A new premium skin line, Prelude to Chaos, is set to launch with VALORANT Episode 5 Act 1 on June 22. The line begins with a bundle featuring skins for the Operator, Vandal, Shorty, Stinger and melee. The bundle is priced at 8700 VP, which is roughly equal to $85.
All the skins include different versions with color variations: matte green, silver and a textured blue. Upgraded skins will also have visual effects including idle animations, inspect animations, custom firing audio and a kill banner/finisher.
The full bundle also comes with a Prelude to Chaos gun buddy and spray.
The Prelude to Chaos skin line was designed as an ode to older FPS games like Quake and Half Life. Principal artist Chris “fragloser” Stone said in a press release that he wanted to bring the nostalgia and sci-fi associated with arena shooters into VALORANT.
“It’s one of my favorite genres, and I’ve always had nostalgia for the industrial, heavy shapes mixed with potent and often unstable energy sources,” he said.
The designers wanted to create a sci-fi version of the Reaver, essentially creating an edgy set of weapons that players would enjoy. They specifically honed in on the custom animations and sounds, which they felt were a large part of what makes the Reaver so appealing to players.
“We literally asked ourselves, ‘What would edgelords who love sci-fi want in a skin? What would it feel like to kill a demon?'” Sean Marino, the associate art director, said.
The bundle’s melee weapon is the embodiment of what the Prelude to Chaos bundle represents. The massive two-handed sword, called the “Blade of Chaos,” was designed to fulfill a power fantasy.
“When you’re wielding that sword and firing the guns, you should feel like you’re on an absolute rampage,” Marino said.
