Blogs
Reworked Xin Zhao
It's time to be a man. The champion reworks are here, and Xin has been my personal favorite to toy around with. Formerly one of the worst champions to fight in the league, this champion gets a whole new persona. The question that remains: does this improved Xin Zhao have the ability to make a man out of you?
In order to analyze the changes, we need to get in the head of Xin. Bruce Lee says "Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend." You are the water and this video is your cup, bottle, and teapot.
In all seriousness, the Xin changes are incredibly interesting and offer new and interesting possibilities for the character. I'd like to state that Xin is one of the most fun champions in the game. His options were always endless, but his kit was not equipped with the correct tools. The only viable role for him was as a jungler. Ever since the update, he has expanded to top laner and (lower tier) support as well. These changes are interesting. It does not make him immediately better, but it gives players the opportunity to try different things.
Why Xin can work well in the current meta:
Gold per 10 items are incredibly powerful. Xin can benefit from the flexibility the items offer. As a top laner, the flexibility allows him to adapt to the lane. If he gets bullied a little too much, buy a Heart of Gold. Almost killing the enemy, and could you a little more damage in your combo? Obtain an Avarice Blade. Out trading the opponent and could use the slight time advantage, get the Philosopher's Stone. Point is, new Xin can be built according to the pace of the game, while getting the extra gold and stats.
Also: the gold strategy works whether you are ahead or playing catch-up. The powerful long term benefits not only give Xin the stats he would need in a lane plus the ability to get big items faster.
His biggest new tool is Crescent Sweep (Ultimate). The change allows Xin Zhao a little more crowd control and just the hop up. But the main bonus is evident in team fights. There are numerous ways to use the knock-back on the ultimate/passive synergy, but the main point is that it isolates one person. As long as the team is responsive, they can hop on the person with the challenge marker for a quick 5 versus 1 before the enemy can recover from the knock-back. Although I praise this change, it is not over powered and should be used correctly.
The Community's Response:
So far, the public seems to enjoy the rework. The orange graph states that people have been playing Xin more since the patch (easy stuff). It also shows a slight decline in play every day after the patch. Once the hype dies down, I predict Xin Zhao to be a pick like Viktor. Viktor is a champion that does not get played that often, but is not a troll pick. This means that Xin will be rarely used, but when he is, it will be by players with the character knowledge and advanced tactics. Now that his abilities are readjusted, expect to see Xin as a viable jungler, or counter-pick top in about 5% of ranked games.
Overall:
I am incredibly happy with the changes. They do not make him obscenely great, but it was the rework he needed. He remains amazingly fun with added bonuses for a solid pick. Still short of top tier, he is no longer the auto lock troll that he was. My major complaint is that his combo feels unresponsive until later levels and items. There is a major jump from early to late game Xin Zhao, but it might be impossible to give him a good early game buff without making him completely over powered. That is a fairly minor problem that just means he is not the strongest champion early game. Riot came out with great ideas with good results.
So go out my friend and be like water. Be swift as the coursing river and make a man out of the enemy team. Just remember one thing: get down to business and win.