Yasuo · Mid
Yasuo Items: What to Buy and When
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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 explains every item in Yasuo's builds and when to buy it. Your spikes are level 6, when Last Breath comes online, and each completed item: Black Cleaver first, then Bastionbreaker.
Strengths
- High physical damage: Riot rates it 8/10 in attack.
- Crowd control: Steel Tempest applies a knock-up to set up kills.
- Mobility: Sweeping Blade lets you reposition, engage or escape.
Weaknesses
- Hard to master: Riot rates its difficulty 10/10.
- Melee range: ranged opponents can poke it in lane.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Standard buildBalancedRecommendedThe default path: Black Cleaver, Bastionbreaker and Serylda's Grudge give the health, attack damage and on-hit effects this class relies on. Pick it when you have no reason to adapt. Built from Riot's item tags and the champion's class; Riot publishes no build statistics.
- Lethality buildOffensiveAdvancedAll-in on damage: Lord Dominik's Regards, Black Cleaver and Bastionbreaker stack attack damage, critical strike and armor penetration. Choose it when you're ahead or the enemy team is fragile — it gives up safety for kill pressure.
- Defensive buildDefensiveSituationalKeeps 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.
Builds
Standard build
When to use it
The default path: Black Cleaver, Bastionbreaker and Serylda's Grudge give the health, attack damage and on-hit effects this class relies on. Pick it when you have no reason to adapt. Built from Riot's item tags and the champion's class; Riot publishes no build statistics.
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
- 1Black CleaverHealth, attack damage and on-hit effects.
- 2BastionbreakerAttack damage, armor penetration and ability haste.
- 3Serylda's GrudgeAttack damage, armor penetration and ability haste.
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Domination
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Ignite
Lethality build
When to use it
All-in on damage: Lord Dominik's Regards, Black Cleaver and Bastionbreaker stack attack damage, critical strike and armor penetration. Choose it when you're ahead or the enemy team is fragile — it gives up safety for kill pressure.
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
- 1Lord Dominik's RegardsAttack damage, critical strike and armor penetration.
- 2Black CleaverHealth, attack damage and on-hit effects.
- 3BastionbreakerAttack damage, armor penetration and ability haste.
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Domination
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Ignite
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 ScimitarMagic resist, attack damage and life steal, with an active.
- 2Maw of MalmortiusMagic resist, attack damage and life steal.
- 3Death's DanceArmor, attack damage and ability haste.
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Resolve
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
Teleport
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
1Starting items
What to buy before leaving the base, and what each item gives:
- Doran's Blade — Health, attack damage and life steal.
- Health Potion — Health regeneration.
2Core items
Your spikes are level 6, when Last Breath comes online, and each completed item: Black Cleaver first, then Bastionbreaker. Buy them in this order; each one is a power spike:
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
- Black Cleaver — Health, attack damage and on-hit effects.
- Bastionbreaker — Attack damage, armor penetration and ability haste.
- Serylda's Grudge — Attack damage, armor penetration and ability haste.
3Situational items
Swap these in depending on the enemy team:
- Death's Dance — Against heavy physical damage.
- Mercurial Scimitar — Against heavy magic damage.
- Guardian Angel — Against burst and assassins.
- Chempunk Chainsword — Cuts the enemy's healing.
4Adapting to the game
The damage build moves the offensive items forward when you're ahead; the defensive one adds survival when the enemy focuses you. The situational builds in the matchups guide answer specific threats.
Tips
- Buy Black Cleaver as early as you can: it's your first real spike.
- Complete one item before starting the next: half-built items give less than one finished one.
- Look at the enemy team at every back and adjust the situational items.
- Don't sit on gold: spend it when you go back.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
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