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Help me create the best Shen build GD!

Frigid Ice Storm·2/16/2016, 2:41:53 AM·5 votes·1,095 views

Hey guys, so I've been experimenting with Shen in custom games against intermediate bots and trying out different builds, and I mostly just chose items that addressed problems I had with Shen. So first I built a item 3068 , pretty standard for lane, gives you 500 hp, 50 armor, and waveclear + magic damage. Then I noticed how slow Shen's attacks were and how slow he was in general so I looked at all the attack speed items and I was really intrigued by the stats on item 3046 . It gives you 45% attack speed which is higher than all the other attack speed items by it self excluding item 3115 , which gives you 50% attack speed but isn't as useful for Shen. The phantom dancer's stats really struck me as extremely useful, the attack speed would help me duel people, the movement speed on just the item was pretty good at 5%. But the best parts were the unique passives, the movement speed bonus would get increased to 12% when near enemy champions, lets you move through units, and you take 12% less damage from the last enemy champion you hit, which is a pretty good tank stat.

After that a problem I noticed was how the enemy bots always got away, they were simply faster than me and I didn't have enough stickyness to keep up with them and keep attacking. The E's cooldown was extremely long, and I'm pretty sure the enemy Nasus bot was maxing his wither, because it was like being stunned =/=. So I decided to get item 3022 , yet again another good tank item with an even better unique passive. They couldn't escape me anymore, the moment I landed an autoattack, they simply couldn't run. The 40% movement speed slow is the same as item 3092 , and I was constantly refreshing it. Imagine having a permanent Frost Queen's ghost slow on you. Yeah it's pretty BS.

After this I wanted more damage, tankyness, and waveclear, so item 3748 was the item to go to, as it gave all of the things I mentioned I wanted. I then proceeded with selling my item 3009 for Deadmans. I wanted my final item to give me some sustain and let me kill their Darius and Nasus faster so I got item 3153 . I then sold my item 3742 for item 3078 as it gives small bursts of movement speed on hit, which synergized with my item 3022 .

My final build looked like this : item 3068 item 3748 item 3153 item 3078 item 3046 item 3022 . I did insane amounts of damage to both the Nasus and Darius bots who were building straight tank, and would have been impossible to kill in 1v2s for anyone else. I felt like this addressed all of Shen's issues, : waveclear, sustain, dueling, and lack of stickyness, because the E cooldown is pretty high.

If anyone else feels like there could be a better build or there's items that do the same job but better, please comment below and leave your thoughts on my build! I was also thinking of maybe a item 3025 in my build . but decided that Frozen Mallet was way better because a higher slow, doesn't have a cooldown on it, the Trinity Force already gives me the Sheen passive but a 200% one instead of 125 from iceborn, and the mana is useless on Shen. Thanks for reading this long post haha, and please leave your thoughts below.

~~Shenpai out! Shen

16 Comments

La Barbotte2/16/2016, 4:04:25 AM3 votes

item 1027 item 1027 item 1027 item 1027 item 1027 item 1027 Shen

A demonstration of superior gems

Shuriman Curator2/16/2016, 11:08:55 AM2 votes

Have you guys tried wits end on him yet? I remember building it on old shen a lot but I'm not sure how it is on him now.

Varnoc2/16/2016, 3:03:52 AM2 votes

I did a lot of testing with Shen builds on the PBE, my current favorite:

item 3748 item 3512 item 3190 Core Items item 3047 item 3111 item 3009 Boot Choices item 3143 item 3068 item 3742 Armor Options item 3065 item 3102 item 3026 Magic Resistance Options item 3153 item 3078 item 3139 Damage Options

The thing to understand about Shen right now is that, as a tank, his base stats are really awful, with the exception of his base health regeneration. The core items all have health regen on them, granting Shen exceptional sustain (which many people bemoan the loss of) in the early game, while the actives synergize extremely well with his play style.

  • Titanic's active is a basic attack reset, allowing you to deal massive damage in a short period of time when combined with Q.
  • ZZ'rot's passive makes Shen very mobile in lanes, though less so in the jungle, however the active counts as a structure, so placing it in the jungle to gain more movement speed isn't a bad idea if you need it. The active also counts as terrain, so it can be used to stop things like Sion's ult if you're clutch with it, or block off small corridors most of the way if you wanted to, allowing you to line up your taunt more easily till it's killed, and obviously it's a good split pushing tool.
  • Locket's active can save your behind, or that of your allies, once your passive/ult shields wear off. The passive aura is also good, but not the primary reason I grab this item.

Once you pass the core items you don't strictly need to pick up items with HP/5 on it, and you can be very flexible with your item choices. Shen's kit doesn't scale very well when compared to other characters, but this in its self can be a strength. It allows Shen to focus on items that are mostly utilitarian while still allowing him to succeed.

With all the actives Shen loves getting when building this way, you could even roll with a Ruby Sightstone later in the game to reduce the CD's of your items, and granting you fantastic vision control. Conversely, if you're support you'll be grabbing this anyway, so it's still extremely useful.

Why Not Eat It2/16/2016, 2:53:20 AM1 votes

You're missing a couple item 3053 's. :)

Seenan2/16/2016, 3:46:21 AM1 votes

My build ended up with item 1001 item 3068 item 3748 item 3065 item 3053 and item 3153. It's not so damage oriented, it merely relies on Titanic and Sunfire since he already deals % hp fairly often. Not so much sticking power though, unless you count bork and taunt.

Steraks can be taken out for Deadman's if necessary.

SH Azykan2/16/2016, 7:01:53 AM1 votes

Preferred top build item 3748 or item 3068 rush depending on whether lane opponent is AD or AP item 3065 next vs AP or get item 3748 if vs AD Pick up missing item above so build is item 3748 item 3068 item 3065

if split pushing is priority grab a item 3512 then item 3083 if teamfighting grab item 3053 and item 3143

Boots I almost always go for item 1332 for summoner spell cd and captain enchant is super strong as a front liner

Jungle item 1041 item 2031 item 3340 start Only tank on team item 1409 have other front line item 3932 item 3748 item 3742 item 3065 item 3143 item 1307 for the rest of the build

I like sated when you have other front liners because the damage it provides with titanic hydra and shen's q is super good on squishies. You can actually assassinate carries if they build full offensive items (E+Q engage and Auto + titanic AA reset is crazy strong) you are squishier with the build though, so if you are absolutely required to tank/peel, cinderhulk is better.

WiegrafOfValor2/16/2016, 11:43:34 AM1 votes

item 3009 item 3930 item 3115 item 3157 item 3116 item 3742

OR

item 3009 item 3930 item 3115 item 3157 item 3116 item 3089

Funky Donut2/16/2016, 2:44:35 AM1 votes

I haven't played Shen since his rework, but guessing from your build, maybe item 3156 could be pretty good on him, the stats on it are really amazing and the unique passive gives you a lot of sustain, and even more attack speed.

Naut2/16/2016, 2:12:35 PM1 votes

This isn't GD

Unstable Death2/16/2016, 2:47:13 AM1 votes

weell, i cant think of anything better, your build seems pretty good man

Wipe My Come Off2/16/2016, 2:48:28 AM1 votes

lol try item 3087 on shen, gives you waveclear, attack speed, and a lot of burst