Sova is Valorant’s resident intel-gatherer and is unrivalled when it comes to figuring out where the enemies are and getting early picks. Thanks to the extremely high skyboxes in Valorant it’s possible to arc Sova’s arrows so they go from your spawn and right onto the enemy site if you know where to line up your shots.
Mastering these is the key to Sova and when you know a few basic spots on each map will earn your team plenty of kills as they can wallbang or catch enemies out in the open. Even getting instant intel that no enemies are pushing your way can change the course of a round, allowing you to rotate to the other site and even out the numbers.
But there’s plenty more to Sova’s kit, from his Owl Drone to his devastating ult that sends shocking blasts through the whole map. Knowing when to use these and how to get the best of these will make you an invaluable asset to your team. Who knows, if you nail those lineups they may even buy you an Operator as a treat.
Sova Recon Bolt
The Recon Bolt is Sova’s default ability and recharges over time (35 seconds) after being used. You don’t need credits to activate this and you’re using it as soon as it’s active then you should be able to fire at least three Recon Bolts in a round.
There’s plenty of nuance to these arrows, too. If you use the right mouse button you can cycle between adding one, two, or no bounces to the projectile – if you’re feeling cute, you can bounce these around a corner to get intel on the fly without exposing yourself. The bolts can also be charged with either low charge, medium charge, or high charge. Low charge is for very short arrows or lob shots and will not travel far. Medium charge is what we’ll use for most of our Sova lineups as it has a bit of arc and travels reasonably far. High charges come in handy for if you want very direct shots with fast travel time – they don’t arc much so you can’t do too many flashy tricks with them.
The last thing you need to know about the Recon Bolt is that it requires line of sight, so while it’s radius is pretty big, if someone’s hiding behind a box that the bolt can’t see then they won’t show up. This is key as you need to really think about where the bolt is landing and what angles it exposes so you aren’t caught out by adversaries.
We’ve got a handy list of some beginner lineups and shots you can learn to make the most of your recon bolts but if you’re ready for a challenge there are some advanced lineup tactics by talented YouTubers sprinkled in.
Sova Recon Bolt lineups on Split
We’ll start with Split’s A site from the attacker’s perspective. This lineup is nice and simple, giving you a great view of the A site so your team can dump utility on heaven ramp and rush for the plant.
For the reverse, here’s a defensive A site Sova lineup that gives you intel on the initial attacking push. The Recon Bolt should land in a spot that gives you intel on everything the enemy has on A, but you’ll need someone on ramp ready to counter a dash from Valorant’s Jett.
Moving onto mid, this attacker lineup will give you plenty of intel on B heaven, which is a key point to take if you’re planning on winning a Spike plant at B. Back up against the back wall in the clip below and make sure the yellow triangle is split in the middle by the corner in your foreground. Next, line the bolt up as we do in the clip below and you’ll see anyone hiding in the heaven nook, plus anyone who is pushing down mid. It looks like a niche spot, but limiting movement and identifying players in that corner is vital for pushing onto B through mid.
Flipping around to the defending perspective on mid, this bolt will land almost exactly where you fire the attacking Recon Bolt from, making this a great counter to pushes or rotates through B link. You don’t have to take the fight, but having the intel means you can react much more efficiently.
Finally, we’ve got this all-purpose attacking Recon Bolt for B long. Simply stuff yourself into the corner shown below and line the shot up with one charge exactly as we do. The reference points are the prong from the radar dish and the left vertical neon light on the very distant skyscraper. Aim down a tiny bit and this should land right in the front section of B, revealing the initial left and right as your team breaks onto site.
From the defending side, there’s a Recon Bolt lineup that will give you plenty of intel on the attacker’s initial push through B long and any late rotations from B link. The reference point for this is a little tricky, so we suggest practising in a custom match. You need to be backed up against the back of B and you need to make sure the arrow that points down from the top of the scoreboard and timer lines up with the top of the dark central ring of the middle lantern. Next, edge forward until that same arrow meets up with the edge of the balcony.
If you’ve got these techniques perfected then have no fear, a challenge is here. Below you can watch some insane lineup for Split curated by Snapiex on YouTube and try them out for yourself.
SOVA RECON BOLT LINEUPS ON Haven
Here are a couple of Sova lineups on Haven that should give your team a solid read on your opponents and their intentions for the round.
This lineup can be set up before the round starts and gives you a lot of information on where the enemy is stacked up between A and mid. It is a little exposed if the enemy rushes down A long, so either pair up with a gunner or move away as fast as possible. Only one charge needed, no bounces.
This next bolt is for defending B and getting a read on the attacking team’s mid presence. It won’t give you intel on window, but if you use it a few seconds into a round you’ll know whether or not a B rush is in progress. Just cram yourself into the back left of the ‘gong’ section of B and use a single charge for the shot.
This final recon bolt for Haven gives you superb vision onto C when attacking, covering your entry and revealing any rotates from CT to site. The bolt has a lot of travel time, giving your team enough time to dump utility down long and make the push – by the time the bolt reveals any enemies your team should be in a position to capitalise. Two charges, just don’t max the bow out.
Those are some basic lineups to learn, but if you want some advanced positions that can let you gather info from even more impressive angles on the tricky map that is Haven, Snapiex has even more skill shots for you to try.
RECON BOLT LINEUPS ON Bind
Our lineups for Bind are easy and simple to execute, giving you great early round intel.
We’re starting with an A attack lineup that will light up most of A mid and the entrance to showers, leaving you with Lamps and heaven as your main focus. The neat thing about this lineup, which we have Akshon Esports to thank for, is that you can change the bolt so it targets the back of site by adding an extra bounce – default is one charge, one bounce, while back of site is one charge, two bounces.
For the lineup itself you just need to nestle yourself into the back right corner of the A mid attacking lane. You don’t have to be too precise with your crosshair on this as you’ll still definitely light up some of A, but we aim for between the two grey panels, and a little down.
Another beauty from Akshon Esports, this defensive lineup from B gives you great vision onto B long so your sniper can peek with confidence. This setup is a little tricky, so push yourself into the back right corner of B, then edge left along the back wall until a small crack appears between the water tower and the ledge on the top right. Place your crosshair in this gap and then steer it slightly left so it’s just on the water tower. Now, two charges, one bounce – you want the bolt to clip the tower and bounce down.
For some additional lineups which have been tested by a high-level player, you can see LMNTRIX explain some of his favourite spots in this video.
Sova Shock Bolt
The Shock Bolt is Sova’s Q ability. You can buy two of these per round and each one costs 100 credits. This has the same characteristics as the Recon Bolt, so the lineups work with both. The Shock Bolt can be more helpful for simply clearing corners and nooks as it deals plenty of damage and its radius is large enough to force hiding enemies out into the open. There are some lineups that are specifically for the Shock Bolt but they’re very situational and still need some honing.
Sova Owl Drone
The Owl Drone is bound to C. You can buy one Owl Drone per round and it costs 300 credits. The Owl Drone is equipped and then manually piloted by Sova. You steer with your mouse and if you spot an enemy then you can tag them with a tracking dart by clicking the left mouse button on them. There are no tricks you can play with those, but they are incredibly valuable in clutch situations where you can hunker in a corner and let your drone survey the area for you – manage to tag the enemy and you’ve pretty much won the round.
Sova Hunter’s Fury
This ult is very difficult to use at first but if you save it for the right situations and learn some chokepoints to use it in then it’s good for a free kill. This ult gives you three shots that effectively beam through the entire map, the blast radius is narrow enough that quick players can dodge it in almost all places. However, there are a few chokepoints where Hunter’s Fury is almost impossible to avoid. You can see the path of your shot on the minimap which allows you to line these up on the fly, but we’ve posted a couple below to give you an idea of where these work best.
The first spot is designed to punish the initial push into A. As you can see from the map, this Hunter’s Fury lineup will kill anyone trapped in that corridor and let your team secure the A ramp and even push into sewers from mid to mop up any escaping attackers.
The second spot is the B site equivalent – there’s less funnelling space so it’s generally less effective. We prefer to use this later into the round and in conjunction with our B defense Recon Bolt lineup to counter a late push onto B.
And there you have it, some inspiration on how to get the best out of Sova’s abilities. For more help we’ve got a complete guide to the best Valorant guns and a guide on the various Valorant spray patterns. We’ve also got a specific guide on Sage and another on Killjoy. Now, get mastering these in time for the Valorant release date so you can be a top-notch Sova main from day one.