Master Yi AP Guide for LoL Classic: Build, Runes & Masteries

Master Yi is one of the first champions Riot Games added in League of Legends Classic, the game mode inspired by League Season 3. While the Wuju Bladesman can be played in different ways, this guide focuses on AP Jungle Master Yi — also known as a free win.

Thanks to his Q magic damage and AP scaling, this version of Master Yi can jump into fights, deal absurd burst damage and run off before your opponents can react. It is incredibly fun to play, although your opponents might not have the same appreciation for a Yi suddenly deleting their health bar in three attacks.

Your first task is to take time to read through Master Yi's abilities in League Classic, even though they will feel familiar if you've played the current version of League. Still, several of them work very differently and knowing precisely what they do is the first step towards bursting your opponents. In short, he is much more focused on raw AD and even has a surprisingly strong AP build thanks to Alpha Strike's scaling.

Passive, Double Strike
In League Classic, Double Strike gives your basic attacks a 15% chance to strike twice. Compared to the current version, where the passive activates after a few attacks, the Classic version is completely random. Basically, sometimes luck is on your side and you get extra damage exactly when you need it, while other times you'll have to wait a little longer for that to hit.

Q, Alpha Strike
Alpha Strike sends Master Yi bouncing between up to four nearby enemies, dealing magic damage to each one, it also deals extra damage to minions and monsters. But, instead of dealing physical damage like in modern League, League Classic's Alpha Strike deals magic damage with a massive 100% AP ratio, which is exactly why AP Master Yi became so popular. Unlike today's version, basic attacks won't lower its cooldown, and once you cast it, you can't redirect where Yi ends up.

W, Meditate
Meditate lets Master Yi channel for up to five seconds, healing himself every half second while gaining an incredible amount of Armor and Magic Resist. Rather than reducing incoming damage and interacting with the rest of his kit like the current version does, Classic Meditate keeps things nice and simple. You heal, you become extremely tanky, and if your enemies don't interrupt you, they'll probably regret letting you sit there peacefully.

E, Wuju Style
Wuju Style passively grants bonus AD as long as the ability isn't on cooldown, and, when activated, it provides an even larger AD bonus for 10 seconds. If you're expecting bonus true damage like the current League version, think again. In League Classic, Wuju Style is all about stacking raw AD, better yet, the passive bonus is doubled while the active is running, so this is the button you press when it's time to stop farming and start slicing through enemies.

R, Highlander
Highlander removes all slows and cripples before giving Master Yi bonus Attack Speed, bonus Movement Speed, and immunity to both effects for eight seconds. The modern version of the ult extends its duration after champion kills and assists, but in League Classic every champion kill completely refreshes your cooldowns, while assists reduce them by half. Basically, if you pick off one enemy, there's a good chance you'll be sprinting after the next one before they even know what happened.

When playing Master Yi in League Classic, you want to focus on improving your jungle clear speed first and scaling into the late game. Since Yi becomes much stronger with items, your goal is to reach your power spikes as quickly as possible.

Start by maxing his Q, Alpha Strike, first as it gives you faster jungle clears and stronger damage when fighting monsters. After that, put points into Yi’s E, Wuju Style, for more AD, then finish with his W, Meditate, for better healing and survivability in the late game.

As always, level up his ultimate, Highlander, whenever possible at levels 6, 11, and 16, as the extra movement speed and cooldown resets are what allow Master Yi to clean up fights and keep the pressure going.

As AP Master Yi, the early game job is simple: clear camps, collect gold, and avoid unnecessary fights.

Unlike other aggressive junglers, AP Master Yi does not want to force early skirmishes. Play patiently and look for opportunities instead of trying to fight everyone you see. And so your ganks should usually happen when enemies are overextended, not when they're under tower. Use Alpha Strike to close the gap, then follow with our E and basic attacks for extra damage. Since AP Yi relies heavily on your Q burst, choosing the right moment to jump in is crucial.

After reaching level 6, your ult gives you much stronger gank potential and makes chasing enemies much easier. During team fights, avoid being the engage champion, instead wait for enemies to use their important abilities — like ults — then jump in with Alpha Strike and look for a kill. Once you get a Highlander reset, the fight can quickly become your playground.

For AP Jungle Master Yi, you still want runes that improve your attack speed, damage, and jungle efficiency. Even though your main burst comes from Alpha Strike, Master Yi benefits greatly from faster attacks and stronger basic attacks.

Recommended runes:

Basically, these runes help you reach your AP power spikes faster while still making your early jungle experience easier.

For AP Jungle Master Yi, use the Offense tree as your main mastery tree and Defense as your secondary tree. The Offense tree gives you Attack Speed and AD, which improve both your jungle clear and your ability to deal damage between Alpha Strike casts. Defense gives you extra durability, helping you survive after jumping into fights. Even the fastest swordsman still has to stand in melee range sometimes, so extra health and armor can save you when enemies turn their attention toward you.

Points in Bladed Armor are also useful because they improve your jungle clear speed, allowing you to farm more gold and reach your items sooner, but up to you whether to invest in them or not.

AP Jungle Master Yi is one of the most iconic builds in League Classic. Instead of slowly cutting enemies down with traditional AD, you play more like a burst assassin by using Alpha Strike to surprise enemies and deal massive magic damage in a few seconds.

AP Master Yi is all about finding the perfect moment. Start by farming quietly, wait for the right gank, press Alpha Strike, and watch the enemy team panic as your Yi starts flying around the battlefield.