Who is Viper? Valorant agent’s abilities, gameplay, lore revealed

Riot Games gave a deeper look at one Agent in Valorant’s starting lineup, Viper, who specializes in zone control using her toxic green gaseous ability kit.

The company behind League of Legends are slowly lifting the veil on the cast of characters for their upcoming first-person shooter.

The heated Agent named Phoenix, who can conjure fireballs and similar offensive abilities, has already been revealed – the first out of “ten or so agents available at Valorant’s launch.”

Viper’s gameplay revealed

Now the second character revealed from the lineup will be a favorite among lone wolf and support players alike, seeing how the American operative can be used to isolate enemies and pick them off or provided much-needed cover on-the-go.

The teaser trailer showed how Viper’s gaseous abilities can be used in 1vX situations to give the last surviving member a chance of clutching out a round.

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Sneaking up to the plant site, she’s able to cut off multiple angles that the enemy could use to get a clean shot on her. With her AoE abilities, the character is sure to be one of the most toxic Agents in the entire game since she can cover large regions with her green fumes.

Viper’s abilities in Valorant

• Snakebite: Fire a projectile that explodes into a pool of damaging acid.
• Poison Cloud: Throw a gas emitter that you can reactivate to create a poisonous smoke cloud at the cost of fuel. The emitter can be picked up and thrown again after a short cooldown.
• Signature Ability ⁠— Toxic Screen: Deploy a long line of gas emitters that you can reactivate to create a tall wall of toxic gas at the cost of fuel.
• Ultimate⁠— Viper’s Pit: Emit a massive toxic cloud in a large area that lasts as long as Viper stays inside the cloud. Enemies inside the cloud are highlighted.

The new gameplay trailer shows Viper using her abilities to make her way onto an open part of the map. With too many angles to check in a 1v3, she uses her Poison Cloud to clear a corner while throwing down a Toxic Screen to cut off long sightlines.

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Making her way to the site, she gets interrupted while trying to plant the SP1-K3 (Spike) by an enemy shooting at her in the corner obscured by the Poison Cloud. She deactivates the cloud to line up a quick headshot, whittling it down to a 1v2.

Viper’s abilities are closely tied to the amount of toxin she has in her reserves. Running low on fumes, her Toxic Screen comes down moments before planting the spike.

That’s when she uses her ultimate ability, Viper’s Pit, to engulf the spike and its surrounding area in a massive toxic cloud that stays up as long as she is in its radius.

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The Toxin meter is still regenerating even though her ultimate is being used. As soon as she steps out of the ultimate, a meter labeled ‘Smoke Integrity’ appears telling the player to “return to fuel” the cloud.

As soon as the last surviving member on the other team attempts to defuse the spike, their character model is highlighted to Viper since they’re within the ult’s umbrella.

Viper’s lore and personality

In the brief clip, Viper has a few lines of banter throughout the round which gives some hints as to who she is.

The American Agent sounds maniacal and vindictive, as she can be heard saying things like “no one can hold their breath forever” as well as “dead fool” moments after landing a headshot.

It’ll be hard to not make a comparison to Apex Legends’s Caustic, who has voice lines that similarly convey pleasure of seeing victims consumed by toxic fumes.

The Agent can be heard saying “don’t get in my way” while throwing down her ultimate, and later followed it up with a similar line.

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Viper has heavy Shego vibes from Disney Channel’s Kim Possible, not only in appearance and color scheme but also in her malicious demeanor.

With more characters slated to release when Valorant launches, expect more teases that give us a wider look into the band of Agents.