[TS] Malicious Sniper

“Preseason, huh…”

I slowly looked over the patch notes for League of Legends 10.23.

Every season has huge changes, right? But personally, I thought this item patch was the craziest of all time.

With item tiers introduced, there were so many items that disappeared and others that were newly added.

This was quite literally an item patch that could shake the very foundation of League of Legends.

It was a patch that turned every player into a newbie.

Opinions were divided on it, but interest in League of Legends was at an all-time high.

“I don’t like this.”

I let out a sigh while checking the item list.

Previously, core items related to critical hits had a standard option of +25% crit chance.

But with this patch, all legendary and mythic items related to crit had their crit chance lowered to 20%.

Yone was one of my main champions, and his passive increased crit chance by 2x.

In the past, completing just two crit core items would give me 100% crit chance, but now I had to get at least three mythic & legendary crit items.

I could buy lower-tier crit items, but after rough calculations, it seemed more beneficial to complete my core items instead.

So, for Yone and Yasuo, who had passives that reduced crit damage by 10%, this patch was rather unwelcoming.

On the other hand, the specs of items used by “tanks” were insane.

To see just how broken they were, I’d have to experience it myself, but it was clear that tank items had something ridiculous going on.

Well, I wasn’t going to play tank anyway.

As I thought about how to improve Yone’s item build, I came to one conclusion in practice mode:

“Mythic items have no solution.”

Among the crit mythic items like Immortal Shieldbow, Galeforce, and Kraken Slayer, Shieldbow and Galeforce seemed to suit Yone the best, but they weren’t great.

The stats felt underwhelming for such a high price—let’s just say they weren’t cost-effective.

Shieldbow looked attractive with its lifeline effect and minor stats like lifesteal, attack speed, crit chance, and movement speed.

But they all felt vague, and how much the lifeline effect would boost Yone’s survival was questionable since he was as squishy as they come.

Galeforce seemed good because it added a mobility skill, but the cooldown was ridiculous.

Without the cooldown, it would be a solid item, but until then, it was hard to evaluate accurately.

I abandoned the assumption that I could only buy one mythic item and simply had to rush it as my first core item.

The state of Yone and crit-related mythic items was just not good enough to break that mindset.

To find an answer for Yone, I turned my gaze toward legendary items.

After searching for crit-related legendary items, I meticulously examined each one in-game.

And then I found one crit item that showed some potential.

[Guinsoo’s Rageblade – 2600G]

Attack speed +40%

Crit chance +20%

While the stats didn’t seem great given the price, the two passive effects below were quite remarkable.

One dealt 45 physical damage for every 20% crit chance on basic attacks.

The other ensured that every third basic attack would apply the effect twice.

However, as a penalty, it no longer triggered “critical hits.”

Instead of crits, this item transformed “crit chance” into “bonus damage.”

But for Yone, this penalty worked as a buff.

Since Yone’s passive reduces crit damage by 10%, this item completely negated that penalty.

In other words, just completing Guinsoo’s would add 90 bonus damage to my basic attacks.

Seeing the huge potential contained in Guinsoo, I immediately began my research.

“…This is insane!”

And soon after, I came to a conclusion.

Yone with Guinsoo had absurdly overpowered performance.

*

Wandering Swordsman.

He was renowned under the title of “Celestial Yasuo Master,” feared and famous.

Yasuo, once feared by current pros and legendary players of the past alike, was a force to be reckoned with.

That was the Yasuo of the Wandering Swordsman, and people began calling him the “Pinnacle of Yasuo.”

But one day, a Yone appeared, equally matching the Wandering Swordsman, even recognized by the pros.

A low-level account without a single pre-season play record competing evenly against the Wandering Swordsman?

During their first encounter, the Wandering Swordsman was completely defeated by the mysterious Yone player.

The laning was even, but when it came to skill expression in the game, there was an overwhelming difference.

On that day, the Wandering Swordsman faced a wall for the second time.

It felt just like the wall he encountered when he met “that” being, the living legend feared by all League of Legends players.

Faced with a similar wall again, the Wandering Swordsman began to pay attention to the mysterious Yone Master.

Every time he would search for the mysterious Yone Master’s stats, he would queue up a match after seeing the game end.

Thus, the Wandering Swordsman kept challenging the mysterious Yone Master.

Even knowing full well he was attempting to snipe him, he couldn’t stop.

He wanted to win at least once.

Even though he knew he was no match, he saw the mysterious Yone Master as a rival.

However, the Wandering Swordsman never once managed to defeat the mysterious Yone Master.

Was he really meant to give up?

In the midst of that thought, the mysterious Yone Master vanished after setting a record of 50 consecutive victories.

After his disappearance, the Wandering Swordsman would renew his stats every morning. Yet, the mysterious Yone Master never returned.

Time passed, the season ended, and on the day preseason began…

The Wandering Swordsman, having researched Yasuo’s new item tree, decided to test by rolling into ranked play.

He quickly picked Yasuo as a first-pick.

Choosing Yasuo as a first pick was risky, but the Wandering Swordsman had always played games with such risks, so it was no issue.

As the teams completed their picks, the enemy mid-laner picked none other than Yone.

Many people say Yone is unfavorable against Yasuo.

But the mysterious Yone Master always emerged victorious against the Wandering Swordsman.

The Wandering Swordsman, known as the pinnacle of Yasuo, or even against Yasuo Masters from the Celestial tiers, found it was…

Only ‘that’ Yone who could pick after him.

Thump-thump!

A heartbeat echoed in the Wandering Swordsman’s ear.

*

“Wandering Swordsman?”

I let out a frustrated laugh at the sight of Yasuo’s username on the loading screen.

Running into an opponent I used to encounter ridiculously often while active as the mysterious Yone Master on the very first match felt like fate.

Or maybe a curse for the Wandering Swordsman?

After all, he never managed to secure a victory against me.

I’d easily gained over 300 points from my matches against him.

But, it wasn’t a bad situation.

There was no better opponent than the Wandering Swordsman’s Yasuo to test Guinsoo’s potential.

Thus, the game began.

Having lost countless laning phases against the Wandering Swordsman’s Yasuo, I kept my play style safe, avoiding risks as much as possible.

The purpose of my game was solely to test Guinsoo, not to win.

As I waited for Guinsoo to become available, I played steadily.

In the top lane, the junglers clashed in a battle for the Crab.

My top immediately joined in, resulting in a small skirmish.

The Wandering Swordsman’s Yasuo also arrived with equal speed, but my team’s top was crushing the opposing one, allowing us to easily secure victory in that minor match.

It wasn’t my skill that won; it was just luck on my side.

Of course, who could dislike being on the lucky end of things?

After winning the 3v3 skirmish and collecting 2 kills, I purchased Guinsoo’s Rageblade.

With that item difference, the tide of the match turned, and I took control of the lane.

With that control, I began to torment the Wandering Swordsman’s Yasuo as much as I could.

Each time he attempted to farm minions, I traded blows aggressively.

I faked my jungle being there, putting pressure for a potential dive.

Yasuo had no choice but to recall, and as the damage began to accumulate, the item disparity grew even wider.

After securing the gold from the turret shield, I returned home to buy Guinsoo’s.

Thanks to its unbeatable price compared to other core items, I got Guinsoo’s by 7 minutes.

‘Let’s see how it tastes.’

Returning to lane, I immediately challenged Yasuo, who was stuck in the middle of a big wave of minions.

Even after passing the early game, that many stacked minions could be burdensome.

My health began to drop fast, but…

[Killing spree!]

I took him down in an instant with ridiculous damage.

“What the actual…?”

It was an insane amount of destruction I had not anticipated.

The immense potential I glimpsed in Guinsoo had exploded in my hands.

[Unstoppable!]
[The Ruler of the Battlefield!]
[Avatar of the Battleground!]
…
…
…

And the enemies caught in that explosion couldn’t withstand the power of Guinsoo’s Yone.

Before even 15 minutes had passed, the enemy Nexus fell.

None of the opponents had even given up.

It was all due to one Yone who purchased Guinsoo that the game had turned out this way.

After the game, I checked the damage stats.

The Yone I played boasted overwhelming damage.

Confirmed that my research and theory worked in practice, I closed the results window and queued for another match.

Well, I tried to.

[Wandering Swordsman sent you a friend request.] – [Accept]

A friend request arrived in my messenger.

If it had been from someone I’d never heard of, I would’ve ignored it.

But the one sending the request was none other than the Wandering Swordsman.

This account had never accepted anybody’s friend request.

It wasn’t that I was lazy, but I was avoiding unnecessary rumors.

However, someone like the Wandering Swordsman seemed worth accepting.

He had never sent a friend request, even after countless encounters.

If he were the type send a request for no reason, he would have done so ages ago.

I figured there had to be a solid reason for his friend request and accepted it.

IlilIililI: What’s up?

I sent a message after accepting his request.

And soon, the Wandering Swordsman replied.

Wandering Swordsman: If it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask for a snipe?

IlilIililI: …A snipe?

I was taken aback by the sudden sniping request.

Was he really asking a non-broadcaster to snipe him?

Isn’t sniping usually done at one’s leisure?

Or maybe he was trying to get a gain through the ‘mysterious Yone Master’ keyword.

But from what I knew, the Wandering Swordsman was also an ordinary player, not a streamer.

Wandering Swordsman: Please, I desperately want to play a few more games with your Yone.

IlilIililI: Oh… I see what you mean.

I quickly understood his situation.

Having faced a catastrophic loss against me, his competitive spirit must have exploded.

‘0 kills, 6 deaths, and 2 assists—no wonder he’s feeling that way.’

In the last match, Yasuo’s KDA had ended at 0/6/2.

He had always lost with a minor difference before, but now to lose so terribly against my return must have ignited his competitive spirit.

As I pondered how to respond to the Wandering Swordsman’s request, a grin crept across my face.

It struck me as a funny notion.

How could a ‘snipe’r like me be sniped?

IlilIililI: I’ll agree to the snipe, but there’s a condition.

Wandering Swordsman: A condition?

IlilIililI: Yes, it’s simple. You have to stream.

Wandering Swordsman: Stream…?

He seemed momentarily flustered at my request.

For a brief moment, the chatbox fell into silence.

But soon, a message from the Wandering Swordsman popped up.

Wandering Swordsman: …I understand what you mean.

Wandering Swordsman: As a challenger, I will start streaming right away.

Wandering Swordsman: I’ll stream on Twit, under the name of ‘Wandering Swordsman00.’

The Wandering Swordsman accepted my proposal without hesitation.

Thus, the player once deemed the “Pinnacle of Yasuo” would stream for the first time that day.

And this news began to spread through various League of Legends-related communities.

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