Valorant Agent Lore Cypher: His truth stays hidden

Cypher's lore in Valorant is perhaps one of the most cryptic ones, to the extent that finding concrete information is nearly impossible. Cypher, or Amir El Amari, was the fifth Valorant agent. One of the original Sentinel archetypes released with Valorant, Cypher has seen a wide variety of playstyles that have changed since the game's inception in 2020.

The agent has seen countless changes and balances since release. That said, Cypher is currently one of the strongest Sentinels in Valorant. Lore-wise, Cypher's intel-gathering prowess is also off the charts, to the extent that many large-scale missions are impossible without him pulling the strings.

Almost nothing is known about Amir himself except a few things about his wife and child and their sad fate. Family is a crucial part of Cypher's motivation and actions, including his vow to secrecy. This article will piece together all that is known about Cypher's lore from his in-game voice lines and countless cinematics that he has appeared in.

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Exploring Cypher's Agent Lore in Valorant

Who is Cypher?

Amir El Amari, aka Cypher, or Agent 05, hails from Rabat, Morocco. This city also serves as the backdrop for Bind map, one of the original maps that Valorant released. Cypher is an information broker and a master of surveillance. However, he has no personal connections. In essence, he is a mystery whose past remains largely unknown.

Cypher is a master of surveillance (Image via Riot Games)

As mentioned earlier, Cypher's skills in intel-gathering are unmatched. This is a crucial resource to the Valorant protocol; however, it's his personal life that has sparked the community's speculation. He does not reveal anything about himself, not even his skin or eyes.

Cypher is always wearing a mask that makes him appear bald, although that might not be who he is underneath. Even his eyes are lenses attached to the mask, meaning nobody has actually seen even a fraction of his true self.

The Moroccan agent seems to have lost his family somehow, and there are many ways this can be translated. I will discuss more on this shortly. That said, this loss is a major driving force behind Cypher's actions and dedication to the Valorant protocol.

"Nothing stays hidden from me. Nothing."

Cypher's expertise lies in his intricate network of technology, a supposedly self-made system that allows him to gather intel that extends far beyond the scope of normal logic. His abilities are so refined that Sova considered him paramount to surveilling an entire city. The agent said:

"Besides myself, we must send Cypher. No one else can handle surveillance of an entire city."

The vast network and technology also act as a defensive mechanism, and not just in-game. Cypher's tools allow him to detect potential teleporting attacks from Legion, the Valorant members from Omega Earth.

You can find Cypher's office in the Valorant Range, which also acts as the central hub for all operations. Cypher can be considered to be the digital eyes and ears of the Valorant Protocol.

Cypher has all the intel (Image via Riot Games)

On the other hand, Cypher has access to every Valorant agent's files despite not having one himself. He often uses quirky remarks to make his teammates aware of his prowess, although it is not very nicely received. If Sova and Cypher are on the same team, you will often hear Cypher say:

"Sova, I accessed your background file, a good story! But that's not really how you lost your eye."

As expected, Sova does not take this comment very lightly and retorts with the fact that it's convenient how Cypher does not have a file at all. The agent can be heard replying to the above comment:

"And your file is missing, Amir. Explain that."

It is also hinted that Cypher is a man who is proud of his art. As such, the information he gathers does not come cheap, even for friends (taking into account that he considers the Valorant Protocol to be his friends). Omen had, at one point, enlisted Cypher's help to learn more about his mysterious past.

While it is clear that the Moroccan has all the information requested, he hasn't shared any because Omen is yet to make the payment. Cypher's voice line in-game with regards to this goes like this:

"Omen! I have the information you asked for. But my price! My price hasn't been paid yet."

It should be noted that Cypher was also the agent who had tracked Omen to the library in Edinburgh, where Omen was chasing after a certain Scions of Hourglass journal.

Cypher's family: Their unknown fate

The most complex and sad part about Cypher's lore in Valorant is his family. It is confirmed that the Moroccan had a wife named Nora and at least one unnamed child. All of the agent's voice lines and cinematic appearances point towards one grim outcome — that Cypher has somehow lost his family. Now, the complexities only begin.

Cypher's family suffered a sad fate (Image via Riot Games)

In some cases, it seems clear that Cypher's family is permanently lost and is now in the afterlife. This is expressed in multiple cases by a myriad of voicelines. This is especially evident in his interactions with Sage, who has reviving powers in Valorant. Cypher takes great interest in Sage's abilities, and he can be heard asking her about the revives in a particular voiceline:

"So, Sage. You can bring people back from the dead? Anyone? No constraints? Interesting."

This idea is further strengthened when Sage uses her ultimate to revive Cypher. When this happens, Cypher can be heard saying:

"For a moment, I saw them!"

It is clear from the interactions that "them" here refers to his family, including his wife Nora and their child. Upon dying, Cypher must have caught a glimpse of his family in the afterlife before being pulled back by Sage's ability.

On the contrary, countless lines also indicate that Cypher's family is alive, but they have not seen each other for a really long time. Fade's dossier on Cypher reveals crucial information about his family:

"Your safehouses are quite comfortable, Amir. The basement in Rabat. The Tangier apartment. Your lovely den in Marrakesh. Such hospitality. Already your mind is churning. You'll abandon these compromised locations. Start again. Hide deeper. Cease to exist. And your face. You've considered revealing it to those closest to you, but no. Too risky. The mask stays on. Because what's another year without Nora seeing your eyes, or sharing a smile with your little one?"

This information brings forth a new perspective, which indicates that Cypher's wife Nora and their child (little one) are perhaps alive and kept somewhere safe, hidden away from the world, in a way that even Cypher cannot see them. This can also indicate Amir's acknowledgment of the dangerous nature of his job and refusal to meet with his family to maintain their anonymity and safety.

Cypher on the field in Morocco (Image via Riot Games)

Let's take a look at the most confusing and intriguing sentence about Cypher's family, that comes from this voice line:

"I must survive to protect my family. I can't lose them. I can't feel that pain again."

Cypher wants to protect his family, a noble cause to fight for. However, it is the last phrase that throws a curveball. "I can't feel that pain again" indicates Cypher did lose his family, perhaps not all of it. The voice lines confirm that Nora is gone but do not mention anything specific about their child. Another voice line by Cypher helps explore this section:

"These impostors threaten everything! Nora, نقدرش نخليهم يخسروا الغزال ديالي."

The Arabic section here translates to "I can't let them hurt my beloved." Interestingly, beloved here quite possibly refers to Cypher and Nora's child, who might still be alive.

All of the family lore, with multiple variations, seems to indicate that Nora is gone, but nothing is concrete about their child. This section makes even more sense if Cypher has more than one child, which is also a plausible scenario.

Cypher's lighter at the end of the Reckoning trailer

Cypher's last major appearance was in the Reckoning trailer, where he infiltrated a Scions of the Hourglass base in Morocco with Iso to help Omen find out about his past. In the same cinematic, Omen is almost ripped to shreds using a powerful Scions of the Hourglass machine in Jakarta. This machine is controlled by a lighter and has abilities that almost killed Omen before Sova intervened.

Cypher with the Scions of the Hourglass lighter (Image via Riot Games)

Interestingly, at the end of the cinematic, Cypher is seen holding this same lighter, although how he came about it remains a mystery. Did he get the lighter from the Hourglass base room while Omen jumped down with the agent? Or did Cypher always have a similar lighter, possibly hinting at some Scions relation? The mystery remains unsolved.

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With that, you now have a complete idea of Cypher and his lore in Valorant. Although much about him is still shrouded in mystery, the Moroccan clearly has his own secrets that he does not want the world to find out, for the better or for the worse.

The status of his family still remains the heart of all Cypher lore conversations, and a Scions of the Hourglass relation might not be too farfetched for the information broker. However, that's all we have on the Sentinel's lore. His secrets remain hidden for now, but we might eventually uncover them in the days to come.