Sova can deploy Owl Drone while defusing Spike at the same time in VALORANT

Sova is taking scouting to a whole other level.

A VALORANT player discovered that Sova’s Owl Drone can be deployed while simultaneously defusing the Spike, posting a video of their findings today. Dot Esports tested this mechanic out and found similar success.

“I think this could be very useful to outsmart enemies [sic] and could lead to some easy defuses,” the player said.

To pull off this neat little trick, begin the Owl Drone animation immediately before hitting the defuse button. The drone will deploy and allow you to control it while Sova continues defusing the Spike.

Players often begin the defuse animation to bait their opponents into peeking. An enemy player might be less likely to peek if they hear the Spike defusal begin and the Owl Drone at the same time. This might lead them to believe that a Sova was baiting a fake defusal and is trying to gain information with the drone.

While this is definitely a useful tactic, enemies that aren’t fooled will see an easy target. Sova can’t control his body when deploying the Owl Drone, leaving him vulnerable to enemy attacks.

It’s unlikely that Riot will keep this mechanic in the game, especially if it begins to adversely affect matchmaking. Players can look for it to be fixed in a future patch.