Hello guys, I'm back with an updated Season Three guide on Jungle Shaco! I have been playing for about a year, but school is priority over LoL. Because of this, I do not have much experience in this game besides with Shaco and a few other junglers. You could call me a one trick pony. However, I implore you; Do not judge me by my in game account! Please judge me by the quality of the guide.

Before I start, I would say that the title is a little misleading. Shaco dominates in Solo Queue, but not without a competent team. He needs a team to baby him through his jungle until he can become a ganking machine. However, against an unorganized team, he will wreak havoc.

Shaco is a niche jungler. His initial clear is amazing due to Jack in the Box and his ganks are beyond godlike. He adds a sense of paranoia to the game, somewhat similar to many stealth champs.

I hope you guys will enjoy this guide as much as I enjoyed making it! Please keep in mind that this guide is not all you need to succeed. Try new builds in games, experiment. Experience is worth a thousand guides!

I worked very hard on this guide, probably at least 30+ hours so far. Please leave comments on what you want me to add to it. Enjoy!


PS; I will constantly be updating this guide to be fresh and new.





Shaco's Lore: Most would say that death isn't funny. It isn't, unless you're Shaco - then it's hysterical. He is Valoran's first fully functioning homicidal comic; he jests until someone dies, and then he laughs. The figure that has come to be known as the Demon Jester is an enigma. No one fully agrees from whence he came, and Shaco never offers any details on his own. A popular belief is that Shaco is not of Runeterra - that he is a thing summoned from a dark and twisted world. Still others believe that he is the demonic manifestation of humanity's dark urges and therefore cannot be reasoned with. The most plausible belief is that Shaco is an assassin for hire, left to his own lunatic devices until his services are needed. Shaco certainly has proven himself to be a cunning individual, evading authorities at every turn who might seek him for questioning for some horrendous, law-breaking atrocity. While such scuttlebutt might reassure the native inhabitants of Valoran, it seems unimaginable that such a malfeasant figure is allowed to remain at large.

Whatever the truth of his history might be, Shaco has joined the League of Legends for reasons only he knows. He is a terrifying figure, typically shunned by both his fellow champions and the media at large. Only the summoners in the Institute of War know why such a creature was allowed into the League, but most Runeterrans suspect it to be a means that allows the power that be to keep an eye on the ever-elusive Shaco. Unsurprisingly, this champion is popular in places where madness can openly reign, such as among the power-hungry summoners of Zaun and Noxus.

Whatever you do, don't tell him you missed the punch line.

Pros/Cons of Shaco
Pros:

• Scary Ganker
• Fast initial jungle clears
• Tons of utility
• Very fun and enjoyable, for you, of course.
• Easy escape mechanisms
• Pubstomper
• Allows your team to push freely because of the fear factor
• Snowballs easily
• Good objective control
• Great mobility

Cons:

• Squishy
• Slow jungler after initial clear
• Vulnerable to being screwed for the remainder of the game if the enemy invades
• One of, if not the most difficult champions in the game to played effectively
• Easily counterable
• Horrendous teamfighting capabilities and late game
• High Risk-High Reward

Well, to start off, Shaco's strongest attribute is his ganking prowess. Playing a lane oriented Shaco will not allow you to take full advantage of this. Playing in the jungle will.

Jungle Shaco Attributes

• Shaco has no methods of natural sustain. He can only reduce the damage taken with his tanking creep hits and his applying their minion-dodge chance.
• Even without sustain, Shaco is able to clear camps exceptionally fast. This allows him to stay on par with levels and gank as often as possible with little-to-none detrimental effects.

Lane Shaco Attributes

• His acts as a free ward and mini-CC. This can contribute to winning a lane by increasing your zoning power. can also stop ganks in their tracks.
• has a good AP ratio and can be used to harass and last hit.

Despite the strong qualities of Lane Shaco, he loses his biggest strength, the element of surprise. And that is why we always play Jungle Shaco.

I usually take this set of masteries on most cases. The reason why I don't go into the utility tree is because in the early game, Shaco needs as much defense as possible. Since the jungle is now stronger in S3, it's imperative that you take defense for a safe jungle.

• In Offense, I like to take everything on the left side, mainly:
• Summoner's Wrath for the stronger Exhaust
• Weapons Expertise for more armor pen
• Sunder for early game armor pen on both "gankees" and jungle mobs
• Frenzy, the new one, I really like because since you have a guaranteed critical strike after , it'll help even more in a gank!

In Defense, I don't really like any of the new masteries, but I strive for:

• Summoner's resolve, mainly for the smite money boost.
• Hardiness for early game defenses.
• Veteran's scars since I'm not running health quints. It is also the difference between life or death when ignited.

Other masteries could include a 9/12/9 setup, where defense is prioritized and offense and utiliy are balanced. I take these masteries only when I'm really unsure how the opponent is going to play.
In Offense, I try to get Weapons Expertise for some late game scaling, as well as some early game potential with the other lower-tier masteries.
In Defense, I get the turret damage reduction for those low-level turret dives, or if you have to gank past a tower.
In Utility, I get Runic Affinity to help me hold on to my buffs longer.
Anything under these three are really up to your choice.

Marks:

• I take the 9 Attack Speed Reds for a total of a 15% attack speed bonus.

Other Good Choices (You'll see me using these instead of AS Marks from time to time):

• Armor Penetration Marks

If you are not going to get many attacks off during a gank, then Armor Penetration Marks are useless.

• Attack Damage Marks

It was brought to my attention that there are not many skills that can decrease AD on a champion. However, there are many skills that can decrease AS. (Good examples include: 's Wither, 's Crippling Strike, and 's Essence Flux.) AS Marks make for more attacks while AD Marks make for stronger attacks.

Seals:

• These are usually a no-brainer, armor seals are always good for reducing the damage taken in jungle.

Glyphs:

• I take MR per level(Magic Resist) Blues because early game, you won't be needing MR in the jungle. This helps you scale into late game with little Magic Resist Items.

Other Choices:

• Cooldown glyphs so that you can set up more boxes.
• AS glyphs if you want even more attack speed.

Quintessences:

• As explained before, I take 3 Armor Penetration Quints for maximum damage potential. 7.5 Armor penetration is good enough to do near-true damage to most jungle creeps. (Arpen Quints were recently nerfed)

YOU WILL NEVER JUNGLE WITHOUT SMITE. Shaco can easily clear without it, but you will be useless when it comes to Baron/Dragon time! The enemy jungler will just flash over the wall and take the dragon/baron as your team types into all chat: "I tried to tell our JUNGLER to take smite. Smh n00bl0rdz0rz."

Exhaust is the best summoner spell you can take on a jungle Shaco aside from smite. It allows him to 1v1 like a bau5. The damage reduction from exhaust allows Shaco to take down even the most fed of carries 1v1.

Other viable Summoner spells would include:

: If you're a n00bie, this could be useful as you may not know how and when to enter a battle and get out safely with/without deceive. If you are more seasoned, I wouldn't take this, due to your built in flash already.

: Same as above, great for chasing and escaping, somewhat negated by Youmuu's Ghostblade, if you choose to get it. It synergizes well with your , because it will allow you to apply a permaslow, no matter how fast the enemy is. You will constantly be behind the enemy slowing them with each attack.

: If you're in a tough game against heavy CC (Crowd Control) teams, this may just help. QSS could replace it, though.

: Absolutely wonderful for splitpushing, although I don't take it often. And, if you have Baron/Dragon warded, all you have to do is teleport in and steal it. Very good spell.

: It's on par with for usefulness, but I prefer due to it's late game scaling. Slow/Damage Reduction is great, but early game, Ignite can finish off enemies that you wouldn't have killed in the first place. You should have Red buff most of the time, so the DoT from is somewhat useless. If you are against a , ,,, or , it is far more useful to take Ignite. Both are situational, but I feel is slightly more useful.

Anything else is not too useful on a Jungle Shaco, as you are already down one summoner spell, because of .

Shaco deals 20% bonus damage when striking a unit from behind.



Works well with Decieve and Two-Shiv Poison. Make sure that when you gank, you position yourself behind them. Also during jungle clears, run behind the jungle creeps and attack them to take full advantage of your passive.



Shaco instantly stealths for 3.5 seconds, and teleports to target nearby location. If he attacks while stealthed, the attack is guaranteed to crit for 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120% bonus damage.

Cooldown 10seconds
Cost 90 / 80 / 70 / 60 / 50mana
Range 25000



This and Jack in the Box makes Shaco Shaco. Keep in mind this is not a true 200% critical strike.
The damage increase and mana cost decrease per level is not very noticeable, though. You can use it on walls that are bigger than your range. Remember this rule of thumb: If the Deceive range can get halfway across the wall, you will be able to jump the whole thing.


Shaco creates a Jack in the Box at the target location. It will Stealth after 2 seconds, and pop out when an enemy comes near, fearing nearby enemies for 0.5 / 0.75 / 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 seconds and attacking them.

It deals 35 / 55 / 75 / 95 / 115 (+20% of ability power) damage, and lasts 60 seconds while stealthed or 5 seconds while firing. Casting Jack In The Box does break stealth.

Cooldown 16seconds
Cost 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70mana
Range 500



Shaco's jungle toolkit. It is very useful for the AOE fear and this can disrupt an entire team in a teamfight if left unnoticed. It is very vulnerable to random AOE late game, though. You should put two ranks into it early on to get increased jungling speed and fear duration. You throw these over walls to scout bushes before entering.



Passive: While Two-Shiv Poison is ready to cast: Shaco's attacks poison his target, reducing their movement speed and chance to hit by 20/22.5/25/27.5/30% for 2 seconds.

Active: (100% BONUS ATTACK DAMAGE) + 40/80/120/160/200 (+100% of ability power) Damage to target enemy, and poisons them for 3 seconds.

Cooldown 8seconds
Cost 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70mana
Range 625



Shaco's ranged nuke. Keep in mind that this skill passively slows and enables you to have a passive dodge chance against minions. Therefore, do NOT under any circumstances use it at the beginning of a gank. You want to slow them and then when they flash, throw a shiv to finish them off or slow them again so that you can catch up. When jungling, do not throw the shiv right away. Keep it off cooldown so that you can take full advantage of the passive dodge chance. Keep in mind the dodge chance only applies to minions, not champions.



Shaco creates an illusion of himself nearby, which deals 75% of Shaco's damage and receives 150% increased damage. (Deals half damage to turrets.) On death, the illusion deals 300 / 450 / 600 (+100% of ability power) magic damage to nearby enemies.

Lasts up to 18 seconds.

Cooldown 105 / 90 / 75seconds
Cost 100mana
Leash Range 1125 (estimate)



Simple, you can use Alt+right click to send your clone in for a kamikaze mission or to trick the enemy. When you cast this spell, Shaco disappears from the map for about half a second, allowing you to dodge projectiles, such as Karthus Ult, Ashe Arrow, Caitlyn Ult, or anything at all. You can use this to take down towers and enemies much quicker and it DOES in fact, apply on-hit items (Making Blade of the Ruined King, on hit effects, and aura items extremely effective)


Skill Leveling Priorities

1.
2.
3.
4.

Explanation:
This is first priority because it gives us a stronger explosion on death. This always helps in teamfight to add aome AoE damage.

This is second priority because it is Shaco's only ranged nuke. The slow increases with level and so does the damage. Therefore, in early ganks, this is extremely useful.

• A few patches ago, the ratio on Shaco's was changed from (.5 total AD) to (1.0 BONUS AD) making his a lot weaker early game and stronger late game by encouraging the building of AD items. However, a ridiculous amount of AD must be built to just match the old ratio. I do not recommend you build a glass cannon Shaco just for the benefit.

is third priority because it gives strong DoT and a longer duration of AoE fear. Put two points into this early for fast jungle times and stronger ganks.

is last priority because the critical strike is not a true one. At rank 1, it does 140% damage. At rank 4, it does 200% damage, the same amount as a normal critical strike. Why would you put four points into this if you could just purchase an ? It is part of your kit anyway. It is, however a guaranteed critical strike, but it is not worth investing it.
Note: I said this before, but the "Lethality" mastery does affect damage, therefore making it stronger with less ranks.

I'm going to go over the Starting, Core, Offense, and a couple Defense Items in this section:
I will not cover defense extensively because you should build according to the enemy team.

Starting Items:

S3 starting items:

• is a new item added in S3 that is really strong in the jungle. I recommend you take this if you want a stronger and faster clear.
• take three to five of these. With my new pathing, you won't need all five, but it's safer to do so.

Core:

• lets you roam and splitpush effectively.
• allows you to ward dragon, baron, and chokepoints. The proc for extra damage helps in clearing the jungle faster and allows you to solo dragon as early as level 6. gives Shaco the sustain that he needs in the jungle.
• I have made this item into a core item because with S3, I find it increasingly difficult to successfully pull off invades. Whenever I fail an early invade, I become very behind, so the makes up for it and also the unique passive really helps when I want to turn into a split pushing monster.

Alternate to Statikk Shiv Core:

• is for when I feel underleveled from too many ganks. It can build into one of two useful items: or .
• is an item I sometimes get instead of avarice blade when I'm fed. This turns into if I choose to build it or , which I usually get later.

Offensive Item Synergies:

• has a lot of utility. The active can help in teamfights or chasing/escaping/backdooring. (component) will give you a boost in gold and the armor penetration and CDR (cooldown reduction) from will affect your long Deceive cooldown and help you set up more Jack in the Boxes.

Trinity Force

• - does in fact affect your . This is a major advantage, especially against squishy targets.
• - Adds survivability to Shaco and a perma-slow along with your ()
• - More attack speed, move speed, and critical strike chance. Good item overall for Shaco.

Note: Since is extremely expensive, I never usually buy this unless I'm 15/0 fed.

• will make for extremely strong . Waiting for an expensive component: , is not a good idea, though. A jungler should never have 1000+ spare change in their pockets. This should be spent on wards and such.
• is basically madred's bloodrazors except better. It provides Shaco with sustain as well as some CC other than his . It also works well with . Two Shacos= 8% of max health being dealt each attack.
• - good for more AD if you need it, however, waiting for is not a good idea, since you are the jungler.
• - the passive effect works with your .
• - a new item that I'm loving! It's really good and adds an AoE aspect to Shaco! It helps you with your burst. (Also offers some sustain with lifesteal.)
• - Basically for the same reason that I would get Ravenous-Hydra. It adds some good attack speed and crit, as well as some needed movement speed.
• has been re-added to the game and it's better than ever! I feel like the triple crit passive combined with your Q AND the Frenzy mastery will provide you with a burst never seen before. Added with an and you'll be very powerful.
• , although not very AD oriented, the extra CC can really help Shaco. It does give Magic resist, which is a large plus.
• is just plain OP right now, so don't feel guilty exploiting it.

Defensive Items:
The tip is to find items that benefit you and your team when you .

• - Great in general against AP carries, also applies to your clone.
• - Double-Runic Bulwark when you , allowing your team to have a strong AD and Armor boost.
• -Decent item, especially late game, where Shaco can get bursted down easily.
• - is basically like a QSS, but I feel that it has a lot of added offensive bonuses. Using this right after you jump and slay an AD carry can ensure a safe getaway!

Sample Full Build with Explanation:
are good because it allows you to roam the map freely and quickly. I would sometimes take , but nothing else.
is a good starting item because it builds from machete and also allows you for an easier time in the jungle. Later on, when it becomes less useful, sell it for a situational item.
I found Statikk Shiv to be a good item because it allows Shaco some leeway in teamfights as it allows him with some AoE.
is next because it gives me a lot of durability, which is good for Shaco, especially midgame, when you get this item.
Anything else is for defense. The reason why I chose these items is because sometimes Shaco can't 1v1, especially in teamfights lategame. This will help him 1v2 an AD carry and support in the back lines. Also, the ,, and will be magnified by a factor of two when Shaco uses , making him deadly.

I will continue to update with my builds. So far, I am liking this build less and less due to its expensive nature.


Important note: Cooldowns keep on "cooling down" while you wait to be resurrected by . The second you resurrect, and juke for your life!

Shaco should take minimal damage in the jungle due to this Jack in the Box (W) skill. These allow Shaco to get free damage and a tank. Stacked Jack in the Boxes can do significant damage, (especially on Ability Power Shaco, but that's not what this guide is about)

When setting up boxes at the buffs, set them how I do in these four pictures, or in this video demonstration. This way, you can do it undetected by the enemy team. It takes some practice, but stand where I stand and aim where the red circle is.

Blue Side, Red Lizard

Blue Side, Blue Golem

Purple Side, Red Lizard

Purple Side, Blue Golem


I like to do a red start. What I accomplish in my route are

• Double-buff
• Near-Full Health
• Level 3
• 3 minutes

1. Similar to the old Season 2 Route, I drop a Jack in the Box at wraiths at :44-:47 seconds.
2. After that, drop three boxes over the red wall.
3. When the wraiths spawn, kill the big one with smite if your team isn't helping you. 4. If they are, you can save smite. Also try to kill all the other small wraiths, too.
5. Once the timer hits 1:50, move to red even if you haven't killed all of the wraiths. 6. Drop a box at red and kill it without smite. It should be very easy.
7. Go back and kill any of the wraiths that you missed.
8. If your team helped you earlier, go straight to blue and kill it with smite and a box.
9. If they didn't' help you, kill wolves so that smite can cool down and then kill blue.
Either way, you should be level 3 by 3 minutes into the game!

Red Route


Also keep in mind that Shaco is a wonderful Counter-Jungler. Be sure to set up traps in the enemy's jungle and take their buffs. Shutting down the enemy jungler is an easy task for the clown.

To do this:
Do your blue first with the help of your team, then invade the other jungler's red. Beware, this only works against junglers that start blue, like or .

Shaco excels at counter jungling, but which path you take depends on the enemy jungler you're against and the chance that the enemy will invade you. Shaco is by no means a top tier jungler, but on his first clear, Jack in the Boxes MELT buffs.

This is an example of a counterjungling path that I often take against junglers like .



Here are two different maps and routes that I chose to gank the Jungler anywhere they are at. You may want to choose your route (Red/Blue) carefully during the loading screen depending on where you think the enemy jungler will start.

For example, on this first map. Say the enemy jungler is a . A lot of s start Wraiths->Wolves->Blue Golem->Wraiths->Red Lizard->Gank. Since Maokai has a predictable path and blue reliance, you will want to gank him. In this case, invade his red side and take his buff. Then camp his brush. Just make sure when you're setting up at red you won't be spotted by his mid lane.



This is another map, but for the Purple side. It's basically a mirror image. Keep in mind that these are just my favorite spots to gank the enemy jungler You can do whatever works for you!

In this section, I will be giving you guys my opinion versus these junglers. The points I am going to hit are:
1. Sustain
2. Clearing Capabilities
3. Estimated Start Point
4. Dueling Prowess
5. Ganks
6. Difficuilty

ALSO: I have not played against all these champions! Based off what I know about them, I am theorizing how they would work. Please correct me in the comments section if I am wrong! Thanks :)


1. Sustain: Mild, through his minor heal ability
2. Clearing Capabilities: Strong, with the help of pulverize and his passive
3. Estimated Start Point: Will most likely start at blue buff, since his mana costs are through the roof early game.
4. Dueling Prowess: Mild duelist, not much sustained damage until he gets his sheen
5. Ganks: Extremely strong. He has a whole kit of CC to lock someone down.
6. Difficuilty: Mild
Details:
Alistar poses a real threat to your team. Shut him down so he can't get ganks early. Make sure to ward because he has a dash ability.


1. Sustain: Weak, no modes of natural sustain, just reduced damage
2. Clearing Capabilities: Mild, due to his AoE DoT
3. Estimated Start Point: Definitely blue buff. His toggle will drain mana faster than he can regen it.
4. Dueling Prowess: Weak, he has no damage nukes early game, just small sustained damage
5. Ganks: Strong, past level 6. Early ganks only consist of a 1 second stun.
6. Difficulty: Easy
Details:
All you need to do is try to delay his level 6 as long as possible. After then, his ult will wreck your team.


1. Sustain: Very strong, because of his passive
2. Clearing Capabilities: Strong. He has an AoE auto attack
3. Estimated Start Point: Most likely Red, since his auto attacks are enough to clear camps efficiently and not drain mana at the same time.
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong, he has the second highest AD ratio in the game. If you aren't starting with , try not to duel him.
5. Ganks: Strong, if he can get into range to CC you
6. Difficulty: Easy
Details: You should try to invade early. He doesn't really turn into a monster because his abilities are all AoE and don't do much single target damage. This makes him easy to take down 1v1.


1. Sustain: Very weak, because of his health resource. When he hits levels 6+, his sustain is godlike because of his ultimate
2. Clearing Capabilities: Extremely strong! His AoE DoT will take down camps within seconds
3. Estimated Start Point: Red buff, definitely. He runs on health!
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong. He has an AD steroid and an insane DoT.
5. Ganks: Weak. He has a slow that can be missed. If you have boots, this should be easy to dodge.
6. Difficulty: Mild
Details: Watch out for his counter jungles. If you have , you can probably take him down fast. There's no point in delaying his level 6 as it doesn't really benefit his team.


1. Sustain: GODLIKE
2. Clearing Capabilities: Mild, level 1 clear is terrible until he gets his dark wind. With the recent buffs, he should be able to clear at decent speeds
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue, Fiddlesticks needs blue to drain as much as possible
4. Dueling Prowess: Mild, he has a lot of single target damage, however, if you fear him while he is draining, his dueling turns from great to bad.
5. Ganks: Somewhat easy to escape from since his passive gives him away. However, past level 6, his ganks are very strong.
6. Difficulty: Easy
Details: Counter jungle him and take his blue as often as possible. This will hinder his jungle speeds effectively. Just don't let fiddle get those kills or he will become an AoE death machine.


1. Sustain: Mild, but Oranges shouldn't be used for the heal, rather for the CC removal
2. Clearing Capabilities: Weak. He has no AoE until level 6, but that shouldn't be used for jungling
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue if he plans on spamming Parrrley
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong. AD steroid and single target nuke will rip you apart
5. Ganks: Mild, his movement speed boost and passive slow aren't very noticable. You shouldn't die to him unless you're way overextended.
6. Difficulty: Easy.
Details: Just try not to duel him early on. He can take you down pretty fast if you don't know what you're doing. His ultimate isn't too strong, but it does give him the ability to pick up an assist anywhere.


1. Sustain: Mild, because of his little AoE DoT. It's not too powerful, since there is a cap
2. Clearing Capabilities: Fast, due to his spammy AoE
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue, just like
4. Dueling Prowess: Mild, his spammy AoE just doesn't do that much damage. However, it has been brought up that many Hecarims max their W first. Because of this, try not to fight near your minion waves as it gives him a lot of sustain.
5. Ganks: Very Strong. His ganks are similar to ' because of the CC at the end of the duration
6. Difficulty: Mild
Details: Hecarim is a jack of all trades, master of none. This makes him build glass cannon or full tank. Be aware of how he's building and make sure you can counter it. Try to counter jungle and take his blue to hinder him. Your early stages in the jungle should be pretty easygoing.


1. Sustain: Weak. He has no sustain at all.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Fast. He has two AoE moves and one that increases his stats.
3. Estimated Start Point: Probably blue since he has to spam his E+Q combo often
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong. He has a knock up and a shield to mitigate damage.
5. Ganks: Strong. He has both a gap closer and a knockup. Also past level 6 he can trap whole teams.
6. Difficulty: Hard
Details: Make sure he gets no good ganks and try to harass him in the jungle with a couple of Jack in the Boxes to get him down low. Then, he'll be forced to recall due to his lack of sustain.


1. Sustain: Poor, he has none, but he does have a dodge ability.
2. Clearing Capabilities: With Empower, he can clear decently fast, but lose more health. However, if he opts for counter-strike, then he will clear slightly slower, but have higher health.
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue, by spamming Empower, he will cost himself a lot of mana.
4. Dueling Prowess: Very Strong. Jax can win any 1v1 against you in the jungle if you are of equal health. Do NOT engage against a Jax if you can.
5. Ganks: Strong. Jump strike and counter-strike can be a deadly combo.
6. Difficulty: Hard
Details: Do not feed this monster. He will hyper-carry his team. Just camp his jungle with Jack in the Boxes to shut him down early. Once he gets his items he'll be unstoppable.


1. Sustain: Strong, he has a shield, lifesteal, and spellvamp
2. Clearing Capabilities: Fast. Tempest and Resonating Strike can clear camps exceptionally fast
3. Estimated Start Point: Red. Lee Sin runs on energy so starting at blue is not a choice. (Unless he's going for CDR)
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong. He has a lot of burst damage since his abilities have two components.
5. Ganks: GODLIKE. Lee Sin will decimate anyone he ganks with an E+Q combo
6. Difficulty: Bruce Lee
Details: For the love of God, do NOT fight this man unless he's 400 elo. A half-brained Lee Sin can beat Shaco. If you really want to duel him, play smart and set up Jack in the Boxes as backup or give your mid a call.


1. Sustain: None, but his passive shield helps keep him at decent health levels.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Fast. Malphite has an AoE and a splash to clear camps
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue. Early levels Malphite will be spamming his st00f
4. Dueling Prowess: Early game, he should be pretty weak since he is item dependant
5. Ganks: Mild. He just steals movement speed, so his early level ganks are sub-par. Once he reaches level 6, his ganks are very strong because of the dash+knockup.
6. Difficulty: Easy
Details: Malphite in the early levels should be easy to beat. However, once he gets some armor, you should not try dueling him because he gets damage from being tanky. Try to avoid him in teamfights and such. Invade to keep his level 6 at bay.


1. Sustain: Mild. His passive isn't TOO great, but anything helps.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Fast. He's almost like Shaco with the saplings.
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue, he NEEDS the mana desperately due to his saplings' high mana cost. He may actually need to take the first two blue buffs.
4. Dueling Prowess: Weak. He just doesn't do much damage throughout the game if he builds tanky.
5. Ganks: GODLIKE. His snare is so strong! It follows you wherever you go, even under the turret. This can be used to your laners' advantage, but if flash isn't up, Maokai will get a surefire kill.
6. Difficulty: Mild
Details: Maokai is somewhat like Shaco because he needs time to set up. However, his Saplings have a high mana cost, unlike Shaco. This makes his path more restricted and therefore you can gank him easily.


1. Sustain: Strong. Master Yi has meditate and that will give him a ton of survivability
2. Clearing Capabilities: Depends on whether or not he gets his Alpha Strike procs
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue, Alpha Strike costs a lot of mana
4. Dueling Prowess: Weak early game before he gets his ult. He will be hard to kill without an
5. Ganks: Mild, he has no CC but a strong gap closer
6. Difficulty: Easy
Details: Just mess with his jungle since Yi is squishy early game. Don't expect any early ganks from him either because he has to get red to gank, but he has to get blue first.


1. Sustain: Weak, he only has a shield, but he may start regrowth pendant
2. Clearing Capabilities: Strong, because of his splash damage
3. Estimated Start Point: Most likely blue, since his Titan's Wrath and Riptide cost a lot of mana until he gets
4. Dueling Prowess: Mild, he cannot invade, but he can duel. His shield is good for dueling.
5. Ganks: Strong, Dredgeline and Riptide make for powerful ganks. Also, past level 6, his ult can be gamechanging
6. Difficulty: Mild, you won't need to worry about invasions but you won't be able to invade.
Details: Tell your teammates to push the lane really hard so that when he ganks, you can countergank him. Delay his level 6 and harass him in the jungle to waste his time. Most Nautiluses max their shield first. Break through this and you will be able to demolish him.


1. Sustain: Strong, because of his passive
2. Clearing Capabilities: Fast, because of his AoE skill shot and his passive
3. Estimated Start Point: 75% Blue, 25% Red. If he doesn't spam his Duskbringer, he shouldn't fall low on mana
4. Dueling Prowess: Extremely Strong, because of Spell Shield, Fear, and AD steroid
5. Ganks: Pre level 6 are weak, but past level 6, they are one of the best.
6. Difficulty: Hard
Details: Bait his spellshield when you duel him. Try to fear him before he fears you so that you have the advantage. He is pretty dependent on items to be strong. Also, he counters your stealth to an extent. If you get hit by duskbringer, wait until it wears off to , since it will follow you through stealth.


1. Sustain: Strong, because of his passive lifesteal and spellvamp
2. Clearing Capabilities: Extremely fast, with a 2 second CD AoE.
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue. Olaf is very reliant on the first blue to abuse his axe throw
4. Dueling Prowess: Very strong, his passive makes him stronger when he gets low
5. Ganks: Depends on if he can land his axe. He has to gank in a straight line, similar to
6. Difficulty: Hard, you can't duel Olaf.
Details: Olaf sometimes gets low during his jungle to abuse his passive. Take this advantage to Q+E combo him down. Olaf isn't dependent on damage items because his W, Vicious Strikes gives him AD from his health.


1. Sustain: None, but he has a damage reduction spell
2. Clearing Capabilities: Very slow, his defensive ball curl isn't enough to make a large difference
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue, but sometimes he may start red.
4. Dueling Prowess: Very weak, because he has no damage abilities pre-6
5. Ganks: Strong, but if there are minions in the way, he may be forced to flash.
6. Difficulty: Easy
Details: Counterjungle him and camp his jungle. He can and will fall behind quickly.


1. Sustain: None, except for a shield.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Mild-Strong, because all her abilities are AoE
3. Estimated Start Point: Red, she doesn't run on mana
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong, since she can weave auto attacks in between Broken Wings.
5. Ganks: Strong because all her moves are gap closers. She has a stun and knockup
6. Difficulty: Hard
Details: Try not to duel Riven. Camp her jungle and deny her kills. She will most likely go for a level 2 gank.


1. Sustain: Very strong. He can jungle for extensive amounts of time.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Slow, since he has no AoE abilities.
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue or Red.
4. Dueling Prowess: Mild. He cannot invade, but he can defend.
5. Ganks: Strong, because of his dash and taunt.
6. Difficulty: Mild
Details: His counterganks are extremely strong due to his ultimate. His taunt breaks your stealth, too.


1. Sustain: Poor, she has no sustain whatsoever
2. Clearing Capabilities: Very Fast because of her burnout and twin bite for buff control
3. Estimated Start Point: Red, she doesn't run on mana
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong, due to her AoE and auto attack enhancer
5. Ganks: Weak, besides her movement speed boost.
6. Difficulty: Mild
Details: Watch out for her counterjungles and attempts to shut you down. She requires her laners to supply the CC until level 6. Also, many Shyvanas take Exhaust to make up for the lack of CC until level 6. This can be exploited by invading early and making her waste her exhaust on you. Then, your lanes will be very safe without any CC from the jungler.


1. Sustain: None, but he has a shield
2. Clearing Capabilities: Fast, due to his spammy Crystal Slash
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue, he runs out of mana faster than
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong, because he has the highest base AD in the game
5. Ganks: Weak if you aren't very overextended
6. Difficulty: Mild
Details: You can easily shut down his ganks by breaking his shield. This will slow down his movement and attack speed. Counterjungle him early to set him behind.


1. Sustain: GODLIKE. His passive keeps him at near-full health in the jungle
2. Clearing Capabilities: Mild. He only has a single target ability.
3. Estimated Start Point: 75% Blue. He needs the mana to spam Rabid Bite and Contaminate.
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong. He can decimate you if you fight on his contaminate.
5. Ganks: Depends on if he can land his Pillar of Filth.
6. Difficulty: Hard
Details: He will probably counter jungle you. Try to set him behind as much as possible with some harass from the jungle. Otherwise, stay out of his way.


1. Sustain: Mild. He starts with or , added on with his Q. This makes for pretty good sustain, but if he gets invaded, he won't be able to heal back up.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Weak. Spinning slash isn't that strong.
3. Estimated Start Point: Red, he doesn't run on mana
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong, if he can get his passive up. His damage reduction is also pretty good.
5. Ganks: Weak. The enemy has to be turned around for the slow. Also, spinning slash can only refresh with critical strikes.
6. Difficulty: Easy.
Details: Tryndamaere will get low in the jungle. Because of this, gank him and one shot him. He can be a strong duelist so use the element of surprise to knock him down.


1. Sustain: TERRIBLE. He has no sustain or any damage reduction at all.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Horrendous, single target damage is terrible
3. Estimated Start Point: Red, despite his blue dependence, Twitch has awesome early ganks.
4. Dueling Prowess: Mild, he's pretty squishy early game.
5. Ganks: On par with Shaco, therefore GODLIKE.
6. Difficulty: Easy.
Details: You can take him down anyday. He will always go for a level 2 Red buff gank on mid. You may need to smite your red since he has a long stealth, which is great for invasions.


1. Sustain: Strong. Turtle stance is awesome sustain in the jungle. This should keep him over 1/2 health the whole time.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Very fast, whether you choose Phoenix or Tiger
3. Estimated Start Point: Probably blue, since he has to switch stances often
4. Dueling Prowess: Very good. He has a lot of single target damage and AoE
5. Ganks: Mild. The bear stance movement speed boost isn't too powerful, but the stun is. A flash-stun combo is great.
6. Difficulty: Hard
Details: He's the king of the jungle. Don't try to duel him. His turtle stance will keep him healthy while you get ripped apart by Tiger/Phoenix. If he's losing the battle, (which he won't be), he can lock you down with bear stance until reinforcements arrive.


1. Sustain: Mild. His passive keeps him alive but it does have a long cooldown.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Mild. His AoE and fear are decent in the jungle, but it has a somewhat lengthy cooldown.
3. Estimated Start Point: Most likely blue, since his moves aren't mana effecient.
4. Dueling Prowess: Good. He does have a high AD ratio and frenzy can knock you out at low health
5. Ganks: Strong. He has a movement speed boost and a hard CC
6. Difficulty: Mild.
Details: Try to shut him down. His 6 isn't very noticable, but he will become tankier later. Try to deny him creep kills.


1. Sustain: GODLIKE. His lifesteal passive is super good for remaining at full health in the jungle.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Weak. He only has single target damage.
3. Estimated Start Point: Blue or Red. He is not very mana dependant.
4. Dueling Prowess: Mild. He does have a strong melee nuke, but that's about it. Without he'll be hard to kill.
5. Ganks: Pre 6, weak, Post 6, strong because of dash and suppress.
6. Difficulty: Easy
Details: Camp his red. Warwick will most likely start blue so that they can spam their Q for faster clears.


1. Sustain: Strong, because of his passive.
2. Clearing Capabilities: Weak, similar to , he only has single target damage
3. Estimated Start Point: Red, Xin is not very blue dependant.
4. Dueling Prowess: Strong. His knock-up and single target damage will take down squishies fast.
5. Ganks: Mild. If he can get three attacks off and knock you up, it's a guaranteed kill. He also has a dash.
6. Difficulty: Mild
Details: Try to get him when he's at low health. He has no escape mechanism so take him down when he's weak. Otherwise, don't try to duel him in his territory.

Special thanks to Ch0pstickerism and Nykout for helping me with this section

Feel free to write your own jungle matchup to add in the comments. If I use it, I'll add your name to the list of helpers!

Ganking is a major strength of Shaco. Blink+Stealth is a very powerful tool, especially in the early game. When I gank, I usually coordinate with my teammate(s) first. I hide in a bush or behind a wall, out of ward range.
1. in.
2. Position yourself BEHIND the enemy.
3. Drop a BEHIND the enemy, where you think they will most likely run.
4. Auto attack for the Critical Strike from Deceive.
5. When they run out of your range, throw a to catch up

Here's what a successful gank should look like.
1. You complete steps 1-4
2. Enemy runs into box, takes the Damage over Time and fear.
3. You continue to auto attack
4. Enemy flashes
5. You throw shiv, slowing them down
6. You catch up and auto attack once more for the kill

Gank demonstration:



This picture will show you where my favorite spots are while ganking. These spots avoid most wards that are set, but it's not a guarantee. Be creative!

Early game, Levels 1-6:
Goals:
1. Farm and clear your jungle as many times as possible. Shaco becomes slower and slower at jungling as the game goes on. Try to get a lot of kills for your team to get them ahead.
2. Gank a lot. Shaco can easily become underleveled because of too many ganks.
3. Ward Dragon and lanes after ganking them. You have an unlimited amount of free wards, so why not drop a off for your allies' lanes as a parting gift?
4. Invade the enemy jungle if their jungler is weak. Try to shut them down and set up traps to kill them in their own jungle.
5. If you are fed, you should be able to complete your boots of mobility and wriggles lantern here.

Mid game, Levels 6-11:
Goals:
1. Keep on farming. You do NOT want to get behind in the game.
2. Kill Dragon. With a wriggles and level 6, you should be able to solo Dragon. Be sure to drop a so that you don't get ganked at Dragon.
3. Try to finish your core build here. Aim for a couple of minor defensive items too.
4. Splitpush lanes while your team is occupied on another lane. Don't forget to ward when you splitpush so that you don't get ambushed and killed. The key to winning games is taking towers and Shaco excels at just that.
5. If you are doing well, grab an and start farming those wards!
6. Steal Dragon whenever possible. You should have it warded at all times. A dragon kill is equivalent to around a champion kill per person. With five people on each team, the team that takes dragon becomes five champion kills ahead. You can take dragon with a and . If your teammates aren't around, go in solo, steal dragon, use , and fight to the death. Who knows, maybe you'll pick up a kill or two.

Late game, Levels 11-18:
Goals:
1. Teamfights should be erupting all around you at this time. You have two choices, stay with your team or splitpush. The advantages of staying with your team are you will have stronger teamfights. The disadvantage is that Shaco is not a teamfighter. He is considered a "Janitor Champion". Shaco is one of the best KSers in the game. (Kill Secure/Steal) He can take down carries under half health very quickly. By taking out carries, your team can push.
2. Splitpush too! Don't just teamfight. As I emphasized before, do not forget to ward! You will have and to help you cut down on costs. A reason why is useful is because if your team gets engaged on 4v5, you can teleport in and clean up the enemy.
3. Do not forget to buy and clear out wards. Wards win games and by destroying wards, you can win the game for your team.
4. Steal Baron or take Baron whenever you can. Simple as that. A sacrifice is worth it if your team can benefit off of it.

In the first place, you shouldn't have to teamfight as Shaco. However, if you do get caught in one, here's what you should do.

• Know when to enter. Wait for all the CC to be blown, THEN into the fray.
• Fulfill your role as an assassin. Kill the enemy carries. In general, you want to take out the enemy AP, AD, and Support. Your first target should be AP or AD, depending on whichever is more fed.
• Don't straight through the enemy team if they have ! If the support has oracles, try to flank around the enemy team and then in for the kill.
• AP should be easier to kill than AD because he doesn't have a support keeping him at full health all the time. Use this to your advantage!
• Lay down in the enemy's retreat path and your own team's retreat path. This will ensure a safe escape for your team or a trap for the enemy team depending on which way the teamfight goes.

Bottom line, you MUST flank when playing Shaco. Avoid being seen by the enemy oracles and go for the carry. Shaco is often a primary target in teamfights due to the enemy's hatred of you. USE THIS. Let them focus your clone while your team decimates theirs.

In this picture, each ward or Jack in the Box is placed so that it cuts off as many paths the enemies may take to stop you. The pink ward is so that you can clear enemy wards.

Important tip!

When doing Dragon or Baron, always remember to place a in the back of each cave so that if the enemy tries to and steal the Baron/Dragon, they will be feared for a short duration, enabling your team to finish them off or finish off Baron/Dragon and run.



Here is another picture of the actual game. Level 2 dragon is too good. It's a custom game, fortunately.



You NEED to solo dragon at least once from levels 6-9:

One of the worst things that can happen to a Shaco is if you get invaded early. Most of the time, you will fall deeper and deeper into misery. Remember, Shaco's time to shine is his early game. And if his early game is ruined, then he can't do anything. So, if you get invaded early, focus on farming and try to gank as little as possible, unless a lane is being dominated really hard.

Do not fret, however. There is hope! Although this game will not be a game filled with kills, you can still keep it from being a 4v5. If you get invaded early, farm as much as possible and getting your core. Your new goal in life is to backdoor the living hell out of the enemy team. Make them pay for what they did to you. In my build, I include (To help build a ). Although it's not much, can help you with a steady income of gold.

Think of it in this light: Kills=towers. So you will get your "kills" later in the game.

Also note: Not getting early kills and assists is almost as bad as being invaded itself.

Here is a full game of me, playing Udyr, and my team invading and totally shutting down the enemy Shaco due to invasion.

http://www.leaguereplays.com/replays/match/547284/

Picture is self explanatory. The placements could be anywhere, but I found those to be very useful spots that are main chokepoints of movement. Try to put your boxes in places where the enemy must cross to travel, such as in the middle of a narrow passageway to ensure a fear.

Anyone that has reliable, somewhat hard CC synergizes well with Shaco. His fear mechanic is not always reliable as some people flash over the box or kill it with an ability.

Be sure to coordinate a gank with your teammate. Tell them what level you'll be ganking at and what time so that they know when to take their CC skill. During the early stages of the game, Shaco will outlevel your mid (Just for about 2-3 minutes), so tell them to take CC early on.

Good matchups include but are not limited to:

A good Ahri will be able to land a long distance charm. This can make or break a gank.
Alistar is just a troll cow that will dish out CC left and right. He will always be Shaco's best friend.
AoE CC is really good with Shaco as it allows the enemy to be kept in place so that the fear on the box will set off correctly.
AoE stun, what else is there to say?
Just like troll cow, except with a grab. Silences are great too, because now enemies can't flash over the .
AoE knock up and AoE silence.
One of the longest duration CC's in the game, losing only to Ashe's crystal arrow.
AoE Taunt, good stuff.
Tornado is strong, and her AD buff would help a gank immensely.
AoE trap? Allows for Shaco to take full advantage of . Also, if there is a problem, you can out of the ultimate and the enemy won't be able to follow you. One of my favorite matchups.
Light Binding is very useful during early ganks on mid.
Same reasons as Lux.

General Tips/Tricks:

• Get your team to defend your jungle while you set up. You do NOT want your boxes popped, or you'll be nearly useless.
• If you're facing a slow jungler, such as ,,, who starts at blue 75% of the time, take their red quickly, take deceive at level 2, go to their wraith bush, and set up a Jack in the Box trap. 90% of the time, they will wander in once you have 2-3 Jack in the Boxes in there. They'll give you a free blue and first blood.
• Other junglers that are easy to kill are junglers that are low during their clears, such as or .

:

• Scales with Two-Shiv Poison and Deceive
• Your passive works great on enemies who are fleeing. They will 10/10 times have their back to you when they run away. Your permaslow from Red buff and will maximize your 's damage potential.

:

• Smart Casting this could be useful as you can deceive away quickly. The downside is that you don't have the range indicator letting you know if you can jump over a certain wall or not.
• When Deceiving, you give off a orange puff of smoke that can be seen anywhere. Smart players will be aware of this and will retreat when you gank.
• When being chased, deceive backwards or deceive in place to fool the enemy. Smart players will know this trick so deceiving in place and running to a brush before your stealth ends may be a good way save your life.

:

• Smart Cast this. It allows for more efficient ganks where you don't have to aim where you throw down your . It will just go in the general direction.
• Set these strategically around chokepoints so that they act as temporary wards.
• Setting them a small distance from each other will allow for a chain-fear, allowing for a 5-6 second stun and damage over time.
• Set these to stop enemies from trying to stop a dragon/baron attempt.
• During a 1v1 or 1v2 skirmish, make sure you let the enemy know who's boss by setting up a Jack in the Box. This will give you free Damage over Time and a free fear. If they're going to fight you, make them fight on your grounds!
• When splitpushing, lay these in your retreat path so that when you retreat, they will fear your pursuers, effectively stopping them in their tracks.

:

• Do not activate this at the beginning of a gank as you want the permaslow. Throw it when they're out of range to finish them off or slow them in order for you to catch up. The passive is inactive during the cooldown.
• This scales with your passive, backstab.

:

• After disappearing for a split second, Shaco reappears with his clone. Shaco will reappear slightly to the left, with his clone on his right. Use this to your advantage to jump over small walls. You can use this into Baron, then smite Baron, and then out. This takes a lot of practice, but it can be done.
• You can dodge projectiles with this if you time it correctly.
• When you are ambushed while backdooring, send your clone away instead of running away yourself, and keep on attacking the structure. The enemy will think the clone is you.
• As early as level 6-9, you can solo dragon with the right items. Grab a wriggles/madreds and ult. Send your clone behind the dragon and attack it before letting your clone attack. Tank the dragon until you're at 1/2 health. Then deceive in place so aggro switches to your clone. Finish off dragon with smite. This way, both you and your clone gain backstab bonuses. The dragon is strong enough to kill your clone in 4-5 hits. If you send your clone to attack it first, you will only be able to get dragon down to 3/4 health before your clone dies. Now you are forced to tank dragon and 7/10 times you will die.
• Be sure to micro your clone around a lot to create confusion. A good Shaco player will make it seem that they are the clone.

Final Comments:

I sincerely thank you for reading through my guide! I hope you have learned a lot after reading this, because I have learned a lot from writing this as well! Always remember that Shaco is very hard to play, but once you master him, he is extremely enjoyable (for only you) to play. Many people hate the clown, and I can understand why. His kit is made to trick and fool and it does just that. I wish you the best of luck, and I will see you on the Fields of Justice, Summoners! Cheers!