Valorant Cypher Agent Guide | Abilities and How to play

Everything you need to know about Cypher

Cypher is a very good agent once mastered. He is one of the best intel gatherers and can find out where enemy agents are even when he is on the other side of the map and does not have to risk his own life doing so.

Is Cypher right for you?

Cypher is one of the harder agents on the roster to learn and play properly, with the key to Cypher being the ability to multitask quickly and efficiently. You don’t want to use your Spycam (E) when you are out in the open and die because of it.

Cypher is not an agent to be picked up lightly and is arguably the hardest Sentinel to learn how to play correctly, so we would recommend taking Cypher into unrated games as well as The Range to get used to how much you need to be constantly doing.

Cypher’s abilities

Trapwire (C)

How to use Trapwire (C)

Trapwire (C) is a destructible tripwire that reveals any enemies that walk through it. Once enemies walk through it, the Trapwire (C) is revealed to them and if they do not destroy it in time, enemy agents who triggered it will be dazed (concussed) for 3 seconds.

Trapwire (C) can be redeployed and picked up, so it can be reused to set up on another site if defending. Cypher can have up to two charges of Trapwire (C) at any one time, with both costing 200 each. It also will do 5 damage so you may get lucky and get a kill!

When and where to use Trapwire (C)

We recommend using this ability to block entryways and chokepoints to find out exactly where enemies are pushing from when defending, especially as this means Cypher can play safe and gather information without risking his own life.

You should also mix up where you place your tripwires as they are destructible, if you place them in the same areas every time, enemies will predict this and destroy them before they are triggered.

Cyber Cage (Q)

How to use Cyber Cage (Q)

The best way to think of Cyber Cage (Q) is of a hollow tube shape. Anyone inside does not get nearsighted but they do get slowed when coming in contact with one of the edges. An audio cue is also played when they pass through one of the edges, so make sure you are listening out for that!

It is a decent smoke as it lasts longer (7 seconds) than other vision prohibiting abilities from non-Controller agents, such as Jett’s Cloudburst (C) and can be activated after being placed by Cypher.

It costs 100 credits and Cypher can have two charges at any one time so do not be reserved when using Cyber Cage (Q).

When and where to use Cyber Cage (Q)

Use Cyber Cage (Q) in conjunction with Cypher’s Trapwire (C) and wait for the Trapwire (C) to be triggered before activating the Cyber Cage (Q). This will make it a lot harder for enemies to destroy the Trapwire (C) before they are stunned.

You can activate Cyber Cage (Q) from a safe location as you don’t need to see the Cyber Cage (Q) to use it. It is very good for distractions, especially when pushing on attack, you can bait and fake one site whilst your team rotates!

Spycam (E)

How to use Spycam (E)

Spycam (E) is Cypher’s security camera. He places the Spycam (E) wherever he wants and can then see what is going on from his camera’s point of view. Cypher can also shoot a dart which marks any enemy it hits and reveals their location.

Spycam (E) is a free ability as it is his signature ability and has a 15 second cooldown if recalled, and a 45 second cooldown if it is destroyed by an enemy. The dart’s tracking also has a 6 second cooldown.

When and where to use Spycam (E)

Spycam (E) is the unique part of Cypher’s kit and you want to play around scouting out enemies with it. Like Cypher’s Trapwire (C) you need to avoid placing the Spycam (E) in the same place each round as enemies will end up looking for it and you will get no benefit out of it.

Enemies spotted by Spycam (E) show up on the minimap, meaning you do not always need to be using the Spycam (E) to spot enemies. This is very good if your camera is in an obscure position as you can keep it there all round to see how many enemies are on the map.

Neural Theft (X)

How to use Neural Theft (X)

Neural Theft (X) can be used on a dead enemy to locate all alive enemy agents. This is very useful for seeing if the enemy team is rotating when attacking. This only happens once however, so enemies will not always be where they were pinged to be!

When and where to use Neural Theft (X)

You need to make sure you stay alive until at least one enemy agent dies so you can use your ultimate.

Cypher is very good at figuring out if enemies are rotating or committing to one site, so if your team gets an early pick on an enemy, use Neural Theft (X) to see if they are rotating or waiting for your team to use all of your utility.

Best and worst team compositions for Cypher

The best team compositions for Cypher

The best team composition if you are planning on locking in Cypher looks like this:

• Cypher
• Phoenix
• Viper
• Brimstone
• Jett

Phoenix and Jett are both Duelists who are very good at defending spike sites with Phoenix’s Blaze (C) and Jett’s Cloudburst (C). Viper and Brimstone both being Controllers allows for Cypher’s team to safely push onto spike sites when attacking, or provide enough cover for multiple spike sites when defending.

The worst team compositions for Cypher

The worst team composition for a Cypher could look like this:

• Cypher
• Raze
• Skye
• Reyna
• Breach

Although this team is very good when attacking, except for the fact that they have no Controllers for smokes, they will struggle when defending. Cypher excels at defending a site, but Skye’s ultimate Seekers (X) does a similar job as Cypher’s but only for 3 enemies- which can often be a waste if they overlap.

Reyna and Raze as Duelists do not provide much in terms of defending, especially as Raze’s Boom Bot (C) is her only real deterrent. Breach is very good for pushing, but needs to be fairly close to a pushing enemy team to have full effect.

The Best and worst maps for Cypher

Cypher enjoys maps with tight angles to put his traps so enemies cannot see them, as well as a large amount of height so he can place his Spycam (E) and see the whole enemy team. He struggles on maps where there isn’t much flexibility for his Trapwire (C) placement.

The best map for Cypher

Split is arguably by far the best map to play Cypher. Other agents such as Killjoy remain good on Split but are nowhere near Cypher’s level. When enemies are pushing onto B site they only have one avenue to push down. This means Cypher can set up all of his traps around that and ruin the enemies!

On attack Cypher can use his abilities to prevent enemy flanks from mid, especially as Split revolves around controlling the middle of the map. This is until he can set up on a spike site after planting and defend it.

The worst map for Cypher

The worst map for Cypher is Breeze. It has a significant amount of open areas that extend past the range of his Trapwire (C) and if the enemies force a push onto a site, both sites are somewhat hard to retreat from.

On attack the push onto Breeze sites is significantly far so Cypher is somewhat useless for the first minute of each round minimum, especially as there are multiple angles on each site an enemy can flank from, he has to spread his set up.

Best and worst guns for Cypher

The best guns to use when playing Cypher

Cypher wants to hang back when attacking and hold the flank, as well as Operating from a distance on defence so it would make sense for his best weapons to fall into a similar category. They go as follows:

• Operator
• Vandal/Phantom
• Marshal
• Guardian

The theme these guns all have is that they are very good at longer ranges. The Operator is a no-brainer, especially as Cypher loves to hold angles at the back of the site when defending, and flanks when attacking. The Vandal is better at long range over the Phantom but it is down to personal preference.

The Marshal does a similar job to the Operator, if you can’t afford an Operator. The Guardian is very effective in early rounds with it’s one shot headshot potential.

The worst guns to use when playing Cypher

Cypher is not an entry type of agent, you should very rarely be in close quarters with Cypher. These weapons whilst viable on Cypher, if bought mean that you are playing him wrong:

• Stinger
• Spectre
• Judge
• Frenzy

The Stinger and Frenzy are guns that should never be bought on Cypher, especially as he is meant to play at the back of his team. The Spectre is more viable if you cannot afford a Vandal/Phantom and you are unable to play in open spaces.

The Judge is similar to the Spectre if you need to hold a tight angle or a flank, but avoid buying it, even though it is a good reactionary tool if you see someone approaching you whilst using your Spycam (E).

Defending Tips for Cypher

• Learn lineups for unbreakable Trapwire (C) placements. These sound overpowered, but they are simply places that Cypher places the Trapwire (C) where the enemies can only destroy them by walking into them
• Play passively! Cypher is Sentinel and they are defensive demons. If you die early in the round, all of your setup is for nothing and you have no information you can provide your team with.

Attacking Tips for Cypher

• Defend the flank. You do not want to be rushing in as a Cypher on attack, so if you watch behind your team just in case an enemy is flanking, you won’t get caught out and die.
• Stay alive! This is crucial as you will be the most important agent on the team when defending a spike site. Your ultimate Neural Theft (X) also revolves around this.

There you go, the only Cypher guide you will need to read, let us know whether you are going to pick up Valorant’s very own security guard or not!