+ +
Health Potion+Long Sword+Warding Totem

Take Health Potion and Long Sword at the beginning. I like to get long sword to build into my Vampiric Scepter for longer sustain. You might want to alternatively get Doran's Blade and Health Potion.


Statikk Shiv

Next up is Statikk Shiv. I think it's crucial to build this item because it gives both crit and attack speed. At the same time the item's passive is very helpful for split pushing and extra damage. I choose this item over Phantom Dancer because it allows me to farm and split push more. You may alternatively want to switch and get phantom for better 1v1.


Blade of the Ruined King

Because Yi doesn't have any CC, this item helps a lot when it slows the enemy through its' active. It's a great item when you want to engage/disengage/or roam. After extensive testing, I think that this is a great item for ganking too. You may want to switch this out with Ravenous Hydra


Berserker's Greaves

Then you want to finish your boots. I often finish Berserker's Greaves after I get my Statikk Shiv or after my Blade of the Ruined King. Get Mercury's Treads
on heavy AP or CC teams. Get Ninja Tabi on heavy AD teams.


Infinity Edge

Basically get the B. F. Sword for the damage and then finish the item. I chose this item because it has high damage along with critical strike. After the Yi update/rework higher critical strike on Yi is very OP. Infinity edge is easier to work in this build because you already have the shiv, so it will help double the crit chance.


Black Cleaver

I'm really a big fan of this item for many reasons. The first is that it has 20% CDR. Great for having your skills reset. The second reason is because it provides some extra damage and health. The item also gives you movement speed! Lastly the item can shred up to 24% armor max, very easy to do on Yi. This item is all around a great fit for Yi. You may alternatively want to switch this out for Lord Dominik's Regards or Mortal Reminder.


Guardian Angel

I like to get this late game for the extra survivability. Death timers are very long late game. I tend to sell this after the passive goes on cool down for a Mercurial Scimitar. The removal of crowd control from the active really helps with not getting blown up when you enter team fights. Replace this item with the ones's mentioned in the Situational Items section based on the the current situation in game.



Situational Items


Attack Damage (Offensive items)

Black Cleaver

I don't have this item specifically it my main jungling build. It's however specifically in my top build. It's basically a must have for top lane because you are very likely to be facing a bruiser/tank top. You may want to build it earlier than what I have listed on my top build to help you in lane.

Guinsoo's Rageblade

I totally love this item on jungle yi. My jungle yi build is focused on building attack speed. You can easily hit stacks and get on-hit damage on opponents using that build. 6 stacks on this means +48% attack speed, +24% attack damage, and +24% ability power. Such a scary item for opponents when you are fed. I put this in the optional build section because this item shouldn't really be rushed as the first or second item after patch 8.6. I tend to forego this item if I'm behind as it's a high risk/high reward item. The build path isn't really 100% friendly on Yi since you do have one AP item in the build path.

Ravenous Hydra

The stats and price are very similar to The Bloodthirster. The only difference is The Bloodthirster a shield. While Hydra has a passive for pushing and an active for more damage. I generally don't use this but it's worth a try. Titanic Hydra might be a good alternative to get for the extra health.

Infinity Edge

This item now goes in the situational section because it sort of got nerfed in terms of crit chance. You generally only want to build this once you've already finished another crit chance item first.

Mercurial Scimitar

It removes debuffs, while supplying attack damage at the same time. Definitely buy this if you're playing against a heavy crowd control team. Also it gives more magical resistance which is good against heavy AP teams.

Death's Dance

I don't personally use this item much, but it does help you with your survivability. You deal a lot of damage so the passive should heal you for a lot. The 80 attack damage and 10% CDR is no slouch either.

Titanic Hydra
This item is very similar to Ravenous Hydra. I'd usually for ravenous just because I try to play yi as a strong 1v1 champ and not as a tankier yi. This item has more health, but you lose the lifesteal and the damage. You may want to build this if your team is all squishies.

Frozen Mallet
This is very much a late game luxury item. I used this a lot 3-4 years ago, but there are better items now a days. A great item to get if you are really fed and want to chase down mobile champions.

Lord Dominik's Regards

You definitely want to get this for the armor penetration. Teams tend to start building more armor and health on tanks in late game. This and your Blade of the Ruined King will shred tanks. You might want to switch this item out for The Black Cleaver depending on the situation.

Mortal Reminder

This item is very similar to the one listed above. The one major difference is that it's great against healing/regen champs and items. Bring this to counter Sona, Dr. Mundo, Janna, Soraka, or Warmog's Armor, just to name a few.

Maw of Malmortius

A great offensive and defensive item. The magic resistance is great for AP heavy teams. At the same time the passive can sometimes come in handy. The shield will give Yi some extra time to put some damage in. Furthermore the extra 10% lifesteal from the lifegrip passive is very helpful as well. A very viable item.

Youmuu's Ghostblade

I don't use this item very much any more. Before the reworked, it use to be my must have first item. However, I found it less useful since Riot has changed it to more of a lethality item. Don't get me wrong though, it's still a great item. It's great for ganks and for escaping due to the movement speed bonuses.

Attack Speed


Phantom Dancer

This item is very similar to Statikk Shiv. The main difference is that this item has a different passive and higher attack speed. This item is much better to use when 1v1 with opponents. I prefer shiv because it allows me to farm more and scale later on. The lament passive is nothing to scoff at though. It provides 12% damage reduction every time you make a basic attack.

Wit's End

I can't say I really use this item much. At the end of the day I only use this on my on-hit build or when my team or the other team is heavy AP.