The game’s least popular agent, Yoru, will get a significant overhaul in the next big update of Valorant. Yoru was initially planned to be a full-fledged lurker but will now be more of a Duelist/Initiator hybrid build, according to Riot Games.
Valorant is a 5v5 first-person shooter in which attackers try to plant a spike bomb while defenders try to stop them. Duelists thrive at being aggressive, Sentinels and Controllers focus on battlefield control, while Initiators take over areas of the map by exposing or displacing the adversary.
Yoru’s original skills were designed to allow him to play as a “lurker” – as Riot revealed as far back as late 2020, he was purposefully created to lurk behind enemy lines, with his utility aiding in that mission. He ended up landing flat on his face.
Valorant had been out for almost six months when Yoru was released. With only a handful of agents and maps, professional and casual players swiftly optimised defensive and offensive methods. Yoru’s equipment rendered him predictable and useless, preventing him from breaking through opposing lines. Putting him in a match was more of a liability than a benefit, and with more flexible alternatives on the table, he faded into obscurity and required a makeover.
Fakeout is his initial ability. Sound is an essential aspect in finding adversaries in Valorant, and this talent sent out phoney footfall to confuse or distract the attacker. It’s difficult enough to “fake out” someone at higher levels of play, so most players avoid using auditory cues like footfall to reveal their location. Yoru’s use of this skill frequently resulted in him giving up more information by alerting players to his presence rather than collecting any data.
The new Fakeout is significantly more effective than the original, if not entirely different. Yoru conjures a decoy clone (complete with phoney footstep sounds) that advances until shot or vanishes. If the clone is fired, it will turn to face the adversary, explode, and blind them.
This results in a more powerful data-gathering tool that can serve as a battling option if Yoru chooses to engage in combat. This puts the skill on par with other possible information-gathering abilities, like Raze’s Boombot or Reyna’s Leer.
Yoru’s makeover is coming up nicely. By enabling Yoru to use Fakeout to acquire information, Riot has preserved the agent’s original persona. Allowing him to use his utility during his ultimate gives him more options in how he engages in a fight. Yoru should be able to become an excellent secondary duelist pick or perhaps a better entry into a site like Reyna or Phoenix as a result of this.
