At a glance#
Role (our classification)
- Assassin — Finds isolated targets, deletes them and leaves before the enemy team can answer.
Damage
- Hybrid-leaning kit
Weapon
- Sister's Lament
Released
- 24 Apr 2024
Yamato is a close-range sword assassin who grapples into enemies and finishes them with powerful slashes.
Yamato’s abilities explained#
Yamato has three regular abilities and an ultimate. Ability names and behaviour below were checked on 27 Oct 2026; numbers are left out on purpose because they change with almost every patch — the in-game tooltip shows the current values.
Ability 1
Power Slash
A charged sword strike that grows stronger the longer it's held and pierces multiple heroes; release early for partial damage.
Ability 2
Flying Slash
Throws a grappling hook to pull Yamato to a target, dealing melee damage and slowing them on arrival.
Ability 3
Crimson Slash
Slashes enemies in front, damaging them and slowing their fire rate; hitting heroes heals her.
Ultimate
Shadow Transformation
A short invincible transformation that refreshes and speeds up her abilities, with status immunity and healing on hero kills.
How to play Yamato#
Play around vision and timing: farm safely until your power spike, then hunt players who wander off alone. Avoid opening fights head-on — your job starts once the enemy has used their crowd control.
Tips from the current kit
- Dash before casting Power Slash to reduce the slowdown.
- Line up groups for Power Slash.
- Flying Slash can pass through walls and be cancelled mid-flight.
- Crimson Slash heals on hero hits.
Build framework#
A starting framework, not a tested build
This section explains what kind of items Yamato’s kit rewards, built from how the abilities work. It isn’t a win-rate-tested build. For community builds with current stats, open the in-game Build Browser and filter by hero, then check our items explainer to understand why each item is there.
Hybrid lean. The kit mixes weapon and spirit damage, so builds lean whichever way your abilities and the game call for — often spirit items for the abilities you level first, then weapon items as the gun takes over.
| Stage | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Laning | Cheap 800-soul items that help you trade and sustain in lane, plus one that boosts your main damage source. |
| Mid game | Your first 3,200-soul item is usually the biggest single jump in power — buy toward the one that makes your best ability or your gun stronger. |
| Late game | Fill slots with 6,400-soul items, and swap cheap starters for upgrades. Leave room for an answer to what the enemy is doing. |
| Defence | Match the enemy’s damage: shields and resistance against whichever type is hurting you most. |
Items that fit a hybrid kit
Defensive options
Items opponents commonly use against Yamato — expect to see them, and plan around them:
Ability points#
Ability unlocks come from levelling up; ability points then buy upgrade tiers. A sensible default for Yamato:
- Unlock the ability that helps you farm or trade in lane first — for most players that’s Power Slash or the ability you can hit most reliably.
- Unlock all three regular abilities early so you have every tool in the first fights.
- Unlock Shadow Transformation as soon as it’s available.
- Put upgrade points into the ability you use most, then into whichever upgrade tier changes how an ability works (tier 3 upgrades often do).
General guidance; upgrade tiers and costs are shown in game.
Playing against Yamato#
- Dispel Magic breaks the Flying Slash grapple.
- Invincibility (e.g. Ivy's Stone Form) breaks the grapple.
- Slowing Hex disables Flying Slash.
The full breakdown — abilities to play around, counter items with reasons and mistakes to avoid — is in how to counter Yamato.
Recent changes#
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 29 Sep 2026 | Fixed Flying Slash pathing against turrets, shrines and objectives. |
Every update that touches heroes is summarised in patch notes explained and the patch impact tracker.