MAY 8, 2023 – Players that abhor Yuumi can finally feel at ease, as she’ll no longer be as OP as before, thanks to her rework.
Yuumi, the Magical Cat, has always been known to be the most hated champion in League of Legends—and with good reason. Her AFK-esque gameplay and low skill level floor make her the “laziest” champion players can use. And the worst part is they can win by simply tapping away at their keyboard for Yuumi’s spells. Thanks to her controversial abilities and skill set, the cat was in the meta for a long time in solo queue and saw high pick rates.
Yuumi’s reign is ending, as her rework is set to hit live servers in Patch 13.5. The lead designer for League of Legends, Phroxzon, has revealed her new abilities that ought to improve her playability. Will players with League accounts moan in frustration once more when they see an opponent playing Yuumi in their ranked games? Or are the days of the Magical Cat numbered?
Yuumi’s Reworked Abilities
Phroxzon stated that the current Yuumi has two problems: she was most powerful in pro play, and she’s frustrating to play against. In the rework, Riot Games’ aims to reduce the pain of playing against Yuumi and rein in her powers. They commented that they still want to retain Yuumi as an easy-to-learn champion for beginners with LoL accounts, but this time, she’ll also be hard to master.
Yuumi’s rework remains true to her old kit, more or less. But instead of her heals being the focal point, the Magical Cat will focus on providing more utility and shielding for her team. Let’s take a look at her new abilities:
Passive: Feline Friendship
Cooldown: 10-20 seconds (level 11 to 1)
Heal amount: 20-105 +15% AP (level 1 to 18)
When Yuumi’s attacks/spells hit an enemy champion, she charges a heal for her allies and heals herself. If she attaches to an ally, she’ll bring the heal to them. The effect automatically occurs if Yuumi is attached.
Feline Friendship has replaced Bop n’ Block as the feline’s passive. While attached, Yuumi can build Friendships with her team’s champions by killing enemies or minions. Each ally will have a unique Friendship score you can keep tabs on. Whoever has the highest Friendship becomes Yuumi’s Best Friend, letting them gain bonus effects. When attached to a Best Friend, Yuumi’s shielding and healing power scales with their level.
Q: Prowling Projectile
Missile Width: 55 to 65
Cooldown Time: 7.5/7.25/7/6.75/6.5/6.25 seconds
Base Damage: 60/90/120/150/180/210 DMG (+20% AP)
Base Slow: 20% decay over 1s
Empowered Damage: 80/140/200/260/320/380 DMG (+35% AP)
Empowered Slow: 55/60/65/70/75/80 decay over two seconds
Yuumi fires a missile that’ll slow an enemy upon hit. If cast while attached to a champion, Yuumi can control the missile’s direction for a while before it becomes Empowered. An Empowered Prowling Projectile is faster and significantly slows enemies compared to a regular cast.
If Yuumi is attached to a Best Friend, the Best Friend bonus will come into play, giving the Empowered Prowling Projectile a slow debuff no matter the distance. Once the skill hits, it’ll grant the Magical Cat on-hit damage for five seconds. The damage can be increased up to 75%, depending on your ally’s crit chance.
W: You and Me!
Yuumi mains will be saddened to hear that You and Me! no longer procs Summon Aery’s shield, but its function remains the same. The ability allows Yuumi to fly to and attach to an ally nearby. This renders the Magical Cat untargetable unless the champion they’re attached to dies. Attaching to a Best Friend allows Yuumi to gain an additional 10-20% shield and heal power based on her team member’s level.
E: Zoomies!
Cooldown: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds
Shield Amount: 90/120/150/180/210 shield (+30% AP)
Attack Speed Bonus: 35% (+8% per 100 AP)
Movement Speed Bonus: 20% (while shield persists)
Mana Cost: 80/90/100/110/120
Mana Restored: 20/24/28/32/36 mana to her ally
The reworked version of Zoomies! will no longer let Yuumi detach from her allies to shield anymore; it’ll now shield allies instead of healing. By activating Zoomies!, Yuumi will shield herself and gain blocking damage and attack speed for three seconds.
If attached to a team member, the effects of Zoomies! will affect them. The movement speed and attack speed bonuses that’ll be applied will be based on Yuumi’s AP. The ally she’s with will also receive mana, which is increased to 100% based on their missing mana.
R: Final Chapter
Cooldown: 120/110/100 seconds
Heal Per Wave: 35/50/65 (+15% AP)
Damage Per Wave Hit: 75/100/125 DMG (+20% AP)
Slow Duration: 1.25 seconds
Slow Amount: 10% + another 10% per wave hit (up to 50% slow)
Yuumi’s ultimate ability, Final Chapter, lets her channel magical waves for 2.5 seconds. The waves can affect enemies by damaging them. It also heals allies if they’re in the wave. You can also steer these waves in your desired direction using the cursor.
Enemies hit by Final Chapter are slowed by 10% for 2.5 seconds. Allies are healed per wave, with the excess healing transformed into a shield. Being attached grants Yuumi’s Best Friend increased heal and bonus magic resist and armor.
When Will Yuumi’s Rework Become Available?
Yuumi’s rework will go live once Patch 13.5 hits Summoner’s Rift on March 8. You can currently test the new and improved champion in the PBE servers using a PBE account until the latest update hits the main servers.