Yoru buffs have been much-promised in Valorant. While he’s received a handful of changes to become viable, Riot are eyeing bigger buffs in Episode 3 to clean up his kit. However, don’t get your hopes up just yet: It’s still a work in progress.
As far as Valorant Agent balancing goes, talks of Yoru buffs have been echoing the halls of Riot’s offices since his release in Episode 2.
The Japanese duelist was quickly figured out, flopping with a measly win rate in the low-40s within weeks. While he was given a number of buffs, first in Patch 2.06 and then later in Episode 2, there’s been talks of a total rework.
That’s been delayed indefinitely, with no news following Episode 3 Act 2’s release, leaving Yoru mains in the lurch.
However, Riot hasn’t forgotten about the dimension-defying duelist. They have their eyes on some major changes — like that big overhaul — but are currently lacking the time to tackle them head on.
“We have changes we want to make, we just need resources from other teams to make them happen,” developer Coleman ‘Altombre’ Palm admitted on September 9.
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“When balance changes are just numbers tweaks, we can take it on ourselves. When we have to involve other disciplines (animation, VFX, etc.) it takes time to incorporate it into their already busy schedule.
“It’s a bummer for us, too, but we absolutely have changes. We just can’t commit to a date that they’ll actually ship quite yet.”
It’s high time for some Yoru buffs too.
He currently sits at the bottom of the Valorant ladder, with a measly 42.6% win rate in Ranked in Episode 3. He’s also the third least-picked Agent, sitting above Breach and Astra.
Exactly what changes that entails remains to be seen. While he hasn’t quite lived up to his “lurker” fantasy quite yet, a few tweaks here and there could be all he needs to break into the meta — just look at Viper.
