Want a commanding presence in League of Legends? Say no more! Yone the Unforgotten—Yasuo’s formidable half-brother—beckons your call! But be warned: while this champion can dismantle tanks or hold his own in team fights, he needs a player of matching prowess. Enter this Yone build guide.
Yone’s intricate skillset accounts for the modest pick rate. But don’t despair because victory is still within your reach. Soar the ranks to Challenger with our tips for the best Yone mid-lane build in League, including potent runes, items, and skill combos to seal your ascendancy.
Note: Aspects of this Yone guide may become redundant as the meta changes and with future patches.
Yone Build
Why Yone?
More like, “Why not Yone!” Yone is a highly skilled mid-lane melee champion in League, with impressive burst damage potential and high mobility. While this assassin only holds a 48.0% win rate with a 12.3% ban rate, Yone can dominate when paired with the right build and style of play.
This Yone build aims to boost his critical strike damage, attack speed, and survivability while augmenting his dueling potential and lane sustenance. Just note that Yone is a complex champion with a high skill ceiling, so he may not be the go-to champ for beginner LoL players.
Yone Runes
These runes aim to amplify Yone’s attack speed and durability by maximizing his physical damage output and ensuring each strike hits harder in the heat of battle. While this setup is fairly standard, consider adapting it according to the unique conditions of your LoL matches.
Primary Runes: Precision Path
- Lethal Tempo: For each enemy champion hit, Yone temporarily gains up to 48% bonus attack speed and +50 attack range at max stacks (6). The rune amplifies Yone’s outgoing damage by synergizing with his Q and W, helping him dominate his early to mid-game.
- Triumph: This is a clutch rune for Yone in LoL. Scoring a takedown against an enemy champion grants bonus healing, which can be game-changing in a team fight or when diving towers. It’s almost like having a second life.
- Legend: Alacrity: Ideal for melee matchups, this rune boosts Yone’s attack speed by up to 18% at maximum Legend stacks. This amplifies his outgoing damage and is critical in reducing Mortal Steel’s cooldown.
- Last Stand: Perhaps better than Coup De Grace, Last Stand buffs Yone’s attack damage (but not true damage) by 5-11% when he is below 60% of his max health—maxing at 30% health. This rune drastically improves his dueling and outplay abilities during critical moments.
Pro Tip: Swap out Legend: Alacrity for Legend: Bloodline against ranged matchups. Legend: Tenacity is another good alternative for dealing with a lot of slow or crowd-control abilities.
Secondary Runes: Resolve Path
- Second Wind: Are you suffering from heavy poke? Second Wind will help by granting health regen equal to 3.0 (+4% of Yone’s missing HP) over 10 seconds. This rune drastically improves survivability in the laning phase. Sadly, it is only triggered by damage from enemy champions, not minions.
- Unflinching: Another rune to promote durability, Unflinching allows Yone to gain up to 25% slow resistance and crowd control reduction (depending on his missing health) to help evade sticky situations or dish out damage during intense team fights.
Yone Summoner Spells
- Flash (almost always): This spell allows Yone to teleport a short distance, which is critical for securing kills, escaping danger, and executing advanced combos. Flash is a universal pick, and its versatility makes it indispensable in every game.
- Teleport: Need to get somewhere quickly? Teleport lets you blink to any allied turret after four seconds of channeling. After 10 minutes, the spell is upgraded to Unleashed Teleport, enabling you to blink to allied turrets, wards, or minions (plus, you get a 50% bonus MS buff for three seconds).
- Ignite (situational alternative): Deal damage over time by setting the enemy ablaze for five seconds (each hit is 14-82 true damage). Ignite also reduces healing effects on the target, bolstering Yone’s kill potential in the lane. It’s a preferred choice for amplifying Yone’s offensive edge.
Flash is a non-negotiable Summoner Spell for a strong Yone build in LoL. You can pair it with Teleport or Ignite, but the former choice is the most popular.
Yone Items
Are you feeling overwhelmed by which items to use? We get it! Riot Games offers loads of choices. Here are some tried-and-tested item builds for Yone to guarantee your victory.
Starting Items
- Doran’s Shield
- Health Potion
Pro Tip: While Doran’s Shield is a common defensive starter item for Yone, there are some occasions where you can pick up Doran’s Blade instead. However, this primarily centers on your confidence in winning the lane!
Boots
- Berserker’s Greaves (non-negotiable)
Note: You really won’t need any other boots as Yone’s kit already boasts great sustain.
Mythic Item
- Infinity Edge (almost always)
Note: Mythic Items will be removed from League of Legends starting January 2024.
Core and Situational Items
Only choose the most appropriate core items for your LoL match and playstyle.
- Kraken Slayer (non-negotiable core item)
- Immortal Shieldbow
- Death’s Dance
- Guardian Angel
Instead of Immortal Shieldbow, you can opt for Hullbreaker, Blade of the Ruined King, or Bloodthirster. Likewise, Wit’s End and Maw of Malmortius are great alternatives for Death’s Dance. Finally, Mortal Reminder might be better than Guardian Angel if you’re up against champs with healing.
Remember, the best Yone build is only as good as the player. Adapt these recommendations in response to the unique conditions of your match! There is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Yone Abilities
- Passive – Way of the Hunter: This ability comprises two parts. Intent amplifies Yone’s critical strike chance from all sources by 2.5x but reduces his critical strike damage. Every 1% critical strike chance over 100% converts into 0.4 bonus AD. Steel and Spirit make his basic attacks alternate between physical and a blend of physical and magic damage.
- Q – Mortal Steel: Yone thrusts forward, dealing physical damage and generating Gathering Storm stacks on hit. At two stacks, Yone dashes and releases a whirlwind that knocks enemies upward. The ability scales with AD and AS, reducing its cooldown and making Yone more lethal.
- W – Spirit Cleave: Yone cleaves enemies to deal mixed damage based on the target’s max health and gains a shield increased by the number of champions hit. The damage has thresholds against minions and monsters, and the cooldown scales with attack speed. It’s a perfect defense against poke or dealing with late-game tanks.
- E – Soul Unbound: Yone dashes, leaving his body behind and marking enemies hit. Upon returning, marked enemies take true damage equal to a percentage of the damage dealt during the ability’s effect. Yone is untargetable during this time and gains a movement speed boost.
- R – Fate Sealed: Yone’s Ultimate Ability strikes enemies in a line, stunning them, then knocking them up and pulling them towards him. It deals mixed damage and is an initiation tool, offering significant CC and disruption to any enemies hit.
Pro Tip: Most Yone players follow the Q>E>W skill order, leveling their R whenever available.
Creating An Unforgettable Yone Build
Remember, mastering Yone in the mid-lane isn’t easy, but a victorious path awaits with the right strategies. As long as you can survive his weaker laning phase and have the right setup for his Ultimate Ability, you’ll dominate in the Rift and attract an enviable win rate.
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