Viper is the 2nd Agent to join the VALORANT Protocol. Coming from the USA, she is a scientist focused on the use of toxicants.
The American chemist, Viper deploys an array of poisonous chemical devices to control the battlefield and cripple the enemy's vision. If the toxins don't kill her prey, her mind games surely will.
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Lore[]
Viper is a brilliant scientist coming from the United States. She is the second member of the VALORANT PROTOCOL, joining along with Brimstone[1], and is the second-in-command of the PROTOCOL[2].
While once a brilliant scientist, she no longer thinks clearly, having become hateful and biased in her tests. Her personality reflects this through the passive-aggressiveness present in all her interactions and the resentment she feels towards others. Almost every Agent, at some point or the other, comments on her hate-driven mind. Despite this she is able to express appreciation, being willing to congratulate those who have impressed her.
Viper's abilities are based on self-made concoctions, comprising of toxicants which cause rapid respiratory damage when inhaled. These chemicals, which she manufactures herself, can be released into the air through specialized emitters to create small 'clouds' of the toxic gas. The smoke will eventually dissipate in air if left for long enough, and so the emitter must constantly remain active to retain the smoke's integrity.
When referring to her abilities, Viper refers to the poisonous chemicals as 'Toxins'. This would technically be a misnomer, as the term 'Toxin' refers to harmful biological compounds that can be found in nature, and are produced by living organisms. For artificially manufactured products with similar properties, the term 'Toxicant' is to be used.
Along with Brimstone and Sage, Viper was originally responsible for recruiting new Agents[3]. An example of this is given in Viper's voiceline commending Breach, saying that she knew "hiring him was a good idea", implying her involvement in his recruitment.
Known Backstory[]
Viper's most defining characteristic is her obscure backstory. At some point in the past, Viper was a brilliant chemist, in a position of esteem due to her great mind. According to her dossier released by Fade, Viper also received a grand list of awards (including the R. Francis Prize, and the Denton Outstanding Innovation Award). As per a voiceline from Omen, she specialized in medicine and healing of some form.
"Just think, Sabine... you used to heal with your skill. Funny."
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— Omen
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However, Viper's life was completely destabilized by an unknown 'incident'. While it is never specified what exactly this was, it is clear that it caused Viper considerable grief. Its affect on her was terrifyingly prominent, driving her mad with hatred and rage. In a quest for vengeance (against whom it is unclear), Viper gave up all remnants of her life. She turned away from healing and devoted herself to poisons and toxins.
Viper's backstory is heavily intertwined with Omen's. Before his transformation into a Radiant and loss of his human form, Omen was given orders from the Scions of Hourglass to assassinate Viper, who was employed at Kingdom at the time. However, Omen's assassination attempt failed, and resulted in Viper's acid burning his face and incapacitating him. Viper then put Omen into a machine that gave him his shadowy form and turned him into a Radiant at the cost of losing his physical body and his memories.
For some time, she worked under Kingdom as a chemist. She was very successful, and (thanks to her great mind) went on to become the first Chief Scientific Officer in Kingdom's Board of Advisors. While it is unclear for how long she worked at Kingdom and held her position there, we do know that she was an employee of the corporation when they manipulated the citizens of Bind to allow them to build a Radianite refinery there. Her current relationship with Kingdom remains unclear, although (as with almost every other Agent in the Protocol) she does have a distaste for the megacorp.
Omega Viper[]
Omega Viper hasn't played a significant role in events on Omega Earth, aside from making appearances in cinematics. She was present in both the RETAKE and SHATTERED cinematics, where she served as one of the primary antagonists against the Alpha Agents.
Her death in RETAKE caused some confusion among the community as to whether she was dead canonically, seeing as this was the first time that we had seen an Agent die in a cinematic. It was later confirmed (multiple times[4][5]) that she didn't, which only further emphasized by her later appearance in SHATTERED.
Dossier[]
The blackmailer released a dossier about Viper in Patch 4.04:
Viper's Dossier, found in Bind
The Blackmailer begins by listing Viper's various accomplishments, such as receiving the R. Francis Prize and Denton Outstanding Innovation Award, as well as becoming the first Chief Scientific Officer for Kingdom's Board of Advisors.
They then go on to mention an incident that changed the course of her life, becoming a person who isolated herself and lost her humanity in the name of vengeance.
The Blackmailer starts asking a series of questions, which boil down to wondering what Viper will be once her goal is achieved. This lack of concern for the future fuelled by Viper's vengeful hatred is also referred to in one of her voicelines added after the Dossier was released:
"This is everything I wanted... wasn't it?"
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— Viper, Last kill of the round
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Personality[]
Viper is a cold and cunning individual who seems to harbour some sort of dark past. This has left her with a very hostile personality that she has to keep in check with her allies in the Protocol. Some find this side of her unapproachable, while others seem to imply that this may be her more honest and authentic self. She seems to take great pleasure in testing her equipment and concoctions in combat and regards her opponents as insignificant.
Viper also displays attributes that indicate that she is not opposed to considering courses of action that may be heartless and that she is in no way perturbed by this aspect of her personality, even willingly embracing it if it would mean proving a point.
Outside of her lab work and field work, Viper seems to enjoy brewing and steeping her own coffee as well as going running recreationally. She also raises a pet viper.
Appearance[]
Viper wears a single black-and-green bodysuit, which covers her body completely save for the mask, which only protects the lower half of her face. This changes when her chemical sprayers are triggered, expanding to cover her entire face.
A pair of chemical sprayers are located at the centers of her palms, which connect (through a series of acid-green tubes) to her backpack. The backpack itself is small and grey, with a central segment being the same green colour as the tubes. A black device over present on her right forearm, used to launch her Toxic Screen and Snakebites. The Snakebite vials themselves can be seen hanging from her waist, on the left side.
As with most other Agents, there are several different markings and symbols across her clothing. On her chest and shoulder guards is a simplified viper head. On the upper ends of her Snakebite canisters, another motif of a Viper baring its teeth can also been seen. Interestingly, there is not a single Kingdom logo anywhere on her suit.
Meaning of the name[]
Viper comes from the name of a family of venomous snakes.
The name Sabine can be of Latin origin meaning “woman of the Sabine people.” Sabines were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula.
Callas is an Irish/Scottish surname coming from the Greek origin word “Kallas” meaning "good,beautiful"
Relationships[]
Brimstone and Viper are two of the earliest Agents to join the VALORANT PROTOCOL and may have known each other prior to its formation. They seem to have a good friendship, but Viper still calls him out for his age occasionally. For a while, they both knew information that was withheld from the rest of the PROTOCOL, but the secrecy largely came to an end after the events of the DUALITY cinematic, where the functioning of the VP was changed in order to better combat the threat posed by Ω-Earth.
Viper refers to her enemy self by her real name, "Sabine". Viper finds great interest in her Mirror's concoctions, as her protective measures are not effective against her doppelgänger's toxins.
Omen and Viper certainly have intertwined pasts, and have shared a long history of correspondence. Viper calls Omen "Old Friend", and seems genuinely concerned for him. Omen states, to Viper, that he "needs her secrets", implying that Viper knows some precious information about his past that Omen cannot afford to lose. Omen addresses Viper by her first name, being one of the few Agents to do so. Viper almost refers to Omen by his name in one voiceline, but she catches herself just before she blurts it out - it is unclear whether this is for any personal reasons, or whether it is just following the PROTOCOL guidelines of only referring to Agents by their callsign.
Killjoy and Viper are two of the more 'science-oriented' Agents in the PROTOCOL, and it shows in their interactions, with them often working closely together. Killjoy continuously mentions the enemy Viper's corrupted mind, expressing her concern about her mental state. She does, however, acknowledge her sheer mental brilliance as well. Viper, in turn, has a somewhat 'mentor-like' attitude towards Killjoy. She occasionally calls Killjoy "Little mouse", for reasons currently unknown.
Viper trusts Cypher's capabilities in gathering information. Cypher acts a little impish towards Viper, but is aware of her furious rage and is cautious not to overstep his bounds.
As with most the other Agents, Sova expresses some disapproval of Viper's methods and concern for her mind.
Similar to her relationship with Omen, Viper has certainly crossed paths with Sage before the PROTOCOL was founded[6]. During one of their encounters, it is hinted that Sage 'failed' Viper in some way, and the repercussions of that failure had massive negative implications on her life. Viper still harbors some dislike towards Sage for that situation, but is willing to acknowledge her skill and usefulness to the team.
Reyna and Viper share a mutual respect for their skill and abilities. Using life energy Reyna harvests from souls, the two work together to keep Lucia, Reyna’s sister, alive; however, due to her limited knowledge in the field, Viper cannot efficiently sustain the transfer process. For more information on Lucia, see here. Due to the addition of VERSUS // Reyna + Viper card prior to the intricacies of their relationship being revealed, it has been speculated for a long time that Reyna and Viper hate each other in some way. While not officially disproven, this theory is still unlikely, and both women share a largely neutral and respectful relationship.
Like most of the other Agents in the PROTOCOL, Viper is very suspicious of Chamber. Despite the fact that the PROTOCOL was not able to dig up any information on him, Viper insists on keeping an eye on him, wary of him and his motives. Chamber flirts with Viper from time to time, even asking her out on a date at one point, however she typically turns down his advances.
Cards[]
The VALORANT Viper card is a generic portrait of Viper.
The One Dark Night card shows lightning hitting a lighthouse near the city of Seattle, Washington (thought to be either the Alki Point Lighthouse or the West Point Lighthouse). Its exact significance is unknown, although like all other Contract Tier 9 cards, it shows some important event in her past/backstory.
The VERSUS // Reyna + Viper Playercard emphasizes the relationship between Viper and Reyna. In it, we see Viper leading a young girl (most likely Lucia) into a lab room, assumedly to help in her further treatment.
The Dropoff card shows a scene from the DUALITY cinematic, where Viper and Phoenix got of the V-03 to help defend Bind from Ω-Phoenix.
The DUALITY card celebrates the release of the DUALITY cinematic, and was released during the VCT 2021: Reykjavik Grand Finals. It shows Ω-Yoru, Ω-Jett, Ω-Viper, Ω-Phoenix and Ω-Cypher passing through a Rift.
The UNSTOPPABLE // Viper card shows Viper casting her Viper's Pit. It is reminiscent of the retconned Viper Ult card from the game's Beta.
The Snakebite Schema card shows a schematic diagram of one of Viper's Snakebites
The Legion card shows an issue from the comic series, 'The VALORANT LEGION'. This issue's cover shows us five Agents; Brimstone, Viper, Omen, Killjoy, and Cypher. It can be found in-game at the Hi-Tide Comics shop in Pearl, near Defender Spawn
The Meet Your Main card shows a group of people on Omega Earth attending VAL-CON, a convention dedicated to the VALORANT LEGION, in cosplays of some of the Agents along with a Spike prop. The main group includes Viper, Yoru, Sage, Phoenix, Killjoy and Jett, with KAY/O and Tactibear further to the sides.
The VERSUS // Viper + Omen card depicts the incident between Viper and Omen as shown in the RECKONING cinematic, where Omen was transformed into his current state because of Viper's actions.
Voicelines[]
Find all of Viper's voicelines here, compiled by Kingdom Archives.
Notes[]
- Viper's working name in the files is "Pandemic".
- Viper has a pet viper.
- Viper drinks Kopi Luwak[7] (also known as Civet Coffee), a premium type of coffee made from beans that have been partially digested and then defecated by Asian Palm Civets. Kopi Luwak is one of the most expensive types of coffee in the world, and commercial methods of gathering it often are very unethical.
- Although Riot PHRISK claimed Viper was from Alaska, this has since been retconned.
- As suggested by one of Cypher's voicelines, Viper's password is some iteration March 20th. The exact significance of this date has not been revealed yet, although it is known to be an important date to her[8].
- As she was a higher-ranking member, Viper had the privilege of access to sensitive information before the rest of the PROTOCOL in its early method of functioning.
- As with every other Agent, Viper has a Spotify playlist:
Sources[]
- Viper's Agent page Go
- Viper's Voicelines, compiled by Kingdom Archives Go
- Carolina Ravassa's interview with Zach Betka Go
References[]
- ↑ Viper and Brimstone were the first Agents to join the PROTOCOL - Creative Director Riot KingKut in a Discord QnA Go
- ↑ Despite Sage's and Brimstone's voicelines claiming that Sage is to lead if Brimstone were to die, those are confirmed to be only in the context of that particular battle (Discord QnA with Riot ParmCheesy, Narrative Lead Go), and officially Viper is still the second-in-command of the PROTOCOL (Discord QnA with Riot ParmCheesy, Narrative Lead Go). However, Sage is still a high-ranking member, and definitely has some leadership roles within the Protocol (such as the Radiant Training Program).
- ↑ Viper is in charge (in some part) of hiring new Agents - Riot ParmCheesy in a Discord QnA Go
- ↑ Ω-Sage and Ω-Skye revitalized the fallen Omega Agents after they died in RETAKE - Reddit AMA with Narrative Lead, Riot ParmCheesy Go
- ↑ Narrative Lead Riot ParmCheesy on how the team intends to portray death in the cinematics - Discord QnA Go
- ↑ Viper's past and history with Sage - Reddit AmA with Narrative Lead Riot ParmCheesy Go
- ↑ As seen in Viper's Animation, SNAKEBITE: A VIPER'S TALE released during her takeover.
- ↑ March 20th is an important date for Viper - Reddit AmA with Narrative Lead Riot ParmCheesy Go