Prime Axe Keychain

EP 1: Ignition, Act 1 · June 2, 2020 · 3,550 VP (individually) / 7,100 VP (full bundle). The first axe melee in VALORANT history and the first melee skin Art Lead Sean Marino personally worked on. Marino shared on ArtStation that "this was the first melee skin that I worked on for Valorant. Having newly established archetypes for different kinds of melee weapons, this was one of the first in a set of the new 'Aggressive' melee types that would allow for first person overhand swings for a melee weapon." The Prime Axe was used alongside a shortsword and a hammer as the main templates to determine how many different melee types the game could support, making it foundational to how all future melee skins were categorized and animated. Marino also revealed that "the glass and emissive strips that turn on when you equip were a last minute addition to the model to present an opportunity for upgrading or evolution," meaning the skin's signature glowing elements almost didn't exist. Released alongside the game's official launch on June 2, 2020 as part of the original Prime bundle, the first Premium Edition skin line in VALORANT alongside Sovereign. The Prime collection set the benchmark for what VALORANT skins could be, introducing custom VFX, custom sound effects, and a unique finisher animation for the first time. The Axe carries the same white and gold geometric design with a neck and blade of solid gold. The original Prime Axe did not launch with color variants, and when players asked about them, Producer Preeti Khanolkar responded "unfortunately we aren't doing chroma variants on the Prime Axe. Maybe in the future, but no plans right now." The Prime//2.0 collection released in March 2021 later introduced its own Axe (the Glitchpop EP 2 Axe was a separate line) along with 4 color variants (red, blue, gold, brown), giving the Prime melee archetype the customization players had originally requested. Part of the bundle alongside the Vandal, Ghost, Spectre, and Guardian. Can appear in daily store rotation and Night Market.