Valorant Patch Notes 8.08: End of Viper-Cypher Meta?

What is a new Act update in Valorant without some quality patch notes, right? Unfortunately, that might be true for all those pesky Viper and sneaky Cypher players. With the Episode 8 Act 3 around the corner, here are the patch notes for the Valorant 8.08 update.

Agent Buffs & Nerfs in Valorant Patch 8.08

While the patch notes do not have many agents on the changes sheet, Viper and Cypher are getting some significant changes. Chamber also got a teeny-tiny update which gives the Frenchman more voicelines. With these changes out of the way, here are the nerfs that Viper and Cypher received in Valorant patch 8.08.

Viper Nerf

Viper has been a dominant force on the Valorant scene since the start. Be it competitive or casual queues, Viper players could change the course of the game with massive control and lurk play. As per Riot Games, in 7.09, they unintentionally shipped some number changes to Viper’s fuel. With that said, here are the updated changes in the Toxin fuel:

• Max uptime on each individual smoke source reduced 15s > 13.5s > 12s
• Minimum fuel needed to activate smoke increased from 20% > 30%
• Cooldown on re-activating smokes after putting them down reduced 8s > 5.5s > 5s

Along with these, Viper also faces some solid nerfs as the price of Snake Bite (C) has increased from 200 to 300 creds. The charges for Snake Bite have also been reduced from 2 to 1 with this patch. Viper also cannot pick up the Poison Cloud (Q) after the buy phase is over.

Cypher Nerf

With Cypher ruling over the meta with his new changes, it was about time we saw the devs balance out his kit. In this patch 8.08, Cypher gets a little adjustment to his abilities which makes it a fair ground for both Cypher and his enemies. Here are the changes in Cypher’s overpowered Tripwire:

• Trapwire (C) Re-arm time increased (1s > 2s)
• Slow on Trapwire reduced (2s > 1.25s)

Along with the Tripwire changes, Cypher receives an update on the Spycam (E). The Spycam will now make a looping audio for the enemy whom you are watching with it.

Premier Updates Episode 8 Act 3

This update also brings new changes to Valorant’s Premier mode. Premier Playoffs teams will now earn a promotion each time they win. This means that in the next stage, the promoted team will play in a division one higher than the previous stage. A new division, the Invite division, will be added in Episode 9 Act 1.

According to this new rank-up system, the playoff winners and the team placing in the top 32 of the Contender Division standings will gain a new rank after the playoff tournaments finish.

On top of that, the top 2 Contenders from each zone get promoted to the Challengers League! A true path to being pro. The Premier Score playoff qualification threshold is also reduced to 600 for all divisions.

Other Bug Fixes in Patch 8.08

Alongside the agent changes and Premier season update, the 8.08 patch also fixes a lot of bugs. One of the major fixes among these is the Split A main bug where players could stand on an unintended higher location using Jett or Raze. Killjoy turret detecting enemies through the Harbor’s High Tide (E) is also fixed.

That completes the patch notes for Valorant Episode 8 Act 3. The Mystbloom Bundle is also here with this update, so check out the weapons and price via the linked article. What are your thoughts on the Viper and Cypher nerfs? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.