Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman
Overview:
Master Yi...Whether you're a Season 1 League veteran or a newcomer climbing through Iron tier, this name is surely synonymous with "that weird goggles dude who's always trying to right-click you to death." Is he accessible? Sure. Does he provide a meaningful path of mastery? Ironically, no. Is he good for the game? Absolutely not.
When I first attempted to address Master Yi's myriad problems, I looked no further than his appearance as a disciplined swordsman with Far East stylings and decided to turn him into an old-school iaido master. But with one of the goals of these revamps being to take fewer liberties and lean more into Riot's vision (and with Yasuo being a thing), it's clear that Yi's old redesign no longer holds up.
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Now, just as the tales have foretold, Master Yi has become a wandering master of a lost art, seeking for a worthy successor. Trading in his samurai cinema inspiration for the intricate elegance of wuxia, Yi is back to being a more active participant in fights with flashy moves that promote mobility.
...Most of the time, anyway. Like any good martial arts master, Yi also knows when it is best to sit back and meditate, allowing him to quietly oversee fights from a safer distance and cut into the conversation when need be.
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Not uncommon for these revamps, this (re)redesign actually has more in common with Yi's current kit than my initial redesign of it. Alpha Strike and Meditation are largely untouched (albeit expanded upon), some sort of double-striking capability remains, although his rock-bottom skill floor is an unfortunate casualty.
The Wuju Bladesman is still a natural fit for the (relative) solace and isolation of the jungle, but rather than sprinting into lanes in search of a kill streak, Yi is now more likely to contribute to low-lethality damage ganks to pressure his disciple's lane opponent, or turn the tides with a disarming counter-gank.
All values in blue are meant to give a general idea of the ability's properties, and are subject to change.
Class: Skirmisher
Recommended Positions: Jungle, Solo Midlane
Complexity: Medium
Innate: Lessons of the Master
At the start of the game, Master Yi can right-click an ally champion, designating them as his Disciple.
Disciples gain progress towards becoming Worthy over 120 seconds, and become Worthy twice as quickly while in combat with enemy champions. Master Yi gains 30% bonus movement speed out of combat while moving towards Worthy allies.
If a Disciple becomes inactive for over 5 minutes, Master Yi can designate a new one.
Q: Ringing Blade
Master Yi thrusts his sword in the target direction, dealing 20/45/70/95/120 + (100% total AD) physical damage to enemies hit and applying on-hit effects to the first enemy hit. This ability can critically strike for 60% bonus physical damage.
Damaging an enemy with Ringing Blade grants Keen Focus for 6 seconds. Ringing Blade will consume Keen Focus to perform a second strike that deals 50% of the first strike's damage as true damage.
While Meditating, Master Yi performs a more focused thrust after a 1 second delay, creating a cutting force that extends Ringing Blade's range by 100%.
Range: 475
Targeting Type: Skill Shot - Line
Cooldown: 4
Cost: 30/35/40/45/50 mana
W: Meditate
Master Yi Meditates for up to 12 seconds, reducing damage taken from the front by 15/18/21/24/27%, and regenerating (4/5/6/7/8% total HP) health after not taking damage or using an ability for 3 seconds. Master Yi is immobilized and disarmed while Meditating.
During this time, Master Yi's other basic abilities are altered, and damaging an enemy champion with an ability accelerates his Disciple's progress towards becoming Worthy by 4 seconds (increased to 8 seconds while near his Disciple).
Meditation will end early if the ability is re-cast, or if Master Yi is interrupted.
Range: Self
Targeting Type: None
Cooldown: 28/23/18/13/8
Cost: 50 mana
E: Alpha Strike
Master Yi becomes untargetable and dashes towards the target enemy, dealing 25/60/95/130/165 + (100% total AD) physical damage to his target and up to 3 nearby enemies before reappearing next to his initial target.
While Meditating, Yi will focus his strikes on the target area, becoming untargetable and dealing 25/60/95/130/165 + (100% total AD) physical damage to enemies within before reappearing at his initial location after 1.25 seconds.
Alpha Strike deals 75/100/125/150/175 bonus damage to minions and monsters.
Range: 600 (target range), 400 (effect radius while Meditating)
Targeting Type: Targeted, Skill Shot - Circle (while Meditating)
Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6
Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 mana
R: Wuju Blessing
PASSIVE: Upon moving near a Worthy ally, Master Yi will impart upon them an enchanted Wuju blade and reset their progress towards becoming Worthy. The blade awakens every 18 seconds (reduced by 0.5 seconds each time the Disciple has proven themself Worthy), striking the nearest enemy champion for (50/75/100% total AD) physical damage.
ACTIVE: Master Yi dashes towards his disciple over up to 2 seconds, performing a massive sweeping slash upon arrival that deals 150/250/350 + (50% bonus AD) physical damage to enemies struck and disarms them for 1.5/2/2.5 seconds.
Range: 1500/2000/2500 (cast range), 525 (effect radius), 525 (blade attack range)
Targeting Type: None
Cooldown: 110/90/70
Cost: 100 mana