Viper drops some bombs in a new Valorant teaser

(Image credit: Riot Games)

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. Today it dropped a new one for Viper, who uses a secondary resource called fuel to deploy acid pools and poison gas bombs.

From our Valorant character guide, 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 on March 3 over coronavirus concerns—prudently, as it turns out. 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.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.