Assassin Shaco Guide - Which is better AP or AD?
Check out this article to learn about Shaco, how the assassin update affected him, and what's to come for The Demon Jestor.
With the assassin update changing the landscape of Summoner's Rift and the inhabitants within it, it's important to keep up to date with the meta and the champions that are now being played as a result of this. In this guide I will discuss the changes to Shaco, how they affect him, and how to optimize his play. While it may not seem like it, Shaco's playstyle, his strengths, and his weaknesses have changed drastically because of the new assassin update. The new update has even catapulted Shaco into becoming the 4th highest winrate jungler with a 55.36% winrate.
Image courtesy of op.gg
Shaco is widely regarded as a selfish, unhelpful champion that can only win while ahead but the new updated Shaco, when played correctly, can be both a teamfighting assassin, splitpush threat, with an incredibly strong mid-game to match it. As you can see from the graph below, Shaco has one of the best winrates in mid-game, and despite having an abysmal 40-minute plus winrate, the chances of games going on that long isn't too high.
Image courtesy of op.gg
While the biggest change may appear to be from his ultimate that now spawns three mini jack-in-the-boxes, the most notable difference in how Shaco is played, that came from the update, is in his Q (Deceive). Before the update, his stealth duration was a flat 3.5 seconds at all levels but has now been nerfed in early levels but also buffed in later levels to be 1.5/2.25/3/3.75/4.5 seconds. With pink wards no longer providing vision for invisibility, this became the biggest change to both Shaco's effectiveness, and how he should be played.
Items for AD and AP Shaco
Let me preface this section by saying that, with Shaco's changes being so recent, an optimal build hasn't really been found yet so builds tend to be decided by preference and playstyle from the player. Shaco is very similar to Lee Sin, in that, he can build according to what his team needs because almost every item is viable on him. In my opinion, the only must buy item for Shaco is a Tiamat as soon as possible for both AP and AD. Assuming that you build Infinity Edge into Statikk Shiv, that is when you get a huge power spike for AD Shaco. Deceive (Q)-AA-Tiamat-E into a thunderlords proc will almost always net you a kill onto a squishy target once you have completed these items. Along with this, these items will allow you to clear a wave almost immediately which allows you to have much higher splitpush threat compared to AP Shaco.
Example Build for AD Shaco
Similar to IE and Statikk Shiv on AD Shaco, once you get Hextech Gunblade finished on AP Shaco you have a lot of kill pressure/burst so it's important to start making plays and snowballing the game once you get that item. Gunblade also provides Shaco with a lot of sustain so it also allows Shaco to keep farming jungle even if he is extremely low after a gank or a skirmish in the jungle. Despite this, AP Shaco is somewhat lacking in dueling compared to AD Shaco. Although, this is can be counteracted by being crafty and smart with his Jack-in-the-Box (W) placements. Getting a good box off can be extremely deceptive damage that many opponents usually aren't prepared for.
Example Build for AP Shaco
Pros and cons of AD
Pros: AD Shaco has really high burst especially with the extended Q and pink wards no longer being able to spot you it's pretty easy to get up close to squishies. Along with this, splitpush potential is really high and is something the other teams have to look out for and again with Q invisibility being so long it's very hard to punish Shaco for pushing far. Early clearing is very healthy and very fast if you box and kite correctly.
Cons: Have to get up right next to squishies to do any damage at all. Very feast or famine meaning if you don't get ahead it's pretty hard to win games and be effective. Early game can be pretty difficult because the Q stealth duration is so much shorter early on and you need to be able to get close to do any damage. This makes red trinket a much harder counter on AD Shaco than it is on AP Shaco because E and Gunblade, the main damage components on AP, are both ranged attacks.
Pros and cons of AP
Pros: AP Shaco is extremely bursty and fast with a much easier build path compared to AD. The tradeoff is mid game verses late game with these two builds. Building Gunblade allows Shaco to have a lot damage potential without even having to get in auto attack range. Along with this, it provides Shaco with a lot of sustain in the jungle. Building AP also provides a lot of potential area of effect damage with 100% ability power scaling on his ultimate. Especially with Shaco's increased stealth duration with Q max, it makes Shaco's ultimate that much easier to land in teamfights without risk of getting killed. Along with his ultimate, boxes and two-shiv are much more effective damage dealers in between drawn out fights and skirmishes compared with AD Shaco.
Cons: AP Shaco is slightly more team reliant compared to AD Shaco. It doesn't provide the team with as much pushing power so the split-pushing is slightly weaker. Along with this, dueling is much harder compared to AD Shaco. WIth AD Shaco you have 100-0 kill pressure every time your Q is up but with AP you kind of have to wait until your Gunblade is up so it's like 10 seconds vs. 30 seconds. AP can harass and throw out damage with E (two-shiv poison), during the wait with more of an effect in comparison with AD though. The reason why AP is more team reliant is because if your team can damage your opponents and bring them to about 50% then you can insta-kill with a two-shiv combined with Gunblade instantly. AP Shaco excels in finishing kills off but AD is much better at making kills happen on his own, along with providing his team with insane pressure around the map because of his dueling ability.
In summary, AP Shaco is extremely bursty and fast with a much easier build path compared to AD. The tradeoff seems to be mid game verses late game. The lifesteal and buildpath from Gunblade is extremely powerful but doesn't scale nearly as well as Infinity Edge and Statikk Shiv. This is because ability power items like the Gunblade components will provide you with instant stats, whereas attack damage items where crit is involved will provide exponential gains. In my opinion, one isn't necessarily better than the other, but instead, is dependent on your own and the opposing team's composition, and which area of the game you value more.
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