The One About Yasuo

Oh boy. Let's get 'er done. Yasuo is a pain. He has a very unique identity in League, but he falls into the category of being a troublesome snowball... or a meat shield. He has very little in-between, and often times your success as him feels more like a matter of team composition rather than skillful outplaying. He can do some amazing things, don't get me wrong, but how often during teamfights do you even use Sweeping Blade? Be honest. That and the ever-present Wind Wall that counters every ranged champion in the game for a solid four seconds. Let's get something clear. I like Yasuo. He's fun to play. His kit is unique and his playstyle to match it... but he's not in a healthy spot by any length. I want to preserve the feeling that Riot was going for while giving him and his opponents more choices to make. Let's get into it.

P - Way of the Wanderer: Yasuo builds momentum when in motion. This momentum can be unleashed to empower his basic abilities. At max momentum, he can cast Last Breath.

Q - Steel Tempest: Yasuo strikes in front of him in a line dealing his total attack damage and applying on-hit effects. While Way of the Wanderer is active, successive hits against the same enemy reduce the cooldown of Steel Tempest and increase its damage.

W - Wind Wall: Yasuo sends a wall of wind in a target direction. The wall briefly blocks projectiles along its path before dissipating. Wind Wall passively grants Yasuo a shield that regenerates while Way of the Wanderer is active. If this shield is broken, Yasuo loses his momentum and Way of the Wanderer goes on a short cooldown.

E - Sweeping Blade: Yasuo dashes through a target, applying a mark to them that increases the damage they take from his next basic attack. Killing a marked target resets Sweeping Blade’s cooldown. While** Way of the Wanderer** is active, Sweeping Blade has an extended range and applies the mark damage as additional damage instead.

R - Last Breath: Yasuo chooses a target. After a brief delay, he moves to them and knocks them into the air, striking them repeatedly for heavy damage.

The major changes?

• Way of the Wanderer no longer grants double crit (it was a dumb idea to begin with) and the shield was moved to his W. To compensate, momentum gives his kit more versatility and forces his opponent to think about how he'll use it.
• Steel Tempest no longer knocks enemies up on the third strike. It instead deals increasing damage against the same target and allows it to be used more frequently when the same target is struck repeatedly.
• Wind Wall no longer lingers (it never needed to). Ask any pro Yasuo player. They'll tell you they primarily use it as a clutch save, not to screw over their ranged opponents. As a high burst diver, Yasuo shouldn't be able to sip on sake for four seconds in safety during a fight. Doesn't fit the bill. The shield from his passive was moved to this ability, and now if the shield is broken he loses his momentum, making him vulnerable.
• Sweeping Blade needs some explaining. Right now it seems like an upgrade. To clarify, the mark damage is replacing the AP scaling, and Sweeping Blade no longer has a <1 second cooldown. I was thinking more like 4 to 5 seconds, with the upside being that killing a marked target resets the cooldown entirely, still allowing him to weave through minion waves with ease.
• Last Breath is probably where I'll get the most flak. It no longer needs a knockup to be used, but it can only be used at max momentum and on a single target. Yasuo isn't built to be part of a wombo composition. Last Breath is the only reason he even can be.

Strengths/Pros: His damage is preserved and he now has more options for trading and dueling. His overall health in the meta is improved since his damage is no longer due to a crit steroid and "empowered auto" Q, but rather skillful application of his full kit. Weaknesses/Cons: He loses some of his crowd control making him less impactful in fights, with him being more duel oriented. His momentum is a powerful tool, but he has to be careful once he has a point in Wind Wall. Losing his shield means losing his momentum and that will set him back during fights/trades.

As always, completely open to constructive criticism and input. I know there are a lot of dedicated Yasuo players out there, afraid of change, but these changes are to his benefit as well as his opponents. Normally I wouldn't give a rats arse about Yasuo, but I do like his design and I think it's a shame he's so black and white when much more could be done with him.