Riot Games has officially announced Yunara as the 171st champion of League of Legends. Serving as an attack damage carry (ADC), Yunara is also referred to as a marksman by younger players.
The character was initially hinted at in the cinematic trailer for Spirit Blossom Beyond, the latter half of the 2025 Season. In this trailer, Xin Zhao catches a glimpse of Yunara as she exists between realms during the Spirit Blossom, a time when the separation between the physical and spirit worlds becomes remarkably thin.
Known as the Devoted Shrine Maiden, Yunara has dedicated her life to protecting a shrine that houses one of the most formidable Darkin weapons. Questions arise around what could be more powerful than the revamped Naafiri, yet the hope remains that such encounters remain hypothetical.
During a recent visit to Riot’s arena in Berlin, home to the League of Legends EMEA Championships (LEC), I had the chance to play Yunara for a few hours. While I am not the most analytical player, here are my impressions of how she performs.
Yunara’s Q ability stacks with auto-attacks and can be activated after executing eight consecutive auto-attacks without allowing the timer to reset. Players have only a brief moment—just a second or two—to hit again before the stacks revert. Successfully reaching eight stacks unleashes an ability that causes each auto-attack to splash onto nearby foes, similar to Twitch’s ultimate. This ability synergizes well with on-hit items like Wit’s End and Runaan’s Hurricane.
In a League first, Yunara’s W features a circular skillshot, breaking the previous pattern of circular skillshots being made up of small rectangles. It functions as a straight-line skillshot that spins upon impact, delivering minor splash damage to enemies behind the target.
Her E ability is akin to the Ghost summoner spell, and it includes a movement speed boost towards enemies, reminiscent of Vayne’s passive.
Yunara’s ultimate significantly alters her previous three abilities for a total of fifteen seconds. Upon using her R, the need to stack Q disappears, allowing for instant splash damage on auto-attacks. Her W transforms into a straight-line damage beam, echoing the old Aurelion Sol ultimate, while her E changes into a short dash instead of a movement speed increase.
After testing her in various one-on-one scenarios in Berlin, I perceive Yunara as a more strategic counterpart to Zeri. Where Zeri can engage fights by leaping over terrain and unleashing her ultimate, Yunara emphasizes the importance of timing her ultimate to capitalize on team fights.
It appears likely that she will struggle to dominate her lane due to the time required to stack her Q, along with her need to consistently auto-attack, which complicates strategies like wave freezing and management.
Although my observations lack extensive data, Yunara seems to embody a champion whose effectiveness hinges on her stats. With limited mobility and the necessity to remain engaged in fights, she presents a nuanced challenge in gameplay. If players choose to engage a champion like Darius, they better ensure they possess sufficient damage to make that engagement worthwhile.
Yunara is expected to be released in one of the upcoming League of Legends patches, following a period of testing on the Public Beta Environment.