The closed beta for Valorant currently gives access to ten different characters, or Agents, to play as. Each of these Agents fits into one of the four roles: Sentinel, Controller, Initiator, and Duelist. All of the characters accomplish the basic tasks of their class in a different way, making for a complex and varied gameplay experience.
Cypher is one of the Sentinel characters and is one of the most unique characters in the game when it comes to his abilities. Let's take a look at some tips for getting the most out of Cypher:
10 CYBER CAGE
One of Cypher's gadgets, Cyber Cage, is another smoke grenade style ability; it blankets an area in visual cover. The difference with Cypher's is that he tosses out some kind of device that sits on the ground, and he has to manually activate it by aiming at it and pressing the button.
9 SPYCAM
One super unique ability available to Cypher is his Spycam. This is a camera that can be placed on just about any wall, and Cypher can then activate it to see what the camera sees, like a surveillance camera. This can really be a nice way to get an extra pair of eyes on a certain location.
8 TRAPWIRE
Cypher's Trapwire is the perfect tool to watch a flank. This is a device that can be set up on, again, just about any wall, and is invisible to enemies until they get super close to it. If they happen to pass through the Trapwire, they'll be slowed and you'll know somebody's on their way that isn't supposed to be.
Also worthy of note, Cypher can set up two different Trapwires at the same time, allowing him to cover two different routes at the same time.
7 NEURAL THEFT
Cypher's Ultimate ability is called Neural Theft. This ability can only be activated when there's a dead enemy in front of you. Once activated, Neural Theft will show the location of all of the remaining enemies for a period of time, giving your team all of the info they need to (hopefully) make quick work of the rest of the enemy team.
6 CYBER CAGE EARLY SETUP
Because Cyber Cages can be set on the ground and left for a time before being activated, you can set an area up to be blanketed by these in a certain way before there's any danger of enemies around whatsoever. This allows you to really plan ahead with Cypher instead of having to react to what enemies are doing.
5 CYBER CAGE PUSH/DEFENSE
These Cyber Cages, like every other ability that creates a similar effect, can be used in a myriad of ways. If your team is trying to push but an enemy has a crucial sightline, preventing you from moving up, these can be used to negate that sightline's usefulness giving your team a chance to move forward.
On the flip side, this can be used to force attackers to push into a room blind, making them easy pickings, as long as the defenders aren't in predictable positions.
4 TRAPWIRE UNWATCHED LANE
Trapwires are a pretty straightforward gadget, and most people are going to use them to cover an area that isn't being actively watched by anybody on the team. These can easily be set up in a way where they're going to give you intel if an enemy is using a flank route, and can save a lot of those situations where you get shot in the back of the head without a moment to react.
3 SPYCAM FOR ANOTHER UNWATCHED LANE
Similarly, the Spycam can be used to watch an unwatched lane, though this definitely requires more active participation on Cypher's part; instead of setting-and-forgetting a device, if he wants to make use of the camera, he'll need to watch it himself.
At the same time, the camera is going to give you a lot more intel than the Trapwire is going to, like how many enemies there are, which characters they are, and what weapons they're using.
2 NEURAL THEFT CAN CREATE SURGICAL GAMEPLANS
Neural Theft, if used on a team that is coordinated and on the same page, can effectively end a round, especially when on defense. Once your team has all of the intel they need, they can set up their positions in a way that, wherever the enemy goes, they're walking into a trap. The enemy literally cannot surprise you at that point, and once you're in a fight with that much confidence on your side, it's tough to lose.
1 PRIORITY SHOULD BE STAYING ALIVE FOR UTILITY
Cypher has a staggering amount of utility at his disposal, and is one of the characters that should do their absolute best to stay alive towards the late-round; that utility can make or break a round. That's not to say Cypher can't take gunfights, but he generally shouldn't be in the hands of your most aggressive player. Keep Cypher around, let him communicate the myriad of intel he's going to have access to, and let the aggressive fraggers use that to their advantage.