Champion Stats
| Role | Fighter / Assassin |
| Difficulty | |
| Blue Essence | 1575 BE |
Why High-Elo Players Smurf with Yone
His E (Soul Unbound) allows for risk-free trading that low elo players cannot punish. They blow their key cooldowns (Malzahar R, Warwick R, Zed R) on your spirit form, or they chase your spirit while your body is perfectly safe. You simply snap back and watch them waste everything. Additionally, Yone's mixed magic/physical damage profile means the enemy cannot itemize against you properly—Armor reduces your Q/Auto damage but not your magic damage, and vice versa. You are the ultimate stat-check in low elo.
The Level 1 Cheese
First Blood Strategy
Stack Q on minions until you have Q3 ready (the knock-up dash). Walk into range, activate Q3, knock them up, Auto-Auto while they're airborne, then back off. With Lethal Tempo stacking, you win this trade decisively. Repeat until they're at 50% HP and become killable at level 2-3. If they respect Q3, you zone them off CS entirely through threat.
The 'Pay-to-Win' Skin Advantage
'Spirit Blossom Yone' is the gold standard. The animations are the smoothest, the audio cues are satisfying, and the aesthetic is iconic. 'Dawnbringer' is flashy but feels 'heavier' in the hand due to particle effects. Base skin is actually incredibly clean and is popular among one-tricks for its minimal visual noise. 'Ocean Song' is for the meme factor.
When They Ban Yone
Backup Pick: If Yone is banned,
Yasuo is the obvious alternative with similar Wind mechanics.
Viego offers the reset-based teamfight carry pattern.
Tryndamere provides the splitpush/stat-check fantasy if you want something simpler.
Rune Setup
Best Runes: Lethal Tempo is the standard and provides attack speed stacking that directly reduces your Q cooldown (Q scales with attack speed). This makes your Q almost spammable in extended fights. Fleet Footwork is a survival choice for brutal matchups (
Renekton,
Pantheon). Triumph/Alacrity/Last Stand round out the primary tree. Secondary: Bone Plating + Unflinching or Second Wind + Revitalize depending on the lane threat.
Skill Priority
Order:
Q → E → WMax Q first for the lower cooldown, increased damage, and more Q3 uptime. Max E second for the higher repeat trade potential and lower snap-back cooldown. W last; it provides a shield but the shield strength scales with champions hit, not ability rank.
Mastering Yone's Kit
Mortal Steel applies on-hit effects and scales with attack speed (attack speed reduces Q cooldown). Q3 (the knock-up dash) can hop over walls. Use Q3 to engage OR to escape—the dash is bi-directional. Holding Q3 threat without using it immediately forces enemies to respect you.
Spirit Cleave deals % Max HP damage in both physical AND magic. The shield strength scales based on the number of CHAMPIONS hit. Hitting a 5-man W in a teamfight makes you deceptively tanky. Use W mid-combo for survivability, not as a poke tool.
Soul Unbound stores 25-35% of all post-mitigation damage you deal during its duration and repeats it as True Damage when you snap back. Think of it as a mini Death Mark. Use E BEFORE your full combo (Q3-R-W-Q-Autos) to maximize the stored damage and guarantee the execute.
Fate Sealed blinks you BEHIND the last enemy champion hit. This is crucial for repositioning—you can R through the frontline to access the ADC immediately. You are UNSTOPPABLE during the R dash, meaning you can buffer it to avoid CC like
Malphite R or
Leona R.
Matchup Tips
Vs Renekton
Hard Counter. He breaks your shield, out-damages you early, and can dive you under tower safely. Survive, farm with Q from range, and scale. Don't ego this matchup.
Vs Pantheon
Hard Counter. Point-and-click stun. His E blocks all your damage from the front. Respect him, farm safely, and wait for item spikes.
Free Food. E forward, dodge her Q with pure movement or Q3, kill her. She has no mobility and no real defense. Farm her for gold.
The Ego Check
WARNING: You are not invincible during E. If you E forward into 5 enemies and get hard CC'd, you die before you snap back—CC breaks your E return. Use R to buffer CC (you're unstoppable during R's travel time). Also, do NOT miss your Ult. A missed Yone R is often a death sentence because you've committed deep without any CC to land on the enemy.
When to Queue Dodge
Dodge if the enemy drafts Renekton top or Pantheon mid. Renekton's empowered W breaks your E shield instantly and his early damage is unmatched. Pantheon's point-and-click stun guarantees he wins every trade, and his E blocks your Q3 entirely. These matchups are suffering until 3+ items.
Teamfight Role
Stack Q3 on a jungle camp or minion wave before the fight starts. E forward into the fight (spirit form). R through the enemy backline (you are unstoppable during R dash). W (hitting multiple champions for a massive shield), Q-Auto. Snap back before they can react. You just dealt 70-80% of their carry's HP without taking any return damage. Repeat when E is back up.
The 'Disrespect' Build
Hullbreaker Yone in top lane. Yone takes towers insanely fast due to his mixed damage and attack speed. Split push constantly, force 2 people to come stop you, then R-E outplay them both. You become an unstoppable split-push threat. For pure damage, Infinity Edge + Kraken Slayer gives absurd burst.
Power Windows
Berserker Greaves is your first spike—the attack speed directly lowers Q cooldown. Noonquiver (Immortal Shieldbow/Kraken component) is the next spike. At 100% critical strike (2 items), you hit your power peak relative to the lobby. Respect these timings; before Berserker's, your Q cooldown is too long to trade efficiently.
Tilt Factor
Running enemies down with E movement speed is terrifying. They flash, but you R after them—there is no escape. After killing them, snap back to safety and spam mastery emote at your body. They come to kill your body, but you're already gone. The psychological impact of Yone E is as powerful as the damage itself.
Recent Patch History
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
| V14.20 | Oct 9, 2024 | BUFF | Q buffed |
| V14.15 | Jul 31, 2024 | BUFF | Q buffed, R buffed |
| V14.12 | Jun 12, 2024 | BUFF | Base stats buffed |
| V14.10 | May 15, 2024 | BUFF | P adjusted |
| V14.9 | May 1, 2024 | BUFF | Base stats buffed |
Safety Tips
Safety isn't an accident. It's a deliberate process. By the time you log in, the account is already 'cleared' by Riot's systems.
