Champion Stats
| Role | Assassin |
| Difficulty | |
| Blue Essence | 1575 BE |
Why High-Elo Players Smurf with Shaco
Mental warfare IS his kit. Low elo players chase the clone—they tunnel vision on the fake and die to the real one. They walk into obvious box placements repeatedly. They tilt after the first invade. A good Shaco makes the enemy jungler type 'jungle diff' at level 3 and tilt for the rest of the game. You don't just beat them; you break them.
The Level 1 Cheese
First Blood Strategy
Shaco has the most creative level 1 cheeses in the game. Standard: Stack 3-4 boxes at Raptors starting at 0:50. Clear Raptors instantly. Go to enemy's opposite buff (their Blue if you started Red side) and Ignite them level 2 for First Blood. Alternative: Stack boxes at YOUR Red, full clear raptors + red without taking damage (boxes tank), then immediately invade level 2. Third option: Stack boxes in the enemy jungle entrance and catch the enemy jungler walking to their first buff—easy kill.
The 'Pay-to-Win' Skin Advantage
'Dark Star Shaco' has the best VFX clarity and satisfying clone explosion. 'Masked Shaco' feels smooth with clean autos. 'Nutcracko' is the classic holiday BM skin. 'Crime City' is visually impressive. 'Wild Card' is underrated for its minimal visual noise. Avoid 'Workshop Shaco' unless you love the toy soldier aesthetic.
When They Ban Shaco
Backup Pick: If Shaco is banned,
Twitch offers similar stealth cheese ganks.
Evelynn provides permanent stealth post-6 with AP burst.
Rengar offers burst assassination from stealth angles.
Rune Setup
Best Runes: Hail of Blades is standard for AD Shaco—three rapid backstab autos delete squishies instantly. Dark Harvest is the standard for AP Shaco—your box damage and clone explosion scale and HoB stacks make late-game assassinations devastating. First Strike is niche but effective for gold generation if you're landing boxes/ganks consistently.
Skill Priority
Order:
E → Q → WMax E for execute damage, Q for stealth duration increase, W last. AP Shaco: W > E > Q. Max W for box damage, E second for scaling execute damage, Q last.
Mastering Shaco's Kit
Deceive is a blink + invisibility. Attacking an enemy from behind (or from stealth) triggers BACKSTAB, dealing bonus crit damage. Wait for them to turn away from you before striking. The stealth lasts 3.5-4.5 seconds depending on rank—longer than most expect. You can wait out their key cooldowns while invisible.
Jack in the Box fears enemies who walk into range. Place boxes BEHIND the enemy before engaging—when they flee, they run into your trap. Against dash champions (
Lee Sin,
Lucian), place boxes to block their predicted dash path. AP Shaco boxes deal significant damage; AD Shaco boxes are utility-only.
Two-Shiv Poison has passive slow on autos. The ACTIVE is an execute that deals bonus damage below 30% HP. SAVE E for the last hit—don't open with it or you lose the slow passive. E into R can finish targets who think they're safe.
Hallucinate creates a clone that you control with Alt+Click. The clone explodes on death, fearing enemies and dealing damage (massive damage with AP). Use the clone to: tank tower shots, bait enemies into attacking it, scout bushes/objectives, or just run it at the enemy to explode. The 0.5-second untargetability on R cast can dodge point-click abilities.
Matchup Tips
Vs Lee Sin
Hard Counter. His E reveals you. His Q follows you. He invades YOUR jungle and kills you early. Avoid him; farm opposite side of map.
Annoying Counter. His R hits you through stealth. He outfarms you. His passive lets him kill you after death. Kill him early or avoid him entirely.
Vs Sweeper Lens
The Real Counter. If enemies buy Oracle Lens level 1 and sweep every bush, your cheese is neutered. Ward defensively and wait for them to get complacent.
The Ego Check
WARNING: Do NOT Q into fights if they have pink wards or sweepers—you will be revealed and killed instantly. You are paper. Use R's 0.5-second untargetability to dodge key abilities (
Zed R,
Syndra R,
Caitlyn R). Control your clone (Alt+Right Click) to bait enemies; bad Shaco players let their clone run randomly and waste its potential.
When to Queue Dodge
Dodge if the enemy team drafts heavy reveal/true sight. Lee Sin reveals with E and follows you with Q. Rek'Sai tremor sense detects your movement. Enemy jungler buying Oracle Lens immediately is a bad sign. Also dodge into organized ward-heavy teams who pink every entrance (rare in low elo).
Teamfight Role
AD Shaco: Assassin playstyle. Q in from a flank, Backstab the carry, E execute, R to dodge retaliation / create chaos, and escape or chase with clone. AP Shaco: Zone control. Fill key chokepoints with boxes before objectives. Use clone as a pseudo-frontline (send it into the enemy—if they attack it, it explodes for massive damage). E for poke/execute.
The 'Disrespect' Build
AP Shaco full troll: Liandry's Anguish ’ Demonic Embrace ’ Zhonya's. Place boxes EVERYWHERE—jungle entrances, Baron pit, dragon pit, lane bushes. They walk through your jungle and die to boxes before seeing you. Clone explosion also deals massive AP damage with Liandry's burn. It's hilarious and surprisingly effective.
Power Windows
Level 2/3 invade cheese is your first power spike—abuse it. AD Shaco falls off hard if not ahead by 15 minutes; get kills early or become useless. AP Shaco scales into late game and becomes a zone-control nightmare. Tiamat (AD) or Lost Chapter (AP) are meaningful item spikes that enable faster clears.
Tilt Factor
The ENTIRE CHAMPION is mental warfare. Spam dance with your Clone next to the enemy (Alt+Right Click to move clone). Do the 'worm dance' (clone and original moving in sync). Type 'Behind you :)' in all chat. Place a box behind them and watch them Flash into it. After every kill, /laugh. Shaco is designed to tilt; embrace your destiny.
Recent Patch History
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
| V14.4 | Feb 22, 2024 | ADJUST | R adjusted |
| V14.3 | Feb 7, 2024 | BUFF | W buffed, E buffed, Base stats nerfed |
| V14.2 | Jan 24, 2024 | BUFF | R adjusted |
| V14.1 | Jan 10, 2024 | BUFF | R adjusted |
| V13.16 | Aug 16, 2023 | ADJUST | W buffed, Base stats nerfed |
Safety Tips
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