A little Shen info

[quote=kmododragonNM]Well, I just picked up the again game again after some months of playing other games. Surprisingly, I began playing Shen and took to him right away. Before now I used to play fighters and assassins (my best being Master Yi) I am still fairly new and trying out new strategies and ideas, but I have some basic tips that I hope new Shen players will look at, and I hope older Shen players will add some tips and advice. [u]Some beginning advice: Your first time as Shen? Read it.[/u] -Shen is all Tank. Sure, certain builds will make him dps, AP, or whatever, but keep in mind that these will never work nearly as well as Tank builds. -Your abilities are geared towards tanks. This keeps Shen from being very affective at any other play style. -Don't try to solo any lane until the later levels. Shen is a lot better later in the game, and you can't fight off a ranged 1v1 for long. (Believe me, I've tried.) Get someone to support you, and try to level up quickly. Ashe is a great partner for Shen. -Use the bottom and top lanes, being double-ganked in the middle as a mid-level Shen means death. -DON'T OVEREXTEND. YOU AREN'T ANY GOOD DEAD. Shen is key to be around in the battle, especially when you can save so many of your teammates. -Find builds, don't improvise until you are very experienced. Personally, I recommend Battok's build and strategies. He is a great Shen player, and his build works very well. Please chekc it out. (I did not link the build, as it is against the rules.) [u]Basic abilities info: Tips on abilites and when to use them.[/u] -All of your abilities are geared towards tanks, as I mentioned above. For in-depth item strategies and order of upgrading them, check out Battok's Shen build or any other builds. -Get Vorpal Blade first, no questions. It is your source of health regain in the early levels, and has a very short cooldown. -Use the Blade to poke at your enemies before engaging. Taking a couple bars off their health will help in later combat, and could be the difference between life and death in a 1v1 fight. -Get Shadow Dash next. As Battok says, this is your most valuable ability. It is great for saving teammates and stopping low-health enemies long enough to kill them. In the early levels especially, you can turret-taunt with great effectiveness. Inside the range of a turret, taunt your enemies so they attack you, drawing turret fire. Bring them as close to the turret as possible. Then turn and attack them. Usually it is an easy kill, especially if you have a good lane partner. -Process of elimination: unlock Feint. This ability is useful when you go 1v1 with someone, or when holding off multiple enemies. Do not neglect it, as many people tend to do. -Your ult is one of the best ones around. It has global range, and can lead to many saves and kills if used correctly. You can use it for easy kills if you have and ally engage in 1v1 combat, wait until both fighters are low, then teleport in there and assist the kill. -Try to upgrade your Blade plenty. It is a good way to gain health and poke enemies back. [u]Basic Strategies: Things I've learned while playing Shen.[/u] -A great strategy for the bottom/top lane is the brush-taunt (as I call it). If your lane partner has high AP, damage, or dps, then this will work very well against single enemies, or even two enemies. Have your partner draw the enemy champions back while you hide in the bushes. Then, attack at your signal. He uses his favorite move, and you taunt enemies and draw them back towards your turret. Swiftly unleash all of your damage on enemies, and make sure you are taking all of their damage. Most of the time this will lead to at least one kill. -Try to take all of the damage possible in battles. Use SD (Shadow Dash) to draw fire, use feint to absorb damage, and use Vorpal Blade (VB) to regain some health from the highest-health enemy (attack the one who is taking the least damage). All of your abilities have fast cooldowns, so you can use them many times in one fight. -Avoid self-sacrifice if possible. Only use it to prevent disastrous double-kills, triple kills, or aces. I hope this info helps anyone who wants to try Shen or who is new to Shen. Please post if you have additional information to add, questions, or suggestions. Thanks![/quote]

[quote=Ruin Sage]This is all pretty basic information, but it is all quite sound. A lot of this can apply to more than just Shen too.[/quote]

[quote=kmododragonNM]Yes, most of the basic information applies to all tanks.[/quote]

[quote=SaviourToALL]It was my first time using Shen when he was recently in the free hero rotation. I was more effective using AP shen + one of the following - Warmogs OR Force of nature, depending on whether the team was primarily AP/AD. Depends on your playstyle huh...[/quote]

[quote=kmododragonNM][quote=SaviourToALL] It was my first time using Shen when he was recently in the free hero rotation. I was more effective using AP shen + one of the following - Warmogs OR Force of nature, depending on whether the team was primarily AP/AD. Depends on your playstyle huh... [/quote] Sure, but Shen is, as I said, geared towards tanking. If your team has a tank, or you know how to play AP Shen, go ahead. He can still do a nice amount of damage to the enemy team.[/quote]

[quote=MuffinStuff]I do love playing Shen, even though I have got my self into some trouble with that taunt, but the first time you taunt 3 or 4 of there team, and then you see Annie drop Tibbers on all of them, and it ultimately leads to a team wipe.....it feels amazing[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard]AP tank builds with a [[Rylai's Crystal Scepter]] and [[Abyssal Scepter]] are pretty effective on [[Shen]] since his AP ratio buff. Rylai's is particularly useful, since the slow adds more CC to your limited kit. Jungle [[Shen]] is actually pretty fun. He's not the best jungler in the game, but he has very high sustain, gets free farm and can [[Stand United]] to enter a lane to gank/save teammates from anywhere on the map. This is a pretty big deal, since it can let you jungle indefinitely and ult in when you're needed. Taking a point in [[Shadow Dash]] first is more effective in some circumstances. If you're jungle invading, defending, or going for first blood with a high-DPS lanemate, [[Shadow Dash]] is going to be far more valuable. If you're laning normally, [[Vorpal Blade]] is fine. You know, if you want, you could just make a [[Shen]] guide of your own.[/quote]

[quote=DuffTime]I like tank Shen with Rylai's, Zhonya's, and sometimes even Lich Bane. Otherwise I prefer full tank items, Warmogg's, GA, FoN, whatever you prefer.[/quote]

[quote=Searz]A lot of your suggestions/tips make it obvious that you're low elo (not playing competitively). I suggest leaving these things to the competitive players :P [quote=DuffTime] I prefer full tank items, Warmogg's, GA, FoN, whatever you prefer.[/quote] You love Warmog too much, lol. Shen is a prime example of someone who shouldn't be using it. (not that it's bad, just that there are better choices)[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard]I wish they'd change [[Ki Strike]] back to total health. It seems like they're pulling [[Shen]] into different directions. You can't build AP, Health and Resistances all together. At least not optimally.[/quote]