Lets Talk About Shaco

INFINNATY·6/16/2015, 5:04:24 AM·1 votes·635 views

I really feel cheated in ranked when ever i go up against shaco. His early game pressure is arguably the best of any jungler and his late game burst is insane. There is also very little counter play to shaco except for pink wards. But you can't really just lay down a pink ward when your getting ganked by shaco because their is no indication that hes nearby (Like ) I feel like this doesnt promote healthy game play like riot has been preaching recently.

I have also read that a potential reason that riot wont nerf shaco is because he is a fan favorite. I really feel like this fact is irrelevant and shouldn't ever be considered when thinking about balancing a champion.

4 Comments

Schenix6/16/2015, 5:15:43 AM3 votes

Shaco in late game? You mean the minion that split pushes?

Late game Shaco is there just to nuke the ADC Marksman. And even then, your team should be able to protect you. If they can't -- make it a priority to have your Wards upgraded and control vision on the map. Basic stuff. In lane, you get a pink ward and put them where he ganks before he's there. His jungle pathing is quite clear, and is a glaring early game weakness.

Shaco is possibly the only champion in the game who truly feels like an assassin imo, and still has his counters as well as being squishy and absolutely useless in teamfights beyond initiating (and dying) to eliminate the ADC (or squishy mage, whichever is carrying harder). Which is why late game, all he does is split push, and kill people who are caught out.

tl;dr Get wards. Don't wander alone without vision.

Troy2426216/16/2015, 5:28:31 AM3 votes

He is actually a pretty healthy assassin design. His ultimate and W are both extremely positioning reliant, and he actually requires prior thought, planning and proper execution to succeed. This is in contrast to a lot of assassins that simply go R>WEQWEWEQWEWQEWEEQW with some AAs mixed in.

On top of this, he's risky, and extremely easy to fail, and is useless if played poorly. That's where the running gag the "Law of Shaco," comes from. He is also not very forgiving, unlike many assassins who can just press a button to survive a lot of their deaths.

Lastly, he can't just farm with ease ( Zed ) to scale well. He has to get off his ass and work for it. He's extremely fun, very unique and has an ABUNDANCE of meaningful counterplay that feels good to abuse because it often means he fails or outright dies.

In my mind, Shaco doesn't need any changes right now. He's a good champion, but not OP or poorly designed. Shaco is the most legitimate assassin in this game, if you ask me.

Zarxis6/16/2015, 5:16:51 AM1 votes

You shouldn't feel cheated when you go up against a Shaco in ranked; you should feel like your team has the opportunity to win teamfights almost by default if your team can handle Shaco's early game pressure, which simply requires that you don't overextend and consider how much damage Shaco can do during the time it takes you to run to your tower. He thrives when you simply assume that he's any other jungler— a jungler you would see coming if you had/have regular wards out. If your team actually adapts to playing against Shaco (not overextending and remembering that lane opponents could have a little extra damage from him to finish you off at any given time), he will become a liability to his team, nothing more than a splitpusher and dragon solo-er if you're careful.

Consider playing Lee Sin or another champion with built-in stealth detection if you really want to screw over an enemy Shaco, and make sure your jungler is prepared in case your red gets invaded.

Riot doesn't plan on nerfing him because he's currently in a good spot. His winrates are close to 50% across all ranks, and he does have counterplay (early game=towers, mid/late=upgraded scanner trinkets and pink wards).