Changes to Cypher and Fade with patch 5.10

A few weeks ago, the developers of Valorant announced a Cypher buff, in the near future. The time is ripe, as changes are on the test server. The Agent with the Hat is not the only one to receive some corrections: Fade is also in the sights of Riot Games, and should be nerfed. The changes will be implemented with the 5.10 update. This new patch promises to be substantial, as it will also welcome a redesign of the game interface.

Before each major change to an agent, Riot Games has made it a habit to have the players evaluate the planned changes. This was the case for Chamber's nerfs last August. Cypher's future buffs and Fade's nerfs did not escape this. They were tested this weekend on the test server, as Jeff Landa announced on Twitter.

Cypher's buffs

Cypher is one of the first agents of Valorant. If he had his moment of glory, today he is abandoned by amateur and professional players. Proof of this is that at the last Valorant Champions, his selection rate was barely 5.8%. In order to remedy this lack of interest, the developers explain on Reddit want to make the setups of these threads less predictable and more rewarding to his ultimate.

• Concerning Trapwires :

In order to allow players to consider alternative placements of the wire, its length will be increased, from 1000 to 1500. This should also allow for better protection of the destructible areas to ensure the success of the trap.

• Concerning Neural Theft:

Cypher's ultimate has often been criticized, especially the short distance to a body that you have to be to activate it. Thus, the activation distance has been increased from 1200 to 1800. This change will give players more options for using the Neural Theft, and should also allow them to stay further back from dangerous lines when ultying.

Another big change will be made to this capacity. From now on, the skill will reveal enemies twice, with a delay of 4s between each revelation. In addition, the time restriction for casting the spell on corpses has been removed.

In order to make Cypher even more enjoyable to play, the developers also plan to some general corrections, this is particularly true around the silhouette of revealed enemies. When an opponent has been revealed and appears in your field of view, the silhouette will now disappear to reduce the confusion of having two representations of the same enemy.

Fade's nerfs

Unlike Cypher, Fade is one of the most present agents in the compositions. On a professional level, she has even become a reference: she was the second most selected character, with a selection rate of 53.49%, at the Valorant Champions. The effectiveness of Prowlers may explain her large representation in game, so the developers have chosen to revise this ability.

• Concerning the Prowlers:

To make this spell easier to dodge, the time of life of the Prowler, without trace, has been reduced from 3 to 2.5s. In order to allow opponents to better counter the creature, the developers have improved its hitbox. Also, the duration of close-up vision is reduced from 3.5 to 2.75s and the time of the bite after reaching the target increases from 0.4s to 0.6s. In addition, lurkers will no longer inflict debuffs on targets that teleport before the animation ends.

• Concerning Nightfall:

There is only one change to the ultimate Fade: it concerns its price. From now on, it will take 8 ultimate points, instead of 7, to use it.

It is important to note that these changes have only been tested for the time being. Some changes may not appear in the next Valorant update, if they are not deemed relevant or if the developers reverse a decision. We will have confirmations at the patch 5.10, planned on Tuesday 15th November.