Shaco Guide: Mastering Matchups, Positioning, and Objectives

General Strategy

Tank Matchups: Tanks can be challenging due to their durability, but you can control the fight with outplays. Use Shaco’s mobility to kite, keeping them at a distance and avoiding direct engagements if they have hard crowd control or gap-closers. Set up Jack in the Box (W) traps around you to control space and avoid getting pinned down.
Mid Champions: Against burst champions like Sylas, it’s crucial to maintain your distance. Use your movement to avoid his abilities, and keep your Q (Deceive) ready for a quick disengage if things get too close.
Engagement and Escape Tips

Box Control (W): Use your Jack in the Box traps to create controlled zones, especially in narrow spaces where enemies are likely to pass. This allows for efficient area denial, discourages opponents from approaching, and provides escape routes.
Q (Deceive) Usage: Save Q for attacking vulnerable targets like ADCs, allowing you to engage, burst, and escape quickly. For tanks, it’s generally better to save Q for disengaging rather than engaging, unless you’re confident you can burst them down.
R (Hallucinate) Control:
Escape: If escaping, leave your clone behind to confuse or damage enemies.
Turret Diving: Send your clone in first during turret dives to tank initial hits, letting you dive more safely.
Evade and Burst: Use your clone strategically to block turret shots or explode after disengaging to maximize burst.
Diving Tactics

Clone First: Wait for the turret to prepare a shot, then send in your clone to tank the initial hit before engaging. This way, you can safely dive and escape with Q or Flash.
Minion Dive: Use a minion wave to absorb turret shots before engaging with your Q, then unleash a combo with E, W, and R. The clone absorbs extra hits, and you can exit using Flash if necessary, leaving the clone to finish the kill.
Objective Control (Dragons, Rift Herald)

R for Speed and Safety: Your R ability speeds up objective takedowns and can serve as a safeguard if enemies contest. Set up W traps around the objective for additional zone control.
Q Caution: Only use Q when sure that nearby enemies won’t interfere, as it’s your primary disengage tool around objectives.
Countering Key Champions (e.g., Nocturne)

Dodge Nocturne’s Q: Avoiding Nocturne’s Q is crucial, as it’s his main gap-closer and damage tool.
Predict W (Spell Shield): Nocturne may use W before engaging. Time your E after his shield goes up to prevent blocking your damage.
R to Avoid Fear (E): Nocturne’s fear can be countered by going untargetable with your R. Once he’s feared by your boxes or clone, you can re-engage.
Clone Micro: Let the clone continue the fight or chase while you reposition to keep dealing damage while you recover or prepare for your next move.
Essentials for Shaco Jungle Without a jungle pet like Red or Blue, Shaco is not effective in the jungle. Here are the essential items:

Boots:

Mobility: Q provides stealth and gap closing, but you need movement speed to reach targets efficiently.
Dodging and Map Control: Speed helps with dodging abilities, objective control, and catching or escaping enemies.
Attack Speed Boots: Vital for Shaco’s playstyle, as auto-attacks are a large part of his damage.
Navori Quickblades:

Stats: Provides attack speed, movement speed, and critical chance. Every sixth hit reduces cooldowns, giving you more frequent access to your abilities.
Clears and Playmaking: Faster cooldowns help in clearing camps, and frequent W, E, and Q use allows for tactical plays.
Edge of Night or Kraken Slayer:

Kraken Slayer: Adds raw damage, attack speed, and on-hit effects, ideal for Shaco. Your clone also benefits from these effects.
Edge of Night: For heavy CC or burst enemies, the spell shield can be crucial, blocking critical abilities and enhancing survival.
Blade of the Ruined King (BotRK) or Experimental Hexplate:

BotRK: Perfect for on-hit builds, adding AD, attack speed, lifesteal, and percent HP damage—effective against tanks and squishies alike.
Experimental Hexplate: Optimizes ultimate usage, adding attack speed, movement speed, HP, and AD for survivability.
Build Summary

Maximize on-hit damage with 2.5 attacks per second.
Increase ability frequency with high attack speed.
Gain spell shield (Edge of Night) for critical CC/burst blocks.
High mobility for maneuvering around enemies.
Reduced ultimate cooldown to keep Hallucinate available often.
Gameplay and Targeting

Target Priority: Target enemy carries first, using Q to engage and follow up with AA, W, and E. Use R for untargetability to dodge high-damage skills.
Cooldown Reduction: With Navori, Q should come off cooldown quickly, allowing flexibility to dodge, poke, or disengage.
Teamfights: Look for isolated targets or disrupt backlines. Play around W and R to create fear zones and flash out if health drops.
Handling Tanks and Fighters

Avoid direct 1v1s with tanks or heavy fighters. Poke with W and E from a distance, using R to dodge critical abilities. Let your clone continue the fight while you stay in stealth.
Final Reminders

Ulti Conservation: Treat R as your trump card for escapes or confusion, potentially triggering AoE fear if timed well and untargetability for 0.5sec.
Boxes for Vision: Boxes provide vision, crowd control, and extra damage, making them essential around objectives and escape routes.
With enough practice, Shaco can outplay nearly any opponent through timing and map awareness.