Cinematics/Episode

## DUELISTS

DUELISTS was the first cinematic released by *VALORANT* on the day the game launched.

### Plot

— Sage and Phoenix

In Venice, Italy, Alpha Earth, VALORANT agent Phoenix pursues an unknown Radiant (known to the audience as Ω-Jett) who is in possession of a bag that contains a spike. Equipped with a Vandal, Phoenix chases Jett through Venice's alleys as she tries to stop him using her knives. Able to dodge most of them, he eventually takes a hit to the shoulder, prompting him to fight back using his own radiant abilities. After Jett is able to escape past one of his incendiaries, Phoenix forces her to ground by breaking the strap of her backpack with a shot from his Vandal, then isolates the package from her by separating them with a wall of fire.

At this point, Sage, who is revealed to be on comms, asks Phoenix if he has the package. Phoenix responds to say he is close but is is being held back as Jett draws a pistol and begins to fire blindly through the fire wall. Sage warns Phoenix that he cannot let her plant the spike and she expresses concern about the hostile. Phoenix assures her that she won't be a problem for him, and activates one of his Radiant powers as he goes in to retrieve the package. Jett however catches him off guard as she dashes through the fire wall, briefly taking the time to mock him before shooting him and making off with the spike.

Phoenix's radiant power allows him to revive himself without harm soon after he is shot. As he brushes himself off, Phoenix starts to inform VALORANT that the hostile escaped, but stops himself as he looks up to see part of the city is now floating in the air after Jett was able to plant and detonate the spike.

## DUALITY

DUALITY was the third cinematic to be released. It was unveiled in a break between maps during the Grand Finals of the VCT 2021: Stage 2 Masters - Reykjavík tournament between Sentinels and Fnatic. It takes place the day after the events of DUELISTS.

### Plot

— Phoenix and Omega Phoenix

Alpha Earth is shown to be immediately responding to the incident in Venice. Media starts to speculate that radianite may have been involved, causing stocks in the Kingdom Corporation to see their biggest drop in its history and forcing the company to release a statement reassuring the world that radianite is beyond safe and that they were not involved with the disaster in any way. Authorities also ask anyone with information about the two radiants involved to come forward.

The next day, Killjoy and her turret are in Rabat, Morocco to respond to yet another spike threat. Taking fire from an unknown assailant, Killjoy commands her turret to provide cover fire as she reloads her Spectre behind the cover of a radianite crate. In the sky above, reinforcements from the VALORANT Protocol arrive aboard the *Vulture* with Viper and Phoenix on board, much to Killjoy's relief. Viper asks if Killjoy has located the spike, which the latter confirms. The *Vulture* then descends to allow Viper and Phoenix to disembark and assist Killjoy.

Viper and Phoenix arrive on site to find Killjoy kneeling besides the spike, with her turret providing cover fire. Killjoy hands Viper a tablet that shows information about the device. Viper notes that it's stealing radianite from the environment, and asks Killjoy how they can stop it. She responds by showing them a defuser she has, though Viper points out that she will need a Radi-Core to power it. The hostile is finally able to destroy Killjoy's turret with a Phantom, and Phoenix sets out in pursuit to continue providing cover for Killjoy.

Phoenix catches up to the assailant and cuts him off using an incendiary. He commands the hostile to put their hands up but is surprised to see them stand up and reveal themselves as a mirror version of himself. The copy finds the situation humorous, noting the shocked look on Phoenix's face, and prepares to fight back with his radiant powers whilst Phoenix is caught off guard. However Viper arrives, firing back at Omega Phoenix with her Bucky as he retreats through the incendiary. Before Phoenix can comment on what he has seen, the spike lets out a huge pulse, urging him and Viper to return to help Killjoy now that the enemy is gone.

Viper asks if Killjoy has found a power source, to which Killjoy responds by taking a Radi-Core out of the remains of her destroyed turret. Killjoy attaches it to the defuser and attempts to defuse, but the process fails due to the core not providing enough power. Viper explains that the radainite needs to be super-heated. Phoenix grabs the core and ignites his hand with flames, causing the radianite inside to liquefy. He hands it back to Killjoy, who reattaches it to the defuser and attempts a defuse once more. This time, the process begins, and she has just enough time to complete the defuse before the spike detonates. To Phoenix's annoyance, Killjoy reveals she was unsure if her plan would even work.

The three agents then prepare to board the *Vulture* and leave Rabat. Killjoy is in possession of the spike to take back for analysis. Viper informs Control that the town is secure and that they're on their way home. Phoenix asks if she is talking to the "Big Man". Annoyed about not knowing what exactly he was up against, Phoenix demands that he needs answers from him. Killjoy doesn't understand why he is upset after a successful mission, but Viper explains to her what happened outside the spike site. With Phoenix asking more questions, Viper assures him that she'll talk to Brimstone and that, given everything Phoenix had been involved in the past two days, it was time to fill Phoenix in on more classified information. The three then depart from the town.

Somewhere else, Omega Phoenix meets with Omega Jett. He explains that they have problems, which Jett scoffs at knowing that Phoenix was the one who screwed up. Phoenix complains that Jett isn't one to talk as she didn't have to face an entire team. The two are then approached by Omega Viper, Omega Cypher, and Omega Yoru. Viper tells Phoenix that if their enemies are bringing entire teams to defend themselves, so will they.

## RETAKE

RETAKE was the second cinematic released on the day Episode 02 launched.

### Plot

— Phoenix and Yoru

At an Alpha Kingdom facility in the Artic Ocean, Phoenix and Yoru arrive to respond to a spike threat from agents of the VALORANT Legion, Ω-Cypher, Ω-Jett, and Ω-Viper. Phoenix watches from behind the cover of a shot up container door as Viper plants a spike. He asks Yoru over comms if he's in position. Yoru replies he is working on it, as he makes his way into a flanking position whilst in an alternate dimension that hides him from sight. Phoenix asks what's taking him so long, and Yoru tells him to be patient. Phoenix however says there's no more time to wait. Despite Yoru's concerns, Phoenix activates his Radiant powers, and engages the enemy.

As Jett and Viper go to leave the site with the spike planted, Phoenix stops their escape with a fire wall. The two variants fire their weapons through the wall as Phoenix uses its cover to run to another part of the site. Cypher, watching from on top of a container with a sniper rifle, is able to spot Phoenix from over the top of the wall, and takes aim. Yoru, however, finally gets into his flanking position. He exits the alternate dimension and takes out Cypher with a shot from his Sheriff.

With their squad a member down, Viper sends Jett to deal with Yoru. Jett leaps onto a suspended container and shoots towards Yoru to prevent him from getting to the spike. Hearing her reload, Yoru takes the opportunity to swing out from behind cover and shoot one of the cables keeping the container suspended. This causes Jett to fall back to ground, and she takes cover behind a radianite crate.

Phoenix meanwhile is on the run from Viper. He is forced into a dead end and is hit with a gas grenade. As Viper closes in on a choking Phoenix, he notices a cable running above himself and Viper and comes up with a plan. Throwing a fireball out of the gas that blinds Viper, he jumps up onto the cable and uses a Shorty to ride down the cable towards her. Once he gets close, he leaps off his makeshift zipline to take aim at and shoot Viper with the shotgun.

Back at the spike site, Yoru is hunting for Jett, placing a Rift Tether on the ground, as the spike gets closer to detonation and objects begin to rise from the ground. Jett realizes that the crate she is hiding behind is one of the affected objects and that her cover is about to be blown. As Yoru approaches and clears the area behind the crate, Jett jumps up and dashes behind Yoru, attempting to take him by surprise and shoot him with her Vandal. Yoru however was prepared, with his Rift Tether placed behind Jett. He teleports to it, dodging Jett's gunfire, and shoots her. With all of their enemies apparently dealt with, Yoru rushes to the spike and is just able to defuse it in time.

With the threat dealt with, Phoenix rejoins Yoru, telling Yoru to he should have had more confidence in him. Yoru however senses something is wrong, takes aim at Phoenix, and fires. As Phoenix is shot at from behind by Jett, who had picked herself up and drawn her weapon, Yoru's shot passes though where Phoenix was to hit Jett in the heart, finally ending her. Phoenix is able to revive himself, though he is still unaware of why Yoru appeared to shoot him. Yoru points towards Jett's body, expressing satisfaction over how he had predicted that Phoenix would get shot before he rushed into battle. With Phoenix still stammering and complaining, the two leave the site after another successful mission.

## WARM UP

WARM UP was the fourth cinematic released the day before Episode 04 launched.

### Plot

— KAY/O to Phoenix

At Alpha VALORANT Protocol HQ, Phoenix exits a training exercise with a perfect score, joining Cypher, Jett, KAY/O, Killjoy, Raze, Sova, and Yoru. Whilst Phoenix celebrates his success, KAY/O points out that everyone else also has a perfect score in the same exercise and challenges Phoenix to a game where the bots shoot back. The agents' eyes are drawn to a cleaning bot, which gives Killjoy and Raze an idea. The pair get to work to transform the robot into Max Bot, designing him to imitate and replicate the powers and skills of his opponent.

Most of the agents take turns to face off against Max Bot, but their confidence begins to disappear when the bot proves to be much more of a challenge than they anticipated, defeating every agent to go up against him. Cypher remains outside the training room practicing chess, whilst Yoru keeps on winning money off of Jett's bets that the agents will finally win a battle against Max Bot. Phoenix comments that he should have played chess against Cypher instead, amusing the latter as he goes on to say that wins require sacrifice, which wasn't really the agents' style. This gives Phoenix an idea, and he rounds up the rest of the agents for another go.

After Phoenix draws out Max Bot into the open, the other agents join in and overwhelm the bot with their gunfire and abilities. In the chaos, Raze is able to attach a Blast Pack to Max Bot's back. Outnumbered and damaged, Max Bot retreats to high ground where he attempts to replicate one of KAY/O's suppression pulses. Before he is able to do so, Sova fires a Shock Bolt that ricochets into Max Bot's back, combining with the Blast Pack to cause a large detonation. Max Bot's incapacitated body falls down in front of KAY/O and Phoenix, who celebrate their victory.

Before Phoenix can deliver the finishing shot, Max Bot is smashed into the ceiling by a radianite wall. KAY/O and Phoenix turn around to see Brimstone and Sage walk into the room, where Brimstone summons all the agents for a new mission. As they all leave to depart HQ aboard the *Vulture*, Sage confiscates all of Yoru's winnings from him. Cypher however is left behind, and he walks into the training area to find Max Bot crippled but still functional. Unarmed, Cypher sighs as the bot engages him.

### Trivia

* The events of WARM UP take place at the same time as the events in Neon's reveal trailer.
	+ A live feed of the training room from Phoenix's first fight against Max Bot appears in Neon's room when she first arrives
* The ending scene where Cypher walks into the training room alone only to be engaged and shot at by Max Bot is likely a reference to a community meme about how the majority of *VALORANT* trailers and cinematics involving Cypher show him dying in some way.
	+ This scene would only be a reference to the meme and does not actually confirm that Max Bot killed Cypher at this moment; Cypher is off-screen at the time of the shot.
* "Team Forge", the duo name Phoenix uses for himself and KAY/O, was later referenced on a skin in the Altitude Collection.

## SHATTERED

SHATTERED was the fifth cinematic released for Episode 05's launch.

### Plot

— Killjoy

Killjoy, Neon, and Reyna of the VALORANT Protocol arrive through an Alpha-Omega teleporter at a Kingdom Industries data center in Omega Lisbon. Killjoy confirms the team's successful arrival over comms to Brimstone. The Protocol leader instructs her to confirm the location of their radianite before getting out of there as they don't want to get into a fight, saying they have bigger issues if they discover Omega is weaponizing radianite.

Before he can give further orders, Force Atlas soldiers arrive at the scene, stopping the comm link between Brimstone and the strike team before deactivating the teleporter. The Atlas squad is then ordered by their commander to move in and suppress the Alpha agents. The Alpha team takes cover behind some crates as the Atlas soldiers open fire. Killjoy informs the team she has located a terminal room and that she needs to gain access to it. Neon and Reyna proceed to cover for her as she runs for the terminal and shuts herself in. Hacking into the system, she begins searching for their radianite and also sees when the VALORANT Legion, the Omega counterpart to the VALORANT Protocol, is notified of their intrusion.

Neon and Reyna continue to fight Force Atlas, taking out most of the squad. The Atlas commander however is able to damage Neon's surge protector. As Reyna tries to help her, she is blocked by a wall of toxins as Ω-Viper arrives at the scene. Viper informs an Atlas soldier that she'll handle Reyna and that they should go and find Neon. Neon tells Killjoy it's time to go, but Killjoy says she's close to getting the info she needs and tells her to hang on. She locates their radianite and begins downloading their coordinates. Whilst the download is in progress, Killjoy decides to investigate further into what Omega is doing with their radianite, and finds out Omega isn't building weapons with it but operating life support systems. Whilst Neon and Reyna continue to combat their enemies, Killjoy tells them to return to the terminal as she has found a way home. As Atlas closes in around Neon, her busted surge protector causes her to overload, taking out several soldiers before releasing a large energy pulse that shuts down the data center's servers.

The download for the radianite coordinates completes and Killjoy exits the terminal room as Neon arrives. Reyna is still hunting Viper, so Neon goes back to bring her to the terminal, pulling Reyna away just as she is about to get the kill on Viper, much to Reyna's annoyance. Killjoy insists that they have to leave now or they won't leave at all, setting up a Lockdown device and a turret to guard it in order to keep Viper and Force Atlas at bay and buy the team enough time to escape.

* The Alpha team discovers a VALORANT Legion comic book store
* The Alpha team discovers a VALORANT Legion comic book store
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The Alpha agents' escape route leads them into a comic book store. Upon looking around, the team realizes the store's products are mostly themed around the VALORANT Legion and that the organization is known to Omega's citizens. They even find some comics themed around Alpha specifically, which depicts them as a threat. Brimstone is able to contact the team over comms once more and instructs them to get to a rendezvous site. With all that they've seen and learnt on this mission, the three Alpha agents wonder if they are still the good guys as they look out the window to see a garden with statues commemorating agents of the VALORANT Legion and the geo-dome far above keeping Lisbon safe under the surface of the Atlantic.

## REVELATION

REVELATION was the sixth cinematic released for Episode 06's launch. Unlike previous cinematics, REVELATION is a montage of multiple events occurring on Omega Earth instead of a single narrative story.

### Plot

At a nightclub in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Türkiye, Ω-Fade incapacitates a security guard and obtains a device from them containing intel on the City of Flowers. Two other security guards take notice of what's going on, forcing Fade to slip into the crowds unnoticed. When they finally catch sight of her making her way towards the exit and prepare to shoot her down, she tosses a knot of raw fear onto the ceiling that binds the two guards in place and incapacitates them.

At the VALORANT Legion HQ, Ω-Sage enters the training room for a training exercise against bots after using a difficulty override, while Ω-Omen prunes a bonsai outside the training room. Sage takes out several bots but is eventually overwhelmed, taking a bullet to the shoulder and forcing her to take cover and heal. Outside, Omen senses Sage is in trouble and enters the training room, providing cover and teleporting to her aid. Together, the pair defeat the remaining bots. One bot is able to get back up but Sage quickly beheads it using a balisong.

In the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea, Ω-Jett, Ω-Killjoy, and Ω-Raze have dinner together on a night out. Killjoy and Raze listen to music together and the couple hug each other while Jett takes a group selfie of them all.

At the Anamudi peak in the Western Ghats of India, α-Astra and α-Harbor arrive at the City of Flowers and use their relics to unlock an entry point. Once inside, they are confronted by the Legion agents that appeared in this cinematic except for Omen, who had all been called to action in response to Astra and Harbor approaching the city. Appearing to see no other option, the Protocol agents prepare to engage the Legion agents.

### REVELATION Twitter teasers

Before REVELATION's release, video teasers related to the events of the cinematic were released on Twitter:

 : "If you insist! What's one more experiment, ja?"
 : "Hot, hot, water!"
 : "Not nice, Raze."
 : "Oh, but look how red she gets!"
*\*Jett and Raze laugh\**
*See: Range/Lore/EP5#v5.12*

## UNMADE

UNMADE was the seventh cinematic released for Episode 07's launch. It is the first cinematic to not primarily focus on the activities of the VALORANT Protocol, instead showing the origins of Deadlock just before her recruitment. It follows Deadlock (known before as Iselin) on a mission while she was still working for Norwegian security force Ståljeger, as she and two colleagues, Anna and Frøya, escorted a Kingdom Corporation scientist, A. Dorsey, to a facility known as The Vault in Svalbard, Norway.

IselinAnnaFrøyaA. Dorsey
### Plot

— Anna and Iselin

At a facility in Svalbard, Norway, known as The Vault, a team consisting of three Ståljeger operatives (Anna, Frøya, and Iselin) and Kingdom scientist A. Dorsey is dropped off by helicopter, with a mission to retrieve a radivore bear being held there and ship it to Los Angeles. They find however that there is no one to greet them there and The Vault is running on reserve power. While unexpected, Iselin says the mission hasn't changed, and the team enters The Vault.

While on their way to Containment, The Vault then loses reserve power. When the team finally reaches Containment, they find the radivore had broken out of its enclosure. Anna moves forward but is taken down by the escaped animal from above. The remaining hunters open fire, with Iselin also leading Dorsey to a safer location. Frøya remains out in the open while laying down distracting fire with her Odin, but eventually she is also killed by the radivore.

Taking cover elsewhere, Iselin sets up a sonic sensor and directs Dorsey towards a nearby terminal, handing the scientist a Classic. When the radivore walks past and sets off the trap, Iselin swings from behind cover and opens fire while Dorsey makes a run for the terminal. Dorsey is able to activate a chamber, but Iselin loses track of the radivore, which goes towards Dorsey and takes him down. Iselin's Vandal then runs out of ammo, and she's forced to run with the radivore in pursuit.

* Iselin hears an echo after being bitten by the radivore
* Iselin activates the chamber, obliterating the radivore and her own arm
* Iselin in the aftermath of the attack
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Iselin is able to lead the radivore into a chamber, trapping the animal to the chamber's walls with a GravNet, and attempts to close the chamber's doors as it starts to power up. The radivore however is able to break free and forces its head through the closing gap, biting down onto Iselin's left arm. Substances from the radivore's body enter Iselin's system through the wound, causing her to become disoriented. She hears a voice echoing, "release me", before the sound of a gunshot breaks her out of her state of delirium. Dorsey, dying on the ground but still alive, had fired a shot at the radivore before collapsing. With the chamber fully powered up, Iselin activates it, producing a surge of energy that obliterates the radivore and bursts through the gap between the doors, also obliterating Iselin's arm. The only one left alive with the ordeal over, Iselin finds a beacon and activates it before collapsing on the floor.

Some time later at VALORANT Protocol HQ's medical bay, Iselin, having been rescued in Svalbard by the organization, examines her new mechanical left arm, now working for them as an agent with the callsign "Deadlock". She is happy with recent adjustments made by Killjoy, but is briefly agitated by a noise made by Wingman, prompting her on instinct to activate the arm's nanowire accelerator and aim it at him, with Killjoy herself just behind him. Killjoy says to Deadlock that she needs to start getting along with Wingman, but Deadlock replies that Killjoy doesn't know what critters like Wingman were capable of, before she then asks when they will leave for their next mission.

### UNMADE Twitter teasers

Before UNMADE's release, video teasers for the cinematic were released on Twitter. They take place after the events of UNMADE:

## RECKONING

RECKONING is the eighth cinematic released for Episode 08's launch.

### Plot

— The Scions of Hourglass boss to Omen

Searching for intel to help Omen get answers about his past, Cypher and a recently converted Iso (having previously been working undercover within the VALORANT Protocol for the Scions of Hourglass) travel to Casablanca, Morocco, where a base of operations for the Scions of Hourglass is located. After Cypher takes down most of its operatives, he and Iso confront one of the survivors in order to find out where Iso's former boss can be found.

The two agents' intel on the SoH boss leads them to a skyscraper base in Jakarta, Indonesia, where they are joined by Omen and Sova. Cypher, who has broken into a terminal, confirms the boss is in the penthouse before Sova, watching from a nearby building, fires a recon bolt into the building to mark all the guards. Omen then enters the building alone and goes on a killing spree, going through every guard on his way up to the penthouse. Once he arrives, he sends a blinding orb into the room so that he can take out the remaining guards before he confronts the boss, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him onto a desk. Omen demands the boss to tell him about "Shrouded Step", a term that had been found in Iso's orders when he had been assigned to assassinate Omen. The boss however is able to reach a handheld device before Omen can stop him, activating a machine built into the ceiling that traps Omen within an area of energy that begins to work on ripping him apart. The boss then gets on his feet, revealing he cannot have Omen be vanishing again, as he refers to him as "Ghost". Elsewhere, Cypher realizes something is not right as he is met with interference as Sova heads towards a nearby crane in response to get to a new vantage point.

While he is trapped, Omen begins having flashbacks to one particular mission from his time as "Ghost" - a mission to assassinate Sabine Callas, now his fellow Protocol colleague "Viper". As he goes through this, the boss explains that Shrouded Step was a simple kill directive used by the SoH. He says Omen was the SOH's most valuable asset at a time when their goal was to keep the discovery of radianite a secret from the world, claiming it wasn't something that was ready to be public knowledge yet. As Omen continues to go through his flashbacks, he realizes he had failed in his attempt to kill Dr. Callas. The boss continues to say how surprised the organization was the moment they had found out Omen's true identity and that their Ghost was now working for the VALORANT Protocol alongside the very person they had ordered him to kill. He asks Omen whether what hurts him more in this moment is the machine ripping him apart or the realization that his greatest failure now controls him. Omen finally comes to remember that in the assassination attempt, he had been hit with a vial of chemicals and had ended up trapped within a test chamber. As he had tried to break out, Dr. Callas had activated it, looking on as she held a mask to her face.

Having realized what is happening to Omen, Sova orders Cypher to access the machine and shut it down. Cypher's efforts however are not quick enough as the boss powers up the machine to full. Realizing they are out of time, Sova nocks a specialized arrow that channels a large energy blast, firing it into penthouse at the machine and destroying it. Freed, Omen jumps at the boss, sidestepping his attempt to attack him with a butterfly knife before he grabs him and takes them both through the window. The boss' last word is to call Omen a "fool" before the agent teleports back up to the Penthouse, leaving the boss to fall to his death as he looks on, contemplating all that he has just discovered until Sova can be heard on comms recalling the team back to the VLT/R.

As Omen eventually arrives at the VLT/R with Cypher, Iso, and Sova waiting, Iso asks Omen if he got what he came for, to which Omen responds he has what he needs for now. When Sova then tells him that Viper has requested a full report, Omen comments that he will deliver it to her personally.

### RECKONING Twitter Teasers

Before RECKONING's release, video teasers for the cinematic were released on Twitter.

## References

1. ↑ https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/dev/the-story-of-valorant-so-far/
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/davidnotty/status/1399092983731867651