League of Legends is one of the most varying games out there. With over 150 Champions under its belt, it offers so many options for players to choose from. There are dozens of classes, mechanics, and roles to be played in this wonderful MOBA.
Of course, some Champions have stood out throughout these years among the rest. These are the most infamous Riot’s game design examples, which can sometimes get quite nasty.
In this article, we will discuss the most infamous example among all of these nasty Champions. Perhaps the first Champion that has brought chaos and madness into the game has started a trend of overtuned and OP Champions.
The one and only – Yasuo.
I won’t drag the introduction for longer as I really want to get into this article as soon as possible. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn into a pure rant.
It likely will, so here we go.
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The Beginnings
Yasuo was released almost 10 years ago now, which feels like ancient times at this point. I was a new player in the game. Zac had just released, and I was as unsuspecting as ever when Yasuo landed into the Rift.
Immediately thereafter, Yasuo became a force to be reckoned with. He was a bombastic release, insanely popular, and equally strong. He came into the game with sheer might and will to conquer the entire Rift.
Pentakills, perfect KDAs, and 1v5s were a daily occurrence. Hell, it got so bad that most people were just permabanning Yasuo all the time. It was chaotic and insane to be a League of Legends player in those times.
There were screams of BROKEN all over the Forums; the in-game chats and everywhere else were plastered with Yasuo. Yasuo was considered to be the most broken, overpowered, and brutal Champion ever to release up to that point. And he was, honestly.
There were scarcely any Champions that could do what he does. The competition was only Jax, Tryndamere, or Yi, all of which were dwarfed by Yasuo.
It would take years for Yasuo to finally be pacified by the ever-growing roster, item, and game mechanics.
The Middle
A few years ago, Yasuo had become something of a meme. Yasuo’s mains were seen as complete bastards, and everyone hated them. That much hasn’t changed up until today. I apologize to any of the Yasuo mains. This is just a fact. I don’t remember when I saw someone praising a Yasuo main.
This is most prevalent in lower Elo matches, where individual skills take the cake over any teamwork or team play. Yi and Yasuo players are seen as gods in the lower rankings. However, they lose their popularity as they progress simply because people know how to play against them.
This has cost Yasuo half of his might. The massive progression of players, even those in the lowest divisions, has halted his path of domination. People have grown accustomed to Yasuo and have developed strategies, approaches, and matchups to deal with him without much effort.
He might have been an oppressive force until the last few Seasons. Now, he isn’t that much of a threat. I will speak about that in the next section, so keep on reading to find out.
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Current State
Yasuo lives on in infamy. People still play him at an insane rate, while he is also banned half of the games. No one wants to face him. People want to face a good Yasuo player even less. So why bother with playing against him at all when you can just ban him? I mean, Yasuo has become a pure pick or ban situation – to that point that you either see him banned or he’s in the game. That’s how popular he still manages to be.
Personally, I’ve moved away from banning Yasuo ever since around 2019. Since then, many Champions released have had much more impact and have been more broken than Yasuo could ever dream of.
He has sort of evolved or devolved into a regular Bruiser/Fighter type of Champion. His uniqueness is largely gone, and the addition of Yone into the game has been a direct competition for him. He is now fighting for viability in his own category with Yone. However, I do see Yasuo as being the better among them.
Yasuo is one of my most hated Champions ever to grace the game’s maps. It is incredible how much I despise the Champion, even though I don’t perceive him as that much of a threat anymore. It is no doubt that he remains, season after season, the Champion that has killed me the most and that I have killed the most.
An endless rival, Yasuo will definitely live on in my head rent-free for as long as I’m on this Earth.
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Final Thoughts
So, is Yasuo broken? Yes and no. You see, if you don’t know how to play against a Champion, they will be broken no matter what. Once you figure out everything there is to figure out about them; things start getting a lot easier.
Perhaps that is what contributed to Yasuo’s dominance for such a long time. For the most part, people didn’t bother learning how to play against him. It is much easier to ban him than actually to take the time to study his mechanics.
That has directly led to a ton of players just completely ignoring Yasuo. Once the ban rates started going down and people moved on to new stuff, he came back to bite them.
Though this might be true, the people have now overwhelmingly learned how to stop Yasuo in his wake. There are not many players save for some Iron-level newbies that Yasuo threatens in any capacity.
Of course, a good Yasuo player is always an issue, but not even nearly as much as they used to be.
I hope you’ve found this article informative and fun to read, and I wish you all the best on the Summoner’s Rift!
