Cypher — VALORANT's Flank-Insurance Sentinel

• CTrapwiretrap

  EQUIP a trapwire. FIRE to place a destructible and covert trapwire at the targeted location, creating a line that spans between the placed location and the wall opposite. Enemy players who cross a trapwire will be Slowed and Revealed after a short period if they do not destroy the device in time. This ability can be picked up to be REDEPLOYED.

• QCyber Cagesmoke

  INSTANTLY toss the cyber cage in front of Cypher. ACTIVATE to create a zone that blocks vision and plays an audio cue when enemies pass through it.

• ESpycamrecon

  EQUIP a spycam. FIRE to place the spycam at the targeted location. RE-USE this ability to take control of the camera's view. While in control of the camera, FIRE to shoot a marking dart. This dart will Reveal the location of any player struck by the dart. This ability can be picked up to be REDEPLOYED.

• XNeural Theftrecon

  INSTANTLY use on a targeted dead enemy to download information on their team. After a brief delay, the location of all living enemy players will be Revealed twice.

Riot's notes from patch 1.01 to 13.06 change Cypher in 8 patches. The latest is patch 13.00, published 2026-06-23.

1. Patch 13.002026-06-23

   Trapwire

   • Reduced windup from .9s to .7s.
   Why, in Riot's words

   Sentinels serve an important role in the VALORANT tactical loop by punishing attackers who ignore macro strategy and instead opt for repeated, low information 5-player site hits. We believe VALORANT is best when strategy is mixed. These changes are aimed at improving overall Sentinel power so they can better serve their purpose in keeping disrespectful attackers honest, as well as improve their kill potential when anchoring sites alone.

2. Patch 11.082025-10-14

   Added stealthing functionality

   • When the camera is active, there will be a louder persistent camera audio for enemies with a 12m range
   • Cooldown when destroyed is increased from45s→to60s

   Windup decreased

   • PC1.5s→to0.9s
   • Console2.5→to1.9s
   • Players are no longer revealed after 0.5 seconds of the tripwire winding up
   • Players are tagged + slowed by 50% when chained
   • If you move more than 4m outwards from the wire it will now immediately zap you instead of pulling you back
   Why, in Riot's words

   Inactive camera will be revealed to enemies when you are within 8 meter radius of the camera, and will also have an accompanying audio tell

3. Patch 8.082024-04-30

   CTrapwire

   • Re-arm time increased1→to2s
   • Slow on Trapwire reduced2→to1.25s
   Why, in Riot's words

   Updates to Cypher’s Trapwire (C) gives enemies more time to deal with it after it has been triggered while the reduction in slow duration provides those caught a slightly better chance to use movement to avoid death.

4. Patch 7.092023-10-31

   CTrapwire

   • Decreased the time until the trap concusses a captured enemy3→to1.5 seconds
   • Duration of tag slow when hit by the trap increased0.75→to2 seconds
   Why, in Riot's words

   These changes force attackers to actively destroy traps to break Cypher’s setups and push interactions with utility like Prowlers (C) and Trailblazer (Q) more in Cypher’s favor. In addition, the potency of the traps when they snag an enemy has been increased slightly to make sure opponents have to respect their threat.

   After concussing an enemy or an enemy in the trap being killed, the Trapwire (C) no longer destroys itself but instead re-arms after 0.5 seconds, allowing it to ensnare another enemy.

5. Patch 7.072023-10-03

   • Neural Theft (X) now completes even if Cypher dies after casting.

6. Patch 5.122022-12-06

   CTrapwire

   • Health increased1→to20
   Why, in Riot's words

   Destroying Rendezvous teleport anchor now disables it for the remainder of the round, instead of being placed on a cooldown.

7. Patch 5.102022-11-15

   Trapwire

   • Maximum Trapwire length increased1000→to1500

   Neural Theft

   • Now reveals enemies two times. There is a four second delay between the reveals.
   • Time restriction to cast on enemy corpses has been removed.
   • Maximum cast distance increased1200→to1800

   Quality of Life

   • Updated the yellow silhouette used for Cypher’s reveal on Spycam and Neural Theft.
   • Cypher’s placed utility is no longer destroyed by allies’ AOE damage.
   Why, in Riot's words

   Removing the time restriction on enemy corpses should make his Ultimate more accessible than it has been in the past and allow for Cypher to feel more agency when he initiates Neural Theft, while adding a second ping should create a clearer period of time where Cypher is pulling the strings, taking in the information on the enemies initial location and setting up strategic moves based on the pressure of the second. We hope that these updates get Cypher mains out there coming up with new setups for their information webs and that, when paired with upcoming updates to Chamber, help him reclaim a compelling spot amongst his peers.

   Yellow silhouette now starts dimmer and fades faster to make it more distinguishable from an actual enemy.

8. Patch 1.042020-07-21

   • Cyber Cage can now be picked up during the buy phase
   Why, in Riot's words

   When you really think about an FPS, you’ll notice you spend an awful amount of time looking at your arms...like all the time. Before launch, we intended to increase the fidelity of Brimstone's arms to match the overall quality of the game. We did it—now look at those guns!

What role is Cypher?

Sentinel. Riot describes the role: “Sentinels are defensive experts who can lock down areas and watch flanks, both on attacker and defender rounds.”

What are Cypher’s abilities?

C — Trapwire, Q — Cyber Cage, E — Spycam and X — Neural Theft, the last being the ultimate.

What does Cypher’s ultimate do?

Neural Theft, in Riot’s words: “INSTANTLY use on a targeted dead enemy to download information on their team. After a brief delay, the location of all living enemy players will be Revealed twice.”

When did Riot last change Cypher?

Patch 13.00, published 2026-06-23 — the latest of 8 patches that change Cypher in Riot’s notes from 1.01 to 13.06.

Is Cypher changed in patch 13.06?

Yes — 2 changes in Riot’s patch 13.06 notes.

Which other Sentinels are there?

6 more in Riot’s current roster: Chamber, Deadlock, Killjoy, Sage, Veto and Vyse.