Master Yi Build Guide by itsame273

The Headings... Explained!

*** Disclaimer ***
The AD Builds are all really DPS Builds, But I labeled them based on what they act closest to (the AP Builds, of course, are in fact, pure AP Caster builds).

T:OT - Top: Off-Tank
T:TDPS - Top: Tanky DPS
J:OT - Jungle: Off-Tank
J:TDPS - Jungle: Tanky DPS
M:AP - Mid: AP Caster
M:Fed AP - Mid: Fed AP Caster

Introduction

AP? AD? Take your pick, this guide explains both. Although the AD is slightly unorthodox, I feel that the way I build Yi, is the optimal combination of survivability and damage. As always, please at least try out this build before voting it up or down (er, you don't need to try it to vote up... yeah.... :D).

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*** Note ***
- Please note that this build doesn't really work unless you have all the runes and masteries used in this guide (the AP build works well without the runes/masteries though).
- Please note that the AD from Wuju Style style isn't taken into account on the stats summary.
- Please note that the extra percentage bonus of AP from masteries and Rabadon's Deathcap aren't taken into account in the stats summary.

Pros/Cons

AD Yi

Pros:
- Pretty stable damage over the length of the game (if you don't feed or get fed).
- It's very satisfying seeing your enemies having their health drained by your attacks.
- good escape and engage mechanisms ( Alpha Strike, Highlander).
- great sustain mechanism ( Meditate).
- Farms easily.

Cons:
- Not as tanky as others.
- Hard to learn how to teamfight (when to engage/when not to).
- Very Vulnerable to CC.
- You get focused quite often.

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AP Yi

Pros:
- High burst all throughout the game.
- Extremely good sustain ( Meditate).
- Refresh all abilities ability ( Highlander).
- Can be pretty tanky.
- Farms easily.

Cons:
- Completely shut down by CC.
- Your main move makes it easy to predict where you will end up ( Alpha Strike).
- High Cooldowns.

The AD Builds

*** Disclaimer ***
The AD Builds are all really DPS Builds, But I labeled them based on what they act closest to (the AP Builds, of course, are in fact, pure AP Caster builds).

- Boots are typically situational items, and should be chosen based on the amount of CC, AD, and AP the enemy team has. if there is more AD, then go for a Ninja Tabi; if there is more CC/AP then go for a Mercury's Treads; if they are very fast and have equal AP/AD and don't have so much CC, then go for a Boots of Swiftness; if they are not so fast, have equal AP/AD and don't have so much CC, the go for a Berserker's Greaves.

The Builds

T:OT - Top: Off-Tank

***This build is more for vs-ing beefy teams.***

- Makes you tankier, able to use abilities without worrying about mana so much, and gives great sustain with Meditate (which also allows for great clutch saves). It also provides some AP for damage with Alpha Strike.
- Better mana sustain, CDR so you can use abilities when you have to, and more AP for damage on Alpha Strike and more health from Meditate.
- This item gives Yi attack speed which syncs well with his Double Strike, extra health for survivability, and early magic damage every four strikes, which is, in face, quite a lot early.
- The attack speed and move speed on this item helps Yi chase, and syncs well with the Double Strike Passive.
- This item give Yi the extra damage he needs to slaughter his enemies like cattle. It also gives him more survivability with the lifesteal.
Madred's Bloodrazer - This give Yi even more attack speed and allows him to kill those beefy bastards with ease.
- This gives Yi a bit of everything. The slow is almost garenteed even though it is 25% because of Yi's already ridiculously high attack speed by now. On top of this, Yi also gets 150% extra damage every time he attacks after Alpha Strikeing.
- How do we cap things off? WE GET MORE ATTACK SPEED. Phantom Dancer isn't the optimal solution to this build because we are not going for crit chance with this build. The extra AP and CDR on this item also allows Yi to Alpha Strike more often and get more out of his Meditate.

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T:TDPS - Top: Tanky DPS

***This build is more for vs-ing squishy teams.***

- Makes you tankier, able to use abilities without worrying about mana so much, and gives great sustain with Meditate (which also allows for great clutch saves)
- Yi gets attack speed which syncs well with his Double Strike, move speed for chasing, and critical chance, which is very important because this build relies on critical chance.
- This item gives Yi attack speed which syncs well with his Double Strike, extra health for survivability, and early magic damage every four strikes, which is, in face, quite a lot early.
- A better Zeal!!! More Attack speed, more move speed, more critical chance.
- The icing on top of the cake, gotta make all that critical chance worth it with 50% more crit damage. AND EVEN MORE CRIT CHANCE (oh yea, and you get 60 AD on top of that).
- To cap off this build, more attack dmg, crit chance, and move speed (with this last item plus masteries, you get 95% crit chance, YES A GUARANTEED CRIT FOR EVERY HIT).

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J:OT - Jungle: Off-Tank

***This build is more for vs-ing beefy teams.***
This is basically the same as the T:OT build, but you start with jungling instead of playing top.

- This is necessary for the jungle, also known as the evil forest :O. If you don't start with this, the jungle creeps will do too much damage to you.
- You have a cloth armor already, might as well build into this. Also, faster clear times mean faster XP (so you don't fall behind while you're in the jungle).
- As a jungler, you need to be able to get across the map for ganks, so you gotta.... MOVE FASTER. You can do this with this item. You also for faster attacks so it is more likely for you to drop someone during a gank.

The rest of the items are explained in the T:OT section

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J:TDPS - Jungle: Tanky DPS

***This build is more for vs-ing squishy teams.***
This is basically the same as the T:DPS build, but you start with jungling instead of playing top.

- This is necessary for the jungle, also known as the evil forest :O. If you don't start with this, the jungle creeps will do too much damage to you.
- You have a cloth armor already, might as well build into this. Also, faster clear times mean faster XP (so you don't fall behind while you're in the jungle).
- As a jungler, you need to be able to get across the map for ganks, so you gotta.... MOVE FASTER. You can do this with this item. You also for faster attacks so it is more likely for you to drop someone during a gank.
- Free ward, good lifesteal, even faster farming.

The rest of the items are explained in the T:TDPS section

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Other Possible Items:

- More HP, some extra damage, perma-slow.
- Armor, crit chance, about 30-40 extra attack damage
- Attack speed, armor reduction per hit, extra attack damage
- Attack damage, CDR, crit chance, and an active that gives, move speed and attack speed.

The AP Builds

- Boots are typically situational items, and should be chosen based on the amount of CC, AD, and AP the enemy team has. if there is more AD, then go for a Ninja Tabi; if there is more CC/AP then go for a Mercury's Treads; if they are very fast and have equal AP/AD and don't have so much CC, then go for a Boots of Swiftness; if they are not so fast, have equal AP/AD and don't have so much CC, the go for a Berserker's Greaves.

The Builds

M:AP - Mid: AP Caster

- Makes you tankier, able to use abilities without worrying about mana so much, and gives great sustain with Meditate (which also allows for great clutch saves). It also provides some AP for damage with Alpha Strike.
- With this item, you will NEVER run out of mana. Also, since you're mid, it protects against the enemy AP.
- GP5 :D FREE GOLDZZZZ!!! Also some extra AP.
- You're gonna start getitng into teamfights and stuff now, some armor to protect against others would be wise.
- HP for extra survivability and a good AP boost.
- Build your Chain Vest into a better item. AP for extra damage, more armor, and the active for tight situations where you need just one more second to use that one skill to survive or kill.
- TONS OF DAMAGE... hey man this is SRS BSNS... WANT ME TO START HANDING OUT BUSINESS CARDS??? Well yea, basically get a ton of extra AP.
- Some more MR, CDR, and even more mana regen :O.
- Build's out of [[Kage's Lucky Pick, more ability power, cap out CDR, and even more mana regen (the extra cool-down reduction requires even more mana regen as you'll be using abilities more often). Also an active that deals a large chunk of damage.

If you can get fed, please look below at the M:Fed AP section

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M:Fed AP - Mid: Fed AP Caster

***This build is for if you can get fed.***

- Replaces Deathfire Grasp as it is the least needed item. Only get this item if you are sure you can get max stacks, or at least close to max stacks (that means 10 kills, 20 assists, or a combination... WITHOUT DYING).

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Other Possible Items:

- Basically Deathfire Grasp with more CDR, more mana regen, and without the active effect.
- Attack speed, AP, CDR.
- MAKES YOUR AUTOATTACK USEFUL!!! mana, AP, and movement speed.
- AP, mana, HP.

Runes

AD Runes:

Greater Mark of Desolation - Armor pen to help with damage throughout the game (more early than late).
- Armor because none of the items you get have a significant amount of armor.
- MR because none of the items you get have a significant amount of MR.
- Health because it helps you live early

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AP Runes:

- Magic pen for the extra damage
- Health for the survivability, especially early.
- Ability power per level for more damage passively.
- More early damage

Masteries

Off-Tank:

- More early game damage/easier jungling.
- Easier last hitting/jungling.
Aclarity - Faster attack speed for better jungling/killing people.
Scorcery - Cooldown reduction because Yi's skills all have fairly long cooldowns.
- Armor pen for more damage
- Some survivability.
- More armor pen for more damage.
- To finish people off and prevent narrow escapes.
- More heal, and better team heal.
- More health for survivability.
- Even more health for more survivability.

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Tanky DPS:

- More early game damage/easier jungling.
- Easier last hitting/jungling.
Aclarity - Faster attack speed for better jungling/killing people.
- More Damage.
- More crit chance (because this build relies on crit chance)
- Armor pen for more damage
- Some survivability.
- More armor pen for more damage.
- To finish people off and prevent narrow escapes.
- More heal, and better team heal.
- More health for survivability.
- Even more health for more survivability.

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AP Caster:

- For the extra AP and AD while ignite is on CD.
- More AP for early game.
Scorcery - CDR, because Yi's abilities all have fairly long cooldown times.
- Magic Pen for more damage.
- Havoc for 3% more damage.
- Blast for a steady increase in AP over the course of the game.
- Archmage for even more AP whenever you aquire AP.
- So that you can finish people off when they are low.
- Faster cooldown on flash.
- More mana so you don't run out of mana.
- Swiftness so you can get in and out of teamfights easier.

Summoner Spells

- This is a support skill, used for viewing areas of the map. You are not a support. I'd recommend not to take this.
- Mana restoration. You typically wouldn't have mana issues, so I'd recommend not taking this.
- Gets you out of tight situations when you're hard CC'd. It's a good skill.
- Can help you get kills, but highlander should really be enough.
- Can help you catch up or get out of tight situations. It is a good skill to take on just about anyone.
- This can help you get out of tight situations or catch up, but it's basically the same thing as highlander.
- Can help you in a tight spot or help you support your team.
- Can help you get kills or secure kills.
- Can help you get gold while out of lane, or push a lane to backdoor afterwards.
- Can help you when you make mistakes late.
- Necessary for jungling.
- Can help you get more damage output.
- Can help you get around the map to help teammates, save a tower, or backdoor.

Play Style

Laning:

Top:

Last hit minions until there are only a few left, use Alpha Strike to kill the rest and to harass the enemy. You can also use autoattacks to harass (only use Wuju Style when you get you are going to focus the enemy for a period of time). Alpha Strike will lose effectiveness and you level up, so don't rely on it too much. Meditate when in tight spots or when you need some more health.

Jungle:

Jungle Route: Wolves -> Blue Buff -> Wraiths -> Wolves -> Red buff -> Gank or whatever jungle creep you'd like to kill. AS OF NOW YOU ARE THE KING OF THE EVIL FOREST!!!

AP Mid:

Fairly similar to top laning. Last hit minions until there are only a few left, use Alpha Strike to kill the rest and to harass the enemy. You can also use autoattacks to harass (only use Wuju Style when you get you are going to focus the enemy for a period of time). Autoattacks will lose effectiveness and you level up, so don't rely on them too much. Meditate when in tight spots or when you need some more health.

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Teamfights:

AD:

Basically the same as any other melee. Wait for the tank to initiate, choose high priority squishy glass cannon targets and own them. If you are being focused, peel off or meditate (depending on the amount of CC the enemy has and how much CC has been used already in the fight). Use Highlander's refresh to your advantage. If you can, use Alpha Strike to remove minion/tower agro and distract the enemy whenever possible. Use Wuju Style right before you focus someone.

AP:

Basically the same as any other caster. Harass with Alpha Strike and try not to get caught up in the middle of the fight. You can use Zhonya's Hourglass and/or Meditate to help you in a tight spot. Be sure to use Meditate only when you are sure the enemy has used up all their hard CC. Use Highlander to refresh cooldowns, chasing, and escaping.