As an avid collector of Valorant skins, I too haven’t been able to adapt to any of the recent FPS game themes, but again, I’m pretty picky. However, after the release of the VCT Lock In mod and the beautiful Mercy Knife, I asked Riot how they took player feedback and used it to bring the new melee weapon to life.
“The team is always happy to receive player feedback as it means
gamers care,” lead cosmetics producer Preeti Khanolkar tells me. “Of course it’s good to have positive feedback and you feel a little bad when you hear that the players are not happy. But nothing is worse than silence or
indifference! So, we always thank the players for caring about us and giving us their opinion!
“We do a lot of skins and we want to cater to a very diverse audience, so we’re not intentionally trying to please everyone,” he continues. “It’s impossible to do something that everyone likes, and if you try to do something that appeals to everyone, the reality is that it’s bland and nobody really likes it. Whenever we create a sci-fi skin, players who prefer fantasy may feel left behind. And vice versa if we make a fantasy-inspired skin. Likewise, if you prefer Vandal, you might be disappointed when a theme you like has a Ghost instead.”
This is, in Khanolkar’s eyes, what makes Mercy a bit more special: it’s so unique that he would go so far as to say that when you see this knife, you know it’s Valorant at first glance.
“What was great about this VCT Lock In (Mercy) knife is
how many players have expressed their excitement that we have brought back the
Xenohunter Animations,” he told PCGamesN. “And for players who prefer the Xenohunter look (more realistic and military), Xenohunter already exists, so they are good and can stick with Xenohunter.
“We hope Mercy will appeal to gamers who loved the Xenohunter knife animations but wanted a bolder, more colorful look or are into esports (and also want to contribute to revenue sharing with partner esports teams). ). Although these two knives share the same animation, they feel very different in the way they are creatively executed. The team has done an incredible job of making it feel similar yet different.”
I completely agree. The Xenohunter skins (shown above) looked cool, but they weren’t for me as I lean more towards things like Sentinels of Light. Mercy is the perfect mix of sharp combat knife and fantasy elements and is an absolute must. Don’t check how much you spent on Valorant, it’s No a necessity.
As VCT Lock In approaches, be sure to log in and grab some Valorant Twitch drops, and load up on Valorant’s best crosshairs to emulate some of the pros breaking it in Brazil. We also spoke with Khanolkar and Associate Art Director Sean Marino about the birth of the Misericordia Knife, so check it out to get into the spirit of the contest.