Sova’s cape offers a chance for a disadvantage in a duel. His cape is long and flowy enough to drag behind him to give away his position. So why does he have one? Is it so important for him to keep warm in a game that has different climates through different maps? Is it that fashionable that its worth dying for? Say no to capes.
“No capes!” is a memorable quote from the fictional superhero costume designer Edna of The Incredibles. With good reason too, capes offered nothing but deaths for the superheroes in the movie. So, if it could cause death, why does Sova have a cape?
You may be thinking, “That’s a children’s movie and this is Valorant. Sova’s cape is part of a cool character design. He can’t die like the superheroes in the aforementioned movie because of it!” May I present you with this clip?
So why must we accept a character design element that could possibly get us killed? Let’s take a look at Sova and the cape.
Sova is from Russia’s tundra. Russia is cold which is why he needs a cape in the first place. However, most of the maps on Valorant offer a climate where capes aren’t needed. Fracture is in New Mexico, Breeze is somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, Bind is in Morocco, Haven is in Bhutan, Split is in Japan, and Ascent is in Italy. The only map that offers any sort of climate for a cape would be Icebox, which is located in Sova’s home of Russia. So, what we learn from this is that although it is character design, Sova’s cape is already impractical for him as a person.
Capes have been used for centuries and were very common across Europe. It was used as both a fashion statement and for protection. In fiction, capes are associated with superheroes. This was to provide an illusion of movement and motion in a drawing, other than that it provided nothing else other than another piece of a costume.
In video games, capes and cloaks (long capes) were associated with hunters. This is another reason why Sova has a cape because he is a video game character that is also a hunter. Hunters with cloaks and capes offer cover in the hunt. Hunters having capes and cloaks are evident in games like Destiny, RuneScape, Terraria, and Fortnite. Again, it only makes sense that Sova also has a cape or a cloak to fit in with this common theme, however his cape works against him.
Sova’s cape is too short in the front and too long in the back. His cape really only covers his shoulders in the front, so it does not really offer him too much warmth or protection. Sure, his arms need to be free to shoot his bow and arrow, but what is the point if it offers no warmth for him as a person and me as a player. The back is too flowy, as you saw in the clip above, it flows way too much with movement. Forget about jiggle peeking, the cape will always peak for you whether you like it or not. Sure, capes could look cool, but not if you have a symbol on it closely resembling the Walmart logo. Look how much they look alike.
So maybe a disadvantage when playing is part of the character? One could argue that Jett’s foot trails when she performs her dash. Although that is true; Jett’s foot could give away her position when dashing, I’d like to point out that that is a trait of an ability. It is an ability that also has a sound cue for other players to hear, whereas Sova’s cape giving away his position is just a side effect of his existence. You could also argue that Sage’s high ponytail could give her away when she’s trying to hide. Well, sure her ponytail could in fact give her away if she’s crouched in a really tight spot. Sova’s cape is much more egregious in a flawed character design that offers more opportunities to give away his position.
Although Sova’s cape is an agent design flaw, there is one agent that does this look correctly. That agent is Omen. Omen also wears a cape, however the cape is tattered and cut short. His cape also features a hood which covers Omen’s identity. His cape does not give away his movement. It is stylish unlike Sova’s Walmart look and really leans into his character design and backstory. Omen’s hooded cape is purely for looks (which is done well) whereas Sova’s deceives you into thinking it is for warmth.
Sova’s cape offers confusion that he’s a retail employee as well as potential death. Because of this, I wonder why we accept the fact that he has this cape on his person 100% of the time we use this agent. It offers nothing but negative attributes and something that should be removed from the game. If it was kept in the game but was affixed to his back so that it would not flow so much, it would look really weird and unnatural which is why I vouch for its complete removal instead. Being killed because of an agent’s horrible fashion choices is not fair to the player. So, I have proposed a change. I present to you, the better Sova (hood optional):
