This is my first guide, so please go easy on me :p When I made the switch from normal PVP to Ranked PVP I noticed a huge change in the way people play not only the champions, but the game its self. Another thing I noticed is that Xin Zhao is arguably the most used jungler in the game. I had never used jungle before, but I decided to give it a shot with Xin. After about 3 PVP's with an average kill score of 15, I fell in love with Xin. Armor reduction, powerful 3 shot, ending with a knock up, passive heal for every 3rd strike, attack speed increase, gap closer, movement speed reduction, and a big AOE ultimate move that can give distance for your allies to get away, and knock the enemy into your team. If you have never tried Xin before, these would be a great reason to give him a try.

PROS
+ Very strong single target damage
+ Good crowd control with knock up, knock back, and a slow
+ Passive armor reduction allows him to take down early game tanks
+ Passive healing every third strike
+ Great ganking abilities
+ Can easily solo towers


CONS
+ Not known for being very durable
+ Strength is based largely on attack speed. Attack speed reduction hinders him more than other champions
+ Only escape tool is his ultimate

I always favored Scaling Runes more than flat runes. Its true, you don't have the early game advantage, but by mid game you're already getting a bigger boost from scaling. I build all my character to be at least a little bit durable, and Xin is no different, so I stick with Seal of Scaling Armor, Glyph of Scaling Magic Resistance, Mark of Scaling Attack Damage, and Greater Quintessence of Scaling Attack Damage.

There's not much to say for masteries. 21/9/0 works best, focusing on the offensive and some light durability from tank side. Anything from the Utility page is a waste.

I like to start with the Long Sword and some health potions to cover the

health you will lose from wolves before you attack blue. I never found a place for the new jungling

items, so I still with normal items. The long sword will increase the power of normal

attacks and your Q . After jungling for a few minutes, and

preferably getting a kill or assist, head back and pick up another Long Sword

(work towards The Brutalizer) and some Tier one boots. once you

start to make some real money off your jungling/lane assisting you should pick up Berserker's Greaves

and start to finish off Black Cleaver. Start to work on Nashor's Tooth. Great attack speed increase,

cool down reduction, and the ability power increase will give a good boost to the healing effect from Battle Cry and the damage from Audacious Charge.
The next item you will focus on is Statikk Shiv. This will increase Xin's over all

usefulness with an increase to attack speed, increasing the speed of

Three Talon Strike, and the passive from Black Cleaver

and the passive from the item has always been a favorite of mine. With the huge boost to attack

speed the charges on the shiv will rack up very quickly, giving you a chain lighting that will deal

more magic damage. Next you should work on Trinity Force. I dont think

this weapon needs an introduction. Well rounded in everything but some tanky traits, I would start

with Phage then work from there as you see fit. The last item will

change depending on the situation. If everything is going well and you just want some more power,

Zypher and Last Whisper are good choices.

However, if things look a little rough and your getting hit too hard or are finding that

Battle Cry isn't covering your health loss, work on

Frozen Mallet or Blood Thirster. These are just my

recommendations for the last item. Truth be told, to this day I still haven't finished a Xin Zhou

build. If anyone finds anything they think would be better feel free to let me know it comments.

Much like Vayne, one of Xin Zhao's signatures

is his powerful three hits from Three Talon Strike. This is the

first move you should max. Three Talon Strike adds increased attack

damage to your basic attacks and ends with a knock up when the third strike hits an enemy. This is

a very useful move for slowing the enemy champions down just enough for your team to get there,

and also on enemies who have channeling abilities, like Master Yi, and

Nunu & Willump when he goes for his ultimate. Another useful aspect is that

whenever Xin hit any enemy, even enemy towers, the cooldown of all his other abilities is reduced

by one second, even his ultimate. The second skill you should max is Audacious Charge. This is Xin's gap closer, his most useful tool for ganking and catching up to

the opponent. His charge hit all near by enemies near the target hit and slows all of their

movement speeds for 2 seconds. Not much more to say here. Technically speaking, you will max his

ultimate before Battle Cry, so that's number three. His ultimate move

is Crescent Sweep. This move is his knock back, knocking back every

enemy hit, except for the enemies affected by his passive. A useful tool for getting the enemy

away from your team if they are fleeing a losing team battle, or for getting the enemy near your

team if they try to run away. His last move to be maxed is his W, Battle Cry.
This ability has a passive effect that heals Xin Zhou on every third strike, even strikes against

a tower, making him arguably the best champion at soloing towers. The abilities active effect

increases his attack speed dramatically. The reason we max this last is because although good,

increased attack speed should ALWAYS come second to increased damage and crowd control. Plus, the

ability power from Nashor's Tooth and Trinity Force
will increase the healing effect more than increasing the ability its self would. Lastly, I should

cover his passive. His passive is Challenge, which decreases the armor

of enemies hit by basic attacks, Three Talon Strike, and Audacious Charge
by 15%. This is what gives him a good edge against early game tanks, and tanks in general.

Thanks for taking the time to read my guide, I hope you all like it. If anyone has any comments or recommendations, please feel free to post.