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Your W is your best friend is this matchup : This lady got a small rework which gave her sustain early, so handling her won't be the same as before. Try to time your W correctly so that she can't proc her Q/passive on you, don't commit into long trades with her unless you got enough sustain/tankiness to absorb her damage, her 6 is a huge powerspike for her since she gets her 3 ult stacks so stay cool and don't get surprised by her Q+ult+thunderlords combo, consider getting some MR early so that she can't burst you
Cho'Gath
He got some changes this patch, his E won't be as annoying as it was before because this time you can block it with your W. Try to sidestep his Q and you'll be okay, you can play it agressive at lvl 1 like a short Q trade. Be carefull of his R because no matter how tanky you are, once you'll get down to 500HP he'll execute you
Dr. Mundo
Farming lane, get some early magic resist so that his machetes don't hurt you too much, you might want to try kill him early otherwise you won't later
Malphite
Farming lane, I'd recommand to rush Mercury boots as a first item ( pick a normal starter ) so that his CCs don't annoy you too much while trying to pop his shield, and force him to stay toplane so that he doesn't help his team
Aatrox
Got a recent rework which gave him some huge sustain compared to before, play this lane cool, no need to engage on him and if he does take smart trades with your W to negate his empowered auto and wait for ganks because he outsustains you hella hard
Alistar
A funny matchup, in general toplane Alistar is going Ap, don't underestimate his damage and try to warn your team that he is going Ap so that they don't get surprised "omg ap ali is so broken" , he is easy in lane but can do a huge job in fights since his ult provides him some huge tankiness
Darius
The problem with Darius is that he got high base damage+built in armor pen, but with the recent Shen modification, Q autos deal even more damage to champions so you should out damage him pretty easily. Play this lane smart : try to cancel his W with your W, stick to him when he channels his Q so he doesnt sustain, and stack HP early so his ult becomes no longer an issue
Ekko
When he was played as tanky Ekko he was a monster on toplane, but since his 956539859452498 nerfs playing him tank on toplane isn't the best choice, so if he is going tank don't worry too much you will crush him, if he is going Ap it's much easier since you are supposed to tank the damages, take the ruby cristal starter and rush Spectre's Cowl
Fiora
The best anti-meta champion in toplane at the moment with her high %max hp true damage ( yet riot nerfing her movement speed lul ) Anyway in case she's not banned : Both of you can snowball this matchup, you are a duelist but fiora is also a good duelist, she will try to annoy you with her passive so time your W correctly, don't get baited by her riposte, I'd recommad taking the cloth armor starter since her passive is Hp based.
Counterplay to her ult : if she ults you stick to a wall so that she can't proc all the marks ( you will be blocking one when sticking to the wall )
Fizz
Same as Ekko, you will eat this fish no matter what he builds, rush a Spectre's cowl
Gangplank
This guy is so annoying : a good GP will never let you get in melee with him so it will be a farming lane, a bad GP will easily misplay his movements, letting you get some some angles in which you can lock him and give him some severe trades, in this case you need to trade him hard whenever you can if you don't wan't to lose your lane, otherwise he will crush you with his barrels when he gets his core items
Garen
Yay Garen got buffed. I litteraly hate this matchup, his base damage is high and he can tank your damages with his W, and if he doesn't feel safe he could just sit under his turret and wait for his passive to heal him enough so that he can trade you again, if you really want to kill this guy you should do it in level 3 max otherwise he will become pain in the ***
Gnar
He got buffed but laning against Gnar is an okay matchup as Shen, you will rush armor anyway, his Q can be easily dodged ( his Q stops going when it hits a unit so stay behind like 2 minions when he uses it ) you can block his harass with your W and you can trade him even if he is on mega form, but be careful ulting while he is on mega. I love to pick up a Frozen mallet so that he can't kite you much
Gragas
I've been seeing this guy quite a lot on toplane this season and he's annoying. Farming lane, both of you will scale to become a big *** tank for your team, he got high base damage so you should respect him and get some MR early. He out sustains you so don't commit into losing trades
Graves
Annoying matchup, Graves will always push you to your turret and sustain if he goes with Warlord's Bloodlust Keystone, call your jungle some for early ganks and if you feel that you have an advantage on him all-in him whenever you can
Hecarim
I don't think that you will face this guy on toplane, his sustain in lane and his damage at early levels are weak so try to bully him, push him so that he can't roam and if he does you should follow him with your ult
Heimerdinger
The ****er is back with his changes, play it safe, rush Adaptive Helm so that his turrets don't hurt you much, try to dodge his W and E so that you don't get chunked with his toys
Also, your W blocks his turrets attacks so if you ever want to gank him use it carefully so that it doesn't turn into a doublekill
Illaoi
If you're good at Salsa you should be okay. Same **** as for Darius, you can outdamage her if you play smart, don't let her sustain much and try to kill her tentacles. When she ults just run away
Irelia
This lady is feared by everyone, except you :D your damage is higher than hers, you can bully her so hard early, use your W to block her true damage autos and you will be okay
Jarvan IV
High base damages, J4 is a cheesy champion tbh. You can outdamage him if you successfully block his first empowered auto, also keep in mind that he can burst if you don't have much armor after 6 so stay cool. His follow up on ganks is pretty insane so don't overextend too much
Jax
He has empowered autos, you have empowered autos, he can dodge autos, you can dodge autos.
To be honest since the Shen rework i find that he is a Jax with higher CDs, anyway it's an easy matchup until he gets 6 when he gets his magic damage procs which can hurt you really bad combined to his W, so try to pressure him early otherwise you will have a bad time. When he tries to jump on you to stun you with his E dash out, use you're W while his E is active and after 6 don't trade him if his ult is on
Jayce
Hard matchup for Shen, he doesn't rely much on his autos, has high damages, ranged poke and can knock you back if you ever try to get near to him, try to not die early and farm, also he is very gank vulnerable so don't hesitate calling your jungler
Karma
She is annoying a bit but if you can dodge her Q it's pretty easy. She is so vulnerable to ganks so call your jungler for freekills
Kayle
Level your W second if she's playing agro, taking a Spectre's cowl at first would be a very good choice so that you can deny a bit her poke, you can hurt her so hard with your Q so if you get near to her don't hesitate to make the E + Q + W combo
Kennen
This guy was played AD for a long period of time but it wasn't a huge deal for Shen, you could block his autos and stay behind your wave and you'll be good. If he goes straight AP it's like a mini-malphite so rush MR and it's fine
Kha'Zix
Another okay matchup, getting some early armor items will be much better than taking Hp items, sadly you can't block his Q with your W :( also stay near your minions so that you don't get the extra damage from his Q
Lee Sin
The blind man has some big issues with the tanky ninja, take some early armor and he will deal 0 damage to you while you will hurt him so hard
Lissandra
This lady is a CC factory, you can't get near to her and if you do she will just root you with her W and back off, try to rush Mercury boots as a first item to minimize the effect of her CC's and call your jungler for a gank when her E is down
Lulu
Cancer matchup, you'll never see her top but if she somehow gets top you're screwed. Her harass is annoying, can cc you to hell and if you try to burst her she'll just ult herself. Get some early MR to not suffer the lane much
Malzahar
You must rush some good MR items otherwise he will crush you with his dot and his little pets, a simple way to pop his passive is to pull your sword in his direction so that the slow CC pops his passive, then you can freely land your combo on him or call your jungler
Maokai
Get MR boots as a first back then feel free to build your sunfire then a spirit, I love taking a Botrk in this matchup since her passive combined to your Q can crush tanks pretty easily
Nasus
Nasus players tend often to underestimate the high base damage of Shen, if he does give him a taste of the damages you can deal, I love taking an ignite instead of tp in this matchup to have more kill potential, otherwise if you don't kill him and let him farm you better turn into a huge peeler for your carries in fights
Nautilus
Thank god the Zz'rot got nerfed, this big guy was all the time building a zz'rot and putting it under his turret then pushing you to yours, don't underestimate his damages and don't trade him if he activates his shield
Olaf
Probably the same as Jax, you crush him so hard pre 6 but when he reaches it it becomes a bit more difficult, also if he is chasing you try flashing out one of his axes so it doesn't slow you
Pantheon
THIS IS PANTHEON !
A good pantheon will have some huge penetration on his runes and will build more and more so that he can chunk you so hard, you will get free poked all day all night, his passive blocks your auto attack which is your only way to deal damages, and his roaming potential is high, but he is still easy to gank so call your jungler if he is too overextending
Poppy
God bless riot games balance team : This lady was pain in the *** before she got the nerfs needed, so now it shouldn't be a huge deal, just don't commit into silly trades
Quinn
Lethality is back so don't surprised if you see the bird lady on toplane. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give this matchup a 11, this ranged lady has a very good harass and a huge roaming potential when she hits 6 and is kinda ungankable if she uses her W the right way, farm passively and try to not die otherwise she will just ruin your game
Rammus
Farming lane, this guy will just stack armor and tank for his team and wait for them to do the job, if he isn't stupid enough you won't kill him, but hey you have a free tp so use it to help your team while he will keep pushing your turret like a ******
Rek'Sai
You can block her Q with your W so I don't think you will have problems with her, only issue is that she can sustain pretty good while burrowed
Renekton
Toplane god ? nah I don't think so.
Renekton is very good pick if you really want to bully your opponent, only problem is that he gets outscaled by pretty much every tank in the game and falls hard lategame, so play it smart, first rule : DONT DIE 1v1, get some early armor items and try to time correctly your W so that you can block the damage from his W and you should be okay
Rengar
Before his rework, Rengar was an easy matchup for Shen because his main damage source was an auto, but now he doesnt rely much on his autos and his double Q combo hurts a lot. Play it cool and stay away from bushes, be careful of his thunderlord+ignite combo because it's really surprising and I really mean it ( faced him a lot and I get surprised everytime )
Riven
This matchup is pretty much your advantage before her first back/lvl 6, if she gets Death's dance first it will start getting hard, other than that you should be fine. Try to block her autos with your W and wait for her to go on CD to start trading her
Rumble
Feels good to see this guy nerfed, his Q now has a long *** CD so go ham just as his Q finishes then back off, also force trades when he is overheated since his only way to deal damage is Autos that you can block with your W. Adaptive Helm is a very good item on this matchup
Ryze
Ryze was always annoying on toplane, his continious poke is very annoying so consider getting some little MR early and you should be fine
Shen
Skill matchup, better ninja wins
Shyvana
Dragon lady is pretty strong at dueling, try to not het hit by her E and trade her only when your W is up
Singed
A lane Singed is easy to deal with and you will need to get some MR early, but if he decides to proxy then build a sunfire and enjoy farming and watching your turret falling slowly ( never chase a proxy Singed cause you will lose your farm ) also if he does proxy there will be no one to interrupt your ult
Sion
Sion is a good lane bully, he will probably max his E first because of its high base damage so you should get some early MR, also warn your team if he isn't on toplane since he can set up ganks with his ultimate
Swain
One of the worst counters to Shen, his harass in annoying, he can W and cancel your TP/R and he could just run into your wave with his R and sustain. Play it safe and try using your shield to negate his damage, watch out for his mana bar if because if it's empty it's your moment
Tahm Kench
Same as Maokai, only issue is that dealing damage to him will be useless since he can have a second Hp bar with his shield, but with a Botrk you eat him so hard
Teemo
Oh hey it's satan, if satan is going Ap you will eat him, rush Mercury treads to deny a bit of his blind then continue trading and use your W to block his poisonous AA's. But if he is going Ad tank ( Frozen mallet as core item ) you will have a bad time since he will kite you and can chase you for a long distance if you don't decide to flash or something, I love to build a Zz'rot as a first item for both denying his Ad and Ap damage and also for more pushing power. Get a frozen mallet after your core items and all in him everytime you want. You can also build a Zz'rot first and put it under your turret because he will push you all the time and because it gives a bunch of stats to handle a hybrid champ like Teemo
Trundle
The troll king is an anti-tank but only after 6, you can easily out damage him but when he hits 6 there's no counterplay when he decides to all-in you with his ult
Tryndamere
This guy out damages you in every stade of the game with his built in crit, and he has built in sustain meanwhile Shen has no form of sustain, there's a chance that you can kill him pre 6 but after that you will just enjoy farming or probably get dived if your jungle isn't near to help you, I'd recommand either taking Ninja Tabi boots then Sunfire or Warden's Mail for the AS debuff then Sunfire. You can dominate him early if you're lucky enough to not get crits, but once he gets level 4/5 it will be harder
Urgot
With his rework he became less annoying than before ( spamming Q like a ****** ) but still it's a tough matchup. His passive's damage is damn high and it's %maxHP based so don't **** with it, his Q is easy to dodge and generally it's the last spell to max so you shouldn't be affraid of it, but still you should dodge it otherwise you get locked which can have a big impact when he casts his W. At first seconds you may notice that his W deals little to no damage, but you will realise later that he chunked you so hard so respect that spell and time your W right to block as much damage as possible to deny his dps. Don't get into low-life trade with him after he gets 6 because his ult is a finisher so basically if you get the harpoon he just pressues R when you fall low enough
Vayne
Like every ranged champ played on toplane, Vayne is also annoying, but the special thing is that she is an anti-tank with her built in true damage. You are a duelist so if you really want to all-in her do it before she is 6 otherwise her ult will be there to help her and time your W correctly to maximise it's effect, or just call your jungler for a gank if she overextends
Vi
You will build armor and your W will block her autos, so it's an easy matchup for Shen, but watch out for ganks post 6 since she can follow up pretty easily
Vladimir
Vladimir used to be a strong counterpick to Shen, but now when the WoTA got deleted from the game I find that laning against Vlad got easier, get a Spectre's Cowl then complete your standart build until your get your sunfire + spirit, then take a Frozen mallet and feel free to all-in him whenever you want. Time right your shield to negate his Q damage, stay near to minions when he channels his E and stay safe when his empowered Q is ready
Volibear
I love taking an ignite on this matchup to deny his passive from healing him, a level 2/3 trade can make him feel so uncomfortable and can force him to back to base if he doesn't want to get his passive popped
Wukong
You can crush the monkey pretty easily before he gets some armor pen, but when he does you better be careful from his all-ins that can be very hard to handle, also in teamfights try to warn your allies so that you can spot him because his flanks are so damn annoying
Yasuo
Yasuo can open the door because he HASAKEY :D
I hate laning against this guy with Shen, he can move pretty much anywhere meaning that you can risk missing your taunt, play is cool before your first back, keep your E up to escape, never use it to engage. Free farm until you sunfire + tabis then feel free to all in him
Yorick
His rework made him a very good duelist : his ghouls can chunk you hard if they focus you so try dodging his E, his Q is a mini Nasus's Q so time your W correctly, and try to not get caught on his cage otherwise taunt out and run
Zac
The slime guy is pretty easy to deal with, we will just stack health and that's good since your Q is based on a % max health , but don't get baited by his passive
Zed
Zed is an assassin that kills squichies, but hey Shen is a huge tank so don't fear laning against zed because you will crush him so hard with only chains vests ;D Motivating music when playing against Zed : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynZTtA2Wa5Q
Cassiopeia
An annoying matchup, level 1 is pretty normal, but once she gets level 2 she will probably do an all-in trade with her E so don't panic because she will go oom very fast, rush a spectre's cowl and you will be okey, you can out-trade her if she gets low on mana
Kled
The annoying thing about Kled is the fact that he excels at stacking HP, but as Shen it easy to deal with since your Q deals %max HP damage. His W gives him 4 autos with bonus damage+attack speed so if you time your W correctly you'll easily burn 3 autos from him. When he gets 6 ping your team like hell to warn them that he got R and he can setup ganks pretty easily
Camille
Was an easy matchup from her first sight, got even easier with her nerfs. Camille is feared by most champions except Shen, she gets an AD shield from you meanwhile your Q is magic, time your W correctly to block her SECOND Q auto to block her true damage, try to sidestep her W so that she doesn't sustain and you'll crush her. Her gank follow up is actually the best in game so when she gets 6 you should start asking for their jungler's position
Galio
His rework made him and Shen look similar, %HP based damage, a taunt, a dash, and huge map pressure with ult. The early laning is quite hard because he outdamages you and outpushes you hard but you outscale him so just farm it up and you'll be fine
Mordekaiser
Although he'll be maxing either E or W, his Q will deal enormous damage, but still you'll be blocking it so that's a good point. He got a little bit of sustain and his passive is quite annoying but you should be fine trading him since he's squichy
Talon
Easy matchup if played well, all his power relies on proc'ing his passive ( which needs the 3 stacks + an auto ) so even if you get the 3 stacks keep your W when he jumps on you to proc it. You outdamage him in lane so you can play it agro and rush armor so that he can't face you
Kayn
Faced him once since his release, and he went assassin form which was easy to deal with as a tank, otherwise if he goes darkin form he'll get some sort of sustain out when hitting you which can be a bit annoying, I also felt that his damages aren't that high so you should be fine in lane
Greeting summoners this is Acarial from the EUW server and this is my first ( updated ) guide on mobafire in which I'll be presenting Shen
I'm Diamond 5 at the moment and since I do find myself quite experienced with Shen I told myself that doing a guide on him would be a cool idea
So what's new ?
So what's new ?
For those who already know me or have seen my little guide, it was posted like a year ago and I didn't give it a single update since I couldn't have the time for it, but with the big changes that occured recently I just couldn't let this guide with no update which is why I did this :D Some infos are updated and I added a Q&A section based on what I saw on Reddit and some of the most important questions I dealt with, so I hope you like it :D
Why picking Shen ?
Why picking Shen ?
Shen is much more like a competitive toplane pick, you will generaly look into helping your team as much as you can with your ultimate while splitpushing, pick Shen also if you feel like your team has enough damage and needs a huge frontline or a good peeler, or maybe pick him if you just want to destroy your opponent with your great dueling potentiel :D
Pros / Cons
Pros / Cons
PROS
-Advantage over mana users with Energy -Tanky champion and even tankier with his passive Ki Barrier -His Q Twilight Assault has high early base damage -Built in escape tool with his E Shadow Dash -Master baiter with your W Spirit's Refuge -Huge map presence with his ult Stand United -Be thanked for saving your allies :D
CONS
-Runing out of Energy during a fight will make you useless -No form of Sustain in his kit -Has weaker base stats compared to some other tank/bruiser champions -Teleporting can make you lose your tower for that -Possibility of doing a combo depends heavily on landing a good taunt -Long cooldowns early-mid game -Can be harassed by ranged champions -Hard to lane against caster champions
Runes
Runes
I mentioned earlier on the guide the rune page that I like for Shen so here's some more explanations : sgdfgdgfdgdgdssdsgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Greater Seal of Scaling Health I honestly love these runes, you are a solo laner and you will likely splitpush 70% of the time, so taking these runes will make you benefit more of the fact that you will have an xp advantage over the other lanes sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Greater Mark of Attack Speed After his rework, Shen's main way to deal damage is his auto attacks with his Q Twilight Assault so building some AS in his rune page will help landing the 3 buffed auto's easier sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Greater Quintessence of Armor I like taking 3 of these to compensate the fact that you're putting health seals instead of armor ones to make sure AD matchups won't be nightmares for you sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Greater Glyph of Magic Resist Gives you the perfect MR load you'll need to face most AP matchups, you'll be lacking CDR later but I think that's the price of having a safe lane, consider getting at least one Kindlegem to upgrade it on either Spirit Visage or Knight's Vow, or maybe both depending on what you team will need :D sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
Optional rune sets
My second standart set which I really prefer, giving you scalling CDR which became an important to get Shen in reason of the CD nerf on R, taking 3 Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist and 6 Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction,
I generally take this set when enemy team isn't relying on AP that much or simply if I won't need MR very earlysgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
For AP matchups such as Swain and Rumble ( or AP champs that rely hard on DOTs in general ) this is by far the best alternative you might go for : Greater Quintessence of Health Regeneration coupled to the triple Rejuvenation Bead starter will give you the perfect sustain you'll need in lane against APssgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
Another Set for AP matchups, this time your opponent isn't relying on DOT harass but he got high base damage ( yes, I'm talking to you disgusting tanks #irony ) most toplane tanks like Nautilus, Galio, Malphite etc... got some good AP damage that's why we taking flat HP to not suffer getting chunked with their damage earlysgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
If you fear some AD champs like Renekton, Darius, Riven, or simply if you don't want those Pantheons and Gangplanks to poke you death this is your page, swaping all the MR glyphs for armor ones
Masteries
Masteries
I found that going 12/0/18 is the best with Shen and I'll be detailing about every mastery I took : sgdfgdgfdgdgdssdsgdfgdgfdgdgdssd ON THE FEROCITY TREE sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Fury or Sorcery ? To be honest both of them are good on Shen, I like Fury since it gives you extra AS making you tougher on 1v1's, but Sorcery is also viable because it will buff the damage from your Q and your taunt sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Fresh Blood , Expose Weakness or Feast ? After his rework, Shen lost one of his strenghts that was his sustain with his old Q Vorpal Blade so I prefer taking Feast to have the maximum possible sustain in lane so that I don't suffer the miss of the old Q and to handle some tough matchups, you might wanna take Fresh Blood if you're an agro player, and Expose Weakness is more like a support mastery sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Vampirism or Natural Talent ? I used to go 5 pts on Vampirism , but since his last nerf, Shen deals no more bonus damage to minions that's why I prefer taking some points on Natural Talent to get some AD to last hit, otherwise you may get AD runes to compensate that sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Bounty Hunter , Double Edged Sword or Battle Trance ? You will mostly go tanky Shen, meaning that you are not supposed to kill everyone on their team, Bounty Hunter requires doing that to have its maximum effect. You're a duelist, and you really want to no suffer the minimum damage possible so Double Edged Sword isn't a good choice, while Battle Trance is a strong mastery from level 1, especially in lane when you can land several taunts on your opponent and follow it up with some huge Q damage and do some relatively long trades sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd ON THE RESOLVE TREE sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Recovery or Unyielding ? 5% bonus armor and MR from Unyielding ? humm ... let's pick up the calculator : 5% of BONUS armor and MR, meaning that it will buff only the armor and MR you get from your items and runes, not your base resistances, but in case you take it here you go : if you buy a Frozen Heart it will give you 90 armor which is not negligible, but your mastery will only give you 5% of it meaning armor, pretty weak no ? so I think that this mastery isn't worth taking for whatever champ you will play. On the other hand, Recovery is a very good mastery since it will give you extra health regen in lane, also because Shen had his health regen nerfed some time ago, making this mastery a must take sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Explorer , Tough Skin or Siegemaster ? Explorer is a support mastery, you are a toplaner, don't take it. Tough Skin is way better since it will make you take 2 less damage from champions and monsters, 2 less damage is a huge deal early on believe it or not especially against champs that harass a lot ( Kennen, Jayce, Pantheon ... ). Siegemaster is a good alternative too if you plan on sitting under your turret most of the time during laning phase sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Runic Armor or Veteran's Scars ? You might say that Runic Armor will give more regen and sustain and empower the shield of Ki Barrier later on the game, but I love taking Veteran's Scars because 50 ****ing bonus raw HP at level 1 is so huge for a champion that scales very good with HP, it will give you more survivability against some champions that want to all-in early on the game such as Olaf or a Cassiopeia, this is the mastery I take the most with Shen but if you find yourself with a full healing/shielding team, feel free taking Runic Armor , or if you're simply planning to go fully health regen during laning phase sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Insight , Perseverance or Fearless ? More like "have your flash and TP regularly" , "have more sustain in lane" or "be even tankier during fights" . I like taking the first option and it's kinda obvious, -15% CD on your summoners that's so powerful, you will do more Taunt+Flash combos or have your flash fast to escape a deadly gank, you will also have your TP fast too which is very good since you will regurlaly leave your lane to help your mates, and you really want to go back to your lane as fast as possible so that you don't lose your turret, also having TP regurlaly means that you can splitpush more ( even if you already have a built in TP ), you can otherwise go Perseverance if you feel that your lane will be hell so that you can sustain better. Fearless is a very strong mastery mid-late game, in other terms it's useless during laning phase, and in my own opinion the biggest deal in the game is how to survive early without giving advantage to your oppononent, until you reach safely your powerspikes to destroy them, in this case the first 2 masteries are better sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Swiftness or Legendary Guardian ? In general melee champions are so vulnerable to CC's because they will simply not reach their target and damage it, so I prefer taking Swiftness for the extra tenacity, making you less vulnerable to CC and kite. Legendary Guardian can give you a maximum of 15 armor and MR, but hey you are Shen, your stats will likely be a 250 armor and 200 MR so who cares on a 15 pitiful bonus on them, while Swiftness will make you land a taunt much easier so that your team could follow up sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -Not even asking on this one, Grasp of the Undying is your best keystone choice, in addition to the on hit magic damage it gives you, it will give you SUSTAIN !!! which can make you win early trades, Courage of the Colossus was never a good choice on Shen since you have to commit into landind a taunt so that you can benefit of it, and Stoneborn Pact might be a good alternative if you're going support, but you'll generally alawys pick Grasp of the Undying
Summoner spells
Summoner spells
sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Flash is the must have on Shen since it will give you more mobility, giving you a chance of survival from a deadly gank, an extra gap closer or to land the fancy Taunt+Flash combo :D sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
Now that's optional but you will probably have it 80% of the time. Giving you the possibility to retun to your lane without losing much xp after taking a bad trade, teleporting to another lane to setup a gank, following your lane opponent when he teleports to another lane, or just returning to your lane after using Stand United so that you don't lose your turret sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
Another optional summoner, if you feel like stomping your toplane opponent, Ignite is your best choice. It will give you more kill potential, a counter to every healing champion in lane, or just use it to secure kills :D sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
In general you will take Smite only if you're going jungle. I tested it in lane taking Skirmisher's Sabre into the cinderhulk upgrade and not building Sunfire Aegis but it wasn't worth it even it will give you more huge dueling potential sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
Never tested these summoners because I don't find them worth taking on toplane, you might take Exhaust if you're going support Shen, Heal is useless since you are not a squichy champion and Ghost can replace Teleport but you will lose a bit of your global presence and it won't add much to your laning phase, but hey feel free to test them and tell me what you found about them ^^
Skill Sequence
Skill Sequence
sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Passive : Ki Barrier is the old Shen's W Feint but with a stronger ratio and a longer CD, it will scale with HP and its cooldown will be reduced each time you hit a champion with your abilities ( your Q or your taunt ). Try to maximise its effect so that you can proc it as much as you can in trades to block damage and win them sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Q spell : Twilight Assault is basically a triple Ki Strike, dealing damage based on your opponent's maximum health, and if your sword collides with him in its arrival it will deal more damage with increased attack speed. The recent changes on Shen made the damage of this spell going insane at early level espcially against squichy champions, you win pretty much every level 1 trade with it, and since it's a % maximum HP spell you will be an anti tank until they get loads of MR. Try using it for peeling too since it can slow enemies that it collided with. Always max it first for more bonus damage and lower CD. Note that this spell got a bit changed in terms of damage, reducing the damage dealt to minions resulting on some farming problems ( I'll explain that later on ) but adding a flat amount of magic damage against champions so in trades you will hurt a bit more compared to before the changes sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd W spell : Spirit's Refuge is like Jax's Counter Strike in a larger zone effect, it will dodge all the autos and spells that count as autos, making Shen a bit of a counter to AA champions. You can protect yourself easily with it, only issue that it's a difficult spell to use correctly in a fight to protect your allies. Max it third because it's CD is relatively longer than the taunt's sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd E spell :The famous Shadow Dash, a dash with an AOE taunt ( meaning you can taunt more than one champion ), if can taunt monsters too for those going jungle Shen. Anyways max it second to reduce its CD and have it regularly for more taunt or more escapes, only issue is that if you miss your taunt you will be kinda useless and it can even bait your allies into a lost fight, so try to time it right sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Ultimate :Now here's Shen's main strength, his ultimate Stand United is a free teleport on any ally you want, giving them a huge shield ( not that huge on level 1 ) no matter how far they are, but you will need to time it correctly otherwise you will risk loosing your ultimate that has a huge CD early on, that's why you should always keep an eye on the map and the health bar of your allies. Even thought it got nerfed to hell, Stand United still gives insane map pressure so try to use it in a beneficial way. Also your ultimate can be canceled by any sort of hard CC so don't act stupid and teleport in front of your lane opponent. Always take it when available
Items
Items
Shen is more like a freestyle champion that could work with any item, but here's the best I found for him : sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd DEFENSIVE ITEMS : sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Sunfire Aegis got buffed in terms of waveclear so it's your must have item, or at least it's Bami's Cinder if you don't feel the early need of the sunfire, but it's so needed because Shen's waveclear is so weak. It will give you armor, health and the AOE burn passive than will help you clear waves easier sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Spirit Visage this is a great item on Shen too, more HP, a MR bonus, 10% CDR, and the passive that increases all sorts of sustain you have. If you're going tanky Shen build this item second after Sunfire Aegis sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Zz'Rot Portal is such a cancer item, like you just put a portal in a lane and it will auto push, and your enemies will be annoyed and forced to search for it to take it off. It gives some nice stats with a movement speed buff and an extra wave, don't underestimate this item ( one big voidspawn = a super minion ) sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Dead Man's Plate I like taking this item since it gives loads of mobility in addition to its good stats, you will take it if you're being kited too much sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Randuin's Omen against any champion that depends on AS and crit, such as Tryndamere, Yasuo or simply any ADC ( ADC building AS and crit, not those building Youmuu's Ghostblade and Duskblade of Draktharr ). Hopefully they buffed it and changed it's build path to what it was before which was more comfortable building sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Thornmail This item is now godlike for tanks, couple it to Randuin's Omen and you'll 1v1 pretty much any ADC, the grevious wounds passive is super strong especially that tanks are just exposed to damage and so giving free health regen to enemy carries sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Gargoyle Stoneplate I'm not a fan of this item on Shen, the stats it gives are nearly the same as Zz'Rot Portal, it surely gives bonus resistances when near champions but that damage reduction isn't the best thing especially if you're going with a Titanic Hydra, otherwise if you're going full tank Shen then it could be a good option sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Adaptive Helm Now that's your second MR choice after Spirit Visage, it got its HP bonus recently buffed making it a good item since it gives a good load of MR and the passive that reduces damages from same spells ( like Rumble's Flamespitter or Swain's Decrepify ) sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Locket of the Iron Solari It got a bit changed, no longer granting that MR aura but giving a shield based on your bonus HP so it's a very good item later on the game on those peeler-tanks, if you're AD carry is a huge threat dont hesitate building this sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Knight's Vow Another item for peeler-tanks, and it's very good items since it's the only VIABLE armor/HP item giving CDR ( jk never forget Ohmwrecker ) so if you're into protecting a high priority target on your team, this item is defenitely a good choice sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Warmog's Armor is for purely full AP teams, like you can stack MR and health and you will be unkillable. This item is so great on Shen since his passive Ki Barrier and his E Shadow Dash scale with HP, also because he is a tank :D sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd OFFENSIVE ITEMS: sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd ****NEVER BUILD ANY OF THEM AS A FIRST ITEM, ALWAYS PICK AT LEAST ONE RESISTANCE ITEM FIRST*** sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Titanic Hydra is by far the best offensive item I found on Shen, giving you a good HP pull, some more AD and the passive makes wave clearing an easy task ( don't forget that the active of the Titanic Hydra is an auto attack reset, meaning that you can auto then right after use the active and it will cancel the animation of the first auto to do a second auto on a shorter period of time ) sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Trinity Force My second loved item on Shen giving some awesome stats for a dueling splitpusher, I like picking this item vs champions such as Jax Irelia Fiora. Also you will burst squichies and crush them so hard and they will cry on chat like : omg shen so balanced u full tank and kill adc sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Blade of the Ruined King is another dueling item, giving you attack speed, sustain, and most of all the passive that works very good with your Q Twilight Assault and that will make you destroy any tank that wants to 1v1 you. Tbh the stats aren't that good on Shen since it doesn't give you any sort of resistance, and Shen doesn't profit much from the lifesteal because he doesn't build much AD. Take it only if you're super far ahead sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Wit's End This item is both offensive and defensive since it will give you 40 MR, 40% AS and a 40 magic damage on hit. Also its passive works great on Shen since it steals up to 25 MR which helps dealing more damage and the majority of Shen's damage is magic, very good item against heavy AP comps, take it like as 3rd or 4th item sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Frozen Mallet So this one is very situational, I call it "the calming tool" , it will calm anyone who moves so fast such as Riven, Yasuo or any champion that can kite you, or take it if your opponent is so annoying that you just want to all in him and kill him sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Sterak's Gage As situational as the Frozen Mallet, Sterak is pretty much a late game item you want to take when you will have enough tankiness. It will buff your base AD which can work great with the Sheen passive of the Trinity Force . You will likely build this item to add more burst to your Trinity Force procs while having some good resistances so that its shield doesn't get popped instantly sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd - Black Cleaver Now here some may say : Shen wtf y u build bc stop trollbuild pls. This guy might be a bit right, but let's dig deeper : this item costs 3k gold which is very cheap, a passive that let's you stick to you target nicely, and giving HP and AD and 20% CDR. Meaning that with 3k gold you get 400HP and 20%CDR which can give you a heavy early powerspike, reducing your R's CD stupidly, and giving you the ability to scratch armor for your carries ( good guy Shen )
Tips for a better gameplay
Tips for a better gameplay
Laning Phase :
-First of all, Shen's Q Twilight Assault got a huge nerf in terms of damage against minions, so farming under turret with it won't be as easy as it was before, at least until you reach level 4. Try to not get pushed early unless if you're forced to ( knowing that you may be cheesed lvl2 by their jungler or simply your opponent has huge pushing power for instance a Kayle ), but in case you're under turret early there are some few tips for farming ( working with no AD on runes ) : For melee minions you either kill em with a Q proc, or hitting them twice ( first when they enter turret range and last one when they nearly die ). For caster minions they need 2 hits either with Q proc or without them, so hit em first when they enter the turret's range and last when they nearly die. You get to farm better when you get level 4/5 when you get base damage on Q that can last hit easily both melee and ranged minions sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -You will either play agressive in lane if you can and try to kill your opponent with your high damage from your Q, or play passive until you get 6 to make plays with your ultimate. sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -Never engage with your E until you're sure that the enemy jungler isn't around toplane, otherwise you will likely burn your Flash trying to escape or even die. sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -Your basic combo will be a taunt, then pull your sword so that it collides with your enemy, then hit him with your buffed autos since he will be slowed if he tries to escape, if he wants to trade back don't forget using your W sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -After you get 6 start warning your allies when your ult is up ( the new pinging system : alt + spell ) sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -Try to ult on the right timing to save your allies : like when your botlane is fighting and you see the enemy jungler coming, make sure that you will be in lane right after their jungler has appeared there sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -You can also set up ganks with your ultimate like going botlane on a 4v2 situation, making them rage at their team : omg 4 ppl botlane, and probably making them ragequit :D sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -You're not alone in your lane, your lane opponent will probably cancel you if he sees you tp'ing, unless if he has no hard CC sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd
Teamplay :
-If you got an advantage over your lane opponent try forcing the splitpush, you will probably annoy him and he will certainly ask for some help, leaving your team in a 4v3 or even a 5v3 situation ( if you can escape then TP to your teammates ) sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -If your lane opponent is a splitpusher and you're far behind him, tell your team to force 4v4 actions so that you can TP to them and make it a 4v5, you will likely win the fight and take some objectives such as dragon or baron, making splitpushing for your opponent much difficult. sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -You're a tank but you're also a peeler, if your team doesn't have enough peel never be an initiator and stick to your carries otherwise their Yasuo will probably dig into your backline and kill them all. sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -Don't overestimate your tankiness, you can still be killed if you get a heavy focus, especially if their carries have items such as Lord Dominik's Regards or Void Staff that give huge penetration into your resistances. sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd -Your ultimate Stand United isn't just a teleport but also a huge shield, don't hesitate to use it on your carries if you see the need of it on them even if they are near you.
Q&A
Q&A
*Keep in mind that these answers are purely personal so if you somehow disagree with me that's totally fine and I'd even love knowing your opinions too* sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Q:Fervor or Grasp ? A:I didn't mention it early on the guide for simple reason is that Grasp of the Undying gives you sustain first of all and it synegizes well with Shen's kit. Meanwhile Fervor of Battle has no sustain but gives you AD as a stat as if you're getting buying an AD item each time you hit an enemy so it will buff the damage on your spells ( to mention that it used to only buff the damage on your autos ), the problem is that Shen got no AD ratios in his spells, also if you go 18/0/12 you'll lose the bonus tenacity from Swiftness which is a bad thing from a champ that is supposed to stay in melee. So I guess that sacrifying the sustain from Grasp of the Undying and the extra tenacity for some little bonus damage on your autos isn't that worth sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Q:What it is with that Korean build **** ? A:A different playstyle on Shen, or I'd say it's a more SoloQ way to play Shen where you won't be relying on your team to deal damage. It's like going bruiser Shen with Fervor of Battle , building Titanic Hydra, Trinity Force and Mercurial Scimitar as core items, then going for some little 2 tanky items. You'll be dealing enormous amount of damage but you won't be tanky like the standart normal Shen, so if you're more into crushing your lane opponent and going perma 1v1 or 1v2 then this build is yours ( But don't you find it a bit ironic ? Going perma solo on a champion that is supposed to be helping his team, idk ) sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Q:What do you think about both jungle and support Shen ? A:I'm actually not a jungle main but imo I think that the last nerf on Shen's Q damage against minions made jungle Shen's clear a bit more difficult so it should be hard, in terms of build it should be the standart Rek'Sai old build : jungle item > cinderhulk > Titanic Hydra and going straight tank. For support Shen it might work quite good especially if you and your AD carry are well cordinated to use your Spirit's Refuge perfectly sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Q:If I have a Thornmail and someone basic attacks me while my W is active, does it reflect the damage or not since I'm not taking any ? A:At first you may think it's a stupid question, like if they don't touch you they don't get the damage reflected which kinda the right thing to be, but in fact they do and you can test it against minions and champions ( go in the middle of a wave with you W and your Thornmail and you'll see that even if you don't take any damage, minions do ), I have no idea if it's some sort of bug or that's it's actually wanted but hey enjoy abusing it until the next Shen's nerf. Also another thing about your W is that if someone basic attacks you within the turret's agro range while your W is activated, even if you don't receive damage they'll take the turret's agro sgdfgdgfdgdgdssd Q: Titanic Hydra, Trinity Force or Black Cleaver ? A:So this is a question we get a lot on Reddit, but here's a TL;DR version of it and I'll try to convince you later on : Get only one damage item as Shen otherwise you waste gold, Titanic>all, BC>Titanic/Triforce if you want the early CDR and get early powerspikes, Triforce>all if you're ahead.
Now the hard part : convincing you dear reader :
First of all we should agree that Titanic Hydra>all in most cases, since it gives you waveclear, a good amount of HP and the auto attack reset, and as you know it has an HP scalling so it the best item to take on champs that stack HP, and if you'll look even closer you'll notice that the item is so self-efficient, since it scales with HP and still gives you HP on top of that you don't benefit from the 450HP bonus just as a stat but also as damage on it's passive.
Now I'm gonna make a small comparison between the Black Cleaver and the Trinity Force : Trinity Force is a very good item on Shen, giving you HP, AS, 20% CDR, the Phage proc for the movespeed and the Sheen proc for a little more burst damage, but as I said Titanic>all ( Trinity Force ), so basically you get a Trinity Force in addition to the Titanic Hydra as an optional item ONLY if you're far ahead from your enemies.
Effeciency talking now, Titanic Hydra - which is the only damage item you'll need on Shen tbh - costs 3500g, a bit expensive no ? Add an optional damage item that costs 3733g and you get a little more more damage for the price of 7233g, add like 800g and you could get a Sunfire+SV+a locket or something else instead. What I'm saying is that taking a Trinity Force as an also item isn't worth for Shen, so you might wanna take it first if you really like the item, same calculations go for Black Cleaver, my point is that you should take only one damage item no matter what item it is.
Getting gold early game is a bit of a hard mission since you don't have advanced stats/farming tools/kills at that moment of the game, meaning that getting an expensive item such as Trinity Force will make your powerspikes come a bit late ( the build path items on it aren't that good on Shen ). So if you want to get some really early powerspikes, Black Cleaver is for sure the item needed.
Summary
Summary
Well that's it ^^ Hope you liked this little guide about Shen in which I tired to explain pretty much everything. Be sure to leave a comment and tell me what you liked/didn't like about my guide.
Also don't mind contacting me or the Reddit community ( https://www.reddit.com/r/Shen/ ) if you want some more informations, see ya :D
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