VALORANT: I Spent One Month With Yoru After His Rework

As you may have heard by now, VALORANT's Japanese Agent, Yoru, received a much needed rework when developer Riot Games released patch 4.04 on 1 March 2022.

While still mostly sticking to his original design philosophy from when he was first introduced to the game, the rework did make some notable changes to how Yoru's abilities function.

Yoru's initial design was pretty underwhelming to the average player.

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He had been touted as an agent that is supposed to make opponents and enemies confused in game, but his abilities were mostly very situational, and sometimes even outright useless, like his fake footsteps, for example. For those who haven't figured it out by now, this ability has a clear distinct sound that is very different from Yoru's own footsteps.

He does, arguably, have the best flash grenade in the game, so Riot has left that ability alone, while changing up the rest of his toolkit.

Are they effective enough to make Yoru as viable as the other Duelists in the game, though? Read on.

For context, I consider myself a Yoru main in VALORANT. I have a good 200+ hours using him as a main agent since his release, and I must say that he definitely feels much better to use now than his previous iteration.

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But that doesn't change the fact that I think Yoru still falls slightly short as a Duelist. I am getting ahead of myself here, though, so let me explain the changes first.

Signature Ability: Gatecrash

Yoru's Gatecrash ability, AKA his teleport, is now able to have two charges instead of one. You will get the first charge for free at the start of the round, and you are able to buy the second charge with 200 credits. Once you use a charge, you are able to replenish it by killing two enemies, instead of waiting for 40 seconds prior to this rework.

The initial orb that Yoru sends out when he uses Gatecrash now travels much faster than before, making it easier for the orb to reach its intended place faster.

Once the orb is in place, Yoru is able to do two things with the orb now — he can teleport to where the orb is, or he is able to fake the teleport, meaning that he is able to play the animation and sound cue of the teleport without actually teleporting.

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If Yoru chooses to activate the fake teleport, a blue puddle will be shown on the ground, making it easier for enemies to tell that it was a fake.

Ability 2: Fakeout

No, this is not a typo. I skipped his Ability 1 — which is Blindside, his flash ability — because there were no changes to it in this rework.

Fakeout, AKA the fake footsteps, has been dramatically changed.

Instead of deploying just fake footsteps, it now deploys a full Yoru clone. This clone will detonate with a short windup upon being shot with a gun, and causes a flash effect in the direction that it was shot from.

It also has 150 health to withstand any other kind of damage (from utility or grenades, but will not detonate immediately this way).

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To balance out the changes, Yoru has only one Fakeout charge now, instead of two.

Ultimate: Dimensional Drift

Yoru's ultimate ability has received some major buffs, but also some nerfs to change the way it is used.

Yoru now has unlimited vision in his ultimate, as opposed to only having short vision. He is also able to use all his abilities in his ultimate, while previously he couldn't.

But with those changes also come a few nerfs to balance things out.

The ultimate activation isn't instant now, so the invincibility frames from the previous iteration of his ultimate are now gone.

Yep, he can get shot to death even after his ultimate is activated, right before he enters the ultimate. If you are killed before you enter the ultimate, say goodbye to your ultimate charge.

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The ultimate also requires 7 points to be activated now, instead of 6.

Recovery time for Dimensional Drift has also been increased. This means that when you deactivate your ultimate, you aren't able to surprise your enemies as much as before (goodbye Shorty plays).

Thoughts on the rework

A Duelist's job in the game is to enter a site, and make space for your team to plant the spike or defuse it.

Their job is to take fights, while also being very self-sufficient, in case they need to bolt out of a hairy situation, or launch a surprise attack.

With this rework, I feel that Yoru is definitely able to surprise his enemies much better than his previous self.

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His faster teleports definitely allows him to enter a site faster when coupled with his flash, and he is able to create space much more effectively than before.

With the faster teleport travel time, he is also able to get out of a sticky situation faster this time around.

But that's where I would say that his usefulness as a Duelist ends (abilities-wise, anyway).

Prior to the patch, I always felt like he played more like a good Initiator rather than a Duelist when attacking.

Yoru is able to scout for information and teleport out, create slight confusion, and his flashes are amazing to cover angles that usually can't be by other agents.

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As for defending, he is also pretty good at stalling for time and halting aggressive pushes by confusing the enemies.

Honestly, I feel that it didn't change much after the rework. Sure, he has much better value to a team right now, but he still can't be taken as a Duelist at face value.

His Fakeout/clone is probably the most exciting part of his current kit at the moment. Used right, it can be amazing in a chaotic fight, or as bait. Coupled with the fact that it blinds the enemy for a very long while, this makes it a game changer when Yoru manages to use it to dupe enemies.

His ultimate now functions as a glorified and stronger Sova drone, with the ability for Yoru to deploy a flash when needed for his team to attack. He is also able to reposition to a safe place at will before deactivating his ultimate to surprise his enemies.

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However, unlike most Duelist's ultimates, Dimensional Drift is not meant for clearing enemies or taking them down. This also still makes him a little iffy as a Duelist since he can't attack anyone with his ultimate.

If your team fails to win their gunfights even after you reveal their positions, Yoru cannot do anything about it, except run away or die trying to battle the enemy after coming out of his ultimate.

Don't get me wrong, Yoru is extremely strong when you are able to get one-on-one fights, or if you are able to get the jump on the enemy.

But if you are looking for set plays with a team, he is still lacking a little, especially when he is not 'present' in the fight should he choose to instead scout with his ultimate.

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His clone is also easily countered if the opponents use the anti-flash tactic, which happens when players purposely hide themselves while a teammate gets flashed, so they are able to trade or swing off the flashed teammate.

His teleport orbs are useful to dupe the enemies when you activate the fake teleport, but only if it is out of sight, since there is a clear blue puddle that gives it away when it is a fake.

All in all, Yoru 2.0 is definitely an improved version of the character. But I still have no idea if he has a place in the pro-play meta.

He has abilities that make him stand out in a one on one fight, but in a team setting, as long the enemies have their teammates to cover their backs, it is extremely tough for a Yoru to provide any kind of value that the other present agents don't already do.

He is definitely a much better character now though, and I have gotten less and less death threats in competitive when I choose to play him, so I guess that is a good sign that he is becoming an accepted agent to play as in my ranked games.

Only time will tell if this rework is enough for Yoru, and until a pro team decides to incorporate him successfully into pro play, I will have my doubts that he is viable enough to be a chosen character in a VCT match.

Dominic loves tech and games. When he is not busy getting headshotted in VALORANT or watercooling anything he sees, he does some pro wrestling.

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