Valorant is a tactical first-person shooter that gained popularity after launching last year. Thanks to Riot Games' reputation with League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, Valorant has been commonly streamed on Twitch. Now, the game is preparing to launch even more content in Episode Two, including a new agent: Yoru.
Yoru is a Radiant from Japan with an amazing character design and an even more impressive ability kit. Like the previously released agent, Skye, Yoru brings new and interesting mechanics to keep things fresh in Valorant matches. Yoru will be available in tandem with Valorant Episode Two, which will also provide skin cosmetic packs and a new battle pass. Here's what you should know about the agent that was featured in the Valorant trailer, "Retake."
As a Radiant, Yoru has special powers granted to him due to exposure to radianite. Each Radiant's powers has a theme, usually an element. Yoru's radiant powers appear to let him warp and create rifts through reality. He seems to physically rip holes between dimensions with his hands, allowing him to appear in key locations without enemies knowing.
This type of ability and the playstyle it supports makes Yoru something of an infiltrator duelist -- someone who is meant to start fights but who, with the aid of stealth, can find methods to rotate, flank and get to surprise angles. Yoru appears to be all about sneaking behind enemy lines, gaining a positional advantage for his teammates and deceiving enemies to get the drop on them.
Yoru's C ability, "Fakeout," plays with a core mechanic that Valorant players rely on. Hearing footsteps tells players where enemies are or where they are going and can signal if an opponent is charging forward to attack or running away. Fakeout allows Yoru to create an echo of fake footstep sounds in the direction a player chooses. This can trick enemies into revealing themselves from their cover or make them believe they need to rotate to another site. Fakeout does not walk through walls, but does walk along side walls. This mimics a player moving from cover to cover, and the fake trail can be seen. This ability can be sent forward or left in place to be activated for later use.
Yoru's Q ability, "Blindside," causes him to rip an unstable dimensional fragment from reality. This fragment can be thrown like a grenade and bounce off of surfaces. Shortly after bouncing off a surface, this fragment explodes like a flashbang, blinding any enemies looking in its direction.
Yoru's E ability is one of his more difficult to use powers. Known as "Gatecrash," this allows Yoru to equip something of a rift tether. With this, Yoru can plant the tether on the ground wherever he wants. Yoru can also fire the tether forward to plant it at spots he can not immediately reach. Activating this ability again will teleport Yoru to the location where the tether has been placed.
Finally, Yoru's X ability, "Dimensional Drift," allows him to travel through dimensions and walk through reality unseen. With this, Yoru reveals an Oni facemask that he seems to store in a pocket dimension that allows him to see between dimensions. Once the mask is equipped, Yoru enters the rift in reality and is unaffected or seen by enemies for a short period of time. Sova and Cypher gadgets can be walked past without a problem while Yoru is using this ability.