LoL Wild Rift Shen Build & Guide (Patch 5.0) - Runes, Counters, Items, Ability Analysis

S Tier

Class: Tank

Recommended Lane: Baron

Best Shen Wild Rift build guide for Season 11 Patch 5.0 of WR. With our Shen guide you will learn which items to build, runes to select, skill order, who counters Shen, and how to use abilities properly.

Recommended Builds

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Shen Wild Rift Build Recommendation

Here are Item Build Recommendations that works on this champion and which are the best build for Shen Wild Rift in this patch.

The Tanky Silhouette

Sunfire Aegis: As Shen is totally dominant during periodic trades, having an item that deals passive damage just by being in proximity makes it worth having. Since he deals percentage damage based on the total health of the opponent, it will come in handy to finish off the remaining HP of the opponent with the constant help of this item.
Dead Man’s Plate: Nothing can help you more than getting that extra Armor against every champion out there. This item will help you reach the opponent’s nexus in no time as it will boost your movement speed too.
Divine Sunderer: Grants max health, attack damage and applies anti-health attacks
Plated Steelcaps (Stoneplate Enchant): In order to get some additional Armor, you may go for Plated Steelcaps, which passively will enable you to be tankier and actively grant movement speed. This will significantly help you to evade and chase as much as possible. Upgrade it further to a Stoneplate Enchant to forget about the incoming damage by increasing your Armor and Magic Resistance.
Thornmail: Most Baron Champs will focus on playing AD, and the best way to transfer their damage back to them is with Thornmail. What can be more agonizing than wearing spiky Armor that inflicts pain upon contact?
Spirit Visage: This item will give you a little time to endure Magic damage and gain double the healing you get usually. However, if there are no AP champions in the opponent matchup, then you may blindly go for Warmog’s Armor as it will give you a constant supply of health.

The Baleful Altair

This is an alternative Shen Wild Rift build if you’re aiming for a more tanky Shen for extended teamfights.

Searing Crown – Attacks and damaging abilities burn enemies
Amaranth’s Twinguard – In-combat durability
Mantle of the twelfth Hour – Recover health when you are low on heath

Runes for Shen in Wild Rift

Listed down below are the perfect runes for Shen Wild Rift.

Grasp of the Undying: This rune is made for Shen no doubt. It will simply increase the damage you deal based on the total HP of your champ. So the more health you have, the more damage you deal.
Conqueror: Even though Shen is usually dependent upon his maximum health, if you wish to go for lethality or AD itemization, this rune exponentially increases your damage output and eases your efforts required to shred anyone, be it a tank or even a normal Bruiser.
Weakness: Shen’s 3^rd Ability will be greatly favored by Weakness once he taunts enemies and then he can deal way more damage than usual.
Triumph: After Triumph’s buff, you may simply use this rune to ensure your kills once you lower the health of opponents. Additionally, you will gain some health once you eliminate a champion saving you from possible elimination due to being exposed to an ignite for instance.
Hunter-Titan: Just another rune to increase your damage without you thinking about it. You are granted additional health once you take down enemy champions and you also are given the tenacity to make you take some Magic Damage.
Hunter-Genius: This rune will simply give you ability haste and reduce ability cooldowns.

Spells

In our Shen Wild Rift Guide, here are the best champion spells that you can equip on him.

Flash: Shen is a very aggressive champ and has to save Allies yet save his own skin. This spell will help him dash out of danger and leave the scene unharmed.

Ignite: As always, if an enemy is running away and you can’t do much about it or you don’t want to exhaust your Flash, use ignite to secure the kill.

Exhaust: The best way to outplay an enemy champion while you are low is to lower their damage down in ways they can’t comprehend. Exhaust will reduce the damage and slow them down drastically making it easy for you to end their misery.

Skill Order

As a Shen player, you must remember that the 2^nd Ability will always save your neck no matter what level it is upgraded. Hence, you may certainly max 1^st Ability primarily and 3^rd Ability for that extra edge with Crowd Control.

In the early game during the laning phase, it’s better to harass the opponents as you will shred their armor and lower their health even if they are some big shot tank.

Abilities

Ki Barrier

Passive

Gains a shield that absorbs 360 damage (51-100 + 14% bonus HP) for 2.5 seconds after completing an ability. If the ability affected at least one champion, Ki Barrier’s cooldown is reduced by 7.5 seconds.

Gains 20 energy when Shen’s abilities damage an enemy.

Twilight Assault

Active

Recalls the Spirit Blade, enhancing his next 3 attacks to deal an additional 40 plus 4% of the target’s max Health (4=1.5% Ability Damage) as magic damage. If the Spirit Blade passed through an enemy champion, the damage bonus is increased to 40 plus 7% of the target’s max Health (7+2% Ability Damage) as magic damage and Shen gains 50% Attack Speed.

Enemy champions the Spirit Blade passes through are slowed by 30% for 2 seconds while moving away from Shen.

Deals 200 max damage to monsters.

Spirit's Refuge

Active

Sends the Spirit Blade to an allied champion, creating a zone that blocks enemy attacks for 1.75 seconds.

Shadow Dash

Active

Dashes forward, dealing 427 physical damage (150+15% bonus HP) to enemy champions and monsters, taunting them for 1.5 seconds.

Stand United

Active

Channels for 3 seconds, shielding an allied champion for 788 damage (510 + 135% Ability Power + 15% bonus HP) for 5 seconds, increased by 0%-60% based on target’s missing health.

Upon completing the channel, Shen teleports to the target ally.

Abilities Analysis

P | Innate Passive: Ki Barrier

Upon casting any ability, Shen gains a shield that can absorb incoming damage. Such a passive comes real handy when there is a possibility of performing an unexpected and sudden outplay.

Q | 1^st Ability: Twilight Assault

Shen’s Spirit Blade follows him around with a slight distance between each other. Upon casting his 1^st Ability, Shen calls for his Spirit Blade and it teleports to his location, empowering his next three consecutive attacks that will deal damage based on the target’s maximum health making Shen the perfect opponent for tanks.

The important part is that the Spirit Blade will slow down all the enemies hit if they are running away from Shen and provide additional empowerment of his attacks for a maximum of three attacks along with a considerate amount of Attack Speed.

W | 2^nd Ability: Spirit’s Refuge

Shen can target and command his Spirit Blade to any desired location within his range and upon activation, his 2^nd Ability will create a zone making him invulnerable from incoming Auto Attack damage from opponents. Allies also gain the same invulnerability if they are inside the ability’s radius.

Although it is pretty easy to cast and utilize for outplays, it is necessary to remember that Shen’s 2^nd Ability does not shield him from Turret damage and Ability Damage just like Jax’s 3^rd Ability.

E | 3^rd Ability: Shadow Dash

Shen’s 3^rd Ability is a perfect move if you want to close the distance between yourself and the opponent while hindering their movement as it also taunts them if you come in contact. This ability is the best option when you want to evade or save your allies.

R | Ultimate: Stand United

Shen can manually select his target Ally and upon casting saves him with a huge shield blocking a lot of the incoming damage. While he is granting the shield, Shen teleports to the targeted Ally and can change the flow of the whole battle in no time. It is imperative in nature to cancel that Ultimate but if the Ally dies before you complete your cast, your Ultimate burns away.

Another important detail is the fact that Shen will shield an ally with higher shielding power if the targeted Ally has lost some portion of their maximum health. So the lower the health of your targeted ally, the more shield Shen will bestow upon him.

Combos:

Early Game Ki Quintessence: 3^rd-AA-1^st-AA-AA-AA
Mid Game Combo: 3^rd-AA-2^nd-1^st-AA-AA-AA
Ultimate Saviour: Ultimate (on Ally in Distress)-2^nd-3^rd-1^st –AA-AA-AA

Shen Early Game Guide

During the Early game period of the match, just farm and wait till you reach level 3, once you know you can take a fight, wait for the enemy to engage while keeping wards active. The moment they engage and you know it is the moment, perform the Early Game Combo and win a trade without any hesitation.

In order to constantly harass your opponents, you need to pave in the minion waves to yourself, so don’t go around shoving the Cannons right away, but rather wait patiently and freeze the lane so you can take the first blood if possible.

Shen Late Game Guide

During the Mid and Late game, you need to dominate the whole battlefield. Go on and make items that will help you stay in a fight yet keep split pushing as you have in-built teleportation as your Ultimate.

Keep an eye on the health bars of your Allies and rapidly blink on the Allies in need, surprisingly taking out the squad with a slightly ‘tankier edge’.

Synergies

For our Shen Wild Rift Guide, we highly recommend using him with the following champions as they synergize well with him.

Lux: Shen is a perfect tank peeler, and all he requires to perfectly execute his combos are some extra Crowd Control even if it is just a root. Lux, being a massive AP Carry, can not only root a champion but also shield Shen in times of need and deal huge amounts of damage from the back. Playing Shen support with Lux as APC is one of the best fun picks you can try.

Twisted Fate: Just another champion with good CC, AP damage, and a great way for Shen to provide a follow-up if the Mid Ally has gone to suppress the opponents in Duo lane. Having a pantheon, Galio, and Twisted Fate by your side as Shen is a dream come true for many PC LOL enthusiasts.

Jhin: As expected from the Classic Psychopath, Jhin is pretty much a wrecking ball against champions who are squishy or are mid-tier Bruisers. Not only Shen will tear down the Armor of the opponents, but he will have Jhin next to him to make the enemies disappear.

All Shen Wild Rift Counter Champions

In this section, we’ll specifically show champions that can easily counter Shen in Wild Rift.

Yasuo: Yasuo being a pretty mobile champ can easily dodge Shen’s Abilities, especially during the Early Game. If one is a smart player, he may even manage to take down Shen easily as Yasuo’s Critical attacks really ignore all the tankiness and bring down mayhem.

Tryndamere: An unstoppable freak who refuses to die and does Crit damage is always a counter for Shen. No matter how many times Tryndamere is taunted, nobody can stop him once he has enough damage. The only way, any Shen player can escape this nightmare is by snowballing from the beginning.

Irelia: Only one quality can outplay/overwhelm champions like Shen and it is none other than Attack Speed. No matter how many times Irelia is taunted, she always has that probability of performing a 1-trick combo on Shen once she has leveled up to Level 5. And if the enemy is wary of Shen’s build, there is no doubt that Irelia can take down Shen without a doubt.

Pros & Cons About Shen

Here are some pros and cons if you are playing with Shen in Wild Rift.

Pros

The major Pro of Shen is his ability to save anyone anywhere on the map, making him the best support.
Shen can also help people to backdoor as he can simply be a great Tank and yet require no Teleport Enchant.
Shen’s 1^st Ability can shred tankiest of champions, making him the best matchups against Late Game Tanks as he will damage them even more if they are tankier.

Cons

Shen has no personal advantage during the laning phase as he cannot use his own Ultimate for his own use.
In order to stay a part of the whole game, one will have to divert their attention to other lanes constantly for a proper save if it’s not a pre-made team.
Shen’s Ultimate gets canceled if the targeted Ally dies during the process of Transcendence.

FAQ's About Shen in Wild Rift

How good is Shen in Wild Rift?

In Wild Rift, Shen is an S+ Tier champion. With a considerately great early game, he can transform into a great tank shredder and dominate not only his lane but the entire battlefield.

What role/lane should I play with Shen? .

He is generally viable in the Baron and Support Lane.

What abilities should I level up first with Shen?

You should max out 1st Ability first as you will have a great trade whenever you engage in a little fight. Then you should proceed and level up the rest of the abilities according to your convenience.

What items are to be built on Shen?

The build should be consisting of tanky items like Sunfire Aeges, Dead Man’s Plate, and Thornmail as you can support and play Solo with this itemization

What runes should I use on Shen?

You may generally use Grasp of the Undying, Weakness, Hunter-Titan, and Hunter-Genius.

Any tips to have a better game with Shen?

Keep exerting your presence over your opponents once you reach level 3 and constantly harass your lane and the others if possible. Join in every little trade near the Scuttler and/or for early jungle camp invasions.