Though it wasn’t mentioned in the Patch 3.01 notes, a subtle Viper change should greatly improve the agent’s gameplay.
VALORANT analyst and streamer Jakub “Lothar” Szygulski showcased a tweak to Viper’s ultimate, posting a video of his findings earlier today. Assuming it’s not a bug, Viper’s Pit now deploys from your crosshairs’ position instead of where you’re standing.
In previous patches, Viper players could choose where the center of her ultimate would be by aiming the cursor. But the smoke would still start from where the player was standing, eventually filling out with the cursor’s location as the center. Patch 3.01 seemingly changed Viper’s Pit to make the crosshairs’ position the center and spawn point.
The biggest change this has on Viper is that enemies will no longer know her location. While opponents could previously spam the ultimate’s spawn location and snag a kill, Viper can now get away with casting the ability from an unknown location. This offers far less intel to the opposing squad and opens up numerous possibilities for Viper players. It’s now a lot easier to cast the ultimate as a fake, for example, forcing enemies to rotate to the pit while Viper runs to the opposite site. With her location unknown, enemies will take longer to realize that she’s not hiding in her ultimate.
The tweak should also improve Viper’s quality of life, making it less complex of an ability to use. Wherever you place your crosshairs is where the ultimate will deploy, allowing you to cast it from cover and not compromise positioning.
Since the change wasn’t mentioned in the patch notes, it’s possible that this was an unintended buff. But Riot will likely address it either way.
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