Valorant Battle Pass and skins explained

With Valorant releasing as a free-to-play game, it is important for Riot Games to find other ways to monetize this huge project. Microtransactions and the sale of various in-game cosmetics will be a vital key to the game’s success long-term.

In an interview with Polygon, Riot confirmed that there will be a “battle pass-like system” in Valorant. Originally conceived in Dota 2 with the ‘Compendium’, and then widely popularized by Fortnite, the Battle Pass is now a concept that almost every new title seems to be hopping on the bandwagon with.

They all function slightly differently depending on the game, but crucially Battle Passes encourage people to spend more time playing in order to unlock more loot. These rewards can range from weapon skins and new outfits for characters, to in-game currency that can be spent to buy even more cosmetic goods.

It will be interesting to see whether Valorant implements a Season Pass style system similar to Fortnite’s, or something closer to the event missions in League of Legends which also reward grinding.

Fans are torn on the idea of a Battle Pass. Some love the potential value for money, whilst others who won’t be able to spend as much time playing are wary of missing out on cool stuff. Most people, however, can agree that they would prefer this than taking the loot box route.

Personally getting kind of tired of these battle pass systems, but I’m sure they can make it unique and exciting

— 🇳🇴Legion (@Legionmuzic) March 3, 2020

In the same Polygon interview, Riot representatives explained that Valorant will not include loot boxes. Whilst the element of risk and mystery with a random loot crate can be exciting, they are hugely controversial and can get very expensive if you are determined to unlock a certain item.

Instead of these loot boxes, Valorant players will be able to purchase specific items from the in-game store. At least to begin with, the developers have said that only gun skins will be available. However, there is potential that character outfits will also be added in the future.