Shyvana Build Guide by XarsYs

Introduction

Hi! My nickname is XarsYs, and this is my first build, built for dominion. Shyvana is the newest addition to the League of Legends. She is a half-dragon and can also morph in a fully grown dragon (although it is still quite small). She is a melee champion that uses rage as a resource.
She is best built focusing AS.
Her Twin Bite and Burnout have AD bonus ratios while Flame Breath and Dragon's Descent are based on AP. But since the majority of her damage comes from her auto-attacks, I build her more AD than AP.

Shyvana:There are those few dragons in Runeterra who have mastered the intense magical energies that course through their unique anatomies, evolving into an elusive Celestial Dragon. These powerful and enigmatic creatures spend most of their time hidden away from the lands of men. However, there are those who find themselves drawn to civilization and who take on human forms to immerse themselves in the world of humans. Occasionally, one finds itself drawn to the spirit of a human and they have relations. Sometimes, in the slimmest of odds, the union will bear fruit and that offspring will be one of the few half-dragons to have graced Runeterra. Shyvana is one such creature, born to a simple Demacian farm-girl and her Celestial Dragon father. Left to be raised by her mother, her oddities were something that couldn't be hidden from her community, though she was protected by her family. Once her family had perished in disaster, she was left alone for the first time - truly alone. Shyvana quickly became an outsider and it wasn't long before the community's fear began to put her in danger. Facing mortal danger at the business end of an angry mob, she was rescued by the traveling noble, Jarvan Lightshield. The noble was a man who strangely knew exactly what she was and took her under his wing. It wasn't long before she was offered a chance to use her natural skills in the service of Demacia, as Jarvan initiated her as one of the elite guard. Following Jarvan into the League of Legends was only natural.

Shyvana is a fierce warrior, with the blood of one of the most powerful magical predators in all creation flowing through her veins. Unlike some of her fellows, she is a subdued personality - somber, cool, and collected. However, when the moment strikes, her draconian heritage manifests and there are few that can stare her in the eyes and not feel the primal urge to flee.

''By the blood of my father, I will end you!''
- Shyvana


For more basic information look at the video of Phreak showcasing her:

Also thanks to JhoiJhoi for her very wonderful Making a Guide guide; and some of the templates (the parts I just cannot make as well :D).

Pros / Cons

spaaaaaaaaaaaaaace

Pros + Huge DPS + Movement increasing ability + AoE in ultimate form + Not squishy + Dragon :D + Has a ranged skill + *Solid* burst damage

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Cons - Focused - No CC - Susceptible to CC

Masteries

Will explain these new masteries soon! But focus on damage damage and a little bit of tankyness.

Runes

First off, before any comments on my rune build, I think runes are best decided upon by each individual player. So my decidion in taking all AS runes is my decision alone. I will explain my choice though:
I take AS to have a decent attack speed on the start. It is really important in the battle for windmill, or if you go bottom, for minion farming. It also allows me to focus on AD more with items, and allows me to take Mercury's Treads instead of Berserker's Greaves against a CC heavy team without sacrificing too much of the DPS.

Other viable options are:
Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction CdR can really help.
Greater Seal of Armor Armor is useful for survivability. But she gets it passively also with Dragon's Descent.
Greater Mark of Desolation ArP helps you rip enemies apart. But keep in mind that W, E and R are all magic damage.
Greater Quintessence of Scaling Attack Damage The extra 13.5 AD is great :D

Summoner Spells

/GREAT/ It is imperative to take Exhaust. It helps to chase down an enemy, escape from one and to simply out-DPS the enemy champion. I also take Cripple to enhance the spell further, reducing enemy MR and AR and to extend the duration.

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/GOOD/ I take Ignite very often. It helps secure the kill oh so many times. Also it is really useful in the beginning of the match to take windmill.

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/OK/ Depends on personal choice, it can also be useful for offense/defense, although I don't use it often. She has enough movement speed for Flash to be obsolete.

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/GREAT/ For that extra oomph, take surge. It really helps to boost you in teamfights to really shred through your enemies. Also the added AP before activating Dragon's Descent or Flame Breath adds to the overall damage dealt. Recently I have been using Surge to try it and I love it.

Other summoner spells except maybe Ghost are really not useful for Shyvana.

Skills

Fury of the Dragonborn

Shyvana's melee attacks enhance her abilities.
Twin Bite - Reduces the cooldown by 0.5 seconds.
Burnout - Extends the duration by 1 second to a maximum of 6 seconds.
Flame Breath - Deals 15% (or 20%, I'm not sure) of the ability's damage to debuffed targets.
Dragon's Descent - Attacks generate 2 Fury and Shyvana passively gains 1 Fury per 1.5 seconds

The passive is just fantastic as it utilizes the AS we are building to enhance all of Shyvana's abilities. Auto-attacking shortens the cooldown on our Q, increases the duration of the W, and makes the burned targets take incrased damage from your attacks. Also, you can become and stay a dragon longer by auto-attacking :D

Twin Bite

Shyvana strikes twice on her next attack. Both attacks trigger On-Hit effects and Fury of the Dragonborn effects. The second hit deals an additional (80/85/90/95/100)% of total AD
Dragon Form: Twin Bite cleaves all units in front of Shyvana.

Great ability that applies 2 on-hit effects. Wits End, Fury of the Dragonborn and Trinity Force all benefit from that. Also, rips enemies hard after Sheen is bought, as it triggers and deals loads of damage.

Burnout

Shyvana deals (25/40/55/70/85 + 0.2 bonus AD) magic damage per second to nearby enemies and her Movement Speed is increased by (30/35/40/45/50)% for 3 seconds. Shyvana's Movement Speed bonus is reduced over time.
Dragon Form: Burnout scorches the earth, continuing to damage enemies that stand on it.

All I can say about this one is WOW! It's like a Sunfire Cape on steroids, and it also grants mad movement speed for capturing, chasing or escaping. The priority skill in my build, delivers DPS to all around. It's also great for farming the minion waves.

Flame Breath

Shyvana unleashes a fireball that deals (80/125/170/215/260 + 0.6 AP) magic damage and melts 15% of target's Armor for 4 seconds.
Dragon Form: Flame Breath engulfs all units in a cone in front of Shyvana.

The harass skill, initiating skill. The damage is neglectable, but the armor debuff and the passive 20% of the damage per auto-attack on the burned target make this a 1v1 beast, makes the skill a tank shredder. In Dragon's Descent form it is simply marvelous, as it works in an AoE.

Dragon's Descent

Active: Shyvana transforms into a dragon and takes flight to a target location. Enemies along her path take (200/300/400 + 0.7 AP) magic damage and are knocked toward her target location.
Passive: Shyvana reinforces her scales, increasing her Armor and Magic Resist by (15/20/25). Defensive bonuses are doubled in Dragon Form.
No CD, requires 100 RAGE

Ah, the ultimate. The damage is AP scaled, so it is used for that bit of a burst, and is not as important as the DRAGON TRANSFORMATION! The dragon form makes all skills hit an AoE area, and the Burnout leaves a burning path behind! It is best saved for a teamfight as the damage is not increased, it just becomes AoE and the skill is a waste to be used in a 1v1 fight. It requires a full RAGE bar, so keep auto-attacking them minions to be able to transform faster.

Items

Ah, the itemization. Shyvana is in my opinion best builtAS heavy, while also building some AD, AP and in certain situations also AR and lifesteal.

We start with Boots of Speed and with Prospector's Blade. The blade offers a nice starting AD, a bit of self-sustenance and some health. With the AS runes, the attack speed is high enough to start with.

For boots there are two main options that should be chosen upon seeing the enemy team. If the enemy has heavy CC, the boots to take are Mercury's Treads. But if the conditions are better, for full damage potential, take Berserker's Greaves.

The core of the build is the Wit's End, as the passive adds a nice amount of damage to each hit, while also giving loads of AS. The MR is just sugar on top :D

Then comes another decision: To take Trinity Force or Frozen Mallet with / Zeal and/or Sheen/? If the enemies seem to escape a lot, or you die too fast; take the mallet and one of the two for the guaranteed slow and bonus health. Trinity, however combines the Sheen auto-attack damage bonus with the slow and the AS of the Zeal.
I personally decide more often for the Trinity Force, but that shouldn't be set in stone.

If the game takes longer, take a Sunfire Cape for its synergy with Burnout, Hextech Gunblade for the Spell Vamp and Lifesteal, as more than half the damage is magic; or Kitae's Bloodrazor for its synergy with Twin Bite for maximum overkill.

Gameplay

In Dominion there are 6 main roles a champion can perform. Summarized from Zemiazas's guide

The DEFENDER is there to defend a CP, to force enemies to lose hp trying to remove the defender and allow the team to take another easier. Defenders also usually have some CC. This role is NOT for Shyvana.

The CAPTURER is the one that attends to the capture of the CP's that were left alone. They have high mobility and survivability. They are able to escape a gank. Shyvana with her Burnout and Dragon's Descent while taking Boots of Mobility can also perform this role, but has to take Priscilla's Blessing and some tanky items to be able to capture anything. This role is GOOD for Shyvana.

The DISRUPTOR has long/global range skills and is able to disrupt enemies taking a CP and forcing them to retreat and leave the CP alone. Shyvana can only sweep the CP with her Dragon's Descent to clear it... But for that she must be close. This role is NOT for Shyvana.

The TAKER is able to take a defended CP. Range and burst are helpful. The taker has to be able to quickly kill enemies. Shyvana has high DPS and can take CP's quite well, and also rips tanks apart if used right. This role is GOOD for Shyvana.

The SUPPORT supports the team. Not even going to explain why Shyvana is TERRIBLE at this role.

The SLAYER is the one who simply kills enemies to prevent them from doing anything else. The slayer is usually a carry and is able to turn the game upside down when powerful enough. The slayer focuses mostly on killing squishies to decimate the enemies numbers to give the team an advantage. Good AoE helps the slayer a lot, for ganks and teamfights are the everyday routine of a slayer. This role is PERFECT for Shyvana.


Farm minion waves with Burnout and Twin Bite lot to get money and to help minions push the CP.

Summary

To summarize: Shyvana is an AD AS carry, that has heavy AoE in ultimate and is one of the best 1v1 champions for dominion. She is able to turn the whole game around if she manages to push when and where needed and to kill the too fed enemies.
She is a difficult champion to master as she requires delicate positioning in her ultimate form especially.

Hope this guide helps you get to know Shyvana and her build and role in Dominion!

Have LOADS of FUN playing this amazing half dragon girl :D

XarsYs

Version history

2.11.2011 Build published.
3.11.2011 Part of gameplay added, tweaked some descriptions and explained the runes better.
3.11.2011 Changed gameplay, replaced Rageblade with Bloodrazor and tweaked the Items guide, the Masteries guide and added Contributions.
8.11.2011 Changed masteries.
18.11.2011 New masteries, replaced Sanguine with Hextech.
26.12.2011 Still same build, refreshing.

Contributions

jhoijhoi - Making a Guide Guide
Zemiazas - The Dominion roles
Lumara - Added optional runes.
TannimFodder - Added Bloodrazor, added the Burning Embers and Utility Mastery masteries.
Bearhugger - Changed masteries.