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How to play Yamato

Best build by measured win rate · patch 09-29-2026 · updated Oct 14 · Yamato wins 47.4% overall

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The Yamato build

Each tier lists the items Yamato players win with most often, out of 282,138 Yamato games. Win % is how often Yamato wins when the item is bought; the green or red number is how far that is above or below the rest of the same tier. Popularity is the share of Yamato games the item was bought in; Bought at is the average time. Only items bought in at least 1,500 games and by at least 5% of Yamato players count, so a lucky streak can’t make the list.

Lane · Tier 1 · 800 souls

Early mid game · Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

Mid game · Tier 3 · 3,200 souls

Late game · Tier 4 · 6,400 souls

Situational / optional

Fewer Yamato players buy these, usually against particular enemies, but those who do win clearly more than the rest of the same tier. Each still has at least 1,500 games behind it.

Popular, but behind the rest of their tier

Not wrong to buy, and sometimes the right answer to a specific enemy. On average, Yamato players who buy these win less than those who buy something else at that point.

How this build is chosen

Source: deadlock-api.com item results for Yamato, City Never Sleeps matches since 2026-09-30, refreshed daily. Items are compared with the rest of their own tier, because late items always show higher raw win rates (only players who are ahead can afford them). Ranking uses the low end of each item’s 95% confidence range, so more games beat a lucky few. It shows what winning Yamato players buy; it can’t prove the item caused the win. For what to change against a specific enemy team, use the matchup tool.

How Yamato plays

Strengths

  • Highest base movement speed in this group (8.2 m/s) plus a 26-41m grapple gives her unmatched engagement control
  • Shadow Transformation Shadow Transformation 5s Duration150s Cooldown Yamato transforms with an initial invincible window, refreshes her ability cooldowns, and for the duration casts them much faster while immune to negative status effects and heavily… Damage No direct damage; the power is in refreshed abilities cast 60% faster Mobility T2 adds +4 m/s move speed during the transformation, on top of her already… Defensive Initial invincibility during the 1.5s transformation channel, immunity to… 1 +7 weapon damage 2 +4 m/s move speed and -20s cooldown (150s base) 5 +3s duration (5s base up to 8s) and +30% bullet resist and +30% spirit resist 's status immunity ignores the entire CC layer of the game for its duration
  • Power Slash Power Slash 12s Cooldown Yamato channels for around a second and a half to build up a sword strike, then releases it as a ranged slash. Crowd Control T1 adds a 32% movement slow for 3s Damage 145 spirit at full charge (about 1.85x spirit scaling), with T3 adding +150… Mobility none — she is channelling 1 +32% movement slow for 3s 2 -4s cooldown (12s base) 5 +8m cast range, +150 damage, and increased Spirit Power scaling delivers up to ~295 Spirit Damage from 30m while she sits at 60% Bullet Resist during the charge
  • Crimson Slash Crimson Slash 16s Cooldown A wide slash in front of her that damages enemies and reduces their rate of fire. Crowd Control none, but -30% fire rate for 4s is a heavy offensive debuff Damage 55 spirit (about 0.37x spirit scaling) Defensive Heals 55 (about 1.04x spirit scaling) on hero hit; 1 on hit, +30% melee damage for 4s 2 on hero hit, additional +6% max health heal 5 -10s cooldown and increased scaling 's -30% fire rate is a strong anti-carry debuff paired with a self-heal

In lane

  • Power Slash Power Slash 12s Cooldown Yamato channels for around a second and a half to build up a sword strike, then releases it as a ranged slash. Crowd Control T1 adds a 32% movement slow for 3s Damage 145 spirit at full charge (about 1.85x spirit scaling), with T3 adding +150… Mobility none — she is channelling 1 +32% movement slow for 3s 2 -4s cooldown (12s base) 5 +8m cast range, +150 damage, and increased Spirit Power scaling charged from behind cover pokes for 145 with a 32% slow at T1, from range her weapon cannot reach
  • Crimson Slash Crimson Slash 16s Cooldown A wide slash in front of her that damages enemies and reduces their rate of fire. Crowd Control none, but -30% fire rate for 4s is a heavy offensive debuff Damage 55 spirit (about 0.37x spirit scaling) Defensive Heals 55 (about 1.04x spirit scaling) on hero hit; 1 on hit, +30% melee damage for 4s 2 on hero hit, additional +6% max health heal 5 -10s cooldown and increased scaling 's heal on hero hit lets her win extended trades without buying sustain
  • 8.2 m/s is the highest base movement speed in this group, so she controls the engagement distance completely

Power spikes

  • Flying Slash Flying Slash 26m Range36s Cooldown Throws a grappling hook at an enemy and pulls herself to them, landing a light melee hit and leaving them significantly slowed on arrival. Crowd Control -40% movement slow for 2.5s on the target Damage 66 melee damage Mobility Pulls her to the target from 26m base (T3 adds +15m, up to 41m) 1 -18s cooldown (36s base down to 18s) 2 gain +35 Spirit Power for 6s 5 alt-cast to grapple allies, +15m cast range, and +1 charge T1 (-18s cooldown) — 18s gap-close turns her from an occasional ganker into a constant roaming threat
  • Shadow Transformation Shadow Transformation 5s Duration150s Cooldown Yamato transforms with an initial invincible window, refreshes her ability cooldowns, and for the duration casts them much faster while immune to negative status effects and heavily… Damage No direct damage; the power is in refreshed abilities cast 60% faster Mobility T2 adds +4 m/s move speed during the transformation, on top of her already… Defensive Initial invincibility during the 1.5s transformation channel, immunity to… 1 +7 weapon damage 2 +4 m/s move speed and -20s cooldown (150s base) 5 +3s duration (5s base up to 8s) and +30% bullet resist and +30% spirit resist unlock — Gives her an ability refresh, status immunity and an invincible window, which is her first true all-in
  • Flying Slash Flying Slash 26m Range36s Cooldown Throws a grappling hook at an enemy and pulls herself to them, landing a light melee hit and leaving them significantly slowed on arrival. Crowd Control -40% movement slow for 2.5s on the target Damage 66 melee damage Mobility Pulls her to the target from 26m base (T3 adds +15m, up to 41m) 1 -18s cooldown (36s base down to 18s) 2 gain +35 Spirit Power for 6s 5 alt-cast to grapple allies, +15m cast range, and +1 charge T3 — Alt-cast grapple to allies finally gives her an exit, transforming her risk profile on every dive
  • Late 35min+ — Power Slash Power Slash 12s Cooldown Yamato channels for around a second and a half to build up a sword strike, then releases it as a ranged slash. Crowd Control T1 adds a 32% movement slow for 3s Damage 145 spirit at full charge (about 1.85x spirit scaling), with T3 adding +150… Mobility none — she is channelling 1 +32% movement slow for 3s 2 -4s cooldown (12s base) 5 +8m cast range, +150 damage, and increased Spirit Power scaling T3 (up to ~295 damage at 30m) plus Shadow Transformation Shadow Transformation 5s Duration150s Cooldown Yamato transforms with an initial invincible window, refreshes her ability cooldowns, and for the duration casts them much faster while immune to negative status effects and heavily… Damage No direct damage; the power is in refreshed abilities cast 60% faster Mobility T2 adds +4 m/s move speed during the transformation, on top of her already… Defensive Initial invincibility during the 1.5s transformation channel, immunity to… 1 +7 weapon damage 2 +4 m/s move speed and -20s cooldown (150s base) 5 +3s duration (5s base up to 8s) and +30% bullet resist and +30% spirit resist T3 (8s, 60% resists) plus Refresher Refresher 6,400 souls Tier 4TechInstantCast +300s Cooldown +0.6s Cast Delay +14% Spirit Resist +15% Bullet Resist makes her a repeatable backline deleter

Weak points to cover

  • 730 max health and no barrier — she dies instantly if caught outside her ultimate
  • Weakest weapon in this group; almost all her damage is on cooldowns
  • Currently underperforming (around 44-48% win rate on current-patch samples despite high pick rate)

Next

Yamato’s hardest matchups

Best teammates

  • Rat King Rat King BruiserSupportClose rangeBullet damage Makes his whole team's guns better: stacking bullet-resist shred from Rat Swarm Durability high (2/3) Burst high (2/3) Mobility low (1/3) Healing low (1/3) 59.0% duo win
  • Paige Paige SupportControllerMid rangeSpirit damage Currently among the strongest heroes in the game: deadlocklabs.gg records 54.1% win rate at 2.8% pick, S tier, after a recent buff package worth about +2.2 points. Durability low (1/3) Burst low (1/3) Mobility none (0/3) Healing high (2/3) 53.7% duo win
  • Seven Seven MageControllerMid rangeSpirit damage Best-in-class wave and jungle clear, so he reaches item breakpoints ahead of most mid-laners Durability low (1/3) Burst high (2/3) Mobility none (0/3) Healing none (0/3) 52.7% duo win

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