WARM UP cinematic

WARM UP Cinematic

The **WARM UP** cinematic was released on January 10th, 2022, just prior to the start of Episode 4. It was made by Blur Studio.

## Synopsis

*WARM UP* takes place at a VP Training facility, where Killjoy and Raze build an advanced training bot to give the team more of a challenge.

The cinematic, while not as Lore-Heavy as some others, gave the community something that they had been asking for for a long time: the Agents living their lives outside of the missions

## Plot

### The VPHQ Commons

* Jett and Sova
* Nanobomb!
* Phoenix, Yoru, and KAY/O
1/3
The cinematic starts of with Phoenix coming out of a Training Room, into a common area with some of the Agents relaxing together. Jett and Sova are talking near a group of target drones. Killjoy is on her Laptop. Cypher is sitting near over chessboard, while Yoru lounges on a sofa and KAY/O is inspecting a *Judge*. Yoru's motorcycle is propped up near a wall, being working on by Raze.

    Phoenix walks over to a group of lockers on the wall and puts up his gun - a *Spitfire Frenzy*, the weapon skin obtainable in-game by completing Phoenix's Contract. His locker is filled with various items: A few cans of the *Spike Rush* energy drink, some extra magazines for his *Frenzy*, his ID Card, and a couple spare Jackets.

All this time, he has been boasting of his skill. KAY/O shoots him down, saying that all he had succeeded at was target practice, further adding that he had gotten the same score as the rest of the Agents. Phoenix opens a can of *Spike Rush*, claiming that he can "bring the fire" to any game he choses. Cypher suggests a game of Chess, which Phoenix quickly declines.

At that moment, a trash cleaning droid loudly sucks up a piece of paper. All eyes in the room turn to Phoenix, and then to the droid. Raze gives Killjoy a grin, and pulls out her blowtorch. Killjoy nods in understanding and they both get to work.

### Maxbot against Phoenix

* Maxbot on Standby
* Maxbot Activated
1/2The video cuts ahead, to showcase the recent improvements that Killjoy and Raze have made on the cleaning droid. It is now a large, sleek machine armed to the teeth with various weapons. Raze gives it a few finishing touches with her spray cans, and then walks away. The camera stands still, allowing us to admire the machine.

It is vaguely humanoid, with a single lens placed where the face should be. On its 'chest', there is a screen (currently blank) and the name 'Max'. It's arms have a flamethrower and a modified gun attached. Several of Raze's grenades are attached above its waist, and a modified turret is mounted on its left shoulder.

The training room seems to have been modified, now just an empty room with only Maxbot standing in it. As Raze leaves, Phoenix enters the room with a *Spectre.* Killjoy talks in the background to Yoru and Jett, describing her creation: "Say hello to Maxbot, the perfect blend of tactics and firepower. Now you can train against... well... you!". Yoru whispers to Jett, "My money's on the Machine". Jett sighs and yells out encouragement to Phoenix.

    Killjoy activates Maxbot through her laptop. Max activates, his lens now glows red, and his screen shows Phoenix's face. The seemingly empty room now explodes with complexity, with the floor rising at various places to create obstacles and cover - a veritable arena.

1/2As is his nature, Phoenix charges in, firing wildly with his *Spectre*. He lobs ahead his *Hot Hands*, and the resulting fireball blocks the Bot's vision. Phoenix uses Max's momentary confusion to duck behind some cover. He jumps over a nearby wall, rolls over, and lands right behind where the bot should be.

He shoots through the dispelling smoke of his fire, but as it dissipates- there's nothing there. The camera focuses on Phoenix's face, eyes wide with surprise, when Maxbot lands with a thud right behind him. Before Phoenix can react, the bot blasts him with his flamethrower.

On the other side of the wall, the team all wince at Phoenix's defeat. Yoru smugly holds out an open palm, in which Jett grudgingly drops a few credits. It appears that the two Duelists had placed bets on the match. Phoenix stumbles out of the room, his jacket peppered with bullet holes. Thankfully, he does have spares in his locker.

### Maxbot against KAY/O

KAY/O is lined up to go in next, ready with an *Odin* in hand. He bumps Phoenix out of the way, sarcastically calling him 'Your Majesty'. He boldly walks into the arena and starts firing at his enemy. Maxbot has to keep retreating, jumping around, trying to dodge bullets. He jumps behind some cover and pulls out a couple grenades from its waist.

By rapidly rotating his arms, Maxbot is able to throw the explosives right at KAY/O. In the time it takes him to do so, a couple of KAY/O's bullets land on his chest and waist respectively, but they are just shrugged off.

The grenades travel high in the air, landing right next to KAY/O, but they are dodged and he pulls out *ZERO/POINT*. As the shells explode around him, he hurls the knife at Maxbot. However, the bot makes a great leap, twists mid-air, catches the knife while still above the ground, and flings it back at its thrower. It lands squarely in KAY/O's radianite core, shutting him down instantly.

The video cuts forward. KAY/O is lying on back, on the floor, with the whole team standing around him. Killjoy pulls out the knife, and KAY/O wakes up with a jerk. His screen momentarily flashes with panic before reverting to his normal 'face'.

Gazing around, he takes in his surroundings and comes to the realization that he lost. "Well," he says, "this is embarrassing". Killjoy pats him gently on his shoulder, while Jett, annoyed, slips some more credits into Yoru's hand.

### Maxbot against the other Agents

Next, all the Agents take turns trying to beat Maxbot, going in pairs one after the other. Killjoy and Raze go in first, laying down their *Turret* and *Boombot* respectively, and running in behind. Raze has a *Bulldog*, while Killjoy has a *Phantom*. Maxbot uses a special attack: his shoulder-mounted turret spins around, revealing the back to have a series of red lights.

As these lights glow, the Agents' bots spark and malfunction. Raze's *Boombot* gains a cruel grin in place of its usual face, and its screen goes a dark red. Multiple lights Killjoy's *Turret* also turn red.

Both the bots turn around on the spot and go right back to attack their creators. A massive explosion from Raze's boombot finishes them both off. Jett once more groans and hands over some credits to Yoru, who has been betting on Maxbot the whole time, and has profited immensely.

All this while, Cypher has been playing chess... with himself. As the explosion from the Boombot rattles the room, he calmly moves his bishop forwards on the board.

Phoenix and Sova head in next, with a *Guardian* and an *Operator*. This time, the video doesn't even show their embarrassing failure, it just cuts to the resulting explosion, with a disappointed Jett handing over more money to Yoru.

Next go Jett and Killjoy. As they enter, Maxbot's flamethrower blasts ominously. Seconds later, they are shown running for their lives, leaping (or in Jett's case, dashing) out of the room. The *Turret* in thrown out immediately after, flying through the air, and with it comes a hail of bullets from Maxbot's guns. More money is handed over to Yoru.

More Agents try to fight the bot. More Agents lose. More money is handed over to Yoru. The cycle repeats.

### Maxbot defeated

"Oh, he makes me so proud!", Killjoy says, looking at the scores. Maxbot remains undefeated. "He makes me so *rich*", Yoru comments. He carelessly drops a 500-Credit token on the ground. Naturally, he doesn't even bother to pick it up. Jett, depressed at having lost so much money, is sitting slumped on the floor next to Locker no. 3.

A dejected Phoenix slumps onto the chair facing Cypher, who is resetting the chessboard. Phoenix claims that he would have had better chances at chess than against Maxbot. Cypher chides him, saying that victory in Chess cannot be achieved without sacrifice. This line gives Phoenix an idea. He rallies together the team, and gets them to all fight Maxbot together.

At first, Phoenix's strategy seems pretty similar to what he did before: He lobs ahead his *Hot Hands*, and uses Max's temporary blindness to get behind cover. This time, however, he refuses to jump around the walls and try to win by himself. Phoenix instead leaps into the still-raging flames of his molly, and tanks all the shots that Maxbot fires, knowing that his flames will heal him back.

* Phoenix using *Blaze*
* Jett flying over Phoenix's flames
* Raze planting one of her *Blast Packs*
1/3Phoenix remains there, hunkered down, until Maxbot's guns run out of ammo and need to reload. Having lasted this long is already an achievement in itself. Phoenix rises, and as the bullet holes in his Jacket heal back, he slams is fist to the ground, sending forward a burst of flames. Jett, who was hiding behind the whole time, now *Updrafts* over the fire and slams a *Cloudburst* right in front of Max. Raze jumps in and joins the fray too, using one of her blast packs to jump in and planting the other on Maxbot's back.

When Maxbot tries to use his shoulder-mounted turret, he is hit by a volley of bullets from the right - Killjoy is crouched there with a *Phantom*, and she manages to shoot off the turret entirely. All the Agents team up, firing at Maxbot from all directions. Unable to withstand it, Max is forced to retreat onto a nearby platform.

* Sova taking aim
* The Shock Bolt hits its mark
* Cool people don't look at explosions.
1/3On top of the platform, it seems that the Bot could make a comeback. It focuses its energy, and a large glowing purple orb appears near his chest (this is likely a cinematic representation of Maxbot countering with KAY/O's ult).

Thankfully, the team has an Ace in the Hole: Sova, who has been standing away from the fight so far. He sees Maxbot, draws back his bow, takes careful aim, and fires. The shock dart bounces twice against the walls before finally landing on Maxbot's back, squarely on the blast pack that Raze had planted there.

The combined damage caused from the shock and the blast is too much for the battered robot to bear, and he finally gives way, exploding with a massive fireball. The shattered machine falls down, rolling and clanking, until he finally comes to rest near the feet of Phoenix and KAY/O. Phoenix gloats about his victory over the bot, and aims his *Sheriff*, ready for a kill.

### Finishing up

Sadly, Phoenix would not get the satisfaction of finishing it. Right as he is about to shoot, a familiar Jade-colored pillar erupts out of the ground under Maxbot, rising so fast and far that it slams into the ceiling. The camera pans backwards, revealing Sage and Brimstone to have arrived. Sage's arm is outstretched, with blue wisps still clinging to it.

Brimstone yells out, "Play time's over. Ready Up!". All the Agents steadily stream out of the training room. Phoenix and KAY/O share some banter as they leave. Sage stops Yoru before he gets out, raising her palm. Yoru gives a slight groan of protest, before giving up all the credits he earned, and then leaving.

Phoenix and KAY/O are still arguing later, as the team files into the V-03. The V-03 is shown taking off and leaving through a hatch in the roof. The last shot before the screen cuts to the VALORANT Logo shows a lone volcanic island, surrounded by clouds and the sea, on which VPHQ is situated.

An 'extra' scene of sorts is present at the end. Cypher is walking around the VPHQ, his chessboard packed up, absentmindedly playing with the White King while humming. Suddenly, he freezes, and the piece in his hand falls to the ground.

It seems that he accidentally walked into the Arena, and Maxbot, despite its thoroughly beaten state, has managed to stumble up and lock onto Cypher as a target. The cinematic ends with a sigh from Cypher, as Max raises it's gun and shoots.

## Lore Breakdown

### Alternate Outfits

* Brimstone
* KAY/O's Panic Face
* KAY/O's Panic Face again
* KAY/O's GG Face
* Killjoy
* Raze
* Phoenix
1/7This cinematic is meant to be a more relaxed look at the Agents, where they aren't confined by the restrictions of battle. As such, it is natural to notice several discrepancies in how they behave. The most prominent ones are in how the Agents dress, with several of them sporting slightly different outfits to what we normally see.

* Brimstone's sleeves are loser than they are in-game, allowing us to see the tattoo on his upper right arm. It is a pattern similar to that on the *Peacekeeper Sheriff*, a skin obtainable in-game by completing Brimstone's contract.
* KAY/O's 'face' switches its display several times in the cinematic. Just before and just after he is hit by his own knife, his face switches to a panic sign. It also changes to a 'GG' later on, as he stands over a defeated Maxbot.
* Killjoy is wearing a completely different outfit that she normally does. Instead of her standard T-Shirt and yellow jacket, she's wearing a more comfortable white hoodie. She also has a yellow beanie instead of her usual green one
* Raze doesn't have her usual battle armour on over her crop top for the first half of the cinematic. She also wears a pair of grenade-themed slippers. However, she switches back to her standard battle outfit when she goes to fight Maxbot. When she is at the training room window, spectating the Agents try to beat Maxbot, the armour is off again. After that, the armour stays on for the rest of the cinematic.
* Phoenix is wearing a different T-Shirt than what he normally does.

### The VPHQ

See also: VALORANT PROTOCOL § VPHQ
Several small bits of Lore can be found, scattered about the VPHQ.

* A Map on the Common Room wall
* A Map of Lisbon, Portugal
1/2
#### Pearl Teaser

At multiple instances throughout the cinematic, a blue map is visible, propped up on a wall. Further inspection reveals that this map is of Lisbon, Portugal. At the time of the cinematic's launch, there are 7 playable maps in-game (excluding the Range), with the 8th hinted to be in Lisbon, Portugal on Ω-Earth. The map being on display in the VPHQ commons suggests that these speculations hold true, which was later confirmed with the release of Pearl

#### Training Rooms

The Training Room in which all the Agents fight Maxbot is labeled 'Training Room 3', visible on the back wall. This implies that there are more rooms, similar to this one, in the VPHQ: at least 2 others. While it is possible that the one we see is a particularly massive one, it is just as likely that all the others are of a similar size. This does give us a hint to the size and scale of the VP

#### The Spikes

Placed on shelves along some walls in the room is a large collection of Spikes. For a while, the existence of a large number of spikes was thought to suggest the possibility that the cinematic took place in Omega Earth. However, this was confirmed to not be the case in the *REVELATION* cinematic, in which we got our first canonical look into Legion's HQ.

The many differences in the locations seen in WARM UP and in REVELATION strongly suggest that they are different places altogether; from which we can infer with certainty that WARM UP shows the VPHQ and takes place on Alpha Earth. The Spikes on the wall would, then, all be defused ones that were brought back after successful missions.

* 'Momento Mori' visible under the Monitor
* 'Momento Mori' visible above Cypher's hat
* Matte Art of the Training Room door, with 'Momento Mori' visible above it
1/3
#### *Memento Mori*

Above the door into the Arena are the words '*Memento Mori*'. Memento Mori is a Latin phrase, that roughly means 'Remember, you shall Die'. It is usually used as a humbling phrase, with the logic mostly being that regardless of all the wealth and power you may have, Death shall inevitably find you still.

This is a suitable warning to the Agents as well (provided that it is taken in the right context): Regardless of the position as 'heroes' that their line of duty offers them, despite the mighty powers and abilities that they may have, none of the Agents are invincible.

The same phrase, *Memento Mori*, was also seen in the Episode 1: Act 3 Battlepass, on a card of the same name (see below). Various theories exist around the dog tag and hourglass featured in it, with some prevailing ones suggesting that they are possessions of Brimstone. This is, however, all speculation, and is **not canon**.

 ***Memento Mori***
The *Memento Mori* card shows an Hourglass and a Dog Tag inscribed with the words 'Memento Mori', both hanging from a chain.

* The underlying rock visible behind Jett
* Matte Art of the Training Room
1/2
#### Geology

The Common room is an underground chamber, built by digging into the Volcanic rock present in the Island's volcano (see *The VPHQ Island* below). At several locations around the walls of the Common Room and the Training Room, the naked rock can be seen. It is dark black, assumed to be Basalt, and present in in jointed pillars. These pillars emerge in igneous rock, when the rock contracts and cracks into tessellating 'columns' as it cools.

Such a type of rock formation is also seen in Haven, Defender Spawn, where similarly-shaped pillars originate around the Radianite Crate. It is unknown what the exact cause of either of the two rock formations are.

### The Lockers and Agent 8

In the cinematic, we see several of the Agents' lockers lined up along a wall. They are numbered from 1 to 11, assumedly corresponding to the ID Number of the Agent who uses them. Phoenix's locker automatically opens as he walks near it, implying that they may open based on some form of Face ID.

* Phoenix opening his Locker
* All of the Lockers visible
1/2Notably, the number over Locker 8 has been scratched out. This would be the locker used by the mysterious Agent 8. At the time of the cinematic being released, very little is known about A8, despite the community's repeated attempts to pry information from the Devs. So far, all that is known was that they aren't dead, and that they will be added into the game "as soon as they get back", implying that they have 'gone' somewhere.

A8's locker being scratched out implies that something much more has happened between them and the VP than them just 'leaving'. Many assume that some disagreement or dispute arose between them and the VP, resulting in A8 being forced to leave in disgrace. Their locker was scratched out with the intention of removing any proof that they had existed at the VP at all.

Sadly, all this is just speculation. While the dysfunctional locker is certainly an interesting addition to the cinematic, there simply isn't enough evidence to draw any solid conclusions. At most, we can assume that A8 has been 'gone' for quite a long time, allowing their locker to fall into disrepair in their absence.

### *Spark* and *WARM UP*

It is hinted that *Spark* (Neon's Agent trailer) and *WARM UP* both take place at the same time.

For a bit during *Spark*, Neon plays a live feed of the VP Training room. In there, we see scenes that are part of *WARM UP*: Phoenix's first fight against Maxbot, specifically the segment where he tries to get behind Max but fails. This theory could also explain why Sage remained unseen for most of the cinematic: she was busy checking up on Neon.

However, this theory does also have some holes in it. At the end of *Spark*, Sage says that "the team is waiting", implying that she will be introducing Neon to the rest of the VALORANT PROTOCOL. However, that obviously does not happen: Neon is not seen by the team anywhere in the *WARM UP* cinematic. It could not have happened after the cinematic, as Sage (and the team with her) head straight into the V-03 for a mission. It is unlikely that Sage would simply abandon Neon like this.

Another possible explanation for this is simply that the scenes shown in *Spark* were meant as a teaser for *WARM UP*, and there is no official lore connection beyond that.

### Kingdom Credits

Throughout the cinematic, Jett and Yoru are seen betting on the outcome of the matches, with Yoru winning repeatedly by keeping his vote on Maxbot.

* Jett handing over 1100 Credits
* Jett handing over 3 more tokens
* A large Stockpile in Yoru's hands
1/3Instead of handing over modern currency, they use a special form of Credits, which are distributed in small tokens which have their value printed on them. We see the two duelists use denominations of 10 Credits (Turquoise), 100 Credits (Light Blue), and 500 Credits (Yellow).

All these tokens have the Kingdom Logo (more specifically, the Kingdom Corp. logo, further implying that the cinematic takes place on α-Earth) on them. While this could mean that Kingdom has developed its own currency (which wouldn't be that far-fetched, considering their immense power and influence), it is far more reasonable for the credits to be local money used by Kingdom Employees and Affiliates to buy Kingdom products. Most probably, the credits are just a cinematic representation of the in-game currency used in the *Buy Phase* to buy guns, shields, and abilities.

### The VPHQ Island

Right at the end of the cinematic, we get a 3 second long clip of the volcanic island where the VPHQ is situated. It is surrounded by clouds, with no land in sight.

* The VPHQ Island
* White Island, NZ
1/2
While the island is likely exists only in the VALORANT Universe, the community still tried to find islands in real life that looked similar to what was shown. During a live analysis of the cinematic, lore enthusiast Cynprel came to the conclusion that White Island (in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, off the North Island) was the closest match they could find.

Sadly, because the clip shown is so short, and the given evidence is so little, it is impossible to be certain whether the VPHQ base is truly situated on White Island or not. Even if it is, there still will be some discrepancies between the real island and what is portrayed, as the team who made the cinematic would have taken some creative inspiration, and made the island in the cinematic slightly different from it.

## Gameplay Dissonance

Jett's *Updraft* carries her higher up in the cinematic than it does in-game

Similar to in the **DUALITY* cinematic*, Killjoy's *Turret* has legs and can walk around.

Phoenix's *Hot Hands* last significantly longer in the cinematic than it does in-game. The flames it produces also rise much higher, and are capable of blocking vision to a degree.

Sage has a lot more control over her Barrier orb in the cinematic than she does in game. Instead of forcing it out as a standard wall, she is able to summon a single massive pillar. The speed and force with which it rises is also greater in the cinematic than in-game.

* Store page for a Squish-Squish Keychain
* Arcane paused in the Background
* Mementos Playercard to the right of the Monitor
1/3
## Notes

* A day before the Cinematic was released, it was teased with a Poster.
* At various times throughout the cinematic, we can see Killjoy's monitor. On it, the following is visible:

* A store page for a Squish-Squish keychain.
* A paused episode of *Arcane* in the background.
* The *Mementos pt. 1 Playercard* (see below), from the Episode 2 Act 3 Battlepass.

 ***Mementos pt. 1***
The *Mementos pt. 1* card shows Phoenix, Killjoy, Sova, Brimstone, Jett and Raze gathered in informal clothes outside a shop in Ascent

* KAY/O's Knife
* Killjoy's Phantom with no Suppressor
* Killjoy's Phantom again
* The Knife-Face
* Maxbot's BSOD
1/5
* KAY/O's knife is labeled with the words 'All-Purpose EMP'.
* Killjoy's phantom does not have a suppressor attached, however the gunshots still sound normal.
* A Knife-Face has been made by the Agents on the wall separating the Commons and the Training Room.
* The final scene in the cinematic continues a running joke in the community, that Cypher must somehow manage to die in every Trailer or cinematic he finds himself in.
* In the final scene, Maxbot's screen shows a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), with the error message saying that it was "possibly due to a *shock bolt* exploit".
* On 22nd September, Creative Director Riot KingKut hinted that we would see more of Maxbot soon. The promise came through in the social media post celebrating Diwali, where we saw a fixed Maxbot holding up some lights.

## Sources

* WARM UP // Episode 4 Cinematic - VALORANT Go
* Cynprel's WARM UP Lore Breakdown video Go
* Cynprel's WARM UP Lore Breakdown Livestream Go
* WARM UP Promotional Poster Go
* Rudy Parfaite's work on WARM UP as a Matte Painter - Artstation Go

## References

1. ↑  The Map on the Wall I Go
2. ↑  The Map on the Wall II Go
3. ↑  The Map of Lisbon, Portugal Go
4. ↑  'Training Room 3' visible on the Back Wall Go
5. ↑  'Training Room 3' visible over Maxbot Go
6. ↑  A shelf full of Spikes visible over Yoru's Shoulder Go
7. ↑  A shelf full of Spikes visible at the back of the Room Go
8. ↑  '*Memento Mori*' visible over Cypher's Hat Go
9. ↑  Lockers 1-11, with 8 Scratched out Go
10. ↑ No Agent has died yet - Discord QnA Go
11. ↑ Agent 8 will be added as soon as they get back - Reddit AmA Go
12. ↑  Phoenix fighting Maxbot in *Spark* Go
13. ↑  Phoenix fighting Maxbot in *WARM UP* Go
14. ↑  White Island, New Zealand Go
15. ↑  WARM UP Promotional Poster - Twitter Post Go
16. ↑  WARM UP Promotional Poster (Higher Res) - Facebook Post Go
17. ↑  Killjoy's Monitor visible as Phoenix walks out of the Training Room Go
18. ↑  Killjoy's Monitor Visible as she Activates Maxbot Go
19. ↑  Killjoy's Monitor visible to the left of Phoenix's head Go
20. ↑  'All-Purpose EMP' written on KAY/O's knife Go
21. ↑  Killjoy's Phantom without a Suppressor Go
22. ↑  A Knife-Face visible over KAY/O and Killjoy Go
23. ↑  An Error Message visible on Maxbot's screen Go
24. ↑ Creative Director Riot KingKut talking about Maxbot - Discord QnA Go
25. ↑ @PlayVALORANT's post sharing some artwork of the Agents in celebration of Diwali - Go