Shaco Build Guide by Pluckin Penguin

1 - Introduction
2 - The Build
3 - Jungling + Fighting
4 - Gameplay
5 - Conclusion








________This is my second guide for MobaFire now, and I've decided to share a champion that I know very well, and don't lose very much with, Shaco.
________I purchased Shaco 1 and 1/2 years ago. At first, I didn't like him, I did not like him at all. I struggled to understand how to use his kit properly. I didn't play him for 3 months. I met a friend who revealed his style of Shaco play to me, and I caught on to it. The next times I played Shaco I felt much more powerful than ever before. I still play Shaco, and would like to let you guys in on my playstyle and build.

spaaaaaaace

Pros + // Very strong ganker. + // Fun to play. + // Deceptive to play against. + // Strong early game. + // Strong counter-jungler. + // Smiles frequently.

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Cons - // Relatively squishy. - // Teamfights can be hard. - // Oracle's Elixir prevents stealth. - // AOE Damage destroys Jack In The Box. - // Relatively slow in the jungle. - // Banned often in solo queue.

_______These aren't the summoner spells you have to take. The decision is up to you. This is just my personal preference of what summoner spells to use on him. Although there are other viable options.

Ghost

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_______ Ghost is a very strong spell on most junglers who have some sort of stealth ability because it allows you to cover a great distance while you are stealthed. This is a very good spell for beginning Shaco players because it can be used offesnsively and defensively. It can also make up from a poorly used Deceive.

Smite

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_______You're a jungler, Smite is your best friend that helps you secure buffs, and have a faster clear the first couple times. Not taking Smite as a jungler makes it very hard to secure your own buffs, and objectives.

_______These are three viable options to replace Ghost with, but not Smite because that is a must have on any jungler.

Flash

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_______ Some people in general are not comfortable using the summoner spell Ghost and just prefer Flash hands down. That's completely fine and Flash is not a terrible idea on Shaco. Flash also has a lot of potential to make you a very deceptive Shaco player; especially since you would have two instant blinks that would allow you to catch off nearly any target.

Exhaust

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)_______ Exhaust is a great option if you can conserve your Deceive for escape. Therefore, this is a good summoner spell for experienced Shaco players who know how to properly use Deceive to get in and out of fights. In team fights, this summoner spell can negate a lot of a AD Carry's damage output, and force him to retreat.

Ignite

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_______ I just never liked taking this spell in general as any jungler. It provides no form of defensive potential what so ever. Also, there is typically never a need for another Ignite on the team since almost every role takes it nowadays. It can be viable I guess, but at the same time you have to play extremely cautious while Deceive is on cooldown.

Summoner's Wrath : If you are running Exhaust, Ghost or Ignite, then taking this point is a wonderful option, and if not, then put another point into Fury . Fury : The bonus attack speed is better than the cool down reduction, and the attack speed is also very helpful in your jungle clearing speed. Deadliness : Attack Damage per level gives you better scaling into the game and is a lot stronger on Shaco then Ability Power per level. Havoc : This helps you do more damage overall. Weapon Expertise : This is a very powerful mastery providing you with 8% armor penetration at the cost of a single point. The armor penetration will help you in nearly all aspects of the game. Lethality : You will already have a guaranteed critical strike with Deceive; however, the main two reasons to take points into this is for the next level of masteries, and that there is nothing better in the row. Brute Force : More attack damage is pretty self-explanatory with this build. Frenzy : This mastery point makes putting points into Lethality a lot more worth it because the bonus attack speed after obtaining a critical strike synergizes with Deceive very well. Sunder : Flat armor penetration is pretty self-explanatory with this build. Executioner : Increases clear speeds as well as your executioner-like abilities.

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As for the remaining nine points left in your masteries, you have two options: the utility tree, or the defensive tree. The Benefits of the utility tree is more mana regeneration, more movement speed, shorter cooldowns on summoner spells, and extended buff duration. The benefits of the defensive tree are armor, reduced damage against monsters, return damage against monster attacks, and health. You can decide which tree you would prefer.

Wanderer : Movement speed helps you position yourself better in all situations. Meditation : Allows you to be more lenient with your mana. Mastermind : Let's you use Ghost, Exhaust, or Ignite more as well as Smite. Runic Affinity : Extended duration of buffs is really nice to have on junglers.

Durability : Scaling health makes up for your lack of innate tankiness. Tough Skin : Helps you sustain yourself in the jungle. Hardiness : Armor is really helpful on a jungler for clearing camps and dueling. Bladed Armor : Speeds up your clear time a bit. Veteran's Scars : Flat health gives you some pretty nice tankiness early on in the game.

Greater Mark of Attack Speed: I take these marks on Shaco because he clears the jungle much faster with these. Also, when a monster is feared by a Jack In The Box he can get more attacks in the back of the monster triggering his passive, Backstab

Greater Seal of Armor: These seals are pretty standard on all junglers. You take them so you are more durable against the monsters; therefore, you'll be more sustained.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: I take these because they give you a pretty hefty amount of MR at level 18, and most games you probably won't want to buy MR. You probably want more Damage.

Greater Quintessence of Armor Penetration: You take armor pen quints because you will be able to pierce most jungle camp monster's armor with these, resulting in more damage.




_______ Backstab is an underestimated passive, most people don't even think about how much extra damage you can do if you hit someone in the back. It is particularly strong during ganks if they try to run. It is also very useful in the jungle if you effectively place your Jack In The Box to make the monsters turn their backs toward you.



_______ Deceive is Shaco's only gap closer, and reason that he ganks so well. It puts out a significant amount of damage as well. Many people forget that if you initiate with this you're left with no escape, and that is why I typically run ghost on him, so I can initiate with Deceive.





_______ Jack In The Box is one of the most useful abilities (not including ulti's) in the entire game. It can be used as crowd control/ ganking (fear), escaping, warding, and jungling. It is typically good to put a jack in the box behind the enemy during ganks to prevent escape. If the enemy is ganking frequently (ex: Jungle Alistar) not only should you counter gank but place many Jack In The Boxes near exits of the jungle.




_______ Two-Shiv Poison has an active and passive ability which are both incredibly useful for ganking,escaping, and most specifically denying all escape attempts. You definitely want to max this out first due to the amount of damage it deals in the early levels, and the AD scaling is pretty high on it. It should be used to poke prior to team fights, and should be saved for when an enemy uses Flash denying their escape.




_______ Hallucinate is one of the most unique, and most difficult ultimates to use in the game. It can be used to split push, 1 v 1, escape, Dragon, Baron, and vision. Split pushing is what you will see any Shaco do, you go push a lane ult, and drop a box, and due to his many escapes he can't really be caught out. In team fights you typically want to do a Q + W + E combo on anyone in the back line particularly the AD Ranged Carry. Once you do your combo there is no way to figure out which clone is which, and by the time they do figure out it's typically too late. It is very simple to use to do a level 6 dragon by yourself, and also when your team does do baron it allows it to be cleared almost twice as fast. The most skilled Shaco's will use the Hallucinate clone as an escape tool by sending the real Shaco, and clone in opposite directions. This will split the enemy team off reducing the damage output giving you more time to escape, and wait for you cool down on deceive. The most secret, and probably one of the most effective uses of Hallucinate is to block damage. If you time Hallucinate properly you can dodge turret shots, the last tick of ignite, or any target/AOE abilities.





_______ Shaco is quite flexible with skill sequence choices in the early phases of the game, but this is the standard skill sequence I use.






Hunter's Machete + Health Potion x 5 : This is the standard start for any jungler since S3 began. It provides far faster clearing than other items, and is cheap enough to allow you to buy 5 Health Potions. This start shouldn't be replaced unless you aren't jungling Shaco.






_____You should never have more than one jungling item in your inventory.

Madred's Razors : This is my personal favorite jungling item on Shaco because it allows me to get to my core build faster. The reason why you don't need to complete the Madred's Razors into Wriggle's Lantern is because the only difference is lifesteal and a free ward. Both lifesteal and wards can be found elsewhere in the shop. Typically, I find myself going for a Blade of the Ruined King after purchasing Madred's Razors.

Wriggle's Lantern : If you are just learning how to play Shaco you should build this every single game. It provides strong jungle-clearing, and some sustain with the built-in Vampiric Scepter. It also provides a ward every three minutes to assist with counter-jungling, and counter-ganking. This is your ideal jungle item, and there are few times where it is a good idea to stray away from it.

Spirit of the Elder Lizard : This is very very situational, and shouldn't be used on a game to game basis. It doesn't provide innate sustain like Wriggle's Lantern however it provides insanely high damage output in general. I only buy this item if I am constantly ganking, and counter-ganking with little farming in between. This item is not the greatest when it comes to farming so take note of that after purchasing this item. Never purchase this item when you are behind because it will delay your future purchases a lot. If you do decide to build this item, I would invest in a life steal item such as Blade of the Ruined King.





_____You should purchase two or three of these items.

Statikk Shiv : This item is very strong in the early game, can increase rate of jungle clearing, and assist Shaco with split pushing. The bonus movement speed gives you much better positioning with your ganks, and Deceive. Overall, a very strong offensive item and does well in almost any scenario.

Youmuu's Ghostblade : I buy this whenever I feel that it is my role to burst a champion down in teamfights. If I find that the enemy Karthus is at 400 cs in 35 minutes I might decide that he is a threat and needs to be bursted down quickly before he can do too much. The The Brutalizer is a great aspect of the recipe and is worth purchasing after your jungling item.

Trinity Force : This item is quite expensive, and is an okay purchase if you are performing well, and have quite a lot of gold on your hands. It provides an assortment of stats that are all somewhat helpful for Shaco.

Blade of the Ruined King : This item is very useful in ganks with its active. However, I typically don't feel the need to buy it in the early game because the healing effects that it provides are not very useful until I invest into more attack damage. If you purchase Spirit of the Elder Lizard it can be a bit more useful because you wouldn't have invested in lifesteal yet.

Ravenous Hydra : I don't find myself buying this item often. If anything it should be a late game item. However, if your team needs you to split push it helps you push faster. I only buy this early game if I bought Spirit of the Elder Lizard because the lifesteal is quite helpful.

The Black Cleaver : A very strong item with many effective stats. I typically hold off on completing this item until team fighting starts, and just hold a The Brutalizer in my inventory until then. The passive also synergizes with Hallucinate providing greater total damage on a target.

Sword of the Divine : This item should not be your first offensive item. It is quite weak without other attack damage and attack speed items. This item grants great burst potential, and if the active is combined with the active of Youmuu's Ghostblade, or the item Infinity Edge it can do a large amount of burst damage.

Infinity Edge : Many people consider this a core item on Shaco however it is very pricey and should not be purchased unless you can afford it. It may provide a lot of damage; however, it delays all of your other items by quite a bit.





______You should purchase one or two of these items.

Zephyr: This is really the only viable crowd control reduction on Shaco. All of the stats are very beneficial, and I find it most effective to be purchased after the jungling item, or just a bit later.

Wit's End: If you are looking for attack speed, and magic resist this is what you need. The passive also synergizes with Shaco's Hallucinate. I typically buy this when I don't feel like I'm getting bursted from 100 to 0 but dying from sustained magic damage (ex: Shen).

Mercurial Scimitar: I don't find myself purchasing this item much at all unless I'm going pure assassin build. This item should be purchased if the enemy Malzahar, Warwick, or Skarner is primarily selecting you as the target for their ultimate. However, just because you are going up against one of those champions doesn't mean that you must buy the item.

Guardian Angel: This is the typical defensive item I buy because it fits almost any situation. Typically, I build this item if I'm getting bursted down quite easily in team fights despite using Hallucinate to dodge single-target abilities. I typically build this after completing two offensive items, or building part of the second offensive item. However, it is okay to purchase the item later on in the game.

Warmog's Armor: I don't buy this that often; however, it is definitely a viable defensive item on Shaco. You should build this if you are dying from sustained, and constant damage over time (ex: Ryze, Swain, Orianna). I typically build this after completing two offensive items, or building part of the second offensive item. However, it is okay to purchase the item later on in the game.

Randuin's Omen: If you are struggling with physical damage, or you are getting kited by the enemy AD carry, this is the item you are looking for. This item was made to counter AD carries and it does it perfectly. Try to conserve the active ability for when the enemy uses a summoner spell, or an escape ability.

Banshee's Veil: This item should be purchased when the enemy team is initiating on you constantly. This item will prevent you from taking that initial crowd control, and allow you to make your way to the back line faster. The health and magic resist also provide you some great tankiness. I would buy this later on in the game after many team fights have occured.

Maw of Malmortius: I find myself puchasing Hexdrinker a lot on Shaco because burst counters many assassins, burst comes from mages, and Hexdrinker provides that last second magic damage shield. I would buy Hexdrinker right after your preferred jungling item; however, I would hold off on upgrading until much later on in the game because it is not monetarily worth the upgrade.







Boots of Speed should be purchased with the jungling item or during the building of it. Upgraded boots should be purchased just a bit after the completion of the jungling item. Enchantments are very situational, and should be done when you feel the need to do so.

Berserker's Greaves: I find myself building this a lot more frequently then Boots of Mobility as I feel that the attack speed is very nice to have with upgraded movement speed.

Boots of Mobility: I only buy these when the enemy jungler is constantly ganking, or the enemy team is constantly pushing regardless of my presence. Some think it's worth it just due to the extra positioning it provides on Deceive however I can still jump across a lane without Boots of Mobility. These boots are meant for roaming, and should be bought for that.

Enchantment: Alacrity: If you bought Berserker's Greaves, yet you are looking for more movement speed still, this is what you are looking for. I don't find myself buying this often because I typically buy Statikk Shiv or Zephyr every single game.

Enchantment: Captain: I bought this once in total with my friends when ran an assassin team composition. I would lead the charge in stealth and they would get the extra movement speed bonus to our target. It is very situational, and should only be done if you are the one initiating fights, or you have 2 or more assassins on your team.

Enchantment: Furor: This is the standard enchantment I get because it allows me to stick to my target, and keep up when my gap-closers and crowd control are down.

Enchantment: Homeguard: These are essentially "turtle"ing boots. They allow you to heal quickly and get back to nearby teemfights quickly. They are quite fun to use and provide some sick placement with Deceive.




______This is a typical route for Shaco meant for inexperienced Shaco players, and low-level summoners. It is very safe and less reliant on your teams assistance for jungling.



_______This is a detailed album that gives a lot of tips and tricks for first time junglers with Shaco. The screenshots are not enough to learn how to jungle though. Make sure that you read the descriptions below because they contain vital pieces of information on proper jungling in the early game.

1. Buy your Items Fast

_______I cannot stress how important it is to buy your items quickly. If you for some reason do not buy your items quickly in any game as any jungler you lose control of the jungle. If the enemy team buys their items a lot faster than you, they might beat you into your own jungle.

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2. Prepping the Wolves Camp

_______You will want to place two Jack in the Boxes at the wolves camp like so, placing the first one at 00:44. The reason you place your first Jack in the Box at this time rather than 00:40 is because if you place at 00:40 your Jack in the Box will die because it only has a 60 second duration.

NOTE: You will want your teammates to assist you in killing the wolves. If you don't think your teammates will help you then skip this step and go straight to prepping blue.

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3. Prepping the Blue Golem Camp

_______ After you have placed your second Jack in the Box in the wolves camp then begin placing Jack in the Boxes in the blue golem camp. You should be able to place two Jack in the Boxes before the wolf camp spawns.

NOTE: If you're going to skip the wolf camp, then you will want to start placing Jack in the Boxes at the blue golem camp at 00:59.

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4. Clearing the Wolves Camp

_______Jack in the Boxes will do the most of the damage needed to kill it. Use your passive Backstab properly in order to kill the camp faster. Make sure that you don't use a third Jack in the Box on the wolves camp because you need to save it for the blue golem camp.

NOTE: Obviously do not bother with this step if you didn't prep it.

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5. Clearing the Blue Golem Camp

_______Immediately after clearing wolves head over to the blue golem camp. Once the blue golem spawns place down a Jack in the Box this will extend the duration that the blue golem is feared reducing the damage you take. If you are not receiving a leash from your teammates then you will have to use smite. If you are receiving a leash from your teammates, save your smite so you can kill the red lizard camp afterwards.

_______You should level up after clearing the blue golem camp (otherwise your teammates stole your experience) and you will want to take this skill point in your Q Deceive.

NOTE: If you didn't clear the wolves camp then you should not need to use smite no matter if you get a leash from your teammates or not.

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6. Clearing the Wraiths Camp

_______Once you arrive at the wraiths camp drop a Jack in the Box in the center of the camp then immediately begin auto-attacking the blue wraith. Once the Jack in the Box fear is triggered, use deceive to relieve yourself of aggro from the wraiths and make your way behind the blue wraith and auto-attack him. Then clear the rest of your camp with your passive in mind as you do it.

NOTE: If you saved your smite at blue golem camp skip this step.

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7. Clearing the Wolves Camp 2

_______ Use the same clearing strategy used for the wraiths camp. You should hit lvl 3 after clearing the wolves camp, and you should put a point into your E, Two-Shiv Poison.

_______ If your bottom lane is over extended and is prone to being ganked, I would consider doing the small golems camp instead so you're closer to the lane if the enemy jungler decides to show up.

NOTE: If you saved smite at blue buff then you should skip this step.

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8. Clearing the Red Lizard Camp

Place a Jack in the box outside of the camp, where it will not aggro the red lizard. You will then wait until the cooldown on Jack in the Box is 3 seconds before throwing a Two-Shiv Poison at the Red Lizard. Use Deceive when the red lizard is feared by the Jack in the Box, and keep your passive in mind while auto-attacking. When the fear of the first Jack in the Box wears off, you should place a second Jack in the Box down next to the red lizard. Finally, when the red lizard gets low enough finish it off with smite.

NOTE: If you are level two when attempting to clear the red lizard camp the same way except for one thing. After placing your first Jack in the Box and allowing your cooldown to reach three seconds, you will want to auto-attack the red lizard and run towards your Jack in the Box. The rest of the steps are the same from there.

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9. Making Plays

After completing your first clear you NEED to make plays around the map while you are strong. You have tons of options:

• Hunt for the enemy jungler(only if they are a weak duelist or have little sustain in jungle).
• Gank top, middle, or bottom lane.
• Counter-jungle the enemy jungler(only if they are a weak duelist or have little sustain in jungle).
• Set up a counter-gank(predict the enemy jungler's movements and wait for him there).

Soon to Come.




SPACE Shaco of course excels at ganking, but only when his ganks are done correctly. In this chapter, I will talk about a Proper Ganking, Counter-Ganking and Avoiding Wards.



_______ Shaco has by far one of the most potent level three games of all champions in League of Legends. His Deceive provides him a "gap-closer" to close the distance between him and his opponent. His Two-Shiv Poison provides a passive slow, and a strong nuke to finish off a target at low health. His Jack In The Box can be placed behind the enemy to get not only a fear, but a hefty amount of damage as well.
_______ Shaco's Deceive provides you with a variety of places to gank from whether you want to run down the lane, or jump over the wraiths wall. This makes it very hard for opponents to ward for you; however, you should always make your best effort to Deceive in a place that typically isn't warded.
_______As Shaco there is a particular combination of abilities that you need to get used to. The ganking combination is...

• Deceive: Use this to get behind your opponent, and in the way of their typical escape path.
• Jack In The Box: This is what can make or break a gank. You should try to place this in the enemy's escape route. The damage that this ability provides in the early level is significant and triggering it can ensure early kills. Typically, people will have to Flash if you place a Jack In The Box correctly.
• Auto-Attack: Pretty straight-forward. You should do this for damage obviously, and to trigger the critical strike from Deceive. Keep in mind your passive, Backstab, when auto-attacking opponents.
• Two-Shiv Poison: One of the things that many people mess up with Shaco. You should not use this for up-front damage. This is your only ranged damage ability. It is best used to finish off a low health enemy, or at least force them out of lane. If you want strong finishing power you can combine Ignite and Two-Shiv Poison.

_______ Shaco is a very powerful ganker, and counter-ganker especially with coordinated teammates. If your mid-laner is getting ganked and you run in through the river, and your mid-laner runs to you for help you can typically get off a free Jack In The Box + Hallucinate without losing any distance from cast times. In a scenario like such, the typical ganking combo is similar, but you should try to use your Jack In The Box as more of a trap.
_______However, the above circumstance isn't as common as your mid-laner running for their life. So, in this case you should try to take this as a gank and prioritize the squishier target > the more damaging target > or the target with the most buffs (lizard, golem).
_______As any jungler you also need to realize when not to fight a counter-gank. It is okay to show your face to ensure they do not dive a teammate, but you need to realize when you and your teammate cannot take on your opponents.



_______As I've said earlier in this chapter, Shaco can use his Deceive to avoid wards and still get off strong ganks. The diagram below shows the typical Deceive spots for all lanes, and from both sides.



_______As you can tell the diagram is pretty self-explanatory. When it comes to Deceiveing you should Deceive where the arrow starts, and then the blink should take you further down the lane or over a wall. This diagram shows that the middle lane is a bit easier to gank from multiple directions; however, middle lane is also the shortest lane meaning there is less time before your opponent arrives at his tower. The top lane is typically one of the easiest to gank because most of the laners are melee, and top lane is one of the longer lanes in general. Bottom lane is usually one of the hardest to gank because there are two people there meaning four summoner spells, and eight abilities; so, you need to be aware if the bottom lane can burst you down. An example of a burst-reliant bottom lane is something like Graves + Taric or Leona + Corki.




SPACEAlright counter-jungling is fairly simple as Shaco here are some tips to make sure it is done properly. I attempted to list the tips based on importance.

Location of the Enemy Jungler

________This is probably one of the most common mistakes people make when counter jungling. They have no idea where the enemy jungler is and blindly enter the jungle. If the opponent is a good duelist (ex: Lee Sin) or has enough takiness and crowd control to prevent your escape (ex: Nautilus not only will you lose your life, but you will lose your buffs. So, to not get caught out in the enemy jungle drop a couple Jack In The Box's or maybe just a plain old Sight Ward.

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Having Smite off of Cool Down

_______If your Smite is on cool down while attempting to steal an enemy buff, you could end up wasting your time. Here is a short story on what I mean. I was playing Heimerdinger jungle against a Fiddlesticks (BTW: don't hate on Heimerdinger jungle he's insanely fast). Anyways, so I just cleared my wraiths, was walking up to golems, and I notice my red is not there. I then go check the bush and fiddle is draining the red lizard and it's at 200 health. I simply use my CH-1 Concussion Grenade to stop his drain and stun him, and then use my Hextech Micro-Rockets to take the red buff for myself. So, now that my teammates realized that Fiddlesticks was in our jungle. We ended up picking up first blood. most of these problems could've been avoided if he had Smite like: (A) He would've cleared lizard to fast for me and my teammates to kill him. (B) He wouldn't have gave up the red buff that he tried to steal. This Fiddlesticks ended up going 0/5/6. He couldn't jungle fast enough without his first blue, and I counter jungled him hard in return knowing I had the advantage on him. This goes for all counter jungling, and basic jungling. Have your smite up.

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Keep Jungle Timers

_______If you watch any professional teams, they don't type anything in chat other than when blue buff, red buff, dragon, and baron will re-spawn. This is needed for counter-jungling because if you know when the buff re-spawns you can prepare for it when it ends up re-spawning. Now, this is effective because the enemy jungler has no exact idea on when a buff that has been previously stolen will re-spawn again. Now, this isn't the only use of this. If you know that the enemy jungler's buff re-spawned, you can assume he will be in that area. Therefore, you know a general idea of where he is, so you can counter-jungle him where he is not. Here are respawn times: Wraiths, Wolves, and Golems respawn every 1 minute; Red Lizard, and Blue Golem respawn every 5 minutes; Dragon respawns every 6 minutes; Baron respawns every 7 minutes.

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Letting Teammates Know you are Counter-Jungling

_______This is a common mistake that many junglers will make when taking an enemy buff. Before you counter-jungle the enemy you should tell nearby laners the following. Tell them (A) Push the lane to the tower: If they push the lane the enemy laner back to the tower, the enemy could either lose the tower, or lose a lot of minion kills. Also, when they're pushed to their tower they're in a bad position to help out their jungler if he does end up finding you. (B) If the enemy leaves, follow them: Tell them to follow the laner if they decide to leave because most likely they're aware of what you are doing, so most likely a team fight will break out, and you need all the help you can get from your allies. If the friendly laner doesn't follow the enemy laner you will want to abandon your counter-jungling before you get caught.




SPACE Shaco's match-ups against enemy junglers are very strong, he has an advantage at early levels on many jungler's.



_______(Starts at the Blue Golem) This guy has the same tactic as you he will want to gank a lot. Therefore, the early levels you will want to prepare for a counter-gank. His cool downs are very long, so once they're burned it is fairly easy to kill him. You want to make sure that if you do counter jungle you have vision of him, or have a ward because he has a lot of hard crowd control and can slow your escape enough to get help from teamates. Now if you do invade on Alistar there is always the chance that you'll get Headbutt + Pulverize followed up by some damage from a nearby teammate which is an absolute terror.



_______(Starts at the Blue Golem) His first clear is pretty fast and he stays rather sustained. A early 1 v 1 fight should be avoided unless you have all of your abilities and he does not. I would reccomend just doing some basic counter-jungling on him nothing to serious just taking small camps, unless you know his locations. He won't really gank too much until he hits level 6. So, if you can get your lanes an early advantage because he's very reliant on his Bandage Toss pre-level 6.



_______(Can start at either Blue Golem or Red Lizard) He is very sustained, and farms the jungle well but his ganks are lacking. I would focus your attention on ganks rather than counter-jungling against a jungle Cho-Gath. You could easily 1 v 1 this guy if you do meet him in his jungle though. One thing to be cautious of though is he can easily secure buffs with a combo of Smite + Feast. So, if he is level 6 counter-jungling buffs becomes very difficult.



_______(Starts at the Blue Golem) Diana is very weak levels 1 - 5. Therefore, it is very easy to duel with her, and counter-jungle her. Also, you this allows you to add a lot of pressure to the lanes since you have an advantage over her for the early game.
She is one of the last people you want to set up a Jack In The Box trap on though. One Crescent Strike can kill all of your Jack In The Box's. Once she hits level 6 she becomes a lot more challenging. You are going to want to ward for your teammates with Jack In The Box's and Sight Ward's to give them awareness of where she is. If you do see Diana ganking one of your lanes, stop what you're doing and run over there (not if it's across the map though). Typically, in this kind of situation all you need to do is simply place a Jack In The Box in there preferred path, and that should be enough to get them off your laner.



_______(Starts at Red Lizard, but can start at Blue Golem) Mundo goes where he pleases, so you need to have vision of him before you enter the jungle. If you are going to counter him do it early game he can't duel very well w/o many items. He clears the jungle insanely fast, I would expect him to do little ganking. If you are in draft mode and you see a Dr. Mundo picked, it is definitely not a bad idea to take Ignite rather than Ghost. His ganks are pretty weak, but if he hits one of his Infected Cleavers, he will hit every one after that due to the insane slow on it. Therefore, dodge the first one and you don't have to worry about the others. Also, be aware that he has a very strong invade in the early levels so be prepared to see him in your jungle.



_______(Needs to start at Blue Golem) This lady is super-nerfed, but her scouting abililty is quite incredible. I recommend to only counter-jungle her when you know where she is on the map because for all you know you could be stealing her red and she could be pinging her teammates to kill you. She will try to gank a lot, they're pretty strong due to the fact that she can stealth. If she does gank you can kill her very easily, she is very very squishy. She has practically no sustain so counter-jungle as much as possible early. If she does try to duel you'll win every time.



_______(Needs to start at Blue Golem) He used to be pretty powerful, and fast, but he isn't anymore. The only reason he is still considered a jungler is due to his sustain. He might be able to 1 v 1 you early game, I would ignore counter-him early. I would just focus on ganking. You have an advantage on him in farming, and ganking. If you can try to place a Jack In The Box behind him when he uses Drain, or Crowstorm because it will cancel either one of them. Consider getting Ignite rather than Ghost against a Fiddlesticks.



_______(Will start at Blue Golem) He has okay clearing speed, yet his ganks are pretty strong due to his passive Grog Soaked Blade. I would recommend stealing his red early, this will make his jungle clearing even slower. He can gank pretty well at level 2 and beyond, so be prepared to counter gank for your teammates.



_______(Will start at Blue Golem) His clear time is rather slow early until he get his Madred's Razors. On the other hand, his ganks are incredibly powerful with a knock-up, slow, and lock-in. He can even do powerful ganks starting at level 2. I would treat him similarly to Gangplank. Although Jarvan IV is a bit worse at dueling. If you do end up 1 v 1ing Jarvan IV use Jack In The Box, and Two-Shiv Poison as much as possible. If he does end up using Cataclysm he is probably locking you up so his teammates can come assist him, so save your Deceive for his ultimate.



_______(Typically will start at Red Lizard, but can start at Blue Golem) He clears fast, and ganks very very well. He is probably the most difficult opponent for Shaco due to his Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike, and his Tempest / Cripple because these abilities reveal stealth. Therefore, escaping him can be quite difficult. I wouldn't even bother counter-jungling him too much because he can destroy you 1 v 1. I would only do small things like smiting his big blue wraith denying exp. I recommend banning Lee Sin if you plan on picking Shaco in draft mode will save you a lot of trouble.




_______(Will start at blue) He clears slow, and can't gank for his life before level 6. You should step all over this guy start off by stealing his red and then just gank all day long, and counter-jungle him constantly. If he actually tries to 1 v 1 you, you'll win every time. This guy can't do anything against Shaco. WARNING: IF YOU FOLLOW WHAT I SAID, MAY RESULT IN A MALPHITE DISCONNECTING!



_______(Will start at blue) He clears fast, and ganks well. A 1 v 1 fight with him will be pretty even, be aware of his passive Sap Magic. If he's a good Maokai he will start at his wraiths meaning you won't be able to take his wraiths after blue. If you feel comfortable you could attempt to steal his red. I would just recommend consistently ganking and counter-ganking against a Maokai. This is a bit of a tougher match-up for Shaco.




_______(Will start at blue) His clear time is incredible will probably only get 3 ganks off with in the first 20 minutes, but they're pretty pathetic. I would just expect him to farm the jungle the whole game. You can duel him pretty easily, you can counter-jungle him, but I would just recommend ganking because you have a big advantage over him in that category. He may counter-jungle you as well because... he's Master Yi.



_______(Will start at blue) His clear time is okay, but the ganks are incredibly potent. I recommend stealing his red immediately after blue, it won't shut down his ganking, but his clear will be much much slower. I would be careful counter-jungling him later on though his crowd control will prevent an easy escape. It's very important to counter-gank this guy every single time especially once he hits level 6. Don't get caught out yourself though I would just drop a Jack In The Box, and throw a Two-Shiv Poison, and get out.



_______(Will start at blue) Clear time is pretty fast, he can't gank very well until he gets his ultimate Paranoia. I would try to steal this guys red if you can it will pretty much deny him of any early ganks. Dueling him though is another story. This guy will not only rip your face to shreds if he lands a Duskbringer on you he can see where you Deceive. Oh ****! What do I if he does that then? Well it's easy use spells to slow his chasing down, and when Duskbringer wears off, use Deceive. He's obviously another hard match-up for Shaco.




_______(Will start at blue) This guy may be a pain in top lane, but in the jungle he's very easy to counter-jungle. Typically, due to the fact that he remains at very low health so he can clear faster. I would recommend ganking this guy at wraiths he'll probably be half health, or I would recommend ganking him around 3:30 at red buff. He'll be a quarter health. He cannot gank very well so he really relies on clearing the jungle fast, and staying at level. Therefore, if you gank a lot, his teammates will beg him to gank a lot. He lacks a gap closer, so he can't do much of anything but throw Undertow.



_______(Will start at blue) This turtle-armadillo thing is super duper easy to counter-jungle. If you take his red lizard early he will be doomed, and he will start relying on his ganks for items, and gold. So, this is why your going to buy some wards from your teammates to prevent his ganks, or at least set up counter-ganks. This guy is a bit of a trickier one to duel due to his amount of crowd control, and his Defensive Ball Curl.



_______(Will start at blue) This is probably the easiest match-up for any counter-jungler. She cannot 1 v 1 you so if you counter-jungle her she has to go somewhere else or she'll die. Sejuani's ganks are pretty strong though, but not because of her damage, its her hard crowd control. If you want to feel like a boss use a Deceive to dodge her ultimate Glacial Prison, not only will it break her confidence, but her ultimate has a super long cooldown. If you can't do that very easily, I would recommend buying a Quicksilver Sash, it is practically a Cleanse.



_______(Will start at red, but can start at blue) A very annoying match-up due to his strong ganking and counter-ganking. This guy is super slow, yet is very very sustained staying at high health with 1-2 potions on his first clear, no matter how he starts. The way to beat him is by applying a lot of pressure on the lanes early when he can't gank as effectively. Consider buying Boots of Mobility to get to places fast, and keep up [Shen]]'s global pressure. Counter-jungling him is okay, but it isn't very effective to steal his blue golem unless they have someone like an Anivia mid.



_______(Will start at red, but can start at blue) The dragon lady can 1 v 1 quite well in the early levels, so I wouldn't recommend counter-jungling her in the early levels unless you have vision of her. She clears extremely fast, the typical Shyvana will run Exhaust + Smite meaning she has no escape other than her ultimate. Therefore, if you can pick a fight where you have an advantage she probably won't be able to get away very easily.



_______(Will start at blue) This guy can't gank too easily before level 6, so you are going to want to gank a lot before he hits 6. Counter-jungling him is a good idea if you have vision of him or have wards. I would avoid getting into a 1 v 1 fight with him, he is a very strong duelist, and will stall your escape. He jungles at a very fast speed, stealing his red is not a bad idea, but I've seen some Skarner's who go straight to the red lizard after blue golem.



_______(Will start at blue) The troll clears at a moderate speed a bit slower than Soraka (I'm not joking). You generally can't beat him in a 1 v 1 duel, due to his Attack Damage steroid bite thing. I would recommend ganking a lot it is a clear advantage that you have over him. If you do end up getting chased by the enemy Trundle wait for him to use his Pillar of Filth before using Deceive then he has to walk around his own obstacle.



_______(Will start at blue) Do not try to steal his red, a good Udyr will go straight to red right after blue golem. Udyr is a very very good duelist don't pick a fight with him until you have (A) a clear advantage, or (B) Hallucinate. He can be kited very easily, therefore his ganks are rather weak. Like all the other junglers who have weak ganks, you need to gank a lot to take advantage of their weaknesses. Counter-jungling him is pretty easy he has no gap closer so, it's simple to escape from the guy. He does clear very very fast though.




_______(Will start at blue) Probably one of the most boring junglers to go against. He won't gank pre level 6, and has no gap closer ability pre level 6. Therefore, counter-jungling him is simple. Personally, I would steal his red because then he definitely has no ability to gank what so ever in the early stages. This will make him have to farm the jungle which he is no better at. Tip: If you think Warwick is about to use his ultimate on you, drop a Jack In The Box. The fear will cancel the ultimate, and might just save your life.




_______ Shaco doesn't really perform very well in teamfights for multiple reasons, yet I will not go into why he doesn't do well in teamfights but rather things you can do to perform well during a team fight. The below sections describe common things you can do during team fights.

Assassination

_______The build I provide focuses a lot on burst damage with the Youmuu's Ghostblade. This allows you to assassinate, or force a squishy champion out of the fight. Here are some things to keep in mind when you are trying to assassinate:

• Squishy Protection: If the enemy squishies are very well protected and they have a lot of crowd control, then you need to make sure you wait for the protectors to use their abilities, or split from their squishy. If you go in too early when the squishy is protected you'll get blown up instantly.
• Hallucinate: When assassinating a champion that is mildly protected use Hallucinate in order to negate burst damage. If they aren't very well protected then you can consider using Hallucinate for the extra damage.
• Positioning: Do not put yourself in a field of area of effect damage you will die. Try to keep your distance until you see an opening on the enemy squishies.
• Assassination: This is the basic combination to assassinate an enemy champion (keep in mind the tips for Hallucinate).
  Deceive + Auto Attack ( Backstab) + Jack In The Box + Youmuu's Ghostblade Active + Two-Shiv Poison (if they use an escape spell) + Rinse and Repeat

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Protection

_______You should protect your own carries if the enemy carries are well protected or a lot weaker than your carries. In order to do the following keep the following tips in mind:

• Jack in the Box: A properly placed Jack In The Box can really disrupt a champion pursuing one of your carries. The Jack In The Box has the potential to fear them, to force them to walk around it, or use an ability or auto attack to kill it before it arms.
• Positioning: Try to stay in between the pursuing enemy champion and your squishy. Staying in between the enemy champion and carry forces the enemy champion to walk around you which delays the death of your carry. Eat heavy damage skill shots for your carry if you've built up enough resistances (This can be done with Deceive in key situations).

Split Pushing

_______ Shaco is quite a strong split pusher for any team. If he utilizes Hallucinate, and Jack In The Box properly, he can shred through turrets. On the other hand, Shaco can't really out lane other common split pushers (ex: Nidalee, Shen); so, in some situations split pushing isn't a good idea. Here are some things to keep in mind when split pushing:

• Hallucinate + Jack in the Box: These abilities allow you to just wreck towers. When placing Jack In The Box make sure you place it away from the minions so it attacks the turret.
• Laning: If you are laning against someone while split pushing try to poke them down with Two-Shiv Poison. Do not use Deceive unless you have a guaranteed kill because you need to have it available if the enemy team tries to lock you down. If you cannot push your enemy laner out of lane then you are better off team fighting unless they are the main source of damage for their team.
• Split Push or Assist Teammates: This is really simple, yet it is very important. If your laner uses some means to get to their teammates whether it is Teleport or just simply walking there. You have a decision to make. You can either split push while they go assist their teammates or help your teammates. Typically, you should try to help out your teammates; however, if the fight is occurring on the opposite side of the map you might not be able to get their in time.

_______I will be trying to get more Shaco gameplay, but people don't like him and ban him frequently. For any games that I do actually get to play Shaco, and I remember to record them you will get to see them. I will list my final stats with items, the Jungle Opponent, and then the link to the replay.




















_______To view any of these replays it requires the simple download of LoL Recorder. I highly recommend getting it even if you're not interested in watching my replays. It is a phenomenal program that records all of your LoL games when it is running. It hardly lowers your FPS if at all, and allows you to look back at your game and see what you could do better. Download Link




_______There are seldom high ELO players who play Shaco at all. Therefore, I have done a lot of work and found some high ELO streamers who give a lot of commentary on their gameplay.

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youngMINI _______youngMINI is a very strong Shaco player sitting around 2400 ELO with a 68.21% win rate(201 wins, and 98 losses) as Shaco. He plays a bruiser-like Shaco only getting a few damage items then rushing resistances. During the game, he gives quite a bit of commentary when he is not chatting with He hasn't been streaming much lately, but the videos on his stream channel are still of great use. youngMINI Stream _____ youngMINI Videos _____ youngMINI Statistics

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Perfects _______Perfects is a very skilled Shaco player sitting around 2300 ELO with a 62.6% win rate(363 wins, and 217 losses) as Shaco. He plays a very damage heavy Shaco that refrains from buying many defensive items in the early game if any. Perfects is always talking about the game, and has one of the best personalities out of all the streamers I've watched. He is relatively new to streaming, but he is excellent at it even though he doesn't know it. Perfects Stream _______ Perfects Videos _______ Perfects Statistics

SPACEThis section is meant for showing match history with success using the Shaco guide, and build that I have. If you would like to submit some of your successful match history either send me a PM, or leave a comment containing a screen shot of it.

S3 EDIT: I have removed season two match history because it is now season three, and I am not going to attempt to establish false creditability with match history that doesn't apply to the build.



_____The above images are of some of my S3 gameplay. The builds are also displayed; however, do not make the assumption that the game that I had the best stats I had the best build. Builds are very situational each game, and I build accordingly.



_____Sent in by: BloodMoney47




_____Sent in by: THE_REBEL




SPACEThese questions typically come out of the comments, and are answered in the comments. Although, any of the questions that I feel are important are brought to this chapter of my Shaco Guide.



Q: Why don't you build Cooldown Reduction earlier on Shaco? asked by Minami

A: I don't build cool down reduction very early on Shaco, because he isn't a champion that has abilities meant to be spammed. Also, early game an average gank lasts about 5-7 seconds and all of his cool downs are practically double that amount of time; therefore, there is no purpose of building cool down reduction for ganking purposes that early on. Now, I do typically build a Youmuu's Ghostblade mid game before the team fights errupt, that gives me a good amount of Cool Down Reduction in team fights.



Q: Can you control Shaco's clone? asked by dani_hoyle

A: Yes, you can control Shaco's clone by holding down alt and clicking at the same time. You can only control it until it expires, or is killed.

Edit: Riot recently made it so you can use "R" + Right Click to control the Shaco's Clone.




SPACEBig Shout Out to the following people:

SirSpankAlot

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SirSpankAlot currently has the #1 Rated Skarner Guide with a solid 93% rating. I used his outstanding guide as a reference when I was making mine (mainly the formatting). I can't thank him enough for allowing me to use some of the formatting ideas in his guide and here is a link to his great guide.

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jhoijhoi

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jhoijhoi is probably one of the most well-known people on Mobafire. I want to thank her for the templates, and line dividers she has kindly provided on her Getting Started Guide. The sources she provides for new MOBAFire users are incredible, I highly recommend you check out some of her other guides as well.

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Support

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The support that I was given to make this guide, and the support I was given for the guide was just absolutely amazing. I want to give a shout out to all my friends who pushed me to make a Shaco guide for Mobafire. I would also like to thank any of the people who helped me reach the #1 Shaco Guide with in 2 months.

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Teyso

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Teyso is probably one of the most avid reviewers on MOBAFire, and has majorly helped me with my guide. If you are looking for some actual feedback on your guide you should definitely talk to him, and take a look at his review shop.

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BarbJ

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This guy bared with my mistakes and helped me through the rough times with Alistar in the Match-ups Chapter. He is a very kind fellow, and deserves a blueberry muffin. If anyone knows of any bakeries that deliver let me know ASAP.