Viper is one of the best controller agents in VALORANT, who can win you many games if played effectively. This article will cover all the essential setups an aspiring Viper main can look forward to for Fracture.
VALORANT is a tactical shooter, with each player properly fulfilling a specific role in the team. So, while picking Viper, you must first know about her abilities, role in the team, playstyle, and how you can utilize her effectively to secure victory for your team.
Viper
Introduction
Viper is classified as a Controller agent. Viper’s kit focuses on taking control of the battlefield, emphasizing supporting the rest of the team by blocking the enemy’s vision and delaying the enemy with her poison.
In a tactical shooter like VALORANT, maps have open sightlines and multiple points of entry, making both defending and attacking hard because of so many angles. While defending the site, Viper can block off the choke and alternate pathways to keep enemies at a disadvantage. While attacking, she can split the site with her toxic screen, denying enemies vision from their secure positions. She can also use Snakebite lineups to pull off some big-brain plays.
Abilities
Abilities
- Snake Bite (Basic): When C is pressed, it equips the Snake Bite. Fire to launch a projectile that explodes into a pool of poison on contact with a floor. Damages as well as debuffs enemies with Vulnerable.
> Cost: 200 credits
> Damage: 12.5 HP/second (Vulnerable enemies take double damage)
> Duration: 5.5 seconds (Vulnerable 2 seconds)
> Charges: 2 - Poison Cloud (Basic): “Q” Equips a device that releases an activatable gas cloud when thrown. It can be used with some lineups to make one-way smokes.
> Cost: 200 credits
> Duration: 10-15 seconds (Depends on Fuel)
> Cooldown: 8 seconds in between activations - Toxic Screen (Signature): “E” Equips a line of gas launchers that stretch across large portions of the map, blocking enemy vision and applying toxin when activated.
> Cost: Free
> Duration: 10-15 seconds (Depends on Fuel)
> Cooldown: 8 seconds in between activations - Viper’s Pit (Ultimate): “X” Equip and activate a big cloud of toxin that severely limits the enemy’s line of sight and applies toxin damage. Leaving the cloud for too long or pressing X deactivates it.
> Cost: 8 ult points
General Playstyle
As a Viper player, while defending, your job is to set up your wall and poison cloud across key chokes in the map. These will block off vision and make it harder for enemies to take the site. While the enemies are rushing, use your snake bites or ultimate defensively. While attacking, use your wall to split a site your team wants to push. You can use your poison cloud to cover an extra region your wall does not cover or use it on the spike to play post-plant. Use your snake bites to clear cubbies or prevent enemies from retaking a site. You can also use your ultimate on-site. They can also be used post-plant with lineups to prevent defuses.
Viper Strategies: Getting Started
Viper’s signature ability is very strong as it can cover wide areas of the map but needs to be used carefully from key locations. While casting her toxic screen, note that it travels through walls outward in a projectile motion dropping gas emitters as it goes. So if you aim low, the wall will not reach its full length even if it is shown on the map. This is why it is always suggested to aim high while casting her wall.
Best Viper strategy for Fracture
Now that you know about Viper’s abilities and general playstyle, let’s dive right into the nitty-gritty details about playing Viper in Fracture. While defending, use your smoke to cover multiple chokes. It might be a bit difficult because of all the entry points that fracture has, but a good Viper can hold down a site solo until help arrives. While attacking, use your wall to split sites and block off defender vantage points. Snake bites can compromise enemy defenders’ positions and prevent them from defusing with cheeky lineups.
We will talk about a few basic strategies, which will be all you need in most scenarios while playing Viper in Fracture. This will include a basic attack and defense strategy for each site and snake bite lineups. Viper is a solid pick for this map, and if you can utilize her correctly, you can secure the victory for your team.
So let’s get started on the attack and defensive setups for Fracture, including the post-plant lineups you all know and love. We will go over a simple but effective setup that will work in all general scenarios and work well with your teammates.
Attack
Viper Fracture A site Attack Setup
A site has good vantage points, including the site, the top of the site, A main, drop, rope, rafters, and link. So you’d want to use your abilities to block vision from as many of these positions as possible. Use your wall just after the round starts from outside A halls. Use it in such a way that it goes through the edge of the green box and the left edge of the site so that it blocks vision from heaven, rope, and link. This wall will effectively split the site in half, leaving you only the back of the site and the top of the site to worry about.
Only Ropes remain with drop, and link blocked off thanks to your wall. Right after throwing the wall, you can use this Poison Cloud lineup. Get up into the corner and throw your ability which will cover ropes for your allies pushing out of the door. Using the lineup shown below using your HUD line, you can use this smoke from A lobby.
Viper Fracture A site post-plant lineup
Let’s talk about what you guys love: Viper’s snake bite lineups. After planting in A default, head back to A lobby and stand against the wall as shown.
This might be tricky, but all you have to do is find this spot in the wall and align your HUD indicator for the snakebite. Then press LMB when you’re about to hear a defuse.
After a few seconds of delay, fire the second one. You can peek back in from A halls if there is a lot of time remaining. Make sure not to wait too long, or else the opponent might defuse the spike.
You can get kills on the defuser in multiple rounds with this lineup.
Viper Fracture B site Attack Setup
B site is hard to get into because of its strong positions like the site, canteen, link, generator, and tower. As a Viper, your job is to cut down as many of these angles as possible and enable your team to take the site. First, clear B Main with your teammates. Then go to the left corner of the boxes and set up your wall.
Cast it up to B ropes. This wall will slice up B site and block off canteen, generator, and link.
As for the poison cloud, you can either use it to cover the entrance to the tower or place it on the spike to assist with the post-plant lineup.
Push the site with your team while planting the spike in default, and head back into B long to prepare for the post-plant lineup.
Viper Fracture B site post-plant lineup
For the plant at B site default, head back to B lobby for the post-plant lineup. Stand in the corner of the boxes and get ready to use the lineup. Aim high up and align the crosshair with the edge of the tree as shown. Cast it when you hear a defuse. Enemies might try to push you, so always keep a lookout.
The snakebite will land perfectly on the planted spike, killing enemy defusers.
Defense
Viper Fracture A site Defense Setup
For the A site, the two entry points are the drop and A halls, with the latter being more susceptible to enemy aggression. A Viper player can solo hold a site with the right strats. Although Viper is better suited for defending site B, you can also use her to defend site A if enemies are hard-focused on that site. Since Viper’s Toxic Screen can limit enemy HP at contact, we will use it for a clever wall spanning through A Halls. From the back corner of the site, you can use this wall. Make sure it connects with the right corner of the A entry, as shown in the minimap. This wall will force enemies to pass through it 3 times, disorienting them and capping their HP in the process.
Now as for your Poison cloud, you can use it to cover the only remaining sightline, drop. Stand in the location as shown and Jump-RMB to carefully place your smoke right on the edge of the drop. Make sure to practice this a few times in Custom games to get it just right.
Now we’re gonna show a cheeky one-way smoke you can use for A halls. Stand in the corner to the right of the A halls door and look above the doorframe. Aim in the middle of the top horizontal support as shown. You can play with this smoke from the back of the site or the top of the site.
Viper Fracture B site Defense Setup
Enemies love rushing B site, and it’s almost always the first thing enemies are likely to do the moment an A halls rush fails. A straightforward yet effective B setup is shown below. Use your wall from the site to block off arcade pushes. As for your smoke, you can cast a simple poison cloud for B main.
This will disable attackers from peeking the close angles but be careful as they can always peek from on top of benches which will give a clear sight into the tower.
So now that you’re equipped with all the knowledge regarding Viper’s setups for Fracture, make sure to try them all out and practice them in Custom matches before heading out into a competitive match. These will cover the basic setups, which you can bring variants to as you get more experienced playing Viper.
Continue Reading:
- VALORANT: Best Viper Lineups and Setups for Ascent
- VALORANT: Best Viper Lineups and Setups for Haven
- VALORANT: Best Viper Lineups and Setups for Pearl
- VALORANT: Best Viper Lineups and Setups for Bind
- VALORANT: Best Viper Lineups and Setups for Breeze
- VALORANT: Best Viper Lineups and Setups for Icebox
