First of all, thank you for viewing my Xin Zhao guide.

I would like to start off by saying that this build is mainly focused on being rather squishy, but dealing an insane amount of damage and being extremely versatile in teamfights. I would not reccommend this guide to someone who has low knowledge of how to deal with teamfights, how to engage in them, and how to get out of them if the situation is tricky.

This build will also base it's effectiveness in your ability to lane and zone your opponents, and your kills early game. I am a very experienced Xin Zhao player and have experimented with many builds, going both tanky and absolute pure firepower, this build was created by me and I see it to be one of the most effective for Xin Zhao.

And so, without further ado, my build.

In the laning phase, to me it seems, you are rather useless until you hit level 3 and have your full combo ready to execute. Once you have hit level 3, you become an effective harasser depending on how and when you do it. You'll start off with your Q, activate your W, and then E towards the enemy when they seem prone to attack and there aren't too many minions around to gain aggro from. Some of your best lane partners I've seen, are damage dealing bulky champions with snares/stuns/taunts such as Shen. with the combination of your damage, plus a taunt and some attacks from a Shen, or a stun and burst from someone like Sion, it's almost a guaranteed first blood.

At level 6 you become extremely dangerous, especially in conjuction with another AoE champion, but remember, you're only human and you CAN be killed fairly simply if you catch yourself in the wrong spot. Generally at this point I turn into a gank machine, as my ult and combo deals a fearsome amount of damage, and you can almost always land yourself a kill as your E is pretty much a "WHAT THE F**K WHERE DID HE COME FROM" ability.

Always remember, red buff is your friend.

In teamfights, you are one of the most feared melee dps' known in the League.

Even if you haven't played Xin, this should be common knowledge, but for the sake of this guide, I will include this tip anyway.

ALWAYS USE YOUR ULT FIRST

Your ult deals more damage the more health the enemy has, so using that first will deal a crushing blow to the overall strength of the enemies team, and in most cases, with a good team, will put the fight in your favor and land you a good amount of kills.

After the initial damage is done from your ult, you want to start focusing down the big damage dealers, after your ult is down you are a single target melee dps, focusing down someone like Master Yi or Vladimir will even further put a teamfight in your favor.

If the fight is still not in your favor, even after the initial burst and taking down any carries they may have, use flash to your advantage and try to find enemy minions to Charge at, along with ghost you should be able to slip out of the situation pretty quickly and defend.

Start off with a Long Sword and Health Potion. With your runes this will give you some pretty harmful early damage and will later build into a crucial early game item.

Next up is your Brutalizer, getting this early game is extremely potent, as the damage is decent and the armor pen works wonders with your armor pen runes, if you get this somewhat early you will be dealing colossal damage to your enemies, and landing yourself some easy kills.

If your enemy team is low on Stuns, then Berserker Greaves can be bought in place of Mercury treads, but generally I go for the "better safe than sorry" Merc Tread option.

After that it's rushing a Black Cleaver, as the Attack Speed and Armor Reduction will once again come into play and might even be sending your enemies into negative armor, making you a purely True Damage dealer.

Once you have a spare bit of gold, return to the fountain and finish off your Youmuus, that'll boost your damage and attack speed substantially, and can also be used as an escape tactic if your SS are down.

After that it's Madreds, for anyone that thinks they're smart building armor and health, Giving you the ability to melt their health just as easily as if they were building pure damage.

If you're having trouble keeping your health at optimal amounts, get yourself a Sunfire Cape, which'll give you some more survivability. (Another option here, if you're really giving your enemies what for is to buy a Last Whisper. The attack damage and additional Amor pen from that makes you even more fearsome and will further assist in your enemy melting.)

And finally, you can build yourself an Atma's impaler, for a little bit of armor, and a boost to your damage and crit.

Here are some of my personal tips I give to people who ask me how to play Xin a little better or are struggling:

- Don't be afraid to experiment, try different builds, make up your own and have fun with Xin.

- Don't hesitate, you may be a little low on health, but you're also a mass damage dealer, if your enemy is overextending or is just simply in the wrong place, show them why you're not one to underestimate.

- If you're low health, but can't return, try and wait for a minion wave, and begin auto attacking them, your passive will help you regen health pretty quickly.

And my final most important tip.

Consider purchasing Commando Xin Zhao, theres no better feeling than winning a game with flying colours while being DEAL WITH IT XIN ZHAO.

Thank you for reading my time, I hope you have fun with Xin Zhao, and happy Leaguing!

I'd like to thank Coopykins, Drelikk, and drate for being ballers and making me want to make this guide.

Also, if you would like to ask me any personal questions, I can be reached ingame on the US servers, my S.Name is Eixt

Thank you

-smoz