Overview

Yin is a mixed range “carry” similar to Twinblast or Murdock. What makes her unique is the fact that she attacks in melee range by default, but can elongate her whip to attack from afar. Not only does Yin deal incredibly high basic attack damage late game, but she also has significantly more utility than her peers.

Yin is a melee Carry who uses her whip and powerful wind magic to dispatch her enemies. Though she and Aurora came from a life of crime Yin rose to the rank of first guardian of her City.

With her ability to leap onto or off of players, combined with a deflect and an Ultimate which slows down all projectiles (including players who walk through her Quelling Gale) she’s a formidable hero. Unsurprisingly her varied kit, combined with the damage it deals, has seen her rise through the ranks.

What makes Yin so formidable isn’t just the utility she brings, but the fact she hard counters most ranged heroes in the current meta. Howitzer, Dekker, Rampage - every carry - can be killed by her 1 on 1. Not only that, but she also facilitates easy capture of Raptors thanks to Quelling Gale stopping all their attacks, while she can comfortably push lanes instantly thanks to her Windburn and its cleave.

Having “mastered” Yin and with a 71% win rate on her, she’s undoubtedly one of the best heroes in the game.

Updated: 10 April 2017

Lore

• Walks the palace walls before dawn, imagining the city in ruins.
• The youngest warrior since Feng Mao to become First Guardian.
• The documents affirming her bloodline are exceptional forgeries.

Abilities

Whip Crack (LMB) - This is Yin’s basic attack and as a carry, is how she deals the vast majority of her damage. Although it’s still considered a melee attack, it is slightly longer than the swing of Serath. This allows her to kite minions easily if jungling or when in lane, attack them from a slightly safer distance. It’s also worth noting that your whip isn’t a projectile and is physical, so landing your basic attacks means your whip has to have line of sight of someone. You can’t, for example, stand on a ledge and hit a minion below if - just because you can see them - as your whip will simply hit the floor (you’d have to hang over the ledge). It can take some getting used to.

Backlash (RMB) - As Yin’s primary means of mitigating incoming damage, Backlash takes practice to master but is well worth the time investment. When cast, a small deflect bubble will appear around her, and lasting 0.5 seconds allow Yin to cast back any physical projectile throw her way. Whether’s Rampage’s Rock or Howitzer’s Rocket, she can send them all flying back to their target. Key to using Backlash is not only learning the animations of each hero, but also the timing of your Backlash. Ideally you want to use it just before the moment of impact, when the enemy projectile has left their hand. It takes some practice and expect to miss many until you’ve mastered it.

Lash Kick (Q) - Part of the reason why Yin is so strong 1 on 1 is her Lash Kick. As a 950 unit leap, it allows Yin to target an enemy or ally and pull herself towards them. On impact she can determine where she lands (by holding a directional key). The range, damage on impact and leap-off allow Yin to confuse, kill and hunt down with ease.  Ideally, you want to hold “W” to move forwards when you land on a player as this allows you to gain additional distance, while you should hold an appropriate directional key to land on upper platforms.

Windburn (E) - One of the main reasons why Yin is so strong, Windburn allows her to increase the range of her basic attack (effectively making it as long as Twinblast or Murdock) but also grants it 100% cleave damage, allowing it to pass through players and minions. The cleave is so good that Yin can almost instantly clear and push any minion wave, while she can comfortably hit multiple players if they’re grouped up. Windburn is also incredibly cheap on mana and at maximum level, can be maintained near permanently.

Quelling Gale (R) - As a small area bubble, Quelling Gale dramatically slows the speed of any incoming projectile. The projectiles, while halted, can be deflected back or you can use the window of opportunity to reposition or avoid them entirely. What’s also good about Quelling Gale is it slows any players who come into contact with it and when originally cast, it will bump players back to create some space for Yin. Ideally, you want to be placing Quelling Gale so that you block all incoming projectiles and especially in confined spaces where a fight will ensue.

Skill Order

Yin is all about her Windburn and Lash Kick. With that in mind, maximizing both of these as quickly as possible gives her access to high damage and cleave.

1. Windburn

2. Lash Kick

3. Backlash

4. Windburn

5. Quelling Gale

6. Windburn

7. Windburn

8. Lash Kick

9. Quelling Gale

10. Lash Kick

11. Lash Kick

12. Windburn

13. Quelling Gale

14. Windburn

15. Windburn

Recommended Cards

Full build (including active link)

Tactics

Early Game (Level 1-9)

Yin is effective in Jungle or Safe Lane, so depending on which you choose will affect your playstyle. If Safe Lane, you want to simply farm as long as humanly possible while making regular rotations for Raptors (with your team). Securing last hits, freezing your lane is imperative.

Mid Game (Level 10-12)

At this stage your team will likely be fighting regularly over Raptors, while your critical hit damage should be online. First tier towers are usually destroyed so there’s room to push your lane (with Windburn) before rotating again. It’s imperative you keep the Orb Prime warded, secure Raptors when possible and stay near your Support.

Late Game (Level 13-15)

Late game is all about team fighting. With your critical damage online, including your life steal, it’s simply a case of joining team fights, hanging back and focusing targets. When you’ve secured a kill, you need to be taking Orb Prime immediately, while trying to peel for allies with your Ultimate and Backlash. Just be conscious of the fact you’re still easy to kill and very vulnerable to crowd control.

Matchups

These god threat levels (1 being lowest threat and 10 being highest threat) are to help you determine which enemy gods can give you a headache. For the heroes listed here, take extra care as they're particularly dangerous for Yin. 

Tips

This list of tips and tricks are just a handful of things we think will help your Yin play. We'll continue to add to the list as required and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here. 

1. I cannot stress enough the need for Yin to farm as long as humanly possible. Freeze your lane and soak for the first ten minutes at least. 

2. Your Windburn allows you to attack from range and grants full cleave damage. Aim at the furthest back minion to cut through the entire wave. 

3. Yin is amazing in Jungle as her basic attack range is just longer than melee so she can kit and cleave without ever taking damage (even from the green buff!)

4. Yin can solo the Raptors very early as her cleave damage combined with Quelling Gale allows her to halt all their incoming attacks before deflecting them back. 

5. Key to using Backlash is to anticipate the physical projectile and to know when the enemy is about to release it. It's a good idea to simply bait enemy players in order to learn their animations. 

6. Remember Backlash lasts 0.5 seconds so you don't have to be perfect with it, in order to deflect an attack. 

7. Ideally you want to save Backlash for high impact projectiles like Dekker's Stasis Bomb or Rampage's Rock Throw. These can - in turn - stun those players when deflected back. 

8. Lash Kick can be used offensively or defensively. Used on an ally it can pull you to safety. Used on an enemy it can ensure they can't escape. Just be aware that if an enemy breaks line of sight, you won't follow them - you'll hit the nearest obstacle and fall to the floor.

9. Use your wave clear power to push lanes quickly during mid and end game. One use of Wristburn allows Yin to push hard in seconds. 

10. When you've got your critical hit damage online, usually by 15-18 minutes, you should be forcing Orb Prime the moment your team gets a kill.

11. Always rotate for Raptors when they spawn. Yin relies on CXP as a carry in order to get her damage online. 

12. When retreating it's a good idea to use Quelling Gale behind you so that incoming stuns and projectiles won't hit you and your team. 

13. Against melee heroes, drop Quelling Gale at your feet to bump players back. You can then strafe around it while they're slowed.