The rework of Yoru in early 2022

Ryan "Rycoux" Cousart, game and character designer, as well as John Goscicki, character producer, announced that Yoru will finally receive a rework. While not everything is finalised, they are revealing the first areas of improvement to make Yoru a true illusionist.

An extremely unpopular Agent

The release of Yoru at the beginning of 2021 had excited many people. Presented as an Agent with many subtleties, he was supposed to be the one who would destabilise opponents, making them doubt their senses and take them by surprise. But his kit, devoid of any real offensive or defensive abilities, did not meet with unanimous approval.

When he was released, many players tried him out and got mixed feedback, feeling that he should not have been announced as a Duelist. He was described as fun to play, but more importantly as the worst Duelist of Valorant. His main flaw is that an experienced player will hardly be fooled by his abilities.

If you're going to play a Duelist, you might as well choose one that can have an impact on the game, and this is not the case with our Japanese friend. And it's fair to say that effective Duelists are not lacking in Valorant. In addition to being very little played, Yoru is also the Agent with the lowest winrate, which says a lot about his inability to be effective in the game.

On the professional side, there was no rush to play him competitively. His popularity has never been very high, but it's not at a standstill. The statistics speak for themselves, when you see that he has a 0% pickrate at the Valorant Champions. This rate is not much higher in other competitions, unlike a Jett or a Raze.

In terms of pickrate in the competitive sphere, Yoru is as unpopular as his fellow duelist: Phoenix. The latter has nevertheless distinguished himself in the previous stages of the competition and tends to shine solo rather than in constructed teams.

In short, Yoru quickly fell into oblivion and has not interested anyone for a long time. That's why, a few months ago, Riot Games' teams announced that they wanted to give him a well-deserved rework to bring him back to the forefront. It's been a long time coming, but the players have not been forgotten and Yoru is going to get a little upgrade.

A 2.0 Yoru

Nothing is final yet, and changes will surely take place before the update is made, but here is what we already know about the future Yoru.

Until now, his ability Fakeout has allowed him to create the sound of footsteps to lure opponents. This will potentially be improved and the Agent will be able to create a double of himself, a forward running illusion that will disappear in an explosion when shot. As it explodes, Yoru's double will do damage to nearby opponents.

Gatecrash will also receive some changes. The range at which opponents can hear the teleportation beacon when it is used will be reduced. In addition, the Agent will be able to teleport 20% faster than before. But that's not all, he will also be able to activate the beacon remotely to simulate a teleportation. Opponents will then have the same sound and visual effects as if he has really teleported. To get an idea of what the ability will do, the designers unveiled a video in their article.

At the moment, this is the only information we have about his abilities, but Ryan Cousart and John Goscicki say that other changes will be made. For the moment still in testing phase, they will probably be introduced in the near future and should concern the ultimate ability of the Agent. However, we already know that he should also receive a visual rework, in addition to the rework of his abilities.

The aim is for Yoru to have better tools to trick opponents, a stronger baseline value across his kit, and higher impact per round.

Ryan Cousart – Valorant Game and Character Designer

The Valorant Patch 3.12 was the last one of the year 2021. This means that we can't expect to see any changes for at least another month. More information will be available in early 2022 and we are looking forward to seeing the impact of 2.0 Yoru.