Xin Main: Xin feeling pretty weak ATM :/

Time2ConductEvil·1/2/2016, 3:37:27 PM·1 votes·1,032 views

I feel like Riot's Balance Team probably aren't going to touch him (problematic kit, higher priority champs etc). But over the last two patches, my main man has fallen like a rock. Where my grievances lie:

  • The game is focussed on early pressure, so Xin should be doing amazing, yet this guy takes far longer to clear than the following: Rengar MasterYi LeeSin DrMundo Jax
  • He does less damage early, and therefore duels poorly vs the following: Jax MasterYi Trundle Rengar DrMundo
  • In order to feel like I'm doing anywhere near carry-level damage (something the early-focussed junglers do) I require a stacked Sated Devourer and Guinsoo's. This will on average be at 18-25 mins, leaving no gold for tank stats since you will be dying A LOT with this rush.
  • He still drops off like a rock lategame, unless the enemy team allows him to walk over their DPS.

So it strikes me that he is currently a poor choice at ALL stages of the game, as the argument of "he wrecks if fed" applies to anyone. Farm-focussed for stacking Devourer? Go Yi, faster clears and better damage. Gank focussed? Go Lee, better gank paths and better map mobility. Dive the enemy backline a lot? Go Jax, better scaling and dueling skills. Want to be frontline? Go Mundo, shouldn't need to point out why.

His winrate picked up a bit last patch from the abysmal 45% he hit, but nothing about him has changed from what I can tell right? Guinsoo's got a cost increase, Devourer base damage was nerfed, but he still tanked quite hard.

TL,DR; Does he need some attention? His base values and clearspeed are quite weak for early-focus, particularly if he drops off later on. Maybe we'll just have to wait for a rework since his kit is pretty old and basic, not really allowing much flexibility for balance.

7 Comments

MunchCrunchLunch1/2/2016, 4:04:15 PM2 votes

lmao. okay dude. I play xin every once in a while . and obviously he can't duel jax or yi. but he can kill mundo trundle and rengar. why is rengar even there. idk how you play but xin is very fucking strong. and he has more sustain than most junglers. jax has no sustain at all. his E helps but i don't consider it sustain. yi has good clear. and good sustain. but blue dependant early. xin doesn't require that much mana and is not bad when it come to clearing. and btw rengar is one of the worst meta junglers. IDk if you play rengar. but hes not a viable jungler. hes literally. bad. as a jungler. the only reason hes in jungle because he has great ganks and thats where he belongs in a team comp. but he has little sustain. no clearance speed at all. and takes too much damage

EndlessSorcerer1/2/2016, 3:45:17 PM1 votes

I find that he's still fine.

Devourer + Fervor of Battle is more than enough damage for me to stay relevant early. After that, I will typically get a couple defensive items (i.e. Deadman's Plate and Spirit Visage) before building Blade of the Ruined King or Titanic Hydra for additional on-hit damage.

While he isn't as specialized as some of the picks you mention, his main strength is that he has very strong early ganks while still scaling well with Devourer. Instead of having to focus on farming it up, you can still have strong ganks. Even if you don't rush stacking your Devourer, you will still often have it before 20 minutes if you've converted your gank pressure into a Dragon or Rift Herald.

He'll be even stronger next patch if the Fervor of Battle buffs go through.

Faeri Pinkett1/2/2016, 3:45:17 PM1 votes

I've noticed this to a degree also, but probably not at the extent that you assume.

Xin's not weak, Xin's xin. He's been unchanged (Largely.) for a long time, what has been changed are the items associated with him and that benefit him.

Might I ask what type of runes you're choosing to run when you go Xin Zhao? Attack damage/Attack speed/armor? Lifesteal/armor/attackspeed/attack damage?

I notice alot with Xin, your runes matter. I invested in attack speed glyphs, attack dmg marks, two lifesteal quints, one damage quint, 9 armor seals. Works great with clearing, You should focus on invading if you want to snowball kill. Take smite/ignite and learn to invade efficiently. (I'm only silver, but I have four or so years of playing league of legends under my belt.)

I mean, he has a 50% winrate right now. http://champion.gg/champion/XinZhao

RedCyclone1/2/2016, 4:20:44 PM1 votes

Xin is pretty damn good right now

Literally the only damage items you need are Devo and Rageblade, then build fulltank He may have a little trouble doing things early, but becomes an unstoppable monster mid and late

Nuyinto1/2/2016, 4:21:08 PM1 votes

xins weak?

glad to hear it