Speaking of ****ing toxic... man oh man. Wanna hear a fun fact? Yasuo would probably be
one of the most played Champions in League, if it wasn't for the fact that he's got an
insanely high ban rate.
It's hard for me to say what caused Yasuo to be this... infamous, let's say. Maybe it's the somewhat edgy style of his story (and no, I dont just mean
his katana being forged by Man At Arms) - he's a vagabond blamed for a crime he didn't commit. Specifically, the murder of his own master. Yasuo set out to prove his innocence, but was chased by several swordsmen from Ionia, his country. These included his half-brother, who he was forced to kill with his own hands.
Maybe it's the fact that the character is not only prevalent, but has a high skill ceiling, and given how the, er,
atmosphere of any ranked eSport can get heated, you can guess that a lot of Yasuo players out there got hot-headed, and that fame sort of extended to the character. Which generated the whole slew of "Our Yasuo/Their Yasuo" memes.
Or maybe it's because his kit seems deceptively simple, but from a high skill ceiling perspective can almost seem overtuned as all hell. For starters, you know how I've said that a Mana bar would help balance some of the Champions with resource management? Well,
Yasuo does not use Mana at all. Instead, he has a Flow meter, wich fills while he walks on the field.
Yasuo's passive is
Way of the Wanderer. Basically, Yasuo's crit chance is multiplied, but they deal less damage. Additionally, he has that previously mentioned Flow mechanic - the bar fills according to the distance Yasuo travels. At maximum stacks or when taking damage from an enemy, he consumes all of the Flow meter to temporarily shield himself.
Hoooooo boy. Right off the bat, we got Critical Hits and a shield - which I presume would just reduce damage taken in Smash. Even so, you already have two things that would make the character... not that positively received in terms of mechanics.
Thought that was all? Here's more. Yasuo's active abilities are
Steel Tempest,
Wind Wall,
Sweeping Blade and
Last Breath.
Steel Tempest is a sword thrust, not unlike Marth and Lucina's. It applies any on-hit effects of items you have (which is useless in Smash). The big differences, however, is that it's a lot faster, not a charge move, and if it hits, Steel Tempest transforms into a different move entirely.
You see, if Yasuo manages to hit this ability twice in six seconds, his next cast is temporarily substituted by a whirlwind that travels in a target direction, knocking enemies up. So basically, it's Marth's Shield Breaker, but a lot faster and without its namesake properties. If you hit it twice in quick succession, it turns into Mii Fighter's Gale Strike if you use it again in the next few seconds.
Wind Wall is exactly what it means. Yasuo creates a wall facing a certain direction. Said wall blocks all projectiles (not reflct, "just" block) and slowly moves forward over the course of roughly 4 seconds. It doesn't block people (or Yasuo himself) from going over it. though.
Sweeping Blade is the obvious recovery here. It's not unlike Sephiroth's Blade Dash, except the damage is dealt on arrival rather than on travel. Yasuo also dashes
through any enemy in the way, if there is one.
Then there's the fact that each Sweeping Blade increases the next's base damage, capping at a 50% increase. And that if we're being true to form, Yasuo should be able to cancel it by buffering any other ability (specials). But I don't think he needs any of that. Do you?
And then we arrive at
Last Breath. basically Omnislash with no big explosion at the end. Yasuo dashes to the nearest airborne target selected (I'd assume in Smash, you'd be able to do it on the ground too), knocks them up and starts hacking at them. Any targets knocked up close to the original will also be subjected to his blade.
Additionally, the Ultimate resets Steel Tempest's stacks and also maxes out his Flow Meter. Oh, and it grants him something called armor penetration for a few seconds (ignoring enemy defense values, basically). You could translate this effect by making him deal increased damage to shields, but c'mon. I don't think he needs it. Do you?
Well, there it is. That's Yasuo's full kit - complete with crits, shields, knock-ups, projectiles, dashes and a wall that fizzles out projectiles. And no resource management to keep it all in check with this one. So basically, if Sakurai and Nintendo wants salt, this is the way to go. Ending on a swordie? Check. Pick that makes fans of both Smash and LoL pissed? Check. Possibly overtuned as ****? Check.
With all that said, he's still a pretty popular Champion, and through all the salt, I have no doubt his loyal fans would be very happy with his inclusion.