Yasuo Build Guide by Doctor Yas

Hey everyone! My name is Mark, but most Yasuo players know me as DoctorYas. I am a Master tier Yasuo mid lane OTP on the NA server. I have been playing Yasuo since season 5, and have watched the evolution of this champion from Tanksuo back into Critsuo. I have over 3 million mastery points on this champion across multiple accounts. He is easily my favorite champion in the entire game.

Love or hate Yasuo, there is no doubt that he is easily one of the most exciting champions to play in the game. His kit is extremely versatile, and he has one of the highest skill ceilings.

If you decide to read past this point then I hope I can answer all of you questions about Yasuo. If not then I highly recommend checking out my other channels as I go in-depth with builds, guides, and other forms of gameplay to help you improve your Yasuo skills.

Pros/Cons + Strong Map Control + Low Threat Champions + High Snowball Potential - Easily Gankable - Potential For Full AD Team

Mid Lane Mid lane is my primary role, and the role I believe Yasuo has the most potential in. Mid lane gives Yasuo access to the entire map allowing him to apply pressure and snowball harder than in any other lane. He also faces the least amount of threats in the mid lane. Aside from assassins, mid lane mages pose little to no threat as Yasuo can Wind Wall most crucial abilities.

Pros/Cons + Longer Lane + Easy Wave Control + High Snowball Potential - Easily Gankable - Tons of terrible match ups

Top Lane Top lane used to be my secondary role until the massive nerfs to Yasuo in patch 10.12 where Riot reduced his base HP from 523 to 490. This made it even harder to face counter match ups like Darius, Renekton, etc. However, with the addition of mythic items, Yasuo can now compete in the top lane with most bruisers again. This lane is longer than mid, and allows Yasuo to easily control waves. Longer lanes = more mobility.

Pros/Cons + Duo lane + Can Wind Wall Most ADC's + Great synergy with tons of supports - Horrible early game - Lack of ranged carries on team

Bot Lane Bot lane has become my new secondary role with Yasuo as I find that he counters tons of match ups in the bot lane. just be careful early game, and make sure to respect supports with tons of CC like Leona and Nautilus. Once you hit three, or pick up Berserker's Greaves you can start to duel much more effectively with other ADC's.

Conqueror: This rune has always been amazing on Yasuo. It gives Yasuo everything he could ever need. Scaling, damage, and life steal. As a sustained fighter this rune synergizes perfectly with Yasuo. Triumph: Easily one of the strongest secondary runes for Yasuo, Triumph allows you to stay healthy in fights with takedowns and assists as Yasuo has plenty of AOE abilities such as Steel Tempest and Last Breath which will grant him east access to Triumph's passive. Legend: Alacrity: It goes without saying that attack speed is very important on Yasuo as it helps max out the CD to his Q, Steel Tempest, so having more attack speed leads to maxing out this ability faster. Coup de Grace: I find Coup de Grace to be an amazing rune for Yasuo as he tends to want to stay healthier in fights. The only time I would replace Coup de Grace is if I was either top lane as Cut Down is more effective into tanks, or if I was in a harder match up where I will be at a lower HP and Last Stand would come into play more often. Taste of Blood: I have always loved Taste of Blood on Yasuo as it keeps him healthier in the early game, and allows him to more effectively trade with his lane opponents. Ravenous Hunter: Due to Yasuo having tons of AOE abilities it is a no brainer to have Ravenous Hunter as a rune. Ravenous Hunter is a late game rune, however, and you will need to max the stacks before seeing the full potential of this rune. Axe: When it comes to lesser runes I find that the Axe, Diamond, and Shield / Circle to be the most effective combination. I would change the Shield / Circle based on the match up, AD vs AP. CONQUEROR VS FLEET FOOTWORK When it comes to primary runes there seems to be a pretty even gap amongst Yasuo players on which rune is best to run. I find that the best primary keystone for Yasuo all depends on the situation, and that Conqueror or Fleet Footwork are both perfectly viable options. *Keep in mind runes are also based on play style. I've seen many Korean Yasuo players such as Pz ZZang run Fleet Footwork while other Yasuo players like Yassuo favor conqueror* FAQ Fleet Footwork or Conqueror? These two keystones are always hotly debated amongst Yasuo mains. From my experience, both keystones are great options. I find that Conqueror works best into melee match ups, even match ups, or winning match ups. Fleet Footwork, on the other hand, works best into losing match ups and heavy poke match ups. These runes can also be changed based on enemy team comps. A good example could be taking Conqueror into a poke match up because the enemy team have tons of tanks and bruisers. In the end, both runes are amazing and there is no right or wrong answer. Pick the keystone you think is best for what situation, or pick based on which keystone you like more. Overheal or Triumph? Overheal and Triumph are amazing runes for Yasuo, and can help in differing scenarios. I personally take Triumph when I run Conqueror, or in games where I won't be getting early life steal, rushing Kraken Slayer or Trinity Force, since Overheal won't be used until the mid to late game while Triumph can take effect immediately. When it comes to Overheal I find myself using this run when I run Fleet Footwork, or if I am rushing early life steal, such as Immortal Shieldbow, since I can use this rune at all points of the game. Legend: Alacrity or Legend: Bloodline or Legend: Tenacity? These three runes are where things get a little tricky. In 90% of my games I run Legend: Alacrity since most of my Yasuo builds do not incorporate extra attack speed outside of Berserker's Greaves and Immortal Shieldbow. So, unless you know you are running extra attack speed in your build I would recommend sticking with Legend: Alacrity. However, if you find yourself building other forms of attack speed such as Blade of the Ruined King or Wit's End then you do not need Legend: Alacrity to cap out your Q, Steel Tempest, cooldown. In this scenario you can run either Legend: Bloodline or Legend: Tenacity. Unless the enemy team have a ton of CC then I would use Legend: Bloodline. If the enemy team does have tons of CC then Legend: Tenacity is the right rune to pick. Coup de Grace or Last Stand? I've had tons of debates about these two runes. I've seen Yasuo player's such as Repobah swap between the two. Personally, I am a bigger fan of Coup de Grace as Yasuo has no real damage or life steal amplifiers below 40% HP such as Darius, Olaf, and Sylas. I run Coup de Grace in most of my games. The only time I have ever switched to Last Stand is if I am in a harder lane match up and will be at a lower HP threshold for most of lane. This way I can properly utilize this rune. Otherwise, Yasuo is not a champion that you want to be at low HP. You want to try to stay as healthy as possible so that you can deal as much damage as you can.

MYTHIC

Immortal Shieldbow ✦ Immortal Shieldbow is a crucial item on Yasuo in this current meta, especially against mid lane assassins. It provides Yasuo with everything he needs in terms of stats and passives. Attack damage, attack speed, life steal, and a lifeline passive. When in doubt, always buy Immortal Shieldbow.

MYTHIC

Kraken Slayer ✦ Kraken Slayer is a great option for Yasuo into heavy tank comps. Kraken Slayer offers great stats and an amazing tank shredding passive. If you see two or three tanky champions on the enemy team then I would consider buying this item.

MYTHIC

Trinity Force ✦ Top lane Yasuo is back, and Trinity Force has made him viable again in the top lane. Although Immortal Shieldbow and Kraken Slayer are amazing top lane mythic items; I believe that Trinity Force will be Yasuo's go to mythic item for the top lane. It offers amazing stats that allow Yasuo to be more of a bruiser/fighter rather than a melee ADC. The raw damage, strong health stat, and reworked passive make Trinity Force an amazing item for Yasuo.

LEGENDARY

Infinity Edge ✦ No surprises here. Infinity Edge is one of Yasuo's core legendary items. It helps cap out your crit, gives you more crit damage, and gives you tons on raw AD. It's the perfect item for Yasuo and should always be built as long as you are going with either a crit Yasuo build, or a bruiser Yasuo build.

LEGENDARY

Bloodthirster ✦ Ever since Bloodthirster's rework this item has been extremely powerful on Yasuo. It now gives crit chance so, building this item will scale with Yasuo's passive, Way of the Wanderer, even if you have already reached the cap of 100% crit chance. The best part about this item, however, is the fact that it is both an offensive and defensive item. The raw AD is great for Yasuo's AD scaling, it has tons of life steal, and it also gives you an overheal shield which allows you to survive longer in team fights or 1v1 duels.

LEGENDARY

Mortal Reminder ✦ Mortal Reminder is another ADC item that got reworked to include crit chance. This item has become so strong with its new rework that some Yasuo players have even found builds where rushing Mortal Reminder is a viable option. Player's like Pz ZZang have been rushing Mortal Reminder in some of their games as this item is extremely cheap for the stats that it provides.

This is an extremely common mid lane Yasuo build as it provides him with tons of attack speed, attack damage, and crit chance. For mid lane, I almost always rush Berserker's Greaves into Immortal Shieldbow into Infinity Edge. From here, Yasuo's build is completely situational. If you are fed or are hard carrying a game then my fourth item will usually be either a Bloodthirster or Guardian Angel. If the enemy team have tons of healing then Mortal Reminder is a good buy. If the enemy team are fed and they have a lot of AD or AP then I will buy either Randuin's Omen or Spirit Visage.



When it comes to top lane I am a huge fan of running Trinity Force as Yasuo's core mythic item. It provides Yasuo with great damage stats and a bit of tank stats. In terms of build I tend to lean towards rushing crit after getting Trinity Force, but you can always replace items based on the situation. A good example is replacing Bloodthirster for Blade of the Ruined King. If you are up against someone like Sion then Blade of the Ruined King will be much more effective at shredding through his HP than Bloodthirster. You can also replace Guardian Angel for something tankier like a Thornmail or Spirit Visage based on your lane opponent and the enemy team comp. Top has one of the more versitile build paths, so it is very important that you build based on the game state.



Yasuo is a great pick bot lane as there are tons of great support synergies, and Yasuo's Wind Wall counters almost every ADC in the meta. When it comes to builds, I find that Kraken Slayer is a great pick up for Yasuo ADC. Immortal Shieldbow is also a perfectly fine pick up for Yasuo, and the two items can be changed based on game state, or just personal preference. The rest of the items are pretty similar to a mid lane Yasuo build as you will want to stack as much damage as possible since you will be a primary source of damage for your team. I do like running Sterak's Gage in a build with Kraken Slayer since it gives Yasuo a bit of extra tankiness that he would otherwise lack since he still is a melee carry.



These last few builds are situational and can work in any lane. If you are up against a super heavy AD comp then I would recommend picking up items that have some form of armor. Items like Death's Dance and Guardian Angel are amazing pick ups since they give Yasuo both AD and armor. Other items like Randuin's Omen and Thornmail are also great buys if you just need some tank stats to survive. I would also consider replacing Berserker's Greaves with Plated Steelcaps if you were going to build an alternative form of attack speed like Blade of the Ruined King.



These last few builds are situational and can work in any lane. If you are up against a super heavy AP comp then I would recommend picking up items that have some form of magic resist. Items like Wit's End and Mercurial Scimitar are amazing pick ups since they give Yasuo offensive and defensive stats. I would also like to note that in this type of build you can actually rush Wit's End since it gives you tons of attack speed and is a relatively cheap item. Other items like Spirit Visage are also great buys if you just need some tank stats to survive. I would also consider replacing Berserker's Greaves with Mercury's Treads since Wit's End and Immortal Shieldbow will give you all the attack speed you need to cap out your Q, Steel Tempest, CD.

Yasuo is known for his fancy moves. I've bet a few of you have seen some awesome Yasuo montages and have heard terms like Airbalde, Beyblade, and Keyblade. If you aren't familiar with these terms, or have no idea how to perform these combos then I'll run you through a short tutorial on how to perform them. I would also like to note that going into the practice tool is a great way to master these combos.

These combos are pretty hard to describe over just text so I highly recommend that you watch my Yasuo guide for this part as it may give you a better understanding of how these combos work.

Abilities

Beyblade Combo: Sweeping Blade → Steel Tempest → Flash Buttons: E → Q → Flash Purpose: Surprise opponents Difficulty Level: Beginner Explanation: Beyblading is an extremely deadly combo on Yasuo that can easily be learned by any player. It is a simple E → Q → Flash combo that can surprise your opponents. Typically, this combo is paired with Yasuo's third Q, Steel Tempest, Yasuo's knock up Q, Steel Tempest, to provide you with damage and CC. At level six, this combo can be deadlier since you can pair the beyblade combo with Last Breath. It is virtually impossible to react to this combo.

Abilities

Airblade Combo: Steel Tempest → Sweeping Blade → Steel Tempest → Last Breath Buttons: Q → E → Q → R Purpose: Maximize damage and gain and extra Q, Steel Tempest stack Difficulty Level: Intermediate Explanation: Airblading can be a bit trickier than beyblading. This combo will require you to have at least a 1.5 second CD on your Q, Steel Tempest to consistently perform this combo. Basically, once you have a third Q, Steel Tempest, or knock up Q, Steel Tempest, ready then you will knock up your opponent. From here you will find a target which you can E, Sweeping Blade, through and use both your E, Sweeping Blade, and Q, Steel Tempest, combo. Just as you are mid-way through your E, Sweeping Blade, and Q, Steel Tempest, combo on the random target you can R, Last Breath, the knocked up target. Once you come out of your R, Last Breath, you will notice that you have an extra stack on your Q, Steel Tempest,. The damage from your E, Sweeping Blade, and Q, Steel Tempest, combo should have also been applied to the airbladed target.

Abilities

Keyblade Combo: Steel Tempest → Sweeping Blade → Steel Tempest → Flash → Steel Tempest → Sweeping Blade → Last Breath Buttons: Q → E → Q → Flash → E → Q → R Purpose: Surprise your opponent and maximize damage Difficulty Level: Advanced Explanation: Keyblading is the ultimate Yasuo combo. It's something that I would only recommend to players that have a good understanding of Yasuo's kit. The keyblade combo is a combination of both the beyblade and airblade. To perform this combo you will need the same requirements as the airblade. You must have your Q, Steel Tempest, CD at 1.5 seconds or lower. From here you will start the combo off with a beyblade. First, gather up two stacks of your Q, Steel Tempest. Once you have a knock up ready you will use your E → Q → Flash combo to knock up your opponent. Once your opponent is airborne you can then E → Q through them again before clicking your R, Last Breath. This combo is by far one of the most satisfying things that you can do in the game. It looks extremely clean, and really shows off your Yasuo mastery. For those of you learning to perfect this combo I would highly recommend practicing this in the practice tool to get the hang of the timing. If all of this is still confusing then watching the video link posted above will give you a better explanation on how to perform the combo.

E A R L Y

EARLY GAME Yasuo's early game isn't as strong as it used to be. He is still a lane bully, but you must play lane cautiously as one bad gank, trade, or death could ruin your laning phase for the rest of the game. It doesn't matter what lane you are in. All you need to do as Yasuo early is focus on making sure you pick up farm. Having a strong early foundation is crucial to Yasuo's success. Since Yasuo scales so well it is easy to beat your opponents once you have all the items you need. Farming up, and getting a few early kills if you can are all you need to do early to put yourself on the path to victory.

M I D

MID GAME Mid game is where things start to get a little tricky. At this point in the game you should have a Mythic item completed. If you are fed then you should be working towards a legendary item, most likely Infinity Edge. From here you have to determine the best course of action. Most people tend to start grouping and playing ARAM on summoners rift during the mid game, but that is usually a mistake. Yasuo is an extremely item reliant champion, so making sure you stay ahead in gold and levels is important. Make sure you grab as many side waves as possible. I would tell your team that you don't want to group too much until you've completed both your mythic item and Infinity Edge, or any other legendary you are building. Once you have all your core items you will be in a really strong spot, and it will most likely be closer to the mid/late game.

L A T E

LATE GAME Yasuo's late game is where things start to get fun. By now you should have all your core items completed with at least components to other legendary items in your inventory. Yasuo can fall into two categories for team fighting once the late game hits. He can either be a strong engage, or he can play the peel game. If your team has strong knock ups like Malphite, Alistar, Ornn, etc. then chances are you will be engaging on the enemy back line looking to kill key targets like the ADC or Mid lane carry. If your team does not have any strong engage then you can either split, if you can either 1v1 or 2v1, or you can peel for your ADC. Yasuo may not look like a good peeling champion, but he actually has tons of great tools to help keep your carries alive. First, Wind Wall is a great way to zone off ranged carries. Yasuo also has great cc with his third Q, Steel Tempest, and his ultimate, Last Breath. All of these tools make him a great champion to help with peeling.