Xin Zhao Build Guide by RablyPale
This build has been archived and is for historical display only.
PLEASE NOTE: This build has been archived by the author. They are no longer supporting nor updating this build and it may have become outdated. As such, voting and commenting have been disabled and it no longer appears in regular search results.
We recommend you take a look at this author's other builds.
Not Updated For Current Season
This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page.
Thank You!
Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.
Ability Sequence
Not Updated For Current Season
The masteries shown here are not yet updated for the current season, the guide author needs to set up the new masteries. As such, they will be different than the masteries you see in-game.
Masteries
Introduction
This is a guide for 
Xin Zhao. Most people call him "OP" and say he needs a nerf because of the severe damage he can cause in lane. I disagree with these people, but that is because I am biased. In lane he has lots of potential for damage output. However, people tend to play cautiously when you're in lane, as then know fed Xin Zhao generally means they lose the game. That is why I suggest playing Xin Zhao as a jungler. Often times, people will forget that you're in the game and will start to play more aggressively. This allows you to gank and get fed much easier than if you were in lane, which generally means your team will have a higher chance of winning.
Pros / Cons
Pros:
-High damage even when not fed
-Amazing at ganking
-Nearly impossible to die when fed
-Extremely easy to jungle with with the right runes
Cons:
-Moderately Squishy mid game
-If you just played a game where you got fed and you're playing another game and aren't fed, you'll probably play as though you are fed, which increases your chances of dying.
-Susceptible to crowd control unless you choose to take 
Cleanse
Runes
I find that my rune setup works pretty well for most junglers. It provides decent armor penetration and attack speed while also increasing your armor and magic resist.
Greater Mark of Desolation and Greater Quintessence of Desolation : These make jungling easier and make you do more damage in your ganks. They're effective even late game, especially against squishies.
Greater Mark of Attack Speed : Increased attack speed is great for jungling. They also help for pushing a lane and during ganks.
Greater Seal of Armor : Absolutely essential for junglers. The armor these give mean the jungle creeps do less damage to you, so you'll have more health.
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist : Glyphs are entirely your choice. I choose to use magic resist glyphs because mid game they really help. They're great for ganking mages. Not to mention you'll lack magic resist before you get your 
Negatron Cloak or 
Banshee's Veil otherwise.
Masteries
Offense tree
Deadiness : Increased critical will help you through the entire game. It's even better after you get your 
Infinity Edge
Sorcery : This is required so you have 20 points in the tree for Havoc
Alacrity : Increased attack speed will help you junglign and throughout the game
Sunder : More armor penetration will assist you during the early game ganks and any team fights.
Offensive Mastery : More damage on minions is awesome for junglers.
Brute Force : This helps you kill jungle creeps faster
Lethality : You're eventually going to have a decent critical chance so more critical damage can't hurt
Havoc : Why wouldn't you want a 4% increase in damage?
Utility Tree
Good Hands : Even though you should try to avoid death, if it happens, 10% reduced time dead is good.
Perseverence : 2% more mana and health regen. I get 1 in this and 3 in good hands because i don't feel like i get enough health or mana regen for this skill to do much for me. If you like this more, go ahead and switch the two.
Awareness : Essential for every jungler; ensures that you'll level at the right camps.
Utility Mastery: Longer baron, red, and blue buffs. An increas in red and blue buff duration helps your ganks.
Jungle Route
Using this jungle route, you're able to start ganking at level 4. If there's a ganking opportunity at level 3 and you feel you have enough health, feel free to put your level 3 point into Audacious Charge instead of Three Talon Strike.
If at any point during you're jungle you're close to a lane and there's nobody in it or the person in it has to go back, tell them you'll hold it for them.
Start off at your 2 golems with a 
Vampiric Scepter and a point in Three Talon Strike. You can ask somebody in the lane nearest you to leash them to you if you'd like. It doesn't matter. It will only mean you'll have about 20 more HP at the end anyway. Regardless if they're leashed or not, start off by using Three Talon Strike on one of them. After it's knocked up, 
Smite it then kill it. Then kill the second one, using Three Talon Strike When it comes off cooldown. Add a point into Battle Cry and move on to your wraiths.
Use Three Talon Strike on the blue wraith. After it procs, use Battle Cry. Finish it off then kill the three red wraiths using Three Talon Strike again when it comes off cooldown. Head over to your wolf camp.
Once again, use Three Talon Strike On the brown wolf. When it procs, use Battle Cry. Finish off the wolves. Use another Three Talon Strike If you wish. Add another point into Three Talon Strike and move on to your blue buff.
Start off by using Three Talon Strike on the golem. When it procs, activate Battle Cry. Keep attacking it and using Three Talon Strike when it comes off cooldown. When the golem is at around 600 HP, use Smite to kill it. Kill the 2 small lizards and move back to your 2 golems.
By the time you get there, the 2 golems may not have spawned, but don't be afraid, they'll only be a few seconds. Once they're there, use Three Talon Strike until it procs then use Battle Cry. Kill one then kill the other, using Three Talon Strike whenever it's off cooldown. Add a point into Audacious Charge then move to your red buff.
Use Audacious Charge to charge into the large lizard, dealing damage to all 3 of them. Use Three Talon Strike and make it proc on the large one then use Battle Cry. Keep using Three Talon Strike when it's off cooldown and Smite the lizard at around 600 HP, then kill the 2 smaller ones. Move on to your Wraiths.
Once again, initiate with Audacious Charge. Three Talon Strike until it procs then Battle Cry, using Three Talon Strike when it comes off cooldown. Kill the blue one first. Depending on whether you ganked or not, you may level here. If you did, add a point in to Three Talon Strike. Go over to your wolves and do the same thign you've been doing; Audacious Charge in, Three Talon Strike till proc, then Battle Cry. If you didn't level up at Wraiths, you will here,. Add the point to Three Talon Strike.
Video of jungle route:
/league-of-legends/item/long-sword-15
What to do after you're done your route
You now have several options:
1) Steal the enemy team's buffs
2) Gank their jungler (if they have one)
3) Gank a lane
4) Offer to hold a lane if somebody has to go back.
5) Ward the map
6) Buy an Oracle Elixir and destroy anything you see that's invisible.
If a lane starts getting pushed by 2 or 3 people and only one person on your team is there, go to the lane. Even if you've just started blue, go to it. Your turret is much more important than your buff.
Main Item Build
I feel that Vampiric Scepter provides an extreme amount of sustainability in the jungle. With it, I find that I'm rarely at low health.
In my opinion this is one of the best items in the game, especially for junglers. It gives armor, lifesteal, damage, and has a 20% chance to deal 500 damage to minions. It also provides you with a free ward every 3 minutes throughout the game. All this for only 1600 gold is a must.
More movement speed and attack speed means you'll probably have mroe successful ganks.
Seal This gives you even more movement and attack speed along with some critical means even stronger ganks.. Once I get this, I also use an 
Elixir of Agility.
This will make you rip apart everyone. The 55 attack, 45 armor penetration, and 30% attack speed are all things Xin Zhao needs. Start it off with a 
B. F. Sword, as after you get one, most people don't stand a chance.
Another increase in your attack and movement speeds and critical chance. Now when you crit you'll be doing some really heavy damage.
This gives you a bunch of attack damage and pretty nice critical chance. It also increases your critical damage to 250%. This will make you kill most champs in a matter of seconds. Start it off with a B. F. Sword
This is the best survivability item for non-tanks in my opinion. It adds HP, MP, magic resist, and prevents an unfriendly spell every 45 seconds. It's perfect against mages in particular.
,
,
I don't see many people getting these, but after you get your full build, why not? Together they provide 10% CDR, 8% critical, 10 attack, 22% attack speed, and 40 ability power. I usually start buying an Elixir of Agility after I get my 
Zeal, anyway. Also, buying any of these while all 6 item slots are full will cause the item to activate immediately.
Situational items
Mercury's Treads : Great for when they have lots of crowd control and AP.
Frozen Mallet : When you feel like you need more survivability or you want to slow them.
Warmog's Armor : Xin Zhao is an amazing farmer, so I have no problem getting this item fully stacked with him. It provides a lot of HP which makes some people feel intimidated, especially while you're ripping out such high damage.
Randuin's Omen : A great item against lots of AD champs. If you decide you're going to get one, I suggest getting the 
Heart of Gold for it early on.
Thornmail : Once again, great against AD champs.
Madred's Bloodrazor : If for some reason you can't take down their tank or more than 2 of them are stacking armor, get this. It'll shred right through them. Never get it if they're stacking magic resist, though.
Sword of the Occult : I don't like snowball items, but if you do, go for it.
The Bloodthirster : If the lifesteal from your Wriggle's Lantern just isn't cutting it for you, grab one of these.
Items I don't reccomend
Force of Nature : As you're not the main tank, Banshee's Veil is a much better choice.
Items that mainly give AP : The only skill affected by AP is Audacious Charge. It's useless to make it stronger. Not to mention that Battle Cry Gives attack speed, which is a good enough excuse to start stacking items that give attack damage, critical, and attack speed.
Summoner Spells
In my opinion, Smite is an essential spell for any jungler.
Flash is one of my favorite spells. I take it on nearly every champ I play because it's great for escaping or catching up to a potential kill.
Optional Spells
If the spell is in the offense tree, I recommend taking the point out of Sorcery and improving it. If you choose to take 
Ghost or 
Teleport, I suggest taking the point out of Good Hands or Perseverence (Whichever you chose not to max) and adding it to improve the spell you chose.
Exhaust : Great for slowing enemies that you think you can kill
Ghost : This spell provides speed which you can use to catch that pesky 
Master Yi or escape from anything.
Ignite : I just prefer flash because of it's multiple capabilities.
Teleport : If you like it, go for it. I have nothing against it, I just prefer Flash.
Rally : I've never used Rally, but it seems viable. It would make pushing turrets and team fights easier.
Cleanse : Because you're extremely susceptible to crowd control without Mercury's Treads, this spells is fine to take.
Spells I don't recommend
Heal : You have your passive and lifesteal.
Clarity : You'll have blue most of the time, and your skills aren't that mana heavy.
Revive : Never. 9 minute cooldown? Waste of a spell.
Clairvoyance : In my opinion, only the tank or support should take this.
Fortify : Same argument as Clairvoyance
Skill Sequence
This is your passive. It heals you every 3 hits and is really what makes you able to jungle.
This skill is extremely annoying for the enemy team. It makes you stronger for 3 attacks and on the third attack, you knock your foe into the air. It's great for ganking and preventing damage in the jungle.
This skill passively grants you attack speed and actively doubles that bonus and reduces the cooldown of all your other skills by 1 second every time you attack. It's awesome when ganking, as it allows you to use Three Talon Strike and Audacious Charge much faster.
This is your initiating ability. It slows and does a bit of damage.
Your ultimate deals damage equal to 20% of your foes current health plus 125/225/325. It hits everything around you and increases your armor and magic resist by 30/40/50 for every enemy champion you hit.
Remember: R>Q>W>E
The general gank routine
Whenever you gank, start off with Audacious Charge then move into Three Talon Strike.Immediately follow it with a Battle Cry when it procs. If they start to get away, Audacious Charge at them again and use Three Talon Strike once more. This is pretty much a guaranteed kill.
Conclusion
Always remember:
1) Gank often. Even if you're not done your route, you should have enough HP at all times.
2) Listen to your team; if somebody needs you to hold a lane, do it, especially if you've completed your main route.
3) Ward the map, particularly key areas such as the river, Baron, Dragon and the buffs.
4) Buy an Oracle Elixir and destroy anything you see that's invisible
5) Kill dragon. The universal 190 gold is awesome for your team.
6) Push lanes that have nobody in them
7) Defend a tower that's being attacked and has nobody in the lane
8) The "One lane rule". If you're anywhere on the map and a lane within one lane of you is struggling, go help.
Thank you for reading, and please leave feedback so I can make the guide better!
|
|
|
Guide Discussion (2)
You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.