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IMO the problem with Yasuo isn't the inherent "brokenness" of any individual part of his kit...

TotalJerk··8 votes·933 views

But rather a good Yasuo is probably one of the most complicated things to just to punish. Dedicated Yasuo mains abuse the complexity of playing against him to the point where it often feels like the laning phase is decided on his terms. Playing against Yasuo for a lot of champions requires almost as much expertise on Yasuo as playing AS him. THIS is why a lot of mid/lower level players despise him. It actually even gives him an advantage because demanding so much attention to fight him makes him either a massive distraction or a champion that thrives massively off distractions. It drains so much of a opponent's mental budget just to play against him, and a player can only pay attention to so many different things.

As frustrating as champions like Fizz, Malzahar, and Zed can be, they are a lot more straightforward to actually lane against and fight. Meanwhile you could write a goddamn book on playing against Yasuo. He ultimately becomes some fucked up inverse Lee Sin or Azir.

16 Comments

PermabannedGaren4 votes

{quoted}

Playing against Yasuo for a lot of champions requires almost as much expertise on Yasuo as playing AS him.

Why is this a bad thing though?

Based on what you just said you win or lose to Yasuo based on which of you plays the match-up better, rather than using some easily-exploited mechanic, item-choice, or champion pick to dumpster them.

What you've just said is that the better player wins. I can think of no problem here.

TotalJerk3 votes

The problem is that it disproportionately puts a burden of knowledge on Yasuo's opponent compared to other champions. You can learn the basics of most matchups in around 4-5 games, then focus on playing against the player. Yasuo on the other hand shits on you for like 20 games before you get a grasp on how to beat him, you're forced to focus on playing against the character. Most champions have lower skill floors to play against than as because one also has to play their own character, play with 4 other allies, play against 5 other enemies, and play the macro game.

There is a point where the skill floor can be too high, and playing against Yasuo is one of those points, which is why people hate him. Even worse, it's your choice to pick a hard/easy champion, you have no say in what your enemy picks, so the distribution of difficulty needs to be more even.

legionnaire991 votes

But for Yasuo you still low health and easy to kill to you got to guess what they will think you do

Oleandervine2 votes

{quoted}

Why is this a bad thing though?

Based on what you just said you win or lose to Yasuo based on which of you plays the match-up better, rather than using some easily-exploited mechanic, item-choice, or champion pick to dumpster them.

What you've just said is that the better player wins. I can think of no problem here.

Yasuo's kit is entirely too overloaded to the point where players who aren't familiar with him aren't certain where certain effects are coming from. A champion's strength should not be utter ignorance of their opponents but rather some skill or niche they excel in.

Ralanr3 votes

I think it's that it feels like the Yasuo player doesn't actually have to be a better player to beat you. Sort of how you don't need to be a good Riven to win lane.

Obviously this differs on elo. In high elo it probably does fall down to individual skill. But in low elo (and this is the point of low elo) not everyone has the correct knowledge or experience to fight particular champions even if they are played poorly.

Though there's a reason why the game isn't balanced around low elo.

Chalizard4 votes

The problem is that his mechanics are cancer. Playing against him is much harder then playing him. Even weak yso like me can win the game in Diamond playing him second time. For me his kit is bullshit.

Theorchero2 votes

{quoted}

The problem is that his mechanics are cancer.** Playing against him is much harder then playing him**. Even weak yso like me can win the game in Diamond playing him second time. For me his kit is bullshit.

Pretty much.

Legalize Ranch3 votes

Yasuo is good at showing skill (or the lack of it) in both players and makes it very visible that you got outplayed. Like Riven, and Vayne, you don't pay much attention to the dozens of mediocre ones you face, but get whooped by the good ones and gg this champion is bullshit.

When Annie Akali Fizz Katarina Leblanc etc. nuke you for your entire health bar and then some in an instant, it stings less somehow because they don't highlight your weaknesses as clearly.

Spicy Rice1 votes

You sir, deserve upvotes for days

TotalJerk1 votes

You just said a whole lot of nothing. You need to elaborate on what exactly you mean before I can argue with it. Because at this point all I can do is strawman you.

Legalize Ranch1 votes

So let's pick Annie for example. Her thing is flashing in with her stun up and nuking your average midlaner dead without them having a chance to fight back. So you've basically made one mistake - you stood near Annie while low enough for her entire spell combo to kill you.

Yasuo has no burst. Dying to him means you've made more than one mistake over the course of the fight, like missing abilities, letting him get free damage on you, not keeping his shield down etc, depending on what champion you are taking into him. So that's what I mean when I say he makes it very obvious that you've screwed up, which is probably why people hate him.

Tank Yasuo is bullshit because it screws with the whole high-risk style, but if you died to glass cannon Yasuo mid, it's not the champion, it's you.

Try to think back to when you were leveling up your account for the first time and how you felt about Katarina or MasterYi, and how you feel about them now.

Katarina has a higher winrate than Yasuo by the way.

TotalJerk1 votes

The counterplay to Annie is basically:

  • buy a item 3155, or item 3001 to survive the upfront burst at lower health
  • zone her out so she can't get you low in the first place
  • force her flash out with ganks

you stood near Annie while low enough for her entire spell combo to kill you

If you do this to any champion you deserve to die. Regardless, you misplayed the lane enough to get that low in the first place. Annie is extremely straightforward to exploit. The skill floor of optimally playing against Yasuo is probably one of the highest in the game. You need to juggle loads of variables before you can even get a window to outplay him, whereas Annie is just about her flash cooldown and her passive. Once you get high elo it's not as bad, but for mid and low level players even a mediocre Yasuo can feel beyond the scope of their abilites to beat.

jo99012 votes

I just hate him cause he shits on all my favorite champs, but that's just a personal problem. That's why i just permaban him.

The Deckowner2 votes

In any match up, it is up to the Yasuo player to lose, rather than up to the opponent to win. This is yasuo's problem, you don't outplay yasuo, yasuo player outplay themselves.

Unpaladin1 votes

So, how do you think this can be fixed? Are we just doomed to have this issue forever? I've spent 2 years trying to figure out the secret to play against Yasuo but he still manages to piss me off some way or another.

jaymc11301 votes

Honestly, I dunno what everyone's problem with yas is.

I just pick Fizz Leona Nautilus into him and enjoy my auto win lane.

The thing about yas is his matchups are mostly insanely in favor of him, or insanely in favor of the opposing laner. Without a whole lot of in between 50/50 skill matchups. Either his mobility and windwall fuck you completely. Or they dont. No middle ground. This kind of binary interaction with the majority of the rest of the champion pool is the hallmark of poor design philosophy though.

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