Champion Spotlight - Yondu (2022 Update)

Kabam ZibiitKabam Zibiit Posts: 7,033
in Champion Spotlights
About Yondu
Centaurian scoundrel Yondu Udonta may not seem like much of a threat at first glance, but when you hear a whistle and his deadly Yaka Arrow comes out to play it’s not advisable to make any rash decisions. Leader of the Ravagers and mentor to Star-Lord, Yondu is a stickler for honor, but not above breaking a rule or ten to get what he wants.


Yondu's Mechanics

    The Leader of the Ravagers found himself some upgrades! Along with the ability to steal his Opponent’s Armor Up Buffs, Yondu has learned how to steal his Opponent’s Prowess effects and turn them into Armor Buffs for himself. To help him fight those pesky Mutants even more effectively, Yondu has an upgraded Heal Block, lasting up to 25 seconds when fighting an Opponent who is Regenerating. Yondu also made some tweaks to his Yaka Arrow, upgrading its chance to Bleed Opponents as well as upgrading its damage output!

BASE STATS & ABILITIES
   Health  Attack  PI (Max Signature)
 3-Star  6275  463  1819
 4-Star  15736  1159  4548
 5-Star  31551  2324  10540
 6-Star (Rank 3, Level 45)  40654  2994  13550

Character Class: Tech
Basic Abilities: Bleed, Heal Block, Precision


STRENGTHS:
  • Heal Block
  • Against Opponents who are under a Regeneration effect, Yondu now has one of the longest Heal Block Debuffs in the game, easily accessible with his Special 1.

  • Prowess Removal
  • Yondu now has a 50% chance on all attacks to remove Prowess Effects off his Opponent, making him a great counter for some of the annoying Mutant defenders in the Contest.
WEAKNESSES:
  • Purify
  • Yondu’s Bleed, Armor Break, Heal Block, and Weakness abilities are all in the form of Debuffs. Any champion with access to Purify will make Yondu’s life very difficult.

  • Bleed and Armor Break Punish
  • Yondu uses his Yaka Arrow for the majority of his Attacks, making him an unfavorable matchup vs. Champions who punish those Debuffs such as Omega Red and Dragon Man.

ABILITIES:
The following Stats and Abilities are based on a Rank 5, Level 65, 5-Star Champion


Yaka Arrow:
  • Yondu utilizes his Yaka Arrow during his first and third Light Attacks as well as during his Heavy and Special Attacks. These attacks have +445.45 Armor and Block Penetration as well as the following:
  • 40% chance to inflict a Bleed Debuff causing 2324 Direct Damage over 7 seconds.
  • Against Bleed Immune opponents, instead have a 40% chance to inflict an Armor Break Debuff, removing 1 Armor Up Buff and reducing Armor Rating by -370.59 for 9 seconds.
  • The strength and precision of Yondu’s Yaka Arrow allow it to trigger Critical Hits and personal Abilities through the opponent’s Block.
All Attacks:
  • 25% chance to Pilfer 1 Armor Up Buff. 50% chance to Pilfer 1 Prowess effect. For each Prowess or Armor Up Pilfered, gain an Armor Up Buff, granting +1400 Armor Rating for 15 seconds.
Yondu now has the ability to steal his opponent’s Prowess Effects and/or Armor Up Buffs and convert them into Armor Up Buffs for himself. This should come in handy against annoying Mutant defenders such as Sauron and Storm (Pyramid X).


Always Active:
  • Opponent suffers -10% Combat Power Rate for each Debuff on them. Max: -50%.
Heavy Attack:
  • +50% Offensive Ability Accuracy during this attack.

SPECIAL ATTACKS
Special 1 - Quick Draw:
  • +100% Offensive Ability Accuracy during this attack.
  • 100% chance to inflict a Heal Block Debuff lasting 12 seconds. If the opponent is Regenerating, instead inflict a 25 second Debuff.
Developer’s Note: The bonus duration makes annoying Regeneration defenders such as Weapon X and Sabretooth much easier to contain!

Special 2 - A Little Help From My Friends:
  • +445.45 Block Penetration
  • For each Special Attack the opponent has launched this fight, gain a Passive Fury, granting +697.2 Attack Rating for 14 seconds. Max: 12.
Developer’s Note: This is Yondu’s main damage spike, and gets better as the fight goes longer. Don’t be afraid to bait more Special 1’s over Special 2’s from the opponent to get more Passive Fury’s quicker!

Special 3 - Yaka Attacka:
  • 100% chance to gain a Precision Buff, increasing Critical Rating by +700 for 20 seconds.
  • 100% chance to inflict an indefinite, non-stacking Passive Special Concussion, reducing Ability Accuracy during Special Attacks by 100% until the end of the opponent’s next Special Attack.

Signature Ability - Centaurian Archery:
  • Yondu’s high-octave vocal range gives him precise control over his Yaka Arrows. Enemies activating a Special Attack suffer Weakness for each Debuff effect they’re suffering from at the time of the activation, reducing Attack by 15 – 40% for 5 seconds.


SYNERGY BONUSES - Unique
Friends Lv. 3 - With Rocket Raccoon
  • All Champions gain +130 Armor Rating

Enemies Lv. 3 - with Ronan
  • All Champions gain +155 Critical Rating

It Ain’t Easy Lv. 3 - With Beast, Nightcrawler
  • All Champions gain +400 Block Penetration

Rivals Lv. 3
 - with Star-Lord
  • All Champions gain +115 Critical Damage Rating


RECOMMENDED MASTERIES
Deep Wounds:
  • Increase the duration of Yondu’s Yaka Arrow Bleed Debuffs for more Damage!

Collar Tech:
  • Points in the Collar Tech Mastery and an aggressive playstyle to stack as many debuffs as you can on the opponent gives Yondu very potent Power Control!

Comments

  • TerraTerra Posts: 7,397 ★★★★★
    I've had him at this level for a couple of years now. No regrets, he's simple and fun. Just wish he got a bit more than just numbers increase, some utility would do him wonders

  • TerraTerra Posts: 7,397 ★★★★★
    edited June 2022
    MaxtheSilent said:

    Terra said:

    I've had him at this level for a couple of years now. No regrets, he's simple and fun. Just wish he got a bit more than just numbers increase, some utility would do him wonders

    I think his ability to remove prowess, armor ups, heal block, reduce combat power and apply weakness are great pieces of utility. Add his ability to stack lots of armor and potentially ramp up damage somewhat and I thinks he’s well rounded.
    Yes of course. All good pieces. I meant more in the ways of say a taunt debuff to tie into more sp2 damage. That small thing could increase his value a bit more.

    True strike on Yaka attacks would be nice too, since evading it should really be difficult. Perhaps a small animation change could have been made for basic attacks, including it more.
  • Hector_1475Hector_1475 Posts: 1,512 ★★★★
    I’m waiting to see how this plays out in actual gameplay but I suspect that if he inflicts quite a few debuffs (bleed & armor breaks) and is someone is running max despair (like I do), you will not even have to use the SP1 for heal block, since most probably you will be able to reverse it.

    This is exactly the case with War Machine for example, who can reverse healing with his SP1 from all the debuffs he places.

    As an example, when WM got buffed I was underwhelmed from what I read on paper. But in action, this guys slaps and I ended up taking him to R3. I suspect that Yondu will be a similar case.
  • ChobblyChobbly Posts: 658 ★★★
    Hector_1475 said:

    I’m waiting to see how this plays out in actual gameplay but I suspect that if he inflicts quite a few debuffs (bleed & armor breaks) and is someone is running max despair (like I do), you will not even have to use the SP1 for heal block, since most probably you will be able to reverse it.

    This is exactly the case with War Machine for example, who can reverse healing with his SP1 from all the debuffs he places.

    As an example, when WM got buffed I was underwhelmed from what I read on paper. But in action, this guys slaps and I ended up taking him to R3. I suspect that Yondu will be a similar case.

    I’m hoping for a positive surprise as well. But I’m sad there’s no effort to extend synergies - a dedicated synergy between Yondu and Starlord would have been such a fluff ‘win’ it’s conspicuous by its absence, especially given the second GotG movie.
  • KnightNvrEndingKnightNvrEnding Posts: 436 ★★★
    I’ve actually really enjoyed this buff especially in those high prowess fights talk about tankyyyyy lol
  • mbracembrace Posts: 683 ★★★
    Thanks for the feedback. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to try him out, but it looks like he’s a thumbs up.
  • ChobblyChobbly Posts: 658 ★★★
    Important caveat I need to make - 3 of my last 4 6* Basic pulls have been Yondu. No exaggeration. If that doesn’t look more than a bit off, you’re looking at it wrong…

    It’s not a bad buff and is useful for a specific niche (arguably vs Mutants) but that’s it. The sig ability duration should be doubled at least - a 5 second duration isn’t worth anything. Yondu is a poor man’s Nimrod, pretty much.

    I’ve got to agree with @Terra - a little bit more utility would have been welcomed and wouldn’t have made him OP.
  • mbracembrace Posts: 683 ★★★
    edited June 2022
    I think Yondu is awesome simply because he has the ability to play aggressively and then tank every special attack, even if to the face. This works against any non-debuff immune and is great against unblockable specials. His ability to eat specials every time outweighs his seemingly mediocre damage.
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