S10 May 2025 Stat Nerfs
Ultimate cooldown increased
Yixing
(弈星) A Mid Difficulty
Mage
Formation Mage Poke/Crowd Control Balanced Hard
Yixing
弈星
A Mid
Difficulty Mage
Formation Mage Poke/Crowd Control Balanced Hard
Also known as
Yixing's Chinese name is 弈星.
弈星
Quick summary
Yixing is a strong Mid Mage who wants to lock down team fights with crowd control. Public guides recommend a build starting with Spell Tome and Flash.
Current patch decision guide
When to pick Yixing, when to avoid them, and how to adapt your build.
Yixing is a strong Mid Mage who wants to force objective trades by chunking the enemy front line. Public guide data shows a build centered on Spell Tome, Boots of the Arcane, Venomous Staff, paired with Flash, used to farm safely and rotate to side lanes when the wave allows. Pick him when the draft lets Yixing reach the targets his kit is designed to threaten; avoid when the matchup denies the windows his kit needs.
Pick Yixing when
- Your team wants to siege objectives where ranged poke whittles down defenders
- Your team needs a setup hero whose Taking Liberties creates kill windows for the carry
- The enemy draft includes Augran, Cirrus, and Lam, who appear in counter data as matchups Yixing can pressure.
Avoid Yixing when
- The team fight will happen in cramped jungle spaces where poke ranges are minimized
- The enemy team is loaded with cleanse, dashes, and immunity that bypass crowd control
- The enemy team is built around answers to Poke, removing the windows Yixing's kit needs to perform.
Power spikes
Early game: focus on safe lane phase and tracking jungle pressure before Yixing's mid-game tools come online.
Mana sustain online: poke patterns become repeatable once cooldown reduction and mana regen items come online
Late game: cooldowns become short enough that Taking Liberties influences every team fight rather than being a one-shot tool.
Build decisions
Magic-pierce control mage core
Yixing's official build supports his Poke and Crowd Control identity. Spell Tome and Boots of the Arcane (magical pierce) open his scaling, Mask of Agony boosts his skill damage, and Void Staff is the anti-tank penetration core against health-stacked targets. Frozen Breath (slow on hit) reinforces his control so his poke and lockdown connect.
Anti-heal & sustain
Venomous Staff lowers enemy Health regen to cut into healing comps, while Insatiable Tome adds magical lifesteal so he sustains off his spells. The recommended arcana are Nightmare, Hunt and Compassion, with Flash for repositioning his poke. This is a lean, penetration-focused mid setup that scales its control and chip damage.
Matchup logic
Versus hard engage
Yixing loses value when forced into close-range fights. Stick with the front line, hold a flash or repositioning skill, and avoid being caught alone in the river.
Role positioning
Yixing is a Mid pick whose value depends on consistent damage output and timely roams. Stick to the role plan rather than forcing fights his kit is not designed to win.
Synergies
Public synergy data lists Cai Yan, Yaria, and Dolia as strong partners for Yixing. Plan engages around Cai Yan's setup window, then second-engage with The World is My Board.
Common mistakes
- Spending mana on poke that does not threaten kills, leaving you empty for the actual fight.
- Throwing Taking Liberties on the front-line tank instead of saving it for backline carries.
- Engaging without checking enemy summoner-spell cooldowns, which often decide whether Yixing's commit reaches the target alive.
- Greeding farm in mid lane while side lanes get camped — rotation timing matters more than CS lead in most matchups.
Background
Boardmaster
“Don't be greedy, but don't lose.”
Yixing was once saved by a mysterious figure known as the "Peony Diviner" just as he was at his lowest point. From then on he took the Peony Diviner as his master, and finally felt a sense of belonging, as if he had found a new home. His newly acquired teacher taught him many techniques both physical and emotional, such as how to disassociate himself from his own suffering and manipulate others to his advantage. Yixing became known as a young prodigy for defeating the Weiqi masters of Kyokutou before Wu Zetian as well as for undertaking many successful covert missions. In every task, he acted with supreme calm, driven by a sincere desire to please his mentor. Now, the winds of change have come to Chang'an, and so the young man has decided to pursue his own, independent designs. The world is his oyster, for he views life akin to a game of Weiqi to be played however he wants.
- Race:
- Human
- Height:
- 170 cm
- Style:
- Sorcery
- Nation:
- Yaotian Society
- Title:
- Young Weiqi Player
Source: Official Honor of Kings — canonical lore for Yixing.
Base Stats
Source: in-game capture (HoK Global v11.x, 2026-04-20)Survivability
3253
Max HP
150
Phys DEF
75
Mag DEF
45
HP/5s
Offense
173
Phys ATK
5%
Atk Speed
200%
Crit DMG
Utility
365
Move Speed
640
Max Mana
16
Mana/5s
Ranged
Range
Build
How to choose a build
Start with the safe default badge if the draft looks normal, then swap to burst, anti-tank, sustain, or utility builds when the matchup clearly calls for it.
Full AP burst
Safe defaultStart here if the draft looks standard and you want the safest all-around setup.
Arcana
Teratas
Mage support
Utility supportBest when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.
Arcana
yixing
Mage support
Utility supportBest when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.
Arcana
Mage support
Utility supportBest when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.
Arcana
Full AP burst
Anti-tankBest when the enemy team has multiple frontliners or early defense items.
Arcana
Build
Skills
passive Maintaining Initiative
Basic Attacks deal magical damage. For every 4 skill hits on the same enemy, generates a Weiqi stone that deals magical damage and adds to the total number of Weiqi stones. Gains brief immunity to all damage and increased Movement Speed upon taking fatal damage.
skill1 Sliding Stones
Places a Weiqi stone at the target location, gaining vision and damaging enemies. Weiqi stones will be pulled into Skill 2's Weiqi formation, damaging and slowing enemies in their path.
skill2 Taking Liberties
Deals damage to the target area and creates a Weiqi formation. The formation pulls enemies toward its center, damaging them in the process.
ultimate The World is My Board
Draws a Weiqi board that launches enemies and places marks on them while exposing their location. Enemies caught within the Weiqi board are bound and will be unable to leave. When the Weiqi board is fully formed, his Movement Speed is increased.
Skins
3 skins
Nightwatcher
Way of the World
Snow Blossom
Playstyle
Land control on the enemy carry, not the front-line tank — chain follow-up damage from teammates immediately after. Manage mana carefully — burning resources on poke leaves nothing for the actual fight window.