UPDATE · Honor of Kings: World — Alpha recap
Yixing

Yixing

弈星

C Mid
Difficulty

Mage

Formation Mage Poke/Crowd Control Balanced Hard

Also known as

Yixing's Chinese name is 弈星.

弈星

Quick summary

Yixing is a strong Mid Mage who wants to lock down team fights with crowd control. Public guides recommend a build starting with Boots of the Arcane. Watch for Allain-style counters in the enemy draft.

Current patch decision guide

When to pick Yixing, when to avoid them, and how to adapt your build.

Updated 2026-06-04

Yixing is a strong Mid Mage who wants to force objective trades by chunking the enemy front line. Public guide data shows a build centered on Boots of the Arcane, Stone of Sorcery, Frozen Breath, used to farm safely and rotate to side lanes when the wave allows. Pick him when the draft lets Yixing reach targets that aren't built around Allain-style answers; avoid when the matchup denies the windows his kit needs.

Pick Yixing when

  • Your team wants to siege objectives where ranged poke whittles down defenders
  • Your team needs a setup hero whose Taking Liberties creates kill windows for the carry
  • The enemy draft includes Augran, Cirrus, and Lam, who appear in counter data as matchups Yixing can pressure.

Avoid Yixing when

  • The team fight will happen in cramped jungle spaces where poke ranges are minimized
  • The enemy team is loaded with cleanse, dashes, and immunity that bypass crowd control
  • The enemy already drafted Allain, Dharma, and Dian Wei, who counter data identifies as direct answers to Yixing.

Power spikes

Early game: focus on safe lane phase and tracking jungle pressure before Yixing's mid-game tools come online.
Mana sustain online: poke patterns become repeatable once cooldown reduction and mana regen items come online
Late game: cooldowns become short enough that Taking Liberties influences every team fight rather than being a one-shot tool.

Build decisions

Default mid path

Public build references for Yixing recommend Boots of the Arcane, Stone of Sorcery, Frozen Breath, Venomous Staff, Mask of Agony, and Savant's Wrath. Use this as the baseline mage plan before adapting to the enemy draft.

Situational item pivots

Spare options listed in build data include Insatiable Tome and Sage's Sanctuary. Treat these as situational swaps when the default path is not enough — for example, swapping in defensive items against burst comps or penetration items against stacked armor.

Matchup logic

Versus Allain

Allain and Dharma are flagged in counter data as a direct answer to Yixing. Read the enemy's primary win condition, time Yixing's key cooldowns to the moment that condition activates, and don't pre-commit when the matchup answer is still up.

Versus hard engage

Yixing loses value when forced into close-range fights. Stick with the front line, hold a flash or repositioning skill, and avoid being caught alone in the river.

Synergies

Public synergy data lists Cai Yan, Yaria, and Dolia as strong partners for Yixing. Plan engages around Cai Yan's setup window, then second-engage with The World is My Board.

Common mistakes

  • Spending mana on poke that does not threaten kills, leaving you empty for the actual fight.
  • Throwing Taking Liberties on the front-line tank instead of saving it for backline carries.
  • Ignoring Allain and Dharma on the enemy team when picking fights — counter data flags them as direct answers, so engage timing must respect their cooldowns.
  • Greeding farm in mid lane while side lanes get camped — rotation timing matters more than CS lead in most matchups.

Background

Boardmaster

Central Plains
“Don't be greedy, but don't lose.”

Yixing was once saved by a mysterious figure known as the "Peony Diviner" just as he was at his lowest point. From then on he took the Peony Diviner as his master, and finally felt a sense of belonging, as if he had found a new home. His newly acquired teacher taught him many techniques both physical and emotional, such as how to disassociate himself from his own suffering and manipulate others to his advantage. Yixing became known as a young prodigy for defeating the Weiqi masters of Kyokutou before Wu Zetian as well as for undertaking many successful covert missions. In every task, he acted with supreme calm, driven by a sincere desire to please his mentor. Now, the winds of change have come to Chang'an, and so the young man has decided to pursue his own, independent designs. The world is his oyster, for he views life akin to a game of Weiqi to be played however he wants.

Race:
Human
Height:
170 cm
Style:
Sorcery
Nation:
Yaotian Society
Title:
Young Weiqi Player

Source: Official Honor of Kings — canonical lore for Yixing.

Base Stats

Source: in-game capture (HoK Global v11.x, 2026-04-20)

Survivability

3253
Max HP
150
Phys DEF
75
Mag DEF
45
HP/5s

Offense

173
Phys ATK
5%
Atk Speed
200%
Crit DMG

Utility

365
Move Speed
640
Max Mana
16
Mana/5s
Ranged
Range

Current patch rates

Source: Camp API

Mid lane

Win rate
51.8%
Pick rate
0.7%
Ban rate
0.0%

Rates are role-specific snapshots from the current Honor of Kings Camp data refresh.

Build

How to choose a build

Start with the safe default badge if the draft looks normal, then swap to burst, anti-tank, sustain, or utility builds when the matchup clearly calls for it.

Full AP burst

Safe default

Start here if the draft looks standard and you want the safest all-around setup.

Position 2

Presets

Mage support

Utility support

Best when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.

Position 2

Full AP burst

Anti-tank

Best when the enemy team has multiple frontliners or early defense items.

Position 2

Presets

Mage support

Utility support

Best when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.

Position 2

Populer

Mage support

Utility support

Best when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.

Position 2

Mage support

Utility support

Best when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.

Position 2

Full AP burst

Anti-tank

Best when the enemy team has multiple frontliners or early defense items.

Position 2

Build

Mage support

Utility support

Best when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.

Position 2

Build

Full AP burst

Anti-tank

Best when the enemy team has multiple frontliners or early defense items.

Position 2

Teratas

Recommended Build

Skills

passive Maintaining Initiative

Basic Attacks deal magical damage. For every 4 skill hits on the same enemy, generates a Weiqi stone that deals magical damage and adds to the total number of Weiqi stones. Gains brief immunity to all damage and increased Movement Speed upon taking fatal damage.

skill1 Sliding Stones

Places a Weiqi stone at the target location, gaining vision and damaging enemies. Weiqi stones will be pulled into Skill 2's Weiqi formation, damaging and slowing enemies in their path.

skill2 Taking Liberties

Deals damage to the target area and creates a Weiqi formation. The formation pulls enemies toward its center, damaging them in the process.

ultimate The World is My Board

Draws a Weiqi board that launches enemies and places marks on them while exposing their location. Enemies caught within the Weiqi board are bound and will be unable to leave. When the Weiqi board is fully formed, his Movement Speed is increased.

Skins

3 skins
Yixing skin: Nightwatcher

Nightwatcher

Yixing skin: Way of the World

Way of the World

Yixing skin: Snow Blossom

Snow Blossom

Playstyle

Land control on the enemy carry, not the front-line tank — chain follow-up damage from teammates immediately after. Manage mana carefully — burning resources on poke leaves nothing for the actual fight window.

Patch History

S10 May 2025 Stat Nerfs

Ultimate cooldown increased

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