has a unique “gimmick” that makes the gameplay more dynamic. For Lotus, the gimmick is the doors.
The doors spin in the same direction every time, destroying any utility placed within their spin radius. The doors make noise and are highlighted on the map whenever they are opened. There is also one unique door that is destructible and makes an audible sound.
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Lotus Gameplay Strategy
Every map has its own unique strategy based on its layout, structure, and details. For Lotus, you’ll notice a lot of fights really early into the round. This will largely happen around A Rubble/A man and C Mound due to the multiple access points near these locations. The goal is to limit the options of the opposing team.
Due to the many connections in Lotus, players should also expect a lot of lurking. Attackers are especially known to sneak to the defender’s spawn area. But lurkers will need to take unexpected routes to avoid the noisy doors.
This can be a problem for attackers since they are often forced to use the doors eventually if they want to access certain impactful lanes. In return, defenders get a lot of valuable insight.
Players will also notice that the spike sites are pretty small and don’t have a lot of coverage. This means that it’s not a good strategy to have a whole team on the site. If an enemy attempts to retake a site, send one or two players to deal with them.
Is Lotus a Popular Map?
In the esports scene, Lotus is not one of the most desirable maps. This is most likely due to it being on the newer side, meaning pros have had less practice on it than the other eight.
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Right now, according to our data from VALORANT’s 2023 season thus far, Lotus has an 8.41% pick rate. That puts it right between Fracture at 10.55% and Split at 7.64%.
The reaction from competitive players has been mixed thus far. Some feel it is extremely balanced on both sides while others feel there’s a lack of strategy and feel the doors are a “death trap.”
Right now, defenders win 46.33% of the time, while attackers win 53.61%. Pretty balanced, although not as balanced as Pearl, Breeze, Icebox, Ascent, and Split.
However, this could change as pros learn more strategies for this map and keep using different agents and weapons.
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Lotus Agent Stats
So how do top players deal with the above strategies and map elements? Abios has gathered a lot of valuable information from esports matches to determine which agents are most utilised by pro players on this dynamic and tricky map.
The most-used agents on Lotus are Omen and Killjoy by a lot. According to our statistics from 2023, Omen and Killjoy were present in a team 76% of the time. For agents picked more than 40% of the time, the ones with the highest win rates were Killjoy at 52%, followed by Raze and Omen at 49%. After that is Breach at 48%, and Skye at 46% win rate.
Omen is probably the best Controller agent for this map thanks to his lurking-focused abilities like teleportation. Pros also take advantage of Dark Cover to smoke different locations and then activate Paranoia to blind enemies and take control of a site.
Killjoy is the best Sentinel to have on your squad when you head to Lotus. That’s because she is able to hold down sites and then use her Nanoswarm to retake the site, thanks to her post-plant prowess. Her ability to lock down sites and watch for flanks singlehandedly makes her powerful on this map. (Update: Killjoy was nerfed in patch 6.08, so time will tell if she will remain as viable.)
Breach is the best Initiator for Lotus, using his Flashpoint blind to gain entry and Fault Line or Aftershock to clear out areas. Then use Rolling Thunder to gain control of the site whether you’re on attack or defense.
Lotus Weapon Stats
We also have a fascinating insight into which weapons pros consider optimal for Lotus. Here are the weapons to utilise on Lotus according to Abios’ data from VALORANT tournaments in 2023.
Due to the early gun fights, it’s unsurprising to see the Classic used more than 44% of the time. This sidearm is received upon spawning.
After that is the Vandal at 21.86%, this is another pretty unsurprising pick since the Vandal is often considered the best rifle in the game. This is due to its consequential damage and one-shot head shot, especially in the hands of someone with good aim. You’ll see Duelists getting one-shots with the Vandal on Lotus.
The third most-picked weapon is Phantom at 10.12%, followed by Sheriff 5.73% and the Ghost at a little over 4%. This sidearm is low-cost and great at picking off enemies at medium to long range. It’s considered the best secondary weapon to buy during the pistol round, probably why you see it in many matches on Lotus and beyond.
The most deadly abilities in professional matches in 2023 thus far have been Chamber’s “Headhunter”, Neon’s “Overdrive”, and Killjoy’s “Nanoswarm”.
Looking for even more insight into the ever-growing VALORANT esports scene?
Abios provides esports data and technology to customers worldwide looking to power their esports projects. Abios has nearly 10 years of experience in the scene and has over 50 bn data points covering head-to-head stats, historical data and live scores. Learn more here.
