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Xin Zhao Build Guide by reyder96

AD Offtank Xin Zhao - How To Jungle!

AD Offtank Xin Zhao - How To Jungle!

Updated on August 28, 2013
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League of Legends Build Guide Author reyder96 Build Guide By reyder96 10,634 Views 14 Comments
10,634 Views 14 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author reyder96 Xin Zhao Build Guide By reyder96 Updated on August 28, 2013
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Introduction

Hello everyone and welcome to my first mobafire guide! This one is on jungle Xin Zhao. One of my favorite junglers, I play with him a lot on ranked and have had much success in winning games. Overall, he is a very fun jungler. Hard CC (Crowd Control) and very, very, effective ganks. He is by far one of the best junglers to play (in my opinion). Some might even call him OP. This guide will explain how to play jungle Xin Zhao! :D Enjoy!
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Pros / Cons

Pros / Cons

spaaaaaaace
Pros


+ Hard CC all around
+ Can easily chase down opponents
+ Fun to play
+ Not so hard to play
+ Lot of utility in teamfights
+ High sustain
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Cons


- Gets shut down by CC
- No real escape
- Knockup takes time
- Tanky Xin is the only way
- When shut down it's not easy to get back up
- Slow clear speed in beginning
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Runes

Okay, since this is a noob friendly guide. I will explain what runes are and how they can affect your gameplay.

Rune: A rune is something in game that can give a potential statistic boost towards your character. In more simpler terms they can make you stronger. Some people ask: "Why should you buy runes? Aren't they a waste of money? Shouldn't I save up for more champions instead?" I kind of facepalm when I hear these questions but a simple fact is this. Runes are more important than champions will ever be. Just start buying them when you are level 20+ because that is when you get tier III runes. The "Greater" runes, and up top you can see what I use (but I will also explain everything here). Okay, now there are four types of runes. Marks which are also known as reds. Seals which are also known as yellows. Glyphs which are also known as blues, and Quintessences which are also known as Quints. Each of them specialize in a certain type of stat.

Mark: The Mark rune specializes in Physical Attack. Which could mean: Armor Penetration, Attack Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Chance, Critical Damage, and Hybrid Penetration.

Seal: The Seal rune specializes in Defense. Which could mean: Armor, Health, Health Regeneration, Magic Resist, and Percent Health.

Glyph: The Glyph rune specializes in Magic. Which could mean: Ability Power, Energy, Magic Penetration, Mana, and Mana Regeneration.

Quintessence: The Quintessence rune specializes in Utility. Which could mean: Cooldown Reduction, Experience, Gold, Life Steal, Movement Speed, Revival, Spell Vamp. These though most of the time don't need to be utility. You will find a lot of people just take a normal stat with this. Rather than a utility stat.

So now that you know the basics of the runes let's explain what I have:

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush

These are the basic runes I go with. The Marks are Attack Speed, which means I will be able to go and deal damage faster, thus giving me more clearing potential (and a faster Three Talon Strike Proc, activating the knockup faster along with Battle Cry it will go even faster than that.) Now, since I want to build more towards the tank side, I get Armor Seals (even though I kind of have to get defensive ones). Armor seals will aid me towards the tanky Xin Zhao I want to be, while still giving me some room to work on good damage in my build. I like to run Magic Resist Glyphs, which will really help me become an even better tank against those Ability Power enemies. Since Magic Resist (also called MR) is a core statistic if you are fighting a big Ability Power team, although it really helps overall. Now, my Quints are Movement Speed. You might be asking me: "Why Movement Speed?". Well, I'll tell you, Movement Speed in the jungle is KEY to getting around quicker (no duhh right?). Movement speed quints will really be able to help you do that! Maybe perform ganks on lanes even quicker than you normally would, so this can really help you out.

Now that you know everything you need to know about my runes and runes in general! Let's go onto Masteries :)
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Masteries

Masteries, something everybody will need. A Masteries Tree is basically the same thing as: A Talent Tree in WoW, or a Soul Tree is RIFT, or even a level tree in Borderlands. Each different thing in the tree gives you minor buffs. They don't really amount to much if you just look at them, but in-game they help you tremendously. My masteries I use are:
Fury - I put four points into Fury because Xin Zhao needs the attack speed early game to help with the jungling and taking buffs faster (with a quicker Three Talon Strike proc).

Deadliness - I put four points into Deadliness because the additional attack damage is great to have when building him mainly tanky, you'll need all the external damage (Ex. Runes and Masteries) you can get.

Weapon Expertise - Everybody has those games when you get an annoying massive tank on the enemy team that nobody can kill. Well this mastery can make it just a tiny bit easier to kill then. Since they will surely have a lot of armor on them anyway.

Summoner's Resolve - This is a mastery that can improve your smite to give you that extra 10 gold when smiting (a kill is not necessary to obtain the 10 extra gold). When taking some creep camps in the jungle, you want to smite the bigger one right away, giving you ten gold more.

Durability - I take four points into Durability mainly for the armor increase and can aid me to becoming the tank I need to be for my team.

Tough Skin - I take the full two points into tough skin to ease my jungling and take reduced damage, letting me able to back later on, this is a very good mastery to have.

Hardiness - I put a point into Hardiness for that tiny bit of armor I would need to be better.

Bladed Armor - Another one of those jungle help items that can really improve your jungling.

Unyielding - This mastery basically makes me take reduced damage from champions, thus making me overall become a better tank.

Veteran's Scars - This just gives me an additional 30 health.

Block - This one is great towards ADC's since it reduces the damage basic attacks do to you.

Juggernaut - I take 3 points into this to really increase my overall max health.

Defender - This one is great for teamfights since the more enemy champions around you the more armor and MR you have.

Legendary Armor - This just increases your armor and magic resist by a good amount.

Honor Guard - This overall reduces any sort of damage taken by a great amount, letting you become even more tankier.
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Items

There are different sets of items, let's go over each and why you would need any of them.

Starter Items

These starter items are typical with any jungler you ever play (some though you can alter them, but these work on EVERY jungler). Hunter's Machete and 5x Health Potion. The Machete helps you deal additional damage to monsters and the Health Pots obviously give you health. They are the start of your jungler item.

Jungler Items:

You will see two items for jungling. Madred's Razors and Spirit of the Ancient Golem. The Madred's is an item to only get, and then build anything else. Do NOT get Spirit of the Ancient Golem when you start like this. Get it if you need more health at the start.

Core:

For core items, you want to build tanky, without spending extremely a lot of money like over 3000 mainly until you can (or it gets to late game). Obviously grab Boots right after your jungler item to keep up with the chase. Remember to upgrade it as soon as you get it (this is totally up to you, but I do that). You have a choice between 4 boots. Ninja Tabi for the extra early tankiness if you need it. Mobility Boots or Boots of Swiftness to run a bit faster than your enemy and catch him for the kill (or assist). Mercury's Treads for the tenacity. Then you want some tankier items mainly. So try Aegis of the Legion or Sunfire Aegis next, two great items for tanks and can ensure to be soaking up the damage while your team whipes everyone up. Then the Spirit Visage for the extra healing and such. Since that is another great cost efficient tank item.

Early Game Options:

In early game, you want little tankier items that aren't completely costly. (like you don't want fully completed items really). For example, a Giant's Belt is great for the extra health, can build into some things late game, and it's only 1000 out of your pocket for now. A Chain Vest doesn't cost so much and it gives some armor, building it into something later is a very good idea. Warden's Mail is an item that is good, but mainly if you are planning to build it into the Randuin's Omen late game. I never truly get it until that is what I am building. Then I don't really build the Hexdrinker into anything, I leave it like that. Overall these are some very nice options to have at the start of the game and can help build into items later in the game.

Mid Game Options:

In the mid game, you want to actually start putting your cheaper items together (and save room for the late game). First up is the Sunfire Aegis. Very good item for tanks, and it is one of those cost efficient items. You want to get it earlier than others if you are planning to get it since it has that good passive that can be great to have early game (I never get it late game). So, early mid game is a good place for this item. Aegis of the Legion is my top pick for Xin since it gives armor, health, and even gives an aura to my team to make them a bit more tankier. Something a lot of tanky junglers should pick up. Last Whisper is one of those items you only get when fighting against a more tankier team. Since it's passive is some armor penetration. But getting it based upon it's attack damage is a waste of money in my opinion. Last is the Thornmail. Another truly situational item. Based upon if the enemy has attack speed you want this, since it's passive is damage returned per basic attacks as magic damage. Meaning if they have a high attack speed, and high attack damage, with no MR, and you happen to be insanely tanky, it could rip their health down.

Late Game Options:

This is the time when you start getting the more expensive items. But not crazy expensive, just those kind of expensive ones. For example, Warmog's Armor is a good choice since it gives you an extra 1000 health, for 3000, and you were already starting to build into it. So it's price by then is reduced (if you did happen to get giant's belt). Spirit Visage is amazing if you need that tankiness. It is a great healer, if you just need to heal your health up and you have no health pot. Bloodthirster is one of those items where it's a damaging one, but it's mainly there if you need damage and sustain, so mainly get it when that could be some use to you. A Zephyr is amazing to proc your Three Talon Strike and even gain your movement speed. Even some cooldown reduction. This is an amazing item and I recommend getting this, especially combined with the Boots of Swiftness. The last one is Randuin's Omen. I like this item a lot, but it is fairly costly. But I guess your stats kind of make up for it. Either way get it on your own terms, if you need it.

If you are really ahead:

If you are really ahead, Black Cleaver is a great item for the damage and health in one. But because of it's cost, it's restricted to only if you have a few kills, I don't think you want to buy it and then fall behind because you spent so much time building one item.
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Skill Sequence

The skill sequence is pretty simple and I tell you why.

Ability Explanations

Three Talon Strike(Q) - Xin Zhao's next three basic attacks deal his attack damage + 15/30/45/60/75 (+1.2 per attack damage). The third attack knocks the enemy into the air. Also each attack done with Three Talon Strike reduces the cooldown of all his abilities by 1 second.



Battle Cry(W) - This has an active and a passive.
Passive: Every third basic attack, Xin Zhao heals for 25/31/47/50 (+70% Ability Power)

Active: Xin Zhao gains 40/50/60/70/80 % Attack Speed for 5 seconds.



Audacious Charge(E) - Xin Zhao charges towards an enemy dealing 70/105/140/175/210 (+60% Ability Power) magic damage to all nearby enemies. It also slows them down for 25/30/35/40/45% for 2 seconds.



Crescent Sweep(R) - This is Xin Zhao's ultimate ability. Great for disengages and just the little extra burst damage. Xin Zhao sweeps his spear around dealing 75/175/275 (+1.0 per bonus Attack Damage) physical damage to all nearby enemies and it knocks them back (deals a base amount +15% of their current health also). Xin Zhao gains 15/20/25 bonus armor and magic resistance for 6 seconds for each champion hit. If a champion is by the sweep (Ex. Infront of Xin when sweeping) they are unaffected by the knockback.

Skill Sequence Explanation

Now that you understand all of the different abilities Xin Zhao can execute, it's time to learn what skills to get when, and why. So, in simple terms, you grab Q first, then W, then E, then Max Q, then E, then W, but you don't really understand that now do you? It's simple here in this explanation. Ya see, Xin Zhao needs his Three Talon Strike for the CC on the starter minions and the extra damage. After that get your Battle Cry because you get extra health every third hit so you don't lose that much health on the minions and you can probably gank before backing. Afterwards get Audacious Charge because that is your ganking tool and you need that to kill lanes. Afterwards it's coming to max. What do you want to max first? I like maxing Three Talon Strike first because I can get the extra damage/less cooldown on it whenever I increase it. Then I max Audacious Charge for the even higher damage output, then Battle Cry because that is the last thing, and it isn't that useful except for the beginning (it's utility, I only get increased attack speed from it, nothing helping my damage per hit). So, this is the general skill sequence I use with Xin Zhao, I am sure you can alter this to what suits your needs but this is what I use.
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Spells

The Summoner spells for Xin Zhao. Now, just for some apparent reason I am just going to explain what a summoner spell is, for those new players. (idk why'd you be jungling if you are new but I feel it's necessary)

Summoner Spells: A summoner spell is by default binded to the "D" and "F" keys. You can pick them within the champion select and they can be changed just before each game. You have a lot of summoner spells which I won't exactly explain here, go look them up but I am going to talk about what summoner spells are appropriate for Xin Zhao.

So, you have two summoner spells I really only recommend for him jungle: Flash and Smite. Why those two? I will explain momentarily.

Flash - Flash is a spell unlocked at level 12 I believe, and it is vital for Xin Zhao's success as he has no escape, yes he has a gap closer ( Audacious Charge) but he can only hit that on enemies, so that can't really qualify as an escape. Get flash to get out of those dirty situations or maybe you can do flash E's to initiate onto enemies for a good going teamfight.

Smite - This is kind of self explanatory but I will explain why you need it anyway. Smite is a mainly jungler thing, I don't see any other position necessarily needing this but smite basically does a good bit of damage towards enemy minions, dealing damage based upon what level you are. Surprisingly if you are a high level, your smite damage will be pretty high. I will explain when and how to use this effectively in a later chapter.


Those are basically the main summoner spells you will every want to use on Xin Zhao jungle. You can remove Flash and pick up Ghost but I don't really recommend that. Doesn't help out much since it can't widen the gap that fast.
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Jungling

This is the part that you've all been waiting for, and that's how to exactly jungle with Xin Zhao. It's not too hard really, the jungle path. I will explain both jungle paths, but there are some things to note. DON'T SMITE the first buff you are taking, there is no need to, it is way easier to get both buffs without smiting the first buff! So here we go

Blue Start

This is the start I pretty much only go for, the Blue Start. Some people say Xin Zhao doesn't really need a leash, but you want smiteless and you don't want to lose any health! So get a leash blue, and remember to not smite. Afterwards let your laners go back to lane and run over to the red buff and smite it! Now you have both buffs, see how easy that was? Then run to golems, wraiths, and wolves. Now you have two options, recall, or gank a lane. This depends on whether or not your laners need a gank, and whether or not you know there are wards around your enemy's lanes (and also, whether you have enough health to gank). Choose wisely. After all that then kill each camp when necessary, there is no path really onwards.

Red Start

This is the second jungle path, and this is for the Red Buff start. I never really go red buff, as it is not the best buff to start at with Xin Zhao, but it works out. You start at red buff, and like I said before don't smite it, then afterwards run to blue buff and smite that. Then go wolves, wraiths, and golems. Now, like before you want to look for a lane to gank, or back (depending on the status of your lanes and health). Afterwards there is no path like I said before, it's all about keeping pace with your laners and helping them when necessary.
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Gank Paths

Gank paths, something every jungler should know is how to gank, and this tip is pretty easy to help you win games on the fields of justice. Let's start with the three gank types: River Ganks, Behind Ganks, and TriBush Ganks. I will talk about each of these in full.

River Ganks

These are the more common types of ganks...and the easiest type as well. Basically as you know if you have been playing LoL for a good while, you may or may not know that there is a river in the middle of the map (crazy, huh?). Well, there are bushes all up the river, but the ones you want to be focusing are the bushes right next to lanes.
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The Top Bush:
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The Mid Bush (there are two of these):
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The Bot Bush:
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These are the three bushes you can gank from in the river, remember to look at where your enemy is within the lane and whether or not it is an appropriate time to move in (or whether or not your teammates can act upon you going in). But these are the most common and most warded, but those are good gank locations if you can get a pink down there to see their wards. These are some tips to help your ganks become efficient and even pick up some kills.

Behind Ganks

These are the rare types of ganks you really only see in tournaments such as the LCS, at least I have yet to see more of them. These types of ganks can only be done at the top and bot lanes. Since these are the only lanes with bushing IN the lanes (shut up if you think the mid bushes are within that lane). But some people try to sneak through the lane undetected and move within the bush in the lane (top lane bush is above the lane while the bot lane bush is below the lane) and then score a surprising gank there. It's a very good gank but I don't really use it much as it's risky, although it isn't really ever warded it's good.

TriBush Ganks

A tribush gank is a gank within the tribush of top lane and bot lane. There is no tribush to gank mid with. Here are some pictures:
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Top Lane
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Bot Lane
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Tribush ganks should mainly be when the enemy laner is pushing pretty hard, and you can come up way behind him to wreck him and he can't run to safety because you are there. This type of gank though is better with hard CC but if works anyway.
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Farming

Farming is pretty good with Xin Zhao. Just using your Audacious Charge at large minion waves followed by a Three Talon Strike and/or Battle Cry and you can finish off a wave fairly easily. You can even split push with Xin Zhao. It's not totally effective as he has no escape, but it can work if you get pretty fed (Note: Do NOT split push with Xin Zhao if you are either feeding or have no wards unless you are really fed). But this is generally how to farm with Xin Zhao, there is not too much about that aspect.
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Who Counters Xin Zhao?

First of all, people that do this can generally counter Xin Zhao:
  • Hard CC
  • Deny Farm
  • Outsustain
  • Try to kite and poke
  • Knockback
  • Play aggressive early game

These are some champions that counter Xin Zhao in the top lane:
  • Jax - Jax can easily deny your farm and play really aggressive in the early game screwing you over. He can also stun for that additional CC effectiveness and his burst damage is hard to stop.
  • Volibear - Volibear has some pretty hard CC and sustain. He can also play extremely aggressive in the early game making Xin Zhao lose farm and be overall pretty weak late game.
  • Malphite - Malphite is very good in the top lane against Xin Zhao because of that aggressiveness he has. he has a shield passive to easily take additional damage from enemies so Xin Zhao can have a hard time against him. His ultimate also has the CC he needs.
  • Pantheon - Pantheon might not sound too much of a counter but he is. He has that stun and massive poke that not all top laners really have. He can kite you out fairly easily and jump on you when you are at your weakest point.
  • Teemo - Teemo has massive dueling potential, striking at you from afar a lot. He has massive poke, and plus with his blind it's hard to get a lot of hits on him without dying.
  • Garen - Garen can easily gain up on you with his Q and silence you to not be able to put out any abilities, which isn't fun. He can also deal high amounts of burst damage and overall be very tanky, with still a good amount of damage. Garen can easily play aggressive early game and zone Xin Zhao out.
  • Wukong - Wukong is very very good at playing aggressive. He can jump at you with his E then Q you for additional damage and then clone away leaving you with less health and stuff doing nothing else. He can knock you up and then deal even more damage consecutively, not a fun laning opponent for Xin Zhao.
  • Trundle - Trundle is another one of those aggressors towards the early game and really just puts a ton of pressure on Xin. Trundle has a lot of damage as well making laning phase tough for him.
  • Renekton - Renekton is a massive tank that can screw over Xin Zhao if not played carefully. He can take a lot of what you push at him, and it's not easy to fight. He has that CC stun, and a gap close, which deals some good damage, leaving you defenseless and finally a death.
  • Fiora - Fiora has no CC, but that doesn't make her bad against him. If Fiora gets ahead at all, she can deal massive damage, jumping at you, and letting you not get away with her E. Dealing tons of damage and you're dead.
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Who Is Bad Against Xin Zhao?

There are a good amount of people are are bad against Xin Zhao. This is the list and why they are bad.
  • Vladimir - A lot of people say it's hard to get away from Xin Zhao unless you have a character that can. Like Vladimir, he has an escape okay, but your Q lasts longer than his pool. Don't E on him until after he pools and your Q is still ready, then E, Q knockup, and kill, that is why vlad is not so great against Xin.
  • Yorick - If you have no escape against a Xin Zhao, you are probably dead, so don't pick someone without an escape like yorick. Once he goes in he can't really disengage. Then Xin can just knock you up with Three Talon Strike and it's game for you. So I think Yorick is a pretty bad pick against Xin.
  • Rumble - Like I said, no escapes = GG against a Xin. People like Rumble aren't that good in that way, you have to get ahead earlier in order to have some chance against Xin, since Xin has a gap closer and an easy way to get a kill. Rumble also has an escape, but he is targetable within this (correct me if I'm wrong, never really played rumble, just know the basics).
  • Darius - Darius has a lot of damage, but that comes a little bit later, Xin Zhao has a lot of early damage output, which can screw up a Darius real easily. He also has no escape, so that's another downer. Just be warned, play smart when using Darius against him.
  • Jayce - Jayce gets countered by Xin Zhao simply because of the gap closer, and he isn't much tanky either, so that is pretty hard to get around. Even though Xin is not so good against poke, Jayce gets countered harder by high damage, CC, and a knockup.
  • Nidalee - The main reason why Nidalee gets countered by Xin is because 1. She has no CC. And 2. She is very squishy, easy to die very quickly, I do not recommend trying to fight Xin with her,
  • Kayle - This is a weaker counter, not a complete one, but kayle again has no CC and is weak, any gap closer and immediate damage can screw her over, she can use her ult, but how much would that work?
  • Aatrox - Aatrox can do great against Xin in the right hands. But Aatrox's early damage is definitely not enough to surpass Xin's unless he has a better runes/masteries setup, then you can be screwed in some aspect, but that is if they do, and if you are in the lower elos (Ex. Bronze and silver areas)
  • Fiddlesticks - Fiddlesticks gets countered by Xin because of the squishiness. Xin has extremely high damage in the early game, enough to surpass anything that fiddle can do. His fear also doesn't last long enough, if you Horrify and Bountiful Harvest Xin, he can just come back and easily trade back the damage and even more than you think. So, fiddle, not a great choice.
  • Zed - Zed can sustain and zone out Xin Zhao pretty efficiently, but make one wrong move and everything goes down. No CC except a slow, but Xin has a knockup and a gap closer. So that all can turn very bad if you are not careful, so watch out you Zed players in the top lane and/or jungle.

    These are the general people that get countered by Xin Zhao in the top lane and/or jungle.
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Who Is Good With Xin Zhao?

Here are some people that are good with Xin Zhao. Whether you are top and they are jungle or vice versa, it all works out for you guys to be on the same team. Think about this whether you should pick Xin if you have one of these on your team, or picking one of these if you have a Xin on your team. They are:

- Jarvan IV


- Pantheon


- Kha'Zix


- Blitzcrank


- Volibear
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Summary

These are the final comments for my guide on Xin Zhao. I hope you guys enjoyed it as it did take quite some time to make, but was a hell of a lot of fun. Please don't hesitate to upvote or downvote (preferably upvote lol) the guide and tell me what you think and what I should do and change! Thank you a lot for looking at it anyway and good luck on the fields of justice jungling with Xin Zhao! I also understand he has gone through a nerf and people don't call him that viable anymore but trust me, he is very, very viable! Anyway, bye!
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Misc.

I just thought I would add a little chapter on some history and cool trivia on Xin Zhao. So let's get started! :D
Strategy
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Skill Usage

- Battle Cry's passive heals Xin Zhao every three attacks, allowing him to sustain himself in lane for a while by autoattacking minion waves and turrets. Doing so for extended periods will push your lane so watch out for gank attempts.

- You can reduce Crescent Sweep's cooldown faster by spamming Three Talon Strike. However do take care of the mana cost early game, as you can easily run out of mana for a fight by continuously spamming Three Talon Strike too much.

- Three Talon Strike resets the attack timer, so getting one basic attack off, then using the ability will yield a greater DPS (Damage Per Second).

- The attack speed granted by Battle Cry is great for taking down turrets and minion waves, whilst also being extremely effective while jungling.
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- One should always have at least one point in Battle Cry early for the health restoration and attack speed

- Audacious Charge does magic damage and slows enemies surrounding the target; you can use that to your advantage by charging a nearby enemy in order to slow another just outside it's range. This ability will also pop Banshee's Veil(or similar spell shields) on any of the affected targets which is extremely useful if your team has an incoming area of effect disable.

- Try using Crescent Sweep where it will hit the most enemy champions. It will not only deal more damage, but greatly increase the armor and magic resistance bonus.

- Xin Zhao is a great initiator. Lunge at a target with Audacious Charge and use Crescent Sweep to do the most damage possible. If you can cast it while in the midst of the enemy team, it will also grant Xin Zhao a large amount of armor and magic resistance to survive in the fray.
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- To further increase the effectiveness of the initiation, try and aim your attacks specifically at a high value target such as the opposing carry before using Crescent Sweep as this will cause them to be Challenged, reducing their armor, separating them from their teammates and marking them for your allies.

- Xin Zhao is a formidable ambush ganker. Battle Cry and Three Talon Strike make it very hard to immediately escape from him and deals high initial damage, and Audacious Charge makes it so that even targets with escapes can be chased effectively.

- Xin Zhao is very good at tower diving enemy champions who are low on health, even at low levels; a combination of Crescent Sweep, Three Talon Strike, and Battle Cry can grant you enough defense to survive the tower hits and damage to quickly slay your opponent.

- Audacious Charge slows the enemy enough to be able to land your Three Talon Strike with almost complete success if they have no blink or dash ability, guaranteeing the knock up.

- Xin Zhao is a good jungler with Battle Cry's passive effect and a great ganker with Audacious Charge and Three Talon Strike after finishing his jungle route.
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- The best time to gank is when the enemy champion has recently used all their escape summoner spells such as Ghost and Flash(or abilities such as Arcane Shift or Rocket Jump).

- It is best not to use all your crowd control at once, time each of your crowd control abilities with your ally allowing an easy kill when your enemy gets out of melee range you can then Audacious Charge to ensure your kill.

- Crescent Sweep can assist in ganks by knocking enemies back towards your allies, but be sure that you are both in front of them and do not currently have your target Challenged before you do so.
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- Using Audacious Charge on a minion near the target enemy champion will prevent them from being Challenged, so that using Crescent Sweep will knock them back.
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- Audacious Charge can be used to escape ganks on some occasions by targeting a minion or a champion along your escape route. Combined with Flash, this can allow Xin Zhao to escape most unfavorable fights.

- Crescent Sweep can be used too knock enemies away from you when trying to escape.
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- When attempting a retreat, ensure that your pursuer has not been Challenged first before using Crescent Sweep as otherwise it will have no affect on them.

- Battle Cry and Three Talon Strike can kill a tower very quickly in late game, as long as there are enough minions around to keep it from targeting Xin Zhao. However, if building AP, Xin Zhao's heal let's him sustain from tower attacks even without minions around him.
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Countering

- Xin Zhao is very vulnerable to kiting when his Audacious Charge is on cooldown

- Try to CC Xin Zhao when he is attacking you or your ally, the crowd control effect can turn the tide of the battle to your allies favor.

- Build armor items to mitigate his damage as Xin Zhao mainly deals physical damage.

- When engaging Xin Zhao, try to split with your allies to reduce the armor and magic resistance he will get from his Crescent Sweep.
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- Keep in mind, while Challenged you can not get knocked back from Crescent Sweep. This makes him less effective 1v1 after he used Three Talon Strike

- Frozen Heart is a great counter to Xin Zhao since it reduces damage through armor, and reduces his attack speed, which is central to his damage output.
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- Thornmail is a great alternative, however do remember that he can heal himself through the damage if he has Life Steal.

- Avoid stacking health without armor as Crescent Sweep deals physical damage based on your current health.
Quotes
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Upon Selection
  • "To the arena!"

Attacking
  • "Fate has made it's choice."
  • "Do not bore me."
  • "Press the assault!"
  • "Perish with honor."
  • "Their lives are forfeit."
  • "Here's a tip, and a spear behind it!"

Movement
  • "My king commands."
  • "It shall be done."
  • "To triumph!"
  • "The warrior's spirit is never broken."
  • "A Demacian does not retreat."
  • "Victory calls."
  • "Always forward."
  • "Sound the march!"
  • "Only actions truly speak."

Taunt
  • "I may be outnumbered, but not even the odds can stand against me!"

Joke
  • "Find me an immovable object, and I'll put this question to rest!"
Skins & Trivia
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Skins
  • Commando Xin Zhao
  • Imperial Xin Zhao
  • Viscero Xin Zhao
  • Winged Hussar Xin ZHao
  • Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao
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Trivia
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- Xin Zhao was designed by Geeves.

- Xin Zhao was released concurrently with Season One.

- Xin Zhao is voiced by Richard Epcar.

- Xin Zhao has one of the longest base auto attack ranges out of all the melee champions, tied with Jarvan IV, Wukong, Fizz, Nautilus, and Hecarim.

- In the Chinese version of the game, Xin Zhao's name is rendered as Zhao Xin, as Chinese names are written with their family names first.
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- His name Xin means "Trust" in Chinese.

- "Zhao" in Chinese is a unique character, only usable as a last name.

- He shares the family name of Zhao Yun, a famous general during the Three Kingdoms Era and a friend of Liu Bei. Like Yun, he uses a spear as a weapon.

- He may also be named after Zhao Xin, a Han general.

- Xin Zhao is the only champion that references Asian culture but does not belong to Ionia.

Quotes Trivia

- Xin Zhao's joke is a reference to the question, 'What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?'. This in turn is a reference to the Chinese word Maodun, (lit spear and shield) which means "Contradiction".

- In the french version of the game, Xin Zhao's /joke is different. It is a reference to The Blue Lotus of The Adventures of Tintin comic book series.

- In the German version of the game, Xin Zhao's joke translates to: "Find me an immovable object, so that I can bury you under it!".

Skins Trivia

- Imperial Xin Zhao is likely a reference to the famed Chinese general Zhao Yun, whom Xin Zhao shares many characteristics with.

- Viscero Xin Zhao is a reference to his time as a gladiator fighting in the Noxian arena, The Fleshing.

- Winged Hussar Xin Zhao is a commemorative skin created to celebrate the launch if League of Legend's Polish servers.
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- Polish hussars were a type of cavalry fielded by Poland, and later by the Polish-Lithunian Commonwealth in the XVI and XVII century. They were famed for their deadly charges.

- Commando Xin Zhao is a reference to the Imperial Guard from the Warhammer 40k series.

- Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao is a homage to Koei's design of Zhao Yun from Dynasty Warriors, a game based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
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Changelog/Updates

- August 26 2013 - Guide Released

- August 27 2013 - Skill Order Fixed!
- August 27 2013 - Purchase Orders Fixed
- August 27 2013 - Item Chapter Changed
- August 27 2013 - Fixed Pros / Cons section to appropriate formatting
- August 27 2013 - Re-specced masteries tree and changed up Masteries chapter
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