League of Legends S12: Shaco Jungle Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Shaco in the jungle in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Duskblade of Draktharr

3100 Gold

Essence Reaver

2800 Gold

Build

Duskblade of Draktharr is essential on Shaco, especially for attacking enemies out of invisibility and immediately going back into it to escape. 

Essence Reaver ramps up the crit chance, as well as dealing extra damage and restoring mana. 

Other good items include The Collector and Youmoo's Ghostblade.

Starting Item & Boots

Refillable Potion

150 Gold

Jungle Item

350 Gold

Berserker's Greaves

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Shaco skill priority is:

R > E > Q > W

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Shaco in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Shaco's aim is to get to the squishy backline, using trickery and invisibility. He has excellent mobility as such, and the enemy team will need to be vigilant with control wards if they are to see him coming. Often teams in solo queue aren't, so use this to your advantage.

• Level 1 - Take W - Jack in the Box, to allow for solo clearing of the jungle and afford your botlane more time to farm.
• Level 2 - Take Q - Deceive. for the extra damage when leaving invisibility. You can even aim for a level 2 gank, if your team is good enough.
• First Back - Build towards your Duskblade, or pick up boots for speedier jungle clear.

Tips & Tricks

• You can use Deceive to pass through obstructions.
• You can use Jack in the Box while invisible - it'll briefly reveal your position, but you'll remain untargetable. 
• The bonus damage of Deceive can critically strike.
• Hallucinate can be used to dodge many spells.
• Remember to attack from behind to activate your passive. 
• This passive benefits from cooldown reduction.
• Remember that when the clone from Hallucinate dies, it leaves behind a Jack in the Box. 
• If the clone damages an enemy from behind, it'll apply a slow.