After years of being forgotten, Yorick is now one of the strongest top lane champions in League of Legends.
And that’s not only true for his regular bruiser build, but the full AP Yorick build too!
If you’ve never tried Yorick AP, trust me, it’s insanely fun.
I’ll tell you in this post the best runes and items you should use for playing Yorick AP as well as all information regarding his AP and AD ratios.
So, if you want to learn more about how Yorick’s damage works and how to build him AP, you’re in the right place!
Is Yorick AP or AD in League of Legends?
Yorick is a champion that deals both physical and magic damage. Since most players build him like an AD tank, Yorick is considered an AD champion in League of Legends.
However, you can also play Yorick with a full AP build and deal tons of magic damage. So, Yorick is a hybrid pick in LoL.
What’s most striking about Yorick is the fact that he only has 2 damaging abilities besides his minions – Q and E.
Yorick’s Q is a simple point-click spell that deals physical damage to a single target and only scales with 40% AD.
Most of the Yorick players you’ll see in solo queue max out this ability first and build AD items such as Divine Sunderer, Hullbreaker, and Sterak’s Gage.
So, if you want to counter Yorick in League of Legends, it’s best to buy armor, max health, and anti-tank items. Be aware that he deals decent damage from range, but he’s the scariest when he’s fighting you melee.
So, here are some good counter picks for tanks.
Read Also: Mundo AP or AD – Everything You Need to Know
Does Yorick’s E Scale with AP?
On the other hand, we have Yorick’s E.
Yorick’s E – Mourning Mist is the only ability in his kit that deals magic damage and scales with AP.
It’s a ranged attack that deals 15% of the target’s current health as a magic damage, plus 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210 base damage, and plus 70% AP.
In other words, the more AP Yorick has and the more health his targets have at the moment, the more damage Mourning Mist will do.
That’s why Yorick can easily bring your HP to 50% with just one E, even if you’re a mage or an ADC.
Yorick’s E is really a “bonkers” ability, especially if you’re building AP. It’s so good that Yorick can easily carry games with it, even in high elo. And with enough AP, Yorick’s E can one-shot the enemy carries.
Read Also: Kayle AP or AD – Guide
What Kind of Damage Do Yorick’s Pets Deal?
Yorick has two types of minions – Mist Walkers and Maiden of the Mist.
Mist Walkers are the basic expandable pets that live very shortly. They have base damage but scale with 25% of Yorick’s AD. Their base health is also increased by 15% of Yorick’s max HP.
Maiden of the Mist is Yorick’s ultimate pet. It deals a small amount of base magic damage but it also scales with 50% of Yorick’s AD. Its health is increased by 70% of Yorick’s maximum HP.
Read Also: Full AP Nocturne Build Guide
AD Yorick vs. AP Yorick – What’s Better?
Generally, AD Yorick is much better than AP Yorick. Even though the AP damage is good, the AD build offers more sustainability and survival.
With the AP Yorick build, this champion only deals damage with E and he’s squishy. But with the AD build, Yorick’s are also stronger and he’s tankier.
Simply put, the AD build is better for ranked games. It makes Yorick incredibly tanky while giving him a lot of damage, especially when he’s split-pushing alone.
He also gets self-healing, so he can’t easily be taken down.
Here’s the current best AD/tank build for Yorick in season 12.
The Best AP Yorick Build in Season 13
The best AP Yorick runes in season 13:
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Transcendence
- Scorch
DARK HARVEST is a strong keystone that allows you to scale. It works on soul stacks which you collect when you damage an enemy champion below 50% HP.
Each soul stack increases your damage the next time you strike them on low health.
Dark Harvest is adaptive damage, so it changes to magic damage when you build Yorick AP. Yorick can easily collect the souls through his pets, so it’s a great keystone to increase his power.
CHEAP SHOT is an offensive rune that does bonus true damage when you hit immobilized enemies. Yorick doesn’t have too many crowd control tools, but his E applies a slow.
With Cheap Shot, Yorick can always deal a bit of extra true damage if he slows his targets with E first.
EYEBALL COLLECTION is a rune that gives you 30 ability power for free. It starts by giving you 2 AP per champion takedown.
But if you get 20 ability power, it gives you 10 more for free. So, you become powerful without having to do anything out of the ordinary.
ULTIMATE HUNTER is an important rune for many champions, including Yorick. By having your Maiden of the Mist every 30-40 seconds, you’ll likely destroy every objective on the map.
That’s why Yorick is one of my favorite off-meta junglers in League of Legends.
Maiden helps you raise Mist Walkers and increases your overall damage, so definitely pick Ultimate Hunter up.
TRANSCENDENCE is another valuable rune you should always have. Since Yorick’s only AP spell is E, you need Transcendence to help you reset this ability faster.
The rune also grants 10 bonus ability haste, so it’s a great choice overall.
SCORCH is the last rune I usually take on AP Yorick. By giving you an extra burn effect every 10 seconds, Scorch helps you poke your lane opponent and defeat them early on.
But because it loses value in the late game, sometimes it’s better to take Gathering Storm instead.
Read Also: Volibear Full AP Build Guide
AP Yorick Items – Explained
The best AP Yorick items build in season 13:
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
- Liandry’s Anguish
- Demonic Embrace
- Shadowflame
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Morellonomicon
SORCERER’S SHOES are the boots you’ll need on AP Yorick. Since most of your damage will be magic, you’ll need a bit of magic penetration throughout the game.
You can always buy Void Staff and switch to Mercury’s Treads or Plated Steelcaps, but Sorcerer’s Shoes are great too.
LIANDRY’S ANGUISH is the best mythic item because Yorick is much better at slowly draining his enemies instead of one-shotting them.
With Liandry’s, Yorick can send an army of pets at his targets and get all their HP in a few seconds.
Liandry’s Anguish grants tons of AP, mana, and ability haste, so it’s by far the best mythic choice here.
DEMONIC EMBRACE is the second DoT item you need on Yorick. It also burns your targets with magic damage over 4 seconds.
The damage is based on how much maximum HP your enemies have, so it’s a great item for countering tanks too.
Besides damage, Demonic Embrace also grants tons of health, making Yorick really tanky.
SHADOWFLAME is a magic penetration item that has much more value if you play against tanks or champions with shields.
Basically, it gives you more magic penetration if the target has more HP or has been recently affected by a shield.
And again, Since Yorick’s only magic damage is E, you’ll need this extra magic penetration to remain relevant in the late game.
RABADON’S DEATHCAP is perhaps the best AP item in the game. It increases your total ability power by 35% while also giving you 120 raw AP.
You get a massive increase in damage once you purchase it, so always save up gold for it.
MORELLONOMICON is the last item you should add to your inventory. Since this AP Yorick build focuses on slowly draining enemies, Morellonomicon fits that idea perfectly.
It reduces the healing power of your targets by up to 60%, so it’s a must-have item too.
Read Also: AP Malphite Build Guide
Optional and Situational Items for AP Yorick
As far as optional items are concerned, these are the ones I’d consider for AP Yorick.
Riftmaker is an amazing mythic item that makes you tankier and allows you to deal bonus true damage. Crown of the Shattered Queen is another great mythic, but it’s a defensive option.
Zhonya’s Hourglass and Banshee’s Veil are the two defensive items to go for. The first one is great against assassins and the other against mages.
And lastly, Void Staff can always be purchased because magic penetration is always valuable.
Read Also: Full AP Nasus Build Guide
Conclusion
Yorick is a super fun champion. He does both physical and magic damage regardless of your build. But AP Yorick has so much damage that I’d honestly recommend everyone to try out.
And if you need to see how good AP Yorick is, I recommend this YouTube video.
If you’re interested in more similar builds, here are the best off-meta mid lane builds in League of Legends.
