Runes for Yone Top: Unlocking the Samurai’s Potential

Yone, the Unforgotten, has emerged as a formidable top lane pick in League of Legends. With his fast-paced gameplay and exceptional dueling potential, Yone has quickly become a favorite among top lane enthusiasts. While item builds and skill orders are commonly discussed, the importance of choosing the right runes for Yone top often goes overlooked. In this detailed blog post, we will delve into the different rune choices available for Yone top and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each option.

Understanding Yone’s Playstyle

Before diving into the world of runes, it’s crucial to understand Yone’s playstyle and how it influences rune selection. Yone is a melee AD champion who excels in extended trades and all-ins. As a skirmisher, he relies on his ability to engage, sustain, and deal consistent damage throughout a fight. With this in mind, runes that enhance his survivability and amplify his raw damage output are particularly potent.

The Domination Path

Let’s start our discussion by exploring the Domination rune path, which offers a wide range of offensive options for Yone top.

Keystone Rune: Conqueror

Conqueror is the go-to keystone rune for Yone top due to its synergy with his kit. It grants Yone bonus damage and healing based on the damage dealt over time. This ensures that Yone can sustain in prolonged trades and team fights, making him a significant threat throughout the game. It’s essential to stack Conqueror by utilizing Yone’s Q ability and auto-attacks before fully engaging in a fight, maximizing its effectiveness.

Secondary Runes

When it comes to secondary runes, Yone players often have flexibility in their choices, depending on the match-up and personal preference. Here are two popular options:

Option 1: Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter

For sustain-oriented playstyles, choosing Taste of Blood combined with Ravenous Hunter provides Yone with additional healing throughout the game. Taste of Blood grants Yone a burst of healing when hitting an enemy champion with an ability, while Ravenous Hunter grants spell vamp and omnivamp for every unique champion takedown. This combination enhances Yone’s already potent sustain, allowing him to stay in fights longer and potentially turn the tide.

Option 2: Cheap Shot and Eyeball Collection

Alternatively, for players looking for more burst damage and snowball potential, Cheap Shot combined with Eyeball Collection can be an excellent choice. Cheap Shot deals bonus true damage to enemies immobilized by Yone’s abilities, making his engages even deadlier. Eyeball Collection provides bonus attack damage or ability power based on champion takedowns, offering scaling benefits as the game progresses. This rune setup emphasizes Yone’s ability to burst down opponents quickly and dominate team fights.

The Precision Path

While the Domination path focuses on aggressive playstyles, the Precision rune path emphasizes sustained damage and increased attack speed.

Keystone Rune: Press the Attack

Press the Attack is a potent keystone option for Yone top, particularly against tanks and bruisers. It empowers Yone’s basic attacks, allowing him to shred through the enemy’s armor and deal additional damage. Additionally, Press the Attack marks enemies, causing subsequent attacks to increase the damage they take from all sources. This keystone enables Yone to efficiently focus down tanky targets, making him a nightmare for frontline champions.

Secondary Runes

When choosing secondary runes within the Precision path, there are two strong options to consider:

Option 1: Triumph and Legend: Tenacity

Taking Triumph and Legend: Tenacity grants Yone enhanced survivability in fights. Triumph restores a portion of Yone’s missing health when he scores a takedown, allowing him to continue fighting and turn the tide of a team fight. Legend: Tenacity grants Yone bonus tenacity, reducing the duration of crowd control effects on him. This rune combination enhances Yone’s survivability and allows him to navigate team fights with more ease, making him a formidable threat throughout the game.

Option 2: Presence of Mind and Legend: Alacrity

If you’re looking for more mana sustain and increased attack speed, Presence of Mind and Legend: Alacrity are great choices. Presence of Mind restores Yone’s maximum mana and grants bonus energy on takedowns, ensuring he has the resources to keep spamming his abilities during extended fights. Legend: Alacrity grants bonus attack speed with each takedown, amplifying Yone’s damage output and dueling potential. This rune setup suits aggressive playstyles that focus on constant trading and all-ins.

The Resolve Path

While the Domination and Precision paths specialize in offensive options, the Resolve path offers Yone a defensive edge, ensuring he can survive against tough match-ups and scale into the late game.

Keystone Rune: Grasp of the Undying

Grasp of the Undying stands as the primary keystone option within the Resolve path for Yone top. It empowers Yone’s basic attacks, allowing him to periodically deal bonus magic damage while also permanently increasing his health. This keystone rune synergizes well with Yone’s playstyle, granting him additional survivability in trades and providing long-term scaling potential.

Secondary Runes

When it comes to secondary runes within the Resolve path, players have several viable options to consider:

Option 1: Conditioning and Overgrowth

Choosing Conditioning and Overgrowth enhances Yone’s defenses and scaling potential. Conditioning grants bonus resistances after a duration, ensuring that Yone becomes tankier as the game progresses. Overgrowth grants additional maximum health for each unit killed near Yone, allowing him to scale into the late game with more health and increased effective health against burst damage threats.

Option 2: Bone Plating and Unflinching

For players who value additional survivability during trades and crowd control heavy match-ups, Bone Plating and Unflinching can be an excellent choice. Bone Plating reduces incoming burst damage when Yone is hit by an enemy champion, providing him with more opportunities to trade efficiently. Unflinching grants bonus tenacity when Yone is immobilized, allowing him to shrug off crowd control effects more quickly and continue engaging in fights.

Conclusion

Choosing the right runes for Yone top can significantly impact his performance in lane and team fights. The Domination path emphasizes offensive options, allowing Yone to deal high amounts of damage and sustain through fights effectively. The Precision path empowers Yone with increased attack speed and sustained damage potential, while the Resolve path provides Yone with defensive tools to survive tough match-ups and scale into the late game.

Ultimately, the choice of runes depends on personal playstyle and the match-up at hand. Experimenting with different rune combinations and adapting to specific situations can lead to mastery of Yone’s top lane potential. So, gear up, select your runes wisely, and showcase the power of the Unforgotten in the top lane!