New Valorant Agent SOVA revealed: Abilities, gameplay and lore

Riot Games have provided a first look at Valorant agent SOVA, a ruthlessly efficient Russian who will be available at the launch of the upcoming FPS.

Riot have slowly been unveiling more and more details about the highly-anticipated title, that looks set to combine the tactical gameplay of CS:GO with class-based elements reminiscent of Overwatch.

This includes unveiling ever more about the characters – or Agents – that players will get to play as, showcasing their abilities and explaining how and why they came to be an Agent in the near-future Earth.

Now, they have taken a deep dive into SOVA, a Russian archery expert who can track and hunt enemies down for the squad.

SOVA gameplay reveal

With a few Agents having already been revealed, we’ve started to see a healthy mix of Agents for variable playstyles that will be playable at launch, and SOVA seems to be a lethal combination of both support and pure aggression.

Opening with the tagline “wherever they run, I will find them,” you know exactly what you’re getting with SOVA from the offset.

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Following it up with some swift sniper plays – aided by his Owl Drone ability and Recon Bolt Signature – you see just how much of the map SOVA can open up with well-utilized abilities.

SOVA’s abilities in Valorant

Riot Games

SOVA’s Recon Bolt exposes the position of nearby enemies.

Like the other Agents in Valorant, SOVA has two Basic abilities, one Signature ability, and one Ultimate ability.

• Shock Bolt: Fire an explosive bolt that emits a damaging pulse of static energy upon impact.
• Owl Drone: Deploy a pilotable drone that can fire a dart that will Reveal enemies who are hit.
• Signature Ability – Recon Bolt: Fire a bolt that deploys a sonar emitter. The sonar pings tag nearby enemies, causing them to be revealed. Can be destroyed.
• Ultimate Ability – Hunter’s Fury: Fire up to three deadly energy blasts that spear across the entire map. Each hit enemy takes heavy damage and is marked.

In the gameplay reveal, you only get to see the Owl Drone and Recon Bolt in action, but they both look to be brilliant tools to help your teammates get the win, able to scout out the opposition with pinpoint precision. He seems like he’s going to be a vital Agent to use when playing Valorant.

SOVA’s lore & personality

Riot Games

SOVA looks like he would fit comfortably into the Assassin’s Creed series.

Simply from his opening line, we know that SOVA is all business – he doesn’t seem to be interested in joking around like someone like Viper does.

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His outfit seems very Assassin’s Creed-esque, with an air of stealth, aggression and minimalist power about him. Along with his right eye, which looks somewhat bionic due to its bright blue hue and may lend itself to his abilities, SOVA is an Agent that you know has seen and done a lot in his time.

With a few more Agents left to be revealed, we’ve really hardly seen anything as far as Valorant is concerned, but Riot are feeding fans just enough to keep everyone interested.

There are going to be ten Agents at launch, but you can be assured that that number will rise through the years, similar to how Riot’s MOBA League of Legends continues to introduce new champions to the game.