Well I bought Shaco because I watched one of my friends play him and he was really good and not to mention Shaco looked really fun to play, so I decided to save up some IP and buy him. Then the first game was like any first time Shaco's I guess but then I started to get really good at him. I watched other Shaco's play as well and learned a little from each. not to mention I learned how to counter them. I started jungleing and became really good BUT from jungleing I realised that Shaco doesnt level up fast in the junlge (not many jungle champs do) and I wasnt getting much gold either, so after a while I made my own way of playing Shaco and as I soon came to realise I was the only one playing Shaco the way I was playing him and not to pat myself on the back but it was AMAZING. I was ganking at level 2 getting my boots and first 2 major items before 10min sometimes even before 8min and not only do I get first blood but I also got double kills and dominate every lane. Now I realise allot of this is hard to believe and the way I play Shaco is very different so to back up my story I shall provide proof and if its not enough after you read just say in the comments and I shall post more proof but don't hate this guide until you try it, trust me it works. So for all you people who like this guide thank you and please leave a comment and vote it will really help me out. For all of you who hate this guide well F*** off because I don't really care.

I think it's pretty easy to understand my rune choice, Greater Mark of Attack Damage Is for some flat attack damage. The Greater Seal of Critical Damage Is for a little bit of Critical chance early game. The Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage Is just for that little bit more damage. Last but least Greater Glyph of Attack Speed Just for a little tiny bit of attack speed but can be replaced with Greater Glyph of Critical Damage or Greater Glyph of Attack Damage.


Another way to build runes is armer penetration runes, if you would rather build armer penetration runes then this is how you should build:

You can also replace the critical chance runes with attack speed runes such as the Greater Seal of Attack Speed and the Greater Glyph of Attack Speed and then your all set but for all you people who think armer penetration runes wont do much then you dead wrong.


The one last way I know how to build runes with Shaco is some CD reduction (I do not recommend this way) but you can also build like this:

This is good with both AD and AP Shaco as CD reduction can help even AD (because of he's Q and E helping with ganks) and AP Shaco because the more you spam boxes the more you kill. But I do not recommend this rune build because it is good but there are many better runes for Shaco.

Pros

• Really good early game damage.
• Easy to jungle with.
• Easy to get kills with.
• Stealth unit.
• Strong counter-jungler.
• Fun to play.
• Great sense of humour.

Cons

• Relatively squishy.
• Can by countered with Oracles elixir.
• Hard to master.
• Banned in ranked alot.
• Can be hard to fight in team fights.
• Stuns and snares counter Shaco.

Understanding Shaco's abilities is key to playing well as him, he's abilities is what makes Shaco you know.... Shaco and im going to go though each one with you and help you to understand Shaco's abilities and when/how to use them.


The first one is Backstab (passive), its only a passive but yet its so much more, it is half your damage and half the reasons Shaco's get kills and it give's so much extra damage that you would be a fool not to take advantage of it. I myself use it when invisible and as my first attack and when people run away my finisher, whoever has there back turned to Shaco is DEAD


The next one is Deceive (Q), this one is a big one for Shaco, its he's gap closer, he's escape tool and he's Initiator. (and its a free flash) but it give's Shaco a 3.5 second stealth and if he attacks while stealthed he gets an extra 40%-120% bonus (guaranteed) crit damage (which also stacks with he's passive if you attack from behind so that's up to 140% crit damage at max Q level)


The third one is Jack In The Box (W), this is Shaco's best ability (in my opinion) it fears all other team and creeps and flows during that fear (the fear lasts from 0.5-1.5 seconds depending on level) and does some damage per shot (allot of damage if your AP Shaco) as this is a good ability i use it as a ward/escape tool/kill secure (and I don't mean kill steal) because if you place this box behind the champions they cant run away or they get feared.


The next one is Two-Shiv Poison (E), IS AWESOME! not only does it slow but does a **** ton of damage early game plus it gives an awesome passive and does poison damage for 3 SECONDS which is great! as my main tool for ganking besides my Q, I max my E as soon as possible and use it as much as I can in ganks


The last one is Hallucinate (R), I use this whenever I have it for ganks, not only can the clone tank towers and help you fight but it can trick the other team for a few seconds (unless you have a buff) but remember 1. It lasts up to 18 seconds 2. It only does up to 75% of your damage 3. It takes 50% more damage then you. By the way don't forget what im about to tell you because it might save your life! when you ult there is a brief second where you cant be killed! which could save you from stuff like one tick of Ignite and one tower shot and Karthus ult Requiem.

Well most people would call it "Jungle" but I would say different, I neither "lane" or "jungle" I would call my own special way of playing "ganking". let me explain for example I never really go into the jungle for anything but blue buff and sometimes red buff (or to counter jungle) and I never really stay in a lane either. There are only 2 reasons I go to a lane, to farm xp or to get kills. now some of you are probably thinking something like "How do you level up like everyone else" or "you wont get much gold without farming" now to explain both since a recent patch you get quite allot of gold and xp out of killing or assist in killing champions and there wont be a problem with gold because if you do my guide right you can start ganking at level 2 and sometimes get a double kill instead of just first blood. now I know this is hard to believe so I am going to show proof that it can be done so you know this guide isn't just a waist of time.

Ok now I am going to tell you step by step how I play Shaco if you where just looking for tips on Shaco skip this part now.

Now to start buy a Doran's Blade Then go to Ancient Golem as fast as possible then stack your boxes behind where the Ancient Golem spawns (The Golem spawns at 1:55) and the best part no one will counter jungle you because you have Flash and Ignite but ill talk about summoner spells later. Now the boxes can almost kill the Ancient Golem on there own but if you auto attack it a few times it will go down without even touching you. (MAKE SURE YOU KILL THE MINIONS WITH THE GOLEM) and do not get a leash or anyone to help you this is IMPORTANT because if you solo blue and both its minions you get level 2 instantly which is NEEDED. now after you get Blue Buff if your on the blue team go to the top bush on the river next closest to baron, if you are on the purple team go to the bottom bush on the river closest to dragon. once there pick the champion with the least health. Then make sure your team is ready to help, then Q behind them and make sure your first hit is on there back! then as fast as possible place a box behind you (it helps if you make sure a minion wave isn't coming) you place a box behind you so if they run they get feared and even if they get feared towards the tower they still get slowed. then attack them in the back as much as possible because of Shaco's passive Backstab. You will no doubt get first blood (unless your team kill steals you :P ) and sometimes even a double kill. Next you buy Mobility Boots after that get a Madred's Razors and after you have that get blue and red as much as possible but remember gank AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

Just in case you didn't understand my way of playing Shaco I made a map showing where to go at the start of the game.
again a bit small im sorry but I don't know how to fix it here is the link: http://postimage.org/image/8li9xzcrn/

1. Get blue buff

2. Hide in bush

3. kill top

4. kill mid

5. kill bot if you can

6. shop for boots and

Madred's Razor

7. get blue buff again

WARNING! If you get countered/die/interrupted in any way just lane for a few minutes for farm and XP and get right back to ganking.

Now I gank different then most Shaco's and more often I might add so I need to tell you, Now if you read how to play Shaco you would know I gank at level 2 (which isn't as hard as you think) So for your first gank (if you gank at level 2) this is what you do. First use your Deceive to get behind the champion you have selected to gank, second auto attack then FROM BEHIND to use your passive Backstab, third quickly place a Jack In The Box behind you as fast as you can (this stops them from escaping with the boxes fear and slow), forth and final keep attacking them in the back as much as you can. If you can get the second champion as your cooldowns are no doubt done then you can try to get the second champion in that lane. Now if you are ganking at level 5 and below do the same thing as what I said before but after your first Q then attack from behind use your Two-Shiv Poison to slow them before you put your box behind them. Ganking at level 6 and above is the same as ganking at level 5 and below except if your not 100% sure that you will get the kill when you Q behind them instead of auto attacking for that first Backstab you can use your ultimate Hallucinate (because your invisible before you use your ultimate it makes it harder for them to know which one is the real Shaco) then use your E to slow them then place your box behind you then stab them in the back as much as possible.

I am just going to show the jungle respawn times for all the people who fully jungle Shaco and who want to improve there jungle rout and know the times when to prepare to get buffs.

Ok since I know this guide is hard to believe i decided to show proof so that you know that this guide isn't just a waist of time.
Ok now since the picture is a bit small and I cant seem to re size it here is the link to the picture I uploaded: http://postimage.org/image/oi49xurdx/

If any more proof is needed then just comment and I will post more pictures.

If you have a problem with any part of my guide just comment and don't just thumb it down right away because I will be updating this guide allot and I will eventually add in a AP Shaco guide as soon as I can and i will update this guide fitting with all patch notes and changes with Shaco so please dont be a troll and comment and tell me how I can improve this guide.


JazzyJazz77.


December 5th Changed the masteries for season 3 and some of the items to build since they got rid of allot of items stick around and I will be trying some of the new items on Shaco to see if they are good.