Not Updated For Current Season
This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page
x
x
Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment.
You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment
I liked this Guide
I didn't like this Guide
Thank You!
Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.
Intro:
If you like this guide, please let me know by liking it! I'll add to this as my opinions change, and or I get good Shaco demonstrations recorded. If you have questions, leave a comment and I will answer to the best of my ability. I will be updating this with new videos as I continue my road to Diamond, so stay tuned!
Pros / Cons
Pros
|
Cons
|
This section serves to give a little rundown on Shaco's abilities, in case you are not too familiar with him.
- Shaco's passive. This passive makes you do 20% extra damage if you are attacking your target from behind. This is mostly useful for jungling, as you can use the boxes to turn the camps around, but you should also try to attack people in the back when you can (its hard though, I know).
- Shaco's Q. So deceive is a really strong ability; its basically a flash with limited stealth. You can get through walls, close gaps on ganks, and escape with it. Also, if you attack, it will reveal you, but the attack is an automatic crit, but can be very helpful for upfront damage in a gank.
- Shaco's W. This ability often takes forethought to use correctly. The cooldown is long, so try not to waste boxes. That said, you want to be placing them all the time. I use them for protection when counter-jungling or split-pushing, setting up traps, and cutting off escape routes for a gank.
- Shaco's E. Two-shiv poison is the ability you will max first as Shaco. It has a passive, which slows enemies after every auto attack (if the active is not on cooldown) and also has an active targeted ability that deals some damage, and slows for a little bit as well. I'll explain how I utilize his kit later in the guide (see Ganking)
- Shaco's R. Hallucinate is a pretty cool ability, that makes a clone of yourself. I use this to get dragon at level 6 or 7 if there is nothing else for me to do (for instance if I don't see gank opportunities), but it is also great for dueling, and escaping. A few important notes: the clone takes a lot more damage than you, and won't have your buffs, so the enemy (if the pay attention) can tell who you are. Also, the clone applies on-hit affects like that of . And one last thing, when you use this, you essentially are "off the map" for a half second or so. I point this out because it can dodge any ability in the game if timed right, from Taric's to Karthus's
- Shaco's passive. This passive makes you do 20% extra damage if you are attacking your target from behind. This is mostly useful for jungling, as you can use the boxes to turn the camps around, but you should also try to attack people in the back when you can (its hard though, I know).
- Shaco's Q. So deceive is a really strong ability; its basically a flash with limited stealth. You can get through walls, close gaps on ganks, and escape with it. Also, if you attack, it will reveal you, but the attack is an automatic crit, but can be very helpful for upfront damage in a gank.
- Shaco's W. This ability often takes forethought to use correctly. The cooldown is long, so try not to waste boxes. That said, you want to be placing them all the time. I use them for protection when counter-jungling or split-pushing, setting up traps, and cutting off escape routes for a gank.
- Shaco's E. Two-shiv poison is the ability you will max first as Shaco. It has a passive, which slows enemies after every auto attack (if the active is not on cooldown) and also has an active targeted ability that deals some damage, and slows for a little bit as well. I'll explain how I utilize his kit later in the guide (see Ganking)
- Shaco's R. Hallucinate is a pretty cool ability, that makes a clone of yourself. I use this to get dragon at level 6 or 7 if there is nothing else for me to do (for instance if I don't see gank opportunities), but it is also great for dueling, and escaping. A few important notes: the clone takes a lot more damage than you, and won't have your buffs, so the enemy (if the pay attention) can tell who you are. Also, the clone applies on-hit affects like that of . And one last thing, when you use this, you essentially are "off the map" for a half second or so. I point this out because it can dodge any ability in the game if timed right, from Taric's to Karthus's
Shaco is not a great farming jungler until he gets both
and
, so try not to spend too much time your jungle. You should always be looking for ganks, counter ganks, and counter-jungling opportunities. Did their jungler just gank top? Go take his big wraith. Did their jungler just die? Take dragon. You'll find that it is more valuable than farming early on. Later in the game, you'll want to transition to an assassin/split pusher. Use your boxes for protection, save deceive in case someone comes, and use your ult to melt towers/inhibitors. Alternatively, you can roam their jungler looking for their squishier targets, and see if you can pick them off.
Below is an example of how I start off a game, I would explain it in text, but I narrated the video, so that should do (I hope, but feel free to ask me questions)
Another video I would like to share demonstrates how I deal with Shaco being a "weak jungler" in that he doesn't clear well. To pick up my second red buff, I start a box cluster at red, and while I wait on its cooldowns, I take wraiths. This allows me to get some gold and experience, while ensuring I clear red buff without trouble.
Below is an example of how I start off a game, I would explain it in text, but I narrated the video, so that should do (I hope, but feel free to ask me questions)
Another video I would like to share demonstrates how I deal with Shaco being a "weak jungler" in that he doesn't clear well. To pick up my second red buff, I start a box cluster at red, and while I wait on its cooldowns, I take wraiths. This allows me to get some gold and experience, while ensuring I clear red buff without trouble.
Statikk Shiv is great because it gives you movement speed (to cover more ground after deceiving), the ability to clear a wave, and a healthy burst of damage. When combined with the auto-crit from deceieve, you can certainly scare off an adc with your first auto attack of any fight. |
Blade of the Ruined King is very important in my opinion for Shaco players. It gives you lifesteal, which helps sustain you in the jungle, gives you a way to stick on someone (the active helps you catch up if they flash), and gives you the opportunity to kill tankier players, as well as dragon and baron. Keep in mind, your clone gets the on-hit too, so you basically get two blade passives. |
Warmog's is very powerful on Shaco because it lets you take a hit without blowing up. It can be difficult to duel someone in the mid-late game if you don't have the health to keep up. Thankfully, Warmog's solves that problem, allowing you to duel most adcs and apcs, as well as some of the less duel heavy top laners. |
I also wanted to share my views on late game Shaco here. Let me get this straight...he doesn't fall off like people think. He doesn't do well in 5v5 fights, but trust me, he is plenty strong. I regularly 1v1 adcs 35 minutes into the game because I know that Shaco isn't weak like people think. However, I wanted to give you some help picking the items after Warmog's.
Ask yourself:
Who is fed on their team, and who is fed on my team?
Have I been split pushing, or teamfighting?
What are the team comps like?
If you ask yourself these questions, and answer them honestly, the item choices I listed above should become more clear, so good luck!
Ask yourself:
Who is fed on their team, and who is fed on my team?
Have I been split pushing, or teamfighting?
What are the team comps like?
If you ask yourself these questions, and answer them honestly, the item choices I listed above should become more clear, so good luck!
Ok so here is where your creativity comes into play. Deceive allows you to gank from just about any angle, regardless of where walls/terrain are. I think this can be demonstrated best with the use of a few video clips, but I will also explain the "combo" for Shaco. To start the gank, deceive in, so that they don't know you're coming. Position yourself directly behind the person you are trying to gank (as best you can, with the time limit on your stealth) and attack them. Immediately after that use a Jack in the Box in the direction you expect them to run, and use your Two-Shiv Poison. This slows them down, and adds to you damage output. If done correctly, the box fear will buy you more time, for an auto attack, or Blade of the Ruined Kind active. If need be, use your Two-Shiv again to finish the job. Here are some clips of ganks I have pulled off in the last few days.
Shaco isn't a great teamfighter, so avoid this if you can. Try instead to split push and catch people out, but if you have to, this is my general strategy.
This highlights why you need "the right team" to play him in a ranked setting. I usually go with a gut feeling, which only comes with practice. I would suggest playing Shaco as much as you can in normal games, regardless of what your team comp looks like. This will give you a better feel for who Shaco works well with, and when you should avoid playing him. It will also give you an idea of who Shaco does well against (basic rule of thumb is squishy, or little CC) and who can give him trouble (high CC, AoE, or mobility).
-Deceive in
-Try to burst someone who is squishy
-Use your ult to try to escape
-Wait for your team to follow up, and only go back in for cleanup duty
-Try to burst someone who is squishy
-Use your ult to try to escape
-Wait for your team to follow up, and only go back in for cleanup duty
This highlights why you need "the right team" to play him in a ranked setting. I usually go with a gut feeling, which only comes with practice. I would suggest playing Shaco as much as you can in normal games, regardless of what your team comp looks like. This will give you a better feel for who Shaco works well with, and when you should avoid playing him. It will also give you an idea of who Shaco does well against (basic rule of thumb is squishy, or little CC) and who can give him trouble (high CC, AoE, or mobility).
Like I've said Shaco is a great split pusher. His boxes are free wards, with a built in fear, and his deceive is a flash + stealth. You can use your ult to take out towers, or duel people if you need to, so try to force the enemy to send a person or two to stop you. You can also take baron very easily with Shaco. Have two or three people on your team split bot, while you use your ult to take baron; the other team will sacrifice and inhibitor, or baron...sometimes both. Here is a clip of me where I got pretty fed, and taking baron by myself.
As I've done in my Hecarim Guide, I wanted to point out that playing this champion well is FUN. Shaco has no limit to his power, except those imposed by the person playing him. Check out these clips where I make the other team look foolish with either a crazy juke, or a well timed turnaround.
Don't ever give up as Shaco, you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish with him. And like I've said before, please ask for help if you're struggling. Shaco is hard, but he is so much fun to paly I'd be glad to help you out!
You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.