VALORANT is bringing lore to in-game cosmetics for the first time with the introduction of Tethered Realms. The new weapon skin line features a good versus evil theme and ties together the Sovereign and Forsaken bundles that came before it.
Tethered Realms is a “classic juxtaposition of righteousness and corrupted darkness” between two previously released skin lines, Sovereign and Forsaken. These will be the first story-based weapons skins that Riot Games has introduced to VALORANT. Fans of Riot’s other major title, League of Legends, will be familiar with company’s penchant for adding rich story themes to cosmetic collections.
The Tethered Realms bundle will include moving textures, custom models, and a new melee type. The five weapons featured in the bundle include the Vandal, Operator, Ghost, Guardian, and melee. The melee has been aptly titled ‘prosperity and demise’ to mimic the theme of the weapon skin bundle. Tethered Realms will follow the same Premium Edition price point that we have seen with other weapon skin bundles. It will allow for upgradable tiers and colors accessed through Radianite.
Sovereign and Forsaken come together in Tethered Realms
“Sovereign was one of the first skins we developed, and one of the first skins we made our own ‘internal skin lore,’” said Sean Marino, the Premium Content Art Lead on VALORANT. “We do this for a lot of skin lines to get the team to really understand the depth of fantasy that we are crafting so we come up with a world, a people, and an entire backstory for the skin to help us come up with ideas to push the themes as far as we can.”
Fans took notice of the similarities between the Forsaken and the Sovereign bundles when Forsaken released alongside Act 3. But Riot Games made no vocal comparison themselves at the time. Now, the lead designer for the skins has confirmed that these similarities were to tie together the story behind the three skin lines.
“The idea for the world of Tethered Realms really pulls from the classic juxtaposition we see of good versus evil in storytelling,” continued Sean Marino when asked about the inspiration behind Tethered Realms. “We wanted to depict two identical worlds: one divine and one corrupt, taking inspiration from IP’s like Diablo and even Destiny.”
The skins will have two different theme options featuring that battle of good versus evil. The Tethered Realms’ corrupt form is its default and pays homage to the Forsaken skin line. This version features a blue, green and black colorway. On the other hand, the divine set features a white and gold aesthetic and draws from the Sovereign bundle. Learn how to upgrade to the divine set with our Tethered Realms price guide.
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