Mr. Invisible: First impressions of Yoru

On January 12, Valorant released their 14th agent, the newest Duelist, Yoru. This Japanese native excels in infiltration, which does explain his Valorant Protocol codename, Stealth.

His abilities seem to be a hybrid of Phoenix (a fast-moving agent who relies on diversions and big damage) and Omen (a highly-mobile agent who uses teleportation and tricks to get the upper hand). The Valorant team uses those hybrid ideas and wraps them up in a perfect lurker who can strike down enemies at a moment’s notice.

C - Fakeout: Yoru creates false footstep sounds

Q - Blindside: Yoru sends out a flash that goes off when it makes contact with a solid object (wall, person, etc.)

E - Gatecrash: Yoru makes a portal and throws it. Hit the fire button again and he’ll teleport to it

X - Dimensional Rift: Yoru puts on a mask that can see through dimensions. This means he slips into his own dimension and cannot be seen nor touched by enemies

The best thing that a new Valorant agent or map can do is shake up the gameplay (Icebox, anyone?), and an invisible agent will be great at doing just that.

In games like Valorant, players rely on their eyes and ears to give them clues about where their opponents are. They use those clues for movement patterns, plans of attack, etc. If Yoru can give people false information, he can manipulate the gameplay and trick multiple enemies right into his traps.

Assuming Yoru is a master of this trickery, players will now have to think twice about stalking the sound of footsteps around a corner. After all, that sound could mean a Blindside to the face before getting downed in one shot or having a Yoru appear right behind you, ready to swoop in for the kill.

Yoru could forcefully slow down games and make players slightly more cautious. That, or just become an absolute powerhouse that takes advantage of the risks his foes are willing to take. If a clever, manipulative player is at his controls, they could trick and coerce the enemy into easy submission.

At first glance, it looks like Yoru could be a high-power duelist whose versatility could put him up there with the highly popular Jett or Raze (even if he can’t crack the top two Sentinels). With the right tuning, he’ll be a game-changer.