What's Wrong with Yoru in Valorant?

Over the past three years, Valorant has been adding more and more agents for players to experiment with and enjoy. Some have been launch-day hits like Killjoy or Raze, but others have had much more lukewarm responses. One of the most disappointing agents in Valorant is Yoru, the dimension-hopping Duelist. In theory, Yoru is supposed to be a trickster-like shooter. But with Yoru at the bottom of most all tier lists, what's wrong with this Valorant agent?

All about Yoru's abilities in Valorant

To understand where Yoru's kit goes wrong, you have to start by looking at his abilities one by one.

• Fakeout: Yoru equips a mirror image of himself. When he fires it, the mirror image runs forward. If you use your alternate fire instead, you can change it to an inactive echo. Both explode in a blinding flash when destroyed.  
• Blindside: Yoru equips an unstable dimensional fragment.When you throw the fragment, it stays invisible until it collides with an object. Then it winds up and flashes enemies and allies alike.
• Gatecrash: Yoru plants a tether. You can either teleport to the tether's location or fake a teleport to trick the enemy.
• Dimensional Drift: Yoru equips a mask that sends him into a dimension where he can't be affected or seen by enemies for a short period of time.

Conceptually, these abilities seem interesting. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors to trick and manipulate the enemy. However, while switch-arounds and illusions can make for a video-worthy play, that doesn't make them all that useful. For example, Yoru's Fakeout sounds cool, but many Valorant players have found it pretty easy to identity a fake Yoru. Similarly, Blindside is a lot less useful if it can also blind yourself and your allies. There's a reason pinpointed smokes are a lot more popular than less-predictable, stunning blinds.

Related: Where to Smoke in Valorant

Why is Yoru not a viable Valorant Agent?

At the end of the day, Yoru is a D-Tier Duelist who struggles to be relevant in competitive Valorant games. All Valorant agents have their charm, but few have failed like Yoru has. He's barely used in casually competitive Valorant, let alone the esports scene. As an agent, Yoru has the second-worst win rate, as well as the worst pick rate (1.8%), kill percentage (1.8%), and KDA (.96) of any Duelist. All throughout April and into May, his pick rate hasn't increased over 1.94% and it doesn't seem like it'll be getting better any time soon.

While on paper Yoru's abilities are cool, a lot of his skills are prepatory, not reactionary. His powers are most useful when trying to fabricate situations to trick, blind, or surprise the enemy. So, when it comes to reacting to real-time fights, he's simply not as versatile as other agents. Killjoy, Viper, Jett, Sage, and other top agents are able to push forward and engage the enemy in action, while Yoru has to plan around his own abilities. Even his ultimate move, his Dimensional Drift, is pretty much just a really great disengage. It doesn't help take objectives, defend zones, or kill enemies. At best, it helps him survive a fight or surprise a singular enemy target.

Related: Why is Sage the best Sentinel in Valorant?

Ultimately, Yoru's simply not as capable as other Valorant agents, so he falls severely behind. It's likely that unless his abilities get an overhaul to be more active and utilitarian, Yoru will be doomed to be the worst Duelist in Valorant. That, or Riot Games will just have to make a worse one.