The Spike is an object used in Plant/Defuse game modes. The Attacking team starts with the Spike and their objective is to plant the spike at a site on a map and allow it to detonate. The Defending team's objective is to prevent the spike from being planted or, if they are unable to stop this, defuse the spike before it detonates.
Overview[]
At the start of a round, the spike is dropped in front of the Attackers and can be run over to be collected. The team will see an icon appear below the carrier's portrait. The spike is carried like a weapon; the carrier can drop the spike, and it can be collected only by other Attackers. If all attackers leave their spawn without anyone picking up the spike, one of the agents on the attacking team will play a voiceline reminding players that the spike is still in the spawn area and that it needs to be picked up.
When an attacker carrying a spike is killed, the announcer will tell both teams that the spike has been dropped and where this happened. A dropped spike is visible on the minimap to Attackers, and to Defenders while they have sight of it. If the spike is dropped in a location that cannot be reached by most agents (i.e. on top of crates and walls that only agents like Jett, Omen, and Raze can reach using their mobility abilities), it will proceed to automatically bounce off of the structure until it falls onto the ground.
Planting[]
Spike Initiating
The Spike can be planted in a designated site. Planting takes 4 seconds, with an audio cue being given to all players in range each time an Attacker starts a planting sequence. Once the spike has been planted, this action is announced to all players and a countdown begins.
The carrier is rooted during planting, but can cancel at any time. Attackers can rotate their body during planting to position and plant the spike in very specific locations on the site.
Defusal[]
Spike Defusing
A Defuser
Defenders can defuse the spike using a Defuser. Defusing takes 7 seconds, with an audio cue being given to all players in range each time a Defender attempts a defuse. The spike's lights, usually light blue during countdown, turn red and the spike's outer casing begins to rise up from the floor to the top of the spike. Attackers can use this info to work out if a Defender is attempting a defuse whilst out of sight (such as if they are behind the cover of a crate).
The Defender is rooted during defusing, but can cancel at any time, with the lights turning back to blue and the outer casing falling back down to the floor. Reattempting a defuse requires another 7 seconds. Defenders can rotate their body during defusing to view all angles from the spike's position and watch out for any attackers that might appear to prevent the defuse.
Once a Defender has spent 3.5 seconds defusing a spike, this progress will be saved; if a Defender cancels the defuse, the defuse time is only reset to 3.5 seconds, the outer casing will only fall to halfway, and the audio cue given when defusing changes to a higher pitch.
Countdown and Detonation[]
The Spike has a 45 second detonation timer and will start to beep at a consistent frequency, which can be heard by any players in audio range. As the countdown gets lower, the frequency of beeps will increase, translucent spheres begin to surround the spike, and the ground around the spike will start to fracture, revealing a black void below (This is only a visual change and has no actual effect on the map's geometry).
The Spike will start double beeping with 20 seconds left, triple beeping with 10 seconds left, and with 7 seconds to go, a white sphere less transparent than others that appear around the spike before will close in on the spike and surround it until detonation. Defenders can use this info to work out if they have enough time to attempt a full defuse; if this specific sphere is present when they start the defuse, they will not have enough time, though a half defuse could still be possible if someone has already set the defuse progress to halfway.
Once the countdown is complete, the spike will detonate, producing a destructive black sphere that rapidly expands from the spike's location, instantly killing any players it comes into contact with. The maximum radius of the explosion is about the same as the player's audio range. Players can use this info to work out if they are safe from the detonation by making sure the spike's icon on the minimap is well outside the player's audio range, also displayed on the minimap as a circle around the player.
Lore[]
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For more lore details and analysis related to the Spike, be sure to also check out the VALORANT Lore Wiki's article! VALORANT Lore Wiki: The Spike and Defuser |
History[]
| “ | It's stealing radianite from the environment...
— Viper on the effects of the spike
|
A collection of spikes seen in the background at Earth-1 VALORANT HQ
The spike was first created by Ω-Killjoy with the aim of stealing radianite from its surrounding environment. Some of the VALORANT Protocol's first encounters with the device were in Venice and Rabat, though by virtue of them already naming the device the spike and being aware of its functionality during these missions, it's likely there have been earlier encounters to have happened. α-Killjoy was unfamiliar with the device when she was on site in Rabat, but she was able to make a defuser to prevent it from detonating. She then took the defused spike back with her to analyze it.[1]
A spike explosion at Omega's City of Flowers
The VALORANT Protocol would go on to keep a large amount of spikes at their HQ, though the exact origin of these spikes is not known for certain. When the Protocol was then looking to travel to Omega Earth in order to take back some of Alpha's radianite, Killjoy and Chamber worked to reverse engineer their own spikes for them to use. Times where the Protocol are known to have used these spikes on Omega include a detonation in the City of Flowers that appeared to shut down an energy beam activated by their counterparts, the agents of the VALORANT Legion.[2][3]
Functionality[]
Spikes as seen in VALORANT lore appear to have most of the same functions and effects that their in-game counterparts have; The spike is planted onto the ground, after which it will begin its countdown. When being defused, its lights will turn from blue to red and its outer casing will rise up from the floor to the top of the spike. Upon detonation, they will produce a destructive black sphere that rapidly expands from the spike's location, stealing radianite within in its area, before quickly collapsing in on itself soon after.
Much like abilities, VALORANT lore is not tied down by gameplay or balancing restrictions and so more "realistic" depictions (in the context of the VALORANT universe) of the spike can also be shown within the lore, meaning the spike has some differences between its effects seen in-game and in-universe. Most notably, the spike will let out a pulse as it draws close to detonating. At about the same time, any small objects around it will also start to rise from the ground and become suspended in the air.[1]
Update History[]
Fixed an issue where the white circle minimap indicator would not appear when the Spike was dropped on the edge of someone's minimap
Fixed an issue where the white circle minimap indicator would not appear when the Spike was dropped on the edge of someone's minimap- Fixed an issue where the plant and defuse UI bar did not appear for minimal HUD observers
- Fixed a bug where the defuse animation would stop and start while standing on the edge of a site
- Fixed an issue where in some cases you could continue to defuse out of line of sight
Fixed an issue where in some cases you could continue to defuse out of line of sight- Fixed an issue where "Kick ally off" displays while defusing
- Fixed a bug where the progress bar would speed up or reset while defusing
- Fixed a bug where agents were able to drop both primary and secondary weapons while planting or defusing
- This bugfix was documented in the v6.07 notes
- Fixed a bug where you were unable to plant after reconnecting to a match where you died while disconnected
- Fixed a bug where defusing at maximum range could cause channeling and progress bar animations to flicker
- Fixed a bug where some weapon equip animations would play at the wrong speed after canceling or completing a plant
- Fixed an issue where briefly tapping the "Use Spike" button to plant could cause you to end up holding the Spike instead of your last equipped weapon
- Fixed a bug where it was possible to defuse while channeling abilities
- Fixed a bug where performance stats would be hidden while spectating the Spike
- Fixed a bug where the Spike icon pulse and beeping sound were not in sync
- The defuse range circle indicator that shows after planting now displays properly
- Fixed input issues causing players to get stuck while planting
- Fixed a bug where players could silently plant the Spike
- Dying to the Spike no longer counts as a death in KDA statistics
- Players no longer see the spike location when reconnecting to a game
Dying to the Spike no longer counts as a death in KDA statistics- Fixed a bug where the Spike could automatically plant when you walked onto a plant site
- Fixed a bug where the dropped Spike's model could be invisible to defenders while it was on the ground
- Updated Spike visuals in the inventory
- Dying to the Spike no longer grants an ultimate orb
- Fixed overruns on the Spike
Updated Spike visuals in the inventory
Dying to the Spike no longer grants an 
- Will now automatically fall from elevated boost positions
- Spike icon in the upper middle UI now pulses with audio beeps during countdown
- Fixed a bug where the Spike UI would sometimes overlap with the HUD
- Removed Spike icon from being visible on enemy player minimap icons
- Can no longer be planted partially in map geometry
- This also fixes cases where the Spike camera was appearing inside the Spike
- Added color to Spike icon above ally's head to make it easier to see
- Line of sight no longer required to pick up the Spike when overlapped by a player
- Fixed issue where the Spike would sometimes become unretrievable
Gallery[]
