100 Thieves’ ‘Valorant’ Pro Player Responds to Riot Games’ Viper Nerf

The 100 Thieves' Valorant professional player Spencer "Hiko" Martin extended his reaction with Riot Games' recent patch 4.04 including his main, Viper's nerfs.

In his live stream on Twitch, Hiko said that the new Viper is going to be needing a companion in controlling a particular place in Valorant.

In reference to a published article in One Esports, Hiko believed that Viper will no longer fulfill her role as a standalone controller, the very role her skills carved her into.

Instead, another controller is needed to suffice the removed aspects in the recent patch.

Hiko's run on before getting into the 100 Thieves

You may be wondering how relevant is this "Hiko's" take on the patch can be. We'll talk about his competitive play background that gives credit to his analysis on the new Viper, per Valorant Wiki's profile.

The 31-year-old pro player played for Cloud 9's roster for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Liquid where he concluded his, thus far, best Major stint. He placed second to SK Gaming at ESL One Cologne 2016.

It was in 2020 when he signed for the 100 Thieves after getting to team up with N0thing and Shroud in his very first team banner ship upon entering the competitive scene, Cloud 9.

Hiko is best known for his free style-like 180-degree flick headshot with a P2000 pistol portrayed against Ninjas in Pyjamas and CS star Christopher Alesund along the view of Dust 2 at the quarterfinals of the ESL Cologne 2014.

Viper Nerf Specifics

According to Valorant's recent patch 4.04, the following adjustments are based on Zalamea's work:

Here's a look at all the changes in patch 4.04:

Viper's Fuel

The Fuel drain was increased by 50% when Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud are both active; now having a visual sign, Viper's fuel bar turns red when she does not have enough fuel to activate her abilities

Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud

Its cooldown after deactivating her smokes was increased from 6s to 8s; The cooldown timer will start when her smokes dissipate, instead of when the deactivation takes place; The deactivation delay was decreased from 1s to 0.8s. A more visual aid, Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud sills now have yellow lights to indicate when they are on cooldown. Riot Games removed delay on Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud disabling when Viper is suppressed. New VO line that plays when her smoke is disabled by suppression.

Snake Bite

Its duration was decreased from 6.5s to 5.5s.

With the increase in Viper's skill sets, the probable result will now be different from the freer Viper before the nerf as skill consumption and fuel will now be needed to be taken into consideration before setting up in a particular place.

The resolution to this attempt of Riot to dwindle Viper's great setting prowess, as per Hiko, is a complementary control-prioritizing hero along the lines of Astra, Omen, or Brimstone, to maximize still Viper's vision-blocking and box-out abilities.

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Written by: Jhon Paul Salazar