Yasuo Build Guide by Cryptmaster21

Introduction

out. I'm not a high ranking player and my stats aren't insane, but that is from large amounts of testing and learning. I now believe that I have found out everything there is to know about this champion and have pretty much "Mastered" him, but I am only in gold division so if you want to debate me, please do, I'll try my best to answer. I hope this guide helps you to become a better Yasuo player and mid-laner in general. When I started making this guide, I was very close-minded and didn't accept advice (like a typical silver player) and so it wasn't anywhere near as good as it is now that I have opened up to suggestions and adjusted the guide accordingly. If you need further explanation of something, message/discuss me.

Summary

with a large skill cap that can hyper carry teams easily with the right pilot. He works best with another form of knock-up on the team for helping him with his ult so that he doesn't have to prep his 3rd Q Steel Tempest constantly before fights. Yasuo scales amazingly and never falls off so long as you build him correctly. This build only talks about my main build (the first one) because it is the preferred one that I build and know the most about. I may update the guide later for the other builds. May the wind be on your side.

Pros/Cons

Pros:

High burst damage
Able to trade easily with shield
Barely any hard counters
High mobility
Very "sticky"
Easy farming
Can block projectiles
Tank shredder

Cons:

Can't escape without something to jump to
Squishy early game
Ult doesn't do a lot of damage/glitches and doesn't work 1/4 of the time (long lasting bug)
Requires team comp for best results
Can be punished hard for mistakes

Runes

type of rune page and alter it to give 1% crit chance. The reasoning for this is: once you are in the game, you will have 2% crit and be able to randomly get a really good trade with your enemy (Yasuo's passive giving you double crit for everything). Also I get health seals and lifesteal quints because of the recent Yasuo nerfs that lowered his base hp by 50. 1 attack speed quint because it makes Yasuo generally feel "better" in early game, since this makes his auto-attacks not so clunky and slow. Magic resist glyphs because most of your match-ups will be ap-casters and this will make it much easier to survive. (also an old quote from lol players: "1% crit wins lanes").

Masteries

For the masteries I decided that an average AD build with a slight change was the best.

full effect of the mastery, Fury is better than the other option since you don't use cooldown reduction, Butcher for easier csing, Brute Force and Martial Mastery for obvious reasons, Executioner because you are a roaming assassin that should be getting tons of kills but don't put a point into Dangerous Game you don't use mana, Warlord because obvious reasons, Devastating Strikes for the armor pen, Frenzy because you are the king of crit, and Havoc for obvious reasons.

than Enchanted Armor since you don't build armor/magic resist, Unyielding because you are melle and get the full effect from it, Veteran's Scars and Juggernaut for obvious reasons.

Skill Sequence

E Sweeping Blade for the mobility and since this is your gap-closer, then W Wind Wall if you are against a ranged champ (if you are against a melee champ, wait til level 4 so it will be used against junglers/roamers), after this max out your Q as fast as possible, then your E, then you W, and of course max your R Last Breath at every opportunity (6/11/16).

Ability Breakdown

Champions that trigger Last Breath:

Aatrox: Q Alistar: Q, W Blitzcrank: Q, E Cho'Gath: Q Darius: E Diana: E Draven: E Fizz: R Gragas: R Hecarim: E Janna: Q, R Jarvan IV: E+Q combo Jayce: E (hammer stance) Lee Sin: R

Lulu: R Malphite: R Maokai: Q Nami: Q, R Nautilus: Q, R Orianna: R Poppy: E Quinn: E Rammus: Q Riven: 3rd Q Sejuani: Q Shyvana: R Singed: E

Syndra: E Thresh: Q, E Tristana: R Trundle: E Vayne: E Vi: Q, R Vel'Koz: E Volibear: Q Wukong: R Xin Zhao: Q, R Yasuo: 3rd Q Zac: E, R Ziggs: W Zyra: R

Projectiles that are blocked by Wind Wall

Aatrox e; Ahri q/w/e/r(bolts); Akali q; Anivia q/e; Ashe w/e/r; Amumu q; Annie q; Blitzcrank q; Brand q/r; Cassiopeia e; Cho'Gath e; Caitlyn q/e/r; Corki q/r; Diana q; Dr. Mundo q; Draven e; Elise human-q/human-e; Ezreal q/w/e(bolt)/r; Fiddlesticks e; Fizz r; Galio q/w; Gangplank q; Gragas q(will stop where it contacts wall, still explodes)/r; Graves q/w/r(wont stop the explosion if it already detonates); Hecarim r(ghost horses); Heimerdinger q(turret shots and laser)/w/e; Irelia r; Janna q/w; Jayce cannon-q; Jinx w/r; Karma q; Kayle q;

Kog'Maw q/e; Kha'Zix w; Kassadin q; Katarina q/r; Kennen q; LeBlanc q/e; Lee Sin q(first activation)/e(second activation); Leona e; Jarvan IV q; Lissandra q/e; Lucian w/r; Lulu q/w; Lux q/w/e; Malphite q; Malzahar q; Maokai w(when throwed not while walking)/e; Miss Fortune q/w/r; Mordekaiser q(the metal pieces that bounce through enemies); Morgana q; Nami q/w/r; Nautilus q/e(quite strange :/)/r; Nidalee human-q; Nocturne q; Nunu e; Olaf q; Orianna q(her ball comes to a stop when it hits the wall)/e; Pantheon q; Quinn q; Rengar e;

Riven r(wind slash (although i think that wind slash slices the air)); Rumble e; Ryze q/e; Sejuani r; Shaco w(box shots)/e; Shen q; Shyvana e; Sion q; Sivir q/w; Skarner e; Sona q/w/e/r; Swain e/r(birds); Syndra e(pushed ball)/r; Talon w; Taric e; Teemo q/e; Thresh q/w; Tristana e/r; Twisted Fate q/w/e; Twitch w/r; Urgot q/e; Varus q/r; Vayne e; Veigar q/r; Viktor q/e/r; Vladimir q(dmg is dealt but the heal particle is blocked)/e; Xerath e; Zed q/w; Ziggs q/w(midair)/e; Zyra passive/w-q(plant shots)/e

And then of course, any ranged autoattacks, aside from Thresh.

Summoner Spells

snowballing skills in my opinion. Remember that you can flash + Steel Tempest hurricane + ult for a sick combo on escaping/unsuspecting enemies. Other viable spells are Barrier, Heal, Exhaust, and Ghost

Items

listed are tried and tested heavily. The reasoning behind my items are: Statikk Shiv = 40 attack speed and 20% crit, Infinity Edge = 25% crit, Berserker's Greaves = 20 attack speed. So this leaves you with 60 attack speed and (After Yasuo's passive Way of the Wanderer) 90% crit chance. This means that with the runes I named, you will have 92% crit chance. Yasuo's Q maxes out at 55 attack speed, which means that after 55 attack speed it no longer shortens the cooldown of his Q (60 attack speed is the closest I could get to 55 and is the most efficient.)

and attack damage to back up your crit; and then Last Whisper, which is your tank destroying item. As for choosing between The Bloodthirster or Ravenous Hydra, I go with The Bloodthirster 90% of the time, it is very synergistic with Yasuo's playstyle, but go Ravenous Hydra if you plan on splitpushing a lot. As for Last Whisper, it is not a necessity for Yasuo every game because his Last Breath already gives him +50% bonus armor penetration, which is enough for most situations, but I still build this about 90% of the time. I also build this item any time I see a Rammus because reasons.

are amazing for Yasuo and they should be built in order of how the game is going at that moment. If you are fed and a high priority target (more than likely you will be), then you should build Guardian Angel next because it is dumb for someone to get fed and then not build some defense. If you are that fed and not in Cardboard V, then people will know to target you, and they will quickly shut you down over and over. The Frozen Heart is good for when no particular person is fed, and you just want to be able to survive longer/chase down people even easier.
The other items are listed are:

Amazing for games against enemies with an AP damage over time (DOT) effect like: Teemo, Singed, ect.

Amazing for games when against heavy AP crowd control effects (CC) or suppresses like: Leona, Malzahar, ect.

Amazing for people with one AP ability that just really is annoying like: Blitzcrank, Thresh, ect.

Amazing for when the enemy has a fed champion that is stacking high amounts of AD, and is autoattack based. It helps you kill them faster :p. Good against champions like: Master Yi, Fiora, ect.

Amazing for situations when a person building AD and attack speed, since this will slow them down and help you to survive. Good against champions like: Jax, Vayne, ect.

absolute best that gives the most power and effectiveness.

Match-ups (only mid-laners)

(This is only common midlaners, I don't have time to put a description for every single champ in league. Remember that any champ that is a bruiser is probably going to be difficult.)

Hard:

Malzahar is the only true counter in my opinion, because your wind wall literally stops nothing he has, except autoattacks (and he has a point&click suppress). So for this lane I believe that waiting on ganks is the best option, but build Doran's Blade so that you have enough damage for when ganks come to kill him. The Doran's Shield is not a good option here since his autoattack animation is garbage. Try to build a quicksilver sash for this match-up to get out of his ult. There aren't normally any good Malzahar players since he is so far out of the meta atm, but still realize that he is a threat.

Akali is probably THE most annoying match up, just because it's Akali, she is a hyper carry like Yasuo. So regardless of how bad she might be doing, if you give her just like 3 kills, she instantly is in a position to carry again (since she comes back with 12 items somehow), and she is hard to build against since she is hybrid. You will beat her in lane up until 6, but if she roams, push HARD or roam with her (waste no time) and call mia a million times. Start Doran's Blade for trade potential. Also at level 6, remember that she can dash to you and be too close for your hurricane to hit (it does have a minimal distance), so back up and then hurricane.

Mordekaiser is a surprising annoying match-up, he does large amounts of damage, your wall stops just his split-off maces from his Mace of Spades, and is very tanky. The best plan of action against him is to work off of your shield as much as possible. Dash around like a madman and hit him with 2-stack Sweeping Blade+ Steel Tempest combos to out trade him. Doran's Blade start.

Annie is a hard lane if you ever happen to go against her because she can combo you out at level 6 and you can't do anything about it since you are stunned THE WHOLE TIME. In this match I'd suggest just baiting out her stun and then bursting her as fast as possible before it is back out. Doran's Blade Start.

Xerath is a pretty hard match-up because of his immense range and short cooldowns. Your wind wall blocks his stun but you can't stop anything else. For this match, you need to just focus on farm, and wait for ganks. You can clear faster than him (and most other champions) so after 6, just clear the lane and then roam. If you take the manly option and try to fight him, use your dash to dodge his skillshots since he is completely based around skillshots and you should win.



Medium:
All of these champions are just even match-ups where skill/outplaying (whoever gets first blood) is completely what determines who wins lane.




Easy:
Everyone else.

Ranked Play

your jungler starts red or blue. If the case is a jungler that starts blue, then you stand on the backside of the wall and throw your Q when the buff spawns, then go to lane and catch the first minion kill (which should easily be possible if you time it right). Yasuo is a melee champion so that is why he is like Kassadin/ Zed/ect. and just throws his Q. If the case is a jungler that starts red, then just guard blue for him since it would take too long to go around and leash then run back to lane (Yasuo's Q doesn't go far enough to reach red over the back wall).

possible with your Q because you will want to constantly throw your hurricane at the enemy for ranged poke. Yasuo has one of the best trade potentials in the game, so if someone tried to 1v1 you at level 1-2, go fight them and if you hit your Q's then you should win the fight. Plus I normally go all in at level 2 with Yasuo because of this trade potential. Once at level 6 you should start roaming if you are winning your lane (especially if you have teammates with movement displacement).


Teamfights: For teamfights you need to realize that you are an amazing powerhouse, but you are still a squishy assassin. So once a teamfight begins, try to stay out of the opening damage/ults and then make your way toward picking off the carries (to get to them use your dash/movement displacement+ult). Remember to use your ult at the very last moment of the movement displacement, this will increase the overall cc time and keep the enemies useless.

Catching people out of place: This is your main power since Yasuo is a very very sticky champion, and once he catches you out, you are probably dead. He can dash to you/minions to keep up with you, or just walk behind you using only Q to kill/constantly knock you up. It is like having a Tryndamere on you, there is no escape.

Farming: Yasuo has one of the easiest farming capabilities in the game. You can push a lane as fast as it would take to walk down the lane. All you do is E+Q combo and wipe out the whole wave, while still moving forward, which makes him a great split-pusher if need be. Also for early game, his Q and E make it very easy to catch every cs, I average about 90 something cs by 10 minutes easily.

Escaping/chasing: You can use your dash to go through walls on camps. I would go into detail about this, but Bischu has a really good explanation of most of this and the link to it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDtjR7MTLHo&feature=youtu.be (all rights of vid to Bischu) There are other ways to go over walls but pm me if you wish to know.

Camps: Dragon/Baron/any camp that fires projectiles can be blocked off with your wind-wall, remember this to save you or your team from some unnecessary damage.

Dream Team:

Pics/Vids

Will add videos/pics later if I get enough public interest for it. Here is my current stats as of 06/27/14, and once again, these aren't amazing just because of so much testing and practice.