I play LoL... a lot. Though hardly as much as some other people. One of my main hero's is Shaco (because who doesn't like a deadly clown assassin?) and I have been told I'm good with him so I'm going to write this guide to (hopefully) help you get good with him as well.
My Items:
- Start Every game with a Cloth Armor and 5 Health Pots. Shaco is relatively squishy and this helps solve that. This build also sets you up great for farming minions and jungeling as Madred's Razors is only a small way away.
- Once you get enough gold you want to finish your Madred's Razor and start working on your boots. You are going to want a lot of attack speed for this build to work so you will be building Berserker's Greaves.
- After you have your boots start working on your Phantom Dancer. You will want to start out by building Zeal first before buying the other two items for it.
- Next build an Executioners Calling. This gives Life Steal and increased Crit Chance (this is even better when you get an Infinity Edge)
- After you have your first Phantom Dancer and Executioners Calling what you build is up to you. Their are three things I would recommend: Infinity Edge (For crazy crits), Madred's Bloodrazor (If your playing against tanks) or another Phantom Dancer.
- Infinity Edge:
- Pros: Increases Crit Damage
- Cons: Expensive
- Madreds Bloodrazor:
- Pros: Great for Damage, Good vs Tanks
- Cons: Items cost a lot to get
- Phantom Dancer:
- Pros: Move faster still, Increases Attack Speed and Crit Chance
- Cons: Attacking a ton is no good vs a tank usually.
Runes:
For runes I build AD, Armor and Cooldown Reduction with Attack Damage Quints. I prefer to take the strait bonus rather than the scaling one because my strategy involves getting ahead fast. That's about all you should need to know in order to get it right. If not, here is a pic:
And that about sums up my runes.
Summoner Spells:
I take ignite and flash. Ignite is great and can be used to add extra damage and reduce healing on tough opponents. Flash is a second deceive that allows you to cover most of Twisted Treeling in a matter of seconds.
Play Style:
Shaco is a great hero for 3v3. Thus I primarily play on Twisted Treeline to better out manuever my opponents. This advice is mainly for those that play 3v3 though some of it can be carried over to 5v5's on Summoners Rift.
Should you take top? Yes and no. If your team lacks a carry than yes you should. However if you are playing with skilled players and have a Trynd or other carry let them take top.
If you do take top then do some dancing around hitting whoever your against with an occasional poison dagger. Once you reach level 2 and if the enemy is not a tank you should be able to deceive behind them (make sure your behind to benefit from Shaco's passive) and attack. They should start running away almost immediately. Keep hitting them without throwing your dagger. Finally when it seems they might get away throw your dagger to finish them off. Always cast ignite immediately after you start attacking them from behind (not before because it breaks stealth) to maximize the damage they take and reduce effects of potions the enemy should have. Also remember during this first kill that you have a second deceive (flash) hidden up your sleeve. If the opponent dodges out of reach or spins away then flash up to them and finish them off.
After the first kill you should do fine. Whoever your against will leave you alone since they will be lower level than you and you will now own the battle.
Map Awareness goes hand in hand with a 3v3 Shaco. If you play Shaco you need to know where everyone else is. If your allies get ganked you have the resources to get to them in five seconds and eliminate the entire enemy team. You need to be able to take advantage of that. Shaco is capable of deceiving over walls in the Twisted Treeline and, since the bottom lane is easily ambushed, Shaco has the resources to leave the top lane and kill an enemy that has pushed to far (anywhere beyond midway) before the top lane can call MIA. You need to learn how to employee this skill and use it too your advantage.
Shaco also has a powerful ultimate that can make him easily take out towers. Use your clone to tank the damage from a tower as you bash it to pieces. You may need to do this a few times per tower but in the end a dead tower is a dead tower. Remember: you can control Shaco's clone with the Alt key. Rather than run away with a clone following use the clone to harass or misdirect the enemy. A clone bomb can do significant damage and if two Shaco's run in two different directions they are almost impossible to kill.
Shaco is also capable of soloing the dragon by level 9 and the Lizard by level 6. Once you reach level 9 wait for your ult. Jump to the dragon and hit him while deceived. Cast your Jack in the Box and clone and destroy the dragon. When done right you take no more than 200 dmg (although you lose your clone). Start taking the dragon at every possible instant you can. This gives your team a huge boost over the enemy.
When it comes to the end game remember that Shaco is a powerful dodger. I have won multiple games where I have run circles around the enemies Nexus at 100 health or less while casually dropping hits on it as well. When you play enemies that must use skill shots to kill you (Lux is a good example) than you will want to use all your resources to stay alive as long as possible. As soon as you enter a patch of brush drop a Jack in the Box. When someones following you Deceive over a wall or back the way you came. Use your daggers to slow an enemy for a short time while you make your getaway (this is particularly effective vs melee hero's) or your clone to confuse them. Shaco is the #1 getaway champion in League of Legends and you don't want to die more than you have too.
I hope this helps all of you noobs (or not so noobs) that want to play Shaco. He's a fun hero... trust me.
If you don't play League of Legends make sure to join the fun here.
