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The correct way to play Xin Zhao (Mid / Top)
Build Guide By ChrisWasTaken
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Xin Zhao Build Guide By ChrisWasTaken
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Xin Zhao Build Guide By ChrisWasTaken
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Runes: lethal tempo setup (blood line vs tenacity --> think about team comps + 2ndary runes also think about the team comp if you need bone plating or something like unflinching)
1
2
3
Precision
Resolve
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Spells:
1
2
3
Mid
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![LoL Summoner Spell: Flash]()
![LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite]()
Flash
Ignite
Items
Ability Order ABILITY ORDER
Determination (PASSIVE)
Xin Zhao Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Threats
Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
Show All
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Jax
Do I even need to explain? His counterstrike counters you, he outscales you, he utilizes lethal tempo better than you, he's Jax, you're Xin so what do you do? Kill the other carries that's your job. or Dodge. Tip; When he counterstrikes you, you gotta know when you w so you don't actually get stunned doing nothing.
Synergies
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None
Champion Build Guide
About me & introduction
Hi, my name is Chris and I'm 20! I'm a fellow SoloQ addict and I've been playing the game since end of seaseon 2. I've been playing Xin Zhao mid and top since beginning of season 10 where I hit Master for the firs time. I do not onetrick though. My champion pool is in the 80s I would say. I used to onetrick Rengar top alot or Zed / Yasuo / Ekko / AD Sion etc... I love playing the meta and the off-meta, I basically play a champion if I find him fun to play. And Xin Zhao is a very fun champion to play indeed. My highest peak was Master 380 lp EUW last season. And I play on many different accounts most of them getting to D2 - D1 with 60% winrate. [img=
][img=]
You can follow me on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thenamechriswastaken - most of my content is league related, where I try to become a better player overall. I'm also getting into digital art / video editing and other type of games especially rhythm games. So if you're interested in that kind of content come and say hi to the stream sometime.
][img=]You can follow me on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thenamechriswastaken - most of my content is league related, where I try to become a better player overall. I'm also getting into digital art / video editing and other type of games especially rhythm games. So if you're interested in that kind of content come and say hi to the stream sometime.
PROS / CONS
Pros:
.Easy to play and can be a great champion to start league with.
.Late game hyper lord carry
.1v2 potential
.Awesome Mid Game since he used to be an early - midgame champion when you play bruiser xin zhao but with crit, you're strong till the nexus explodes.
.You improve on your decision making skills like when to freeze, when to push, etc.. since your kit is very easy to learn.
Cons:
. You don't have much mobility to escape if you've screwed up
. You can get kited easily if you miss W or waste your E
. You're playing Xin instead of learning to play a meta champion.
.Easy to play and can be a great champion to start league with.
.Late game hyper lord carry
.1v2 potential
.Awesome Mid Game since he used to be an early - midgame champion when you play bruiser xin zhao but with crit, you're strong till the nexus explodes.
.You improve on your decision making skills like when to freeze, when to push, etc.. since your kit is very easy to learn.
Cons:
. You don't have much mobility to escape if you've screwed up
. You can get kited easily if you miss W or waste your E
. You're playing Xin instead of learning to play a meta champion.
What to ban and when to dodge
I'd say if you're playing top to either ban Jax or Tahm Kench
If you're mid than a ban on Jax is still a great option or you could ban a champion like Lulu who can render you useless.
Check out this other mobafire guide by DESPERATE NASUS who enicely explains when you should dodge if you're playing in a more competitive elo: https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/11-23-desperate-nasus-challenger-nasus-mid-in-depth-guide-605021
If you're mid than a ban on Jax is still a great option or you could ban a champion like Lulu who can render you useless.
Check out this other mobafire guide by DESPERATE NASUS who enicely explains when you should dodge if you're playing in a more competitive elo: https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/11-23-desperate-nasus-challenger-nasus-mid-in-depth-guide-605021
Items
So why take immortal shieldbow as our mythic instead of going either lethality with eclipse or bruiser with gore for example?
This build is to turn Xin Zhao into an early-mid game monster to an early-late game monster.
We've basically converted him into a new Hasagi brother, but much easier to play.
Ofcourse there are some downsides to this build, being that he doesn't have the same passive as the other 2 brothers, so we need an extra crit item before going ie.
It's not all bad though, essence reaver synergizes well with xin with the empowered auto proc, crit and ability haste. All very useful for xin zhao.
A much more expensive alternative is to go for bloodthirster and to opp for a more tanky kind of build. Both work well, I prefer going the true one shot hyper carry build though.
This build is to turn Xin Zhao into an early-mid game monster to an early-late game monster.
We've basically converted him into a new Hasagi brother, but much easier to play.
Ofcourse there are some downsides to this build, being that he doesn't have the same passive as the other 2 brothers, so we need an extra crit item before going ie.
It's not all bad though, essence reaver synergizes well with xin with the empowered auto proc, crit and ability haste. All very useful for xin zhao.
A much more expensive alternative is to go for bloodthirster and to opp for a more tanky kind of build. Both work well, I prefer going the true one shot hyper carry build though.
Laning phase Mid/Top
Here are sĂ´me concepts to learn to better yourself as a player not only for Xin Zhao, this can apply to many champions in general.
So one of the most important, if not the most important stage of the game is from the first 3 waves that we will call wave A, B and C which is the cannon wave. This cycle repeats itself until the 2rth minute in which siege minions will spawn every wave from that point onwards.
Anyway, the first thing to think about when playing the game is to whether contest the wave, meaning to push it or to concede it, letting the opponent push.
First let's ask ourselves, why would we want to push in the first place?
Pros to pushing : - XP + minion advantage for trades
However, pushing early can cause us to overxtend meaning, we would be vulnerable to a jungle / support gank. It's important to get into your head that hitting the wave at level 1 can cause a butterfly effect that loses lane immediately.
Now, what is the latter option of conceding the wave? --> Don't touch the wave at all, just last hit. Only attack trade if you can drop minion aggro immediately and give up a minion if it's too dangerous to approach the opponent. Also, make sure to stand close to the tower if enemy goes for an all in. Furthermore, this does not mean you have to stand around doing nothing. That is a basic mistake! You need to thin the wave, which basically occurs when the opponent's wave is way too big. If the wave is too big, you give them a level advantage and can't trade into it. The solution when such a problem occurs is to thin the wave if they give you the space to do so, don't take too much damage when doing so. Also, don't kill too many minions, there needs to be a difference of around 3-4 minions.
Although I'm briefly explaining this 2nd option, as Xin Zhao mid we would for most matchups use the first option against our opponents. You are usually the threat to the opponent and not the otherway around.
When to Concede or Contest the wave?
--> Look at lane matchup + jungle matchup. Determine if your jungler is a farming jungler or a ganking jungler and same goes for the opponent jungler.
For Example, if you have a Zac + Xin vs Lux + Master Yi then you can go for the first option. If it's a Nocturne + Xin vs Viktor + Lee sin, you might want to concede the wave and look for an all in near your tower.
So one of the most important, if not the most important stage of the game is from the first 3 waves that we will call wave A, B and C which is the cannon wave. This cycle repeats itself until the 2rth minute in which siege minions will spawn every wave from that point onwards.
Anyway, the first thing to think about when playing the game is to whether contest the wave, meaning to push it or to concede it, letting the opponent push.
First let's ask ourselves, why would we want to push in the first place?
Pros to pushing : - XP + minion advantage for trades
However, pushing early can cause us to overxtend meaning, we would be vulnerable to a jungle / support gank. It's important to get into your head that hitting the wave at level 1 can cause a butterfly effect that loses lane immediately.
Now, what is the latter option of conceding the wave? --> Don't touch the wave at all, just last hit. Only attack trade if you can drop minion aggro immediately and give up a minion if it's too dangerous to approach the opponent. Also, make sure to stand close to the tower if enemy goes for an all in. Furthermore, this does not mean you have to stand around doing nothing. That is a basic mistake! You need to thin the wave, which basically occurs when the opponent's wave is way too big. If the wave is too big, you give them a level advantage and can't trade into it. The solution when such a problem occurs is to thin the wave if they give you the space to do so, don't take too much damage when doing so. Also, don't kill too many minions, there needs to be a difference of around 3-4 minions.
Although I'm briefly explaining this 2nd option, as Xin Zhao mid we would for most matchups use the first option against our opponents. You are usually the threat to the opponent and not the otherway around.
When to Concede or Contest the wave?
--> Look at lane matchup + jungle matchup. Determine if your jungler is a farming jungler or a ganking jungler and same goes for the opponent jungler.
For Example, if you have a Zac + Xin vs Lux + Master Yi then you can go for the first option. If it's a Nocturne + Xin vs Viktor + Lee sin, you might want to concede the wave and look for an all in near your tower.
Roaming
Xin Zhao is suppose to be an early game jungler. What does this mean? It means you're very strong durring the laning phase and can setup roams to get yourself and your teammates ahead.
When is it efficient to Roam?
- 1. When you're crashing a huge minion wave and don't need to recall to buy a core item. You have some downtime so use it to setup vision, invade or roam.
- 2. You should look to roam when a minion wave is just spawning --> not a big time to roam though, so you can instead setup vision deep into enemy jungle.
--> Best time to roam is with the spawn of a cannon wave.
Don't flip while roaming. You need to judge the succes rate of a roam by looking at the matchups and you need info of whether they have summoner spells or threatening spells up.
Don't roam if it's a < 50% succes rate.
Jungle tracking helps with this. You will need to do this in your games to get good at judging when to roam.
When is it efficient to Roam?
- 1. When you're crashing a huge minion wave and don't need to recall to buy a core item. You have some downtime so use it to setup vision, invade or roam.
- 2. You should look to roam when a minion wave is just spawning --> not a big time to roam though, so you can instead setup vision deep into enemy jungle.
--> Best time to roam is with the spawn of a cannon wave.
Don't flip while roaming. You need to judge the succes rate of a roam by looking at the matchups and you need info of whether they have summoner spells or threatening spells up.
Don't roam if it's a < 50% succes rate.
Jungle tracking helps with this. You will need to do this in your games to get good at judging when to roam.
Top lane concepts : When to take first tower
When to take the first top tower?
The tower you can take it at 15 min – 25 min, it’s always there to take and it will always give you the same amount of gold. (after plates and first blood tower falls)
There are resources that are finite --> a specific instance of a wave or a krug --> and it will only be taken once.
Example:
If you’re losing but your team is winning you have an opportunity to snowball your own lead.
(works even if you’re winning)
If your team wins without needing your help, you need to capitalize on the fact that your team doesn’t need you and that you have to generate big gold lead using your teams pressure.
If no one is stopping you from pushing, like your laner is dead or responding to your teams pressure, you need to look for ways to generate the most gold for yourself.
Use enemy tower as an minion exterminator if plates are down and first tower.
Don’t forget to collect the local gold though. You don't need to last hit tower, just be close to it to get the local gold.
When to take the first tower?
You need to evaluate between long term denied CS by keeping the tower alive OR the value of instant gold now.
- 2nd option is usually for when you killed enemy top and you can take 2nd tower with rift and jungler or when you can buy your powerspike item like divine sunderer on Camille.
These concepts are notes from watching many yt coaches and vods (go follow coah Eragon on Yt to become a better TOP LANER.) https://www.youtube.com/c/EragonUK
The tower you can take it at 15 min – 25 min, it’s always there to take and it will always give you the same amount of gold. (after plates and first blood tower falls)
There are resources that are finite --> a specific instance of a wave or a krug --> and it will only be taken once.
Example:
If you’re losing but your team is winning you have an opportunity to snowball your own lead.
(works even if you’re winning)
If your team wins without needing your help, you need to capitalize on the fact that your team doesn’t need you and that you have to generate big gold lead using your teams pressure.
If no one is stopping you from pushing, like your laner is dead or responding to your teams pressure, you need to look for ways to generate the most gold for yourself.
Use enemy tower as an minion exterminator if plates are down and first tower.
Don’t forget to collect the local gold though. You don't need to last hit tower, just be close to it to get the local gold.
When to take the first tower?
You need to evaluate between long term denied CS by keeping the tower alive OR the value of instant gold now.
- 2nd option is usually for when you killed enemy top and you can take 2nd tower with rift and jungler or when you can buy your powerspike item like divine sunderer on Camille.
These concepts are notes from watching many yt coaches and vods (go follow coah Eragon on Yt to become a better TOP LANER.) https://www.youtube.com/c/EragonUK
Top Lane concepts : A guide to the first 4 waves
Again these are my notes from watching Coach Eragon on youtube.
Wave 2 crash :
Pros:
- Avoids hard early matchups - secure the bounce back and chill vs oppressive early
- Deep ward
Cons :
- Least options overall because smallest crash - least tempo
- Enemy laner can get level 3 first and secure prio for crab
This crash method isn't very interesting for Xin Zhao, usually we are the oppressors early game.
Wave 3 Crash:
Pros:
- Secure prio for scuttle
- Cheater recall
- Avoid gank windows from full clear champs
- Deep ward
- TP window on other lanes
Cons:
- Gankable by early ganking champs with gank windows before 3rd wave crash (e.g elise/reksai/j4) (no real cons unless jungler ganks you level 2)
This is better for us Xin Zhao players, since we win most matchups. There's an important note though, you should not look to cheater recall if your jungler is looking for crab. In SoloQ, you must help your jungler secure it. Scuttle always takes priority over cheater recall.
Wave 2 crash :
Pros:
- Avoids hard early matchups - secure the bounce back and chill vs oppressive early
- Deep ward
Cons :
- Least options overall because smallest crash - least tempo
- Enemy laner can get level 3 first and secure prio for crab
This crash method isn't very interesting for Xin Zhao, usually we are the oppressors early game.
Wave 3 Crash:
Pros:
- Secure prio for scuttle
- Cheater recall
- Avoid gank windows from full clear champs
- Deep ward
- TP window on other lanes
Cons:
- Gankable by early ganking champs with gank windows before 3rd wave crash (e.g elise/reksai/j4) (no real cons unless jungler ganks you level 2)
This is better for us Xin Zhao players, since we win most matchups. There's an important note though, you should not look to cheater recall if your jungler is looking for crab. In SoloQ, you must help your jungler secure it. Scuttle always takes priority over cheater recall.
Conclusion
This is my first ever guide on Mobafire so I'm still rusty on how to add more images and colors to put some OOMPH but I hope that doesn't discourage you into checking out Xin Zhao as a possible pocket pick for you to climb with. Thanks for reading! I'll update it later.
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The correct way to play Xin Zhao (Mid / Top)
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