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

S Tier

Class: Fighter

Recommended Lane: Jungle

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

Recommended Builds

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Armed with his favored three-talon spear, Xin Zhao fights for his liberators, audaciously challenging any foe, no matter the odds. Xin Zhao is an early game jungler who takes advantage of his strong early game to bully the enemy team into snowballing the game to win it fast and early.

Xin Zhao Wild Rift Build Recommendation

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

Assassin Seneschal

Boots of Furor [This item has been removed from WR]

This is going to be our standard build on Xin Zhao Wild Rift which makes him a strong early game ganker and a potent assassin throughout the game.

Youmuu’s Ghostblade – Provides armor penetration, bonus movement speed, and bonus attack speed after your first attack. This item will help you snowball through your ganks more efficiently.
Boots of Swiftness – This item grants the highest movement speed bonus right now and will help you snowball faster. Upgrade with the Stasis Enchant for outplaying high burst damage opponents or upgrade with the Glorious Enchant to run down opponents.
Trinity Force – A great all-around item that provides a lot of stat bonuses. The Spellblade passive from this item greatly increases his damage output. He can kill enemies with just one combo after completing this item.
Sterak’s Gage – Increases your base damage by a huge amount and grants a lot of health as well as the lifeline passive which gives you a shield when your health dip below a certain percentage.
Guardian Angel – The resurrect passive from this item allows you to be more of a risk-taker when it is available. It will also make your enemies think twice about using their skills just to proc the resurrect passive.
Death’s Dance – This item increases both your offensive and defensive capabilities. Its Cauterize passive allows more room against burst damage because it converts it into DPS.

Bruiser Seneschal

If you ever decide to play Xin Zhao Wild Rift in the top lane, a bruiser build that balances offense and defense is recommended.

Sunfire Aegis – Provides an ample amount of HP and makes you damage enemies around you.
Dead Man’s Plate – Increases your defenses and movement speed while slowing down the enemy with the Crushing Blow passive.
Randuin’s Omen – reduces the damage output of auto-attack carries by reducing their attack speed and critical damage output.

Runes for Xin Zhao in Wild Rift

Listed down below are the best runes for Xin Zhao in Wild Rift.

Conqueror – This is the best Keystone rune for Xin Zhao because his multiple instances of damage in a short duration will make you reach the maximum possible bonus damage that Conqueror can give.
Triumph – Heals you on takedowns and damage is increased against low HP targets. Brutal is a good alternative because it grants bonus AD and armor penetration.
Hunter – Titan – Grants bonus HP and tenacity (crowd control resistance) on takedowns. Adaptive Carapace grants a small HP bonus and once you reach 50% HP, you will gain bonus adaptive resistance depending on the damage you took the most in the past minute.
Pathfinder – Increases your movement speed in the jungle, bushes, and river when out of battle which increases your ganking potential. Sweet Tooth is a good alternative for top laners for the bonus healing and gold from eating the Honeyfruits.

Spells

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

Smite is a must for junglers as it is impossible to clear jungle camps without it. Upgrade into the Blue Smite because you are already strong in the early game and the slow effect from it will help secure ganks.

Flash is a versatile summoner spell that you can use for all kinds of offensive and defensive situations.

Ignite is a useful spell when playing as a top laner because you are a dueling champion who always wants to be in fights.

Skill Order

The first point will go to E, Audacious Charge because of the increased attack speed to help you clear your jungle. After getting all abilities. We are going to max W, Wind becomes Lightning because it has the best base damage scaling then E, Audacious Charge next for the increased attack speed. We are going to max Q, Three Talon Strike because it scales better with your damage than its ability level. Get a point of Crescent Guard whenever possible.

Abilities

Determination

Passive

Every third attack deals an additional 13 physical damage (22% AD) and heals for 13 (7 + 10% AD + 40% AP).

Three Talon Strike

Active

Empowers the next three attacks to deal an additional 20 physical damage (20 + 40% AD) and reduce the cooldown of other abilities by 1 second.

The third attack knocks the target up for 0.75 seconds.

Wind Becomes Lightning

Active

Slashes his spear, dealing 58 physical damage (40 + 30% AD) and slowing by 50% for 1.5 seconds. Xin Zhao then thrusts his spear, dealing 81 physical damage (40 + 70% AD) and slowing by 50% for 1.5 seconds.

The Farthest enemy champion or large monster hit is challenged for 3 seconds, increasing audacious charge’s cast range at them.

Attack Speed reduces cast time.
Deals 50% damage to minions.

Audacious Charge

Active

Dashes to an enemy, dealing 50 magic damage (50 + 80% AP) to all nearby enemies and slowing them by 30% for 0.5 second. Xin Zhao gains 40% Attack Speed for 5 second.

this ability’s cast range is increased against a challenged target.

Crescent Guard

Active

Sweeps his spear, dealing physical damage equal to 75 (75 + 100% bonus AD + 80% AP) plus 15% of enemies’ maximum Health and knocking them back except for challenged enemy, Xin Zhao blocks damage from enemies far away for 5 seconds, extended by 0.3 second for every attack and ability.

The enemy most recently hit by Xin Zhao’s attacks or Audacious Charge is not knocked back.

Deals 600 max damage against monsters.

Abilities Analysis

Innate: Determination

Determination makes your jungle clear extremely fast and it makes you deal so much damage. Plus, it heals you every time it procs. It also works on towers and even on wards.

Q | 1st: Three Talon Strike

Three Talon Strike empowers Xin Zhao’s next 3 auto attacks to deal bonus physical damage. The third auto attack knocks up the target. The three attacks also reduce all his other ability’s cooldown by 1 second each.

Three Talon Strike is also an auto-attack reset so squeeze in an auto-attack before casting this ability for the additional damage.

A trick using this ability is to use the first two attacks on jungle monsters or minions before engaging on the enemy to surprise them with the instant knock-up.

W | 2nd: Wind Becomes Lightning

Wind Becomes Lightning is Xin Zhao’s burst damage ability and it slows affected targets as well.

Wind Becomes Lighting is great when paired with the knock-up from Three Talon Strike because it ensures that both attacks will hit the enemy.

The second hit Challenges the furthest champion or monster hit. 3rd, Audacious Charge’s cast range is increased against the challenged target.

E | 3rd: Audacious Charge

Audacious Charge is a targeted dash that deals magic damage to the target and nearby enemies. It also slows the target for a short duration and grants Xin Zhao bonus attack speed.

Audacious Charge can only be used on opponents but it can still be used for escaping by targeting minions or jungle monsters. Xin Zhao can cross walls using this ability.

Audacious Charge, when combined with 2nd, Wind Becomes Lightning gains bonus cast range, making it a great initiate tool on ganks and teamfights.

R | Ultimate: Crescent Guard

Crescent Guard deals burst physical damage based on their maximum HP to everyone around him and knocks them back except for the enemy most recently attacked by Xin Zhao or hit by his 3rd, Audacious Charge.

After the knockback, a ring appears around Xin Zhao. Those outside the ring won’t be able to damage Xin Zhao. The ring moves together with Xin Zhao.

You can do an insec style play (knocking back an enemy to your team) by casting Crescent Guard behind the enemy. You can pull this off using your 3rd, Audacious Charge, and Flash. Of course, a little practice is a must. And do not forget, do not push enemy tanks into your team.

Combos:

Simple: 3rd + 1st + 2nd +Ult

Standard combo 1 (immobile opponents): 3rd + 2nd + AA+ 1st + AA (auto attack) + AA + AA + 2nd

Standard combo 2 (mobile opponents): 3rd + 1st + AA + AA + AA + 2nd

All-in: 3rd + Ult + 2nd + AA + 1st + AA + AA + 2nd + AA

Insec: 3rd + Flash + Ult + 2nd

Xin Zhao Early Game Guide

Xin Zhao is an early game ganker. Abuse his strong early game as much as possible.

Before leaving the base, get your Oracle Lense first to disable wards as you attempt a gank.

In the early game, get your red buff and raptors then head straight to your mid lane and attempt a gank.

You don’t have to get a kill. It’s great if you killed the enemy but burning their flash or forcing a recall is enough to start snowballing a lead.

Do not stay on a bush or lane for more than 10 seconds when attempting a gank. If the lane looks ungankable, do not force it. Move on, farm a little then look for a lane to gank again.

Get your blue buff then attempt to gank the blue side. After your gank attempt, get the river scuttler then Gromps. After that, recall and get a Serrated Dirk and boots.

Kill the Raptor camp again or the Scuttlers on the other side if it is still alive then try to gank the mid once again.

Get Red buff once again then try to gank the red buff side lane. If the red buff is not yet available, gank the side lane first before getting your buff.

In summary, just try to gank and farm in between. Do not get too caught up in ganking as too many failed attempts will put you behind in levels and gold but too much farming and you will lose out in Xin Zhao’s strong early game.

Xin Zhao Late Game Guide

Xin Zhao falls hard in the late game so do not overextend yourself as much once the enemies begin to have three complete items or more.

Transition your game from an assassin who kills enemies to being a bruiser who protects your team and initiates fights.

You are still strong enough to burst down enemies but only if they are isolated and it is much better if they have already expended their abilities so play it safe at the start of the fights because Xin Zhao is great at cleaning up fights in the late game.

Synergies

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

Ashe needs a lot of protection and babysitting in the early game. But when she gets her items, she becomes a force to reckoned with. With Xin Zhao’s early game presence, Ashe can farm with peace of mind and carry the game later with Xin Zhao at the front while Ashe hits freely behind him.

Lulu makes you unkillable even if you build full damage thanks to the bonus HP from her ultimate, Wild Growth, and shield from her E, Help Pix!

All Xin Zhao Wild Rift Counter Champions

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

Olaf can snowball just as fast if not as hard as Xin Zhao. Xin Zhao might have a little more burst damage but Olaf can last longer and has better sustain than him. If Xin Zhao loses even just one early game jungle contest against Olaf, it’s game over for him. The only thing that Xin Zhao has over Olaf is that his ultimate grants him a stronger team fight presence. Avoid 1v1s against Olaf as much as possible.

Wukong is a jungler who can clear just as fast as you and deal as much damage as you in the early game. He has an advantage over you in terms of mobility and team fights but you can win early game duels against him. Try to snowball on him by counter ganking and invading his jungle because if you don’t win the early game, he’ll most likely come out on top.

Despite his multiple nerfs, Lee Sin is still one of the strongest early game junglers. He has unparalleled mobility and his burst damage is nothing to scoff at. Pray that your teammates play it safe in the early game or else a good Lee Sin will just stomp over them. Try to countergank as much as possible.

Pros & Cons About Xin Zhao

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

Pros

Xin Zhao has a great early game presence, amazing gank potential and fast jungle clear.
Because of the reason above, Xin Zhao can snowball easily and he can stay relevant throughout the game.
Strong assassination capability with his combo and good team fight presence as well with Crescent Guard.

Cons

Xin Zhao is dependent on his early game ganking. If he fails his ganks, it might as well be game over especially now that he is nerfed.
Can be nuked and especially vulnerable when his ultimate is in cooldown.

FAQ's About Xin Zhao in Wild Rift

How good is Xin Zhao in Wild Rift?

Xin Zhao is an (Tier S) champion. He is a great jungler because of his fast clear and he gets strong fast even with minimal items.

What role / lane should I play with Xin Zhao in Wild Rift?

Xin Zhao is usually played in the jungle as an aggressive ganker but he is also a viable top laner where you can build him tanky as a bruiser for your team.

What abilities do I level up with Xin Zhao?

His E, Audacious Charge is acquired at level 1 for the bonus attack speed for an easier clear but his W, Wind Becomes Lightning is maxed first for its burst damage then E, Audacious Charge is maxed next. His Q, Three Point Strike is maxed last as it scales better with his items and of course you have to get your ultimate whenever possible.

What items should I build with Xin Zhao?

You can buy a Duskblade of Draktharr as a first item which is great for snowballing a lead but Xin Zhao’s core item is Trinity Force as the bonus damage, attack speed, and Spellblade passive works really well for him. All his other items are situational.

What Runes should I use when playing as Xin Zhao?

Xin Zhao usually uses Conqueror for the bonus damage in extended fights but he can also use Electrocute if he is facing a team composition with lots of squishy low HP champions. For his other runes, get Brutal, Hunter – Titan, and Pathfinder.

How do I snowball as a Xin Zhao Jungler?

Gank as much in the early game. Kill a jungle camp then gank then kill another jungle camp then repeat. Oracle Lenses aids in ganking as you’ll disable wards when you gank.

Patch Details

PATCH NOTES 1.0A (11-09-2020)

Xin Zhao’s full combo is sweeping foes off the map, and teammates can’t even touch him if he has his ultimate on. We’re nerfing his most important stat, Attack Damage, while also making him much squishier.

BASE STATS

Attack Damage: 70 → 64

Health per level: 115 → 105

Armor per level: 4.3 → 3.9

Magic Resist: 38 → 30

(3) AUDACIOUS CHARGE

Cast range: 6 → 5.5

(ULT) CRESCENT GUARD

Cooldown: 80/70/60s → 100/85/70s