Yorn: Exalted Glass Cannon

Guide and Build Yorn: Exalted Glass Cannon

Cheat Sheet
Skill build:

At the start, place a point in Heavenly Barrage to help with laning (and harassing other players). Once all three abilities are unlocked, lean into Explosive Arrow - placing points into Yorn’s ult, Heart Shot, whenever available. This makes the priorities - Heart Shot, Explosive Arrow, and then Heavenly Barrage.

Talents/Challenger/Summoner Skills:

Punish - helps when it comes to jungling.

Purify - removes debuffs/control effects.

Flicker - allows you to teleport a small distance away.

Items:

Soulreaver - for early jungling, life steal.

Sonic Boots - builds speed and armor.

Fafnir’s Talon - for attack speed, life steal, damage.

Muramasa - for attack speed, damage, armor pierce.

Slikk’s Sting - for attack speed and crits.

Fenrir’s Tooth - for high damage.

Arcana

Gale - raises attack speed.

Leech - grants life steal.

Stab - adds armor pierce.

Introduction
Hailing from the Temple of Light, Yorn is a young warrior who’s as illustrious as his celestial bow; he is equally held in high regard for his good looks and ability on the field of battle. That said, Yorn isn’t the easiest Marksman to play as in Arena of Valor. As the “embodiment of light” his abilities are flasher than they are useful. Given a good build and ample time to farm though, Yorn can become a heavy hitter in the mid and late game. 

Skill Descriptions and Skill Order
Fierce Shot (Passive) 

Every 5th consecutive normal attack triggers a burst of arrows, each dealing 121 physical damage.

Fierce Shot is great for draining enemies and structures of life. You’ll definitely want items that grant attack speed to make great use of this passive. 

Explosive Arrow

Mana Cost: 70

Cooldown: 6 sec.

Yorn shoots an explosive arrow that deals 120 (+93) physical damage to the enemies it hits and slows their movement speed by 65% for 2 seconds. His next normal shot becomes a burst/fierce shot.

Level 1: Base Damage - 120. Movement Speed Reduction - 65%.
Level 2: Base Damage - 145. Movement Speed Reduction - 70%.

Level 3: Base Damage - 170. Movement Speed Reduction - 75%.

Level 4: Base Damage - 195. Movement Speed Reduction - 80%.

Level 5: Base Damage - 220. Movement Speed Reduction - 85%.

Level 6: Base Damage - 245. Movement Speed Reduction - 90%.

Explosive Arrow is Yorn’s main ability. It’ll be used the most, especially when ganking or joining in team fights. I recommend maxing this ability first.

Heavenly Barrage

Mana Cost: 70

Cooldown: 20 sec.

Yorn calls down celestial arrows that deal 105 (+73) physical damage to a random enemy in a zone every second. Also, his next normal attack becomes a burst/fierce shot.

Level 1: Base Damage - 105. Cooldown - 20 sec.
Level 2: Base Damage - 120. Cooldown - 19 sec.

Level 3: Base Damage - 135. Cooldown - 18 sec.

Level 4: Base Damage - 150. Cooldown - 17 sec.

Level 5: Base Damage - 165. Cooldown - 16 sec.

Level 6: Base Damage - 180. Cooldown - 15 sec.

Heavenly Barrage is great for harassing opponents and clearing lanes, making it the first ability you should unlock. Dropping a second point into it early on before focusing on Explosive Arrow will help to keep it useful; at a certain point you’ll be forced to level it up, so don’t worry about things being lopsided. Most will try their best to avoid it’s zone, even if it isn’t hitting hard.

Heart Shot (Ultimate)

Mana Cost: 100

Cooldown: 18 sec.

Yorn shoots an arrow that travels extremely far and deals 300 (+214) physical damage, plus magic damage equal to 10% of the target’s lost HP. His next normal attack becomes a burst/fierce shot.

Level 1: Base Damage - 300. Cooldown - 18 sec.
Level 2: Base Damage - 400. Cooldown - 15 sec.

Level 3: Base Damage - 500. Cooldown - 12 sec.

Heart Shot is great for taking down fleeing enemies. It’s also good at spotting enemies trying to clear an objective (they’ll light up on the map when getting hit). That said, it doesn’t really changes things in a teamfight. I’d put points into it when available, but rarely rely on it.

Heavenly Barrage -> Explosive Shot -> Heavenly Barrage -> Heart Shot -> Explosive Shot -> Explosive Shot -> Explosive Shot -> Heart Shot -> Heavenly Barrage -> Explosive Shot -> Heavenly Barrage -> Heart Shot -> Explosive Arrow -> Heavenly Barrage -> Heavenly Barrage

Talents
Out of all of the Talents, these are the strongest – only one is available per match, so picking the best one for the playstyle/build is important. I’ve placed them in order based on how I play and when they are unlocked.

Punish

Cooldown - 30 sec.

Deals 800 true damage to nearby minions and monsters and stuns them for 1 second.

Punish is great for clearing the jungle mobs and is especially useful when combined with my main build (more on that below). The idea is to use it to help Yorn level up as fast as possible.

Purify (unlocked at level 15)

Cooldown - 120 sec.

Removes all debuffs and control effects on yourself and gains immunity to them for 1.5 seconds.

Yorn is extremely susceptible to control abilities. So getting Purify is a no brainer (especially if you aren’t going to be jungling). It does have a long cooldown, so be mindful of this when engaging certain characters.

Flicker (unlocked at level 19)

Cooldown - 120 sec.

Teleports your hero a short distance.

Flicker is good for getting in and out of combat/danger; when you’re suddenly attacked by an Assassin or looking to gank a speedy opponent. Again, be mindful of the long cooldown.

Items
Starter: Soulreaver (or The Beast), Sonic Boots

Soulreaver will help in clearing sections of the jungle (to help Yorn level up quickly). They also provide a bit of life steal. If you aren’t going to jungle, then The Beast will do. It offers up a decent amount of damage for a low price.

Top Yorn off with the Sonic Boots to make sure he can get around the map quickly while providing a bit of armor; given Yorn’s low HP, some protection is recommended.

Mid Game: Fafnir’s Talon, Muramasa

Fafnir’s Talon will not only give Yorn more life steal and decent attack damage, but it’ll also raise his attack speed - a good thing given how strong his passive is.
Muramasa will add even more attack damage and a 10% cooldown buff. It’s best attribute is it’s armor piercing passive though.

End Game: Slikk’s Sting (or Hyoga’s Edge), Fenrir’s Tooth

Slikk’s Sting will increases Yorn’s attack speed, boost his crit chance/damage, and up his movement speed. All of these attributes help to make Yorn a beast on the battlefield. If your match ups with other marksmen isn’t going well, you could use Hyoga’s Edge for it’s defensive attributes, max HP gain and movement speed passive.
Fenrir’s Tooth is all about power. This item, attached to the complete build, will make short work out of most enemies.

Arcana
You’ll unlock tons of different Arcana through continued play; the pool will fill up over time. Early on, you’ll only have access to level 1 Arcana though. Here are three good ones to have when using Yorn. 

Gale – Attack speed +0.6%

Obviously, this will be great for Yorn (or any Marksman for that matter) given his passive.

Leech – Life Steal +0.4%

Life steal will help Yorn trade shots with other Marksmen. He’ll be gaining small amounts of life while giving and receiving damage.

Stab – Armor Pierce +2.2

This is needed for Tanks and/or characters wearing a lot of armor as it’ll allow you to better damage them.

Like I said, these are great starting out. The pool holds more than just three of them of course (I filled it with attack, armor, and HP boosts). Eventually, you’ll be able to add level 3 Arcana like Bloodlust (Attack Damage +2.5, Life Steal +0.5%) and Tyrant (Critical Chance +0.5%, Max HP +60). 

Early Game
Yorn is the glass cannon of Marksman. Though he can dish out tons of damage, he’s constitution or HP is very low. His abilities aren’t very strong during the Early Game; Explosive Arrow is slow to hit and Heavenly Barrage hits random enemies within a moving zone. Lastly, any enemies with decent controls or stuns will have an advantage given his lack of escape abilities. Basically, players using Yorn will need to be careful early on. The idea is not to push him too far past his towers, only committing to prolonged fights when absolutely necessary.

Starting out, I tend to get Hunter’s Crossbow (the first item needed to build Soulreaver) and unlock Yorn’s Heavenly Barrage ability. These set up helps in and out of lane. Heavenly Barrage allows you to harass would-be attackers while also helping to kill creeps. The Hunter’s Crossbow grants 20% extra damage to monsters and grants 20% increase in experience from their deaths – a great tool for Jungling. I don’t typically jungle as a role. I just break off from laning to take out a few monsters before returning, dropping Heavenly Barrage every so often. It doesn’t take long before I’m able to buy the Soulreaver. This is a good pick because it adds frostbite to slow enemy players, increases Yorn’s attack speed, and offers 10% life steal.

Note: If another player chooses to Jungle, you can pick The Beast instead of Soulreaver. It doesn’t cost that much, adds +100 attack damage and 25% life steal.

My goal is to level up as quickly as possible (or at the very least, faster than my laning opponent). I’ll mostly stay in whatever lane I’m in until I’ve bought Sonic Boots and unlocked all three skills. At this point I may opt for a gank or two; dropping an Explosive Arrow on an unsuspecting foe before following up with Heavenly Barrage can lead to an early kill. That is if your teammates are paying attention. Other than that, I’ll stay in lane and push a tower when it’s “safe”.

Mid Game
If things are going well farming wise, you should be halfway to buying Fafnir’s Talon at this point. If you also got in a few ganks or killed some overzealous opponents, then you’ll be ready to start building Muramasa. Fafnir’s Talon is great because it adds more stacks of life steal and 30% attack speed – a good buff to have considering Yorn’s passive. The +60 attack damage isn’t anything to sneeze at either. I’ve gotten plenty of kills using just my first three items.
Once you’ve purchased Muramasa though, things really start to turn. This is mainly due to this item’s 45% armor pierce passive and +80 attack damage, allowing you to tangle with Tanks (with help) and other Marksmen pretty easily.

Late Game
At this point, Yorn is a beast in group fights. Slikk’s Sting’s boost in attack speed and Hurricane passive – which increases critical damage by 50% - should allow you to shred an opponent’s HP in seconds. Proper use of Explosive Arrow will keep most from being able to run away. If they manage to flee using an escape ability, I’d then use Heart Shot. It’s long range and large burst of damage usually seals the deal.

Note: If you’re finding yourself having to flee from other Marksmen, you could always swap Slikk’s Sting for Hyoga’s Edge. It gives +100 armor, +100 magical defense, +1200 max HP, and a passive that increases your movement while hindering others. Hyoga doesn’t add to your damage, but it can give you a slight edge; when going up against Valhein for example, I was able to last long enough to take him down before fleeing with a small amount of life.

At this point you have the speed (movement and attack) and critical damage. All that’s left is power. That’s where Fenrir’s Tooth comes in. 200 attack damage and a passive that increases all damage dealt by 30% when a target’s HP is below 50% - no one is going to be able to withstand your assaults for long.

FAQ/Tips
Yorn is best when in a group. Going at it alone will be dangerous up until End Game and downright suicidal early on. His Explosive Arrow is easy to avoid when facing an opponent head on. And Heavenly Barrage’s random nature means it may do minor damage when more than one enemy is in the blast radius; the person chasing you down might kill you before enough damage is done to take them out.

That said, if you can juke well and know when to engage, you can rack up a ton of kills. Dropping an Explosive Arrow while hidden will not only catch someone off guard, it’ll slow them and do significate damage. Yorn’s passive helps in shredding life, so partnering with someone who has good control abilities is a must. They’ll hold the target in place while you pummel them.

Speaking of Yorns passive, it’s also vital to securing objectives. Though it may be risky, split push is a viable option – he can take down a healthy tower with one line of creeps given the chance.

Matchups
Yorn should be partnered with Tanks/Warriors/Supports that specialize in control. Take Mina for instance. Her Death Scythe can pull enemies back to her, allowing you another shot at them. Mina’s Ult. Really helps as it forces them to attack her for a few seconds. This in turn gives Yorn the opportunity to attack without recourse or to flee if need be.

Tanks like Lumburr are great. Azzen’Ka, though a mage, it really good as well. On the flipside, these are also characters to stay away from in the Early Game. Valhein is definitely dangerous in the right hands; his Curse of Death ability damages and stuns, allowing him to make short work of Yorn. If you’re going up against Valhein in a lane, be sure to stay near the towers until you are properly supported. That goes double for Arthur - don’t go near him by yourself, until late game. Actually, just stay away from him all together!