Sentinel

Cypher: abilities and tips

Cypher is a Moroccan information broker and intel Sentinel: trapwires, a sound-alert smoke cage and a camera hold a site almost alone and reveal what the enemy is doing.

Origin: Morocco
Release: June 2, 2020, patch 1.0

Playstyle

Cypher is played through preparation. Before the round, you place Trapwires, Cyber Cages and the Spycam to cover your accesses, then wait for information. When a wire reveals an enemy, you know where they are and your team can act without opening a duel. He shines on defense, where he holds a site with few players, and in post-plant, where he guards the retake paths. His weak point is time: a team that rushes fast catches you before everything is in place. You pick up your gear to change sites, but every rotation costs a lot.

Abilities

Key CBasic

Trapwire

200 credits · 2 charges

You place an invisible wire between two walls. An enemy who crosses it is slowed and revealed after a short delay, unless they destroy it first. You can pick it up to place it elsewhere. Two wires cover two accesses, or the same access in depth.

Key numbers

Setup delay: 0.7 s (0.9 s before patch 13.00)
Maximum length: 15 m
Slow: 50%

Vary your placements from one round to the next: a player who knows your wire spots it and breaks it without being revealed.
Hide the wire behind a corner or some scenery so the enemy crosses it before seeing it, and keep your weapon ready to punish.

Key QBasic

Cyber Cage

100 credits · 2 charges

You instantly throw a cage that blocks vision. When an enemy walks through it, a sound alert warns you. You use it to cut an angle, cover a plant or hide a fallback. It no longer slows enemies since patch 0.50.

Key numbers

Duration: 7.25 s
Does not slow enemies

Keep a cage to cover your fallback or an ally's when a duel goes badly, rather than using it at the start of the round.
Activate the cage on an enemy held by your wire: their vision is cut while you punish them.

Key ESignature

Spycam

1 free charge per round · 1 charge · Cooldown: 60 s

You place a camera, then control it remotely. From the camera, you fire a tracking dart that periodically reveals the position of the enemy hit. The camera has very little HP and can be picked up to be placed elsewhere.

Key numbers

Recharge if picked up: 15 s
Recharge if destroyed: 60 s
HP: 1
Dart: reveals the enemy hit every 2 s
Dart recharge: 6 s

Place the camera up high and out of the immediate line of fire, otherwise a single enemy shot destroys it and you wait 60 s.
Pick up the camera before changing sites: the recharge is 15 s versus 60 s if it is destroyed.

Key XUltimate

Neural Theft

7 ultimate points

You target an enemy's corpse to retrieve the position of their whole team still alive. The reveal happens twice. So you need a body in range and a team ready to take advantage of the information.

Key numbers

Cast range: 18 m
First reveal: 2 s later
Second reveal: 4 s later
Reveals living enemies twice

Use the ultimate when your team is ready to act (retake, site entry): otherwise the enemy has time to move.
Take the corpse from cover, because the channel leaves you exposed for a few seconds.

Strengths

He holds a site almost alone: wires, cages and camera watch the accesses while the rest of the team plays elsewhere.
The camera gives continuous information without exposing Cypher, and its darts reveal an enemy at regular intervals.
Wires and camera can be picked up and replaced: you can reuse the gear during a round or change sites.
Neural Theft reveals the whole enemy team twice, which gives a precise retake or rotation.

Weaknesses

He needs time to set everything up: a fast rush catches him before his traps are in place.
Once his wires and camera are destroyed, he loses almost all his value and his reinstall time is long.
Every rotation costs a lot, because all his gear is tied to a specific site.
Neural Theft requires an enemy corpse: the team must first get a kill for it to be useful.

Tips

Learn several wire placements per map and change from one round to the next to keep an informed player from predicting them.
On an eco, favor the Trapwire over the Cyber Cage: it gives information and slows the enemy.
Play mid or back with the team on attack, and place wires on the retake paths after the Spike plant.
When a wire signals an enemy, take the angle with a counter-strafe before shooting, to hit from the very first shot.
Use your camera to aim with the dart before a duel: a revealed enemy is easier to shoot.

The aim to train

The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.

Static
Clicking on static targets
Cypher waits for the enemy on precise angles: your flicks on stationary targets decide the duel after a wire signal.
Drills to improve
Precise
Smooth precision tracking
After a reveal, you have to track a slow target precisely, especially an enemy slowed by your wire.
Drills to improve