Forget everything you know about Sentinels. Forget hiding in a corner waiting for a tripwire to break. We're here to talk about Vyse, the metallic mastermind who plays defense by going on the attack. Through cunning and the manipulation of liquid metal, she isolates, traps, and disarms her enemies, forcing them to fear the battlefield itself.¹ If you want to control the flow of a round, dictate engagements, and make your opponents second-guess every step they take, you've come to the right place.³

The "Aggressive Sentinel" Paradox

Let's get one thing straight. You might have heard Vyse has "duelist gameplay," and your intuition isn't wrong—she feels aggressive. Officially, Vyse is a Sentinel, the sixth to join the roster alongside agents like Cypher and Killjoy.² Her job is to support her team and lock down areas. However, her methods are revolutionary. She doesn't just hold space passively; she creates deadly opportunities and aggressively capitalizes on them.

Key Insight

This is the core of her design. She is a true hybrid, blending the area control of a Sentinel with the proactive, space-taking pressure of an Initiator.⁷ The feeling that she could be a duelist is not a mistake in understanding her; it's the key to unlocking her power.

Her kit is deliberately designed to enable proactive, fight-oriented plays. This guide will teach you how to harness that aggressive energy within the Sentinel framework, turning you into a proactive hunter rather than a passive anchor.

Vyse's Toolkit Breakdown

To master Vyse, you first need to understand her tools. Think of this as opening her personal toolbox. We won't just look at what each ability does, but why it's so lethal in the right hands.

Arc Rose (E): The All-Seeing Eye

Function: This is Vyse's signature ability. You equip an Arc Rose and can place it on any surface, where it becomes stealthed. You can even use the alternate fire to place it through thin walls and objects. When you reuse the ability, the rose detonates, blinding anyone looking at it. It's also reusable; you can pick it up to redeploy it, or it comes off cooldown 20 seconds after being activated. If an enemy finds and destroys it, it goes on a longer 40-second cooldown.¹

The Secret

This is not just a flash. It's one of the best information-gathering tools in the game. When your Arc Rose successfully blinds an enemy, Vyse gives a unique audio cue and says a specific voice line: "Good Hit".⁸ This is free, risk-free intel.

Pro Tip: Unlike most flashes in Valorant that require you to put your weapon away, you can keep your gun out while activating Arc Rose. This gives you an immediate combat advantage, allowing you to peek the instant the flash pops.⁹ Furthermore, Patch 9.11 gave it a "fast" equip speed after casting, meaning you can aggress off your own flash faster than ever.¹³

Shear (Q): The Unbreakable Cage

Function: For 200 credits, you get one charge of this devastating trap per round.¹⁴ You place a hidden, invisible line of liquid metal on the ground. When an enemy crosses it, an indestructible metal wall bursts from the ground behind them, trapping them.² This wall is temporary, lasting for 6 seconds after being nerfed from 8 seconds in Patch 10.06.¹¹

Vyse's Shear ability creating a metal wall — Shear's indestructible metal wall trapping an enemy

The Secret

This is not a defensive Sage wall. Think of it as a cage. Its primary purpose is to isolate a target. On defense, place it on a main entry path. The moment the enemy team's entry fragger pushes through, you trigger the wall.

Razorvine (C): The Thorny Snare

Function: You get two charges of Razorvine for 150 credits each.¹⁴ You throw a nest of liquid metal which becomes invisible upon landing. It does nothing until you manually activate it. Once activated, it sprawls into a large patch of razorvine that slows and damages any player who moves through it.² The vine patch lasts for 6 seconds (nerfed from 10 seconds in Patch 10.06) and deals 10 damage per tick (buffed from 6 damage in Patch 9.11).¹¹

Pro Tip: The buff in Patch 9.11 was massive. Razorvine now also applies a concuss effect and slows enemy dashes (like Jett's Tailwind or Raze's Satchels), making it a much more potent stalling and punishing tool.¹³

Steel Garden (X): The Great Equalizer

Function: This is Vyse's 8-point ultimate ability.¹⁵ When activated, a torrent of metal thorns erupts in a large area around her. Any enemy caught inside has their primary weapon JAMMED for approximately 10 seconds.²

The Secret

This ultimate is an economic weapon that wins otherwise unwinnable rounds. The key detail is that it only jams primary weapons (Vandals, Phantoms, Operators, etc.). Enemies can still use their sidearms and abilities.¹⁵

Ability	Cost	Charges	Key Timings & Details	Ult Points
Arc Rose (E)	Free (Signature)	1 (Reusable)	20s cooldown on use; 40s if destroyed. Gives intel on hit.	N/A
Shear (Q)	200 Credits	1	6s wall duration. Indestructible.	N/A
Razorvine (C)	150 Credits	2	6s duration. 10 damage/tick. Manually activated.	N/A
Steel Garden (X)	N/A	1	~10s primary weapon jam.	8

The Aggressive Sentinel Approach

Thinking Like Vyse: From Passive Anchor to Proactive Hunter

Playing Vyse effectively requires a fundamental shift in mindset. A traditional Sentinel like Cypher says, "You cannot come through this door." Vyse places her trap on the door and says, "I dare you to come through".⁸ She is not about passive denial; she is about creating baited situations and punishing them ruthlessly.

This philosophy is directly reflected in her balance history. Riot Games has intentionally sculpted her into an agent who must be active and decisive. Initially, her abilities had longer durations, allowing for more passive, set-and-forget value. However, a series of targeted changes altered this dynamic. First, Patch 9.11 significantly buffed the impact of her kit, increasing Razorvine's damage and adding a concuss effect to make her traps more punishing.¹³ Then, with her utility now more threatening, Patch 10.06 came in and nerfed the duration of both Razorvine and Shear.¹¹

Developer Philosophy

The developer notes for this patch are the key to understanding her design. They explicitly stated the goal was to shorten durations "so that Vyse will have to more actively capitalize rather than just relying on the baseline value of their stall".¹¹ The message is clear: Vyse's power is not in the trap itself, but in the window of opportunity it creates.

On the Attack: Forging a Path and Lurking with Intent

On attack, Vyse is a flexible powerhouse. She can support a team's site execute by using her Arc Rose to flash for her duelists, or by using Razorvine to clear out common defensive hiding spots like A-Hell on Haven or the cubbies on Sunset.⁷

However, she truly excels as a lurker. You can push up a separate lane from your team and place a Shear trap to cover your own flank. This gives you a loud audio cue and traps any defender trying to rotate and catch you from behind. An aggressive lurk with Vyse is devastating because once you secure a kill, you can immediately use your Razorvines to lock down the space you've just taken, preventing any trades and buying time for your team to rotate to you.¹⁷

On Defense: Beyond the Hold - Dominating Retakes

While Vyse can certainly hold a site with her traps, her true defensive strength often lies in the retake. Instead of using all your utility at the start of the round, consider saving it. Once the enemy team has committed to a site and planted the spike, Vyse's kit becomes a nightmare for them to deal with. You can use Shear to split the post-plant defenders, cutting the player on the spike off from their teammates. You can use Arc Rose from a safe angle to flash the entire site. And most powerfully, you can use Steel Garden to make retaking the site a simple matter of winning pistol duels.⁸

Pro-Level Secrets & Advanced Tactics

Ready for the insider secrets? These are the advanced tactics and ability combinations that separate good Vyse players from great ones.

The Art of the Combo: Layering Utility for Maximum Impact

Vyse is a force multiplier. Her abilities are designed to combo not just with each other, but with the utility of her entire team.

Vyse + Raze: This is the classic, brutal combo. When an enemy is trapped by your Shear wall or slowed by your Razorvine, a well-aimed Paint Shells from your Raze teammate is a guaranteed kill. There is simply nowhere for them to run.⁸
Vyse + Sova/Brimstone: Take the isolation from Shear to the next level. Once an enemy is trapped, have your Sova use Hunter's Fury or your Brimstone use an Orbital Strike on their location. It's an inescapable death sentence.⁸
Vyse + KAY/O: This is the ultimate lockdown combination. First, you activate Steel Garden to jam the enemy's primary weapons. Immediately after, your KAY/O uses their ultimate, NULL/cmd, to suppress all enemy abilities. The result? The enemy team is rendered completely helpless, left with only their knives and basic movement, making for an easy team fight win.¹⁸

Information Warfare: Advanced Arc Rose Techniques

Mastering the Arc Rose means treating it as an intel device first and a flash second.

Use the alternate fire to place the Arc Rose through a wall or box onto a common angle before your team pushes. The enemy will never see it coming and won't have time to turn away.
On defense, place an Arc Rose to watch a long lane like C-Long on Haven or B-Main on Ascent. You don't have to peek at all. The moment you hear footsteps, activate the flash from safety. Listen for the "Good Hit" audio cue. If you hear it, you now know an enemy is there and blinded. You can swing with a massive advantage, or have a teammate collapse on them for an easy kill.⁸

Post-Plant Perfection: How to Make the Spike Defuse an Impossible Task

With her full kit available, Vyse is arguably the single strongest post-plant agent in the game. If you get the spike down, the round should be yours.⁸ Here is the blueprint for a perfect post-plant hold:

Set the Trap: After planting, place your Shear (Q) trap on the most direct path to the spike. When a defender rushes in to defuse, the indestructible wall will pop up, physically pushing them off the spike and wasting precious seconds.

Lay the Snare: Place one or both of your invisible Razorvines (C) directly on or next to the spike. Hide and wait for the distinct "tap" sound of the defuse. The moment you hear it, activate the vines to force them off and deal damage.

Flash from Afar: Place your Arc Rose (E) on a surface overlooking the spike, ideally through a wall where it can't be easily destroyed. Again, wait for the defuse sound, then activate it to blind the defuser.

Combine and Conquer: Using all three of these tactics in concert creates a layered defense that is nearly impossible for the enemy team to break through in the limited time they have.

Ultimate Timing: When to Unleash the Steel Garden

Steel Garden is a game-changing ultimate, but its timing is crucial.

Best Use Cases

Use it on your full-buy rounds when the enemy is also fully bought and reliant on their Vandals, Phantoms, and Operators
Perfect for initiating a site execute on attack
Ideal for starting a site retake on defense⁸

Worst Use Cases

Avoid using it on anti-eco rounds
If the enemy team is only using pistols anyway, your ultimate has almost no value

Galaxy Brain Play

The counter-intuitive but brilliant strategy is to use Steel Garden on your own team's eco round. It acts as "The Great Equalizer." Suddenly, the fight is no longer about rifles versus Classics. It's about Sheriffs and Ghosts versus Sheriffs and Ghosts, leveling the playing field and giving your team a legitimate chance to win the round and steal the enemy's expensive guns.⁸

Battlefield Dominance - Map-Specific Strategies

Theory is one thing; practice is another. Here are concrete setups and strategies for some of Vyse's best maps, inspired by high-level gameplay and community guides.

Blueprint: Abyss

Abyss is widely considered one of Vyse's strongest maps. The tight choke points, verticality, and defined pathways make her traps incredibly effective.¹⁷

Defense: On both A and B sites, place your Shear trap across the main entry points. Position Razorvines just behind the trap line. When an enemy triggers the wall, immediately activate the vines to damage and slow the isolated player. Be mindful that the Patch 9.11 nerf to Razorvine's vertical spawn height means you can't place them on very high boxes and expect them to hit players below; keep your placements grounded and strategic.¹³

Attack: Use Shear to block off one of the two main entrances to a site (e.g., block A Main while your team pushes from A Bridge) to isolate defenders and create a more manageable fight.

Blueprint: Pearl

Pearl is another powerhouse map for Vyse, with her ability to lock down the long sightlines of B-long and control the contested mid-connector.¹⁷

B-Site Defense: A standard setup is to place a Shear trap across the entrance to B-long hall. However, experienced players will expect this and bait it out.²¹ Get creative: place the trap deeper in the hall to catch them after they've already committed. You can also use lineups to throw Razorvines from your spawn all the way to A-main or B-main at the start of the round to stall early pushes.²²

Post-Plant: A particularly nasty trick is to use a through-wall Arc Rose on the B-Link pillar to flash anyone trying to retake or defuse from multiple angles.²⁰

Blueprint: Lotus

On Lotus, Vyse's ability to stall pushes and provide information allows her to fill a flex role, sometimes enabling a team to run her instead of a second Initiator.²³

A-Site Aggression: At the start of the round, you can place an Arc Rose on the wall in A-main for an aggressive early-round peek to gather info or secure a pick.²⁵

C-Site Control: A common setup involves placing a Shear wall at the main C-site entrance with Razorvines layered on the C-mound. This creates a deadly kill zone for any team trying to execute onto the site.²⁵

Blueprint: Sunset

Sunset's wide-open mid and tight site entrances make it a great playground for a creative Vyse player.²¹

Attack: When attacking A, a great strategy is to use your Shear wall to cover the flank from mid, allowing your team to focus on the site itself.²⁷

B-Site Defense: A powerful defensive setup involves placing a diagonal Shear wall across the B-main entrance, with a Razorvine placed just in front of it. This creates a death trap that forces enemies into a small corner where they are slowed, damaged, and easily dispatched.²⁶ For post-plant, an Arc Rose placed high on the back wall of site can cover both the defuser and players pushing from CT.

Forging Alliances & The Pro Scene

The "Liberated Playmaker" Meta Strategy

Early in Vyse's lifespan, a common criticism was that she was a poor solo Sentinel because she couldn't reliably watch the flank like a Cypher or Killjoy.²⁸ While true, this missed the point. Pro teams quickly realized her weakness was actually the key to a powerful new strategy: the double-sentinel composition.

This strategy is not about having two agents do the same job. It's about specialization. A traditional Sentinel like Cypher provides the stable, passive anchor, holding the team's flank with his Tripwires.²⁹ This, in turn, liberates Vyse to do what she does best: lurk, make aggressive plays, support site executes, and hunt for opening picks, all without compromising the team's rear security.⁸ This concept of "liberation" is the key to unlocking her highest potential in a coordinated team environment.

Best Duos

Beyond the combos, certain agents have incredible synergy with Vyse's overall game plan.

Harbor: A fantastic partner. Harbor's walls (Cascade, High Tide) can be used to conceal the placement of your Shear trap, making it nearly impossible for enemies to spot before it's too late. Their ultimates can also be combined for a massive area-of-effect execute, with Harbor's geysers concussing enemies while your Steel Garden jams their weapons.¹⁸

Killjoy: The ultimate defensive nightmare. Vyse's Steel Garden is the perfect tool to protect Killjoy's Lockdown device from being destroyed. On a smaller scale, a Killjoy Alarmbot can be the trigger for a deadly trap; when the bot activates, you can detonate your Razorvines and Arc Rose for an easy multi-kill on the vulnerable targets.¹⁸

The Pro Play Perspective: Learning from the Best

Vyse's journey in the pro meta has been a fascinating one. Initially considered "mid" or niche upon her release, she languished in relative obscurity.¹⁶ However, the buffs in Patch 9.11, combined with the strategic innovations of pro teams, saw her skyrocket into a meta staple on several maps.³⁰ To truly learn her, watch the best.

Nathan "leaf" Orf (G2 Esports): Widely praised for his incredible impact and ability to put up huge numbers from the Sentinel role, showcasing Vyse's aggressive potential.²⁴
"CHICHOO" (EDward Gaming): Consistently cited as one of the best and most fundamentally sound Vyse players on the international stage, known for his flawless setups and utility usage.²⁴
"D4v41" (Paper Rex): Praised by analysts for his highly creative and confident use of Vyse's kit, often finding unique angles and timings to catch opponents off guard.²⁴

Becoming the Metalweaver

Mastering Vyse is a journey. It requires you to unlearn the passive habits of traditional Sentinels and embrace a new philosophy of calculated aggression. She is not just an agent; she's a mindset. It's about setting clever traps, understanding battlefield flow, and having the confidence to turn an enemy's push into their own demise. Her power lies in control—not just of an area, but of the entire pace and rhythm of a round.

You have the secrets. You have the blueprints. Now get into the game, be creative, be aggressive, and show them what a true Metalweaver can do. Make them fear the battlefield itself.¹