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Recommended Items
Runes: Hail of Blades
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Spells:
Challenging Smite
Flash
Items
Threats & Synergies
Ivern
By far the most annoying matchup to ever exist. Ivern exists to tilt you off the face of the earth. Xin Zhao cannot kill Ivern because Ivern will just root you and run away. Ivern will almost certainly invade you and there isn't much you can do to stop him. The best way to beat him is to get your team ahead as much as possible because Ivern is very very strong in the mid-late game due to his massive shield and cc.
Welcome to a better league experience, I'm BitBot, a Xin Zhao player since the end of Season 6, and this is my guide to mastering Xin Zhao in iron, bronze, silver and gold. I've spent a lot of time on this guide, and will appreciate any feedback from y'all. Behold my guide to victory with Xin Zhao. This guide is intended to help lower elo players out of the "elo hell" they are in. The overall details are somewhat beginner friendly (considering Xin Zhao is a jungler). If you follow the advice in this guide and how to properly play Xin Zhao, there is no reason you can't escape the elo you are in. Just have a good mental and be confident that you ARE better than iron/bronze/etc.. You WILL rise above the rest. I will be updating this guide every patch to keep the info nice and fresh. At this point the guide is a work in progress. The next few updates will be the extension of my Matchups Chapter, soon to contain 30+ matchups against other junglers. A lot of content is missing and will be added as soon as possible. Good luck on the rift. |
Pros
+ Can Solo Carry Easily + Very Good Engage + Shreds Turrets + One of the Best Duelists + Relatively Tanky while Dealing Damage Xin Zhao is amazing when it comes to duels and is useful at every point in the game. Once you get Enchantment: Warrior and Trinity Force, it is very hard for the enemy to beat you 1v1 and you can shred turrets with ease. Xin Zhao has a very good early gank, which can be used to get your laners ahead early on. Determination allows you to have some of the best jungle sustain in the game. Xin Zhao also has a very fast clear, making him one of the best junglers available. |
Cons
- Hard to Disengage - Useless When Behind - Somewhat Falls Off Late Game - Needs to Get Fed to be Useful - No Star Guardian Skin Once you engage on Xin Zhao, there is no turning back. This means if you engage into a bad fight, gg. There is also the problem that if Xin Zhao is put too far behind, he's just free food for the enemy. Xin Zhao needs to snowball to do well. Luckily his kit is designed to get him to that point, but if he doesn't get there he's not all that useful to the team. Also, Xin Zhao gets worse and worse as the game goes on. You have to end early or else he gets heavily outscaled by most champions. |
This is one of the reason's Xin Zhao is one of the better junglers out there. Determination gives Xin Zhao the sustain he needs to be an efficient jungler. Without it, Xin Zhao would die to jungle creeps much too quickly to be one of the best junglers. Determination is also very effective in duels. It gives you extra sustain in a fight and synergizes very well with Hail of Blades and your Three Talon Strike.
Three Talon Strike (Q): This ability makes Xin Zhao's next 3 basic attacks deal 20/25/30/35/40(+40% bonus AD) additional damage. The third strike send your opponent into the air.
This is your main control ability. Always use this ability right after you use Audacious Charge and Wind Becomes Lightning, as it also reduces the cooldown of your other abilities by 1 second on each auto attack. One of the reasons this ability is perfect for Xin Zhao is it synergizes with his passive Determination and Hail of Blades. Three Talon Strike can also be used as an auto-reset. If you don't know what that is, it's when you auto-attack an enemy then immediately use your Three Talon Strike to skip the next auto attack animation, giving you a second auto in a short amount of time. This can be good in many situations, especially when clearing your jungle camps. Activating Three Talon Strike also procs the spellblade passive on Trinity Force if you bought it, making your first strike deal lots of bonus damage.
Wind Becomes Lightning (W): During this ability, Xin Zhao slashes in an arc in front of him, dealing 30/40/50/60/70(+30% AD) physical damage. He then strikes all enemies in front of him in a line, slowing them by 50% for 1.5 seconds and dealing 30/65/100/135/170(+75% AD) physical damage.
This ability is your main waveclear ability. Wind Becomes Lightning does a ton of AoE damage if you max it first (which you should be). It allows you to take your jungle camps faster. While its vital to help you clear camps, it is all vital to your combat. Wind Becomes Lightning offers a decent amount of burst damage in an engage. If Xin Zhao uses it while dashing with Audacious Charge, it will activate upon reaching the target, saving you a bit of time on your animations and cast time. Another really helpful feature of Wind Becomes Lightning is the slow on the second strike. This can be used to either slow enemies trying to get away from you, or slow enemies trying to chase you and kill you. It is very useful in both situations so don't forget about the slow.
Audacious Charge (E): This is a point-and-click targeted dash at your opponent. This ability does 50/75/100/125/150(+60% AP) Magic Damage to the target and all units around it. Audacious Charge also slows these units by 30% for .5 seconds. In addition to all that, after using this ability, Xin Zhao gains 40/45/50/55/60% bonus attack speed for 5 seconds.
This is your main ability you use to engage fights. Without Audacious Charge, Xin Zhao wouldn't be a jungler. Audacious Charge is almost always going to be your first ability you use in a duel or gank. It lets you reach the enemy so that your other abilities can hit them and do damage. the attack speed also allows you to keep hitting the enemy and keep getting the rage passive on Trinity Force or Black Cleaver. The attack speed also allows you to stack Conqueror faster if you are running it. Another option for Audacious Charge is to hold on to it while ganking. If the enemy is over-extended, you could just walk up to them and start hitting them with your other abilities. If they try to get away, use Audacious Charge to cathc up to them and finish them off. A third option with Audacious Charge is to use it while trying to escape the enemy. If you use it on an enemy minion or a neutral monster, it can be used to put distance between you and your enemy. Audacious Charge is overall very helpful to Xin Zhao and has many uses.
Crescent Guard (R): When activated, Xin Zhao knocks back and stuns all enemies except for the enemy Xin Zhao most recently attacked for .75 seconds. All enemies in range of this ability take 75/175/275(+100% bonus AD)(+15% of the target's current HP) as physical damage. Enemies more than 450 units away from Xin Zhao deal no damage to him. This effect remains for 3 seconds, increasing by .3 seconds every time Xin Zhao hits an enemy with an attack or ability.
This ability is what makes Xin Zhao a true duelist. Crescent Guard can work miracles in teamfights for Xin Zhao. When using Crescent Guard, try to use it before the enemy takes too much damage as it does damage based on their current health. If you're being focused in a teamfight, just pop this ability and all your problems go away. Suddenly the enemy adc doesn't hurt that bad. Crescent Guard is great for making the enemy waste all their abilities. Let the enemy focus you and not your team, allowing for your team to retaliate once the invincibility effect wears off. Another good use of Crescent Guard is if you are being chased by an enemy. If they are dashing onto you, press r. If they are sniping you with abilities from across the map, press r. If you get collapsed on by the entire enemy team, press r and hope you can get away. Crescent Guard is Xin Zhao's only disengage, so be sure not to waste it. A third use of Crescent Guard is controlling the enemy. If you are skilled enough, you can make plays to knock the enemy into your team with Crescent Guard. This is difficult to do, but VERY effective if pulled off correctly. It's like a Lee Sin insec kick, but harder because you can't ward hop behind the enemy.
This is the skill sequence that Xin Zhao will want to run in 90% of games. You grab Audacious Charge first because it gives you the fastest clear speed for your first buff due to its attack speed. Second you will want to grab Three Talon Strike for an early level 2 gank in the nearest lane. Try to get either a Flash or a kill when doing the level 2 gank. Occasionally Xin Zhao will want to grab Wind Becomes Lightning second and Three Talon Strike third. Dp this if the enemy laner is either really hard to gank or already pushed under their turret. Wind Becomes Lightning is maxed first because it greatly increases Xin Zhao's clear speed in the jungle. Audacious Charge is maxed second for the attack speed it grants, adding to Xin Zhao's dueling capabilities. Three Talon Strike is maxed last because leveling it is almost useless. All it does is slightly lower the CD and increase the damage by 5 per rank.
Xin Zhao has a few combos that can help:
Important Note: Don't always use Wind Becomes Lightning while dashing as it decreases your accuracy
However, there is a harder way to do the Xinsec, thought it is much more effective in a 1v1 if done properly. For this Xinsec you use your Audacious Charge on the person you want kicked, use Flash halfway through, right click away from the target, then use Crescent Guard. Here is a video example on some target dummies:
VS
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Hail of Blades allows you to quickly burst down your target with a quick engage combo. It is good against squishy enemies that will die to Xin Zhao's burst damage. However, Hail of Blades isn't good in an extended fight against someone more tanky such as Rammus, Zac, Sejuani, etc.. | Conqueror allows for more prolonged fights. It makes it so that after your full combo, you will do true damage against the target while having increased healing. This is much better against other duelists and tankier targets. This is a very safe rune for Xin Zhao. The cons are that you lose the burst of Hail of Blades. |
This is one of two options for your keystone. Hail of Blades allows for you to quickly blow through your Three Talon Strike. It is good on Xin Zhao because it adds a ton to his burst damage and has perfect synergy with his Three Talon Strike and his passive Determination. |
This is a good rune of Xin Zhao because it procs in his Audacious Charge. When he uses Audacious Charge, Xin Zhao will get a burst of lethality allowing him to deal more damage to his target. |
Next we have Eyeball Collection. This rune is good on Xin Zhao because it allows him to scale better and to better snowball off a lead. Whenever he gets a takedown on an enemy, he gains an eyeball, permanently increasing his AD, with a bonus at 10 eyeballs. |
Relentless Hunter is a good quality of life rune on Xin Zhao. It allows him to move faster when out of combat, allowing him to quicker position himself for ganks. Every enemy has a bounty, and Xin Zhao gets faster with each specific enemy he gets a takedown on. |
Bringing Triumph is an absolute must on Xin Zhao. It allows him to survive after killing his primary target, allowing him to return safely to base. It also gives him 20 extra gold per takedown, which can really add up. |
Another great rune on Xin Zhao. Legend: Alacrity allows for Xin Zhao to get legend stacks which increase his attack speed (a useful stat on Xin Zhao). You get legend stacks by getting takedowns and by killing minions and monsters. |
This is one of two options for your keystone. Conqueror allows for Xin Zhao to better win extended fights. Hitting an enemy with 5 abilities or attacks (your basic combo) does bonus, and after those 5 attacks, you deal extra true damage to the target and receive increased healing. This is good against bruisers/tanks. |
Bringing Triumph is an absolute must on Xin Zhao. It allows him to survive after killing his primary target, allowing him to return safely to base. It also gives him 20 extra gold per takedown, which can really add up. |
Another great rune on Xin Zhao. Legend: Alacrity allows for Xin Zhao to get legend stacks which increase his attack speed (a useful stat on Xin Zhao). You get legend stacks by getting takedowns and by killing minions and monsters. |
This rune is perfect for almost any situation. Coup de Grace allows Xin Zhao to deal 8% extra damage to targets below 40% of their max health. This is really good for finishing off low health targets. |
This is a good rune of Xin Zhao because it procs in his Audacious Charge. When he uses Audacious Charge, Xin Zhao will get a burst of lethality allowing him to deal more damage to his target. |
Relentless Hunter is a good quality of life rune on Xin Zhao. It allows him to move faster when out of combat, allowing him to quicker position himself for ganks. Every enemy has a bounty, and Xin Zhao gets faster with each specific enemy he gets a takedown on. |
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Hunter's Machete This item is simply the only viable starting item for Xin Zhao. It gives him sustain and bonus on-hit damage to monsters. Hunter's Talisman simply isn't that good on Xin Zhao. |
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Skirmisher's Sabre - Warrior This is the best enchantment for the Skirmisher's Sabre on Xin Zhao. It gives Xin Zhao the damage he needs to duel a target. Maybe someday Enchantment: Bloodrazor will rise again. |
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Trinity Force Without a doubt the best item possible on Xin Zhao. Trinity Force offers CDR, health, attack speed, damage, and mana. Its passives allow Xin Zhao to do extra damage after casting his engage. The rage passive allows him to stick to his target. This is one of the best items in the game for Xin Zhao. |
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Mercury's Treads These boots are good for some extra magic resist. Buy these boots if the enemy is either mostly AP or if they have a lot of CC. |
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Ninja Tabi These are generally your go-to boots. They allow Xin Zhao to better duel against most champions. |
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The Black Cleaver This item works miracles if Xin Zhao falls behind too much. It gives you every stat you need if behind. Lots of health, AD, CDR, and two passives that allow you to stick to and shred enemies. The reason this is not Xin Zhao's main core item is becuase it lacks the attack speed of a Trinity Force. |
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Sterak's Gage A very good buy on Xin Zhao. try to build either this or a Titanic Hydra at some point in most of your games. Sterak's Gage is very good for survivability, and it gives a decent amount of AD. |
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Guardian Angel Another really good buy on Xin Zhao, especially if you are fed. If you are fed, buy this to prevent the enemy from killing you and taking your shutdown gold. Guardian Angel also gives a good amount of armor and AD. |
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Titanic Hydra This is a possible alternate to Sterak's Gage. If you need a strong pusher on your team, or you want to deal more burst damage, this is a viable item for Xin Zhao to get. It gives roughly the same stats as a Sterak's Gage. However instead of a shield for a passive, you deal more damage per AA in a cone. |
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Randuin's Omen Bring this if the enemy has a few crit base champs like Caitlyn or Yasuo or Jhin. It is also useful as it slows down the enemy once you get to them, and it provides a decent amount of health and armor. |
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Dead Man's Plate This is the best armor item for Xin Zhao. It gives you health and armor, along with an amazing passive. You get movement speed stacks while out of combat. When you next hit an enemy, it consumes the stacks and slows the enemy by 50% for 1 second if at max stacks, and deals 1 damage per stack consumed. |
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Thornmail This is another option for armor on Xin Zhao. Buy it if the enemy has either mostly AD champions or if they have someone with a ton of lifesteal, as Thornmail reduces healing of anyone who attacks you. |
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Adaptive Helm This item is a good MR buy against enemies with damage over time abilities or spammable abilities. Adaptive Helm is a good counter to champs like Teemo, Karthus, Cassiopeia, etc.. |
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Spirit Visage This is a very good magic resist buy for Xin Zhao. It gives a ton of health and MR, along with some CDR, and it increases all healing on yourself by 30%. This makes your passive Determination quite effective. |
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Mercurial Scimitar This is a very situational buy on Xin Zhao, but when the time is right, PLEASE BUY THIS ITEM!!! It is the best counterplay possible to powerful CC abilities and disables. It gives a good amount of AD and lifesteal and can clear all disables. Buy this into champions like Malzahar, Mordekaiser, Morgana, etc.. |
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Wit's End This is a really good MR item on Xin Zhao, as every single stat is useful to him. It gives a ton of attack speed, MR, and some movement speed. The passive gives you on-hit magic damage, and when you get low on HP, it gives you a ton of lifesteal. Pair this with a Spirit Visage and you become very hard to kill. |
Objectives are a big part of doing well. If you don't know how to properly take objectives and when, then you are going to stay in iron/bronze. This chapter is all about how and when to take objectives as Xin Zhao. When taking objectives, you have to be aware of what else is going on in the game. Another skill that you must have is objective priority. Without these skills it is impossible to rank up. |
The Dragons are most likely the most important objective you will be interacting with in the early game. Most low elo players underestimate the power of the Dragon. Dragons when slain grant your entire team a dragon slayer buff. The type of buff depends on which Dragon was slain. for example, if it was an Ocean Drake, your team gets the Dragon Slayer: Heart of Oceans buff. This buff gives your team lots of health and mana regeneration when out of combat. There are 3 other elemental Dragons and the Elder Dragon. The Mountain Drake gives you bonus true damage against objectives, the Infernal Drake gives you more damage overall, and the Cloud Drake gives you extra movement speed. However, the Elder Dragon is one of the highest priority objectives in the game. It gives Aspect of the Dragon which makes your team's attacks burn the enemy to do a ton of damage over time. |
These guys are the most important objectives in the game. The Rift Herald spawns in the baron pit at 10:00-19:45 minutes. After this point, Rift Herald dies and Baron Nashor spawns in its place. When Rift Herald is slain, it drops the Eye of the Herald. This can be used to summon rift herald to walk around and smash turrets in a lane. Baron Nashor when slain grants your team the Hand of Baron. This gives your team a faster recall and, more importantly, it empowers all allied minions near someone who has the Hand of Baron. This is extremely good for taking the enemy base. |
Turrets are the main objective in League. Destroy the turrets, destroy the inhibitors, destroy the nexus. That's League of Legends on paper. When taking turrets, it is important to always know where the enemy is. It would be bad to be taking an enemy turret just to be attacked by the enemy Hecarim, giving the enemy a kill. Always make sure you aren't in any danger before committing to a turret. Also, as Xin Zhao, try to take any turrets with your laners, as it will make the job a lot easier. Turrets are more important than the basic elemental dragons, but everything else usually takes priority. |
Early game is the time for Xin Zhao to set up the entire game. Your objective in the early game is to get as fed as possible as fast as possible so that you can snowball into the mid-game. Without a snowball, Xin Zhao becomes rather useless on his own. This is why the early game is so important. Objectives in the early game are fairly easy to prioritize. Turrets are generally the most important objective for Xin Zhao to take because of the early game turret plating. The plating when destroyed gives a lot of gold to further help you and your laner. If no turrets are available to being taken, try to sneak a Dragon. The more dragons you get, the better off your mid-late game will be. Early game is the period of 0:00 to 15:00 minutes. Try not to gank too much in the early game. If you do, you may fall behind in levels and farm, making it really hard for you to snowball. |
Mid game is where Xin Zhao thrives. If you played your early game correctly, you should be a monster when it comes to teamfights and duels. Mid game is when you will want to start trying to set up teamfights. If you can, try to force a fight at the baron pit as soon as you finish your Trinity Force and take the Rift Herald. Check the teamfights chapter for more info on what to do in a teamfight. If you win a teamfight, always try to take baron if possible. If not, try to quickly destroy a few turrets. The enemy shouldn't be able to fight you making splitpushing another viable option. You take turrets relatively fast as Xin Zhao, making this work quite well if you know what you are doing. Always make sure you know here the enemy is before splitpushing. It would be bad to find yourself in a 1v3 situation while under the enemy turret. The time period of mid game is generally 15:00-30:00 minutes. |
This is where playing Xin Zhao becomes tough. You lose most of your solocarry potential in the late game, making it a tossup to whichever teamcomp is better. This is a very risky way to end the game, and is not favorable. Always try to end before late game, but sometimes it does happen. If your teamcomp is better than the enemy teamcomp, try to group up and force fights mid lane or at baron. This should slowly win you the game. If your teamcomp is worse than the enemy teamcomp, don't let the enemy group. Try to go wherever the enemy isn't. If you can have 2 people top and 2 people bot, it will force the enemy to make a decision of either splitting or force pushing mid lane. Another big rule of late game is that if the enemy team is taking Baron Nashor, have your team take the Elder Dragon and vice versa. This will prevent your team from falling too far behind. |
This is your ideal jungle path for clearing camps. Start at Red Brambleback then head over to Ancient Krug. After clearing the Krugs, go for Crimson Raptor. At this point, consider looking for a gank in the two closest lanes if possible. Next, go for Blue Sentinel. After that, try to go for the nearest Rift Scuttler. If available, go for it. If not, either look for another gank or clear Gromp. Lastly, clear Greater Murk Wolf. This is the standard pathing for Xin Zhao. However, this path is almost never the same and you must adapt to any situations and continue from there. For example, if you know the enemy Gragas is starting at your blue, consider either starting on their blue or invading and taking it as fast as possible. This would make up for the loss of your blue buff. Another example is if the enemy Warwick ganks your bot lane level 2, you might want to consider counterganking as without his e he is quite squishy and easy to kill (warwick usually gets e third). |
Invading is an alternative option in pathing for Xin Zhao. This is a good idea if the enemy jungler starts at Red Brambleback and you know you can beat them 1v1. For this route start at your Red Brambleback then go immediately to your Crimson Raptor, ignoring the krugs. After that, go over to the enemy Blue Sentinel and take it. At this point it is too late for the enemy laners to retaliate. After Blue Sentinel, take Gromp. At this point you should cinsider ganking bot or top (whichever is closer). If possible, gank the lane and get them ahead. Return to your Ancient Krug and then continue jungling as normal. If you encounter the enemy jungler (usually around their Gromp), you should be able to 1v1 them with ease (if not, why are you invading :P). Don't invade if you cannot beat the enemy jungler 1v1.
Orange Blur = Good Place to Ward Control Ward = Good Place to Put Control Ward This is a map of good places to ward as the jungler. A key part of playing as a jungler is vision. It is your job to ward around the map in the key areas observed on the map. A good way to measure your vision is the vision score. You should have the second highest vision score on your team as the jungler, second only to the support. Make sure to buy control wards whenever you can when you back. They are very powerful as they deny enemy vision and provide your team with vision at the same time (this is also a good way to get an S). The reason you want to ward is because it allows you to see where the enemy is going. Position is everything. If you know where the enemy jungler is, the chances of them getting a successful gank are lowered significantly. As the jungler, you have easy access to most of the map, making it necessary that you ward as often as you can. |
In teamfights, Xin Zhao's job is to be in the front lines of battle. Your objective: engage the fight and eliminate the enemy carry. Always be sure to use your Audacious Charge to engage teamfights. When in a teamfight, try to focus the enemy squishies/enemy carries. You should be able to kill them rather quickly without dying thanks to your damage and tankiness. |
There are different things you should be doing in a teamfight depending on the needs of your team. While taking out the enemy carry is your primary objective, your secondary objective may vary.
If your team is lacking a tank or another bruiser like Xin Zhao, try to stay in the fight to soak up damage as long as possible. If the enemy team has a fed assassin, do everything in your power to kill them before they get to your backline. If you fall behind on Xin Zhao, teamfights become a bit trickier. You won't be dealing as much damage nor tanking as much as would be ideal, but that's better than feeding. If you are able to, kill the enemy carry and get out. If not, either peel for your adc or attempt to duel the enemy bruiser/tank. You should still be able to outright 1v1 anyone unless you are really behind. try to use Crescent Guard to force this 1v1 situation. As Xin Zhao, you will always prefer 1v1s to teamfights. A good way to avoid falling behind is making picks against the enemy. Try to catch someone who is out of place and punish them for making that mistake.
Rengar
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Sejuani
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Shaco
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Shyvana
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Skarner
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Taliyah
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Udyr
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Vi
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Volibear
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Warwick
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Xin Zhao
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Zac
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Difficulty: 2/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Strong Amumu is a fairly easy matchup. You should be able to 1v1 Amumu with ease until late game. However, Amumu is much better in a teamfight that Xin Zhao. An easy way to beat Amumu is to invade his jungle if possible and take his camps. There shouldn't be much he can do about it since he can't 1v1 Xin Zhao. Amumu's level 6 may allow him to win fights against you for a short period of time. |
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Difficulty: 7/10 Invades: Win Teamfights: Normal Elise is a rather difficult matchup, with difficulty varying depending on the skill of the Elise. If it is a good Elise player, there is not much you can do to fight her. She has a really good early game rivaling yours. Elise also can do early ganks to the same effectiveness as Xin Zhao. Try not to fight Elise in a 1v1 early in the game. Try not to let Elise get an early lead or else you will most likely lose. |
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Difficulty: 1/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Normal This is an extremely easy matchup. Evelynn is extremely reliant on her level 6 power spike to be useful, so be sure to abuse this. Invade Evelynn's jungle and take her camps. Do everything in your power to put Evelynn behind. Xin Zhao beats Evelynn in a 1v1 at any point in the game except for well into the late game. Xin Zhao has much more early game pressure that Evelynn. Gank whenever possible. |
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Difficulty: 7/10 Invades: Win Teamfights: Very Strong Gragas is quite a difficult matchup, although difficulty depends on how good the Gragas is. If it is a good Gragas player, difficulty can go up to 9/10, but this is low elo so it's only a 7/10. Gragas will beat you in most 1v1s, making it so you have to avoid him. His ganks are very good early game. He is extremely good in teamfights making it crucial that he doesn't get ahead, as otherwise there is no stopping him. |
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Difficulty: 3/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Normal Graves is easy enough to beat in a 1v1 early. His reload time during the early game is pretty slow, making it so that you out damage him. Graves also has no reliable disengage, meaning once you get on him, there isn't much Graves can do. Don't invade in this matchup, but if you see him, you can probably kill him. Like most champions, he will outscale you, so be sure to make effective use of the early game. |
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Difficulty: 5/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Very Strong Hecarim is an interesting matchup. He shouldn't be able to beat Xin Zhao in a 1v1. However, he is an extremely good early ganker, making him a pain for your team. His teamfight potential is very strong if he brings Conqueror, and it's pretty hard for Xin Zhao to kill him due to Hecarim's extreme mobility. A good way to beat him is to avoid fighting him if possible, and to gank a ton. Counterganking is also very effective. |
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Difficulty: 9/10 Invade: Win Teamfights: Very Strong By far the most annoying matchup to ever exist. Ivern exists to tilt you off the face of the earth. Xin Zhao cannot kill Ivern because Ivern will just root you and run away. Ivern will almost certainly invade you and there isn't much you can do to stop him. The best way to beat him is to get your team ahead as much as possible because Ivern is very very strong in the mid-late game due to his massive shield and cc. |
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Difficulty: 3/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Strong Jarvan IV is pretty easy to beat 1v1 as long as he doesn't get too far ahead. In this matchup, invading is generally the right move if possible. When ganking, be careful as Jarvan IV has great countergank potential. Don't fall behind or else he will destroy you in teamfights. Make sure you don't try to 2v2 or do any other skirmishes against him while he has Cataclysm or it is likely that you will lose the fight. |
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Difficulty: 10/10 Invade: Win Teamfights: Strong Definately your hardest matchup, rivaling that of Olaf. Jax is extremely good in duels and can 1v1 you with ease. Your best hope in this matchup is to not fight him at all costs, as he WILL beat you no matter what you do. He is quite strong in teamfights so don't let him get too fed. Focus on getting your team ahead as possible. I personally dodge whenever I go against a Jax or Olaf. |
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Difficulty: 3/10 Invades: Even Teamfights: Normal Karthus is easy enough if you know what you're doing. Don't invade him as it is pretty much a skill matchup for Xin Zhao. Karthus may invade you. If he does, have one of your laners help kill him unless you have more health than him. His teamfights are decently strong, but not OP. Try to snowball as best as possible and you should be able to melt him. Don't let him get ahead or suffer the consequences. |
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Difficulty: 5/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Strong Kayn is a roughly even matchup, it really depends who gets more fed. If Kayn can get his transformation early, then you might have a problem. However, Xin Zhao can beat him 1v1 before his transformation with ease. Try invading and killing him when possible to get yourself ahead. Be sure not to take too much damage as it will fill The Darkin Scythe. Your ability to fight him after transformation depends how fed you are. |
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Difficulty: 3/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Strong DO NOT FEED HIM. Kha'Zix is feast or famine, meaning if you punish his early game and set him behind, he will be useless the rest of the game. Invading is a very good way to ruin Kha'Zix's game. He is quite easy to 1v1 in the early game so abuse him. Once Kha'Zix hits level 6, try not to fight him if he evolved Taste Their Fear. This will allow him to 1v1 you unless you are very fed. |
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Difficulty: 3/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Strong Kindred is not the hardest matchup ever, but can be difficult if played incorrectly. Kindred is a hypercarry and will shred you if she gets fed. To counter this, invade her at early levels as you should be able to 1v1 with Hail of Blades. You can somewhat track where Kindred will be by her marks. Try to set up a kill on her using these marks. Put her behind as much as possible, Kindred is weak when not fed. |
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Difficulty: 2/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Normal Lee Sin is a very easy matchup. Xin Zhao can 1v1 him very easily, usually even if he gets a little ahead. If you can manage to get ahead, you should be in good shape to win the game. When fighting Lee Sin remember that he can dash a ton. If the Lee Sin player is good, they can use an insec to catch you off guard. Once he wastes his dashes is a good time to engage. Use Xinsec after he uses Insec for style points (jk lul). |
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Difficulty: 5/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Very Strong Master Yi is extremely feast or famine. If he gets ahead, surrender. If he is behind, free food. It is always one way or the other. Try to get ahead of him by invading him. He is much weaker than you until he gets his Guinsoo's Rageblade. Be careful, as even if he is behind, he will eventually catch back up. He is very OP even with only 3 items and boots. A helpful trick is using your Three Talon Strike to cancel his Meditate. |
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Difficulty: 1/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Weak Nidalee is a very very easy matchup. There is no reason you should lose this, even if Nidalee snowballs. you will always be able to 1v1 her in almost any situation. her teamfights aren't that good, making her impact on the game nothing compared to yours. invade her jungle and punish her for playing this matchup. Be careful when she buys a Zhonya's Hourglass, as this may get you killed if you're not careful. |
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Difficulty: 10/10 Invade: Win Teamfights: Normal Only just barely easier than Jax/ Olaf. Nocturne is an assassin and a duelist, and will beat you 1v1. His ganks are very very powerful, and Nocturne will easily carry if he snowballs. His ult is a death sentence to squishy targets. A good way to beat him is to tell your team to play safer and power farm. You SHOULD be fine if you snowball and he doesn't, as Xin Zhao's snowball is very powerful. |
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Difficulty: 5/10 Invades: Even Teamfights: Very Strong Going against Nunu & Willump is basically a race to see who can get their team more ahead faster. 1v1s are slightly in Nunu's favor, but only barely. You can win this matchup by ganking more than Nunu & Willump and have your team kill him for you. Nunu's teamfight capabilities are very strong, so don't let him get too fed. Mid-game, he shouldn't be able to kill you 1v1 unless his team is helping him. |
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Difficulty: 10/10 Invade: Win Teamfights: Strong Near impossible matchup for Xin Zhao, rivaling that of Jax. Olaf is extremely good in duels and can 1v1 you with ease. His ult Ragnarok allows him to run you down, and there is nothing you can do about it. Your best hope is to stay away from him at all costs. Just don't feed him. Get your team ahead and hope Olaf doesn't invade. I personally dodge whenever I go against Olaf or Jax. |
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Difficulty: 8/10 Invade: Lose Teamfights: Strong A very interesting matchup. If your team is full AD, then good luck cause you probably lost. If not, then you should be fine. Focus on invading Rammus early. you can beat him 1v1 before he gets armor, so abuse this. Get your laners ahead as possible, as you won't be able to fight Rammus yourself later in the game. Counterganks against Rammus are very effective after he wastes his Frenzying Taunt. |
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Difficulty: 3/10 Invades: Lose Teamfights: Normal Rek'Sai is a fairly easy matchup. You can beat her 1v1. However, she is a very strong jungler and will majorly screw up your laners if not kept in check. She has a good balance of sustain and damage, and is quite mobile in her own way. Her tunnels make it easy for her to invade your jungle and get otu without you ever seeing her. However, Rek'Sai is one of the only junglers you can outscale. |
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Xin Zhao is one of the better junglers out there. Try not to follow this guide 100%, adapt to the situation. If you have any thoughts on how I could improve my guide, don't hesitate to leave a comment. Upvote this guide if you liked it. If not, you may leave a downvote, but please explain your choice and what I am doing wrong. I will be adding more to this guide as time goes on. Have fun dominating the rift with Xin Zhao! |
July 6th, 2019 - Added Information and Fixed Typos
July 7th, 2019 - Started Matchups Chapter
July 8th, 2019 - Added Headers, Added 4 New Matchups (Total 6)
July 9th, 2019 - Minor Changes Along With The Removal of Press the Attack and the addition of Conqueror
July 10th, 2019 - Added Explanation for Skill Sequence; Greatly Expanded Abilities Chapter; Re-Designed Jungling Chapter; Added Objectives and Gameplay Chapter; Added 4 New Matchups (Total 10)
July 12th, 2019 - Added 5 New Matchups (Total 15)
July 18th, 2019 - Updated Info for 9.14
July 31st, 2019 - Updated Info for 9.15, Added 6 New Matchups (Total 21)
August 16th, 2019 - Updated Info for 9.16
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