Hey guys, welcome to my Challenger Shaco guide! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Eagz and I'm a Challenger Shaco from the infamous Oceanic region (I was born in EUW so I inherently have more skill than every OCE player). I started playing Shaco in Season 6 Flex Queue which was late in the year, and hit Challenger in my first season of playing him - it was just meant to be I guess. My peak rank is 16 600LP - pretty underwhelming when I look back on it, but still an achievevment. I used to tilt and leave games back in the day I'll admit it, but on my day I'd consider my mechanics on the Jester to be the best world (inb4ocebtw).

I'll list some of my achievements on Shaco just to enhance the credibility...
◦ 3x Challenger Shaco
◦ Rank 1 Shaco World Early Season 8
◦ Highest Shaco KDA World for 3 Successive Seasons
◦ Hit Master Season 9 with a 6KDA
◦ Hit Diamond V on KR Server with a 6KDA and a 90% Win Rate on 180+ Ping
◦ Rank 16 Peak Season 8 (600LP)

I also coach part-time while making videos for GameLeap's YouTube LoL channel. I've coached Rank 1 EUW and helped Kaos (EUW Challenger Talon Jungle) reclaim his throne earlier this season, multiple players from Master/Grandmaster to 1000LP, MadScientistShaco and Facet (both Grandmaster Shaco mains in EUW), hundreds to division and tier climbs...so if you are interested in getting 1500LP coaching check out my patreon: CLICK HERE! OR you can add me on discord to talk about coaching and ask any questions: eagz33#8635

And just before we get into the guide, I want to clarify something that lots of players don't understand. Most of you reading this probably know how to play Shaco, and even if you don't this is must-use advice. Getting to your ranked goal is really not about how you are playing Shaco, it's about how you are playing the jungle. For example, Master and Grandmaster Shaco players who I've coached like their mechanics are really good, but they don't see the game the way a Challenger jungler sees the game. Chase is Challenger because he jungles like a Challenger. So with that being said, I will try to throw some advice in here about jungling, as well as Shaco advice.





My Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/eagz33
My Discord: https://discord.gg/8t7CwE2TH7

If you do end up ENJOYING & LEARNING from this guide I'd really appreciate it if you could UPVOTE it to help it get out there! And any feedback is also appreciated.


Here's a little montage I made with Chase back in the day...

Play Video

This is the most important chapter in the guide. AD and AP Shaco are not the same champion/playstyle. So what's different about them? What's good about them? Which one should you choose? Valid questions, so let's get into the playstyles.

AD Playstyle

So if AP Shaco is about ability haste and baiting...what about AD Shaco? Well it's still the same for me. Back when Trinity Force was built with Duskblade of Draktharr cooldown reduction was crucial. On top of that, being able to one-shot the squishy enemy champions was crucial. These two 'things' are STILL crucial.

That's why I build Duskblade of Draktharr...it still gives great damage and perhaps most importantly, ability haste! There are some weird builds out there with Galeforce and Blade of the Ruined King but they make zero sense to me. Attack speed means nothing because you have Hail of Blades, and 3 auto attacks with Duskblade of Draktharr and our other items = kills.

So our runes/items will enhance the AD Playstyle, but what does it look like in action? Take a look at my Season 7/8 montage below.

Play Video

AP Playstyle

When Rito changed Shaco way back in 9.20, they took my AD Shaco from me. Everything I knew about Shaco disappeared. So, I had to adapt, I had to THINK differently. AP Shaco was something I despised to be honest, so I started playing other champions and roles and only played Shaco a couple of times. But I was still playing at a higher level on the Jester than other champions.

It's not about one-shotting or power farming until 3 items...it's about COOLDOWNS and LONGEVITY. AP Shaco isn't meant to be played (in my opinion at least) like an assassin, he's meant to be played like Shaco was designed to be played - a pain in the enemy's rear-end. AD Shaco was about stealth and nuking enemies; AP Shaco is about micro and IQ. I'm sure you guys know who Pink Ward is - that playstyle is very similar to how I go about my business.

Any montage from Season 10 onwards on my YouTube channel is going to help you get the idea...this one linked down below just notice in every clip how I use all of my cooldowns in every fight - nothing is left. If I have my Hallucinate I am more aggressive; if I don't then I'm waiting for my Deceive and playing around my boxes.

Play Video

Quick note on Summoner Spells - run Ignite and Smite for both iterations, no debate.

The next two chapters revolve around both AD and AP Shaco's identity: COOLDOWN, DAMAGE, and LONGEVITY.

AD Runes

There's ONE rune page I'm running for AD Shaco.



Hail of Blades is essential for our burst damage nowadays. Electrocute has been nerfed into the ground, same with Dark Harvest.

Sudden Impact has always been the selection for AD Shaco, and the recent buffs (12.14) make it even better.

Eyeball Collection is just easy to stack, so we choose this.

Relentless Hunter is a must in my opinion. The movement speed feels too good. Treasure Hunter you could go but eh, like how is it better than Relentless Hunter? Same with Ultimate Hunter.

Legend: Alacrity FEELS nice.

Coup de Grace FEELS nice, and compliments our Two-Shiv Poison's execute damage.

Always take an Attack Speed shard, an Adpative Force shard, and take the...
￭ Armor shard if: enemy mid/jg are both AD
￭ Magic Resist shard if: enemy mid/jg are both AP
￭ Health shard if: enemy mid/jg are AD and AP

AP Runes

There's ONE rune page I'm running.



If you watched the montage I linked in the 'Playstyle' chapter, you'd notice how many times I got Dark Harvest stacks from AoE (Area of Effect) damage and from my boxes spawning when my R dies, or from random boxes I placed prior to a fight. Remember, because we're not one-shotting enemies Electrocute is a lot less useful - we're more about AoE damage rather than just single target damage.

Sudden Impact because it has been buffed (as of 12.14). And because we have so much ability haste, you will be using your Deceive an awful lot, especially in the mid-late game.

Eyeball Collection because it is easy to stack.

Ultimate Hunter because we NEED our Hallucinate to really be useful. Without it, we might as well be a caster minion.

Transcendence because ABILITY HASTE!

Gathering Storm because it keeps our damage high as the game progresses, even if we fall behind it can keep us relevant.

The minor runes stay the same. Attack speed lets us clear efficiently early game and duel if we have to. Without it our clear is Iron IV. Adaptive Force as the second choice, kind of obvious, and Armor/Magic Resist as the last option depending on enemy mid/jg damage.

Right, we're almost done with the pre-game information. When I build on Shaco, and the same goes for runes, I'm only interested in the best setup. I don't really care if another item works well, or it may seem interesting to use, I'm only interested in building optimally. If I'm not running the most effective setup for Shaco in high elo, I'm already at a disadvantage because everyone knows the best builds, runes etc. for their respective champs. By all means, if your intention is to have fun when playing Shaco and experimenting with builds is one of the ways you have fun, then don't let me stop you, but if you want to win and give yourself the best chance of winning, you've come to the right place.

AD Shaco Items


STARTING ITEMS



Hailblade > Emberknife because the damage maximises our burst damage when we go for that one-shot. Emberknife does nothing. We are not interesting in reducing the damage of our opponent, nor are we interesting in fighting the enemy bruisers/tanks.


FIRST BASE



Looks a little suss not buying a Serrated Dirk, but do you really need a Dirk to kill someone after your first base? I don't think so. And I value the movement speed from Boots more than I do the extra damage/lethality from Serrated Dirk hella early in a game. It's more of a 'feel' thing I guess. If you have 1400 gold on your first base, then of course buy both. But aiming for 1000 gold for the items shown in the picture is a great start.


EARLY MAJOR ITEMS



Duskblade of Draktharr is easily the best mythic. Why? Damage and ability haste. You can then finish Ionian Boots of Lucidity but often I find myself with Serrated Dirk, Caulfield's Warhammer and Ionian Boots of Lucidity, so don't feel as if you have to finish Duskblade of Draktharr before boots. BOOTS ARE GOOD!

You then want to buy Sheen and then finish Essence Reaver. The AD, haste, crit, and spellblade passive are ideal stats. Sheen will also help us against tankier enemies.


CORE



For your 4th item, you want either The Collector or Lord Dominik's Regards depending on how much armor the enemy team has. Now if the only enemy with armor is the top lane Ornn, then get The Collector. We care about 2 champions:

￭ Enemy Mid
￭ Enemy ADC

If neither of these two are building armor (eg. Zhonya's, Steelcaps) then you get The Collector. If they do have armor, even if it's just from a Zhonya's Hourglass then you buy Lord Dominik's Regards. You should definitely still look at the enemy jungler and support to see what they are building, but we are after the big fish.


LATE GAME ITEMS



Guardian Angel is ALWAYS good. Buy a Stopwatch first, then upgrade. Great against teams with lots of AD (because of the armor); great in the late game because you can get nuked; great with our other items because we will have our cooldowns back when we revive. Can buy every game.

Randuin's Omen might look weird, but if they have a bunch of AD AND Crit (Gangplank, Sivir, Akshan) then it's so useful. You have enough damage from your other items. Still gives us a little ability haste as well.

Maw of Malmortius against bursty magic damage champions (LeBlanc, Nidalee, Diana).

Chempunk Chainsword against lots of healing (Soraka, Shieldbow ADC's, BORK champions). Do not choose Mortal Reminder because it gives us ZERO haste, and we don't need the stats it gives because we already have enough damage.

Anathema's Chains is good against hyper carries (Vayne, Kayle). 20 ability haste too.

Frozen Heart is good against attack speed teams (Jax, Tryndamere, ADC's).

So, my typical full build will look something like this...



AP Shaco Items


STARTING ITEMS



Hailblade because it procs Dark Harvest and the slow is also useful in chasing down enemies with Two-Shiv Poison.


FIRST BASE



Ionian Boots of Lucidity just feel so good. I know you can aim for Lost Chapter (1300 gold) but I don't really think it does much. It gets you closer to Liandry's Anguish, sure, but I just feel too slow and the mana is kinda pointless. If you have more gold to spend you can always get a Dark Seal or an Amplifying Tome.


EARLY MAJOR ITEMS



After Ionian Boots of Lucidity you obviously want to finish Liandry's Anguish, and then I always go Zhonya's Hourglass. Cosmic Drive is an option if you are giga fed, but I would still say to go Zhonya's Hourglass.


CORE



Exactly the same as above. After these items it gets flexible.


LATE GAME ITEMS



CD: good all-around item, buy if you don't need any of the others
BV: vs skillshots/AP
Morello: vs healing
RD: vs squishy champions with no magic resist
VS: vs a lot of magic resist
DE: vs HP
SF: vs magic resist AND shields

Remember, you are getting ability haste with each one because of Liandry's Anguish. Each game is different though, so make sure you press TAB to see what your opponents are buying, and buy your items accordingly.


FINAL BUILD EXAMPLE

I'm going to show you two clears for both sides.
◦ Eagz Clear: Red + Raptors > 2 Small Wolves > Blue
◦ Krugs/Red Side Clear: Red + Raptors > Krugs

Now with both clears you are doing RED AND RAPTORS at the same time.

Choose the EAGZ CLEAR if you want to quickly gank top or bot (depending on what side you're on) - this clear is the FASTEST 2x buff clear in the entire game. So you will always get to that lane first and have 10 seconds on the enemy jungler.

Choose the KRUGS CLEAR if you just want to full clear - still fine, but not as red hot. And note that you can either gank top or bot after Krugs (depending on what side you're on), OR you can simply clear to your blue side.

So, in every game run to your red buff entrance and place a box - this discourages the enemy team from invading. Your setup is very important as Shaco - you struggle to clear jungle camps without multiple boxes in the early game.

***PLEASE PAUSE THESE VIDEOS TO SEE EXACTLY WHERE I PLACE MY BOXES***

***YOUR FIRST BOX NEEDS TO BE PLACED AT 50 SECONDS***

***YOUR 4TH BOX YOU NEED TO PLACE ON RED BUFF AS YOU ARE RUNNING TO THE BIG RAPTOR TO LAST HIT IT - THIS IS THE KEY PART TO THE ACTUAL CLEAR***

***I RESET COOLDOWNS SO I CAN SMITE AGAIN SO IT'S SIMILAR TO A LEASH***

EAGZ CLEAR - BLUE SIDE

Play Video

EAGZ CLEAR - RED SIDE

Play Video

KRUGS 3 CLEAR - BLUE SIDE

Play Video

KRUGS 3 CLEAR - RED SIDE

Play Video

Q JUMPS


V JUMP

Play Video

PATTERN JUMP

Play Video

WATERFALL JUMP

Play Video

FIRE JUMP

Play Video

TREE JUMP

Play Video

ROCK JUMP

Play Video

STREAM JUMPS

Play Video

R JUMPS

Play Video

In the attached video, there is pretty much every mechanic you need to know. Obviously knowing the R spots/walls is important, and you should practice all of these until your fingers bleed. Not only that, but try to combine your Q with them as well. It's more difficult but if you can do it, you will be untouchable.

￭ You can no longer Q + Recall, you will be seen
￭ You can only hit Inhibs and Nexus with your clone by using 'Left Alt + Right Click'
￭ When you R over walls, try to get Shaco's knees into the wall if you can...that pretty much makes it 100% to go over BUT practice all of them so you know
￭ You can place your W on blast cones and they will fly towards where you place them when you hit the blast cone (remember you can hit blast cones and orbs with your R)

Play Video

Thanks so much for reading all the way until the end! If you enjoyed the guide and learned from it please UPVOTE it to let me know!

Good luck in Season 12 fellow Jesters!