Cypher Valorant: The One-Man Surveillance Network
Welcome back to our blog series! In today’s blog, we will examine Cypher, a one-man surveillance network. Cypher in Valorant is a Sentinel and the fifth agent in the game, available since the closed beta. The whole point of Cypher’s kit is to unveil and uncover all the secrets of foes on the battlefield. You're sure to have an excellent time uncovering all the different ways to mark and watch your enemies and their attempts in a match. Especially as we've heard the rumor that Cypher is always watching. So, with that said, let's kick start this blog by checking out his abilities.
Cypher Valorant Abilities
In Valorant, Cypher’s kit is centered around the ability to see your enemies and everything they try to do. Part of this work is to keep tabs on the enemy’s every move. You will be the one to reach out when your team needs information. Cypher will take some control over the situation with his kit, and can even slow down an enemy push if you use each of your abilities wisely. Let’s see what you can do as Cypher!
Trapwire - (C) (L1 - PS5) (LB Xbox X/S)
When you activate this ability, it will equip a Trapwire that you can place using the Fire button. You will use a tripwire at your targeted location, and it will create a line that spans between the selected location and the opposite wall. Be cautious because this ability is destructible. When an enemy crosses a tripwire, it will apply Tethered, Revealed, and Concussed for a short time. Another fantastic point about this ability is that you can pick it up and redeploy it wherever you like. It costs 200 credits, and you will have two charges per round. The Trapwire has 20 HP, and it will deal 5 damage points if the windup time is completed. The effects will last as follows: Tether 1.5 seconds, Slow 1.25 seconds, and Concuss 3 seconds; this is assuming the ability reaches full potential and is not destroyed by foes.
Cyber Cage - (Q) (R1 - PS5) (RB - Xbox X/S)
Cypher in Valorant will toss a Cyber Cage in front of him when you activate this ability. There’s no windup time since the cage will appear instantly. You must activate it to create a zone that will block the vision and play an audio cue when foes pass through this ability. The radius cover for the Cyber Cage is 3.72 meters, and the total duration of the ability is 7.25 seconds. You will have two charges that cost 100 credits each.
Signature - Spycam - (E) (O - PS5) (B - Xbox X/S)
This ability will equip you with a spy cam you can place at your targeted location using the Fire button. You can also reuse this ability to take control of the camera’s view and even shoot a marking dart if you use the Fire button on your enemies. This will reveal the position of the enemy agent that was marked by the dart. You can also redeploy this ability after you pick it up. You will only have one charge for Spycam, and you won’t need to pay any credits for it. This ability will last 15 seconds (recalled) or 45 seconds in total. You can shoot a dart every 6 seconds, and the cam will only have 1 HP.
Ultimate - Neural Theft - (X) (L1 + R1 - PS5) (LB + RB - Xbox X/S)
Even after death, your enemies will speak, and Cypher in Valorant will use his ultimate ability to instantly target a dead enemy and download the information on their team. After you use this ultimate, you will experience a brief delay, and the location of living enemy agents will be revealed twice. You must spend 6 ultimate points to use this ability. The first reveal will happen in 2 seconds, and the second one will be 4 seconds.
Cypher Valorant Guide
Although Cypher is a beloved agent, in recent updates, his popularity declined a little. Still, he’s a fantastic option for all types of players, so if you are a beginner and want to master him, we have some Valorant Cypher tips for you to take your first steps into the one-man surveillance network.
Depending on your role, if you are attacking, your main goal as Cypher is to take care of the flanks and gather all the information possible with your abilities. When you are defending, your role changes, and you must stop the enemy agents from entering the site or flanks when no one is attacking you. It’s essential to take care of late lurks and make rotations.
Making our way into Cypher’s kit, Trapwire is a handy ability you must use to cover flanks or block paths to prevent enemy agents from taking advantage and rushing your teammates from behind. Trapwires will slow down the enemy and make them think if their location is worth being revealed by activating the tripwire. When an enemy is exposed, Trapwire will make your team aware of the position and raise the guards to make the next move. When you play as Cypher in Valorant, you'll have the added challenge of coming up with more unusual and unique ways of using the ability, as most players will be more than familiar with how to play as Cypher, or against him.
The enemy will try to destroy your tripwire, but you can use that in your favor to get a free kill when they are trying to do so. Moreover, a great technique to get the most out of this ability is by staking them in a targeted location. Since you can place the tripwire in almost every direction, we recommend you put them vertically or one horizontal and one vertical. Take some time to play around with placements before you go into a fully fledged battle; this will allow you time to discover the best ways to place them, as well as mastering the ability in general.
Valorant’s Cypher can use Spycam in the same way as Trapwire; however, instead of using it to “block” the path, you must place it to watch entrances, tag foes, and then peek to get a kill. This will be a better option for you since most players will first try to shoot the cam or remove the dart, giving you the chance to take advantage of this situation. You can combine both abilities, but it’s not the best option because you will waste most of your kit in a single location, and the potential to reveal where your enemies are is almost zero.
Cyber Cage is not like regular smoke from other agents, but it’s pretty similar to Jett’s smoke. As you may know, part of mastering Cypher in Valorant is to stay creative in the way you use each of your abilities. To use Cyber Cage in the most effective way, you must throw it into angles, but be particular about which ones. You should go for those that will allow you to prevent a push or for you and your teammates to rush the enemy agent. You can also ‘stack’ the cage in your Trapwire or use it to set up aggressive peeks. Cyber Cage can be used as a cover, and the effect can be used to swing from an unknown location.
Cypher in Valorant has a unique ultimate that requires some steps to work correctly. You need a dead agent’s body and some time to set it up. If everything works as planned, you will mark the rest of the enemy agents twice. It’s a utility ability that can change the flow of a round for you and your teammates. The best way to use it is at the early moments of the match, if you or your team obtain an early kill, to track the rest of the enemy agents down. Another way to use this ultimate is in 1v1 situations, which will give you an advantage to delete the final enemy agent.
Valorant's Cypher is a pioneer of the game, and most veteran players will know his covers and how to either play as him or against, thanks to his popularity. A big downside of playing Cypher is if the enemy team includes fast-moving agents, they will negate most of the utility Cypher can bring to the team. However, most of the time, you can cover the flanks and severely slow down your enemies while still gathering valuable information for your team.
Valorant Cypher FAQ
Mastering a new agent can take a lot of time, patience and practice, however, it's much easier when you know the ins and outs of an agent and their abilities in different scenarios. While Cypher is recommended for beginner players, there's still always the chance of confusion, or just general wonderings. So, let's take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions on this agent:
When Playing Valorant's Cypher, are buffs applied when using his kit?
Cypher won’t apply any buffs to himself or his teammates; however, he can apply different debuffs to slow down and stop a push from agents. He can block vision and apply Tether, Concuss, and Slow.
Is there any recent Cypher Nerf in Valorant?
In recent patches, Cypher has suffered from another nerf that has caused Trapwire to take damage from all abilities. This ability was also nerfed, increasing the re-arm time from 1 second to 2, and the Slow debuff now only lasts 1.25 seconds instead of 2.
Cypher Valorant Summary
Valorant is a game that depends on agility and movement, and the best way to stop the pushes is with an agent like Cypher. However, to win matches, teamwork is vital, and discovering the location of foes can be the step ahead you need to make you enter a winning streak. Moreover, if you want to learn and master more agents like Cypher, you can check our blog section. Likewise, if you want to have unique cosmetics and rare finds in your account, consider buying a Valorant account on our website. With all that being said, we will see you again in our next blog!
