Yuumi Guide: How to Play Yuumi and Carry your Team!
In this Yuumi guide, we will talk about everything there is to know about her and how to play Yuumi, the cat champion. She is perhaps one of the most controversial champions Riot Games has ever released. There is so much controversy around her because some players think she is too simple a champion to play. The claim was proven somewhat true since a player reached Grandmasters by only using his feet 🤣. However, this isn't the complete picture.
She is relatively easy to play in Low ELOs once you have got the hang of how to play Yuumi, but that's definitely not enough to compete at a high level. According to Riot Games’ official data, she has one of the steepest mastery curves that rivals Akali and Qiyana. Therefore, only the players who understand her fundamentally can consistently bring the best out of her.
If you are still wondering how to play Yuumi properly, don't worry; we have you covered. This Yuumi guide will help you play her at the highest level possible and ensure that you are not just randomly spamming Yuumi’s abilities and hoping to be carried by your allies!
Pros to Picking Yuumi
1. Late Game Monster!
Yuumi is possibly the cutest champion in League of Legends; however, things change when she completes her core items. Yuumi provides so much healing, damage, and movement speed to her allies that it is almost impossible to stop her from taking over the game once she’s fed.
2. They can't target you!
If you are a player that is always thinking about if your positioning is correct in a team fight, then playing Yuumi mostly solves that problem for you. While you are attached to your teammates, you only have to focus on providing them with buffs at the right time and making sure they come out on top. They are relying on you even if they get caught out, and luckily you can turn the fight around!
If you are a player that is always thinking about if your positioning is correct in a team fight, then playing Yuumi mostly solves that problem for you. While you are attached to your teammates, you only have to focus on providing them with buffs at the right time and making sure they come out on top. They are relying on you even if they get caught out, and luckily you can turn the fight around!
3. A really flexible support!
Yuumi can fit into so many drafts due to her ability set. Obviously, certain ADC champions work better when paired up with her in the bottom lane, yet she can also be a great support to other champions in the mid- and late-games. Fighters and brawlers are some of the best champions for Yuumi to support in the later phases of the game.
In fact, Yuumi is such a great champion, that she is often one of the most banned champions in League of Legends because she is just so insanely powerful when played well!
Cons to Picking Yuumi
1. You are dependent on your team
There are support champions that can effectively turn the tides of the game on their own (e.g. Lux or Brand). Unfortunately, Yuumi isn't one of them. She boosts her allies’ performance. With foolish allies, it’s hard to do anything of consequence as Yuumi.
2. No way to escape from crowd control
Suppose the opponent team has a lot of crowd control abilities in their composition. In that case, it will be challenging to win. All of the crowd control abilities except those that silence you will reset you, anchoring on a teammate, and leaving you vulnerable to all sorts of attacks by your enemies.
3. The most squishy champion in-game
Yuumi offers a lot of protection when attached to your teammates, but you can't stay alive if you are on your own. She has the lowest base health in League of Legends right now, and you are easily killed by just two to three auto-attacks.
Yuumi offers a lot of protection when attached to your teammates, but you can't stay alive if you are on your own. She has the lowest base health in League of Legends right now, and you are easily killed by just two to three auto-attacks.
One area where you may suffer is in your warding in League matches. Warding within ward distance of your carry doesn't really help your team. They would practically need to face check a bush in order to ward it, which is too risky. You will need to detach at times in order to place valuable wards. Just try to stay close enough to an ally to quickly return if needed.
Yuumi's Abilities Explained
We’ll cover Yuumi’s abilities in detail first to help you understand when and where she shines the most. This section is essential if you are interested in learning how to play Yuumi at her full strength.
Yuumi’s Passive Skill: Bop' N' Block
Bop' N' Block might be the most crucial ability to know about in the laning phase. After a set period, Yuumi gains extra range. This attack allows Yuumi to regain a fixed amount of mana and gain a shield to pass on to any ally she anchors on.
When possible, use this to your advantage. The early mana and shielding are useful for Yuumi or her anchored ally, especially when up against ranged champions with a lot of poke ability.
Q: Prowling Projectile
Yuumi fires a missile, and if that hits an opponent, it does magical damage. Her missile will travel in a straight line when unattached to an ally. However, it can be directed with the cursor anywhere within the ability range when attached. Because you can't auto-attack while connected to an ally, this is one of the few ways you can directly engage or poke opponents when anchored.
Yuumi fires a missile, and if that hits an opponent, it does magical damage. Her missile will travel in a straight line when unattached to an ally. However, it can be directed with the cursor anywhere within the ability range when attached. Because you can't auto-attack while connected to an ally, this is one of the few ways you can directly engage or poke opponents when anchored.
If the projectile flies for at least 1 second, it will deal additional magical damage and slow the target based on Yuumi's current ability power and the enemy's current health.
There is a little trick that not many players know about, which you won't find in other Yuumi guides. While a missile is in flight, Yuumi can attach to another ally, increasing her range, but not her flight time.
W: You and Me!
The ability is the one that sets Yuumi apart from other champions; that's why we are going to talk about it in detail in this Yuumi guide. It is a point-and-click ability that allows Yuumi to attach herself to another allied champion. You are invulnerable whenever you are bound to an ally, and opponents can't target you. An important detail to remember is that Yuumi will still be under threat of turret damage if your ally is tower diving and you hit the opponent with your Prowling Projectile.
While attached, Yuumi grants the allies bonus adaptive force (could be converted to attack damage or ability power based on the champion's build). She also gets adaptive force based on her ally's current stats making you and your ally both benefit from your little partnership.
While attached, Yuumi grants the allies bonus adaptive force (could be converted to attack damage or ability power based on the champion's build). She also gets adaptive force based on her ally's current stats making you and your ally both benefit from your little partnership.
It is vital to remember that any hard crowd control abilities will reset the ability and leave you in a vulnerable state, so always be ready to detach from your ally in case that happens.
Furthermore, you will get free access to stasis abilities/items like Zhonya's Hourglass if your allied champion used those while you were attached. However, if Guardian Angel or any other command resurrects them, you will detach and be isolated.
E: Zoomies
Zoomies is the easiest to comprehend ability when it comes to our Yuumi guide. It allows Yuumi to heal herself (or an ally), if she is attached to them. Yet, that's not all it offers. After using her Zoomies ability, you also get a burst of movement speed and attack speed, which is passed onto the ally again if you are using "You and Me!" with them.
It is critical to buff up your allies so they can secure kills or escape. However, the ability uses up a lot of your mana. After you learn how to play Yuumi well, you will learn to use it sparingly in the early phases of the game and when you are running low on mana before a teamfight.
R (Ultimate): Final Chapter
The Final Chapter is Yuumi's ultimate ability. When used, you will unleash an Area of Effect attack that will go on for seven waves, dealing magic damage to those struck. If an enemy is struck by at least three waves, you will root them for 1.75 seconds which can be game-changing! However, an essential thing to remember is that the enemy champions only take 50% of the damage from every wave other than the first one that hits them. The best part of this ability is its utility rather than its damage potential.
Yuumi’s ult is one of the most robust initiation tools in the game; however, you can also use it as an escape tool. Furthermore, you can use it to wave clear minions if you feel like your ADC won't secure them; it deals significant damage to minions.
Her Final Chapter ability is very challenging to avoid, as you can use your "Prowling Projectile" and "You and Me" while it's activated. It is the perfect tool for catching opponents in tight corners, so try to use it in closed areas.
The Best Runes for Yuumi
There really is only one set of best runes for Yuumi in classic League of Legends. The best runes for Yuumi in ARAM are a different story. In this Yuumi guide, we will provide you with that fundamental set of runes, but to spice it up, we will offer a few alternatives at the end, so you can try and figure out what works best for your playstyle.
Primary Keystone
There are two viable rune options for Yuumi. Both of them are from the Sorcery rune set. The one we will recommend to you in most cases is "Summon Aery", but we will talk in detail about how in some situations, "Arcane Comet" might also work. Despite your choice here, you should always go "Precision" path for your secondary rune choice, so you can already figure out that there isn't much difference in the two options we will discuss next in this Yuumi guide.
1. Summon Aery
If you are a player that is always thinking about if your positioning is correct in a team fight, then playing Yuumi mostly solves that problem for you. While you are attached to your teammates, you only have to focus on providing them with buffs at the right time and making sure they come out on top. They are relying on you even if they get caught out, and luckily you can turn the fight around!
If you are a player that is always thinking about if your positioning is correct in a team fight, then playing Yuumi mostly solves that problem for you. While you are attached to your teammates, you only have to focus on providing them with buffs at the right time and making sure they come out on top. They are relying on you even if they get caught out, and luckily you can turn the fight around!
Summon Aery works perfectly with Yuumi's abilities. It provides you with a blend of both poke and protection that helps a lot in the early game. The bonus shielding can mean the difference between you and your ally earning or losing first blood. The best thing about it is that you can proc the rune by using "You and Me!" on another ally.
It is also reasonably influential in the late game, as you can activate your Ardent Censer by simply providing that bonus shielding to your ally. There is no doubt about Summon Aery being the most optimal rune for Yuumi. We highly recommend you go for it for the majority of your games in this Yuumi guide.
2. Arcane Comet
If you are a League player that likes to get in the face of your opponent and force them onto their backfoot, then Arcane Comet is the best choice for you. It doesn't scale as well into the late game as Summon Aery, but if you want to be confident that you will demolish your opponents in the laning phase of the game, this is an excellent rune for Yuumi.
If you are a League player that likes to get in the face of your opponent and force them onto their backfoot, then Arcane Comet is the best choice for you. It doesn't scale as well into the late game as Summon Aery, but if you want to be confident that you will demolish your opponents in the laning phase of the game, this is an excellent rune for Yuumi.
Arcane Comet will allow you more poke in lane, but you still need to understand that as a Yuumi, it's your job to buff your allies rather than yourself, so be aware of a few teammates getting tilted about your rune choice if you fall behind early on.
The Three Best Rune Choices from the Sorcery Rune Set
If you have reached this section, then that means you have already made your choice. You chose the primary Sorcery keystone thanks to our Yuumi guide and better understand how to play Yuumi than before. Now, things get a little easier for you as we give you the best three Sorcery runes to take with Yuumi!
1. Manaflow Band
When the late game strikes, you will be looking to cast your "Zoomies" as many times as possible. However, as we have already mentioned, it is a mana exhausting spell. You need to accumulate every little bit of mana that you can to ensure that your allies are getting reliable healing. This is especially important during game-breaking team fights later on. Manaflow Band rune will do that for you.
2. Transcendence Rune on Yuumi
We have already mentioned in this Yuumi guide how your job is to ensure your allied champions stay alive for as long as they can. Transcendence will help you in this regard as it will provide you with that little bit of extra ability haste that can prove to be the differential in your team losing the skirmishes around the map or taking over the map.
3. Gathering Storm
Gathering Storm is perhaps the most potent rune in the game when it comes to Yuumi. You already learned that her healing depends on her Ability Power. Gathering Storm acts as a free item in that regard. Gathering Storm will grealy enhance your abilities in the late phases of the game with almost 50 extra Ability Power at 30 minutes. This translates into a vast amount of healing.
If the game goes way over 40 minutes, you will start to outscale most of your enemies to win the game for your team.
The Best Secondary Runes for Yuumi
We have two runes from the Precision tree that works well with Yuumi, and we will discuss both of them briefly, so you have a better idea of how to play and set up Yuumi.
1. Presence of Mind
Presence of Mind is the first secondary rune we are going to talk about in this Yuumi guide. Mana regeneration from damage and takedowns is beneficial for staying alive in the lane and during team fights. There are no other runes from this tree that work as effectively with Yuumi due to her kit being mana limited.
2. Cut Down
We have previously talked in this Yuumi guide about how Yuumi has the lowest base health in the game. Cut Down is the perfect rune when you consider this as it allows you to deal more damage to opponents with more health than you. Even if you have a few core items in your inventory, you will still undoubtedly be the squishiest champion in the game. Thus it will be beneficial for you to deal bonus damage whenever you can, especially in the laning phase.
Best Yuumi Items
It is perhaps impossible to talk about the best items for a champion because League of Legends is constantly evolving; hence, you should take a look at our Yuumi Build. It is automatically updated and gives you a better insight into what the top-ranked players in the world are going for while playing Yuumi in their SoloQ adventures.
What Champions work best with Yuumi?
We have divided this section on Yuumi champion synergies into two parts. We will talk about what types of champions Yuumi works well with and the reasoning behind them. Then we will proceed to give examples of the best LoL champs from these respective classes and conclude by giving you tips about how you can use your abilities when paired up with these champions.
Hyper Carries and Bruisers Work Very Well with Yuumi
The two champions roles that bring out the best of Yuumi are hyper carriers and bruisers. We will talk about both of them to better understand how to play Yuumi when your teammates pick champions from these classes.
A hyper-carry is a champion who focuses on exponentially increasing their damage over time rather than spiking their power earlier in the game. These champions can boost their stats like damage and attack speed later in the game, and if you add the extra stats Yuumi will provide them, you are on the verge of creating a monster that no one can kill.
A hyper-carry is a champion who focuses on exponentially increasing their damage over time rather than spiking their power earlier in the game. These champions can boost their stats like damage and attack speed later in the game, and if you add the extra stats Yuumi will provide them, you are on the verge of creating a monster that no one can kill.
Bruisers also complement Yuumi nicely because they are skilled at both dealing and enduring damage. If you can provide them a little extra rush of movement speed, healing, and damage at the right time, they can get on top of the carry champions of the opponent team, turning the skirmishes around the map to your advantage.
However, classes like tanks or lane bullies don't work well with Yuumi. Their fundamental identity is quite different from our favorite cat. If you have an early game lane bully with you in the laning phase of the game, then you will hold back their ability to get in the face of the opponent and secure early leads. Similarly, there is no reason you should ever stick with a tank because they don't need that extra health or damage you are providing your teammates.
You will better understand what champions work well with Yuumi, but now we will talk about how to play Yuumi with the best champions from these classes.
The Best Yuumi Partners
1. Ezreal
Ezreal tops our list of the best champions to pair with Yuumi for many reasons. Ezreal is a unique marksmen and a late-game monster. He also has a lot of mobility in the early game. That provides Yuumi protection (when anchored on Ezrael) from any unforeseen ganks or all-in attempts by your opponents.
Ezreal tops our list of the best champions to pair with Yuumi for many reasons. Ezreal is a unique marksmen and a late-game monster. He also has a lot of mobility in the early game. That provides Yuumi protection (when anchored on Ezrael) from any unforeseen ganks or all-in attempts by your opponents.
Whenever you land your Prowling Projectile and slow your target, Ezreal can quickly get a Mystic Shot and auto-attack on the enemy champion, which combined will take a considerable chunk out of their health. Similarly, whenever you catch the opponent in your ultimate and root them, Ezreal gets a guaranteed target to hit with his ultimate, Trueshock Barrage.
2. Viego
Viego has been at the heart of many controversies ever since he was released. This took some of the attention away from Yuumi, but you may be surprised to know that both champions work well together. The feature that makes Viego a potent ally for Yuumi is that she is also invulnerable when Viego is in the process of possessing an enemy champion. The ability will not only make her untargetable but will at the same time allow her to buff up Viego stats immediately after he possesses an opponent.
Yuumi can also camouflage by joining Viego when he is using his Harrowing Mist, which could be a great escape tool if the fight doesn’t go as planned.
3. Jhin
Jhin is an ADC that is often not picked due to the lack of mobility in his kit, but Yuumi solves a lot of his problems. Yuumi provides extra movement speed and can slow down opponents or even root them to avoid being crushed by two to three enemy champions.
Their abilities work together too, since your Prowling Projectile slows down an opponent enough for Jhin to land his Deadly Flourish. With this combo, you have terrific all-in potential and can annihilate your opponents in seconds once locked down.
4. Sivir
Sivir is a hyper carry that doesn't come into play until she completes her first two items, but her weak laning phase can be made a lot easier with Yuumi by her side. You already know that Yuumi is vulnerable to brutal engagements despite being attached to her ally, and [Sivir](/champion/sivir/build/) can solve this problem with the help of her Spell Shield. If used properly, you can turn the fight around and take a better trade than your opponent to force them onto their backfoot.
Sivir is a hyper carry that doesn't come into play until she completes her first two items, but her weak laning phase can be made a lot easier with Yuumi by her side. You already know that Yuumi is vulnerable to brutal engagements despite being attached to her ally, and [Sivir](/champion/sivir/build/) can solve this problem with the help of her Spell Shield. If used properly, you can turn the fight around and take a better trade than your opponent to force them onto their backfoot.
5. Other Champions that Synergize with Yuumi
There are many champions that work well with Yuumi. Similarly, if you provide them the healing and extra damage buffs at the right time, you can always consider picking Yuumi. This is especially true if you see Tristana, Master Yi, Olaf, and Vayne on your team. All you need to do is to make sure you don't let them die when engaging!
How to Play Yuumi in the Early Game
There are many mistakes that new Yuumi players make in the laning phase of the game. In this Yuumi guide, we will make sure you know how to play Yuumi without falling into these traps. A common misconception is that you always need to stay attached to your ally, but that's not true. You should be doing the complete opposite!
You should bait the enemy into engaging by dodging them with your ability to attach to your ally. An example could be that you see a Blitzcrank or Pyke moving further than they previously were, which should make you think they will target you. The moment you feel they will cast the ability for an all-in, you should press your W and have fun with your allied champion.
The act is tricky, but if you know how to position yourself well and ensure that you will be safe, you will make the life of the opposing duo frustrating. The difference between good and top Yuumi players is to know when to attach and detach from an ally, hence the high mastery curve we discussed previously in this Yuumi guide.
You should always look to punish ability cooldowns and melee champions by consistently poking them from afar. However, roaming with Yuumi isn't a good idea because if your opponents catch you, you will definitely be eliminated, leaving your allies vulnerable to ganks and tower dives.
How to Play Yuumi in the Mid and Late Game Phases
The mid and late game is when you will want to be attached to a companion most of the time. You won't buy boots on Yuumi, so you need to rely on your teammates dragging you here and there around the rift. Yet, that doesn't mean you won't set up any vision around the map. If you have just seen five enemy team members on one side of the map, you can go ahead and detach to plant wards on the other side of the map without any risk.
In team fights, you will need to make sure that you root as many enemies as possible, so do wait for the right opportunity to cast your ultimate! A common mistake that many players make is sticking to tanks to make sure they never die, but that's not your job. Always stick to your bruisers or your carries. Tanks are already getting a lot of buffs to outlast. They are also not the primary targets of your enemies. Keep your carries alive!
A common trick that you can pull off when you feel like a team fight is about to break out, and you have spare gold to spend, then buy Elixir of Sorcery. It may result in a little bit of extra healing that your team needs to win the game.
Yuumi Guide: Final Thoughts
Yuumi is nearly a purrrrrfect support champion. She can help carries and bruisers dominate through powerful buffs and rapid healing and shielding. Furthermore, she has powerful AoE CC that can turn the course of late-game teamfights. Lastly, many of the best Yuumi skins are just so darn cute, you just have to play her!
We hope that this Yuumi guide has helped you learn how to play Yuumi. If you have any suggestions or other advice that you feel we should incorporate into this guide, please leave us a comment below.
If you have enjoyed this in-depth Yuumu guide, please feel free to check out another of our comprehensive champion guides, including our Swain guide. In it, we cover his gameplay from multiple positions and skill levels.
Images Courtesy of Riot Games.