Xin Zhao: the manliest jungler

Even since his remake, Xin Zhao has often been regarded as overshadowed by more staple junglers such as Maokai, Lee Sin, and Skarner. After watching M5.Diamondprox dominate with Xin versus TPA in the first game of their series, I was inspired to try the champion just as Diamondprox had built him.

I would come to discover just how well-rounded and powerful Xin jungle was, as I was able to consistently bear a great influence on the outcome of multiple ~2.4k elo ranked games (as illustrated by this guide’s cover photo). In this guide I will elaborate on the choices I made regarding Xin’s playstyle and builds, and consequently I hope that more people will try this manly champion in the jungle.

Runes

-Yellow armour runes are a standard for almost any jungler as they help mitigate damage from jungle creeps.

-Reds consist of 3 attack speed runes and 6 armour penetration runes. The 10 armour penetration granted by the 6 runes in combination with your passive (15% armour reduction) will not only allow you to shred through most jungle creeps’ armours, but many AP mids as well as they do not regularly run armour runes. (e.g. Karthus starts with 11 base armour).

-Blues are full attack speed, although other options include magic resist and magic resist/lvl. Attack speed helps Xin clear the jungle faster, allows him better sustain in the jungle due to his W’s passive, and complete his Q’s three autoattacks faster.

-Quints depend on which part of Xin’s game that you want to augment. I personally use AD quints as they allow Xin to both clear jungle creeps faster and deal more damage to enemy champions. Armour penetration quints allow Xin to deal even more damage to enemy champions at the cost of reduced damage to jungle creeps. Movespeed quints scale better than both of the aforementioned quints into late game and allow Xin to position himself around the map better at the cost of a weaker early game.

Masteries

-I go 0/21/9 as pictured below as Xin is a tanky bruiser who does not require offensive masteries to deal a lot of damage. The cdr (cooldown reduction)/lvl mastery allows Xin to itemize more flexibly as it helps him reach the CDR cap of 40% earlier.

-I put 9 points into utility solely for the improved buff duration, as I believe that longer lasting buffs are of more worth than 9 points into the offensive tree just because of how well Xin functions with both or either the blue or red buff. A blue buff allows Xin to clear camps faster and gank more efficiently with faster cooldowns on his Q and E. A red buff outrageously boosts Xin’s ability to gank and duel as he can now save his E for when his opponents flash/use their escape ability.

Summoner Spells

-Smite because you’re jungling

-Flash because it is Xin’s only real method of escaping out of sticky situations aside from his ult or using E to a nearby minion. Flash also allows Xin to pull off some fancy moves with his ult as well as close gaps faster.

Skill Build

1. For level 1 fights, start with E, otherwise start with Q as it will enable you to kill buffs faster.

2. If you’re looking to gank a lane at level 2, then ensure you have leveled both Q and E. Otherwise, one point in W will save you more HP if you continue to jungle.

3. I strongly advise you have one point in each skill at level 3 regardless of whether you want to continue clearing the jungle or gank lanes.

4. After level 3, Xin’s skill build is fairly simple as it becomes R>E>Q>W.

Prioritizing E, your gap closer, is the most effective way to skill Xin as it increases the damage and slow whilst most importantly decreasing the cooldown. With 40% cdr, E’s cooldown goes down to 5.4 seconds, which can be reduced even further by Q’s autoattacks by 3 seconds. Not to mention E is also AoE thus allowing you to shove waves or kill smaller creep camps faster.

Item Build

- Start with boots and 3 health pots because Xin needs the mobility to stick onto enemy targets and move around the map.

- During your first trip back, if you don’t have enough gold for a philosopher stone (this is usually the case unless you have gotten a kill or assist) then grab a doran’s blade as Xin benefits greatly from all the stats it gives. If you have leftover gold, buy a ward and a health pot or two. The philo stone is core because it provides Xin with enough health sustain alongside his W and enough mana regen to sustain the use of his low mana cost spells.

- Always try to buy wards as Xin is to be played as an aggressive jungler with regards to ganks and counterjungling, so knowing where the locations of your opponents is imperative to your success.

- Once you have your tier 1 boots, philo stone, and perhaps a doran’s blade, Xin’s itemization versatility comes into play.

Below is a list of all the great item choices for Xin to pick up as he progresses into and through mid-game.

- Mercury treads

I almost always get these boots as the only thing that will inhibit Xin’s ability to stick on targets and function in teamfights is CC (crowd control). However, if the enemy team is lacking in a lot of strong CC, then feel free to prioritize other items first before upgrading your boots.

- Brutalizer

A great item to pick up if you’re picking up the majority of your team’s kills early on as the flat armor pen allows you to destroy low armor targets in conjunction with your passive and armor pen runes. The damage is good and the CDR is even better, but just ensure that your opponents won’t take advantage of your lack of defense if you choose to get this item.

- Heart of Gold -> Randuin’s Omen

If no one else on your team is able to effectively build into Randuin’s and the enemy have strong or fed heroes reliant on autoattack damage, then Randuin’s is a great choice especially because Xin usually fights within the thick of things allowing him to maximize the active’s AoE. The passive is also great for 1v1s with the enemy AD carries/bruiser, and because of this it may be in your interest to pick up just a warden’s mail even if an ally has already completed a Randuin’s.

- Frozen Heart

Like Randuin’s, if someone else on your team can build towards a FH, then consider other item options. But otherwise this item is amazing versus teams with fed AD carries/bruisers reliant on autoattacks just like Randuin’s. The CDR provided by it is immense as well.

- Shurelya’s Reverie

High CDR, increased health and mana regen, health, and an amazing active all from one cheap item considering it builds from your philosopher stone. A must-have in almost every game even if your allies are also building towards it.

- Zeke’s Herald

High CDR, health, and a great aura that benefits not only yourself but your AD carry and any other bruisers on your team. However, it is not really worth it to stack two of these on a team, so try and cooperate with your allies and make sure no one else is building towards Zeke’s before you do.

- Kindlegem

Although it may seem redundant to list this item here seeing as it builds into both Zeke’s and Shurelya’s, if one is poor or behind, a simple kindlegem is a cheap way to boost your CDR whilst allowing you to grab other items without CDR like an Aegis or a Wit’s end.

- Aegis of the Legion

Always a great item on any jungler, the only problem with it on Xin is that it lacks the CDR that Xin loves and is pretty pricy at that. It can be to your benefit to inform your support that they should build towards an aegis while you build Shurelya’s/Zeke’s.

- Wit’s End/Ionic Spark

Both great items that not only augment Xin’s offense but his defense as well. Try to stave off from picking them up though at least until your CDR is 25% or higher without a blue buff. Wit’s is great versus fed/numerous AP damage dealers, while Ionic is better for shoving waves of creeps and a more mixed damage composition.

- Guardian’s Angel

Since Xin’s skills cause him to be very rambo and overextended, a GA is great for maximizing your usefulness in teamfights in case you get bursted down often.

- CDR and defensive stats, namely health, are what these item recommendations lean towards as these stats are the most important for Xin to function effectively throughout the game. CDR because as mentioned earlier, it allows you to stick onto your targets and CC them more regularly with both your Q and E. Health is more favorable over resistances because Xin already gets armour and magic resistance from his ultimate.

- I don’t like wriggles because Xin already clears camps fast with his spells, and sustains well with a philo stone and his W. The only thing you sacrifice by not getting a wriggles are faster Barons and Dragons and the free ward, and for the 1600 it costs, I’d say it is a favorable tradeofff.

 

Xin Zhao gameplay tips

- When ganking enemies, always try to save your E for when the enemy uses an escape ability such as flash. Early game, you will probably only get off a single E in a gank so don’t be afraid to use your Q while your E is still available.

- Aside from the aforementioned circumstance, try and abuse Q’s interaction with Xin’s other spells, i.e. Use Q after having use E, W, R to lower their cooldowns. Of course you may also need to exercise your own judgment as it may be more favorable to switch around your use of spell’s order.

- Xin’s level 2 ganks are extremely powerful and will almost assuredly result in a kill or a used summoner spell. Don’t force them all the time though as some opponents may expect it and waste your time.

- ALWAYS use your Q after an autoattack as it resets your autoattack timer. This is integral to boosting your damage output against both heroes and minions.

- Xin is extremely strong early game which allows him to bully common junglers such as Maokai and Skarner whilst being able to catch up to them even after their respective slows due to his E. Apply Xin’s early game strength to both counterjungling and counterganking.

- Xin’s countergank potential is also extremely strong as he is able to knock away targets from your allies, slow them down, or knock them up, and then kill them after they’ve blown their cooldowns on your ally/allies.

- One of Xin’s weaknesses is his inability to disengage from an overcommitted gank or a bait aside from his ult and flash. Unlike Lee Sin who has his jumps, Shyvana who has her increased movespeed or dragon, or Maokai and his knockback+slow, Xin’s CC requires him to remain in melee range. Be wary of baits (wards and map awareness can help you with this!)

- Xin can perform either as a peeler for your carries in teamfights or as a bruiser who literally just sticks on a single high priority target rendering them unable to do anything else until they get rid of Xin. If you’re not as farmed or fed then it might be in your interest to peel first and not rambo into fights as you do not want to get blown up without a purpose.

-Your R is an extremely versatile ultimate that requires judgment, timing and practice to make the most out of it. Sometimes you will want to hit multiple targets with it at the start of a fight to bolster your defenses and make the most of its current hp % damage. Other times you will want to use it on a single or fewer enemies for the sole purpose of peeling and repositioning late into a fight. It is important you keep in mind the interaction between your passive and your ult (the last target you’ve E’ed or autoattacked will not get knocked away).

Some uses include

1. Challenging a squishy high priority target, and then knocking everyone else around them away in order for your team to collapse on said target.

2. Knocking away bruisers from your carries

3. Knocking squishy targets towards your team

4. Preventing enemy heroes from assisting a target

5. Disengaging a fight

Some tricks to help you maximize this ultimate’s use include

1. Flashing into position so that you do not challenge the target you want to knockback

2. Pressing E onto a target close or beyond the target you want to knockback

 

Closing words

I hope this guide will encourage more players to pick up Xin jungle. Even though Xin isn’t as common as other junglers, I can definitely say that he has the potential to be as strong as said junglers. Another plus is that aside from Xin’s ult, he is mechanically a simple champion to play (right click superstar) who solely requires good decision making and map awareness to be effective.