Yamato Guide — Abilities, Builds & Strategy

Yamato Base Stats

• Role: Assassin
• Max Health: 730
• Max Move Speed: 8.2
• Stamina: 3
• Base Health Regen: 1
• Light Melee Damage: 55
• Heavy Melee Damage: 128

Yamato Weapon Stats

• DPS: 63.216
• Sustained DPS: 42.571
• Bullet Damage: 5.31
• Rounds Per Second: 2.381
• Clip Size: 12
• Reload Time: 2.444s
• Bullet Speed: 254
• Can Crit: Yes

Yamato Abilities

• Ability 1: Power Slash
• Ability 2: Flying Slash
• Ability 3: Crimson Slash
• Ability 4: Shadow Transformation

Yamato Guide — Strategy & Tips

Quick Answer: Yamato is a close-range assassin who dives with Flying Slash, then chains Power Slash and Crimson Slash to damage, slow, and heal while sticking to a target. Use Shadow Transformation to become briefly invincible, refresh your cooldowns, and fight at 60% faster ability speed. Play around the grapple and your ultimate timings — she's strongest jumping isolated squishies, not poking from range.

Yamato is a close-range assassin who wins fights up close, chaining precise sword strikes instead of poking from range. She uses Flying Slash to grapple toward an enemy and get into striking distance, then layers Power Slash and Crimson Slash to damage, slow, and disable her target while healing herself off hero hits. Once she's fully engaged she can pop Shadow Transformation to become briefly invincible, refresh her abilities, and fight at 60% faster ability speed. She has no ranged poke and relies on closing the gap, so staying stuck to her target is the whole game. Build her as a melee/spirit bruiser who dives the backline and snowballs off hero kills.

Early Game

Early on Yamato is a lane bully who wants to trade in melee range, so manage your stamina and health before committing. Use a fully charged Power Slash to chunk enemies, and pair it with Flying Slash to close distance onto an overextended laner. Crimson Slash heals her whenever it hits a hero, so land it inside a trade to stay topped up. She has only 3 stamina and modest range, so don't extend into a duo that punishes a mistimed grapple. Farm carefully and look for the first pickup on a squishy laner.

Mid Game

By midgame you want to leave lane and gank with Flying Slash, since the grapple lets her dive through walls and corners. Look for isolated squishies, land Crimson Slash for the heal, and disengage with a dash rather than committing to a losing fight. The Power Slash charge slows her heavily while she channels, so set the charge up from cover and finish it as you approach. Take side lanes and rotate to the first real team fight once Shadow Transformation is up. Her kill pressure spikes whenever she has the ultimate to dive safely.

Late Game

In late fights Yamato is a dive threat who wants to jump the enemy backline under Shadow Transformation. The ultimate's invincibility on cast plus its resist and status immunity keep her alive through the reaction burst long enough to land a full combo on a carry. Every hero kill extends the duration and heals her, so chaining kills in a fight keeps her alive through the whole engagement. Time the dive for after the enemy's key disables are blown, then collapse on the most valuable target. Without the ultimate up she's far squishier, so don't walk into fights alone.

Combos

Open with Flying Slash to grapple onto your target, since the arrival deals melee damage and applies a 40% move-speed slow. Land Crimson Slash immediately for the heal and its fire-rate slow, then finish the channel on Power Slash for a charged strike. Weave in melee and your spreadshot between abilities while the target is still slowed. If the fight drags or you need to survive a reaction, pop Shadow Transformation to refresh everything and fight at 60% faster ability speed. Cancel a bad grapple with the ability or cancel button instead of flying into a group.

Strong Against

Yamato excels against squishy, immobile backline heroes she can reach with Flying Slash. Immobile carries and supports who can't kite the grapple are easy dives once she lands on top of them. Heroes that rely on sustained fights rather than burst struggle against her self-healing Crimson Slash and resist-stacked ultimate. Any target caught alone and out of position dies fast to a fully charged combo. She especially punishes heroes who commit to a fight without a real escape.

Weak Against

She struggles against long-range heroes who kite her and punish a mistimed grapple from outside her melee threat range. Dispel and invincibility effects break the Flying Slash connection, and Slowing Hex disables the grapple entirely. The charge-up on Power Slash roots her in place, so it's easy to interrupt, dodge, or trade around. Heavy crowd control and burst that lands before her ultimate goes up can kill her during the window where she has no safe dive. She also lacks reliable ranged damage, so she can't contest poke from distance.

Synergies

Yamato wants teammates who can lock a target down so her dive lands cleanly. Initiators and crowd-control heroes that hold an enemy in place let Flying Slash and Power Slash connect without the target escaping. Supports who heal or shield her let her survive the dive window before Shadow Transformation is available. Teammates who follow up on her grapple and focus the same target convert the isolation into a kill. She also benefits from heroes who can cover a disengage if a fight turns against her.

Common Mistakes

• Charging Power Slash out in the open — the channel slows her to a crawl, so set the charge up from cover and release it as you close, not while standing in front of a shooter.
• Grappling into a group with no way out — Flying Slash takes her to the enemy, so only take the dive when your ultimate or a dash can get her back out.
• Hoarding Shadow Transformation for the perfect moment — its cast grants an invincibility window, so use it reactively to survive a reaction burst instead of waiting and dying.

Matchup Notes

• vs Vindicta — She outranges you hard, so don't stand in the open; use terrain to get close and only grapple when she's low or out of position.
• vs Grey Talon — His kiting and ranged poke punish a straight-line grapple; close from cover, and cancel a bad Flying Slash rather than flying into his traps.
• vs Haze — Dive her before she sets up her ult; Crimson Slash slows her fire rate, so land it as you engage and pop Shadow Transformation to survive the burst.
• vs Dynamo — Watch his crowd control before committing; bait out the disable, then grapple past it and focus him while it's on cooldown.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Yamato's role in Deadlock?

She's a close-range assassin who uses precise sword strikes and a grapple to dive onto targets. She closes with Flying Slash, then chains Power Slash and Crimson Slash to damage, slow, and heal while sticking to an enemy.

How does Yamato's grapple work?

Flying Slash throws a grappling hook that reels her toward the target, dealing melee damage and slowing them by 40% when she arrives. She can travel through walls during the flight, and the target can break the connection with a dispel or invincibility. You can also cancel it yourself by pressing the ability or cancel button.

What does Shadow Transformation do?

It makes Yamato briefly invincible during the transformation, refreshes her abilities, speeds them up by 60%, and grants immunity to negative status effects plus increased bullet and spirit resist. Hero kills extend its duration and heal her.

How do I charge Power Slash correctly?

Power Slash channels over 1.4 seconds and then releases a fully charged sword strike. You can trigger it early for partial damage, or let it auto-cast at max charge for full damage. The charge slows her heavily, so start it from cover and release as you approach.

Does Yamato heal herself?

Yes — Crimson Slash heals her whenever it hits an enemy hero, and its upgrade adds a max-health heal on a hero hit. Shadow Transformation also heals her for a percentage of her max health on each hero kill.

What are Yamato's main weaknesses?

She has no ranged poke and relies on closing distance, so long-range heroes who kite her can punish a mistimed grapple. Dispel and invincibility effects break the Flying Slash connection, and Slowing Hex disables it. Her Power Slash charge also roots her in place and is easy to interrupt.