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Xin Zhao Build Guide by Ir.Defender

Jungle 🔸 Xin Zhaofend / To The Arena [Season 14] 🔸

Jungle 🔸 Xin Zhaofend / To The Arena [Season 14] 🔸

Updated on January 13, 2024
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Ir.Defender Build Guide By Ir.Defender 912 75 2,300,090 Views 36 Comments
912 75 2,300,090 Views 36 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Ir.Defender Xin Zhao Build Guide By Ir.Defender Updated on January 13, 2024
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Runes: META

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Precision
Conqueror
Triumph
Legend: Alacrity
Last Stand

Inspiration
Magical Footwear
Cosmic Insight
Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Smite

Smite

Items

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Champion Build Guide

🔸 Xin Zhaofend / To The Arena [Season 14] 🔸

By Ir.Defender
Xin Zhao
Rumored to have never lost in one-on-one combat, Xin Zhao spent much of his life fighting an uphill battle.


I remember first time that i played Xin Zhao. I was amazed, he was the first champion that was tanky enough as a Fighter, yet deals damage like an Assassin. A great champion that fits my playstyle. Eversince i decided to main Xin Zhao and right now im an OTP Xin Zhao..


Pros


+ Great ganking potential
+ Great damage
+ Great duel kit
+ Great snowballing
+ Great sustain jungler
+ Fun to play
As you see there is a lot of good things about Xin, all you need to know is the champion concept which is early Lead.

Cons



- Weak vs peeling comp
- Hard to play vs hard cc
As a guy who played Xin for years with a successful win rate it is hard to find Cons about him, they may be alot of cons but all of them can be covered with your play style and experience on a champ!



Why would i play Xin Zhao?
I Believe that Xin Zhao is a fun champ. A great jungler for climbing in any rank and destroying your enemies. You feel like you are playing a real Warrior. This chinese man can be choice of the people who wanna destory SoloQ and climb faster.

Before i forget, correct pronounce of Xin Zhao is Shin
Jao or Shin Shao!
Spells
FLASH
Flash is the most used Summoner Spell, used for both chasing and escaping and even making some plays, i can say its necessary for Xin to have flash in pocket for extra mobility. you can use it for escape or chasing your enemy, or even Doing a combo of Flash > E > R to surprise your enemies.
SMITE
Smite is the jungling Summoner spell, it help you to clear jungle camps and getting important objectives, always take a look at Drakes & Heralds timers so you know when you should keep your Smite up. The art of Smiting is something that all junglers should learn.
Abilities

Determination - Passive:
Xin Zhao's basic attacks and Wind Becomes Lightning strikes generate a stack of Determination, which stacks up to 3 times. The third stack consumes them all to deal 15 / 25 / 35 / 45% (based on level) AD bonus physical damage and Heal Xin Zhao for 6 − 74 (based on level) (+ 10% AD) (+ 55% AP).

This passive is what attracted many players in Xin, making him good jungler and good duelist and fighter, it heals you for a great amount as well as dealing more damage with every third attack, it also works on other objectives like wards and turrets, this passive means a great sustain on jungle and doing objectives. combining the healing amount with Conqueror as keystone and other runes/items gives Xin Zhao a great lifesteal.


Three Talon Strike:
Range: 375
Cooldown: 7 / 6.5 / 6 / 5.5 / 5
Cost: 30
Xin Zhao prepares to unleash a fearsome combo, causing his next 3 standard attacks to deal his attack damage + 20/28/36/44/52 (+ 40% bonus AD) to enemy targets, with the final attack knocking his opponent into the air. Each strike while active reduces the cooldown of his other skills by one second.

His Q actully does a ton of damage for your next three attack, with the final attack knocking his opponent into the air and thats the part which make Xin being called a great early jungler. Its the main reason that Hail of Blades became a meta choice for Xin. also the passive that reduce cooldown reduction of your another abilities by one second is something worthy, that why i suggest you to do E>W>Q Combo for farming, while mean if you wanna secure your W Damage you do E>Q>W, His Q is also useful for farming and pushing. for an extra tip, you can do an instantly knock your enemies if you do two attack and keep the last one then E>Q.


Wind Becomes Lightning:
Range: 1000
Cooldown: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8
Cost: 45
Xin Zhao performs two swift strikes over a 0.5-0.4 second period (based on bonus attack speed), the first dealing 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 (+ 30% AD) physical damage to all enemies in an arc and the second dealing 40 / 75 / 110 / 145 / 180 (+ 75% AD) damage and slowing all enemies in a line by 50% for 1.5 seconds.
Each strike deals 50% damage against minions, benefits from 33.3% of Xin Zhao's lifesteal, will stack and apply Determination, and the duration on his other abilities is paused during the effect.

It has a great AoE damage, second strike even got great range, its the ability that give Xin Zhao assassin role aswell, you usually save it after your Q knock but you can also do E>W combo whenever you engage your opponent and then with using Q you can get your W again as each Q attack reduce your cooldowns by 1 Sec.


Audacious Charge:
Range: 650
Cooldown: 12
Cost: 50
Xin Zhao charges and challenges an enemy. The charge deals 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 (+60% of ability power) magic damage to all nearby enemies and slows them for 30% for 0.5 seconds.
Casting Audacious Charge grants Xin Zhao 40 / 45 / 50 / 55 / 60% attack speed for 5 seconds.

One the best abilities for a jungler in the whole game, a nice leap that grants you attack speed and slow the enemy. notice that it have a area effect for slowing so you don't need always land it on enemy champ, just use it on minions that are close to your target, this ability is awesome for farming and pushing.


Crescent Guard:
Range: 188
Cooldown: 120 / 110 / 100
Cost: 100
Passive: The last enemy champion targeted by Xin Zhao's basic attacks or Audacious Charge is Challenged for 3 seconds.
Active: Xin Zhao sweeps around him, dealing 75 / 150 / 225 (+ 100% bonus AD) (+ 15% of target's current health) physical damage to enemies hit, capped at 600 (+ 100% bonus AD) against monsters. Non-Challenged enemies are also knocked back and stunned for 0.75 seconds.
For the next 3 seconds Xin Zhao has Awareness, negating all damage received from enemies 450-units away from him. Basic attacks and other spell casts extend the duration by 0.3 seconds, but the remaining duration cannot exceed 3 seconds.

Mastering your Ultimate in order to block incoming damages as much as possible and being able to Attack your target the same way is very important.



> > >

This is best ability order due to Wind Becomes Lightning damage and kill potential we want to max it out, its like our finisher damage. then its about attack speed without maxing Audacious Charge we would have lack of attack speed, so go for it next, whilemean i have to admit that Three Talon Strike even got buffed and deal more damage now but since we have enough early damage already its fine.
Items
Scorchclaw Pup is the jungling item which you must have, It's the same Red Smite as old days and it's best on dueling or skirmisher champions like Xin Zhao. You need it for jungling. Farm enough to upgrade this item.
Start the game with Health Potion to achieve an extra early touch of sustain while farming and jungling, after all it's the only item you can get early with the rest of your gold now.[

While you are trying to finish your Mythic item asap, i recommend you to get an early boot as soon as you can. It helps you to move faster, in summary increase your clear speed a bit and it's helpful for ganking since you have more movement speed!
You will learn to use ward trick later, so this item is actully on Starting Items, though if you kept your Stealth Ward, you may want to swap it into Oracle Lens as its very helpful about Vision stuffs.
Plated Steelcaps is your main boot in most of the games, mostly depend if enemy jungler is AD or AP, or your skirmish and dueling target.


Mythics







-OR-

Plated Steelcaps
If you are facing a lot of ad champs, specially on hit champs as well as Fighter junglers, this boot is your choice.

Mercury's Treads
This boot is becoming more viable in season 10 since there is a lot of fights and cc is the biggest problem for Xin Zhao, simply you must go for it when there is huge AP and CC.

Eclipse
Eclipse is considered the best Mythic item for Xin Zhao due to its synergy with his kit. The item provides Xin Zhao with bonus damage and lethality, making him a formidable duelist and skirmisher. Additionally, Eclipse's passive shield and bonus movement speed help Xin Zhao survive burst damage and stick to his targets, enhancing his ability to eliminate priority threats in team fights.

Goredrinker
Goredrinker has gained popularity as a viable choice on Xin Zhao due to its strong teamfight presence and sustain. The item provides Xin Zhao with bonus attack damage, ability haste, and a powerful active ability that deals damage to nearby enemies while healing him based on the number of champions hit. This active can turn the tides of a teamfight and significantly increase Xin Zhao's survivability in the midst of battle. The ability haste and bonus health offered by Goredrinker also synergize well with Xin Zhao's role as a frontline bruiser, allowing him to dive into fights, soak up damage, and dish out consistent damage over extended engagements.

Trinity Force
Trinity Force is a strong choice for Xin Zhao due to its synergy with his kit and playstyle. The item provides Xin Zhao with increased attack damage, attack speed, and bonus movement speed, making him a more potent duelist and skirmisher. The Sheen proc enhances his burst damage when combined with his abilities, while the Phage passive helps him stick to his targets. Additionally, the health, mana, and ability haste provided by Trinity Force further improve Xin Zhao's overall combat effectiveness and sustainability in prolonged engagements.

Divine Sunderer
Divine Sunderer can be a situational choice for Xin Zhao against tanky team compositions. Its increased attack damage, attack speed, and bonus health enhance Xin Zhao's dueling potential and survivability. The Sheen proc synergizes with his Q ability, while the armor penetration and bonus healing based on the target's maximum health improve his damage output and sustain. Consider building Divine Sunderer when facing tanky opponents to maximize Xin Zhao's effectiveness in prolonged fights.
Blade of The Ruined King
Building Blade of the Ruined King as a second item on Xin Zhao provides him with strong dueling power and additional sustain. The item offers attack speed, attack damage, and a passive effect that deals bonus damage based on the target's maximum health, which synergizes well with Xin Zhao's kit. This allows him to shred through tankier opponents more effectively. Additionally, the active effect of Blade of the Ruined King grants Xin Zhao extra mobility and a percentage-based life steal, further enhancing his survivability and sustained damage output in fights.
Death's Dance
This item offers attack damage and a unique damage mitigation effect that converts a portion of incoming damage into a bleed effect over time. This can help Xin Zhao survive burst damage and sustain in fights. Additionally, the delay on damage taken provides him with some survivability and allows for potential outplays. Overall, Death's Dance can still be a valuable item for Xin Zhao, particularly in situations where he needs extra survivability and damage mitigation.
Wit's End
Wit's End is a strong item choice for Xin Zhao due to its synergy with his kit and playstyle. The item provides him with attack speed, bonus magic damage on-hit, and magic resistance. Xin Zhao benefits from the attack speed boost, as it allows him to apply his passive, heal more frequently with his Q ability, and stack his ultimate faster. The bonus magic damage on-hit complements his mixed damage output, making him more threatening to both squishy and tanky targets. Additionally, the magic resistance helps Xin Zhao mitigate magic damage and increases his durability in team fights. Wit's End is particularly effective when facing opponents with significant magic damage threats or when Xin Zhao needs more sustained damage and survivability.
Black Cleaver
Black Cleaver is good on Xin Zhao due to its attack damage, bonus health, and armor penetration. It enhances his damage output, improves his durability, and helps him shred enemy armor. The armor reduction passive also benefits his teammates, making Black Cleaver a versatile and impactful choice for Xin Zhao.
Sterak's Gage
An great item that once again bring some stats we need, give you a nice amount of HP, as well as a great shield for more survivability and great amount of Attack Damage which is all we need for impacting more. we can say its one of the core items now.

Maw of Malmortius
You can only have one of Maw of Malmortius or Sterak's Gage at once (due to their unique passive) so simply if enemy is full ap, or mostly ap you can rush for Maw of Malmortius instead.

Guardian Angel
Not only bring us good amount of Armor and AD, also it's passive is great for more survivability and let us impact more specially if we are fed.

You know, something that i like about myself on playing Xin, is how i use different items VS different teams and comps, i would say this comes from my experience and im here to share it with you, the thing is after Trinity Force i just choose another items depend on enemy comp on each game, but if you look for a permanent build you can go for current meta builds that i believe is #1 & #2, if you really wanna play Xin alot then check this out! please notice these build are just some personal suggestion and i let 1 slot free as you can make your choice aswell, also you can always swap between Red & Blue Smite. also, Xin passive scale with more attack damage and Wit's end its not always the best.

Runes
H
A
I
L
O
F
B
L
A
D
E
S
Yes, Hail Of Blades fits Xin Zhao, give him more gank potential and help you to do your Q as soon as possible, not only dealing the great damage in shorter period of time, but you knock you enemies much faster and over all its helps you to make more secure ganks, i usually choose it for as a keystone when i can 1v1 every enemy champ, if i see there is a champ that i can't burst him down with this keystone i may go for Conqueror, whilemean Hail Of Blades works at every stage of game but mostly on squishy champs and not tanks.


C
O
N
Q
U

E
R
O
R
Conqueror is so strong at the current meta, best 1v1 rune and good for late game since it brings nice amount of healing. good rune for more sustain and healing, you can stuck it easily and become stronger in many duels, while Hail of Blades gives and early advantage, Conqueror start shining in mid game while it makes you unstoppable when you get your tanky items in late game.

Is a must choice since Xin need that amount of early attack speed and even more, same goes for that amount of Adaptive Force, You can only get Magic Resist when enemy team is full ap, otherwise always get that Armor.


Rune Discuss
Cheap
Shot
All of your abilities trigger the Cheap Shot, The main reason of using Cheap Shot is due to true damage amount, so we can say its good for ganking tanks.
Sudden
Impact
Your Audacious Charge trigger this rune can be a good option vs squishy teams or simply teams without tanks or champs that rush armor.
Eyball
Collection
Eyeball Collection stacks with champion take down and as an early champ you can make some early stats with it that brings you an advantage and more attack damage.
Zombie
Ward
I love this rune as it spawn a friendly zombie ward which allows me to start my game with Oracle Lens, it also gives same amount AD with it bonus at 10 friendly ward spawned.
Relentless
Hunter
I would say this extra out of combat movement speed is necessary as your main goal is to be ready for ganks, joining fights, going for objectives and over all being active in the whole map.
Triumph Triumph its just a great rune over all, give us 12% of our missing health after each take down which is a great amount that helps for survive, or even taking another fight as well as +20 gold for each take down which is usefull for snowballing and make your time which you effort to gank even worthier than before.
Legend: Alacrity Any extra attack speed is welcomed and useful for Xin Zhao and we really need this amount of attack speed specially when we can stack it to max amount possible as a champ like Xin.
Legend: Tenacity This rune is recommended vs CC Comps, tenacity reduces the duration of all crowd controls and since most of the times we may want to engage as Xin Zhao we gonna receive ton of cc. at the moment most of the Pros are using this rune due to fights that happen around Drakes and Heralds.
Coup De Grace If you are facing squishy enemies or some mobile champs that you think they can escape before you finish them, this rune helps a bit with that little extra damage.
Last Stand I recommend it if you are playing Conqueror, as you can deal 11% more damage when you are at 30% of your hp that means more damage and more healing.
Magical Footwear If you are playing Inspiration as your secondary rune, you can rush for it as it gives a free boot with more movement speed, you can also get it earlier than any champs with you early take downs.
Approach Velocity Your E triggers this rune, thats mean every time you use Audacious Charge on a target you gave an extra speed, your W slow also bring this speed. this rune is being used by pros mostly with Conqueror as key stone.
Bone Plating I Love this rune because i believe that we can use all three plate of it, and that means 180 less damage which is a great amount, i play Resolve as my secondary page when i go with Conqueror.
Revitalize This Rune is AMAZING, even since min 1 you start getting more heal with your passive, play it with Conqueror and you will become an moster with your amazing sustain.
Jungling
Jungle Paths

Path 1

Blue Side:
First, you do Red > Blue > Gromp, during that try to watch your top so if you could, for next step you can make a gank top, otherwise go for mid, if you couldn't gank mid aswell you keep farming by Doing Wolves > Raptors > Scuttle. You can also go for enemy raptors if you could. PLEASE don't forget that, you don't want to recall when there is still opportunities for gank or farm but getting items make things easier.

Red Side:
For red side, first you clear blue side, then you can gank mid or bot, which is possible and most secure because we can't risk our early time, so if you couldn't gank you go for Red, after red you can actually gank top or even mid, if you had a ward in enemy jungle and you track him, you may invade aswell, or just like image you do raptors. PLEASE don't forget that, you don't want to recall when there is still opportunities for gank or farm but getting items make things easier.

Path 2

Blue Side:
This Path, for blue side include an early gank for botlane, for that you must ask them to don't push and bait enemy bot aswell, about 70% of my early ganks on bot is successful. if you couldn't gank for any reason, you can go for mid, raptors or even other side of jungle, please notice the step 5 is only when you had successful ganks.

Red Side:
This path, and early gank on top which is 99% of times firstblood, is amazing since most of toplaners just get tilt after that first gank and not only that, after you gank top you stay for their teleport and go for gank once again. it works 50% time and you get 2 free kill in 30 sec^^ then you go for rift in river and recall, for clearing botside camps and going for a gank on bot, i usually don't clear wolves before i gank bot.

Path 3

Blue Side:
When you do Red > Blue > Gromp in this paths, you hit lvl 3 while toplaners are still lvl 2 and that means a secure gank, same goes for mid, you can also do enemy Krugs and then rift in river and then recall. then get items and go for your Krugs and then gank bot, now its on you, i usually stay around mid and bot, do raptors and get ready for drake if possible.

Red Side:

Jungle Discuss

I want you to understand, even before season 10, we couldn't say there is single path you should do, i mean the example paths that i showed you are just examples, even i myself don't copy this paths every single game as they may brings many problem for a game, you just have to make your own path, what suits you and work. for example there is games that i pref to full clear jungle once, or even just farm, but we are playing Xin, if you find yourself farming alot i would say you are doing wrong!
Spotlight
Gank

Start by choosing the right path, you try to appear behind your enemy that you can use Q first and walk trough them and with doing that you keep your E for the moment that they use Flash, but not always, just go on a lane use E > Q and if enemy flashed before your last Q depends on their position you can insta flash too or simply let them go, flash still worth.


Ganking on mid game is easier and we are playing Xin Zhao, he got easy mechanics aswell so there is nothing to discuss simply just wait when your bot start a fight or get ganks and just go in.
Farm

First thing, is about kiting, for those who don't know what kiting mean, i would say the moves and steps that we do while farming or fighting or simply attacking anything, is what i personally call kiting. a right kiting for killing the Krugs will still keep you full hp! if you do a camp and you lose much hp or even time, kiting can improve it and save you more time on clearing camps and yeah keep you more safe from invades, as it's a Xin Zhao guide i can't go further about kiting, if you have no idea about kiting for start, do sidestep after each 3 basic attack around your target or move for getting closer to your next camp.

About camps, for early solo camps, that means Blue & Red Buff and Gromp are most easier camps for On Hit junglers like Xin, thats why my current path is Red > Blue Gromp > Gank and after that i get jungle item to do Krugs > Raptors > Wolves.

Ward

Like i said, vision control is important part for any jungler, for start get Oracle Lens at the start of the game, specially if you have Zombie Ward, next step is always have a active Control Ward in map you can right places for wards in Images part, also dewarding should become an addict for you!
Invade

I can say that ganking is always easier object for Xin Zhao, but if you mind for an invade, you have to consider that you can 1v1 enemy jungler or not, beside that, if you get in enemy jungle his team may follow and pick you in jungle, so an early invade is recommended, for a successful invade you have to your Smite up aswell, so if enemy is clearing camp you can stole it. actully, outjungling your opponent is enough for get a lead on him.
Objectives

Xin is really great on doing objectives, specially getting turrets after a successful gank. Whilemean doing drakes and herald is so easy in season 10 for most of junglers including Xin Zhao aswell, you can solo drake when you are lvl 4 at drake spawn time, but you need to do both Drakes and Herald safely since everyone aware of importance of drakes. you may want to fight for Ocean & Mountain drakes as they fit Xin zhao, brings us more sustain.
Dive

Diving as Xin Zhao is not recommended at all, you can't handle turrets shot on early game, if you are going to dive top or bot, always let your Toplaner or Support move on first, or you just can share the Dive time with your teammates.

Kills

Most of Junglers asking alot, should i give kills to others? should i let kill for Adc? should i take the kills? at first step, you must focus on clearing target despite who is gonna to take the kill, and thats mean you are not there for taking a kill for yourself, you are there for taking a kill, but simply, i prefer to increase my KDA Specially on Xin, more kills mean more bully and one step closer to carrying game, if i already have a great lead, i may let some kills for my teammates, but notice that on doing this so enemy may escape, don't greed for letting kills to others.

Balance Between Farming And Ganks

Recently, i find out that Balancing between farming and ganking is so important in season 10, ofcurse ganking always work and we are playing an agro champ, but still, wasting a lot of time trying to force ganks, camping and waiting to long for a moment to gank and etc, i would say you should avoid these stuff, its because camp's experiences got nerfed but gives more exp with more farming. and here we have patch 10.3 Note: FARM ALOT, more than before as Exp's got buffed, if you waste time you get behind.
How To Play
Early Game
Almost for many junglers specially Xin early game is an important part, Xin has strong early ganks With his E & Q its possible to make early ganks. for Early game follow my jungle path, you start Red Buff then you can look for an early gank , but if you do Red > Blue > Gromp at the moment, you get a quick 3 and then you can make a secure gank mostly on top, for that just ask your toplaner to don't push.

you just want to make sure that you don't waste your time, in another word you must know how to do a secure gank, it needs timing, gank path, ability using!, simply timing is about enemy position, like you don't wanna come for a gank when they are under their turret or they are looking for a recall! i know it may sounds funny, what im trying to say is dont force impossible ganks. now i told you this, dont forgot about enemy jungler aswell, they may counter gank you!

if you see you can't gank top or bot you can go for ganking mid , invade or waiting for Rift Scuttler then going for mid, or Raptors and then Recalling to base for getting items. getting items specially if you had a successful gank before that give you a lead on farming, ganking, invading and fighting their jungler.

i can say that, after you completed jungle path its all on you know, you are free and you are the one who decide what to do, you have to analyze lines and their champs and choose bestwhere to gank, i always ask myself, if i gank bot they can get lead? or they gonna still lose? but you know, you never gank for your laner! you gank for yourself.. so thats why you have to use any opportunity and that's the diff between a good jungler and a bad one. i mean, you are playing Xin, farming while your bot is getting gank is not the right decision, for that you need to work on tracking enemy jungler and be ready to counter him.

even on early, sometimes you can help push line and get turret plates specially on top, but care for enemy jungle and mid specially when toplaner enemy got his teleport up, same goes for botlane and mid, what im trying to say is don't stay in a line for long time as it makes some opportunity for enemys, keep them in doubt. notice if you are pushing alone you have to make wave for you teammate.

now let me answer some FAQ:

What if i was not able to gank like enemy is so safe and carefull and enemy jungler Can gank alot? first thing is too make sure that the same thing goes for you teammates, you can ask kindly when the game start : please be safe and care for enemy ganks, please use ward and etc, but still if you can't gank while your teammates are getting ganked, first thing is to track and analyze enemy jungler and report it your team, like if you think their jungler is bot, ping your bot to get back and... but still! the best way is to counter gank. i mean when enemys are so safe that's mean your lines are pushed and that make it easy to gank for enemy jungler, with noticing that you can be there for a counter gank and get lead for your team. and another way is getting objectives like herald or drakes, but counter gank is best.

What if i got out jungled and enemy jungler got my farms and buffs? well, first step on early time is asking to cover and ward your blue, but if enemy jungler invaded your blue and some farms, you have to notice that then there is farms in his jungle that he didn't done them yet, so simply you can go on their jungle, WHERE is SAFE and you dont need to face enemy , like Krugs or sometimes Raptors or Gromp, just track him and locate safe farms in his jungle and check for them or simply go for another gank.

When and how to do drakes and herald? my style is: do drake and herald when enemy never think of it! when enemy have Rift Scuttler in front of drake or herald, it shows like a fake vision to them, they have vision of a great area in front of drake and herald, in this moment i just use Blast cone and get objective as easy as possible! like herald and drake on their spawn times! but notice that Ganks are still a thing when they are possible at any time. do early drake or herald when your team is ahead. another way for doing herald or drake is: when your team is here to help , when enemy jungler is far away, when their team isn't there to help, but season 10 you gonna have rough time for these objectives.


Mid Game & Late Game
The thing is that you don't make mistakes, any mistakes with Xin is a Death for you, you have to be smart, for me mid game is since minute 15 till 25-30 where Xin can Shine , in my games this time, is team fighting times, if you got lead you can carry, if not you have to get lead now to be usefull at least in lategame, for that you have to looking for picks. the main reason that Xin isn't popular that much is because players think Xin is Squishy, they pick him get into a fight and insta death, i know, Xin concept is to get that early lead for you and your team that you don't need to think about the hard fights at all, but if even 30% of your games with Xin goes long enough or even for mid game fights there is how you fight as a Xin Zhao!

At first, about targeting i have to say that you have to always go for someone that you are sure you can kill him but that's not the only thing that a Xin can do, there is alot of things that is possible Only FOR Xin Zhao.

The best style is: Wait for fight start, then while your team is fighting with enemy team, there is no huge peeling for enemy carries, then go in and join fight by targeting and clearing them look at the video below.


You can engage and start a fight aswell, since you can block incoming damages from enemies, once again choose a target and go on, you will be fine if team follows.
Matchups

Amumu
Amumu

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Take objectives.

Amumu is not hard matchup, but a good one can make a lot of successful ganks and get bring his team the lead, and you don't want this to happen, for that, you must act before him and do early ganks, whilemean the best way is to counter gank him. taking objectives for amumu takes more time than other junglers so overall you got a head start. he can't 1v1 you as well but attempting to invade an amumu is not recommended as his team may follow, just do your normal job.

Ekko
Ekko

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Take objectives, Counter gank, Track and report, Make sure he don't get fed.

Ekko is one of the strong junglers in season 10, people love his mechanics so his pick rate is getting increased over all, you can 1v1 an Ekko easily in any stage of game but be aware of his W, if you get his stun you are done, you may even invade him early game. he is an assassin so he got the good kit for getting kills and your job is to make sure that he don't, simply by out jungling, out ganking, getting objectives and track and report it to your team to aware them of Ekko and you are fine.

Elise
Elise

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Counter gank, Make sure she don't get fed.

Elise may beat you if she do her combo at once, but if she miss her E she become an easy target as what as she is squishy, also counter ganking is her weak spot, when she start a fight she probably go all in, then if you join she is a free kill, if you give your team early lead with your ganks you make her job harder.

Evelynn
Evelynn

Quest: Invade, Make sure she don't get fed.

Evelynn is one of the easiest matchups, she is squishy and got no escape early, you can always try invading, killing her or taking her camps, while her main goal is to farm and reach 6 asap that she can start getting fed, and if that happen she get super fed she can even os you and we don't want this to happen, counter ganking is also possible just like taking all objectives.

Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks

Quest: Invade, Take objectives, Counter gank.

For dueling him you need to keep Q to knock him and disable his heal drain, he probably just want to use fear on you and run but you can catch him with E and W, he is squishy so you can invade him early.

Gragas
Gragas

Quest: Counter gank, Invade.

I count Gragas as the easiset matchup ever, he is only effective if he get fed which is a hard concept for a gragas, or going full tank but players usually want to play AP as he can deal good damage, whilemean you can always 1v1 him, just killing him once or twice while he try to attempt ganks make him useless for the rest of game.

Graves
Graves

Quest: Invade, Counter gank.

Graves is another easy matchup. he got nothing for dueling you in early so you can easily invade him, also if you counter gank him while he attempt to gank, you make him useless for the rest of game.

Hecarim
Hecarim

Quest: Ganking a lot.

Hecarim is a matchup mostly focused on who is gonna make more ganks, you usually can 1v1 him if you suprise him, while mean you want to avoid a full hp Hecarim specially if he has Ignite and Conqueror, counter ganking is also effective since he is another all in champ.

Ivern
Ivern

Quest: Be more active on ganking.

Ivern is a supportive jungler, whilemean if his team get behind he can't do any thing, thats why like always early ganks are recommended in this matchup, you also want to be careful as what as he can stole your red/blue buff, you can also 1v1 him he isn't that strong, over all i have to say that i didn't ever face good Ivern players, just once or twice and i just ganked alot that we got a huge lead so his shields and cc's wasn't effective that much.

Jarvan IV
Jarvan IV

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Take objectives.

Jarvan is another easy matchup, he has some potential for early gank while he can get out played so easy, when he miss his E>Q combo he got nothing left so counter ganking is so effective, also you can 1v1 him in any stage of game.

Jax
Jax

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Take objectives.

At first, Jax is getting pick mostly on top and not jungle, but if you face an jax despite that he is top or jung, don't be afraid, Jax isn't that hard at all, you can't 1v1 him so you just don't try to duel him, while he is easy on fights, i usually go Conqueror and Blade of the Ruined King and i even 1v1 him, but not that early because his ult is a huge buff for him, but i can deal with him in late. try to not get caught by him if he is playing jungle and wait for counter ganks, and team fights to beat him.

Karthus
Karthus

Quest: Invade, Counter gank, Take objectives.

Karthus is great at clearing his camps, thats why a right invade is some how recommended, other wise you need to do your early job which is ganking, whenever you catch Karthus you can go aggro and kill him as what as he is Squishy while you need to be careful and try to dodge some of his Q, counter ganking him is so easy due to his lack of cc.

Kayn
Kayn

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Counter gank.

You can 1v1 him early but careful as he try to deal some damage and escape to fill his passive, most of kayn players spend their time to farm early game while we can gank and make the jungle diff as soon as possible, also counter ganking him is easy before his R.

Kha'Zix
Kha'Zix

Quest: Make sure he don't get fed.

Really, your first job is to do every thing to make sure he don't get fed his ***ssin kit make it possible for him to feed himself, simply by tracking him and asking your team to be safe, don't overstay and etc, and then counter ganking him and even outjungling him early as we can 1v1 him before his 6. a good Kha probably can beat Xin Zhao if he gets fed.

Kindred
Kindred

Quest: Counter gank, Take objectives.

And again, another easy matchup. she is easy for counter ganking since you probably can 2v2 at mid or top, you can be her nightmare, you can 1v1 her easily. usually the whole jungle is my kingdom while i face a kindred, but there is still some Kindred mains that know what to do. i count her as a out of meta champs as she can't take fights vs many jungler at Drakes and Heralds.

Lee Sin
Lee Sin

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Take objectives, Counter gank, Track and report, Make sure he don't get fed.

I can say that the whole matchup may depends on how good Lee is, but still, Lee is not a threat at all, you can 1v1 him easily. The thing is about jungling itself, you must focus on ganking, counter ganking that game. Lee is also a good ganker so you wanna warn your team, once your team get the lead he can't do anything. Simply we can say that Lee has the Same concept that Xin does have but way to harder, because He really falls off late game while Xin just get stronger and yeah, scaling for Xin is easier with his Kit while Lee need to do more stuff. when i get a little ahead in this matchup i invade him often.

Master Yi
Master Yi

Quest: Be more active on ganking, Make sure he don't get fed.

First let me say that: YES, you can 1v1 Master Yi aswell^^. Before 6 he is so easy to fight and invade, after 6 it depends, if you are ahead you can always kill him, if he is ahead you need to use R after he Q You, then if you are on a good position you can insta E > Q. if he didn't Q when he start fights, you just want to run because we need our ult knock for killing him. Anyway, Yi pref to farm at the early game so we have a great chance to make a lead. He mostly want to gank and join fights that he knows he can get kills so your team must not over stay or fight while he is nearby.

Nidalee
Nidalee

Quest: Invade, Take objectives.

Coming SOON!
Ban List
As a Xin Zhao, there is a ban list for you including champs that can make most problem from you, stop you from carrying your game, you may want to know the champs that can out play Xin Zhao, and at least ban one of them. Note: these champs are not listed because they can 1v1 Xin Zhao or something like that, they are listed becuase they can impact their games and deny your lead.


S
Vladimir is my most banned champ, he got amazing sustain and self healing with great damage and even escape potential, even if we get lead on him, just by farming he can bring some items and make some plays, he scale well tough.
Caitlyn is so strong now, she is squishy but with her kit that include a lot of cc, and ofcurse her great range and damage, she just need to win her lane and become the greatest threat for any jungler.
But ADC's are not the only problem, having a tanky cc supp like Nautilus is something that we can't handle it, thats why he is on my ban list as well.
We all know how strong is Olaf at this moment, one of the greatest jungler that we never can handle him if he is just ahead we probably gonna lose all the drakes, not only that, Olaf can kill you and its so hard to escape from his Q and R.

A+
Kha'Zix and Ekko are both dangerous assassins, their kill potential always let them to feed them selfs in any time of game, facing them needs your team to be safe and that never gonna work, not every single game, so they are worth to ban.
Video Clips & Images
You can find a clip that explain a part of guide, there is clip for everything you learned in this guide to show you more details as well as some plays, please notice all of games were played by myself.

Best places to put control ward, depending on game time and another things (like if you are ahead, your ward get closer to enemy base for getting more picks, and if your team is behind your ward get closer to your base).

look at this video that i show you a new path for ganking in season 10:

An Example of an early gank (Based on jungle Path 2 with asking botlane to don't push)

An example of using E > W Combo for getting kill.

Same game and same combo, this time for getting a pick in mid game that road us to victory on that game!

Main style of team fighting as Xin Zhao (Read How To Play Part)

Look how i pick the jinx while they were pushing.
OA Tips
Over All Tips : More Than 100 Tips for Playing Xin Zhao!

✢-1-✢Farming combo is E>W>Q due to Q passive always use W before Q on Farming , Drakes and Herald.

✢-2-✢Ganking and Fighting Combo on Early Game is E>Q>W , you do W after Q Combo to make sure you hit it perfectly.

✢-3-✢Ganking and Fighting Combo on Late Game is E>R>Q>W or W>E>R>Q.

✢-4-✢ Determination heals Xin Zhao every three attacks, allowing him to sustain himself in lane for a while by autoattacking minion waves and turrets. Doing so for extended periods however will push your lane, so watch out for gank attempts.

✢-5-✢ Three Talon Strike resets the auto attack timer, so getting one basic attack off, then using the ability will yield a greater DPS.

✢-6-✢The attack speed granted by Audacious Charge is great for taking down turrets and minion waves, whilst also being extremely effective while jungling.

✢-7-✢ Audacious Charge does magic damage and slows enemies surrounding the target; you can use that to your advantage by charging a nearby enemy in order to slow another just outside its range. This ability will also pop Banshee's Veil item (or similar spell shields) on any of the affected targets which is extremely useful if your team has an incoming area of effect disable.

✢-8-✢Try using Crescent Guard where it will hit the most enemy champions.

✢-9-✢Xin Zhao is a great initiator. Lunge at a target with Audacious Charge and use Crescent Guard to do the most damage possible.

✢-10-✢Xin Zhao is a formidable ambush ganker. Three Talon Strike makes it very hard to immediately escape from him and deals high initial damage, and Audacious Charge makes it so that even targets with escapes can be chased effectively.

✢-11-✢ Audacious Charge can be used to escape ganks on some occasions by targeting a minion or a champion along your escape route. Combined with Flash, this can allow Xin Zhao to escape most unfavorable fights. Use it on an enemy across a wall for a clean escape (e.g.: throw ward across small golems wall, then dash to golems, when they flash in or come around, flash is still available for use)

✢-12-✢ Crescent Guard can be used to knock enemies away from you when trying to escape.

✢-13-✢ Crescent Guard can also push enemies towards your team, or split them away.

✢-14-✢ Wind Becomes Lightning can be used for slow enemies and securing the kills.

✢-15-✢When attempting a retreat, ensure that your pursuer has not been Challenged first before using Crescent Guard as otherwise it will have no effect on them.

✢-16-✢ Xin Zhao can effectively punish an enemy's wasteful ability usage with Audacious Charge. If the enemy uses their dash or damage spell to farm minions, using Audacious Charge on the enemy will usually lead to a favorable trade.

✢-17-✢A good combo for trading is to use the first two procs of Three Talon Strike on minions, saving the third. When an enemy goes to last hit minions, use Audacious Charge and perform an autoattack to knock the enemy upwards. This allows Xin Zhao to get in some free damage.
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Ir.Defender Xin Zhao Guide
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