Is Yao good in Honor of Kings?

Current HOKMeta data lists Yao as Tier B, with 50.8% win rate and 0.5% pick rate. Yao is worth playing if your team needs reliable Jungling pressure, but you should avoid blind-picking into Hou Yi, Daji, Angela without peel or defensive item planning.

How do you play Yao in teamfights?

In teamfights, Yao should respect enemy engage range first, then play around the hero's Assassin job: dealing damage, protecting carries, or entering after key control is used. When behind, clear waves and preserve cooldowns instead of face-checking fog.

BJungling

Yao Build, Items, Arcana & Counters

Yao is a Tier B Jungling pick. Get the best build, core items, arcana, battle spell, counters, and tool-backed item decisions.

WR 50.8%Pick 0.5%Ban 0.0%

Build answer

Yao best build for S15 (June 2026)

International server

Updated: 2026-07-20

Reviewed by: HOKMeta

Role, lane, difficulty

Jungling · Assassin · Tier B · Medium

Current patch rates

50.8% WR · 0.5% Pick · 0.0% Ban

Core 3 items

Rapacious Bite, Boots of Resistance, Cuirass of Savagery

Best arcana

Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Stealth, Lvl 5: Eagle Eye

Battle spell

Smite

Best into

Angela, Mi Yue, Ziya

Watch out for

Hou Yi, Daji, Angela

Yao TL;DR

Tier B50.8% WRJungling

Yao: Recovers Health when landing skill hits.

Fast conclusion

Yao is a Tier B Jungling pick with 50.8% win rate.

Starlight Slice → Starburn (Yao) → Return to Dust → weave basic attacks

Core 3 items

Rapacious Bite

Boots of Resistance

Cuirass of Savagery

Pick when

Enemy carries lack reliable peel, and your side lanes can help secure early jungle tempo.

Avoid when

Main threats: Hou Yi, Daji, Angela.

Open full counter pageMatchup notes, strong targets, and heroes that punish Yao.

Current patch decision guide

How to decide if Yao is the right pick

Pick Yao if

Pick Yao when your team needs a Tier B Jungling option and the draft gives this hero enough space to play around core cooldowns.

Avoid Yao if

Avoid Yao when the enemy composition directly attacks the hero's main weakness or your team cannot support the Jungling game plan.

Power spikes

First completed core item: check whether the hero can now contest lane or jungle tempo.
Two to three item point: decide whether to group for objectives or keep farming toward the late-game plan.
Final defensive or damage item: adapt to the enemy threat instead of following the build blindly.

Build decision

Start from the recommended build, then adjust based on whether the enemy is forcing burst survival, anti-tank damage, anti-heal, or safer positioning.

Matchup logic

Use the counter page and build compare tool together: first identify the threat, then test whether damage, defense, or utility gives the better answer.

Common mistakes

Following the build without checking the enemy draft.

Taking fights before the first meaningful item spike.

Ignoring wave state and vision before rotating.

30-day trend

Last 30 days of win rate, pick rate, and ban rate

Use daily snapshots to see whether this hero is heating up, cooling down, or simply staying popular without converting that attention into wins.

Win rate

Current 50.84%

7d change +0.08 pts

30d change -0.54 pts

Pick rate

Current 0.52%

7d change -0.04 pts

30d change -0.03 pts

Ban rate

Current 0.03%

7d change -0.01 pts

30d change -0.01 pts

Trend read

Yao currently sits at 50.84% win rate, with a 30-day move of -0.54 pts and a 7-day move of +0.08 pts.

Win rate is falling by -0.54 pts.

Pick rate is falling by -0.03 pts.

Ban rate is falling by -0.01 pts.

Patch reason

There is no current-season official balance entry to cite in the last 45 days.

Tools

Test Yao damage and item builds

Use the calculator for combo damage, or compare two item builds side by side before changing your ranked setup.

Damage calculator Compare builds

Best Build for Yao

End-game item order with gold costs and slot notes. Purchase path may differ in-match.

Build philosophy

Yao benefits from Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration — match items and runes to kit scaling.

Passive: Recovers Health when landing skill hits. Using any 3 skills enhances his next skill, and using the enhanced skill will enhance his next Basic Attack.

Physical attackCooldown reductionPenetration

Arcana: Prioritize runes that boost Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration for this hero's passive and skill scaling.

4 presets — switch by draft, lane, or CN meta. Default matches Jungling when available.

Recommended item build order
#	Item	Gold	Stats	Why
1	Rapacious Bite	2,160g	PATK +90, MSPD +5%, CDR +7.5% Monster kills boost ATK	Fits Physical attack priority — Requires Smite to purchase. Reduces damage from monsters by 25% and grants 30% more EXP and 20% more Gold from monsters.
2	Boots of Resistance	700g	MDEF +100, PDEF +50, MSPD +50 Shortens crowd control	Fits Movement speed priority — Passive - Swift — Grants 50 Movement Speed.
3	Cuirass of Savagery	2,050g	PATK +35, PDEF +210, HP +900 Offense & defense	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Fearless — When taking damage, increases own damage and Movement Speed by 1% for 3s, for up to 10 stacks (gains 2 stacks when hit by enemy heroes).
4	Overlord's Might	2,540g	PATK +150, CDR +5% High-damage attack	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Siege Breaker — Deals 30% extra damage to enemies below 50% Health.
5	Master Sword	2,100g	PATK +55, Crit Rate +20%, HP +600 Enhances BAs	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Savagery — Casting a skill increases Movement Speed by 12% for 2s and the physical damage of the next Basic Attack within 5s by (80% {ad}).
6	Destiny	2,060g	PATK +75, ASPD +15%, HP +500 Negates fatal damage	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Dark Curtain — When taking fatal damage, instead of dying immediately, the hero gains invincibility and a 15% Attack Speed and Movement Speed increase for 1s (0.75s for ranged heroes). After equipping this item, its effect duration increases by 0.01s every 5s, up to a maximum of 0.5s.

Best Arcana & Spells

Arcana and battle spell setup
Slot	Choice	Effect
Primary	Mutation	Recommended for Assassin Jungling
Spell	Smite	Adjust Purify/Execute based on enemy dive.

Abilities

Skill Order

Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Return to Dust (max Skill 2 first)

Starburn (Yao) provides mobility or stick—max first. Starlight Slice second for damage. Return to Dust on every level.

Passive

Gift of the Stars

Recovers Health when landing skill hits. Using any 3 skills enhances his next skill, and using the enhanced skill will enhance his next Basic Attack.

Skill 1

Starlight Slice

Deals damage to nearby enemies.

Skill 2

Star Rush

Moves quickly, dealing damage and slowing enemies in his path.

Ultimate

Return to Dust

Returns to his location 2s ago, removes Star Reduction, and deals damage to enemies in his path. Passive: Some of his damage taken is converted into Star Reduction after a short delay.

Combos

1. Standard trade
Starlight Slice → Starburn (Yao) → Return to Dust → weave basic attacks
When: Jungling skirmish or objective fight
2. All-in
Return to Dust after full rotation when Flash is down
When: Gank or backline dive with team CC

Counters & Matchups

🏛️ Camp Official Counter Data

Official counter reference from Camp HOK rank statistics.

Yao is strong into

Pick Yao when the enemy drafts these heroes.

Yao struggles into

Avoid Yao or ban these when they appear on the enemy team.

Full counter analysis →

vs Similar Heroes

Yao vs Wukong (Assassin, Tier S): Wukong is 1.3% pick / 49.7% WR. Yao has +1.7% WR vs Wukong in Camp data. Choose Yao when you need Jungling identity; choose Wukong for Jungling comfort.
Yao vs Musashi (Assassin, Tier A): Musashi is 1.1% pick / 50.7% WR. Yao has +0.7% WR vs Musashi in Camp data. Choose Yao when you need Jungling identity; choose Musashi for Jungling comfort.

Playstyle & Ranked Tips

Laning Phase

Clear to level four, then gank the lane with the least escape. Secure Tyrant when your bot or mid has crash wave.

Teamfight Role

Wait for CC from your team, then dive carry with full combo. Exit with reset or flash if focus fired.

High Rank (Diamond+)

Yao sits at Tier B globally (51.4% WR). In high rank, pick only into favorable matchups or when you have a dedicated pocket pick.

Related decisions

Keep researching Yao

Yao full guide

Lane plan, teamfight rules, ranked mistakes, and matchup notes.

Yao counters

Best counter picks, matchup notes, and draft risks.

Yao damage calculator

Test item damage against marksman, mage, fighter, and tank templates.

Yao build compare

Compare two item builds and get matchup-specific conclusions.

Best Assassin heroes

Compare this pick with other heroes in the same role.

Yao Build 2026 FAQ

Quick answers for Yao builds, arcana, counters, lane choice, and ranked value.

What is the best Yao build in 2026?

The best Yao build in 2026 uses Rapacious Bite, Boots of Resistance, Cuirass of Savagery, Overlord's Might, Master Sword, Destiny. Play Yao in Jungling, take Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Stealth, Lvl 5: Eagle Eye arcana, and usually run Smite. This recommendation is aligned with S15 (June 2026) and the 2026-07-20 HOKMeta data snapshot.

What is the best arcana for Yao?

The best Yao arcana setup is Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Stealth, Lvl 5: Eagle Eye. Keep the core damage arcana first, then adjust movement speed, pierce, or sustain only when the matchup makes your lane unsafe.

What should Yao build first?

Yao usually wants Rapacious Bite first because the first item should stabilize Jungling clear speed, trading power, or tempo. If the lane is unsafe, adjust boots or a small defensive component first, but do not delay the core damage curve too long.

What should Yao build against tanks?

Use the HOKMeta damage calculator or build compare tool to test penetration, sustained damage, and survivability against tank templates. The best anti-tank item choice depends on whether Yao can keep attacking safely or needs a defensive item to survive the first engage.

Who counters Yao?

Yao is most vulnerable to Hou Yi, Daji, Angela. Draft peel, respect engage range, and adjust items when the enemy lineup can dive or chain crowd control.

What lane does Yao play?

Yao is mainly played as a Assassin in Jungling. In ranked games, prioritize a stable farm pattern and only rotate early when the wave state keeps your economy safe.