Hello, I'm a Yasuo main who of course loves playing Yasuo and experimenting with all of his possibilities. In this guide, I've attempted to create an effective and interesting collection of Yasuo knowledge, ranging from basic mechanics and must pick items to complex combos and niche picks.

So without further adieu, we'll start off with the runes.

KEYSTONES

By far Yasuo's best keystone, Conqueror offers high AD as well as true damage to melt both tanky and squishy targets. This will be your keystone of choice in every match.

PRIMARY RUNES

Triumph is a very effective rune for Yasuo as it will allow you to win many very close trades and 1v2s that he would normally lose, or die afterwards to minions or towers.

The attack speed Legend: Alacrity offers is vital to reducing the cooldown of Steel Tempest and making Yasuo effective. Neither Legend: Bloodline nor Legend: Tenacity offer anything important enough to justify picking them over Legend: Alacrity.

The generally good passive and attack damage that Coup de Grace offers make it more effective the other runes of this tier.

SECONDARY RUNES - RESOLVE

STATS: +9% Attack Speed and +15-135 Health (Levels 1-18)

Resolve secondary gives you a good mixture of attack speed and health, so that you can actually utilize your stats without being instantly killed. Resolve will be your main secondary path, chosen almost every game.

Bone Plating makes you a lot tankier in trades. Be wary of enemies poking you to activate it before an all-in.

Chrysalis gives you early survivability so that you can last in extended trades, something Yasuo wants. It then smoothly converts to AD to continue your snowball.

Second Wind gives you a lot of health regeneration and is a decent alternative in a poke matchup where you'd value the early regen over health and later attack damage from Chrysalis. You can pick Doran's Shield alongside Second Wind to get even more health regen.

SECONDARY RUNES - DOMINATION

STATS: +9% Attack Speed and +6 Attack Damage

Domination secondary is a more aggressive rune page that forfeits the guaranteed defenses of resolve secondary.

Sudden Impact simply makes you have more damage after you've used Sweeping Blade or Last Breath which is... always.

Eyeball Collection will make Yasuo quickly snowball and scale if you get kills.

Relentless Hunter will give you faster move speed for better roams and easier splitpushing.

Flash is always picked. Use Flash to surprise enemies with an EQ knockup for a kill, or if there are other enemies around, you can EQ onto a target and flash immediately to near your primary target after the button press but while the combo is being casted to get an instant, hard to predict knockup (This is called a beyblade). You can also buffer Q so that it will come out immediately after Flash, and of course you can just use Flash as an offensive or defensive tool to secure kills or run away if necessary.

Ignite will allow your all ins to succeed more often, and pull off riskier kills. Just always good. Your go to summoner spell on Yasuo.

Exhaust will be your main summoner spell as bot lane Yasuo, with your support on ignite. Ignite is best used in early kills, whereas as the game goes on, Exhaust will be a lot more powerful in winning duels. Your support can utilize Ignite in the early game for kills and in the late game, you will be able to splitpush with the stronger Exhaust. If playing with randoms, the support will often want to take Exhaust in which case you can take Ignite. It doesn't make a huge difference and it's probably not worth explaining or confusing your random support.

Teleport is useful for top lane or bot lane Yasuo to make make splitpushing easier, and sometimes get back to lane faster with your powerspikes.

Cleanse can be useful in certain matchups, like if you are against Zoe or Ryze and feel that you need to nullify their CC to win the lane. Note: Cleanse does NOT remove suppresions, such as Malzahar's or Warwick's ultimate abilities.

INTENT INTENT: Yasuo gains double the critical strike chance from all sources but his basic attacks deal 10% reduced damage when critically striking. RESOLVE RESOLVE: Yasuo generates a Flow stack for every 59 / 52 / 46 (LVL 1/7/13) units he travels by any means. At 「 100 stacks 」 and upon taking champion or monster damage, Yasuo consumes all Flow to shield himself for 100 - 510 (based on level) for up to 1 second.

Yasuo's doubled critical strike passive is what empowers his crit itemization, making Phantom Dancer and Infinity Edge ridiculously powerful on him. Additionally, his shield passive is very important for winning trades and being able to CS while being poked. Properly managing and maintaining the passive is essential to any Yasuo player. Keep in mind that flashing and dashing will build up flow for the shield, and using Last Breath will instantly refill your shield.

STEEL TEMPEST STEEL TEMPEST: After a 0.54 - 0.18 (based on bonus attack speed) second-delay, Yasuo thrusts his sword, dealing physical damage to all enemies in the target direction, granting Gathering Storm upon dealing damage and applying on-hit effects to the first target hit. STEEL WIND RISING SECOND CAST - STEEL WIND RISING: For the next 6 seconds, Yasuo can gain another Gathering Storm stack by hitting an enemy with Steel Tempest, empowering it for the same duration. GATHERING STORM THIRD CAST - GATHERING STORM: Yasuo consumes all stacks to unleash a whirlwind that travels an increased distance in the target direction, dealing the same damage and knocking airborne all enemies hit. Steel Tempest's knockup does not gain increased range when cast during Sweeping Blade

Yasuo's Q is essentially a longer, more powerful auto attack on a short cooldown that needs to be aimed. It applies on hit affects and if an enemy champion is the first enemy it strikes, it will attract minion aggro. Its cooldown is reduced with attack speed and it can crit. After using your Q twice in a row within a short time span, it will then become a skillshot tornado that knocks players airborne, and also knocks up anyone hit by his Sweeping Blade Steel Tempest combo. Maintaining these stacks to consistently CC enemy laners while also maintaining lane control and not accidently pushing too far is an extremely important skill. Not only do you need to learn how to consistently aim tornado, but you also should learn to predict where enemies will move to attempt to dodge it. Steel Tempest is makes it easy to get CS from range, but it also does a lot of damaage and if you're not careful you will overpush your lane.

WINDWALL Yasuo creates a gust of wind that travels in the target direction over 0.25 seconds to form a wall in front of him. The wall slowly drifts forward 50 units over 3.75 seconds, blocking all enemy projectiles except turret attacks.

Yasuo's windwall will block any ranged auto attacks (except for instant laser attacks such as Viktor's or Zoe's passives) as well as MANY spells that one might not initially consider a projectile. However, the long cooldown and the importance of the spell mean that it is vital to keep track of when it is up and only engage when you can use it properly. A mistimed wind wall can and will mess up your entire engage. Windwall's hitbox is extremely large, and you can abuse this by standing inside of it and blocking projectiles from all sides, essentially making you invincible against some champions. The windwall actually begins inside and slightly behind Yasuo, and then moves forward, meaning that you can often block projectiles even if it looks like it's already hit you.

SWEEPING BLADE Yasuo dashes a fixed distance toward an enemy over 0.55 seconds (reduced with bonus movement speed, increased by slowing effects) dealing magic damage. Yasuo cannot dash to the same target more than once every few seconds. Each Sweeping Blade cast increases the next dash's base damage by 25% for 5 seconds, up to 50%.

Sweeping Blade is Yasuo's dash ability on a very short cooldown, starting at 0.5 sec cd and decreasing by 0.1 per level. Dashing back and forth between minions to generate flow and weave out of enemy's attacks while harassing them with Steel Tempest is Yasuo's bread and butter lane presence. It's also important to remember that the damage stacks twice. When using Steel Tempest during Sweeping Blade the attack will strike in a large circle around the person, making it easier to get guaranteed damage on the target and anyone around them, as well as easier knockups. Another important aspect of using Sweeping Blade is moving during and between your dashes. If you only spam dash on minions, you will feel awkward and clunky. While you are dashing, you should be right clicking so that Yasuo immediately begins moving towards your next destination. Additionally, think not just about dashing in a straight line towards your opponent, but think about sometimes walking backwards or to the side to get a better dash that will get you even closer to your enemy.

LAST BREATH Yasuo blinks to visible airborne enemy champion nearest to the cursor, instantly generating 100 Way of the Wanderer Flow stacks but resetting Steel Tempest. Upon arrival, he suspends all nearby airborne enemies for 1 second, dealing physical damage thereafter. For the next 15 seconds, Yasuo's critical strikes gain 50% bonus armor penetration.

Yasuo's iconic ultimate is only usable on airborne enemies, and it's vital that you utilize his ult correctly to succeed in both lane and teamfights. First, remember that it will instantly reset your shield, allowing you to quickly turn around fights with your sudden tankiness. Additionally, the ult will deliberately place you outside of turret range if you are on the edge. So it's often safer than it would look to use your ultimate on someone at the edge of tower range. Remember the ulti's massive range and always be ready to use it whenever you see any ally with knockups around. Yasuo's ultimate has a relatively short cooldown, but it is a fight defining, incredibly important ultimate, so make sure you use it at the correct time on the correct target(s).

EARLY ITEMS

Yasuo makes great use of the Attack Damage, Health, and Lifesteal this item offers. Doran's Blade will almost always be your starting item of choice. You can pick up a second one on your first back if desired for even more quick and efficient stats.

Doran's Shield is occasionally useful in matchups where you know the opponent will play safe and keep poking you out, such as Malzahar, Xerath, or other mages with long range annoying pokes.

Relic Shield can sometimes be picked in the bot lane, especially when your support also picks Relic Shield. It offers a lot of sustain and also more warding potential.

Refillable Potion is a nice gold sink in the early game if you could use the extra sustain.

Vision is vital, especially on Yasuo where you are likely to be constantly ganked or shut down. You should absolutely pick up a Control Ward whenever you back and have some spare gold.

Hexdrinker is a great early item against tough ability power matchups. The attack damage, magic resist, and shield enable you to win many fights you wouldn't ordinarily. You can build this into a Maw of Malmortius later, if necessary. Note: Keep in mind that Maw of Malmortius's and Sterak's Gage's passive shields will NOT stack, and so you should only build one of these items in a match.

If you aren't rushing Berserker's Greaves or recalled with less than 1100 gold, you'll want to grab 3x Dagger. It'll give you a quick attack speed boost and build towards your Phantom Dancer. Daggers will always give you more power than a standalone Brawler's Gloves, so prioritize getting the Daggers or Boots before getting a Zeal or Brawler's Gloves.

BOOTS

Berserker's Greaves give Yasuo a lot of attack speed, something he can make use of in trades with auto attacks and Steel Tempest. The movespeed makes it easier to dodge important skillshots, and makes Sweeping Blade faster. Both of these factors make Berserker's Greaves a great rush item, and they should very often be your first item, as they will give you a very quick and strong powerspike. However, as Yasuo levels up and also gains stacks of Legend: Alacrity the instant attack speed becomes less vital. If you do not rush Berserker's Greaves, and are getting boots after Phantom Dancer, it would likely be better to get Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads depending on what you need.

The armor and passive of Ninja Tabi along with the damage reduction passive of Phantom Dancer will make Yasuo a lot harder to take down an an extremely potent duelist. Going for a slower build with Ninja Tabi after Phantom Dancer means you will not get an instant Berserker's Greaves attack speed, but is sometimes worth it for the overall tankiness in certain matchups.

Mercury's Treads are occasionally used in matches where you absolutely need magic resist and tenacity. Even then, you might often want to build Mercurial Scimitar instead.

ESSENTIAL PICKS

All of Phantom Dancer's stats are extremely useful and important to Yasuo, making it a must have item and always the first full item he builds. The attack speed will drastically decrease Steel Tempest's cooldown. Way of the Wanderer will make Phantom Dancer give Yasuo 60% crit chance, which is vital for his auto attacks, Steel Tempest, and Last Breath. The extra move speed and ability to pass through units make Sweeping Blade faster and easier to use. Finally, the damage reduction on enemy opponents only makes Yasuo a better duelist.

After Phantom Dancer, Infinity Edge will increase your crit to 100%, meaning you will utilize full power of Infinity Edge's true damage, as well as Last Breath's armor penetration passive, not to mention the increased crit chance of your auto attacks and Steel Tempest.

Sterak's Gage gives a lot of health and damage. The shield it offers is fantastic at preventing one of Yasuo's biggest weaknesses: being bursted. Sterak's Gage is a great choice for when you want a good mixture of damage and survivability.

Frozen Mallet offers a huge amount of health and a decent 30 attack damage to Yasuo, along with a decent slow. This is best used against ranged or mobile champions that you need to stick on.

Bloodthirster gives Yasuo a lot of attack damage and also some valuable sustain. It doesn't offer a lot of protection against burst in teamfights, but will make you a force to be reckoned with when dueling and in sustained fights. A great choice for a Yasuo who needs sustain and damage.

Blade of the Ruined King gives Yasuo some solid attack damage, attack speed, life steal, as well as a useful passive against tanks, and a useful active. If you're looking for pure damage and sustain, Bloodthirster will be your choice. But if you need to deal with tanks this item is a great choice, and the attack speed makes Berserker's Greaves less valuable. See the anti-tank build at the top of this guide, where we can itemize against tanks using Blade of the Ruined King's passive, as well as Mercury's Treads to avoid CC, while still getting solid attack speed and damage.

Guardian Angel will make you harder to kill. If you're trying to snowball, Sterak's Gage or Bloodthirster offer a lot more value. I recommend only buying Guardian Angel if the game extends very late and you know that you must survive in team fights to win, or if you get ahead early but the enemy also has a threatening fed carry, you can pick up Guardian Angel to avoid giving up a bounty and try to keep winning.

Effective item against teams that are locking you down and possibly have a lot of magic damage. Along with the attack damage and incredible active ability, it also offers some lifesteal.

NICHE ITEMS

Phage gives Yasuo a lot of health and move speed, something he can use in certain matchups. Trinity Force and Black Cleaver are unnecessary items on Yasuo due to the fact that they give him tons of stats he really doesn't need or want, but Phage can be very useful. If you were ever considering Trinity Force, Phage plus Phantom Dancer is a slightly more expensive but otherwise far better build.

Phantom Dancer is essentially better than Statikk Shiv in every way, but if you feel like switching it up a little, Statikk Shiv offers a bit more burst but far less dueling power. Buy with caution, and mostly for fun.

Raptor Cloak gives Yasuo armor, health regen, and movespeed, which can be very useful stats sometimes. This item is very niche but can sometimes be very useful against tough top lane champions such as Jayce. It will also build into Zz'Rot Portal in the late game for even easier splitpush.

Below are a list of champions that Yasuo synergizes with very well as either junglers or supports for him. Note that any champion with a displacement or airborne effect for Last Breath will have some synergy, but the champions I listed are the best at covering his weaknesses and giving him great engage.

NAUTILUS'S SYNERGY Nautilus's strong engage and beefy frontline make great protection for Yasuo, all the while setting up huge plays and great bot lanes with his hooks and ults that both count as knockups for Yasuo's Last Breath.

GRAGAS'S SYNERGY Gragas makes for a great frontline and damage with Yasuo and both his Body Slam and Explosive Cask are great knockups for Yasuo's Last Breath.

THRESH'S SYNERGY Thresh's strong engage, cc, and ability to pull Yasuo in and out of dangerous situations with his lantern make Thresh a great support for Yasuo.

MALPHITE'S SYNERGY Yasuo's most iconic duo, Malphite's ultimate creates huge plays for Yasuo's ultimate.

NAMI'S SYNERGY Nami is easily my favorite support along with Nautilus to have on my team as Yasuo. Her ranged poke and heal covers Yasuo's early weaknesses, her attack speed buff is nice, and her bubble and ultimate make for easy Yasuo ultimates.

ALISTAR'S SYNERGY Alistar's tankiness and huge knockup combos allow for big plays in the bot lane, and can also enable fantastic roam plays for Yasuo in the mid lane.

RAKAN'S SYNERGY Rakan's mobility and knockups go hand in hand with Yasuo's playstyle, and the extra healing helps vs pokey laners.

ORNN'S SYNERGY Ornn is mostly a top laner (although can be played jungle or support in fringe cases) but his several knockups and general engage strength makes an extremely valuable ally to Yasuo.

soraka'S SYNERGY Compared to Yasuo, Soraka has a very different playstyle, but her massive amount of heals combined with the silences she can provide makes her a great ally in any fight as Yasuo.

Thank you for reading to the end of this guide. This guide is still heavily WIP and many aspects of it will be improved or changed. Below are a list of features I will be updating soon.

Updated Abilities + Advanced Mechanics

Laning Phase

Expanded Role Explanations

More Item Explanations

More Matchup Explanations

Larger Synergistic Champion List