Valorant is the first-person shooter game from the Creators of League of Legends — Riot. It took the world by storm when it was released in 2020 and has been one of the most-played FPS games since. What makes Valorant unique is the roster of their Agents with their own set of skills.
Mastering the agents is one of the keys to fully mastering and enjoying the game. This will prove difficult because unlocking agents in Valorant isn’t easy — or cheap. The agents are divided into four types: Duelist, Sentinel, Initiator, and Controller. We’ve got you covered if you want to learn more about Controllers.
Controllers are agents that play defense and are often in the back lines to utilize their abilities fully. The description in the game reads :
“Controllers are experts in slicing up dangerous territory to set their team up for success.”
This is how Riot describes Controllers. They obscure enemy vision and make them hesitant to commit to an area. They can hold down defenses well when their skills are used efficiently, especially when partnered with good Sentinels.
Using Controller agents allows you to determine and dictate the flow of the fight. As with other agent classes, each Controller is unique, and their skills vary from function to effect. From halting an assault to preventing escapes, Controllers must have a deep understanding of the map accompanied by good game sense to be an indispensable agents on the field.
If you’re considering using any of the controllers, read on, and we might just be able to tell you why you should start playing as a controller today.
Let’s check one of these Sentinels out and help you figure out if she will suit your playstyle.
Controller Viper
Viper is a chemist that hails from the USA. This hot but dangerous, Controller uses poison to weaken and kill her enemies on the battlefield. Her skill set also lets her set toggleable blinds and walls that also deal poison damage to any foe foolish enough to pass through.
She is easily one of the strongest Controllers in Valorant and has garnered many fans worldwide, being the most cosplayed female agent to date. Her sharp, green eyes and black, shiny hair make this babe a total badass, bringing pain and suffering to anyone who opposes her.
Read: Viper Smoke Setups on Lotus
Viper’s abilities are deadly and strong but are limited in use and can go empty if she doesn’t pay attention. Hence, this agent needs to pay attention to her utilities much more than the average agent. Her abilities make her shine in post-plant situations with a clutch or ace as her common gameplay.
Her survival is key to winning matches, so she isn’t one to charge head-on into battle but instead sets up her traps, looks for convenient lineups, and holds down a site with her skills. She is a dangerous agent whether she’s attacking or defending.
She’s not the best choice for new players, even if they are FPS veterans, since her skills require considerable map knowledge. But in the right hands, using Viper can easily gain you win streaks in your Competitive Matches.
If you’re considering controller Viper as your next agent but are intimidated and confused with her skillset, read on. We might make you consider her for your next match-up to get out of the Iron 3 sinkhole you’re in.
Passive Skills
Fuel
Viper’s Poison Cloud and Toxic Screen are skills she can activate and deactivate anytime, anywhere. These corrosive blinds require fuel and, if used together simultaneously, can deplete the fuel reserves much faster. Fret not, though, for the fuel refills when not in use. Viper has 100 fuel that takes 20 seconds to replenish from empty fully. This is indicated by the horizontal bar in the screen’s bottom center.
Toxins
Viper’s abilities that have Toxins inflict Decay, slowly reducing enemy players’ health to a maximum of 1hp. A red warning vignette and a scorching audio cue indicate this on the screen.
Read: Best Viper Wall Setups on Ascent
Toxins inflict 30 damage on contact and ten damage per second. This only affects enemies, making for some powerful pushing power for Viper’s teammates. However, when enemies leave the affected area, their health returns to its original state.
Skills
Snakebite – 200 credits
When you press C, Viper equips a poison launcher you can throw using the Fire Button. This skill bounces off walls and breaks upon contact with the ground.
A considerably large poison puddle then lingers in the ground for 6.5 seconds dealing 12 damage per second to anyone foolish enough to step over — including teammates.
Upon contact with an agent, Snakebite inflicts the Vulnerable status, which lasts for two seconds after leaving the puddle. Viper has two charges of Snakebite she can use per round; it’s not plentiful, so use it efficiently.
Snakebite is an effective tool to block off passageways and tunnels that enemies use to push — unless they’re foolish enough to step over it. This is also highly effective in flushing enemies out of hiding in corners, making for easy picking off.
Read: Best Viper Wall Setups on Bind
Enemies can either escape the poison puddle or stay in the spot. Either way, their survivability rate will be next to none. Using Snakebite to defend the bomb site to prevent anyone from diffusing the spike will make it worth your effort to study different lineups on the map.
You can also do the famous straight-up projectile action like Sova’s arrows. Stand on the spike, aim directly above at a 90-degree angle, and launch the poison. It will fall down after several seconds, giving you a chance at victory even if your team is wiped out.
Poison Cloud – 200 credits
When you press Q, Viper equips a gas emitter. This emitter is thrown to the ground and can be reused multiple times if there is fuel. Activating this skill by using it again will ignite a poison sphere with toxins around the emitter that remains active until you deactivate it or all fuel is consumed.
Poison Cloud has toxins that inflict Decay, so if an enemy is slowly passing through this cloud, it will take little to no effort to take them down due to their withered health. You can deactivate and reuse this skill after a 6-second cooldown and sufficient fuel.
Poison Cloud can be placed in corridors and choke points on different angles to confuse enemies during an aggressive assault. Enemies can still pass through the cloud, but few will risk getting Decay only to be surprised by multiple crosshairs aimed at them.
Another use of this skill is putting this on the planted spike. Any agent trying to diffuse the spike will get confused and may stop diffusing to check their surroundings altogether. This is a great ability for deterring attacks and locking down areas when defending. Poison cloud’s potential is limitless if you are creative enough to think of ways to maximize this skill’s value.
Toxic Screen – Free
This is the signature skill of Viper. Pressing E equips Viper with a gas emitter launcher. Pressing the Fire Button will deploy a long terrain-penetrating array of gas emitters on the ground.
If you press E again, it will activate Toxic Screen and deploy a tall wall of toxic gas with toxins from the emitters on the ground. This acts similar to Phoenix’s wall of fire, but Toxic Screen’s decay damage will recover when an enemy leaves the premise of the wall.
Read: Viper Best Walls and Smokes on Pearl (Defending)
Adjusting the vertical angle of the Toxic Screen can help you deploy your wall either on the heaven or the lower floor of a map like the A site in Ascent. Aim high when using this skill to ensure you can cover the full length of the skill. If you point your crosshair down, you will cut this ability short when aimed at the ground.
Toxic screen can easily block the enemies’ line of sight for quick pushes, planting, or retreats. Planting the spike may force your enemies through the wall, giving you and your teammates the advantage of surprise and a decayed foe.
You can deactivate and reactivate this skill multiple times during a match if there is sufficient fuel. Toxic screen can be reactivated 5.8 seconds after deactivating it, so make sure to time your usage.
This ability can only be set once, but it lasts for the entire duration of a round. One downside is that enemies will know where you will probably intend to commit based on the location of your Toxic Screen emitters.
Controller Viper’s Pit – 7 Ultimate Orbs
This is the Ultimate Skill of Viper. Pressing X will equip Viper with a chemical sprayer that flows outward from her in all directions. This toxic cloud will reduce any agents’ vision and slowly have their health to decay due to Toxins.
The cloud of toxic gas will stay indefinitely as long as Viper is inside the premises. While inside the cloud, Viper wears a full mask and can see enemies highlighted with red, like Reyna’s ultimate. When Viper steps out of the range of the ability, it will disappear after 15 seconds.
Viper’s Pit is versatile and can be used for many situations depending on your play style and strategy. It’s often used post-plant, where Viper will be lingering inside the green cloud of death, awaiting enemies desperate to try and diffuse the spike.
The price enemies will pay to get to the spike is trying to look around the green smoke with all but one hp. Equipped with powerful weapons like Judge and Odin can easily take out the enemies coming inside the cloud with very little risk to Viper. Sure, she isn’t invisible in the cloud, but being able to see better inside the gas with the ability to one-hit your enemies is nothing short of spectacular.
Viper Bonus Tips
- Snakebite damages anyone. This poison puddle can damage enemies and allies alike. This also means Viper isn’t safe and can receive damage from her utility but with less damage than others.
- Combine your Snakebite with Poison Cloud. The Poison cloud will cause decay damage but will not be able to kill you but only reduce your hp down to one. Having Snakebite simultaneously with Poison Cloud will give you bullet-free kills and can surely deter any enemy advances they have planned in that area.
- Toxic Screen can cover almost half of the map. This is one of the farthest-reaching skills in Valorant. Viper can place the walls up to the site, even from her spawn point. Enemies with a false sense of security behind your Toxic Wall will be taken by surprise when you suddenly lower the wall and mow them down.
- You can only use Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud when fuel is at least 20 units. Remember to deactivate either if it serves no tactical advantage to preserve your fuel for the actual situation it might be needed.
Is Viper For You?
Do you think Viper is for you? Her skill set requires you to have good game sense, study the maps intimately, and make countless trials and errors to ensure her skills are used efficiently. She is not an easy agent to play for beginners and often intimidates even casual gamers from using her.
There is an enormous weight on Viper’s shoulders, especially when defending the spike or site, so expect people to commit to your intentions and tactics. Additionally, Viper should prioritize using her ultimate as quickly as possible. So aside from getting kills, try to obtain the ultimate orbs scattered around the map to help your ultimate progress further.
If you like to use a poison-wielding agent that thrives in deterring attacks and killing enemies slowly and surely, Viper is the agent for you. If you invest enough hours, you will be an unstoppable force on the battlefield of Valorant’s world.
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