Ah hah! So you think you're skilled enough to tame the magnificent menace that is AP Yasuo and finally call yourself a living legend? Well you've come to the right place, my friend. I've played League of Legends since the beginning of season 5, and have since hovered around silver. I recently was able to one trick my way up to Gold, but a subsequent losing streak has destroyed any hope of actually gaining any more LP this season. As a consequence, I have been thrown into an endless pit of despair that can only be counteracted by spicy yet effective off meta builds. That said, AP Yasuo is but one of my many expertises.

For most of the LoL populous, Yasuo has become synonymous with terms such as broken and anti-fun and stale and even OVERPOWERED. It's a shame, because the champ truly is fun to play. There are only a handful of champions who I actually crave playing, Yasuo being one of them. But there is no denying the fact Regular, boring ole' Attack Speed/Crit Yasuo has become stale. So often does a Yasuo rush phantom dancer into frozen mallet that you can pretty much bet your life that they're a stupid dweeb with weird-looking genitals when press tab and see that WOW DADDY LOOK HE BOUGHT ZEAL. Gets old, right? This is what makes AP Yasuo so enjoyable for everyone. People will dodge if you tell them in lobby, you'll get called a troll if you don't tell them and walk into lane with dark seal, and you will definitely get flamed if you manage to balls anything up. But make no mistake: I have found few things more enjoyable in this game than spamming e to kill your lane opponent and the jungler who thought he'd take a cheap shot at the troll mid, and watching /all chat light up with phrases that make your heart do the hokey pokey. All in all, if you want to be truly enlightened, read the rest of the guide and take what I am equipping you with into the game so you can get to stomping nerds.

The runes I take here give a mix of ability power and attack speed; Both of these are critical if you plan to wield the mighty sword that is AP Yas. It is somewhat acceptable to swap MPen with attack speed, or AS quints with AP quints, but this all depends on particular playstyles. My setup, I feel, gives a good mix of both.

On a different note, there are a lot of skilled players who debate the efficiency of armor yellows, but I feel they're just too darn good to pass up. Even if you aren't laning against an AD mid-laner, mages often like to abuse their range by poking when you go for a creep. Granted, your wind wall and passive mitigate this fairly well (Especially when exploited properly) but the armor yellows make any damage you do happen to take from them pretty much negligible.

First off, Don't be a panzee when you play AP Yasuo. Take double-edged sword, and take assassin. You want every advantage you can get against your opponents, the 1v1 damage is no exception.

The traditional route for Yasuo is fervor, typically 18/12/0 or 18/0/12. Fervor, I feel, is not as good with this build. Trust me when I say that, if you combo properly, (It's not difficult; I will go in-depth on combos further in the guide) the damage from thunderlord's is astronomical compared to what you might see from trying to unnecessarily elongate a fight in an attempt to abuse fervor. When you take T-Lords, you can also grab the extra 5% cdr which puts your wind wall and ult at stupidly low cooldowns, something you can't really do with AD Yas.

As far as Bandit VS dangerous game goes, it's really personal preference. I take bandit because the (relatively) no-risk combos are essentially giving you free gold every time you go in. If you normally live on the edge, however, I suggest switching to Dangerous game, as it can be a life-saver sometimes.

With the exception of dark seal, it is beneficial to stay away from items that give mana or have mana regeneration effects. (Because, obviously, those effects are useless to Yasuo) Items that give AP and attack speed synergize really well. (Nashor's tooth being a must-buy) It is almost never worth it to skip out on CDR as Yasuo, as it really is right in front of you. Buying Cooldown reduction is a luxury that AS Yasuo really doesn't have. As AP Yasuo, it is your duty, nay, your obligation to take advantage of that opportunity and achieve the !16.5-second! cooldown ultimate and the !10-second! wind wall.

The skill sequence is also pretty standard for both AD and AP Yasuo. The only variation that seems viable is upgrading wind wall (W) after dash (E) and then maxing q last. Do this if you feel you have plenty of damage and would benefit from opting into play-making potential.

Flash is a must have for making plays, getting away from the Olaf who is probably just gonna kill you under tower anyways, and failing to traverse the many walls that make up summoner's rift. It's also good for flash+ignite BM, or the flash knock-up trick.


Ignite, despite the hate that it has gotten for being sub-par in regards to LCS standards, is still the go-to summoner spell for securing the kill, especially early on in the game. (Which is arguably when kills matter most)


Teleport is a wonderful summoner spell if you despise spells that focus on 1v1ing and prefer to make plays around the map or just quickly get back to lane after experiencing an unfortunate trade. Both are very good reasons to take this spell, BUT if you take it do not be afraid to use it just to catch a sizeable creep wave. The most common mistake, and one I often make myself, is holding onto teleport in waiting for the perfect moment to do all but win the game with it. Spoiler alert, unless you live in Russia, you must seize the opportunity and not the other way around.

Take exhaust when your lane opponent does threatening but also largely telegraphed damage. What I mean by telegraphed is that there are clear indicators of when your opponent is moments away from killing you. This makes it much easier to know when you exhaust, and can at least be used to save your/your teammate's life, or at best be used to turn the fight in your favor.

I don't typically take this spell because I'm a doof who can never manage to use it at the right time. I panic, I pop barrier, and I watch as I either die anyways or waste the spell because I used it too late and it failed to block any damage at all. That being said, it is a very situational spell to be used only by those who can apply it well and against a foe who demands its application.


Take cleanse against CC heavy teams, particularly ones that have death-sentencing CC. IE. Take cleanse when being free from crowd control will save you from a gank and not barrier or exhaust.


This is not a jungle guide, but if you are like me and somehow manage to miss the cannon because that's when the pressure is on and you flash back to High School Prom when you ate too much Fried rice at the fancy Hibachi restaurant and ended up throwing up in the parking lot because the dancing generated too much heat which made the room stuffy and triggered your incredibly weak stomach, then take this summoner spell and SMITE THAT CADDY BASTARD BECAUSE YOU HATE EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH HIGH SCHOOL. Otherwise don't take this spell, ya dummy.
Don't.

You're better than that, son.

FOCUS, because this is what's most important. Getting early kills is nice, first blood is even nicer. And please, for Pete's sake, don't be afraid to trade once you hit level three unless the matchup is just genuinely sucky for you. In any case, try to set up a solid freeze at the yellow or green positions marked in the image belowBlock the largest portions of the enemy poke with wind wall, but primarily use your insanely low cooldown dash to dodge whatever abilities you can, and remember to abuse the extra damage on your e from using it on minions. (More on this in Laning+Combos)

Around mid game, you should actively be searching for ways to help the team as a whole. If your team wants to teamfight, teamfight. If they are getting shoved into their tower over and over again in bot lane, then do everyone a favor and teach the enemy bot lane a lesson or two about who's team is the best. Make sure, however, that every time you get ready to roam, the wave is pushing in your favor. It is in your interest to miss as little CS as possible when you leave for a roam/teamfight at dragon, baron, etc. So, shove the wave if you can. (Ideally when your opponent is missing/back at base. And don't even think about going into a 5-man unless you have knockup ready and have said your prayers. Once the time is right, you should strive to get e damage off on the entire enemy team. That is, of course, virtually impossible, but prioritize e+q+r'ing the enemy AD Carry or AP Carry. If you've built correctly, your stacked e should all but kill its target, and, if your team is competent, they will follow up and consequentially win the teamfight.

Late game is...uh...well... It's different for AP Yasuo. Your autos (Surprisingly-but not really) do a hefty amount of damage with Nashor's and even a little ability power. That said, considering the ease with which AP Yas can cs, an AP Yasuo will have no trouble reaching full build in an average-length game. (30-40 minutes) If you're feeling froggy, you can test your luck in a late game teamfight where you (The carry) may get shut down, or you can safely push away in the side lanes until you know for a fact you can win a teamfight. Both are fun to do and both plans are executed amazingly well by AP Yasuo. Who doesn't like spamming e?

E+Q+AA
The power of e+q+auto is insane. It does respectable damage, procs Thunderlord's and knocks them up for long enough to e(and wind-wall, if need be) out and take minimal minion damage. AD Yasuo doesn't have this privilege, because AD Yasuo needs not one,but a couple of items to start doing the same damage. But even then, AD Yasuo risks the effects of an extended trade, which puts you in danger of getting ganked by the jungler or a roaming lane and gives the enemy laner opportunity to return damage and outplay for the kill. AP Yasuo abuses the math of simple, uncounterable trades and maximizes the damage of said trade.

As any variation of Yasuo, you should have almost perfect CS, end of story. The only excuse for missing a minion is that A) It was a cannon, and you freaked out, or B) You were too busy whooping up on your opponent that you forgot about the most reliable and constant gold source in the game. It does not matter what elo you are in, Yasuo has ridiculous damage; you can get every cs by autoing and immediately casting e after the auto. This mind-numbingly simple combo does stupid burst to creeps and makes last hitting actually easier than walking in the park.

Another imperative for people who wish to successfully play Yasuo is the ole' "Wait as long as you possibly can before you ulti off of a knock-up to extend the duration of the aforementioned knock-up and maximize overall damage output" trick. Yeah. Basically, if you're already on top of someone and you knock them up, auto (and on occasion e) them first before you use last breath.

There are a couple fancy Yasuo combos that still apply for this build, such as the Airblade trick and flash knock-up combos, that I may add to this guide in the future, but for now looking them up or finding them on another guide will have to do.

I am honored that you took the time to go through my guide! My IGN is BubbaJD on NA server. Feel free to add me if you wanna play a game or two with the Enlightened One. If you have anything you want to say, be it positive or negative feedback, do me a favor and leave it in the comments. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated. Thanks, again!