Yasuo Build & Rune Guide

Yasuo is the second half of the deadly brother duo that wreaks havoc on the Summoner’s Rift. Alongside his brother Yone, Yasuo thrives on dealing insane burst damage after knocking enemies into the air. With his countless dashes using enemy minions, he can be almost impossible to kill if played correctly. 

Yasuo also has a one-of-a-kind ability that isn’t possessed by any other champion on the Rift but we will get into that shortly. First, we’ll have a look at how you should be played Yasuo for maximum effectiveness.

How To Play Yasuo In League Of Legends

Yasuo is an auto attack-dependant champion that deals almost all his damage through auto attacks. Swerving through enemy minion waves, he can rush to the enemy, unleash his combo, and dash away before enemies can react. His playstyle requires knowledge of the minion wave plus his abilities. Also, teaming him with a champion that can knock multiple enemies into the air is always a good idea.

What Are Yasuo’s Abilities?

To learn Yasuo, you will need to study his abilities and understand their limits properly. While his damage is done mostly through his auto attacks, Yasuo is not the type of champion that can just stand in one place and auto-attack the enemy to death. In other to make the most out of him, you must learn to dodge skillshots, and reflect ranged attacks. These two skill sets make Yasuo any ranged champion's worst nightmare, especially for ADCs. Let’s see how this is made possible.

Way of the Wanderer (Passive)

Yasuo’s passive is broken into two status effects. The first status effect is the same as his brother’s. Yasuo’s total Critical Strike Chance is multiplied by 2.5 from all sources, meaning he can reach that 100% Critical Strike Chance threshold much quicker. After that threshold is crossed, Critical Strike Chance is converted to bonus AD at the ratio 1:0.4 respectively.

However, the second status effect from his passive allows him to build up a shield based on the number of units he travels. Yasuo generates Flow passively while moving up to 59/52.5/46 per unit. This movement can be by any means, even via Poppy’s R. Each time Yasuo is damaged, he consumes this Flow to grant himself a shield for 1 second and refresh his Flow bar.

Steel Tempest (W)

Steel Tempest plays a big role in Yasuo’s combo, as this is the only knock-up ability available in his kit. Yasuo strikes forward in the targeted direction, dealing physical damage and applying all on-hit and on-attack effects. If this ability connects with an enemy, it grants Yasuo a stack of Gathering Storm for 6 seconds. Gathering Storm can be stacked twice to unlock a new effect on Steel Tempest, also empowering the ability.

When Gathering Storm is stacked up, Yasuo can unleash a whirlwind in the targeted direction, throwing all enemies hit into the air whilst damaging them. If an empowered Steel Tempest is used in sync with his E, enemies around his last position are displaced into the air. This is great to rush at the enemy ADC and disorient them while your team finishes them off.

Wind Wall (W)

Wind Wall is an ability unique to Yasuo in the entire League of Legends champion roster. With the ability to block any incoming projectiles, abilities, or auto attacks, it can turn Yasuo and his allies invincible for a short duration, given it is used properly. While active, Yasuo conjures a wall of wind in front of him, stopping any projectile-based attack in its tracks.

While the ability may seem simple, the skill cap is very high for it. With the power to stop any projectiles, you can render ADCs useless in team fights, as almost all ADCs are marksmen champions. This is also great for preventing objective steals or snipes by blocking long-range or global ultimates. Still, it should be remembered that abilities targeted behind the wind wall still deal damage, like Malazahar Q or Swain W.

Sweeping Blade (E)

Sweeping Blade is basically Yasuo’s bread and butter in order to successfully execute his combos. By casting this ability, Yasuo can dash in the direction of the targeted enemy, dealing magic damage to them. He gains the Ghosted status effect and a stack of Ride the Wind. This passive refreshes on subsequent hits and stacks up to 4 times for 5 seconds.

Ride the Wind increases Sweeping Blade’s damage by 15-25% per level, up to a maximum of 60-100% at level 18. Yasuo’s other abilities can also be combo’d with this ability to create unique interactions. This also passively regenerates his Flow to give him more shielding later on.

Last Breath (R)

Yasuo’s favorite way to engage will always be his ultimate, Last Breath. With high AOE capabilities, he can deal damage to an entire team if proc’d correctly. With Last Breath, Yasuo blinks to the other side of an airborne enemy(ies), slashing through them and dealing physical damage. This damage is done to all enemies that were originally knocked up and are airborne.

The interesting part is that Yasuo also gains 50% armor penetration with critical strikes for 15 seconds after using his ultimate. This means that it is more of an engagement tool rather than an execution ability.

Yasuo’s Build Path (Items + Runes)

Yasuo’s build path is very similar to Yone’s as both of them stack attack speed and critical strike chance. He also requires high lifesteal as Yasuo lacks defensive stats plus additional critical strike buffs for more damage amp and burst.

Items

Starting Item: Your starting item will be Doran’s Blade in almost all your matchups. Since he also has a passive shield, you won’t need Doran’s Shield, even against Poke matchups.

Core Items: Yasuo’s core items are Immortal Shieldbow into Infinity Edge. Immortal Shieldbow allows you to stay in the fight longer and leach off your enemy's health bars while feeding your own. Infinity Edge is just a staple item, as the critical strike chance and damage are both increased. Death’s Dance is also a great pickup as damage dealt to you is done over time, giving you a chance to heal back.

Situational Items: Yasuo builds are very variable according to the matchup and game state at that point. You can go Bloodthirster if the enemy team is very durable or Guardian Angel if they have a lot of bursts.

Boots: You will always get Bereserker’s Greaves for Yasuo. The additional attack speed is required for his kit.

Runes

Primary: Your primary runes are lethal tempo into triumph, legend: alacrity, and last stand. Lethal Tempo and Legend: Alacrity work in sync to increase your attack speed over the limit, while Triumph helps sustain you when engaging in the lane. Lastly, Last Stand comes in handy when you’re outnumbered.

Secondary: Second Wind and Unflinching are great secondary runes. Second Wind constantly heals you during the lane phase while your passive negates any damage. Unflinching helps you reduce crowd control time so you regenerate your passive faster.

Final Thoughts

Yasuo is a pretty mechanically-demanding champion and a difficult pickup for newer players. While the champion seems extremely interesting with his unique kit, we would not recommend putting too much time and effort into him without knowing the basics. But if you still prefer it, go ahead and give him a try.