Overview
Viper is a unique controller in that she typically is selected more as a secondary controller and then used as a sentinel and a lurker more than she is used as your team’s primary smoker. The static nature of her set up prevents sudden executes from teams, which means you’ll need a more methodical approach. She’s an agent with a lot of creative utility and reward players who are good with exploiting timings to sneak behind enemy lines.
Role: Controller
Controllers are responsible for putting down smokes.
On defense, they drop smokes on entry angles where the enemy team is approaching from. They can also block enemy vision to create new angles for your team to push out aggressively or to hide in an unexpected angle.
On attack, they drop smokes on key defensive positions where enemies are likely to sit. Their goal is to limit the number of angles an entry player needs to be wary of while entering a site.
Tips and Tricks
Managing the energy on Poison Cloud [Q] and Toxic Screen [E] can be difficult for new Viper players -- it can be a lot to keep track of what is or isn’t up, so it may be easier to focus on using one at a time.
Toxic Screen [E] is a tell for enemies that you intend to attack a site. On offense, you can default to placing it in the same position every single round so that enemies are constantly guessing as to whether or not you are behind the curtain.
On defense, Toxic Screen [E] is a very powerful deterrent as it can block multiple points of entry on a site, and if you are forced to give up space, you can reactivate it later to help retake site or to help you defuse the spike.
Snake Bite [C] can be used to help clear corners -- it doesn’t deal a ton of damage but it makes enemies vulnerable, which will allow you to easily kill them if they swing out.
Snake Bite [C] is also comboed with Poison Cloud [Q] to set up lineups on the spike. You place the cloud on the spike and then activate it just before your lineup lands -- the decay damage from the cloud will lower their health bars enough to finish them with your C.
Viper’s Pit [R] is scary for enemies and foes alike to enter because of how it limits vision. Viper mains will often by a shorty or keep their classic out because it’s easier to hit shots with those guns, and enemies will be on 1 HP within seconds of entering the pit.
You can find Viper lineups here.
