Hey LoL-fans
Xin Zhao was the first character that i bought and it was one of the best decisions i ever made. I really played him a lot in many ways but this is the one i recommend most. I hope you guys like it although its my first guide ;)
Xin Zhao is one of the strongest junglers in the game. He is the biggest danger in early game and every laner has to fear him when you play him well.
I always had to struggle to get well from early to mid game. In early game you are the king of the fields of justice but if you play him as an AD Carry (what I did quite a long time) you will have your problems in teamfights. If you are well fed and dominate the game everything is ok but if you died already a few times, the enemy team will see you as a free kill in a teamfight.
Of course I didnt have only good games so i searched a long time for a way to stay alive.
Once i discovered jungling for me, i saw that way. This build doesent give you 25/0 games, it will lead your team to victory. In this guide i want to explain why.

This is the reason why jungling with xin is so easy. It gives you an amount of heal at every third autoattack. This ability makes it possible to do any jungle creep you want and lets you choose any jungle route.

Your bread and butter. This skill gives you great burst damage + a knock-up at the third strike.
If you cann apply that cc when you gank, the kill is safe in most cases.

If you play as an AD Carry, this is one of your most important skills but for jungling i recommend the Q and the E more. Dont get me wrong, Battlecry is a great ability but the others are even better

One of the greatest initiating and chasing abilitys ever. You have to open every fight with this ability that deals a high amount of magic damage + a slow. I max this skill before Q because:
- it does instant damage (230 on lvl. 18)
- it closes gaps
- it slows great (good for you when you haven't got frozen mallet yet)
Q instead:
- you need to have 3 attacks to use its full potential
- deals 225 damage + 3 basic attackdmg (great for mid-/lategame)
- knock up-effect is the same on every level

-> E before Q

This is what makes you a beast in teamfights. Not only it deals massive damage to surrounding units, it also gives you armor + magic resistance for every enemy champ you hit.
Always try to hit as many champs as possible because this skill makes you a real tank.

PROS:
Great initiator
Strong damage output
Good offtank
Insane chasing potential
Easy Jungle
Heals up very fast


CONS:
No escapetools
-> Sucks at couterjungling
You die often when the enemy team focusses you, but: gives your teammates the chance to win teamfights

Theres not much to say, your marks work well with your Youmuu's and burst enemy tanks -> good for ganking top against strong armorchamps.
Your seals, glyphs and quintessences give you an early game advantage to sustain in 2 vs. 2 or 3 vs. 3

So, Here is the first part of my explanation why Xin wins teamfights. In early game, Xin is a excellent damage dealer. But as I said, he's F*cked when the enemy team has a good focus. This build is tanky in early and mid game and gets back to dealing damage when the game takes long.

You start with a Vampiric Scepter so you can stay at nearly full health in jungle.

After you got the money, go back and buy mercury's, they will give you a first potential to tank and of course, movement speed.

Now finish the jungleritem #1, Wriggle's Lantern. At this moment the enemy team should fear you as a ganker without no mercy and will try to split you off from your team to eliminate you.

Because of that, now grab frozen mallet. I had the question why not to get Warmogs and it was a long process to come to the point that frozen mallet is the better choice. First , it gives you +25 AD what is a really fair amount for that price. Secondly you get 700 health that will keep you alive in midgame. And last but not least, nobody will escape your spear. The 40% (40!!!) slow is what i like most at this item. Try to catch single enemys and burst them with your q and e to chase them to death as easy as it can be.

Frozen Mallet and Atmas, that you will get next, are the core items of my build. When you buy atma, you should have around 2200(I really dont know the exact value) HP so you get 45 armor, 18% crit chance and around 44 bonus attack damage. This item brings you one step closer to the tank and also gives good AD values.

After these items you are not an easy kill anymore so you can get back to one of the things that Xin can do best: Dealing tons of damage. Grab Youmuu's to increase your Critchance, Damage and Armorpen. The Active and the CDR are the reason why i prefer Youmuu's instead of Phantom Dancer.

If the game last REALLY long you should grab Infinity Edge and Bloodthurster (sell Wriggle's Lantern for that) to max your Damageoutput.

One of the big advantages of Xin is, that he can start his jungle from nearly every point. I normally go the classic route.
I use smite whenever it's up (10 gold per use with masteries) but when i do a buff, drake or baron i save it until it kills the minion instantly to avoid stealing.
I start at the wolfcamp (spawning 1:40), killing the big wolf (or all wolfes when i'm playing with my clan and having help).
Then I head up straight for the Golem (appears 1:55)
Now i kill the rest of the wolfes (if not done already) and head to mid. if there is any possibility to early gank, i use it, but in most cases nobody overextends, so i go on with the wraiths.
Next target is the red buff at the lizard camp. after some hits, smite is up again.
After that I look for a possibility to gank again mid or bot. If yes, I use it of course, if not i do the golem camp and head back to wolfes/wraiths or to base. from this point I gank whenever possible, giving our blue buff to our mid and helping on every lane that is in trouble.
Always try to clear your complete jungle to make sure you dont get outfarmed by the other jungler that steals in your jungle.

For ganking and single targets:
E -> Q -> W
use e first to close the gap and slow, if he flashes you can flash too to hold up pressure. Press Q to knock him up and W to knock him up faster ;)

For Teamfights:
E -> R -> Q -> W
As Xin Zhao, you are always the initiator of a fight (If you have a guy like rammus that rolls in and cant die, it's another situation of course ;) ). Jump into the biggest crowd of enemy champs and instantly activate your ultimate. This lets you stay alive in most situations. After they started to focus you, your team has enough time to blow up their carrys (I prefer to play with ranged AD carrys in my team that can stay outside the fight and devastate them while i eat all damage. If you die, its no problem, because after the time they needed to bring you down your team should have taken control over the fight.
One more point: Always try to protect your carrys. This works in two ways:
1. Kill the enemy carry
2. Knock chasers up and slow them
Trust me, Xin works as good as a supporter in this point , he can hold enemys back when they focus your AD Carry and gives him the chance to get out or in the best situation, heal himself by lifesteal to get back into the fight and end it.

Just a few words here.
The core build (Frozen Mallet and Atmas) stays always the same but if you have an unconventional team you might have to build a bit different.

If their AP Carry is fed or if they have to AP Champs (like top and mid) you better get a MR item before purchasing Youmuu's. What you take depends on the situation. I like Banshees Veil a lot because it gives you extra HP and Mana (HP give you AD too, because of Atma's) + a solid amount of MR.
If they have a lot of crowd control abilities in their team, you should get Quicksilver Sash that allows you to keep moving.
May you want to play even a bit more tanky? Get Force of Nature.

If you have a pretty squishy team with much damage output but low HP you also can get Warmogs instead of other lategame items. Other good choices are Guardian Angel and Thornmail/Sunfire Cape.

I really hope you guys like this build. Dont forget to rate and commend what I can do better, i'll try to update it as often as needed.

Have Fun and Good Luck !