Valorant Yoru Guide: Being in Two Places at Once

Before the recent rework, only the most skilled players could make Yoru viable, but now, he is seeing much more usage in high ranks and even pro play. Though he is a duelist, his toolkit is arguably more similar to that of an initiator, with multiple ways to blind your opponent. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you know to master the art of deception to give your team the upper hand.

Fakeout

• Cost: 100 credits
• Duration: 10s
• Health: 150hp

Fakeout spawns a mirror image of Yoru which is impossible to tell the difference except for his movement patterns, as the fake only moves straight forward, even when hitting a wall. If an enemy player shoots it, it will flash anyone looking at it – creating a perfect opportunity for you to swing and get an easy pick.

When you’re on the attacker side, Fakeout can help you to get onto a site if you send it ahead of you as a free additional flash. Your opponent is much more likely to be fooled by it if they’re expecting you to push as they’ll be focusing on being ready to shoot, so wait until your team is about to execute and run in after your fake to take full advantage of it being destroyed.

Getting stuck in a corner is another situation where your doppelganger could be useful to escape. Again, the enemy will be holding the angle and ready to shoot as soon as they detect any movement, so it will have a higher success rate. You’ll need to be ready to run as soon as the flash pops, of course!

On defense, the fake is helpful for taking aggressive fights early in the round as you can utilize the same strategy as before, pushing behind it. Send it down B main on Fracture for example, where it’s common to peek early, and you might be able to catch several players. This can also work if you want to try to flank but know it’s being watched – you can make them think they’ve got the kill only to appear moments later and get it yourself instead!

Before the rework, this ability was just fake footsteps – and you can still use this aspect to trick the other team. You can pretend to rotate or move to a different angle, making the enemy think they have info on your position only to surprise them if they try to act on it. For example, you could send your fake to the cubby in B main on Ascent at the start of the round and force them to waste time and utility trying to clear the angle, while being more vulnerable to market.

Although it’s cheap, you still want to make sure you get the most value out of your Fakeout, just like any other ability. Try to deploy it when you know your opponent is there to be fooled, and consider if you could get info by shoulder- or jump-peeking instead. However, an advantage is that if used effectively, it can give you a free third flash at a lower cost.

You’ve probably seen many clips of popular streamers imitating fakes by copying their movement patterns only to turn around when behind their enemies and shoot them in the back of their heads. While it’s tempting to try this, make sure the other team has already shown that they will sometimes ignore obvious fakes – some teams will simply shoot it no matter what, and the last thing you want to do is feed!

Blindside

• Cost: 250 credits, up to 2 total
• Windup: 0.6s
• Duration: 1.5s flash

Blindside has a couple of attributes that make it different from other flashes. The first is that the enemy can’t see it, relying instead on sound cues to realize when you’ve used it. Secondly, it will activate only after bouncing off a surface – usually the floor or a wall.

Just like any flash which can also affect your teammates and yourself, try to aim it so it will activate behind you, so you don’t need to turn it. This gives you a much better timing on your enemies as you can push just as they turn it or catch them when they’re flashed, meaning they’re defenseless no matter what they do.

You might also want to spend some time understanding exactly how the mechanics work to avoid unexpected bounces, especially against invisible walls. Practicing on custom maps never hurts, since it makes perfect!

Gatecrash

• Cost: 200 credits, up to 2 total; 2 kill recharge
• Duration: 30s
• Health: 100hp

Gatecrash allows Yoru to teleport back to a marker elsewhere on the map. Placing it with left-click will cause it to keep traveling in the direction you were facing until it hits an obstacle, whereas right-clicking means it will stay in one place. When you teleport, you will be looking in the same direction the teleport is facing.

Yoru’s tp reduces the risk of early engagements as it gives you a way to escape quickly as soon as you get a pick. However, the teleport animation does leave you vulnerable for about a second, so try not to trigger it when exposed to too many players if you can. Another weakness of Gatecrash is that the 30 seconds it lasts for starts as soon as you place it, even in the buy stage, meaning you often have to wait to get in position to make sure your tp is placed exactly where you want it without it expiring immediately.

On attack, you can use this ability to teleport back-site when your team is ready to push, creating an unexpected crossfire. Be cautious though, as the tp has a sound cue that tips off its location if enemies are nearby. They could destroy it or even camp it, completely removing the element of surprise you had. For this reason, try to be strategic about exactly where you send it, and teleport sooner rather than later to give them less time to stumble across it.

With good team synergy, it might not even matter if they know where you’re about to appear. If you first get a friendly Breach to stun them for example, you can then take a close gunfight without as much resistance – you could even bring a shorty or other shotgun depending on the distance!

For instance, you can get your Breach to stun tower from arcade on B site fracture, then teleport into the entrance from B main and kill the player holding there – this strat was used by FPX in their VCT match against Fnatic!

Finally, by pressing F on the marker, even through walls, you can fake teleport. This makes the tp sound cue without changing your location. It’s only really effective if your opponent doesn’t have a line of sight of it, as it leaves a puddle behind to show that it was a fake. However, if you have your teleport set up hidden around a corner, you can pretend to tp away, making the other team think you’ve changed positions, only to swing them from your original angle just as they turn away. This can win rounds if you time it correctly!

Dimensional Drift

• 7 points
• Duration: 10s

Dimensional Drift makes you invincible and invisible, traveling at a faster speed but unable to shoot. You are able to use your abilities while ulting, so you can teleport back to a safer location if it’s running out in a place your opponents are watching. Be mindful that you will be shown to the enemy if you run too close to them.

When you first press your ult keybind, it will take the mask out but not equip it until you left click. It’s therefore common to see Yoru players get ready to pop the ult but not actually use it until they’re in position or an enemy engages them, meaning they can get maximum value out of its full duration.

Yoru’s ultimate effectively enables you to clear an entire site and get info for your team by checking every angle without putting yourself in danger, then looping back to rejoin them for a push. You can also quickly get behind your opponents if you prefer, if you cancel your ult in their spawn for example. This isn’t always the best play, as they might expect it or at least be aware of the possibility that you could be flanking – just try to stay out of range of any enemy players as they can hear you exit the ult.

Other situations where your ult can be valuable is to quickly rotate when your team needs you, or even to counter ult Viper. All you need to do is activate Gatecrash, run inside Viper’s Pit, and ping her location so your team can easily kill her!

That’s it for our Valorant Yoru guide! If you found this article helpful, be sure to check out our site for more.