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How do you build Assassin Shaco now?

Trash MammaI··3 votes·987 views

Without building those trash devourer/rageblade items

Every since the horrible item changes that came in preseason patch i've not been able to do well with Shaco. I went from doing consistently well ( or at the very least dominating the earl game) in just about every single game I played with him. To being unable to do freaking squat with him.

I've tried hybrid shaco i've tried tank shaco i've tried full ad shaco i've tried bruiser literally can't do anything with him anymore. My damage seems nonexistant for a freaking assassin stealth is a horrible mechanic with the new sweeper/pinks being cheaper.

At first I thought it was me who was just doing horribly bad with Shaco, but there's no way it's only me if I go from always ALWAYS having a consistent playstyle throughout hundreds of games and having the same results (more or less) to a drastic decrease over a single patch.

I have 155k Mastery points with Shaco and experimented with him religiously on almost every single viable build path since I started playing him. I played Assassin shaco almost non-stop in every game and played Tank shaco slightly less.

I've put more than enough time into him to say you've completely gutted every viable build path except the sated/ap route now. Sated being partially good because it only works against dumb teams and any competitive team/duo(or premade) would easily be able to shut you down.

I know everyones mains gets gutted eventually but I never would've expected freaking Shaco to be hit so hard. Guess we better gut Yorick or Galio next.

To any Shaco main out there that's able to make him work outside of abusing cheese items that'll just be nerfed in a couple patches. I envy you.

30 Comments

TeCoolMage1 votes

Hey, I have 155k mastery points in a mid lane immobile Mage and you don't see me complaining

Oh and fiddlesticks is sad.

I think Shaco builds like a ton of crit nowadays or something, phantom dancer + statikk.

Even though I have absolutely no experience in Shaco, here's a build I pulled out of my game theory behind!

Statikk, PD, BoTRK, challenging smite Devourer/warrior, black cleaver, swiftness/mercy treads furor/alacrity

Maybe replace BoTRK with frozen mallet and challenging smite with chilling smite

Rush cutlass after your machete start, to help with ganks afterwards even if it's not too necessary. Do all the normal stuff a Shaco does, but with so much sticking power you get to proc backstab damage constantly if they run away, making you a huge threat regardless of damage when they don't run. Relies on high damage allies over high CC allies but both work.

MLDzXnRRR1 votes

Shaco with IE is the best kser in the game.

Valrun1 votes

Something like this:

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2027740353/36632479?tab=overview

Pick up an IE, A Phantom Dancer, Triforce and you're golden. Instakills for days. Replace where needed for Armor pen or whatever.

Kr1sys1 votes

The biggest hit were the mastery changes. Shaco being a somewhat hybrid damage champ early in game and now you have to choose between ap or ad masteries in each tier.

I'm not sure about the hate about sated though, it's a good midgame item, and lets him not fall off as easily since we no longer have Tiamat to help our awful clear. If you're not able to stack devourer, you need to ward your jungle, or steal the enemy's jungle. If you can't do any of those, then it didn't matter if you were going devourer.

I haven't done much different other than incorporating new items into the build depending on the situation. You'll still want Hydra and Shiv, although PD can be subbed for Shiv if you need to make picks mid to late.

I've liked going Death's Dance for the dueling capability and synergy with Hydra. Death Man's Plate is a good item if you need to get tanky as it provides some burst on your first auto but gives you mobility if you need to get away. I find it better than GA, but it's going to depend on matchup and comp.

There's a lot of items you can go with on Shaco, these are just a few that I've found success with.

Trash MammaI1 votes

I hate sated because I don't like the idea of giving up early game (since I play mainly early game champs) stats just for a possible late game spike. As a shaco main I counter jungle hard and usually people end up giving up on sated and going warrior/cinderhulk. That's the downside to the item and it's too big of a downside for my taste.

I don't/never build crit items on Shaco so idk about Shiv

Deathsdance would be a good item if his E was physical damage but it's magical, so is his box and ult you don't get a full benefit of the item so I didn't build it.

I've experimented with a multitude of shaco builds since preseason none of them are viable in a competitive environment where both teams want to actually win

Kr1sys1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Simple Tora,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=YnkOVVw9,comment-id=00030000,timestamp=2015-12-04T16:15:27.925+0000)

I hate sated because I don't like the idea of giving up early game (since I play mainly early game champs) stats just for a possible late game spike. As a shaco main I counter jungle hard and usually people end up giving up on sated and going warrior/cinderhulk. That's the downside to the item and it's too big of a downside for my taste.

I don't/never build crit items on Shaco so idk about Shiv

Deathsdance would be a good item if his E was physical damage but it's magical, so is his box and ult you don't get a full benefit of the item so I didn't build it.

I've experimented with a multitude of shaco builds since preseason none of them are viable in a competitive environment where both teams want to actually win

You're not really getting devourer for the 'late game spike'. it's a strong mid game item that procs your on hits, like Shiv and Hydra(which is what I prefer).

Death's Dance is a good dueling item, so you can take on more than just their squishy target.

IE increases your Q damage, so I'm not really sure why you'd consider it an item not to get. I don't ever rush it because of the cost, but if I'm fed enough I'll go early on it.

Trash MammaI1 votes

The boost IE gives isn't important if you're already 1-2 shotting people without it, instead I can get a BT for even more lifesteal when i'm in a clutch situation or hex/maw for MR shield when there's a mage catching me off guard.

Ex.

Vayne has 500 hp. I Q and crit her for 500. (Without IE) Vayne has 500 hp. I Q and crit her for 700. (With IE)

200 damage wasn't even needed. Meaning that crit bonus did absolutely nothing for me. Where as if I had say BT I got some HP off it if I wasn't at full (silly example I know but it's the best I could think of on the spot) It's just a pointless stat on him conidering you're guarenteed a crit already.

Death's Dance I know is a good dueling item it's rapidly becoming my favorite item and is the main item in my "Unmatched" Trundle builld it's just not all that useful on Shaco since you're not able to utilize the passive of his at all

Devourer while i know is strong once it is sated, I just don't like the idea of it. Typically when I play Shaco I have low cs because I spend more time pressuring than farming. I do a camp. counter jungle. Gank a lane. Do a camp. Gank a lane gank another lane do a camp gank a lane then counter etc. I don't spend a lot of time farming because as Shaco your strong point is pressure. You shouldn't be farming for stacks when you could easily just go warrior and keep rising in power applying more and more pressure on the map. Not to mention being counter jungled when you're going sated can screw you over immensely

Dreadlocks1 votes

Go ap shaco and hope for the best i guess. Lol

Stonington1 votes

Why do you think he's been gutted? What about the preseason changes have made him less viable?

Trash MammaI1 votes

Gold removal from jungle camps. It's harder for him to get one of his core items (hydra) which was all of his waveclear (unless you were one of those people that played crit shaco) it also removed his strongest feat which was being able to abuse his strong early game and get a massive gold leave on his opponent

Hydra's gold increase..I don't even know why this happened

Mastery changes suck

CDR is harder to get now

Item build paths are retarded as crap

Tiamat nerf no longer gives the hydra passive (why did this change happen?)

etc. etc.

Stonington1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Simple Tora,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=YnkOVVw9,comment-id=00050000,timestamp=2015-12-04T16:10:29.789+0000)

Gold removal from jungle camps. It's harder for him to get one of his core items (hydra) which was all of his waveclear (unless you were one of those people that played crit shaco) it also removed his strongest feat which was being able to abuse his strong early game and get a massive gold leave on his opponent

I had to double check, but yeah, they increased gold from the jungle.

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/patch/patch-522-notes

But farming up with Shaco is kinda silly anyway. His kit sucks for farming the jungle. One of the worst in the game. He also doesn't rely on attack speed so devourer isn't a good item.

Hydra's gold increase..I don't even know why this happened

Fair point.

Mastery changes suck

Not really, I'd argue they're better now that ap/ad are on the same mastery. I think it's a moot point though.

CDR is harder to get now

It's actually easier to get with reaver.

Item build paths are retarded as crap

Are they?

Tiamat nerf no longer gives the hydra passive (why did this change happen?)

Very fair point to make. I've seen some Shacos just skip building a jungle item past the first piece and go straight into building a hydra. My build path last split was also blue/purple smite into hydra because hydra is just so important I wouldn't finish a jungle item. That's what shaclone does too. Shaclone does a bruiser Shaco build that I like. You get your hydra then you build tanky cdr items. People love to focus the Shaco, so being able to take a bunch of hits helps, especially when you have your clone tanking too.

As far as assassin Shaco goes, I'd assume the build is the same as ever. Hydra - shiv - IE I guess you could replace IE with reaver now since cdr is really good on Shaco.

Trash MammaI1 votes

I probably didn't include this in my post so it's my own fault but I don't build crit on Shaco.

Stonington1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Simple Tora,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=YnkOVVw9,comment-id=0005000000000000,timestamp=2015-12-04T16:39:01.718+0000)

I probably didn't include this in my post so it's my own fault but I don't build crit on Shaco.

Why don't you want to include crit?

Trash MammaI1 votes

If you're building crit you're probably playing a bruiser-ish Shaco. One who is meant to duel people, not assassinate which is more my flavor

It's a wasted stat on him. With Crit Shaco I built item 1400 item 3072 item 1331 item 3074 item 3156 (last item was situational).

It allowed him to maximize the potential of his Q by having a ton of raw damage to build up into that one crit and instagib. He's not a champ meant to fight more than a few hits against an enemy

Kr1sys2 votes

[{quoted}](name=Simple Tora,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=YnkOVVw9,comment-id=000500000000000000000000,timestamp=2015-12-04T16:54:01.473+0000)

If you're building crit you're probably playing a bruiser-ish Shaco. One who is meant to duel people, not assassinate which is more my flavor

It's a wasted stat on him. With Crit Shaco I built item 1400 item 3072 item 1331 item 3074 item 3156 (last item was situational).

It allowed him to maximize the potential of his Q by having a ton of raw damage to build up into that one crit and instagib. He's not a champ meant to fight more than a few hits against an enemy

Crit isn't a wasted stat lol

Stonington1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Simple Tora,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=YnkOVVw9,comment-id=000500000000000000000000,timestamp=2015-12-04T16:54:01.473+0000)

If you're building crit you're probably playing a bruiser-ish Shaco. One who is meant to duel people, not assassinate which is more my flavor

It's a wasted stat on him. With Crit Shaco I built item 1400 item 3072 item 1331 item 3074 item 3156 (last item was situational).

It allowed him to maximize the potential of his Q by having a ton of raw damage to build up into that one crit and instagib. He's not a champ meant to fight more than a few hits against an enemy

I think you have that backwards mate. Hydra+Shiv combo off of Q gives you more damage than any other two item combo. Shiv is also cheaper and it gives higher DPS due to the AS/crit and better sticking power due to MS passive. Go three items deep and hydra/shiv/IE gives much greater burst than any other 3 item combo due to IE's crit damage increase.

I suppose you could argue that rapid fire cannon can do as much damage as a shiv if not more, but it doesn't give you waveclear and you don't need the passive. At the very least you should be building hydra before BT because the active is so good.

Trash MammaI1 votes

That's why I said you're going a bruiser-ish Shaco. Assassin's get in. Kill squishy targets. Get out (or at least attempt to in shaco's case since his only escape is his only engage)

If you have attack speed on Shaco you're planning to duel not assassinate. Also I posted a reply on why I don't like crit items on Shaco a few comments below.

I understand the build you mean though and yes, it's viable. Assassin and Tank Shaco are the ones that got hit hard, which is sad considering Shaco is in fact an Assassin and Tank shaco (while still viable) is an incredibly expensive build. With these new masteries giving people crazy spikes his early game strength (while still there) isn't as strong as it should be.

Since the preseason I spent a ton of trying to replicate clear speeds/enemy clear speeds damage in and output from both me and my opponents for when I gank etc.

I spent most of this time trying to do assassin shaco and I know for a fact that he's an incredibly weak assassin right now.

Even if I got an early kill or two i'd go back with way less gold than previously because of how kill gold works now.

I may seem a bit whiney over my main but I know for a fact Shaco is a LOT weaker now. It's irritating I can't play an assassin as an assassin it was difficult enough before the preseason now it's just infuriating. Luckily I have found Trundle to be a hilariously strong pick right now to keep me from giving up on league

Stonington1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Simple Tora,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=YnkOVVw9,comment-id=00050000000000000000000000010000,timestamp=2015-12-04T17:54:09.366+0000)

That's why I said you're going a bruiser-ish Shaco. Assassin's get in. Kill squishy targets. Get out (or at least attempt to in shaco's case since his only escape is his only engage)

If you have attack speed on Shaco you're planning to duel not assassinate. Also I posted a reply on why I don't like crit items on Shaco a few comments below.

I understand the build you mean though and yes, it's viable. Assassin and Tank Shaco are the ones that got hit hard, which is sad considering Shaco is in fact an Assassin and Tank shaco (while still viable) is an incredibly expensive build. With these new masteries giving people crazy spikes his early game strength (while still there) isn't as strong as it should be.

Since the preseason I spent a ton of trying to replicate clear speeds/enemy clear speeds damage in and output from both me and my opponents for when I gank etc.

I spent most of this time trying to do assassin shaco and I know for a fact that he's an incredibly weak assassin right now.

Even if I got an early kill or two i'd go back with way less gold than previously because of how kill gold works now.

I may seem a bit whiney over my main but I know for a fact Shaco is a LOT weaker now. It's irritating I can't play an assassin as an assassin it was difficult enough before the preseason now it's just infuriating. Luckily I have found Trundle to be a hilariously strong pick right now to keep me from giving up on league

Dude, do the math, it does more burst damage and DPS than flat damage.

Kr1sys1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Simple Tora,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=YnkOVVw9,comment-id=00050000000000000000000000010000,timestamp=2015-12-04T17:54:09.366+0000)

That's why I said you're going a bruiser-ish Shaco. Assassin's get in. Kill squishy targets. Get out (or at least attempt to in shaco's case since his only escape is his only engage)

If you have attack speed on Shaco you're planning to duel not assassinate. Also I posted a reply on why I don't like crit items on Shaco a few comments below.

I understand the build you mean though and yes, it's viable. Assassin and Tank Shaco are the ones that got hit hard, which is sad considering Shaco is in fact an Assassin and Tank shaco (while still viable) is an incredibly expensive build. With these new masteries giving people crazy spikes his early game strength (while still there) isn't as strong as it should be.

Since the preseason I spent a ton of trying to replicate clear speeds/enemy clear speeds damage in and output from both me and my opponents for when I gank etc.

I spent most of this time trying to do assassin shaco and I know for a fact that he's an incredibly weak assassin right now.

Even if I got an early kill or two i'd go back with way less gold than previously because of how kill gold works now.

I may seem a bit whiney over my main but I know for a fact Shaco is a LOT weaker now. It's irritating I can't play an assassin as an assassin it was difficult enough before the preseason now it's just infuriating. Luckily I have found Trundle to be a hilariously strong pick right now to keep me from giving up on league

I wouldn't say a lot weaker. His win rates dropped in Bronze and Silver by a bit, I'm sure for various reasons between being bad players and not adjusting with the preseason. His win rates went up or evened out in Plat+, stayed similar in gold. There's more frustrating counterplay to deal with but if you're good you can find a way around the additional crap. That's why Shaco has been a pretty stable champion for the last few seasons, the ones that know how to work with his kit can find their way around obstacles whether in the game or out.

Also, if you don't 'like' items on a champion but everyone else is suggesting to go with those, maybe you should use them and see how that changes your perception, because you're the one asking how do we build, and then tossing our advice aside because you don't like it.

WarlockLaw1 votes

Crit has been awful on Shaco for quite a while now, he just doesn't have the same insta gib potential.

That said evidently it's back. champion.gg shows static shiv and IE back in his builds

Kr1sys2 votes

{quoted}

Crit has been awful on Shaco for quite a while now, he just doesn't have the same insta gib potential.

That said evidently it's back. champion.gg shows static shiv and IE back in his builds

That's precisely why Crit isn't a wasted stat on him. Very rarely will you find that a Q crit + E will outright delete someone, that's where crit comes in handy because it's cheap and many of the passives on those items help Shaco do what he does best.

WarlockLaw1 votes

When I first started playing Shaco a couple of months ago his best builds didn't have crit. He could easily kill people with q > hydra > auto > e

Kr1sys1 votes

{quoted}

When I first started playing Shaco a couple of months ago his best builds didn't have crit. He could easily kill people with q > hydra > auto > e

Crit helps you more mid to late than it will early for Shaco. I haven't had a reason yet to buy IE because I've found building towards the one job of instagibbing a champ is eliminated later in the game when the enemy will just inevitably group and drop cheap pinks or use Oracle Alteration. Usually the standard build for me has been:

item 3930 item 3006 item 3074 item 3812 item 3087 and situational

Stonington2 votes

{quoted}

Crit has been awful on Shaco for quite a while now, he just doesn't have the same insta gib potential.

That said evidently it's back. champion.gg shows static shiv and IE back in his builds

It never left mate.

MunchCrunchLunch1 votes

but that goes for every jungler now. except those that use rageblade. AP junglers got the worst hit

FHMarshy1 votes

I usually rush item 1400 item 1303 and item 3074. Then item 3031

EcchiOtakuTM1 votes

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/yYBm9rXq-i-honestly-love-the-changes-placed-in-however-i-as-well-as-many-have-a-few-suggestions

19,20, 29 would help shaco immensely.

NazZomLord1 votes

item 3031 item 3156 item 3087 item 3185 item 3074 item 3158

ChoasExperiment1 votes

item 1082 item 2010 item 2010 item 3070 item 3165 ..etc

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