Yone is back from the dead, and he’s ready to fight on Summoner’s Rift. Yasuo’s brother will be making his entrance on League Patch 10.16, and we’ve got a guide to everything you need to know to master him from your first game — from the best runes to take, the most optimal build, and how to play him.
Yone has arrived. Yasuo’s brother is back, although he’s treading across Runeterra with a curse. The Unforgotten is hunting for everything he’s lost since coming back to life, and you probably don’t want to get in his way.
Yone is one of the most flexible champions Riot has ever produced, and will fit in plenty of different team compositions in League of Legends. The challenge is finding the right use for Yone at the right time.
If you are struggling, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with this comprehensive guide to the best runes, builds, tips and tricks, so you can pick Yone with confidence when he releases on Patch 10.16.
What are Yone’s abilities?
Yone’s kit is an interesting mix. He’s got the elements of the assassin, but the capability to stand on his own as a bruiser. He’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, and while burst damage is definitely his speciality, he can definitely stand up to the best of them in extended fights.
Passive: Way of the Hunter
Yone has two different auto attacks, similar to how Sett’s passive works. He will use one of two blades, alternating between the two. Every second attack will do 50% magic damage instead of pure physical. It doesn’t have a cooldown like Sett’s, however.
He has also inherited — or rather, handed down — Yasuo’s critical strike passive. He will get twice as much critical strike chance from items, but deal 10% less damage with them than normal.
Q: Mortal Steel
Yone’s Q is a slightly altered version of his brothers. The same two-stack mechanic into empowered Q still exists. However, the empowered bit is slightly different.
Yone will thrust forward and deal physical damage, but on his third Q, he will unleash a wave of wind and dash forward. This will be your main damage, wave clear, and everything else ability. It’s the bread and butter of Yone’s kit, so get practicing at landing those long range Q’s.
W: Spirit Cleave
Yone’s W gives him a bit of protection. He will sweep an area in front of him, dealing max health damage to enemies. He will also gain a shield for each enemy he hits.
The shield is very nice for keeping yourself alive while diving in with your E. It’s also got a deceptively long range, so you could be able to snipe enemies with it at the end of a fight if they just escape your grasp.
E: Soul Unbound
Hello, Ekko called, he wants his ultimate back. Also, Zed’s here too. Yone’s E is almost a carbon copy of Ekko’s ultimate, but with a few twists. Yone will enter his spirit form for five seconds, gaining extra movement speed.
Any damage he does while in spirit form will be repeated by around 25-35% depending on ability level, and can act as an execute. At the end of five seconds, or when he recasts, he will teleport back to his body. This is Yone’s major engage tool, but also puts him on a timer to do his thing in team fights.
R: Fate Sealed
Yone’s ultimate is the ultimate wombo-combo setup. Yone will dash in, striking all enemies along a path, teleporting behind the last champion hit, and knocking up all enemies towards Yone.
If you wanted to know how good the Yone-Yasuo synergy was going to be, here’s your answer — very good because of his ultimate. It can also be used as an escape tool if you need to in a pickle.
Best runes for Yone
Yone’s runes will be very similar to any other bruiser or assassin in the game right now — and even closer to what his brother, Yasuo, usually takes. Conqueror seems to be the flavor of choice, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s still one of the best keystones you can take despite recent nerfs.
You can opt for aggressive or defensive runes down the Precision tree too with Legend: Alacrity or Tenacity. Outside of that, Last Stand and Triumph seem to do the trick, as Last Stand synergises nicely with Yone’s E, especially if you take a lot of damage in a fight.
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Lethal Tempo is something a bit more off-kilter you can choose to take instead. You’ll have less flexibility if you take it though — you’ll be pushed into Legend: Alacrity, or risk losing a lot of your DPS in the late game when you hit the attack speed cap.
There’s also a tank build for Yone circulating focusing on Grasp of the Undying. Because he can stack it with his Q, he can rack up health faster than almost anyone else in the game. Partner that with his massive shield on his W (plus Shield Bash in runes), and you’ll be a tanky monster.
Secondary-wise, there’s no reason to not opt into Sorcery. Nimbus Cloak is still ridiculously broken, although it’s getting nerfed in Patch 10.16.
Best build for Yone
You have multiple build options for Yone. We just highlighted that he can run very similarly to Yasuo, or you can even go down a tank path. Those are only the start of a few viable build paths for Yone to take, depending on the situation.
Looking at the basic mid lane crit build, you’ll be very much following in Yasuo’s steed. Between Phantom Dancer and Infinity Edge, you shouldn’t need much more to get online. You can choose to pick up something like Essence Reaver or Statikk Shiv as well, but be mindful of the CDR cap. Death’s Dance, Guardian Angel, Edge of Night, and Bloodthirster are all good choices to round out your build with a bit of sustain and defensive utility.
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You can opt for a more bruiser option if that’s your fancy, but you’ll be losing out on the power of your passive. You can just sub in a Black Cleaver, build the Death’s Dance a bit earlier, and maybe look at picking up a Tiamat item.
For a full tank Yasuo, there are three essentials — Titanic Hydra, Frozen Mallet, and Sunfire Cape. Sterak’s Gage is also a good pickup, alongside Abyssal Mask if you want to enable your magic-damage-dealing allies.
There’s also an on-hit build you can follow. Trinity Force, Blade of the Ruined King, and Guinsoo’s Rageblade are all good options, especially if you take Lethal Tempo. This is good if you want to keep your cooldowns low too, because his skills all scale off attack speed.
There’s one constant across all builds — you will take Berserker’s Greaves nine times out of ten. However, if we were to recommend one, just go for the basic crit build. It optimizes his kit perfectly, and will ensure you can get some consistency across games.
How to play Yone
Yone isn’t a pure assassin. He’s closer to a bruiser-hybrid more than anything, however his damage is nothing to scoff at. You have to factor this in when you pick him up for the first time.
In lane, Yone doesn’t really suffer as much as other melee champions in ranged matchups. His Q and W provide avenues for him to clear waves from afar. He can also use his E strategically to manipulate in and out of waves to avoid enemy damage. Because none of his skills cost mana or energy, you will be fine to use them as needed.
His kit does give him a lot of kill threat early too. His Q damage does stack up if you land a few in lane, and if you’ve chunked your opponent down early, you should be able to capitalize on it by diving in with E. There’ll be a little execute indicator you can follow if you aren’t sure if you’ve got the kill or not with the E when you exit, too.
Yone has one big combo that you’ll have to master to get good at him. Stack up your Q two times, then launch in with your E and get ready to begin your assault. Use a sweep of your W to get a shield. Then, you can then choose to knock people up with your third Q, or dash in with your ult. Then while they are CC’d, use the other ability, and watch as your enemies crumble.
This combo will apply regardless of whether you team fight or split push. Yone does pose a strong 1-3-1 threat in the side lane, especially if you take Nimbus Cloak and teleport into fights. If you get a good flank off, you can line your enemies up with your R, and let your team do the rest.
However, the biggest thing to note with Yone is that he is just incredibly flexible. He can function as a pure assassin, a bruiser, or a tank. HIs kit allows him to act as a split push threat, or the ultimate team fighter. There’s very few ways to play Yone “wrong,” however it’s up to you every game to pick the most optimal way to win.
Yone will be released on League Patch 10.16, which is expected to drop on August 5.
