Will upcoming Cypher fans help him compete with Chamber?

Finally some love for this man.

Riot Games is making changes to some of the least and most chosen agents in Valorant.

The Valorant Patch 5.10 Public Beta Environment Notes list an extensive changelog of cypher buffs and fade nerfs – with potentially big implications for their place in the meta.

While Fade is currently one of the most popular agents in the game in both pro and casual play, Cypher has endured ever since. Part of Valorant’s original agent roster, the Moroccan Guardian became a victim of power sneaking as new agents were added to the game.

Cypher buffs and fade nerfs are coming in Valorant patch 5.10

cipher

safety wire

• Increased maximum trapwire length from 1000 to 1500

Neural Theft

• Neural Theft now reveals enemies twice. There is a four-second delay between reveals
• Removed the time limit for casting on enemy corpses
• Maximum cast range increased from 1200 to 1800

life quality

• Updated the yellow silhouette used for Cypher’s reveal on Spycam and Neural Theft
• The yellow silhouette now disappears when the revealed enemy becomes visible to you to reduce confusion when you see two depictions of the enemy in different locations
• The yellow silhouette now starts out darker and fades faster to better distinguish it from an actual enemy
• Cypher’s placed utility is no longer destroyed by allies’ AOE damage

Cypher’s Trapwire and Neural Theft Ultimate will be improved. The longer trapwire length opens up more opportunities for trip placement, so his setups should become less predictable.

“We’re hoping to open up new Trapwire setups and disrupt familiar play patterns,” Riot said.

Neural Theft now provides more valuable information about enemy positions with two pings instead of one. Previously, the Ultimate was severely lacking in information about enemy setups, only revealing opponents for a split second and not accounting for repositioning.

Cypher can also now cast Neural Theft on any enemy corpse, regardless of when it died. He can also do this from a greater distance, potentially allowing him to remain more confident while casting.

It remains to be seen if the changes will help Cypher compete with Chamber, an agent-turned-sentinel on many maps.

Former M3 Champions player Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin doesn’t seem to think so. “It feels like nothing has changed,” he continued Twitter. “Cypher will not overtake Chamber. But the longer length of Trapwire is a good buff in another way.”

fading

Prowler

• Duration reduced from 3 to 2.5 seconds
• Bite delay after reaching target increased from 0.4 to 0.6 seconds
• Hitbox improvements
• Reduced close-sight duration on hit from 3.5 seconds to 2.75 seconds
• Prowlers will now fizzle out and no longer be nerfed instead of nerfing their target if they teleport away before it finishes its animation

nightfall

• Cost increased from 7 to 8 ultimate points

“Fade’s Prowlers was a versatile and difficult-to-play ability that we’re looking to sharpen with these changes,” Riot said.

“The duration changes encourage Fade to be more aware of the areas she sweeps, while the other adjustments to the ability are meant to help enemies on the opposite side.”

The changes are reminiscent of the nerfs to Sova in patch 4.08. Owl Drone’s duration was similarly reduced, forcing Sova to use it more judiciously.

The changes also affect a very specific interaction between Chamber and the Prowler. Previously, Chamber was short-sighted once bitten by the Prowler, and he remained affected by the debuff even after teleporting away.

Now the animation must be completed for the debuff to be applied.

Fade was one of the most effective counters against Chamber, and the nerfs could potentially give the sleek Sentinel even more room to run amok.

You can read the full change notes here.

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