How do I gank properly, especially as Shaco?

QuasarTec·2/5/2015, 5:23:14 PM·1 votes·3,787 views

Hello I'm Quasar I don't do well in most lanes but really enjoy the jungle as I main Shaco, but apparently have bad map awareness and can't gank very well. What lvl should I gank as Shaco because I start with my boxes, get 2 shiv poison next and then my Q which is what I use to engage a gank. Any tips on how to jungle correctly, gank do I buy wards and get a sweeping lens, do i ping my teammates sorry if i sound really nooby, but I don't know how to jungle correctly I feel I make my teammates lose their lanes cause i can't help them properly. Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated.

10 Comments

GummyBearWookiee2/5/2015, 5:59:47 PM1 votes

Oof...good questions. I can't answer you for Shaco...so I'll give you just generalized tips.

When should you start to gank? Honestly it will depend a lot on matchups...but with Shaco you want to get pressure early...so make your presence known by the time you get both of your buffs...even if it's just letting them see you. Now...knowing when to gank isn't easy...pay attention to every lane before you make your decision. You want to try to gank a lane that's pushed in on your team...it maximizes the distance the enemy will be forced to back off which gives you more time to sink your teeth in.

Remember...if you show up and they're forced to burn a flash...that's a successful gank even if they got away with no damage. Mark down the time of the flash in your chat so you know how long his flash is down...just guestimate. Because their flash is down...it makes ganking much easier for the next 5 mins or so until it's back up.

Never gank a losing lane...if your bot lane is 0-6 combined....you ganking that lane and potential giving up a triple isn't worth it. Tell them to turtle and gank mid and top so that you can snowball your other lanes instead.

Yes you buy wards...but a lot of wards. If you have 75 gold on yea...pick up a green...pink up the occasional pink. Ward for your mid and top as much as you can though you don't need to over do it. A well placed deep ward will work better for them both in the long run. When you buy your sweeping lens depends on the jungler...for instance I wouldn't get it on Lee Sin til level 9 or so and only after my sight stone. As shaco though...it's very handy to have that vision control so you know they don't see you coming...I'd get it pretty early, maybe even on your first or second back.

ScreamPaste2/5/2015, 6:10:37 PM1 votes

As far as actually executing a gank goes, particularly as Shaco, there's a couple different ways to do it, and a few general rules.

Always have mana. Do not bother if you only have enough for one Q. You'll miss the kill or die.
Know where the wards are. Ask your laners to ping where their opponent places their wards, mentally keep timers on these wards.
Bypass the wards by taking alternate routes, wall hopping, or ganking a different lane entirely.
You do not always need to use Deceive to get in. If someone is pushed enough you can just walk right into lane and drop a box in their escape path, while spamming laugh. This will make them angry and frustrated, and probably burn both their flash and their escape. Here is where you use your Q, chilling smite, etc, to catch them and hopefully secure the kill if your laner did enough damage.
Know Shaco's limits. Dude is squishier than some ADCs, and melee ranged. Ward often, juke hard, keep their attention but never risk feeding.

BlazinHot62/5/2015, 6:13:01 PM1 votes

If you need help with Shaco, you should watch NightBlu3's stream. He is a former pro gamer and one of the top twitch streamers. He plays Shaco a LOT.

Toothierosprey32/5/2015, 6:18:15 PM1 votes

I generally gank over walls, not out of bushes, because nobody wards on the other side of a wall most of the time. The wall next to the tri bush is a good place to gank from. Just watch out for pink wards in the bushes you walk by.

slôw2/5/2015, 6:34:02 PM1 votes

Keep in mind you can see the smoke from shaco Q in bush, so usually doing counter ganks help more.

I would focus on trying to make the enemy jungler die and mess with his jungle, shaco is very powerful counter jungler and staying in enemy jungle placing boxes everywhere can make them rage pretty hard and tilt the rest of their team.