Spike

The  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
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
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. Attacker 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).

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
"It's stealing radianite from the environment..."

- Viper on the effects of the spike

From the perspective of Earth-1, the spike was created by a Killjoy from a mirror Earth 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, its likely there have been earlier encounters to have happened. Earth-1 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. Earth-1 VALORANT 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.

Whilst unable to do so in game for gameplay/balancing reasons, the spike displays other properties in the cinematics. As it draws close to detonating, the spike will let out a pulse and any small objects around it will start to rise from the ground and become suspended in the air.

Gallery
Spike Spike