Yu Zhong

Understanding Yu Zhong's core attributes is crucial for maximizing his impact in any match. He possesses a unique blend of damage, durability, and mobility, but also comes with a learning curve.

• High Sustained Damage: Yu Zhong's passive, Cursing Touch, provides continuous damage and healing, especially effective against targets with lost HP. His skills also have strong damage scaling, allowing him to dish out consistent pressure throughout fights.
• Excellent Durability & Sustain: With high innate durability and significant healing from Cursing Touch and various build items, Yu Zhong can withstand prolonged engagements, often out-healing incoming damage in extended skirmishes.
• Strong Team Fight Presence & Mobility: His ultimate, Furious Dive, offers great initiation, disruption, and mobility. This allows him to quickly engage enemy backlines, reposition during fights, or escape dangerous situations, making him a versatile threat.
• High Skill Ceiling: Yu Zhong has a moderately high difficulty. Mastering his skill combos, especially positioning for Dragon Tail's edge damage and precise ultimate usage, requires significant practice and game sense to fully exploit his potential.
• Vulnerable to Crowd Control: While durable, Yu Zhong can be severely hampered by heavy crowd control. Being locked down prevents him from using his skills to deal damage and, more importantly, to trigger his passive for crucial healing, making him susceptible to burst.
• Reliance on Stacking Passive: His core sustain and damage output depend on consistently applying and detonating Sha Residue stacks. This can be challenging against highly mobile enemies or in poke-heavy lanes where continuous engagement is difficult.

Yu Zhong's kit revolves around applying and detonating his passive, which grants him immense sustain and burst damage. Mastering each skill's nuances is key to dominating with him.

• Cursing Touch (Passive): Yu Zhong applies Sha Residue to enemies he damages. Upon reaching 5 stacks, it erupts, dealing Physical Damage equal to 30 flat + 20% scaling (Extra Physical Attack, Physical) plus 2.5% of the target's lost HP. Each stack consumed restores 6% of Yu Zhong's lost HP. When it erupts, Yu Zhong also gains 30% Movement Speed for 3s. This passive is Yu Zhong's lifeblood, providing both sustained damage and incredible healing, especially when he is low on health. The 20% Extra Physical Attack scaling means offensive items significantly boost its damage. Always aim to keep applying stacks to maximize your survivability and damage output.
• Dragon Tail (Skill 1): Yu Zhong infuses his power into his cloak, attacking nearby enemies. The inner area deals 220 flat + 100% scaling (Extra Physical Attack, Physical) damage, while the sharpened edge deals 275% damage and applies 2 stacks of Sha Residue. This is Yu Zhong's primary damage source and wave clear. The 100% Extra Physical Attack scaling ensures it hits hard with physical attack items. Always strive to hit enemies with the sharpened edge to maximize your damage and rapidly build up Sha Residue stacks for your passive.
• Soul Grip (Skill 2): Yu Zhong unleashes the Dragon Soul, dealing 150 flat + 120% scaling (Extra Physical Attack, Physical) to enemies in front and slowing them by 60% for 1s. Upon hitting an enemy, Yu Zhong's next Basic Attack is enhanced, dealing 108 flat + 100% scaling (Total Physical Attack, Physical). Hitting multiple enemies applies multiple Sha Residue stacks and deals up to 200% damage with the enhanced Basic Attack. This skill is excellent for initiation, applying crowd control, and quickly stacking Sha Residue. The 120% Extra Physical Attack scaling on the initial hit and 100% Total Physical Attack scaling on the enhanced basic attack make it a potent damage ability. Use it to slow fleeing enemies or initiate trades, always following up with the enhanced basic attack.
• Furious Dive (Ultimate): Yu Zhong leaps towards a designated area, dealing 180 flat + 90% scaling (Extra Physical Attack, Physical) damage. He can dash one more time in the movement direction. After a short delay, enemies within the area are knocked airborne for 1s and take 180 flat + 90% scaling (Extra Physical Attack, Physical) additional damage. This ultimate is a powerful engagement and escape tool. The two instances of 90% Extra Physical Attack scaling contribute to his burst, and the airborne effect is crucial for setting up further combos and locking down key targets. Use it to dive enemy backlines, escape dangerous situations, or reposition effectively in team fights.

Yu Zhong's recommended build focuses on maximizing his physical damage, spell vamp, and overall durability to enhance his sustained fighting capability and survivability.

• Magic Boots: These boots provide cooldown reduction, which is essential for Yu Zhong. Lower cooldowns mean he can cast his skills more frequently, allowing him to apply Sha Residue stacks faster, trigger his passive more often, and maintain constant pressure on enemies.
• Bloodlust Axe: This item grants a significant amount of Spell Vamp, converting a portion of Yu Zhong's skill damage into healing. This synergizes perfectly with his skill-heavy kit and passive, greatly enhancing his already impressive sustain and allowing him to recover health rapidly during prolonged engagements.
• War Axe: War Axe provides Physical Attack and a unique passive, Fighting Spirit, which grants increasing Physical Attack and Spell Vamp with each hit, stacking up to 6 times. At full stacks, it deals bonus True Damage. This item significantly boosts Yu Zhong's sustained damage and healing, making him a formidable duelist and team fighter.
• Blade of Despair: A high-damage item that provides a massive boost to Physical Attack. Its unique passive, Despair, increases damage by 25% to enemies below 50% HP. This greatly enhances Yu Zhong's ability to execute low-health targets and secure kills, making him a potent finisher.
• Oracle: This defensive item increases received Shield and HP Regen effects by 30% with its unique passive, Bless. This synergizes incredibly well with Yu Zhong's passive healing, Bloodlust Axe, and War Axe's Spell Vamp, making him even harder to take down and boosting his overall durability.
• Queen's Wings: Queen's Wings provides defensive stats and a crucial passive, Demonize, which grants 20% Damage Reduction and 35% extra Spell Vamp when his HP drops below 40%. This item is a lifesaver, allowing Yu Zhong to turn around fights when he's low on health, making him incredibly resilient and capable of surviving burst damage.

Yu Zhong thrives in aggressive, sustained combat. Mastering his unique mechanics and understanding his role in different phases of the game will elevate your gameplay.

• Early Game Aggression: Yu Zhong has strong early game potential due to his sustain and damage. Use Dragon Tail's sharpened edge to poke enemies and efficiently clear minion waves. Look for opportunities to engage in short trades using Soul Grip to slow and apply stacks, following up with an enhanced basic attack and Dragon Tail to quickly stack your passive and gain a health advantage.
• Master Passive Management: Your passive, Cursing Touch, is central to your survival and damage output. Always aim to keep applying Sha Residue stacks with all your skills and basic attacks. In extended fights, ensure you are constantly hitting enemies to trigger the eruption, which provides crucial healing and a burst of movement speed to chase or disengage.
• Optimal Skill Combos: A common and effective combo involves using Soul Grip to slow an enemy and apply initial stacks, following up with an enhanced basic attack. Immediately after, position yourself to hit the enemy with the sharpened edge of your Dragon Tail to maximize damage and quickly ensure your Cursing Touch passive erupts.
• Team Fight Role: Yu Zhong excels as a frontline disruptor and initiator. Use Furious Dive to leap into the enemy backline, knocking up key squishy targets. Follow up with your other skills to apply Sha Residue, dealing damage and sustaining yourself while your teammates follow up on your initiation. Don't be afraid to absorb damage, as your passive and build provide immense healing.
• Adapt to Durability: With his high durability, Yu Zhong can survive a lot of punishment. Don't shy away from being in the thick of battle. Your healing scales with your lost HP, making you surprisingly resilient when low. However, always be wary of heavy crowd control that can prevent you from using skills and thus, healing.

Understanding which heroes synergize well with Yu Zhong and which pose a threat can significantly impact your performance in battle.

• Best Teammate: Luo Yi

  Luo Yi's abilities can synergize well with Yu Zhong's dive potential. Her teleportation and area-of-effect damage can help Yu Zhong secure kills or escape, especially when he initiates with Furious Dive.

• Counters: Zilong

  Zilong can be a threat due to his ability to quickly burst down targets and his crowd control, which can interrupt Yu Zhong's skill rotations and prevent him from stacking his passive for sustain.

• Countered By: Balmond

  Balmond can be a difficult opponent for Yu Zhong. His high sustain and area-of-effect damage, combined with his ultimate's execute potential, can make it challenging for Yu Zhong to win extended trades or secure kills against him.

Imagine you've spotted an enemy marksman out of position in a team fight, slightly separated from their team. To initiate, activate Furious Dive, leaping directly onto the marksman. The initial impact will deal damage, and you can then use the second dash of Furious Dive to reposition slightly if needed, ensuring the airborne effect lands on your target, locking them down. Immediately follow up with Soul Grip to deal damage, apply a slow, and quickly gain Sha Residue stacks. This will also empower your next basic attack. Use this enhanced basic attack to hit the marksman, applying more stacks. As they are slowed and taking damage, position yourself to hit them with the sharpened edge of your Dragon Tail, maximizing damage and ensuring your Cursing Touch passive erupts, dealing burst damage, healing you, and granting movement speed to continue the chase or re-engage other enemies.

To truly master Yu Zhong and lead your team to victory, keep these key decisions in mind:

1. Prioritize hitting enemies with the sharpened edge of Dragon Tail to maximize damage and quickly stack Cursing Touch, enhancing both your offense and sustain.
2. Utilize Furious Dive strategically for both aggressive initiations into enemy backlines to disrupt their formation and as a quick escape tool when outnumbered or targeted.
3. Focus on continuously applying Sha Residue stacks with all your abilities to ensure consistent healing and damage from your passive, making you a formidable presence in prolonged fights.
4. Embrace extended fights, as your build and passive provide immense sustain, allowing you to outlast many opponents and turn the tide of battle in your favor.