If you enjoy playing as the initiator on your team, then Sova is one character you must play with. Sova has several abilities and utilities that make him just the perfect pick for the role. The set of abilities makes him versatile in a wide range of situations.
Thanks to his Recon Bolt ability, Sova is a great pick if you want extra information about your enemies’ location. There’s more to this agent, and we’ll be guiding you through the valuable information on how to play as sova.
Sova: Everything You Need To Know
Sova is a Russian recon agent and can be considered one of the most dangerous agents in Valorant. This agent has a long list of abilities, making him a formidable foe and an enviable teammate. His popular abilities include the Shock Dart, which costs 150 credits, and his Recon Bolt.
List of Sova’s Abilities
1. Recon Bolt
The Recon bolt is Sova’s signature ability. While playing as Sova, you can use this weapon for free, and it also has a 40 seconds cooldown time. Players have to fire the Recon Bolt in any direction using a bow to use it. Moreover, you must note that enemies can terminate the bolt by shooting at it.
You can also extend the range of the bolt when you “Hold Fire”. “Alt fire” allows you to increase the bounces your Recon Bolt can have. Upon collision with any surface, the Recon Bolt activates depending on the number of bounces you added to it. On activation, the bolt sticks to the surface and emits wave pulses.
Shown below the crosshair is a charge bar that allows you to know the range of your bolt. A full bar indicates that the Recon Bolt will reach its maximum range if fired immediately. This is Sova’s key recon ability.
2. Owl Drone
This is Sova’s ability that allows him to cast – he must equip it before casting. Furthermore, the Owl Drone costs 400 credits. Sova launches this basic ability while he stays still in a channeling position. Even after launch, Sova can still control the Owl Drone using the conventional movement keys.
The drone flies through the air for a specific time duration. Upon expiration of the specific time, the drone self-destructs. Also, the drone will self-destruct if Sova takes damage while he’s controlling it. The Owl Drone allows Sova to shoot darts at enemies. Upon hitting an enemy, Sova will be able to follow the players’ actions and locations during the game. Also, we recommend that you visit Battlelog.co for your undetected Valorant cheats.
3. Shock Bolt
Shock Bolt is an ability that allows Sova to shoot arrows that can travel for long ranges. The Shock bolt costs 150 credits and allows a maximum of 2 bounces. Upon contact or collision with a surface the bolt detonates, causing damage to players around. Like the Recon Bolt, you can also control the range of this bolt or increase the number of bounces.
The amount of damage enemies take depends on their location within the explosion radius of the bolt. The bolt has an inner and an outer radius. Enemies caught within the inner radius of the explosion take full damage, while those on the outer radius suffer damage that varies depending on their closeness to the inner radius.
4. Hunter’s Fury
This brings us to Sova’s Ultimate ability – Hunter’s Fury. Hunter’s Fury is an ability that allows Sova to fire three deadly bolts of energy that travels far distances on the map. Enemies who get hit by these energy bolts suffer severe damage and stay marked on the map.
You can monitor the location where your bolts will travel using the minimap. Hunter’s Fury, unlike similar abilities, can travel through walls and is great for marking enemies. While the timer is still counting, you can repeatedly use this ability more than 2 times.
Best Loadout to Use When Playing as Sova
Sova has several abilities that make some weapons a waste to him. When playing as Sova in Valorant, the weapons you choose depends on what approach you and your team are using in the game. If you’re playing aggressive and pushing enemy lines, weapons such as Ghost, Ares, Phantom, and Stinger are some of the best considerations for your loadout.
On the other hand, you may just decide to stand back and leash out your blows from a distance. In that case, your best picks should include Bulldog, Marshal, Vandal, Operator, and Guardian. Let’s go into details of two of Sova’s notable weapons below.
1. Marshal
The Marshal has an impressive magazine capacity to carry up to 5 bullets. That’s an overkill for a sniper rifle, right? Furthermore, this semi-automatic spits bullets at a 1.5/1.2 per second fire rate. It also has impressive damage of 202, 101, and 85 for the head, torso, and leg/arm shots, respectively. All you need to purchase this beast is 1100 credits.
2. Operator
Like the Marshal, the Operator has a 5-bullet magazine capacity and boasts a 0.75 bullets per second fire rate. Bullets from the Operator have greater damage than the Marshal as it has an impressive wall penetration. For shots to the head, the Operator delivers 255 damage per bullet.
Torso and arm/leg shots deal less damage of 150 and 127 damage per bullet, respectively. As the saying goes, “to whom much is given, much is expected.” To add this beast to your loadout, you’ll have to part with 4500 credits.
Sova’s Role on the Team
Sova is an initiator agent. If you don’t know what that means, it simply means that the Sova serves best in the team as a leader. He takes the frontline as the team advances and provides useful information about the enemy. This keeps your team from unknowingly walking into traps or an ambush.
Sova has a lineup of abilities that makes him ideal in both defensive and offensive approaches to combat. Recon Bolt and Owl drone are some abilities that help him serve the team very well in offensive combat. These abilities reveal the enemy’s location and give the team an advantage when closing in.
Best Team Composition When Playing as Sova
Valorant is a 5 v 5 shooter game. As such, you need to be careful when selecting members for your team. You’ll need to have basic knowledge about many of the characters available and their abilities.
When creating a team with Sova in it, you’d need to be extra careful so you don’t have similar abilities overlapping. Sometimes, amidst overlapping similar abilities among agents, other vital aspects of the team composition could be lacking.
1. Sova, Brimstone, Cypher, Omen, and Viper
To play Valorant as Sova, some notable agents that will fit perfectly in the team are Cypher, Omen, Viper, and Brimstone. However, you must note that this combination works best if you prefer slow-paced games. Viper, Omen, and Sova will serve as initiators on the team. They function best as the lead while also providing essential information their team needs to advance.
With the trio listed above in front, you’ll need someone else to watch your back. Cypher is just the right guy for this job – thanks to his Trapwire. Of course, you’ll need some brute force and the aggressive push required to break through the enemies’ defense. Brimstone will do a neat job serving in this position.
2. Sova, Sage, Breach, Cypher, and Phoenix
If you want to enjoy a smarter game, you’ll appreciate what comes with this combination. Sova has impressive information-gathering abilities, but you’ll have to let Cypher and Phoenix do the job in this setup. Their information-gathering abilities far outperform Sova’s recon. Sova should be reserved as the team’s intuitive fighter.
A key duo in this combination includes Sova and Cypher. Their skills make it a lot easier for the team to gain control of the map. You’ll need Breach’s bullish power for the big blows – he delivers such blows that will make you shudder. Rolling Thunder is his Ultimate ability – a formidable tool that will make the match seem unfair.
Last on the team is Sage. It’s just fair if you see her as the team’s nurse. Her Signature ability is the Healing Orb. Sage uses the Healing Orb to heal wounded team members. She also has an Ultimate ability – Resurrection. This ability allows her to bring her killed teammates back to life. With this combination, you’ll make giant strides in Valorant.
Also read: 21 Best Open-World Games for Android
Conclusion
Valorant is an interesting 5 v 5 shooter. The game has many other agents with impressive abilities, but Sova will always keep you in awe. Playing Valorant as Sova requires that you have a good knowledge of her abilities. After all, the game revolves mainly around these abilities. However, we strongly advise that you be careful when using these abilities.
Some abilities have a longer cooling time than others. Therefore, you must use such abilities only when they are necessary. Next is your choice of weapons – the Operator and Marshal won’t make a bad loadout composition for Sova. Lastly, you’ll need teammates whose abilities complement Sova’s own. We’ve provided two suggestions in the article, do well to check them out.
