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Road2Radiant

Controller

Viper: abilities and tips

Viper is an American chemist who controls space with walls and clouds of toxic gas: she cuts a site in two and punishes enemies who enter it or try to defuse.

Origin
United States
Release
June 2, 2020, patch 1.0
Viper

Playstyle

Viper plays zone and duration. Your Toxic Screen cuts a site in two from the start of the round and your Poison Cloud stays in place until the end, as long as you have fuel left. Both draw from the same gauge: you only turn them on when you need them, then shut them off to recharge. On attack, you place the screen, advance with your team behind the gas and lock down the plant. On defense, you delay the entry and punish those who commit to it. After the plant, Snake Bite and Viper's Pit make the defuse costly. She demands precise lineups on every map and a cool head with her gauge.

Abilities

Key CBasic

Snake Bite

300 credits · 1 charge

You throw a chemical grenade that bursts on the ground and leaves a lingering zone. It damages anyone who stays in it and makes them vulnerable, so they take increased damage from all sources, including your allies.

Key numbers

  • Zone duration: 6.5 s
  • Damage: 12.5 per second
  • Vulnerable: 2 s
  • Throw it on the planted Spike to stop the defuse or make it costly in HP.
  • Use it to push out an enemy stuck in an angle, then take advantage of their vulnerability to finish the duel.
  • It costs 300 credits: on an eco, only buy it if you need to force a defuser or push a player out, otherwise keep your credits.
Key QBasic

Poison Cloud

200 credits · 1 charge

You place a gas emitter that stays until the end of the round. When you reactivate it, it creates a cloud of toxic smoke that eats away at enemies' health, at the cost of your fuel. You can pick it up and redeploy it elsewhere.

Key numbers

  • Stays in place until the end of the round
  • Can be reactivated 5 s after being turned off
  • Turn the cloud on only when you need it, to keep fuel for the retake.
  • Lob it with alternate fire to place it on a precise spot without exposing yourself.
  • Combine it with Snake Bite on the Spike: the defuser loses health and has to back off.
Key ESignature

Toxic Screen

1 free charge per round · 1 charge

You fire a launcher that travels across the field and drops a long line of emitters. When you reactivate the ability, they form a wall of toxic gas that blocks vision and eats away at the health of anyone who passes through. It uses fuel.

Key numbers

  • Can be reactivated 5 s after being turned off
  • Fuel: 12 s of activity, 8.5 s with the cloud active at the same time
  • Place your screen to cut the site in two: your team advances in the shade of the gas, away from the most dangerous angles.
  • Check the minimap before firing to cover as many angles as possible, because the wall does not move once placed.
  • Shut the gas off as soon as you no longer need it: fuel recharges in the meantime.
Key XUltimate

Viper's Pit

9 ultimate points

You vaporize a large chemical cloud around you. It makes enemies inside it nearsighted and eats away at their health. It stays as long as you are inside, and disappears a few seconds after you leave. Hold the key to dissipate it earlier.

Key numbers

  • Windup: 6 s
  • Lasts as long as she stays inside, 8 s if she leaves
  • Deploy it during the Spike plant so the defuser has to cross the cloud.
  • Stay in the cloud as long as the fight lasts: leaving it starts the 8 s countdown.
  • Use it on a retake to close off a site while your team gets back.
Passive

Toxic

A fuel gauge recharges continuously and powers your smokes. Your gases apply Decay: enemies lose HP on entry, then continuously. The loss lasts as long as they stay in the gas.

Key numbers

  • Fuel: 100 at the start
  • Fills from 0 to 100 in 30 s
  • Toxin: 10 HP on contact then 10 HP per second, 1.5 s effect
  • Watch the gauge: if you turn on both smokes at the same time, it empties twice as fast.
  • Shut the gas off when the action is over to regain fuel before the next fight.

Strengths

  • The gas from Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud makes enemies lose HP as they pass through: entering through her smokes costs health, which is not the case with regular smokes.
  • A single well-placed screen cuts a site in two. The same line can serve on attack or defense, depending on the round.
  • Poison Cloud can be picked up and redeployed, and the fuel gauge recharges: you can reopen and close your smoke several times in a round.
  • After the plant, Snake Bite makes enemies vulnerable and Viper's Pit wraps them in gas: the defuser has to push through continuous damage.
  • Viper's Pit stays active as long as she stays in it: on a retake or in a post-plant, she holds a site without spending credits, since the ultimate is free.

Weaknesses

  • Toxic Screen does not move once placed: a bad lineup or a poorly chosen line costs the whole round.
  • Both smokes share the same gauge: turning them on together empties it twice as fast, so you have to choose what you cover.
  • She has no mobility and no information: she depends on her lineups and a teammate to know where the enemies are.
  • The gas damage is lower than before (the initial Decay is 10 HP since patch 11.08): you can force through a cloud if you expect it.
  • Snake Bite costs 300 credits for a single charge: it weighs on the economy.

Tips

  1. Learn the lineups for your Toxic Screen on each map: a well-placed wall covers more angles than a wall thrown in a hurry.
  2. Shut your smokes off when you do not need them: the gauge recharges in the meantime, and it keeps you from running dry at the moment of the retake.
  3. After the plant, turn on the cloud on the Spike when you hear the defuse start: the defuser loses HP and has to back off.
  4. Save Viper's Pit for the plant or the retake: it blocks vision and eats away at the health of anyone inside, but it disappears 8 s after you leave.
  5. For aim, work on precise clicks from inside the gas: you often shoot from the smoke at targets coming through a fixed angle.
  6. On an eco, buy Poison Cloud (200 credits) or nothing: Toxic Screen is already free.

The aim to train

The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.

  • Static

    Clicking on static targets

    From your wall or your cloud, you wait for enemies on a known angle: clean flicks on a stationary target make the difference at first contact.

    Drills to improve

  • Precise

    Smooth precision tracking

    On defense, you hold precise lines through the gas and follow the heads that come back out: precision tracking helps you finish the duel.

    Drills to improve
Measure these skills with the benchmark

Synergies

Other agents in this role

Train the aim Viper needs

Sources

Updated on October 13, 2026

Data from patch 13.06. Names, art and weapon stats: Riot Games, via valorant-api.com.