Almost a week into the VALORANT closed beta and the hype for Riot Games' new FPS is still growing. Some of you may have been lucky and received access to this sought-after release, but many of you will still be waiting. Either way, chances are you might be scrambling to find every detail of what the game has to offer before its eventual release in summer 2020.

VALORANT currently has ten agents, each with a set of different abilities which can be used in various ways to give your team an advantage in matches. Different combinations of agents and abilities can give significant advantages when played right.

Cypher is an Agent with one of the steeper learning curves in the game, with technical abilities that require an excellent attention to detail and good timing. However, with a little knowledge and practice, you’ll be able to deploy this agent effectively on the battlefield.





Abilities

Cypher is similar to agents like Sage because of his ability to cut off and slow enemy advances, but is also a crucial information gathering asset, much like Sova, with his use of recon devices. Cypher’s abilities favour the short preparation period before each round, as they require a bit of time to be placed. Therefore, clever planning and creative combinations of these abilities are essential for competitive play, especially on maps with three sites to defend or attack.





Trapwire

A destructible tripwire that can be placed between two walls. Fire it at a desired location and a line will span between the placement location and the opposite surface. If an enemy walks through this line the trap will activate, slowing them down, revealing their location, and dazing them for a few seconds if the device is not destroyed quickly after activation.

What makes this unique is the ability to pick the wire back up and redeploy it elsewhere (and from a considerable range as long as it’s within Cypher’s view). It is key to note that enemy players cannot see the wire until they are either very close or the device has been activated.





Cyber Cage

Is essentially Cypher’s smoke ability, with some added functionality. Equip and fire the Cyber Cage at a desired horizontal surface. You must then hover over the cage and activate it to create a zone that blocks vision and slows enemies who try to run through it.

The cage lasts approximately seven seconds once activated, and it cannot be seen by an enemy player until it has been activated by Cypher.





Spycam

A useful recon device which can be used to identify and mark enemies around corners or holding sites. Equip and fire the camera onto walls to keep an eye on strategic locations. The ability may be reused to take control of the camera’s view.

While in use you can fire a marking dart onto an enemy to reveal their location, but your opponent will have the ability to destroy the camera once it’s spotted and can also remove marking darts to stop being revealed. The darts have a cool downperiod in between shots, lasting approximately six seconds. Again, note that this ability is hidden from the sight of enemy players until activated by Cypher.





Neural Theft (Ultimate)

This is another important tool for information gathering. Cypher’s ultimate can be instantly deployed to reveal the locations of all living enemy players. Simply hover your crosshair over a dead enemy player and activate to see enemies highlighted across the map.

This ability is incredibly important for those clutch moments which require you to retake sites or defend your spike plant. Being able to gauge enemy movement is integral to successful competitive play, and using this ultimate to quickly readjust strategy could mean the difference between ending up in a 1v3 or a 3v3 situation (numbers used purely as an example).

Here's an example of what Neural Theft looks like, taken from a recent stream by Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund.

Cypher's Optimal Weapons

Classified by the game as a Sentinel, Cypher is a defensive agent who is good for holding areas down as well as protecting against quick enemy flanking manoeuvres. Due to this range in ability, the weapon options are flexible. Here is a list of medium to long-range options which are suitable for this play style.

Spectre

The Spectre is a fast firing SMG with a 30-round magazine and is capable of inflicting some decent damage at short to medium ranges. From 0-20m it can give 26 damage for body shots and 78 damage for headshots. Costing only 1,600 credits, this is a great weapon for early rounds when you might want to respond quickly to advances or play more aggressive.

Vandal

The Vandal is the perfect medium range rifle capable of an impressive 156 headshot damage from 0-50m out. Much like the AK-47 in CSGO, this weapon can be very effective with the right amount of precision. This gun is a good all-rounder but is particularly useful for holding and ambushing, which Cypher facilitates rather well. At 2,900 credits, this may require a few round wins to comfortably purchase alongside your abilities and shields (although with a few kills, a round win and a spike plant, it's very possible to have earlier on).

Operator

The Operator is the weapon of choice for Sentinel agents. With a massive 150 body damage, 255 headshot damage, and high wall penetration, this sniper is the perfect companion for the more defensive and information-oriented agents. At 4,500 credits, you should expect to be in the later rounds of each half to be able to purchase comfortably.





Tips and Tricks

Be sure to have a strategy laid out with your teammates every round. Knowing where to hold and where to place abilities is essential if you want to take full advantage of what he has to offer. For example, placing the Trapwire needs some careful consideration. Make sure to place it high enough so that opponents won’t be able to simply go over or under it, and that there aren’t map features like boxes which can be used to bypass your trap.

To see some great examples of how to set up your sites with Cypher, check out these posts on Reddit made by u/Patrom...

Cypher prep for Haven site C.

Cypher prep for Split site A.

Combining some of Cypher’s abilities can be a powerful defence mechanism. Trapwires may be combined with Cyber Cages to double down on slowing enemy advances through choke points. Once the wire is activated, you’ll know when to detonate your Cage. Creative use of abilities like this is when you'll notice how important Cypher can really be.

Cypher is useless unless you are an effective communicator. Being able to communicate all the audio and visual cues created by Cypher’s abilities will ensure your team knows how to adjust their strategy. Wires and Cages each make noise as they are entered or activated, and Neural Theft is great when calculating for those important clutch moments.





If you liked this content, be sure to check out our other useful agent guides on our blog page.

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ABOUT VALORANT

VALORANT is a tactical FPS created by Riot Games which pits players against each other in 5v5 battles. Choosing from a selection of ten agents, players get to experience a fusion of gaming experiences derived from titles such as CSGO, Overwatch, and LoL.