A week ago, Riot Games released a brief teaser showcasing the talents of Phoenix, one of the first eight characters who will be available in its upcoming competitive shooter Valorant (opens in new tab). Today it dropped a new one for Viper, who uses a secondary resource called fuel to deploy acid pools and poison gas bombs.
VIPER /// United States“Welcome to my world!”#VALORANT pic.twitter.com/oDo8jEEDfKMarch 12, 2020
From our Valorant character guide (opens in new tab), here's the quick rundown of what Viper brings to the party:
Every shooter needs a fighter who loves the smell of their own noxious gas, and Viper is Valorant's. Her abilities also use a secondary resource called fuel.
Abilities:
- Snakebite - Fire a projectile that creates a pool of acid.
- Poison Cloud - Throw a gas bomb that emits a cloud of poisonous smoke at the cost of fuel. You can retrieve the gas bomb and throw it again after a short cooldown.
- Toxic Screen - Creates a line of gas emitters that can be activated to create a wall of toxic gas at the cost of fuel.
- Viper's Pit (ult) - Creates a poison cloud that blankets a large area, letting Viper easily pick off enemies trapped within it.
Riot was planning to show off Valorant in a hands-on event this month, but cancelled it (opens in new tab) on March 3 over coronavirus concerns—prudently, as it turns out (opens in new tab). That could mean we'll see an uptick in the pace of Valorant reveals, although clearly it hasn't started yet.
Valorant is expected to be out sometime this summer, and will be preceded by a beta.