Valorant: Yoru Agent Guide - Abilities, strategies, tips, tricks and lore

Valorant is set to get its 14th Agent and its fifth duelist, with the Japanese duelist, Yoru, to enter the game with the start of Episode 2 Act I.

Yoru will bring a new level of psychological warfare to Riot’s tactical FPS. A few balance changes have also been revealed including a nerf for the Classic pistol, and for the all-powerful Omen and a buff for Brimstone.

Most interesting among the reveals though is Yoru’s finalized toolkit. His skills appear very versatile and geared towards gaining an informational advantage. Regardless of how you interpret them, his design definitely reaches into new territory for tactical shooters.

(Picture: Riot Games) 

Yoru Abilities Guide 

Basic Abilities:

• Fakeout: Allows Yoru to psych out his opponent by creating phantom footsteps, a skill first teased in a v1.14 easter egg. The steps can be projected from Yoru’s position or placed on the ground nearby to be activated later. This ability seems designed for clutch situations or 200 IQ lurking plays. Fakeouts cost $100 with a maximum of two.
• Blindside: A bouncing flashbang with lots of setup potential. The grenade bounces once before exploding after a short-timer. The lack of a timer on the initial bounce could make for some powerful long-range flash plays in Operator duels. A shallow toss could be used in a scramble, and there’s plenty of potential for tricky pop flashes. That utility comes at a $400 price tag per pair.

Signature Ability

Yoru’s most complex ability is Gatecrash.  The duelist sends out a portal that perpetually slides along the ground. Its straightforward course is only affected by slanted walls which it glides along. A flat wall or corner will stop its movement. Yoru can teleport to the Gatecrash orb at any time during its long duration, but enemies can see and destroy it with a few taps if they get close to it. It's completely invisible to enemies at range but emits a faint sound.

(Picture: Riot Games)

Ultimate Ability

Dimensional Drift summons an interdimensional Oni mask that, when worn, teleports Yoru to an alternate dimension where he is extremely fast, completely invincible, and mostly invisible. Enemies at a moderate distance get an effect at the border of their screens while close ones can straight up see you. You can’t shoot while affected by Dimensional Drift, but mind games between this, Fakeout, and Gatecrash are endless. The intelligence-gathering aspect should be highly prized in the competitive scene.

Strategy

Overall, Yoru seems like an Agent designed to excel at the beginning and end of rounds. Drift is a great scouting tool and lets him catch rotations faster than any other Agent. Gatecrash is also invaluable as a repositioning tool; it and Fakeout are going to lead to some crazy clutches at the Valorant Champions Tour in February. His kit could be interpreted in a few different ways.

I believe he’s meant to be a slower duelist designed around repositioning, meant to contrast with the entry fragging focus of Phoenix and Jett. The upcoming VCT will be Yoru’s debut at the highest level of play.