Yasuo Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

This page contains a champion character strategy guide for Yasuo, including stats, abilities, runes and masteries, and hard counters

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Yasuo

Basic Information

Yasuo – The Unforgiven
Class	Assassin	Role	Skirmish
Secondary Bar	Flow	IP / RP	6300 / 975

Champion Stats

	Lv1	Per Lv	Lv18
Health	517.76	+82	1912
Health Regen	6.512	+0.9	21.8
Mana	–	–	–
Mana Regen	–	–	–
Attack Damage	55.376	+3.2	110
Armor	24.712	+3.4	82.5
Attack Speed	0.67	+3.3%	0.67
Magic Resist	30	+0.5	38.5
Movement Speed	345	–	345
Melee	175	–	175

Lore

[Click to read]

Formerly a brilliant pupil at a renowned Ionian sword school, Yasuo was the only student in a generation to master the legendary wind technique. Many believed he was destined to become a great hero. However, his fate was changed forever when Noxus invaded. Yasuo was charged with guarding an Ionian Elder, but, foolishly believing his blade alone could make the difference, he left his post to join the fray. By the time he returned, the Elder had been slain.Disgraced, Yasuo willingly turned himself in, prepared to pay for his failure with his life. He was shocked, however, to find himself accused not just of dereliction, but of the murder itself. Though confused and racked with guilt, he knew the assassin would go unpunished if he did not act. Yasuo raised his sword against the school and fought his way free, knowing his treason would turn all of Ionia against him. Left truly alone for the first time in his life, he set out to find the Elder’s real killer.

Yasuo spent the next several years wandering the land, seeking any clue that might lead him to the murderer. All the while, he was relentlessly hunted by his former allies, continually forced to fight or die. His mission drove him ever forward, until he was tracked down by the one foe he dreaded most – his own brother, Yone.

Bound by a common code of honor, the two warriors bowed and drew their swords. Silently they circled one another under the moonlight. When they finally charged forward, Yone was no match for Yasuo: with a single flash of steel he cut his brother down. Yasuo dropped his weapon and rushed to Yone’s side.

Overcome with emotion, he demanded to know how his own kin could think him guilty. Yone spoke: “The Elder was killed by a wind technique. Who else could it be?” Understanding swept over Yasuo as he suddenly realized why he had been accused. He professed his innocence once more and begged his brother’s forgiveness. Tears streamed down Yasuo’s face as his brother passed in his arms.

Yasuo buried Yone under the rising sun, but could take no time to mourn. Others would be after him before long. His brother’s revelation had given Yasuo newfound purpose: he now had the clue that would lead to the true killer. Swearing an oath, he gathered his belongings and, with one last look at Yone’s grave, set out with the wind at his back.

(Source: http://gameinfo.na.leagueoflegends.com/en)

Skills

Icon	Description
	Way of the Wanderer INNATE: Yasuo’s Critical Strike Chance is doubled. Additionally, Yasuo builds toward a shield whenever he is moving. The shield triggers when he takes damage from a champion or monster.
	Steel Tempest (Target Range: 475/900, Effect Radius: 375, Static Cooldown: 4 – 1.33 [based on bonus attack speed], Physical Damage: 20/40/60/80/100 [+100% AD])FIRST CAST – STEEL TEMPEST: After 0.54 – 0.18 (based on bonus attack speed)seconds-delay, he thrusts his sword, dealing physical damage to all enemies in the target direction and granting Gathering Storm upon dealing damage. Steel Tempest can critically strike for 75% damage and applies on-hit effects to the first target hit. Casting Steel Tempest after Sweeping Blade affects enemies around Yasuo instead.SECOND CAST – STEEL WIND RISING: For the next 6 seconds, Yasuo can gain another Gathering Storm stack by hitting an enemy with Steel Tempest, empowering it for the same duration.THIRD CAST – GATHERING STORM: Yasuo consumes all stacks to unleash a whirlwind that travels an increased distance in the target direction, dealing the same damage and knocking airborne all enemies hit. Steel Tempest’s knockup does not gain increased range when cast during Sweeping Blade.
	Wind Wall (Target Range: 400, Cooldown: 26/24/22/20/18,Wall Width: 300/350/400/450/500)ACTIVE: Yasuo creates a gust of wind that travels in the target direction over 0.25 seconds to form a wall in front of him. The wall slowly drifts forward 50 units over 3.75 seconds, blocking all enemy projectiles except turret attacks.
	Sweeping Blade (Target Range: 475, Static Cooldown: 0.5/0.4/0.3/0.2/0.1, On-Target Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6, Magic Damage: 60/70/80/90/100 [+20% bonus AD] [+60% AP])<br. ACTIVE: Yasuo dashes a fixed distance (speed scales with his bonus movement speed) in the target enemy’s direction, dealing magic damage. Yasuo cannot dash to the same target more than once every few seconds. Each Sweeping Blade cast increases the next dash’s base damage by 25% for 5 seconds (up to 50%)
	Last Breath (Target Range: 1200, Cooldown: 80/55/30, Physical Damage: 200/300/400 [+150% bonus AD])ACTIVE: Yasuo blinks to the visible airborne enemy champion nearest the cursor, instantly generating 100 Flowstacks but resetting Steel Tempest’s. Upon arrival, he suspends all nearby airborne enemies for 1 second, dealing physical damage. For the next 15 seconds, Yasuo’s critical strikes gain 50% bonus armor penetration.

Strategy

(E) Sweeping blade has technically no cooldown, so it is advisable that you use it all the time to zone your enemy laner and assert dominance whenever possible.
However, using (E) Sweeping Blade when your enemy matchup has a ton of crowd control is usually a bad idea because he can catch you and deal damage to you.
Casting Whirlwind while using (E) Sweeping Blade will knockup enemies in a circle around you, which is easier to hit than casting it normally from afar.
Do not cast (W) Windwall when there are no clear threat. Instead, save it when it is really needed (e.g. Miss Fortune and Jinx’s ultimate)
Do not try to engage as much as possible in the laning phase if Way of the Wanderer shield is on cooldown. Try to build it first by constantly moving around the lane.
The Yasuo abilities you need to master are (Q) Steel Wind Tempest and (R) Last Breath as these are his staple abilities that can make or break a team fight.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Top Lane		Mid Lane

Flash	Teleport	Ignite	Flash

Teleport – take teleport when you are in the top lane as to give lane pressure from the bot or mid lane. Top laners usually must have adequate pressure in all lanes with teleport.

Ignite – Ignite is a good spell in the mid lane since it gives the enemy laner a reason to be careful when going all-out on you. Mid laners usually harass their enemy laner and try to get early kills as much as possible, so having ignite can give you the chance to fight back.

Item Builds

Mid Lane/Top Lane

Starter Items

Doran’s Blade	Health Potion	Warding Totem

Core Items

Phantom Dancer	Berserker’s Greaves	B.F. Sword

Phantom Dancer – Phantom Dancer is an essential item for Yasuo since it is more cost efficient compared to the other zeal builds. It also gives you a lot of dueling potential with the Lament passive. Phantom Dancer also makes Yasuo very mobile, as spectral waltz grants you a ghost passive and movement speed when you are near an enemy.

Berserker’s Greaves – This boots upgrade increases your attack speed. Yasuo is only one of the few to have a reason to build an attack speed as a top or mid laner because it greatly benefits his playstyle.

Full Build

Phantom Dancer	Infinity Edge	The Bloodthirster

Guardian Angel	Frozen Mallet	Berserker’s Greaves

The thing about Yasuo is that his item build is pretty much the same in both top and mid lane. The only difference is that in some cases, building magic resistance items first is a better choice if you are getting harassed in the laning phase.

Infinity Edge – This item makes him do a lot of critical damage with (Q) Steel Tempest. Infinity Edge also grants him extra damage in his auto attacks, making him stronger in team fights and trades.

The Bloodthirster – The lifesteal in this item is huge, top it all off with the extra damage and you get the perfect lifesteal item for Yasuo. If you are having a hard time in lane sustaining, rush this first instead of Infinity Edge with the B.F. Sword in your core item.

Guardian Angel – This item is highly debatable in your full build since the passive is supposed to be your priority in buying this item. With the recent patch, however, it now grants attack damage. Yasuo can be considered a glass cannon, and Guardian Angel can fix that problem by giving you an extra chance when you are caught in team fights.

Frozen Mallet – Frozen Mallet slows the movement speed of enemies hit with auto attacks. This item gives him more opportunities to kite and catch up onto enemies. It also increases your survivability at the same time because it gives you extra 700 health.

Situational Items

Dead Man’s Plate	Mercurial Schimitar	Blade of the Ruined King

Mortal Reminder	Lord Dominik’s Regards	Death’s Dance

Dead Man’s Plate – Dead Man’s Plate gives you more armor and an extra movement speed buff which is good for Yasuo.

Mercurial Schimitar – This item can be substituted with The Bloodthirster if the enemy has a ton of crowd control and they focus it on you in team fights. This item also gives you decent magic resist and damage.

Blade of the Ruined King – It is easier to 1v1 an enemy with this item. It also gives you more mobility when chasing a champion, giving you an easier time landing your skills.

Mortal Reminder – This item is good against a team composition with a lot of health and health regeneration.

Lord Dominik’s Regards – On the other hand, Lord Dominik’s Regards is a staple item against an enemy team with a lot of tanky champions who stack armor.

Death’s Dance – This item gives you decent cooldown reduction and defensive stats. Use this when you want to have a more defensive lifesteal item.

Playing Against

He is vulnerable when his Way of the Wanderer and Steel Tempest (Whirlwind) are on cooldown.
Yasuo can only move through his ally units and neutral monsters when he is using his (E) Sweeping Blade. Stop him from reaching your ally units and neutral monsters.
Bait him from using his (W) Windwall early in a fight, as it can block most projectile damage if casted correctly.
Yasuo is usually nimble in the laning phase and might try to hit a few (Q) Steel Tempest on you. Try to harass him as well to avoid him from using (E) Sweeping Blade on your units.
(R) Last Breath is somewhat slow and can easily be avoided. Also, try to stay away from enemies with knock ups since he can activate it anytime if an enemy is knocked up in the air.

Hard Counters

Jax – Jax is good at facing Yasuo face to face. Jax has a stun and dodge skill with Counter Strike. Jax can also out sustain and outdamage Yasuo because of his passive and Grandmaster’s Might.
Rammus – This champion is a walking Thornmail that builds a lot of armor and has a kit that is centered against AD champions. Defensive Ball Curl and Frenzying Taunt makes Yasuo very vulnerable. This is probably one of the better counters of Yasuo in lane.
Poppy – Poppy is a tanky top laner that can also fare well against Yasuo. She has a lot of crowd control that can stop Yasuo in his tracks. Steadfast Presence can stop Yasuo when he uses his (E) Sweeping Blade. Heroic Charge and Keeper’s Verdict can stop him from either escaping or using his last Last Breath.

Strategy Video