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Valorant has released the Neo Frontier skin collection with the start of Episode 7 Act 1. The bundle, inspired by both old western as well neo-futuristic styles, is a novel direction for cosmetics in Riot Games' character-based tactical shooter. It will be available in shop starting from June 27, 2023, as soon as the patch for the new Episode is available to download.
The first bundle of each Valorant Episode so far has been memorable. The Neo Frontier skinline is rather ambitious with what it wants to achieve, and it gets a lot of things right. This review will look at the pros and cons of the latest skinline in the game.
What weapons are included in the Neo Frontier skin collection in Valorant?
There are five skins in the newest line of purchasable cosmetics in the game - four weapon and one melee. They are as follows:
- Phantom
- Odin
- Sheriff
- Marshal
- Melee (Axe)
Each of these weapons has three upgradable tiers, which unlock animations and sound effects. Once you reach the final stage, you will also be able to unlock three additional variants - gold, silver, and copper.
The entire bundle comes with a pricetag of 8,700 VP, the standard price of Ultra-tier skins. Each weapon included costs 2,175 VP, while the melee costs 4,350 VP on its own.
Neo Frontier bundle in Valorant takes you from the past to the future as you upgrade it
Valorant's Neo Frontier collection does something that no other offering has done so fat. While you go from Level 1 to Level 4, you can see how the skin's build changes from the old world to the future.
Each starts off as a plain gun, made of wood and metal. Level 2 of the upgrade adds stylizations and enhances that look. As soon as you go from Level 2 to 3, you will be transported way into the future, into a sci-fi inspired build. Similar to Level 2, Level 4 also adds more flair to the futuristic model.
This is what each gun looks like at Level 2 and Level 4:
Phantom
Odin
Marshal
Sheriff
Melee
With this mechanic in place, you end up getting two skins for the price of one. What is fantastic that unlike older collections, where reload and inspect animations are only applied at later stages of upgrades, here you get a fully animated skin at Level 2 itself.
Highlights of the Neo Frontier skinline in Valorant
The lighting and sound effects incorporated into this skinline are top-tier, and fit the idea behind it very well. Each gun has a unique reload and inspect animation that makes using these cosmetics extremely satisfying.
The attention to details is impressive, and everything that made the final cut of the skin looks honed to perfection. The subtle motion in the Marshal's scope or a closer look into the Odin's bullet chamber when inspecting the guns takes these skins to the next level.
The old western style gets the gritty aesthetic on-point, and the neo futuristic variants offer variety with great panache. Each of the variants are unique, and above all, they look and feel great.
The collection incorporates some of the best qualities from the Infantry, the the Gravitational Uranium Neuroblaster, and the Magepunk collection to come up with something that feels real and magical at the same time.
Lastly, the Neo Frontier collection features one of the most advanced gun buddies in Valorant. It constantly updates itself to show the face of the server's top fragger. If that happens to be you, it will turn red.
Where Valorant's new Neo Frontier skin collection falls short
Speaking of the weak links in Neo Frontier's overall experience, the Phantom and the Axe have to be the biggest disappointments. Compared to the rest of the weapons, they look lacklustre, almost lazy.
Although there is nothing objectively poor in the way they look and work in-game, they simply don't live up to the expectations set by the others in the bundle. This is especially bad because these two will have the most playtime.
The other thing that Valorant's latest collection missed the mark in was incorporating variants for the old world version of the weapons. This leaves a gaping hole in an upgrade system that Riot Games so nearly perfected with this collection.
Conclusion
With so much that the Neo Frontier skinline gets right, it becomes easy to forget its flaws. For 2,175 VP, the features it offers make it a solid bundle to add to your collection. It goes above and beyond anything that has been done before and opens up new avenues for what skins in the game can be in the future.
