Riot Games recently announced that Valorant agent Yoru will be getting a rework in Episode Four Act II, arriving on March 1, 2022. In January 2021, Valorant revealed new agent Yoru, a stealth-based duelist that can go invisible while in an alternate dimension. While players were initially excited by the potential of Yoru’s abilities, he quickly became Valorant’s least-played agent, with a pick rate of less than 5%. This prompted Riot Games to announce a complete overhaul of Yoru and his special abilities, in a bid to make him a viable duelist for casual and professional play.
Many Valorant players shared the same reason for not picking Yoru. Why pick Yoru when there are much stronger agents in the game? Yoru is one of Valorant’s six duelists, with the most recent addition, Neon, added to Valorant in Episode 4 Act I. Yoru is widely considered the weakest duelist in Valorant’s current state of play, sitting at the bottom of most Valorant agent tier lists along with Controller, Brimstone. As a result, his pick rate reflects his strength as a duelist compared to his counterparts in the game.
In early December 2021, Valorant shared its plans for Yoru’s rework on its website. In a blog post, Ryan Cousart, a game/character designer for Valorant, and John Goscicki, one of the game’s character producers, shared their vision for Yoru’s rework based on feedback from Valorant’s fanbase. They cited the overall goal was for Yoru's character in Valorant to be “a master of deception” tricking opponents through “an increased output of disinformation.” In early February 2022, Valorant shared a part two, expanding on the upcoming rework’s gameplay changes, as well as showing the first images of the new design direction for Yoru.
Yoru Rework: Yoru’s Special Ability Changes In Valorant
Yoru’s first special ability is Fakeout, which currently mimics the sound of Yoru’s footsteps to misdirect the enemy team. In the rework, Fakeout will create a full body-double copy of Yoru which runs toward enemies and, upon taking damage, flashes toward opponents before exploding. The copy will look identical to Yoru to enemies, but allies will be able to differentiate between the real Yoru and his copy. Yoru’s Gatecrash ability, which allows Yoru to teleport like Sentinel, Chamber, has received buffs to the rift tether’s travel speed. A fake teleport has also been added to Gatecrash which can be triggered from a distance to mislead enemies.
Finally, are the changes to Yoru’s ultimate, Dimensional Drift. Yoru’s ult equips a mask that can see between dimensions rendering him invisible and invulnerable to enemies. The changes to Yoru’s ult includes the ability to cast all utility while in Yoru’s dimension, as well as Yoru no longer being revealed to enemies, although they can hear his footsteps. Previously, enemies who saw Yoru cast would be affected by the Nearsighted effect similar to when Valorant character Reyna uses Leer; this has been removed. Yoru’s ultimate’s unequip delay has been increased slightly, and a cast delay has been added, to prevent invulnerability frames.
Yoru’s rework focuses on stealth and infiltration, and his ability to gain ground on enemies while using Dimensional Drift. Fakeout’s copy of Yoru leans into his role to deceive the enemy team, while the addition of a fake teleport to Yoru’s Gatecrash increases his output of disinformation. Interestingly, Yoru’s Q ability, Blindside, isn’t mentioned in Valorant’s Yoru rework blog posts, suggesting it remains unchanged. Only time will tell if Yoru’s rework will be enough to make him an agent worth unlocking in Valorant. Fortunately, Valorant players only have to wait a little longer to experience Yoru’s new and improved abilities for themselves.
Source: Valorant