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Shen Build Guide by

Shen Jungle Tank/ Support Tank/Top Tank

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4 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author redhaze_2010

Shen Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (4) More Shen Guides

Choose Champion Build:

Jungle
Support
Toplane

Runes: Standard Tank/Bruiser

1 2 3 4 5

Precision

Press the Attack

Triumph

Legend: Alacrity

Coup de Grace

Domination

Cheap Shot

Ultimate Hunter

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

Jungle

Flash

Smite

Items

Starting items

First back

Mythics

Item Options

Example Best Full Build (Standard)

Balanced Full Build Example (Tank & Damage)

Example Full Build Sunderer

Example Full Build Frostfire

Example Full Build Triforce

Example Full build Chemtank

Example Full Build tank w/Demonic Embrace

Example Full Build Stridebreaker

Example Full Build Riftmaker

Example Full Build Goredrinker

Ability Order Jungle Ability Path

Shen Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Olaf

Extreme

just Dodge perma ban, Aside from Hecarim he is probably the next worst champ to go against as Shen especially in the Jungle. Luckily he isnt played as much, so Hec is the better ban. However you can outduel him if you end up getting fed. Rush bramble agaisnt him and blocks his empowered healing basic attacks.

Jhin

Ideal

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Jhin

Ideal

Early game (Jungle)

In the early game as Shen Jungle you are looking to start at either blue or red, blue is a bit better for energy regen and the clear path is a bit easier. From Blue side you would go Blue Buff -> Gromp -> Wolves -> Red Buff -> Scuttle Crab. First Back Should usually be main mythic item component that gives you health like Bamis, Phage or Tiamat if fed. You can also build a dagger to improve clear speed if you did not bring pta runes or extra attack speed in runes or if you just want faster clear you can build a dagger or two but normally with bami or tiamat you clear is fine from there onward. You don't need the dagger it's just a suggestion. Once you have Bamis/tiamat or whatever item related to the mythic you are building you want to look to power farm till 6 and gank in between rotation to camps. Once you have 6 you can gank 2 areas at once, for example you can gank toplane then ult botlane.

Mid game (Jungle)

Mid Game you should be looking to finish your Mythic usually Sunfire Aegis or if ahead you can rush titanic depending on your build path. Then you need to being active by ganking lanes, contesting objectives,looking for split push opportunities, getting picks, etc, as well as keep on farming. At this point its like any other Jungler. Going into late game you should have your Mythic your titanic hyrda or depending on build your second item and boots , and start to build forwards full tank or 3rd damage item depending on build path. For example if you take the standard core I would have Sunfire , Titanic , bramble, boots and maybe a Phage or giants belt for either thornmail or steraks as my third item.

Late game(Jungle)

Here you Should be pretty much going towards your 4th or 5th item so you need to identify the situation and team comps, if your team has lots of enchanters that heal and shield spirit visage is a great option, if you need more damage dead mans can help a bit if the other team has lots of Critical damage Randuins is good. Always look to get Stoneplate when getting into the late late game, as your damage is amazing with its active. Otherwise, your doing the same as any Jungler looking for any picks out of position you can split due to your ultimate, and fight for baron and elder. Another thing you can do is if the enemy team is threating a baron fight you could split bot force enemy team members to recall then ult to your team to steal/take baron.

Jungle Pathing/Clear

A few tips on Jungle Clear:
look to go for single target camps, your q takes them pretty fast, avoid raptors and krugs till you have Bami or Tiamat or again your Mythic component. Ideally your best camps to take before your Mythic component are buffs, gromp, crab and wolves. If you do the best path which is blue-> gromp-> wolves-> red-> scuttle-> gank you should have enough gold to get your Mythic component.
try to do that every game, if not possible or more gold is needed for your bamis tiamat or other mythic component then you can take raptors if you have smite, the best way to take raptors early is auto attack one of the small chickens walk back then taunt the whole camp, then Q kill the smaller chickens first. W after taunt is finished and passive shield is used to reheal a bit off jg item omnivamp.

Jungle Q clear Trick

Activate your Q early, meaning before you walk into the camp activate your Q about 4 seconds earlier so when you finish your 3 autos with Q there is no cooldown to use it again.
At the start of a game, you want to use your Q at 1:25 to time this perfectly.
Here is a video from another player on how to do it. I suggest you master this in the practice tool, once you get the hang of it your clear speeds will be faster and your pathing will be more time efficient.

Toplane

In the Toplane you usually want to rush titanic because you need wave clear. look to do small trades like getting your grasp stacks and such. if Behind you can go Sunfire first, but Titanic is better just because it will give you more damage early, and let you shove wave so you can ult to teammates without sacrificing your tower. Then you get your Mythic. Otherwise, everything else is standard in the toplane.

Support

Support Shen is probably the weakest of his positions right now, just because there are many supports that do what he does better. However, one advantage that Shen does have over many supports is that he can be global, and help change fights, while your adc can just farm under tower. this allows you to roam alot. which most supports cant do without wasting time. Shen Support works great as a counter against alot of auto attack heavy adcs like an ashe, but you never want to pick him into champions that have heavy cc and escape like thresh, or champions that are damage a
Or enchater mages, like Morg, Seraphine etc.nor do you want to go into extremely mobile adcs like a lucian.Shen is great against Meta tanks like Leona, Naut, and Good against kill lanes like a Pantheon Tristana.
You usually want to build frostfire since it can help you peel much better with it's slow and allows you to be super tanky as the game goes by. Go locket if super behind.

Passive: Ki Barrier

Shen's Passive Ki Barrier, is a shield that applies when an ability is used and has a fairly short cooldown, this allows Shen's jungle clear to be very healthy when time correctly. Ki Barrier is also great because you can simple proc it when your about to die by using your q or taunting or using your w, for example if I see an ignite is about to kill me you can just q and once the sword arrives to your location, then you get shield, thus saving your life.

Twilight Assault/ Energy sword (Q)

Shen's Q is his strongest ability Twilight Assault, is an energy sword that once activated gives you three auto attacks based of enemy max health and scales off AP, The attacks also have a bit more range then a normal auto, and are a bit faster.
However, if you pass your Q through an enemy champion these auto attacks deal much more damage, increase your attack speed and you enemy is slowed by the initial q through them, this allows you to burst enemies down. The best combo you can do is use your E then Q to guarantee the empowered Q Proc and then clobber you foes. you can also position yourself to slide your Q through enemies when you are trying to escape as it will slow them. Shen's Q also does 100 % damage to Monsters, which allows Shen to jungle, before this Shen jungle was a very bad pick.

Spirits Refugee (W)

Spirit's Refuge or known as your W, makes a dome around the location of your sword blocking any type of auto attack damage and on hit effect, this is great for when your are dueling, and when you need to protect and ally. It also blocks Minion dmg, jungle camp auto attacks, Rift Herald, and Baron. It does not block dragon.
you can cast your W even if you sword is at different location and as long as an ally steps into it then it will activate and block the enemy auto attacks. also if you activate it and no one passes through then it will have delayed activation. this is great in case you use w first instead of q because you can q quickly and then still take advantage of your w.

Shadow Dash (E)

Shadow Dash, is your main form of CC it allows you to dash taunting all enemy champions in your path. after using your E you can the use your Q and W to burst someone down and negate auto attack damage , you can also flash and then E to cover long distances, Shadow Dash can also go through most walls you will learn this as you practice Shen. There are more advanced techniques like E and then flash right before the end of your dash and flash behind E, but I wouldn't advise trying these until you are pretty familiar with Shen or you might end up putting yourself in a bad situation or even dying. You can also Dash in front of allies to block incoming projectiles from them. Your taunt scales off max Health and AD so you this makes items like Titanic Hydra a great choice for Shen.

Stand United (R)

Stand United, Shen's Ultimate is one of the best abilities in the game. it allows you to change the course of a teamfight, gank multiple lanes, save allies, and make a global presence. your Ult scales of AP, this allows for some pretty spicy builds, if you want to make your Ult shields huge. its cooldown is super long if you don't have ultimate hunter so I would recommend to always take it, especially if your are playing Jungle Shen. Another Trick you can do with you R is go the Guardian keystone, Guardian is extremely strong with your R, since it procs when you Ult an ally giving them an even bigger shield and you get the guardian shield upon arrival to your teammates location, you can also build AP tank items like Demonic Embrace to make your shield even bigger.

Abillity preview video

Items

Mythics

Sunfire Aegis: One of the best Items in the game and in reality the best Mythic on Shen, it gives you everything you need Burn Damage, Health, Tank Stats. It fits in with any build you want to go this is your bread n butter in most games.

Divine Sunderer: 2nd Best Mythic on Shen, This item is really fun to build and great to hard carry with it, it shreds tanks and With your first empowered q auto attack the damage is insane as it procs like a sheen after using an ability, it gives you health and ad, all around great item however if you are the only tank I would not recommend it.

Frostfire Gauntlet: Frostfire is a great mythic option on Shen it gives some burn damage like Sunfire and allows you to provide great peel for you allies and still gives you the tank stats you need, it also great for enemy comps that are extremely mobile. Its also cheaper and worth going especially if your are super behind, as Support Shen you want to look to build Frostfire almost every game.

Turbo Chemtank: Turbo Chemtank is a great option for when your team needs engage and when the enemy team is very fast, It is also good in the jungle if you plan to play a support jungler playstyle and gank alot otherwise Sunfire or Frostfire are much better.

Trinity Force: Trinity Force is a great option on Shen if you plan to go a bruiser playstyle, it works well in both top and jungle however, its pretty hard to pull off unless your fed.

Stridebreaker: Stridebreaker is pretty fun on Shen and viable if you plan to go a bruiser playstyle it synergies well with your kit but lacks defenses, and if your behind its not worth building its in a similar boat as trinity force for Shen.

Riftmaker: Riftmaker allows you to be an AP Shen, and it works great with your kit giving you health, AP, and Omnivamp, Riftmaker is actually much more viable then Triforce, or Stridebreaker, and allows you to go all types of crazy builds to carry your team, if your team needs an AP damage and tank Riftmaker is a solid option, however I would not build it if you are the only frontline or if you are not ahead, other than that its a great option, pairing with Demonic Dmbrace makes your true damage insane.

Goredrinker: Goredrinker is a very unique item on Shen it gives you lots of health, and helps your jungle clear a tad bit with its active, it can be good for a bruiser build but you would have to go titanic hydra and Steraks to make the most of it. It can be good if you are into a lot of dueling champs.

Locket of The Iron Solari: Second Support mythic for shen below frostfire, you mostly. go this with guardian for lots of shielding for your carries.

Imperial Mandate: For ap Shen Support makes your damage and your team damage insane but only go if you plan to go an ap off tank support style and if ahead otherwise you will be useless with this item.

Damage Options

Titanic Hydra: Great second Item with Shen after your mythic you can also rush it first item its the only non-mythic first item you can rush if you are ahead. Titanic Hydra is an important item on Shen especially in the Toplane it gives you max health damage, waveclear, and AD that makes your taunt stronger, great item for Shen in general and allows you to duel against enemies effectively. In the Jungle it is good as well as it makes your clear faster, something which Shen lacks in the Jungle.

Demonic Embrace: This item works wonders on Shen, it give synergies great with any build on Shen, gives you AP, Health, lots of burn damage with Sunfire, and When you CC an enemy it increases your Armor and Magic Resist, great Item especially for Shen Jungle, its cheaper then Titanic and the burn also makes your clear faster. its the cornerstone for an AP/Bruiser tank Shen build.

Sterak's Gage: Sterak's Gage a great mid to late game option. Like your 3rd or 4th item if you are ahead and you are building a bruiser/tank type Shen meaning you either have Sunfire Stridebreaker,Sunderer,or Goredrinker as your mythic, it gives you lots of health, and a big shield when you get low.

Wit's End: Wit's End makes your on hit damage insane, it works great as a 3rd/4th item in a bruiser/tank playstyle again if you have Sunderer or Sunfire, its also great to build against AP Heavy comps, however if the enemy teams AP carry isn't fed or they don't have AP damage its not worth building.

Nashor's Tooth: Pretty fun item to build on Shen for an on hit Bruiser or Ap Build.

Tank Options

Thornmail: is one of the Best Tank items you can get, it synergies extremely well with Sunfire and prevents opponents from healing when they auto you. It gives armor and health, and applies small burn damage, when an opponent auto attacks you.

Randuin's Omen: Randuins is a great cheap tank item that gives you armor, health, and its extremely effective against crit damage, it also great when you taunt because you can activate its active to slow the enemy team.

Dead Man's Plate: Dead Man's is a great option for when you need movement speed and a bit more burst due to its unique ability, which when you move after a certain amount of stacks your next basic attack will do extra damage. It gives Armor and Health as well.

Abyssal Mask: is a great 3rd or 4th item when the enemy team has a lot of magic damage and your team needs a bit more damage, its great to build when you have demonic embrace and Sunfire because it allows your burn to deal even more damage when you taunt and enemy it also increases the damage your allies deal.

Gargoyle Stoneplate: One of my favorites on Shen, its great to rush 3rd or 4th if you are ahead and the enemy team has mixed damage, otherwise it should be your 5th or final item, this item gives lots of Magic Resist and Armor but its active is what's the best, it gives you a shield based of your Max Health, which is obviously huge late game, and if you have shield bash in your runes then your on hit damage while Stoneplate shield is active is crazy, super fun and good item on Shen.

Force of Nature: Is a situational item on Shen and Abyssal Mask is usually better, but if the enemy team has lots of cc or is very mobile, then this is worth they also should have a lot of magic damage to make this worth. if your facing for example a Lilia jungle, and Lux support this a great pick.

Warmog's Armor: Pretty cool item on Shen its great when you use it as your final item. Pairs well with titanic hydra for more damage and Stoneplate. It's Unique ability is to regenerate your health when its low and you are out of combat.

Frozen Heart: You rarely build this, only if enemy team has lots of attack speed, and AD. for example multiple ad carry champs, and champions like Trynd, Yasuo etc.

Runes

Runes are really self explanatory, however I will say a couple of things. In the Jungle you have extreme rune flexbility, you can go Guardian to save allies and help your hyper carry which is great if you plan to go AP tank. Aftershock, is great for standard Tank, HoB is good against squishy comps, and PTA is another standard page and good if you have to duel alot early and you are facing for example a Xin or Kayn.
If your top Grasp is Standard and if your Support, Guardian with Inspiration second is best. .

Pros / Cons

PROS
Super Tanky
Damage scales off of max health the tankier you are the more damage you do
Super Hard to kill late game
Works well against most Comps
Great CC
Great Early game and Late Game
Counter most meta junglers.

CONS
Your Ultimate has an extremely long cooldown unless you take Ultimate Hunter
Weak if Behind
Bad mid game
Slow champion
Struggles against counters and AP comps

Synergies/Awarness

Shen works well with any hypercarry, like a Tristana if there is no hypercarry then you must go some damage or else you will be useless.

Always look at the health bars of your allies, to make sure you can save them before they die, also if you see them low quickly look at what situation they are in if they are going to have certain death its not worth ulting them, you want to use your R wisely especially in the early game.

Check out this guide/ Message me for anything

Check These guides out its really good for in depth explanation. First one is from teemercat a good shen jg player and the other one is from the shen God itself x petu. for mechanics and details on how to play shen look at xpetus. for details on how to play shen jg for clearing you can look a teemercats for more builds look at mine all the guides are great.
https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/11-3-temeercats-shen-jungle-542778
https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/11-3-xpetus-challenger-shen-guide-en-fr-pt-582399

Also guys pm me if you need anything else I will respond back thank you please vote(:
You can also add me on NA server my username is Colfuzio