This will not be a pretty guide for a while. It's a constant WIP for me at the moment. So please forgive the mess. I'm more concerned about information at the minute!

I am to make this the single best guide for Jungle Xin Zhao on Mobafire. So stay tuned!

Xin Zhao is a potent, versatile early game jungler with the ability to snowball his entire team out of control. During the early game, a good Xin Zhao can and will dominate the jungle, snowballing incredibly hard all whilst instilling fear into enemy lanes through fear of his ganking potential.

Xin Zhao is also a perfect jungler for beginners. With no skillshots and a simple gameplan, he is a perfect champion to use to introduce yourself to the world of jungling. He is versatile and can shape himself around the team if necessary. From a full AD Assassin to an AD Offtank Bruiser and even a full tank, Xin Zhao does it all.

Of course, Xin Zhao is not without his problems. Whilst his early game is incredibly strong, his late game is obviously a lot weaker. Many champions scale into the late game a lot harder than Xin Zhao such as Shyvana and Vi. This is due to the fact that Xin Zhao lacks a "Game changing" ability than can alter the course of an entire teamfight. Abilities such as Vi Cease and Desist and Shyvana Dragon's Descent alter the teamfight in a dramatic fashion, easily turning the tables in the users favour, the longer the game goes on, the more important these abilities become.
Xin Zhao is equipped with the much more humble Audacious Charge and Crescent Sweep which when used perfectly, is still a strong tool. Just nowhere near as effective as the aforementioned. This is why we want to win HARD and EARLY.

Xin Zhao also lacks the insane mobility of the more common, stronger junglers such as Lee Sin and Vi. Whilst you can pull off some situational escapes with his Audacious Charge it is absolutely nothing compared to what Lee Sin can pull off.

I do believe that Xin Zhao is in a prime position to become one of the stronger junglers in the game right now as of patch 4.4. Elise, Vi and hopefully Lee Sin will be getting toned down to stop their complete domination of the jungle, so Xin Zhao could become a little more popular.

Lastly, Xin Zhao is perfect for those confident in their decision making. He is a 100% "Man Mode" all in jungler. Once he starts a gank, it's usually either his life or the opponents life. You have to see each and every fight through to the end, characters like Lee Sin are blessed with a multitude of ways to easily escape fights through disengages and dashes. Xin Zhao pretty much has to walk out or burn Flash to escape. Though you can avoid this situation if you make calculated, smart decisions. With this in mind, you can be damn sure that you're on your way to making the enemy team surrender at 20.

+ Strong Early Game
+ Effective Early dueling. Will win most Jungle 1v1 fights
+ Very easy to play
+ High base damage, does not require many damage items
+ Good Initiate and great ganks
+ Some utility / disengage with Crescent Sweep

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- Not as scary past Mid game
- Once you start a fight you have to finish it. No good escapes.
- Auto Attack reliant, thus vulnerable to spells such as Wither
- Again, Very Reliant on early game performance

This is my standard rune setup for Xin Zhao in the jungle. I use this setup in 99% of my games, with only slight deviations if I decide to roll with something else.

Greater Mark of Attack Speed- are my marks of choice. They make it a lot easier to fully proc your Three Talon Strike in ganks. The base damage from Three Talon Strike is enough to warrant not taking Greater Mark of Attack Damage for clearing the jungle and ganking.

Greater Mark of Critical Chance - Most of the time you won't be building crit on Xin Zhao. Especially early. So I usually grab a single crit rune. Because it can be the difference between getting a kill and leaving the lane empty handed. Well worth the slot.

Greater Seal of Armor- These are the standard seals for every champion and every role in League of legends. These are 100% essential and completely non-negotiable.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist- These glyphs provide a fair chunk of flat MR right from the start. With Xin Zhao you are not playing for the late game. You want to win hard as quickly as possible. Thus I prefer these glyphs over the scaling versions.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage - Synergises amazingly well with the attack speed marks. Gives your spear a lot more "oomph" in the early game. Amazing for clearing, ganking and everything inbetween. Highly recommended for that early game dominance over your Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed brethren.

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