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Any Shaco mains out there can help me out?

Trash MammaI·3/22/2015, 8:15:11 AM·1 votes·566 views

Been playing a lot of shaco/udyr jungle and I've been doing pretty well with udyr managing everything perfectly but Shaco i'm having a bit of an issue with.

For one i'm not sure if i'm using decent runes/masteries though they seem to help for the most part.

My main issue is pathing in the jungle. Normally I start blue buff then run straight to the enemy red take that then take their golems since most people tend to back after taking one side. (if they take tooo long ill go for raptors as well ;D im a theif, guilty) Then I finish out my entire jungle and go b. Next I start ganking like crazy and taking scuttle crab etc, but I can never seem to keep the hp to solo drag early without it being even riskier than normal.

Also when I start ganking even if they're all successful I tend to fall behind like crazy (level wise) and no matter how much I take the enemy junglers camps they always seem to match my level/be higher. (normally after my first b I tend to gank more than farm. Maybe tax lanes but that's bout it)

When I play udyr I do mainly this same thing (only I usually go gromp-blue-their red(probs get a kill or burn a flash and take the buff) and I counter jungle like crazy and gank as much as possible (only I can actually take drag at 4) And I can always stay ahead of the enemy jungler.

I play very similar with both but for some reason on Shaco I can never seem to get ahead. Late game (once I get about 3-4 items) I tend to start doing insanely well, but early game is always a mess for me even if I do get ahead I can never seem to stay ahead nor can I keep the enemy behind. I don't get what i'm doing wrong.

P.S: If you got a rune/mastery page that would be helpful P.S.S:Is Shaco able to solo drag early if so how early?

Asking Shaco mains cause im planning to play a looot of shaco and his play style is pretty unique compared to most junglers

4 Comments

i surf3/22/2015, 8:50:08 AM1 votes

I always try to mirror the side the enemy jungler is starting. I solo my buff with my boxes, then go to the buff he is doing at that time and kill him/ take his buff. If you Q into the bushes near the enemy buff and place a box where they might run, you can get first blood more than half the time and pretty much always take their first buff and cause them to back. This get you in a huge lead to clear and bank. Also, dont bring flash as shaco, bring ignite. Its a common tip but i still see some people bring flash.

EndlessSorcerer3/22/2015, 5:47:40 PM1 votes

I'm not really a Shaco player, but I'll still try to give some advice.

I'd recommend invading the enemy jungler when they are doing their camps, instead of stealing their jungle while they aren't there. If you want to do an early invade, choose your starting buff to mirror the enemy junglers position. When doing the camp, stack boxes and get a bit of a leash so you can kill it without using smite.

After your first buff, invade the enemy jungle. You should still have smite up while they would have used it on their first camp (typically Krugs or Gromp), so you can steal their buff and kill them afterwards (or at least set them behind). Make sure you learn where junglers commonly start and ward, though. Most champions start Krugs or Gromp, but some champions may have different starts. For example, a tank on blue side might opt to start Red Buff instead of Krugs.

I find that I usually ward over the buff wall on my first clear, so they to avoid those areas. In particular, I ward in the buff behind red buff (near the river or dragon\baron pit) or over the wall at blue buff (over the wall, either towards mid or in the river). You should have more luck going through tribush (either top or bot) on either side since many players will not use their trinket ward before 3 minutes.

Also, I noticed that you appear to build a lot of AD and armor pen (Last Whisper, Black Cleaver, etc), but that isn't always the best option. I find that many Shaco players will opt for a splitpushing item after their jungle enchantment (typically Statikk Shiv or Ravenous Hydra). These items let Shaco splitpush later in the game, help him clear jungle camps faster, and provide extra burst damage for ganks and assassinations.

For runes, yours seem alright (though I'd recommend taking the extra 3 armor instead of AD seals). Though, I'd personally recommend using Flat or Scaling MR Glyphs instead of flat CDR, for better survivability when invading and ganking.

For masteries, I'd recommend using 21/9/0 instead of 25/0/5. It gives you most survivability when dueling and trading. Your don't really need more than one point in Warlord and the Butcher/Feast masteries aren't extremely useful since the machete line gives a lot of regen and your boxes can tank damage for you. In particular, I'd recommend a setup like this. Keep in mind, Expose Weakness applies to your own damage as well, so it's basically a free damage increase.

Also, upgrade your trinket ASAP. Shaco benefits greatly from vision control since it allows him to better counterjungle, gank, and countergank. The Greater Stealth Totem is essentially 250G for free wards which recharge in the field and the Oracle's Lens works well for objective control and vision denial. If you can ward up the enemy jungle, it helps keep your lanes safer (since they have a better idea of where the enemy jungle is) and opens more opportunities for you.

If you want to see some videos, I believe Tekglow is a high-elo Shaco player with a lot of videos on Youtube. A lot of his videos are on Tekk.