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I played Yi for the first time in normals

thicc as fuk··3 votes·1,661 views

I always avoided Master Yi. He was just a champion I had got in a bundle and never could really get the hang of. I'd always trade him off to a friend in aram or reroll him because I was just so terrible with him and no matter what could not get the hang of how he was played.

A few days ago I got Yi in an aram in a group of 5 with my friends. They convinced me to keep him and give him a try and told me exactly what to do which was basically wait til level 6 and clean up. Both aram games that I got Yi in we almost lost being pushed to our nexus until something happened. I'm normally a safe player which keeps me from playing all in champions like assassins etc. I like safe champions but I just flicked a switch in me. Went against all my instincts and won both of those arams for my team.

That made me want to give him a try in normals so I did. This was my score. I also got a penta kill that game which was my first penta with Yi and my first penta in a long while. http://i.imgur.com/IsUG3k7.png

Don't mind the skin. It was mystery gifted to me a while ago by a friend. It doesn't mean I play Yi that often..

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/1512011061/205277485

23 Comments

Wheatloaf5 votes

I don't enjoy Yi, because even when I got a quad on him, I felt absolutely no sense of accomplishment.

Hyrum Graff2 votes

Second this. Yi, rather like Kat, somehow manages to feel oppressive to his opponents, while feeling UP to the player.

Khodexus3 votes

I've been told I should try Yi, but I just can't bring myself to do so. I hate him so much. Most of my champs, with a few notable exceptions (Leona/Braum mostly) are squishy damage dealers, and for the most part I never even have a chance to fight back against Yi. I see him coming, and I know I'm going to die. I'm not safe under turret or behind my allies. I can't outrun him. I can't lock him down. I can't outdamage him (assuming I have time to land a single hit). I have no recourse, no counterplay, no anything but just die when he shows up, or hope that by some miracle my team can kill him before he does too much damage. It's not even satisfying to land a kill on him, because it's not like he's that hard to kill, it's just luck, if somehow he sticks around long enough for you to do some damage (and he's not that tough, just nearly impossible to hit before you're dead) without killing you.

I've seen people carry with Yi on their first time playing him. I've seen more pentakills from Yi than probably all 119 other champions in the league combined. I've seen Yi AFK for half the game, then show up and start racking up kills like he was fed the whole time. It doesn't seem to matter if the player is skilled, or even trying. Yi just takes all the fun out of a match whenever he shows up.

Just by being in the game, he is toxic. I can't understand it, can't figure out how to stop it, and can't move past how adversely he effects my experiences in League of Legends, or the fact that Riot has not (nor seems likely to) done anything about this issue.

And I know I'm not the only one, either.

RIGed1 votes

Theres actually a lot you can do to counterplay yi and a lot of champs that can out damage and out duel him

Khodexus1 votes

I've never seen him counterplayed by anything other than hard CC and the team bursting him down. 1v1 I have NEVER seen him lose. Certainly not when I was one side of that 1v1. Take Lux, for example. She's got hard CC in t he form of light binding. But only if I manage to hit with it (which is a big if, when it comes to Yi), do I have a tiny window of opportunity to actually finish him off. It's so easy for him to regain full hp, that having him come after me with any damage on him just doesn't even enter the scenario. But I basically have to immediately follow up light binding with Lux' full combo, including her ult, to have a chance of making it out of the encounter. By the time he can move, he'd better be dead, or I will be, because I can't slow him, I can't outdamage him when he's life-stealing me, and I can't get away, even under turret, because he's just too good at chasing, and can't even be targeted while he's killing me.

That's not counterplay. That's frustrating overly brutal game mechanics on a champion that technically CAN be beaten, but requires far too much luck, and no actual skill, to both play, and fight against.

RIGed1 votes

I just straight out dueled him 1v1 with Irelia, works great because hes going to hit first, pop E to stun, pop w and true damage him down plus lifesteal, he realizes hes losing and runs, gap close with Q and finish off with ult. Fiora can also duel him down, heimdinger can burst him down, twisted fate can stunkite, fizz can outplay, udyr and tryendmere can simply outlast him Its still true that he can be ridiculously hard to take down once he snowballs but its nowhere near impossible, why do you thinks the pros dont use him?

Khodexus1 votes

... I don't own, nor do I play any of those champs. It is somewhat possible that Yi is just abnormally good against my playstyle, and the type of champs I typically pick. But I don't seem to have any easier time fighting against Yi as Wukong, Diana, or Leona (among the only melee champs I play). Even Braum, with the tankiest build of any of my champs, can do seemingly nothing against Yi. His stun requires him and his allies to hit several times, and I never last long enough to pull that off.

Also, I get a little tired of 'what the pros do' having such an influence on 'my' games. I don't honestly follow the e-sports tournaments that much, I play this game to have fun, and enjoy a casual competitive atmosphere. I don't even play ranked at all, because that just gets too fierce for my taste (plus, there's no ranked team-builder yet). That's not to say I don't get passionate about the game, but I'm not interested in the 'world circuit' as it were, but the 'gamer having fun' level.

RIGed1 votes

Gotcha, yeah unfortunately there are certain champs that just feel like no matter what you do you cant beat just due to play style. But i've found that when I hit those walls, I play the champ and let others show me how to beat them =) but yeah unfortunately those champs you listed have almost no chance against him =/

and lastly, as much as I enjoy watching pro games, I have no interest whatsoever in emulating them. I know that what they do and how they play is waayyyyyy different from my skill lvl. and I dont play ranked either, hell im only lvl 28 so I cant yet. and your right that what pros do shouldn't have an impact on your games and I didnt mean it like that. I was just trying to show that yi is far from unbeatable, cuz if he really was this unstoppable monster then the pros would abuse the hell out of him, like they're doing with trist right now =P

Khodexus1 votes

Yeah, I know you didn't mean it like that specifically. It's just a growing, albeit minor frustration I've been having with LoL in general. It seems they cart out the 'cause we've noticed this in pro games/highest tiers of ranked play' excuse for everything they do, from not nerfing Yi, to reworking perfectly good champions like Sona and Soraka.

And whether or not it was meant that way here, it's just a phrase I'm getting a little tired of hearing. That's all. But no offense was taken, I simply felt like expressing that particular frustration, however briefly.

Kazellion21 votes

I've never seen him counterplayed by anything other than hard CC and the team bursting him down. 1v1 I have NEVER seen him lose. Certainly not when I was one side of that 1v1. Take Lux, for example. She's got hard CC in t he form of light binding. But only if I manage to hit with it (which is a big if, when it comes to Yi), do I have a tiny window of opportunity to actually finish him off. It's so easy for him to regain full hp, that having him come after me with any damage on him just doesn't even enter the scenario. But I basically have to immediately follow up light binding with Lux' full combo, including her ult, to have a chance of making it out of the encounter. By the time he can move, he'd better be dead, or I will be, because I can't slow him, I can't outdamage him when he's life-stealing me, and I can't get away, even under turret, because he's just too good at chasing, and can't even be targeted while he's killing me.

That's not counterplay. That's frustrating overly brutal game mechanics on a champion that technically CAN be beaten, but requires far too much luck, and no actual skill, to both play, and fight against.

terrible terrible terrible example, lux is just about THE squishiest champ that will have the exact same thing happen to her from a score of different champions if she gets out of position. Snowball hypercarry champions are all easy to be shut down but the full snowball effects are seen much more often in lower tiers. Squishy no escape mids and supports are bread and butter for snowballing.

Khodexus1 votes

Actually it's a pretty perfect example because it's such a common case scenario. Lux has some of the best hard CC in the game, and definitely has the best hard CC of my champs, outside of perhaps Leona, and she just doesn't have the damage to burst down Yi.

The point I'm making is that Lux is the 'best case example', and it's STILL NOT ENOUGH.

What more can I say?

Kazellion21 votes

lux has terrible low base defensive stats and no mobility(There's a reason lux isnt played much) and extremely long range poke and wave clear ability to not get caught in any position to be fighting a melee champ by yourself at all unless you've already missplayed.
An example of an already fed champ with a lot of items steam rolling you is completely different to a lvl6 yi with minimal comparible items.

If a long range poke champ could beat a high attack speed melee champ after they already got in melee range why would anyone play anything else?

Yi runs up to ryze(super inexpensive champ everyone has), what happens?

How about another lux example, yi walks up to a bush you have warded... you stun him from bazillion lux units away and chunk half his health, what does he do then?

from not nerfing Yi

Yi has been nerfed multiple times and multiple bruiser junglers kick his teeth in in jungle easily.

Khodexus1 votes

Are you deliberately putting words into my mouth at every turn? When did I ever say that in my scenario Yi was already fed? Or that he'd already gotten in melee? And you assume 'everyone has Ryze' when I'm pretty sure I'd have to own him for that to be true. I don't own champions I don't enjoy playing. And that means I don't own Ryze.

I was giving a best case scenario within the champions I own, and I honestly could not think of a better example than Lux. Though perhaps LIssandra would have been a better choice, in retrospect. But even though I build Liss quite a bit more tanky than I build Lux, and even though she excells in close range combats, she just doesn't have the same level of burst damage that Lux does, and I have frequently been killed by a Yi even after getting off my full combo, including Ulting him, and using her escape.

EvilRabbitt2 votes

MasterYi Alpha strike is wonderful for baiting all those CC chain bombs and Skill shot Ultimates =D I wonder if you could dodge Karthus ult like this? And on the note of cruelty...

item 3046 item 3072 item 3508 item 3087 item 3071 item 3031

53011 votes

Yi CAN dodge Karthus ult with Q. Just have to time it right. I think he can dodge things like Teemo Q, LeBlanc Q, and Zed's ult (if he has a target)

MyAccountYouGuys1 votes

He can dodge literally anything-anything-if the player has the skill and the ping. The issue is, some things last longer than the time Yi is out of play, especially if there's only one target in Q range, like say an AOE slow ala Braum ult.

Sunfield1 votes

I got my first penta with yi in aram as well. And thats about the only time Ive played him.

Its just his thing

redniwediS1 votes

If you have good positioning and are able to judge your damage vs your opponent's correctly Yi can be devastating. Even if the enemy team brings enough CC to hold you down while they kill you, you can often get your team ahead enough that they can handle a 4v5 long enough to bait out the CC. That's not to say he's unstoppable, it just takes better positioning, team fighting, and communication.

Flintfall1 votes

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/1477112080/203871138

This was my very first time MF, kinda strange what happens when you try something new, you might kill it or you might break it.

thicc as fuk1 votes

That's actually really impressive. I have a friend who mains MF and crushed the enemy teams fed Yi with her just because he was a little ahead. MF is definitely something scary when she gets a lead.

RIGed1 votes

Yi really is one of the easiest champs to play as, that being said your score is still very impressive and nothing to put down =D Its just that the champ really doesn't take a lot of skill

Interesting side note, Irelia can shut him down (even fed) pretty well. One of the few champs I've played that just straight out dueled him 1V1

EDIT: On that note, if you like playing Yi you might like irelia too, they feel very similar in play style and their kit carries the same basics. Honestly Irelia feel like a refined Yi with poke potential

Archer00011 votes

Yi is incredibly toxic. He is known as the terror of bronze. He is a ticking time bomb. I'd love to see what his bronze win rate is. He ruins the game for lower skilled players. Due to poor objective control, he always get the time to scale and then rapes the whole opposing team. I ban him consistently. He takes any semblance of counterplay, fun, and skill out of the game. He is one of riots pets though, he wont be getting any nerfs. PRESS R THEN Q. RIGHT CLICK AND WIN. GG IM SKILLED.

Drunk Old Man1 votes

It's been consistently lower than 50% for a long time. His pick rate is also a lot worse than people think in Bronze.

Statistics

His win rate is actually bad for all tiers, and has been for at least a year now. While it always seems like he's an absurdly over-powered champ and a guaranteed win for his team, he's actually a liability more often than not. Short of him getting fed 3 or so kills early for no real good reason, he's pretty darn easy to shut down. Pick someone like Udyr or Pantheon into him and you just faceroll him.

He is a bit of a menace, though, when your team constantly overextends without wards (common in low ELO games).

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