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Skill usage
Backstab is most effective after using 
Deceive. A guaranteed critical strike with a bonus 20% damage (not a true critical), then quickly followed by a 120% damage 
Two-Shiv Poison will deal a reasonable amount of damage to any champion's health.
Deceive can be used to go through walls in a similar way to the summoner spell Flash, so it can help you make a clean escape.- Unlike Twitch's Ambush, Deceive allows Shaco to enter stealth right away but it has a shorter duration.
- Be aware that both and Deceive generate a puff of orange smoke when used, which is visible to the enemy even if used in a bush or in the fog of war.
- Having at least 1 rank of is important for team fights as it can be used to disable many enemies.
- Stacking multiple in one spot can rack up significant damage with an AP build.
- Warding the Jungle and surrounding area with can allow Shaco to see a gank coming and escape before the other team initiates. Placing them in the brush will prevent enemies from hiding there.
- Multiple strategically placed can slow or trap an enemy.
- The Hallucinate clone can be, like most secondary units, controlled by pressing Alt + doing the order with right-click. It does not use any abilities or activated items, however. Use it to push turrets or farm minion waves once the duel/teamfight is over.
- A well-timed Hallucinate can save Shaco from getting hit by projectiles. This works, for example, against turret shots and certain spells such as Enchanted Crystal Arrow or even Requiem.
- Using Hallucinate will immediately break and cancel any "leashed" abilities such as Ace in the Hole, Soul Shackles, or Unspeakable Horror.
- Using
- Casting Hallucinate will not break stealth.
- Sometimes Shaco is best played tactically. Start off with a point in . If you can, sneak into your lane without being seen by enemies and get to your bush. When in your bush have your lane partner keep the enemies away from the bush. Once you've placed a lot of walk out of the bush and bait your enemies into a bush. Between levels 1-4 this should be an easy kill.
- Keep in mind that experienced players will be wary of in bushes, so this will probably not work. A better tactic may be to plant them in an enemy's jungle or just strictly as wards, or to place them near your turret to make defending easier.
- Though over all Shaco is best played in the jungle due to his squishiness and his ganking and his objective control
- Shaco has a number of differences from his clone that reduce its effectiveness against observant players. He can be distinguished from his clone in the following ways: his clone never shows a neutral buff graphic, pinging Shaco before he uses Hallucinate will cause the ping to follow the real Shaco, and the clone won’t have any items so if you click him you'll know if it’s the real one or not, at last if he Hallucinate with Trinity Force, Lich Bane or Sheen you are able to tell which one is the real according to purple/red glow.
- Hallucinate and Deceive can remove slows.
- Deceive will not increase bonus damage applied by a Trinity Force, Lich Bane or Sheen proc.
- When laning, having a teammate with Teleport can be very useful. Placing a in a bush and having a teammate teleport to it can provide a fantastic surprise attack that the other team wouldn't be able to call MIA quickly enough. Having a mid-laner do this can be even more advantageous due to the level difference.
- Shaco is often a prime target in team fights. You should be using this to your advantage. Coming in behind the enemies and posing yourself as a threat will cause them to attack you. When they start to turn to you, use your to fear or provide another target. You can Deceive once they start to pursue you, and while you deceive send in your clone for additional distraction. All this will allow your team to attack with less counterattack since enemies will be focusing on you.
- A Banshee's Veil will help you do this by resisting a stun or silence and allow you to Deceive out safely.
- A
- If your team is defending a turret from attack, Shaco can push another lane (split-pushing). Shaco's team should be able 4-man defend a turret because of the offensive capability of the turret filling in for Shaco, and an AD Shaco can take turrets down very quickly with his Hallucinate. If the enemy team sends a few champions to defend the turret and chase you down, your team would have an advantage in attacking the others. If the entire team decides to target you, that leaves their other turrets open for attack by your team.
- can be used as an anti-initiation tool against champions like Evelynn. If you fear that they may initiate on you, stand on top of a and wait for them to. The moment they do, they will be feared, allowing you to avoid most initial damage and possibly turn the fight around.
- Hallucinate can also be used to turret dive on low health enemy targets hiding under their turret.
- When recalling (and have enough mana): Go into a bush, place a jack in the box, stand on top of it, THEN recall. This way, if people are looking for you, they won't interrupt the recall (unless the bush is warded and they have a poke)
Build usage
- Shaco is primarily built with attack damage and attack speed, due to his assassin style gameplay.
- Alternatively, an AP-centered build is also possible, but relies immensely on placement of .
- For an AP build, you should aim for quick cooldown reduction and magic penetration build; Items such as Frost Queen's Claim, Athene's Unholy Grail and Void Staff come to mind. Mana regen and cooldown reduction will let you use your E way more often in order to bully your enemies out of lane/teamfight, or even go in for a kill.
- On-Hit Items such as Blade of the Ruined King and The Black Cleaver will increase your damage greatly as your Hallucinate clone will trigger their passives with its own attacks. (Stacking effects from an item will not go beyond their associated cap.)
- Cooldown reduction gives Shaco a significant boost, allowing you to plant faster, create clones more often, and use Deceive more over the course of a team fight.
- The bonus critical strike damage from Infinity Edge will apply on critical hits from Deceive, in addition to the bonus damage the ability gives.
- Getting an early B. F. Sword can greatly increase your damage output due to the increased damage from Backstab and Deceive.
- The Brutalizer is good item to get early - mid game as the armor penetration is effective against squishy champions.
- Youmuu's Ghostblade, which builds out of the The Brutalizer, is an ideal early-mid game item for Shaco, affording the highest flat armor penetration in the game (at a point when enemies have yet to stack a lot of armor, particularly the squishies most in need of being shut down) on top of every other offensive stat an AA-dependent champion like Shaco could desire when the active is included. Later, it can be swapped out for The Black Cleaver or Last Whisper if additional armor penetration is required.
- Statikk Shiv has a unique synergy with Shaco, as Deceive allows him to get a guaranteed crit with the lightning passive at the beginning of an engagement, affording him an extra 140-220 magic damage (depending on the rank of Deceive and excluding bonuses from crit damage sources like Infinity Edge) at the beginning of his burst, as well as giving him attack speed and crit chance, which he likes, and building out of the Avarice Blade, improving its affordability. For these reasons, it is often rushed in a lot of Shaco builds.
- Although Berserker's Greaves are probably the best offensive boot choice on Shaco due to his dependence on auto-attacks, do not overlook the fact that, as a melee assassin, he is exceptionally vulnerable to crowd control. Mercury's Treads may often prove the more pragmatic choice. Boots of Mobility are also viable for better roaming, though bear in mind that Shaco has better base movement speed than a lot of champions and thus may not need them as much.
Recommended builds
Jungling
| Items | Runes | Spells |
|---|---|---|
 Hunter's Machete Health Potion x 5
|
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| Masteries |
|---|
| File:JungleShacoMasteries.png |
| Skill Order | Route Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Two-Shiv Poison Deceive
|
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Countering
- Shaco can be a frustrating champion to kill due to the quick and easy escapes with Deceive, bringing him down with a disable or a fast burst will make him a much easier prey
- Be careful when Shaco is nowhere to be seen, he might surprise you with his Deceive.
- If you are unsure about a bush be very careful about face-checking as he might have filled it with .
- Shaco is a champion who stands very strong early game and is known for his deadly ganks, but severely falls off late game, apart from supports almost any champion with a similar total gold will be able to defeat him without suffering too much damage.
- Shaco is a jungler without any sustain, as such, hurting him if encountered in the jungle can force him back to base, as well as a bad gank can do the same.
- If you see Shaco initiate a fight with his Deceive, quickly focus him down while the spell is still on cooldown.
- When fighting Shaco alone, be aware that he might use his Hallucinate to turn the fight to his favor.
- Also, be aware that he can dodge any projectile or casting effect when he casts his Hallucinate.
- To easily distinguish the clone and Shaco, his clone will not get particles from any actives, buffs or passive item particles such as Sheen or Youmuu's Ghostblade.
- Shaco's clone can not use abilities. Keep this in mind when you are trying to distinguish between the real one and the clone.
- When he casts Hallucinate, his clone will always spawn on the right side his original spot and face backwards while the real one spawns on the front-right of his original spot facing forward.
- Leona's Zenith Blade will only apply Sunlight to the clone ( she will not dash to it, only to the champ ) and Volibear's Majestic Roar will only apply the fear on the clone while the real Shaco will be slowed.
- Also, be aware that he can dodge any projectile or casting effect when he casts his
- Backstab increases any of his damage to you whenever you turn your back from him. Be careful when running away from him.
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