This is my second build and this is just an experiment and really meant for my own fun really. I find it hilarious when such an easy champ such as Xin Zhao gets a direct buff. Not only is his kit easy but now it's just a little bit stronger. It's like buffing Udyr. Such an easy kit (meaning no skillshots and only decision making) getting buffed sends out red flags and basically says "This **** is probably gunna be strong, play me."

With that being said, his kit is really easy, excellent for beginners and has some flaws because he depends on vision and doesn't have a ton of utility like other Meta junglers but honestly WHO CARES. The Meta might even shift to Bruiser single target oriented fighters in the jungle in this patch.

I don't jungle often but when I saw this buff, I was really surprised. I didn't see this in the patch notes before release. Definitely overlooked this. Thought about making a quick guide for myself and possibly post it if I thought it was worthy of mentioning.

Just like the Vayne thing I did, I'm not keen on the flare and making this guide flashy with all the pictures yet. When I do, i'll probably come backs and fix the ****.

Take the Standard Attack Speed Quints (scales really well with attacks speed now due to the crit damage on his W), Attack damage Reds for early game damage vs monsters and Creeps, Armor yellows for early game survivability in the jungle or against an AD laner (another option is Scaling Health or Maybe Scaling armor(not sure how well scaling armor scales *kappa*)), and either Scaling Magic Resist Blues against an AD laner or if in the jungle (or maybe CDR if you like spamming your ****).

The author's notes for the masteries went in some detail but i'll reiterate. I want to test the Warlord's Bloodlust now because he can friggn' Crit every 3 auto's vs champions. That's probably really good either laning or jungle if you can land all three autos. Or you could go Thunderlord's for that proc. Or you could either go Grasp of the undying if you're laning or Strength of the Ages if you're jungling.

All of this is speculative though. And requires testing.

The author's notes went in some detail but i'll reiterate. I like Stalker's Blade for the Slow but Skirmisher is very viable for the damage if the people you gank have nice utility and reliable lock down.

A bruiser build makes the most sense now that you have more surviability with Warlord's and the W passive heal. Probably a sheen item like Trinity Force if you're going more assassin like, with Sterak's for the Base AD increase, Maw of Malmortius for armor pen and against AP Heavy team. Youmuu's is stacked and probably has the most synergy out of all the AD items you can choose from. Duskblad of Draktharr is new and probably really good with him because you can burst down a Squishy now that you crit and then the passive pops and they're dead. I can see this be mitigated with Guardian Angel (maybe Mercurial Scimitar if it can actually cleanse the Duskblade passive(requires testing)). After maybe 2 or 3 AD scaling-damagey items go Randuins for the utility and armor or Sunfire for the wave clear. Both got buffed. Spirit Visage is best for your heal and Banshee's vale is great to mitigate the enemy team's game changing abilities.

A tank build is viable if you go Cinderhulk. If you're laning it's still really good if you go maybe Youmuu's or Blade of the Ruined King then full tank. Youmuu's vs not so tanky people and Blade of the Ruined King vs high health stacking tanks. Then go Full tank your self. I suggest Sunfire and Randuin's for armor because they both got buffed, and Spirit Visage and Banshee's Vale because there aren't too many other options sadly for magic resistance.

Boots is up to the situation. Vs Heavy auto attackers, Ninja Tabi; Vs hard CC, Merc treads; Vs mega slows, Swiftness; for more mobility out of combat, Mobility Boots; more attack speed (potential here but not necessary), Berzerker's Greaves; Sorcerer's Shoes if you just happen to go AP which I'm not mentioning because I strongly believe AD Xin Zhao is better as of right now.

Hybrid build sounds like fun. Trinity Force, Hextech Gunblade, Guinsoo's, Sterak's, Youmuu's or something and then boots and you have an intersting time. Probably can be more optomized depending on the situation but Trinity, Gunblade, Guinsoo's is definitely necessary for a Hybrid build.

Try either maxing W or Q first. W if you are going more of an attack speed, Devourer kind of build, Q if you like raw damage. E got a slight nerf late game because of the Cool Down now being 12 seconds at all levels but other than that still nice utility with the slow. Maybe build some CDR to bring the 12 seconds down.

I like maxing W first now, then Q, then E and ultimate 6, 11, 16.

Jungling? Take smite and Flash or maybe Ghost if you like. Flash is probably better but I can see the argument why Ghost is nice. More sticking potential and stuff.

Laning? Teleport or Ignite (if you're a real man). Same as above, Flash or Ghost. Depending on what you think is best.

--Pros
1) Really easy. His kit literally consists of all self buffs, a targeted dash and an aoe knockback around him. Dash in, apply buffs and Auto Attack reset, Ult if they jump the **** out of you, GG.
2) Just got buffed. Idk about you, but whenever I see an easy champion get buffed, I cringe a little, then play him, then cringe some more, then maybe tilt because I suck anyway, then realize it's not that bad, then realize I haven't faced a Xin yet, then realize "Yup that's stupid broken" after I face him and then tilt some more.
3) Has everything you want in a Bruiser Jungler. He has innate armor pen for the whole ally team against a single target. That's pretty useful. He can discombobulate an entire enemy team with his ult. Very interesting. Kinda like a melee Gragas ult. Survivability with his W. Nice at dueling with his Q and W. Par wave clear and definitely better now that his W has a cute little crit every third Auto Attack. If all else fails he can initiate fights with his dash and ult thingy.

--Cons
1) Easily kited without his dash.
2) Requires Vision in order to do damage. He's primarily auto attack based.
3) More experienced players probably know how to counter him and then that makes him not so viable.

He got a buff to his early game and a little to his late if you take Warlord's or something. But it's still Xin. Probably best for beginner players or people who want to chill and not worry about skillshots.

Definitely teaches you a lot about decision making, whether to go in or not.

W is best for starting out because of attack speed and heal and crit. Doesn't have a ton of aoe unless you go hydra or something but it's no big deal. Not really sure what to say...

On paper it looks like this: Dash in onto the enemy carry, take some hits, get dived on, once the enemy CC has been used, use Ult, kill the carry, probably die. If you live, heal back up or if they're low enough keep killing Squishies. Then focus tanks. You dominate squishy targets and champs out of place, punishing them and picking them off. Go for that. Stay with your team mid and late game though. You're not that useful 1v2 to 1v5. 1v1 maybe if you get the jump off.

Holy **** he got buffed. Expect to see him more Bronze, maybe Silver, not so much Gold, here and there Platinum to Challenger.

I might be wrong about a lot of these things but this is just my initial thoughts going in with little testing. We'll see how long this lasts and how drastic the update actually is for this guy.