Champion Stats
| Role | Fighter / Tank |
| Difficulty | |
| Blue Essence | 675 BE |
Why High-Elo Players Smurf with Xin Zhao
Low elo players consistently overextend without vision, and Xin Zhao punishes this harder than any other jungler in the game. His Level 2 and Level 3 ganks are almost unavoidable due to the E dash into Q knockup combination. They don't respect the range extension from W marking them first—you can E from practically a screen away. His ultimate (Crescent Guard) creates a zone where ranged enemies deal zero damage to you, which confuses players who keep auto-attacking you from outside the circle. A smurf Xin snowballs the game so hard that the enemy jungler is completely irrelevant by 10 minutes.
The Level 1 Cheese
First Blood Strategy
Start E (Audacious Charge) for early invades. If your team has CC or burst (like a Pantheon or Twisted Fate), invade the enemy buff. E onto the enemy jungler gives you instant attack speed while slowing them. You win almost any auto-attack trade at Level 1 with Lethal Tempo or Conqueror stacking. If they started Red, meet them at their Blue buff; if they started Blue, catch them at Red. Even if you don't get the kill, burning their Flash means they're dead at Level 3 when you come back.
The 'Pay-to-Win' Skin Advantage
'Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao' makes you feel like Lu Bu (Dynasty Warriors). 'Dragonslayer' is cool. 'Secret Agent' is crisp. 'Cosmic Defender' has nice particles.
When They Ban Xin Zhao
Backup Pick: If Xin is banned,
Jarvan IV for the flag-drag engage.
Vi for the single target lockdown.
Lee Sin for the early pressure.
Rune Setup
Best Runes: Conqueror (Dueling) or Hail of Blades (Burst). Hail of Blades guarantees the Q knockup instantly. Secondary Inspiration (Cosmic Insight) or Sudden Impact.
Skill Priority
Order:
W → E → QMax W first for the poke/slow/clear speed. Max E second for the attack speed steroid. Q last.
Mastering Xin Zhao's Kit
Three Talon Strike. Next 3 autos deal damage. 3rd knocks up. Reduces other cooldowns.
Wind Becomes Lightning. Slash then Thrust. Thrust slows heavily and marks targets. Increases E range massively against marked targets.
Audacious Charge. Dashes to enemy. Slows. Grants Attack Speed.
Crescent Guard. Knocks back all enemies (except the one you challenged/hit last). Creates zone. Immune to damage from outside zone.
Matchup Tips
Impossible. Counterstrike beats your entire kit. Do not fight him.
Skill. He kites you. If you get on top of him with Phase Rush/E, you win. If he maintains distance, you die.
Easy. Invade him. Kill him. Steal his blue. Make him cry.
The Ego Check
WARNING: Stop pressing R too early! Crescent Guard (R) knocks enemies back and creates a zone of immunity from outside damage. If you E onto a squishy and immediately press R, you might knock them to safety and save their life. The correct pattern is: E (dash) > Q (knockup) > Auto > Auto > R (when their team collapses to help). Use R to ISOLATE a target from their team's peel, or hold it until you're low HP to block incoming damage from ranged threats. Your R doesn't block damage from the person you're attacking—only from their teammates outside the circle. Master the timing and you become unkillable during dives.
When to Queue Dodge
Dodge Jax. He dodges your Q/Passive. He stuns you. He outscales you. You cannot win.
Teamfight Role
In teamfights, you dive the carry. W (mark them) -> E (dash long range) -> Q (knockup). When the enemy team turns on you, press R. You are now immune to their backline/mages while you kill the target inside your circle. You are a 1v1 duelist in a 5v5 game.
The 'Disrespect' Build
Crit Xin Zhao. Essence Reaver -> Shieldbow -> Infinity Edge. Your Q damage scales with Crit. W scales with Crit. You blow people up in 2 hits.
Power Windows
Level 2 (Gank). Level 6 (Invulnerability). First Item (Eclipse/Titanic/Trinity). You fall off late compared to pure tanks.
Tilt Factor
Spam 'Here's a tip, and a spear behind it'. Invading their buff and killing them at level 2 tilts the jungler permanently.
Recent Patch History
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
| V14.18 | Sep 11, 2024 | BUFF | Q buffed, Base stats buffed |
| V14.5 | Mar 6, 2024 | BUFF | Q adjusted |
| V13.17 | Aug 30, 2023 | ADJUST | P nerfed |
| V12.22 | Nov 16, 2022 | NERF | Base stats nerfed |
| V12.21 | Nov 2, 2022 | BUFF | P buffed, E buffed |
Safety Tips
Safety isn't an accident. It's a deliberate process. By the time you log in, the account is already 'cleared' by Riot's systems.
