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Yoru Abilities
C – Fakeout: 100 Credits, 1 Charge
Video Credit: Riot Games
- EQUIP an echo that transforms into a mirror image of Yoru when activated. FIRE to instantly activate the mirror image and send it forward. ALT FIRE to place an inactive echo. USE to transform an inactive echo into a mirror image and send it forward. Mirror images explode in a blinding flash when destroyed by enemies.
Of all the new Yoru buffs in VALORANT, the additions to his Fakeout ability stand out the most. Instead of only sending out fake footsteps, Yoru now sends out a whole fake copy of himself. This copy can either be sent out in a straight line immediately or positioned in a spot to be activated later.
When shot, Yoru’s copies will turn to face the enemy who shot them and flashbang in a cone facing that direction. This means that by sending in a fake Yoru, your team will gain knowledge of where an enemy is shooting them from, as well as a guaranteed flashbang to push them off an angle.
Q – Blindside: 250 Credits, 2 Charges
Video Credit: Riot Games
- EQUIP to rip an unstable dimensional fragment from reality. FIRE to throw the fragment, activating a flash that winds up once it collides with a hard surface in world.
Blindside is Yoru’s only unchanged ability from his previous iteration. Yoru throws a fragment that will travel ahead until it hits a hard surface. Once it does, it will transform into a normal curved flashbang similar to Phoenix’s Curveball.
Using Blindside properly will take some getting used to, as the throwing angles can be wonky. However, the ability to support teammates from afar in addition to being able to create an entry for yourself make Blindside a very good flashbang overall.
E – Gatecrash: 200 Credits, 2 Charges (Resets with 2 kills)
Video Credit: Riot Games
- EQUIP to harness a rift tether. FIRE to send the tether out moving forward. ALT FIRE to place a tether in place. ACTIVATE to teleport to the tether’s location. USE to trigger a fake teleport.
Gatecrash is still the same ability in essence, just powered up and given a new feature. The ability now has up to two charges, meaning that Yoru can chain teleport. Gatecrash now creates less audible sound for enemies and travels slightly faster. When Yoru activates the teleport, he now reaches the other end a second faster as well.
The big change to Gatecrash is that Yoru can now fake a teleport. By pressing your USE key, the end of the teleport location will play audio and expel portal visuals as if Yoru is teleporting. Enemies will only be able to tell if this was a fake by obtaining line-of-sight on the portal, as it will display a puddle on the floor in this case. Gatecrash now provides even more trickery and disinformation, making it a key ability for Yoru in VALORANT.
X – Dimensional Drift: 7 Ultimate Points
Video Credit: Riot Games
- EQUIP a mask that can see between dimensions. FIRE to drift into Yoru’s dimension, unable to be affected or seen by enemies from the outside.
Yoru’s ultimate ability has a lot of new changes that will shift his play patterns. When Yoru uses Dimensional Drift, he will now no longer be revealed to enemies. However, his footsteps can now be heard by enemies within 15 meters, so he can’t go completely unnoticed. Yoru is also no longer nearsighted while wearing the mask. This means that he can gain info on everything ahead of him.
The biggest buff here is that Yoru can now cast all of his abilities out of his ultimate. Being able to stay invisible for 10 seconds, gaining info and setting up teammates, makes Yoru incredibly dangerous while in Dimensional Drift. To balance this out, Yoru’s cast delay and unequip delay on his mask have been increased.
Playstyle for Yoru in VALORANT
As a duelist, Yoru’s role in a team is of an aggressor. His abilities should help Yoru and his team take map control and set up for entry kills. While he struggled with this in his previous iteration, Yoru has more tools in his kit now.
Deception Using Fakeout
Since you only have one charge of Fakeout per round as Yoru, make sure that someone is ready to take advantage of the space and information the copy provides. Most of the time, you will use Fakeout during your team’s main site execute. Remember, the copy’s flashbang only blinds in front of it, so you and your allies can walk in right behind it without being blinded.
Now, the copy of Yoru is indistinguishable from the real Yoru to your enemies. For Yoru in VALORANT, taking advantage of your opponents’ conditioned thoughts is your best friend. If you just keep sending your copy in first, enemies will grow wise and start playing positions where they can safely relocate. Using Fakeout at different times and angles is going to keep opponents off guard. While playing Yoru, you can even pretend HE is the copy and go for entries first, although there’s no guarantee that you won’t be shot anyways.
On the Defender’s side, Yoru can also play aggressively with Fakeout. Sending the copy into points of attack can provide information and pick opportunities. If you’re afraid of going in blind, Yoru can use Fakeout’s ALT mode to set a copy up on one angle, then activate it when attackers come towards him as bait for his real angle.
There are a lot of applications for Yoru’s new Fakeout ability. Even if you aren’t using it for some grand misdirection play, the baseline value of information and a flashbang is very high. Just remember to not get too predictable and be creative with the copy.
Crashing the Gates
The other new deception mechanic added to Yoru’s kit is Gatecrash’s fake teleport. Before, using Gatecrash was difficult for Yoru, since enemies would pretty much always know where he was if they heard the loud sounds of the portal moving or activating. Now, Yoru has a whole new layer of depth when using the ability.
Yoru can send his Gatecrash portal into enemy territory and set it up in a difficult spot to watch. He can then choose to either go through it for a flank if the timing is right, or to fake the teleport to make enemies unsure of Yoru’s location.
Since your opponents need to see the portal location itself to confirm if Yoru teleported, they need to decide whether to leave their post to check it or to play in fear of Yoru shooting them in the back. Either way, Yoru will be gaining value in the form of map control or misinformation. This works well on both offense and defense.
Another technique afforded to Yoru in VALORANT is the escape teleport. Since he has two charges of Gatecrasher now, Yoru can use one to reposition himself to a safe spot. Simply use the skill in a place held by your team, then go for an entry or information play. This is extremely reliable and potent when Yoru is in his Dimensional Drift, now that he can use abilities in it.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Timing is Everything
Yoru’s new kit provides him with many new options to bring consistent value to his team. However, you must make sure to use these new abilities in time with your team. After all, what good is a flashbang or a flank if there is no one to take advantage of the space they create?
By letting teammates know when the Yoru copy is running in, you can have more manpower ready to take space behind it. The distraction could help a Jett or Raze jump forward for kills. On defense, synchronizing your abilities with friendly abilities is a great way to catch attackers off guard.
Always plan your Gatecrash teleports and fakes with pressure from your team. If enemies can just pull off their angles to shut Yoru’s deception down without losing map control, they are essentially losing nothing. Having even the threat of a player in the opponent’s backlines is an insanely powerful tool that should not go uncapitalized on.
Lastly, make sure that your movement in Dimensional Drift is efficient and purposeful. While 10 seconds of stealth may seem like a lot of time, that time passes extremely quickly in VALORANT. Yoru should be able to get all the information he needs to coordinate a push, use any abilities he needs to, and get to a safe spot to unstealth all within this time.
Ending your ultimate in the enemy’s backline is also a good option, just make sure that you can recover quickly. The new extended unequip delay makes it much more difficult to go from stealthing to fighting. If you can ensure enemies won’t be looking directly at you when exiting Dimensional Drift, you will be in great position to clean up kills or distract opponents.
Yoru is an incredibly high skill ceiling Duelist. His deception-focused kit is amazing at keeping his opponents on their toes constantly. One lapse in judgement or communication could be the catalyst for Yoru to take over a game. If you make sure to keep yourself unpredictable and time your abilities properly, you will be able to deal some real damage with Yoru.
