Want to dominate Lotus with your team in competitive Valorant and climb the ranks? Sure you do! We’re here to help with our in-depth guide to the best tactics on Lotus, the ninth map in Riot Games’ acclaimed team-based first-person shooter (FPS).
We’ll discuss the best attack and defense strategies for Lotus in this Valorant map guide, detail all the crucial callouts, and suggest the best Agents to use. Let’s kick off proceedings with a Lotus map overview.
Lotus Map Overview & Callouts
Riot Games released Lotus on Jan. 10, 2023 as part of the Valorant Episode 6 Act 1 update. The map has a theme resembling the Western Ghats mountain range in India, featuring a mysterious structure housing an astral conduit that “radiates with ancient power,” according to the game’s lore.
Lotus is the second competitive map to feature three Spike Sites, joining Valorant’s Haven map. The map’s unique features include a destructible wall (400 HP), a third ultimate orb to claim in the middle section, and revolving doors that create deadly choke points.
Callouts on Lotus
Professional Valorant teams and most competitive players use callouts on Lotus to suggest enemy locations, where to execute plays, and throw utility. You’ll find a list of all 24 callouts for the Lotus map below.
- A Top
- A Drop
- A Hut
- A Stairs
- A Site
- A Tree
- A Door
- A Rubble
- A Root
- A Main
- A Link
- B Pillars
- B Main
- B Site
- B Upper
- C Lobby
- C Mound
- C Main
- C Bend
- C Site
- C Waterfall
- C Hall
- C Link
- C Gravel
A, B, and C indicate the three Spike Sites on Lotus. Competitive players need to learn all the Lotus callouts by heart, as it can help them communicate better with their team and execute strategies faster.
Please note: While these are the general callouts most pro teams use on Lotus, they may differ slightly in certain regions. Some teams use unique callouts for specific areas of a map to hide their strategy while communicating.
How To Attack On Lotus
Thanks to its three Spike Sites, many gamers consider Lotus slightly attacker-favored in competitive Valorant, while others argue retake attempts make it more defender-favored. There are many options for the attacking side to consider, and no attacking strategy is without some form of weakness. With that in mind, we’ve detailed some of the most common and effective attacking strategies on Lotus for each Spike Site.
Attacking A Site
Attacking on A Site is arguably the most difficult of the three because it can be tricky to hold A Main and defend a retake attempt. We’ve found that the best strategy for an A Site attack on Lotus is to split your team, with three going A Main and two moving through A Tree.
Alternatively, rush A Main with four players and have one lurker pick off enemy defenders on the move. Blocking the defenders’ line-of-sight in A Top, Stairs, and Drop is critical to success after planting the Spike.
Attacking B Site
As the smallest Spike Site on Lotus, B Site requires you to first gather enemy location information so you can make sure they’re not stacking. If there are only a couple of players, start by taking B Main control and smoke off B Top and the back of B Main. From here, keep Agents posted to watch B Upper and C Link, only diverting your attention to A Link if the destructible door is broken or taking heavy fire.
Attacking C Site
C Site on Lotus is considered the easiest to attack. Once you take C Mound, use smoke to block off C Waterfall and C Hall, and clear C Bend as you progress. A four-player push with one lurking is recommended to pick off stray defenders. Once the Spike is planted, watch for rotations from A Main and flanks from the rotating doors.
Quick Tip: We recommend keeping the defenders guessing as you push toward your objective. Feel free to shake things up with an immediate rush to a different Spike Site to keep them on their toes.
How To Defend On Lotus
Five Agents, three Spike Sites. You may not like those odds, but playing defense on Lotus is possible using the best strategy. Defending on Lotus requires a dynamic, reactionary playstyle, because there are multiple entry points for each of the bomb sites.
We recommend putting three players on A, one on B, and one on C (3-1-1). Use a Sentinel such as Killjoy, Cypher, Sage, or Chamber on C Main. Killjoy’s Turret works well to cover one choke point, and the Alarmbot/Nanoswarm abilities can detect enemy movement early.
Facing a team that tends to execute their attacks slower? You could go for the setup of two players A, one B, and two C (2-1-2), always using one player from C to flank an enemy attack. If you can’t successfully defend an enemy attack, cut your losses, group up, and attempt a retake. There’s no shame in backing off for the defenders, letting the enemy plant the Spike, and saving player lives.
No matter how you choose to defend on Lotus, quick rotations and early information gathering remain crucial to success. Use the attacking methods in the previous section to retake a Spike Site in post-plant gameplay situations.
Best Agents To Use On Lotus
Setting up the perfect Agent roster for Lotus is vital to the success of any competitive Valorant team. Given that Lotus is a broader map with three Spike sites, mobility and enemy detection are paramount. You’ll find the best Valorant Agent composition to use on Lotus below.
- Raze (Duelist)
- Astra (Controller)
- Killjoy (Sentinel)
- Skye (Initiator)
- Viper (Controller)
While not everyone will agree with the Skye pick on Lotus, Evil Geniuses used this setup in the Valorant Champions 2023 grand final against Paper Rex to close out the series and become the VCT world champions. You can’t argue with those results!
Alternate Initiators to Skye on Lotus include KAY/O, Fade, and Breach. You can also go for Jett instead of Raze as your Duelist and Brimstone as your Controller.
Playing And Betting On Valorant Esports
Using the knowledge you’ve gained in our Valorant Lotus map guide, you can gain an edge over the competition in ranked play as well as esports betting! At Thunderpick, we provide gamers with a world-class cryptocurrency esports betting experience. You’ll find plenty of Valorant esports matches to bet on today!
