Shaco Build Guide by GingerDipz

Shaco Playstyle

New Shaco junglers need to read this guide top to bottom to make sure they don't become under-leveled and feeding every game. These are all the tips I can give, having played about 70 wins with Shaco.

You never clear jungles. Only buffs. (unless you run attack speed quints or lanes are ungankable)

You need to spend the entire laning phase ganking and getting buffs. Don't waste any time at Wraiths, Wolves, or Double-Golems. This is just not worth it. You'd be more productive ganking mid than clearing your wraiths etc.. This constant pressure on the enemy team will win you the game.

Remember to be creative when you're counter-jungling as well.

If they have a Jungler:

You want to start at your own blue and Smite it early. Have your team scout for you. Run away if they invade. Shaco is extremely weak until level 3. The combination of your boxes and Smite should clear blue within a few seconds from it spawning. Immediately run to the other team's red. The enemy jungle will be headed for it or their Wraiths from about the time you arrive at it. Set up Jack In The Boxs in the open in front of the buff in a way that ensures that they will be popped when the enemy arrives. Wait (patiently) until the other jungler arrives. Then use your Two-Shiv Poison to slow them while they are taking damage from your boxes. There's first blood. Then go to your own red and take it with 3 boxes for level 3. Then look for your first gank, recall, buy what you can of Madred's Razors and some health potions, then look for more ganks, and keep buffing.

What ifs:

The other jungler doesn't show up?

Get someone to Clairvoyance or check your team's red, then take their red.

The other jungler doesn't get killed by your boxes?

Ignite and your Two-Shiv Poison guarantee a large sum of damage especially for early levels, but if they don't die from all of your abilities, if it's feasable, chase them, if it is not, run like a ***** because their team's laners will come to kill you.

You loose your blue from invasion?

Lane... you get way too far behind to recover when this happens; however, you can go back to jungling when your blue is up again.

Their Jungler?

Here's a list of your threats/challenges for first blood granted that they pop your boxes:
Shaco for reasons you're learning as you read this.
Rammus can run away because of his natural tankiness.

Now here's a list of the easier junglers to kill granted they pop your boxes:
Fiddlesticks... so so squishy. Your boxes should shred him.
Amumu might tickle you, but then he'll die.
Nunu will slow you then run, but you have a slow too, so it's cool.
Nocturne melts.
Warwick melts.
Xin Zhao melts.
Lee Sin melts.
Trundle melts.

If they don't have a Jungler:

Your blue, their red, as you please to get level 3.

Still ask for scouts at the beginning.

What ifs:

You loose your blue from invasion?

Their blue is available. All hope is not lost. Their blue asap then your red.

Buffing Specifics:

Three Jack In The Box will let you walk away with much more health early game and is almost essential until you get Wriggle's Lantern. It is very important to have Jack In The Boxs focus the buffed minion. Deceive behind the minion for a crit and 20% more damage as the minion focuses your boxes instead of you.

Your first buff, blue, if the easiest. Boxes go as far back into the corner as possible before the buff spawns so that when it does, all of your boxes focus the buffed minion. Hit the buffed minion while it is turned around facing your boxes to utilize your passive.

Ganking:

Start ganking as soon as you are level 3. This crutches the enemy before their jungler can crutch your own team, especially if you've killed their jungler.

Level 3:

Mid:

You can Deceive through walls from wraiths and always pop the Deceive crit first, from behind them. Two-Shiv Poison them if they flash, but never dive them.

Bottom/Top:

Deceive from the bushes and crit them first from behind then basic attack until you feel you will die or until they flash then Two-Shiv Poison them to catch up for a last bit of damage. Never turret dive them without being able to Deceive over a wall with a good amount of health left.

Level 6+:

Mid:

Deceive from wraiths, as they will have warded by this point, and pop the crit on the enemy from behind. Immediately use Hallucinate to confuse them. This makes most players run away or misclick. The passive on Two-Shiv Poison will keep them within range unless they Flash. Two-Shiv Poison them if you can then leave the lane, usually with more than half health.

Bottom/Top:

Initiate with your Deceive or, depending on minion waves, set up a Jack In The Box behind your overextended victims to make them get feared when they try to run, then Deceive to them for the from-behind crit. Using Hallucinate is not essential depending on the amount of help your teammates provide, but I highly recommend it every time you gank top. The slow will keep them in range, but if they decide to take you on even after you Hallucinate, mind your health and run if you need to.

Late-Game:

Continue getting buffs, but now your job is to also mind what turrets are being pushed.

Try to let your team initiate teamfights then jump in with a Decieve then Hallucinate, focusing the main source of damage on their team. You MUST Hallucinate in any teamfight if it is up. It turns so many advantages for your team that you will realize are different in every game. Mind the abilities of Jack In The Box's fear aspect for teamfights as well. A second of fear can prevent someone from escaping or prevent that someone from doing fatal damage to you or a teammate.


Shaco becomes a decent backdoor champion with his ultimate able to tank a few shots from a turret whilst doing massive damage to it.

With a more than full build ( Wriggle's Lantern into a The Bloodthirster etc.) it becomes a short deal to solo Baron. The fastest I've done it was about 10 seconds start to finish, but I had built Madred's Bloodrazor instead of a Phantom Dancer.

Runes?

Armor penetration Marks let you kill buffs much more easily, as they have a decent amount of armor.
Attack speed Glyphs let you buff a great deal more quickly and provide a nice advantage for fighting against enemies.
Health/Level Seals keep you from becoming too incredibly squishy towards and during late-game.
Movement speed Quintessences Help you kill runners and gank better in general as well as more often.

Masteries?

These masteries support our goal of buffing and ganking as much as possible. I take the magic penetration because Two-Shiv Poison and Jack In The Box deal magic damage. I take cooldown reduction for the increased utility of Deceive along with the ability to Hallucinate more often.

Summoner Spells?

Ignite is the better choice over Exhaust.
Shaco has a built in slow with his Two-Shiv Poison which you max first anyways.
Clairvoyance is only useful when you're lucky and is very situational...

Don't even consider anything else...

Yeah. It's that simple.

Build?

Boots of Mobility are not optional. You have to gank as much as possible and have as little run time as possible between lanes and buffs.

You can replace the Phantom Dancer at the end with whatever item you feel you need, but I usually prefer it over most anything else.

Once you start building your Trinity Force try to buy the Sheen first because it grants a great deal of extra damage with all of your abilities, but if you can't afford the whole thing when you are forced back, buy a Long Sword or Ruby Crystal along with an Amplifying Tome to make sure your money is well spent.

Don't be afraid to buy health potions on your way to your trinity force, as they help you stay out of base, ganking.

If you're feeling confident, you can replace Ignite with Clairvoyance. Especially if you're predicting the other team to have a jungler.

It is possible to buy an Infinity Edge before your Sheen and Trinity Force, but I prefer not to because the Trinity Force grants attack speed as well as movement speed. Building a Trinity Force before your Infinity Edge will grant you higher damage per second as well as easier ganks and buffs.