-3/29/2011:
Guide Posted

-4/5/2011:
Update
Added correct coding for items.
Did small visibility changes.
Added Situational Items

-4/11/2011
Added Summoner Spell elaboration.

*Skill Sequence elaborated to come
*Defensive Items and Extra Items elaborated to come
*Runes elaborated to come

I've made this guide for one very simple reason:
A lot of guides are high cost, high efficiency guides and can never been completed and put fully to the test *UNLESS YOU SOLO MID*. This guide will take the slower, laned, style of play and re-establish it as a fast paced heavy DPS style. Experience and gold are slower when you lane with a teammate, and Xin Zhao with this guide is the perfect accommodation.

The biggest thing to remember when incorporating this style of play:
Jungle as QUICKLY as possible, and get BACK TO THE LANE!

If you're looking for a straight-forward, high DPS, Solo-Mid style of guide, I highly suggest this one for Xin Zhao.
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/xin-asian-devastation-50235

Please keep in mind while reading this guide that this isn't your standard "Who is Xin Zhao?" guide. This is simply for those that would like to try something new and fast paced with Xin Zhao. I'll have the first few chapters laid out for a quick read, and I'll have defensive and alternate styles I use in game just below.

This style is going to harmonize both jungling and laned styles of play to create a unique format that boosts the XP of not only yourself, but your laning partner as well. You'll spend your early levels in the lane helping out, and shortly after shift to the jungle for some quick XP and gold, then back to the lane for ganks and support. Xin Zhao's high attack speed, in conjunction with his passive heal and Madred's Razors create the ultimate "Jungle Juggle" with high DPS and a sweet spot for chasing down wounded enemies that will have no idea where the assassin keeps coming from!

Pros
Shifting style of play keeps enemy team confused
Fast Gold and XP while still playing the lane
Lots of gank potential
Can recover from lost XP and Gold easily after death.

Cons
Lane vulnerability while MIA
Fast paced- Must remain quick to keep up.

I enjoy this style of play for several reasons, but mostly because I play a high DPS AD role with my group of friends, and the AD/AP Carry usually plays mid as he's a much better player than I. I really liked Xin Zhao when I started playing him, so when trying different styles of play and after reading many guides I sort of combined what I liked most about each guide and information I've picked up on, and created what I call the "Jungle Juggle".

Basically I'll break this style down based on levels and how I've experienced it.

Levels 1-5
These first few levels will be spent in the lane with your teammate. If I had to choose, it would be the lane nearest the Wraiths and Neutral Golems. Play smart and play conservative. Xin can shine early game, but let your teammate show some style while you maintain full HP and attempt a couple of TTS and AC combos to keep the lane pushed and worried. Pay attention to Mid and other MIA's- don't get yourself ganked.

Your first recall should be at 1505 Gold to purchase and

Levels 6-12
These levels are where my "Jungle Juggle" comes into play so by this time you should already have Madred's Razors. Let your teammate know you're off to the jungle and to play conservative and near the tower. Wraiths, Golems, and Wolves all die very easy early level, and the Madred's Razor's passive helps a ton, plus adds Attack Damage and a helpful amount of armor. After those are dead, quickly head over to the red buff, pop your ult, W, Q, E, and spam TTS (Q, or Three Talon Strike) until Lizard is dead. After you get red buff, head back to the lane and attempt a nice gank or chase. Depending on your effectiveness with Xin Zhao and your map awareness, you can wrack up a few kills once you have red buff. As soon as you get all of the jungle killed and red buff last, head right back to the lane and help your teammate out. Since he's been soloing he should be higher level than the other two and you should both be able to take control of the lane easily.

KILL... DRAGON...
I usually can solo dragon at Level 8 after I get my Pickaxe and Recurve Bow. That's awesome, and exceptionally early. Continue to do so as much as you can throughout the game. I can't stress the importance of the extra gold for the team and the XP you get for killing dragon alone. It's time consuming early level, but with good map awareness and a properly timed ping, you should be fine.

Levels 13-18
Xin Zhao is an assassin. He's good for the chase and the initiate. He shouldn't be caught in the middle of a fire-fight until late game when you've balanced your defenses and do a lot of damage. Keep your attack speed up and pay close attention to who you have to counter defensively on the opposing team and you'll be good to go. Spread yourself around the map and kill the jungle as often as you can. If given the opportunity fly through the enemy jungle and steal their red buff every once in a while. Always remember to pay attention to the wars waging in mid and know when its time to leave the jungle and help with the fight.

I wanted you guys to understand the style before I validated my item and spell choices. It makes everything easier to understand.

For this build I chose:
Exhaust
Ghost

I figured I'd get the question "If this is a jungle guide, why not Smite?" so I'll answer that now.


This guide centralizes running to the jungle for quick gold and exp and running back to the lane for a gank. We aren't waiting for smite to recharge so we can get red buff for the 5th time. We're strong enough to kill red, 'B', heal, buy, and get back to the fight.


Other Possible Spells:
Flash
Ignite
Teleport

Flash and Ghost can be used in combination for the added ability to chase and escape, but please always have at least one of them as a summoner spell.

Teleport would be great for assisting teammates while jungling

Ignite would be great for the extra damage for the kill off of an unsuccessful gank.

Spells to Avoid:
Clairvoyance
Heal
Fortify
Rally
Smite
Revive
Clarity
Cleanse

For this build, I strongly suggest staying away from these summoner spells.

Longsword
I like to go Longsword and HP Pot first because of the Longsword building into Madred's Razors. Alot of people like Doran item's first, but with the fast-paced nature of the build, I'd advise against.

Berserker's Greaves
Obviously for the Attack Speed and Movement +2. Perfect for Xin Zhao!

Madred's Razors
This build, and most jungle builds revolve around these and the Bloodrazor. However, Xin Zhao benefits from the added attack and armor as well. The passive then allow Xin to jungle without Smite! How perfect!

Recurve Bow
Attack speed. I ALWAYS get the Recurve Bow before the Pickaxe while building my Bloodrazor. Never forget that Xin's Passive and Battle Cry both benefit from high attack speeds.

Pickaxe
Pickaxe for damage and completing the Bloodrazor

Madred's Bloodrazor
Ohhwwiieee! 40% Attack speed, 30 Attack Damage, 25 Armor, and a passive that does 4% of the enemy's HP in Magic Damage. You run in, pop your ult (20% Magic Damage) then land a TTS. If the enemy has 1000 HP, you've just dropped it to 708 HP (Not counting (Attack Damage - Enemy's armor)) in literally 1 second. Your attack speed will be so high, and if you remember to hit your Battle Cry, that the enemy would be demolished in no time!

B.F. Sword
+50 Damage and preparing to build a Black Cleaver? I think yes!

The Black Cleaver
Xin Xhao will benefit so heavily from this item that I've made it a MUST in my personal build. With each of the first 3 auto attacks, the enemy's armor is dropped substantially. In conjunction with high Attack Speeds, your ult, Bloodrazor, Exhaust, Ghost, and TTS.... should any enemy get away alive? No! But if they do, guess who has Ghost and Audacious Charge. :>


All of the items up to the Black Cleaver are pretty much set in stone. Thereafter you could mix and match items I have below in the "Situational Items" section.

Depending on the sway of the game, who's fed, who's doing the most damage, etc, you'll need situational items.

DPS: All out assault
These will be high damage items that would be a great idea to purchase if you're fed and way up in level.


Magic Resist: For powerful AP characters
/
One of the most underrated items in the game. Quicksilver Sash's active removes ALL debuffs. Including Mordekaiser's ultimate. GET IT!


Armor: For powerful tanks/annoying AD/AS characters

Should be purchased to gain the edge over the AD/AS characters that keep harassing with auto-attack. (Teemo, Ashe, Corki, etc)



Items to Avoid
Please, in almost every circumstance, avoid all Crit% and Ability Power items. Xin isn't the kind of AD for either of these kinds of items. That means that is out of the question and your 2235 Gold could be much better spent.

However, since Xin's E does damage (+ability power), I have yet to test an AP lategame build using . I'm sure that with this item's Active Ability it could be in some way beneficial.

My first guide so please comment!
I enjoy sharing my knowledge of the game and hope that some will benefit as I have from guides like this. I'm sure I'll have plenty more guides to come, so please comment to let me know how I can make my guides better.

Sincerely,
kfR