Yasuo · Mid
Yasuo Safe Play Guide
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
This guide is about playing Yasuo safely and consistently. Safe mid means farming under your tower, waiting for your items and only following your jungler when the enemy jungler is seen elsewhere. The kit brings crowd control (knock-up) with Steel Tempest and mobility with Sweeping Blade.
Strengths
- Mobility: Sweeping Blade lets you reposition, engage or escape.
- Sustain from Way of the Wanderer.
- High physical damage: Riot rates it 8/10 in attack.
Weaknesses
- Melee range: ranged opponents can poke it in lane.
- Hard to master: Riot rates its difficulty 10/10.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Defensive buildDefensiveRecommendedKeeps enough damage while adding magic resist, attack damage and life steal through Mercurial Scimitar, Maw of Malmortius and Death's Dance. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.
- Against magic damageDefensiveSituationalFor a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
Builds
Defensive build
When to use it
Keeps enough damage while adding magic resist, attack damage and life steal through Mercurial Scimitar, Maw of Malmortius and Death's Dance. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
3223%177%- MidMain77% of matches
- TopPriority 223% of matches
- Bottom (ADC)Priority 3
Starting items
Core items
- 1Mercurial Scimitar
- 2Maw of Malmortius
- 3Death's Dance
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Resolve
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Teleport
Against magic damage
When to use it
For a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
3223%177%- MidMain77% of matches
- TopPriority 223% of matches
- Bottom (ADC)Priority 3
Starting items
Core items
- 1Bastionbreaker
- 2Black Cleaver
- 3Mercurial Scimitar
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Resolve
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
Ignite
Abilities
Way of the WandererPassiveYasuo's Critical Strike Chance is increased. Additionally, Yasuo builds toward a shield whenever he is moving. The shield triggers when he takes damage from a champion or monster.
QSteel Tempest4sThrusts forward, damaging all enemies in a line. On hit, grants a stack of Gathering Storm for a few seconds. At 2 stacks, Steel Tempest fires a whirlwind that knocks Airborne . Steel Tempest is treated as a basic attack and scales with all the same things.- Cooldown
- 4
- Range
- 475
WWind Wall25/23/21/19/17sCreates a moving wall that blocks all enemy projectiles for 4 seconds.- Cooldown
- 25·23·21·19·17
- Range
- 400
ESweeping Blade0.5/0.4/0.3/0.2/0.1sDashes through target enemy, dealing magic damage. Each cast increases subsequent dash's damage, up to a max amount. Cannot be re-cast on the same enemy for a few seconds. If Steel Tempest is cast while dashing, it will strike as a circle.- Cooldown
- 0.5·0.4·0.3·0.2·0.1
- Range
- 475
RLast BreathUltimate70/50/30sBlinks to an Airborne enemy champion, dealing physical damage and holding all Airborne enemies in the area in the air. Grants maximum Flow but resets all stacks of Gathering Storm. For a moderate time afterwards, Yasuo's critical strikes gain significant Bonus Armor Penetration.- Cooldown
- 70·50·30
- Range
- 1400
Strategy
1Safe laning
Safe mid means farming under your tower, waiting for your items and only following your jungler when the enemy jungler is seen elsewhere. Trade when the enemy uses an ability on the wave: that's the moment they can't answer.
2Surviving fights
Use Last Breath where it changes the fight, not where it's safe, and keep your distance until the enemy uses their engage. Your way out is Sweeping Blade: if it's on cooldown, stay further back.
3Positioning and peel
Stand where the enemy has to go through your team to reach you, and protect whoever the enemy focuses. Hold Steel Tempest for the enemy diver.
4Playing from behind
When the game goes badly, farm what's safe, defend with your team and wait for the enemy to make a mistake: a single won fight can turn it around.
Tips
- Keep Sweeping Blade for escaping, not for chasing.
- Save Steel Tempest for whoever jumps on your team.
- Keep Way of the Wanderer for the enemy's burst, not for chip damage.
- Go back when your key abilities are down: a reset costs less than a death.
- Never be the first to show on the map in the late game.
- If enemies are missing from the map, back off before they appear.
Matchups
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
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