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Spells:
Exhaust
Ghost
Ability Order
Ki Barrier (PASSIVE)
Shen Passive Ability
Introduction
So, you're tired of tanking with a ninja eh? Ninjas are known for assassinations, so why not play him like the true ninja Shen really is? Not only is this a far more fun way to play Shen, it's also really unexpected. Shen is extremely agile, and as a DPS/Tank hybrid (mostly DPS), he can pound out kills like crazy. So let's get started!
Pros
-DPS Shen is way more fun than Tank Shen
-Excellent Crowd Control, even when squishy
-Pressure from
Stand United is increased because now Shen can save AND destroy.
-Very mobile
-Nice passive for free magic damage.
-
Shadow Dash is great for chasing and fleeing.
Cons
-Somewhat Squishy
-
Shadow Dash loses some AoE effect in terms of usefulness. (don't want all 5 attacking you at once while squishy)
-Energy/Cooldown dependant
-Build is somewhat expensive
-Not the best farmer
-DPS Shen is way more fun than Tank Shen
-Excellent Crowd Control, even when squishy
-Pressure from
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-Very mobile
-Nice passive for free magic damage.
-
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Cons
-Somewhat Squishy
-
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-Energy/Cooldown dependant
-Build is somewhat expensive
-Not the best farmer
Masteries for DPS Shen are really up to your preference. 21/9/0 is for even greater damage output, critical strike chance, and cooldown reduction which are all nice for DPS Shen, but this is a fairly flexible area. If you aren't surviving very well and putting out enough damage, then 0/21/9 is a viable option. I prefer to have at least 9 in the Defense category for better evasion and the 10% speed increase if I dodge.
Greater Quintessence of Desolation
As many DPS champs have, I choose three of these for the armor penetration. Most of your damage will be physical during the mid to late game. Straight forward.
Greater Mark of Desolation
Same as above, greater damage output.
This is for greater survivability and goes with the evasion masteries. After a dodge, you'll get a 10% speed boost, which helps Shen move even faster. Since
Shadow Dash is a very important tool of Shen's, you don't want to be hit as often since this is not a full Tank build for Shen.
Shen is fairly cooldown/energy dependent.
Stand United has a very long cooldown and this also helps you use your
Shadow Dash more frequently, which both of these abilities are what makes Shen so deadly AND supportive at the same time.
As many DPS champs have, I choose three of these for the armor penetration. Most of your damage will be physical during the mid to late game. Straight forward.
Greater Mark of Desolation
Same as above, greater damage output.
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This is for greater survivability and goes with the evasion masteries. After a dodge, you'll get a 10% speed boost, which helps Shen move even faster. Since
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Shen is fairly cooldown/energy dependent.
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Shen's Passive is
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By the end of the game, my build tends to look like this:
I like to start off with
Boots and 3
Health Potion for greater movement. This allows you to harass with
Vorpal Blade much easier. Get in, hit, get out. Simple. If you want to get a
Null-Magic Mantle first if you prefer to stay defensive, and wait until level 2 to use
Shadow Dash to escape, that is also a viable option. Once you get enough gold, finish up your
Mercury's Treads for a little magic resistance and most importantly, tenacity. Dropping off those stuns, taunts, fears, etc. quicker is very important.
The next item is very situational. Since you are Shen and one of your main abilities is
Shadow Dash, you will be soaking up some damage no matter what. It's kind of silly to have an ability that makes
Tryndamere three-shot you instead of another guy. You want to be able to take some damage and deal some back. Also, since this is a DPS build, your items will want to be about dealing damage and using
Shadow Dash with
Thornmail accomplishes this. Since
Mercury's Treads give you a little magic resistance and
Thornmail being such an excellent (and cheap) item, I usually go with that. However, it's really up to you and depends on what kind of damage the enemy is dealing.
Force of Nature,
Sunfire Aegis or, having a
Frozen Heart are good alternatives for this spot. The movement speed from
Force of Nature plus the excellent health regeneration along with the high magic resist is very good, but I wouldn't suggest it unless the other team is very AP heavy. The movement speed isn't necessary since we will be building a
Phantom Dancer later and since Shen won't have nearly as much health as a tank, the 0.35% health regeneration isn't as noticeable.
Sunfire Aegis is all around good for Shen. The 35 magic damage helps Shen farm, which can be important if you are having trouble last hitting, and the 450 Health makes Shen's
Ki Strike hit a little bit harder.
Frozen Heart is excellent because of the 20% cooldown reduction, so you can use
Stand United more often. Plus, slowing the enemies attack speed is nice if you feel like you are not dodging enough.
Thornmail is what I tend to get though, because it synergizes with
Shadow Dash so well. I cannot mention this enough! Think of it as your
Shadow Dash now dealing percentile damage!
Now here is when you will start worrying your teammates if they were unaware that you were going to build a Shen that will actually be dealing damage! (which personally, I get enjoyment out of surprising everyone with this build, but communicating effectively with your team is always important.)
Phantom Dancer is next because of the movement speed and attack speed. Attack speed is important for Shen so that you pop off that
Ki Strike as soon as it's ready. Plus, the attack speed is helpful because it causes your
Ki Strike to be ready, sooner. Some people will want to build a damage dealing item first, but that is not necessary! With
Vorpal Blade,
Ki Strike, and a well-timed auto attack, you will be getting in 2, sometimes 3 hits in less than a second! Plus, the extra movement speed helps Shen chase down enemies to use
Shadow Dash on them. If you want to build
Zeal then get
Vampiric Scepter for some slightly better survivability then that works too. However, I recommend finishing
Phantom Dancer first because the healing done from the
Vampiric Scepter isn't very much at this point because most of Shen's damage is magic for now. Plus you get a very small heal from
Vorpal Blade so you should be okay.
The next item is up to you. Either build
Madred's Bloodrazor or
Bloodthirster. If you went ahead and bought the
Vampiric Scepter then finish
Bloodthirster to make your life steal and damage output sky rocket. At this point in the game,
Madred's Bloodrazor isn't as important because chances are,
Dr. Mundo doesn't have his 4000 health yet. However, ANY DPS CHAMPION EVER SHOULD HAVE
Madred's Bloodrazor DO NOT FINISH YOUR BUILD WITHOUT IT! If you were able to build up this far quick enough, then
Madred's Bloodrazor can be put off until after the
Bloodthirster. If you build
Madred's Bloodrazor before
Bloodthirster, make sure you get
Bloodthirster after, and vice versa. These two items are very important!
Madred's Bloodrazor is such a beautiful item for DPS champs because it gives awesome attack speed, some armor, decent damage, then the best part.. PERCENTILE MAGIC DAMAGE! No matter how health heavy the enemey is, you will tear them apart. Plus the magic damage output is so great, that it makes your damage into a hybrid. It's hard to build enough armor to null this kind of damage. I strongly suggest finishing
Phantom Dancer and then getting
Madred's Bloodrazor, but the other way I suggested is an option if you want.
Next is the
Infinity Edge. The Critical strike chance, CS damage increase, and flat damage output is ridiculous with this item. You will already be dealing extreme amounts of damage before hand, but with this it's GG. Straight forward item, and works very well with
Phantom Dancer.
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I like to start off with
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The next item is very situational. Since you are Shen and one of your main abilities is
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Now here is when you will start worrying your teammates if they were unaware that you were going to build a Shen that will actually be dealing damage! (which personally, I get enjoyment out of surprising everyone with this build, but communicating effectively with your team is always important.)
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The next item is up to you. Either build
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Next is the
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