Whenever Jarvan III, the king of Demacia, delivers one of his rallying speeches from the glinting marble balcony atop the Royal Palace, Xin Zhao is at his side. Coined the Seneschal of Demacia, Xin Zhao is the personal steward of the Lightshield Dynasty. His enigmatic, silent vigil has led to an abundance of conjecture concerning his ''secret life'' and origins. Whether it's ''Zaun double-agent'' tendered at the dinner table or ''indebted rune mage'' mused in the editorials of the ''Demacian Constant'', Xin Zhao betrays no hints to sate the curiosity of the masses... for good reason.

Prior to the formation of the League, Noxus was renowned for a spectacle called The Fleshing. It was a gladiatorial event with a cruel twist: as a fighter won matches, his number of opponents (generally prisoners of war) fought simultaneously would increase. This meant eventual death for every contender, but with unparalleled glory. Xin Zhao, known then as Viscero, was slated to face 300 soldiers, nearly six times the previous record. This was clearly meant to be his final match. Jarvan II, hearing of this unprecedented feat, infiltrated the arena to offer him an alternative: serve Demacia and punish those who ultimately sentence him to death in exchange for his freedom. Xin Zhao accepted, astonished that a king would risk his own life on his behalf. Under the cover of a prearranged Demacian assault on Noxus, Jarvan liberated Xin Zhao and his 300 opponents. During their retreat, Xin Zhao took a poisoned dart meant for Jarvan. This act of loyalty, from a man who vowed no allegiance, earned Xin Zhao a spot at his side until the day the king died. Now in the service of his son, Jarvan III, Xin Zhao is stepping into a new ring - the Fields of Justice - to fight for his adopted country and to honor the legacy of the man who gave purpose to his life.

''Death is inevitable, one can only avoid defeat.''
- Demacian Manual of Arms

Three Talon Strike - Xin Zhao's next 3 standard attacks deal increased damage that reduce his other ability cooldowns, with the third attack knocking an opponent into the air.
Xin Zhao's next 3 basic attacks deal 15/30/45/60/75 (+1.25) bonus physical damage and reduce his other abilities' cooldowns by 1 second. The final strike also knocks the target into the air.

Battle Cry - Xin Zhao passively heals every 3 attacks and can activate this ability to attack faster.
Passive: Xin Zhao heals himself for 26/32/38/44/50 (+0.7) every third basic attack.

Active: Xin Zhao unleashes a battle cry, increasing his attack speed by 40/50/60/70/80% for 5 seconds.

Audacious Charge - Xin Zhao charges an enemy, dealing damage and slowing all enemies in the area.
Xin Zhao charges and challenges an enemy. The charge deals 70/110/150/190/230 (+0.6) magic damage to all nearby enemies and slows them by 25/30/35/40/45% for 2 seconds.

Crescent Sweep - Xin Zhao fiercely sweeps his spear around him, dealing damage to nearby enemies based on their current health and knocking them back.
Xin Zhao unleashes a sweep around him that deals 125/225/325 (+1.0) plus 15% of target's current health in physical damage and knocks enemies back. Xin Zhao gains 15/20/25 Armor and Magic Resistance for 6 seconds for each champion hit.

Correctly used, this spell turns you into a god. Used on a single champ... it's good. Used on the entire enemy team this will increase your resistance by 125 each. Use you R as early as possible since it does dmg relying on the ACTUAL health. This ability is **** if used against a 600 HP Champ, this ability will rape if it hits 3 3000 Health champions (nearly 750 dmage to each!). With its new knockback mechanism many ways of effectively using this ability have evolved:
Jump on a carry and isolate him from his team.
Jump behind a carry and knock him into your team.
Combine this with your teammates abilities to totally mess up your enemy teams positioning.

Challenge: If a challenged target is hit by the sweep, it is unaffected by the knockback.

Challenge - Xin Zhao challenges his target with his basic attacks and Audacious Charge, reducing its armor by 15% for 3 seconds.

Xin Zhao is a great initiator to combat. Lead the front to start a fight and use your ultimate to do the most damage possible.

It's often worth getting at least 1 point of Battle Cry to gain the health restore effect.

Try to position yourself so your ultimate's knockback is most effective.

Mid game really depends on how you did during the earlier phases of the game. You're nearing the end of the laning phase and should focus on getting objectives (dragon).

Try to take control of dragon, possibly their buffs, and keep on ganking if there's a chance to. If you're rich/feel you need map control get an . At mid game, if you're strong, you can just dive onto a carry during fights and ult everyone away while you kill them instantly.

Also, you should have some armor and MR so you'll be able to survive team fights. If you're not doing all that great just peel with your . However, if their ADC is open for intense diving, go for it!

So, the opposing team hasn't surrendered yet? Well, here's the rundown of what you should be doing.

Late game is basically a repeat of mid game except your objectives are inhibitors/baron. During this phase of the game, you may want to be a little more cautious about diving if they have CC. If you haven't built tanky, CC will blow you up faster than you can say "Here's a tip, and a spear behind it!". Dive in if you have the opportunity, but if you don't have that luxury just go for their poke line.

is a great pusher too.. His kills towers quickly. Just make sure you don't get caught poking at towers since, well, he's not ranged.

By now, if your team hasn't grouped up, they're either being uncooperative or are just bad. If that is the case ping a lot and hope your team listens...eventually. Lol.