Quick summary lane Xin

Quick summary for lane Xin Zhao:

LANE RUNES

SUMMONER ABILITIES
+

MASTERIES
2/H/

SKILLING ORDER

-->-->-->

STARTING ITEMS
or + or

CORE ITEMS
+ + situational boots

MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE BUILD
+ + + +
Quick summary jungling Xin

Quick summary for jungling Xin Zhao:

JUNGLING RUNES
*2 *1

SUMMONER ABILITIES
+ OR

JUNGLING MASTERIES
1/ƃ/A

SKILLING ORDER

STARTING ITEMS
+ *5

CORE ITEMS
+ + situational boots
Patch discussions

Cmon people, are you playing Xin Zhao? Pls share your replays with me and my readers, like Hedelma did! Oh, I haven't shared replay too... I will do it as soon as posssible!
Introduction

Xin Zhao was considered to be really OP guy. After few recent tweaks,he becames one really strong off-tank and sustainable damage dealer.

However,almost all of builds are based on highest possible attack speed because of 2 reasons:
1.Faster proc of Three Talon Strike.
2.Active effect of Battle Cry-1 second cooldown reduction per attack.
While I agree that attack speed is good for Xin Zhao,I strongly disagree in stacking attack speed more than 1.7-1.8 without passive effect of Battle Cry. You'll find my reasons for that in this guide.

One last thing:What is really Xin Zhao? Is he tank,tough DPS or melee carry?
TANK-Xin Zhao has great inititing ability Audacious Charge which really helps in positioning and landing his ultimate. Crescent Sweep deals great damage and also put him in "tank" mode. But after this Xin Zhao haven't any tanking abilities which would make him last longer in teamfights so he isn't good as main tank.
MELEE CARRY-Xin Zhao isn't so dependant on items like Master Yi or Tryndamere,he can pull great damage without much items. This is also the reason why Xin Zhao isn't good choice for mid. While he can do great in mid,it's much better to let mid to hard ranged carry ( like Ezreal,Ashe or Tristana ).

So,it's obvious that he's great tough DPS. In this guide I'll make 3 builds for him:first which makes him great off-tank,second which makes him bane of enemy squishies and third which makes him burst damager.

Also, if you haven't already, read my successful and renown Warwick guide!

Abilities

[spell=Tireless Warrior]

Xin Zhao is healed for 30 points for every 3 attacks that he lands. This amount increases by 5 every 2 levels.

This passive is solid for early game laning and jungling. It should keep your health high enough to stay in lane longer than your opponents. In late game it won't heal you so much,but you can recover some health if you don't wanna go in base.

Affected by:Attack speed

Three Talon Strike

Xin Zhao prepares to unleash a fearsome combo, causing his next 3 standard attacks to deal his attack damage + 15/30/45/60/75 to enemy targets, with the final attack knocking his opponent into the air.

Cooldown:10 seconds
Ability priority:SECOND

This ability makes Xin Zhao so good ganker and champion killer. Knock allows you to attack at least once more and this ability in late game will greatly reduce health of squishies and maybe even finish them.

Have you ever thought that you'll kill minion and after attack he stays at 10 health? Not anymore! This ability is instant ( it isn't applied on next attack ),so you can strike your enemies twice in a milisecond.

Affected by:Attack speed/Attack damage/Critical strike/Armor penetration

Battle Cry

Passive: Increases Xin Zhao's attack speed by 20/25/30/35/40%.

Active: Xin Zhao unleashes a battle cry, increasing his attack speed by double the passive amount for 5 seconds, and causing his standard attacks to reduce all other ability cooldowns by 1 second. During cooldown of this ability,passive attack speed bonus is NOT REMOVED.

Cooldown:24/22/20/18/16 seconds
Ability priority:THIRD

This ability is the reason why so many players just stack attack speed and think that they'll own everyone and impress enemies. Ye,I agree that his abilities are heavily affected by attack speed,but your goal is to reduce cooldowns of Three Talon Strike and Audacious Charge to zero in active time of 5 seconds. For that even passive AS of this ability is enough. This doesn't means that we won't take any attack speed items,it just means that around 1.5-1.6 AS is enough ( achieved by 1 40% AS item + passive AS ).

Affected by:Attack speed

Audacious Charge

Xin Zhao charges an enemy unit, dealing 70/110/150/190/230 magic damage to all nearby enemies and slowing them by 20/25/30/35/40% for 1.7 seconds.

Cooldown:16/15/14/13/12 seconds
Ability priority:FOURTH

Your opener in every gank and teamfight. It removes gap between you and your enemies and it also slows them long enough to finish your Three Talon Strike and knock them in air.

Affected by:Ability power/Magic penetration

Crescent Sweep

Xin Zhao unleashes a fierce spear sweep on targets around him, dealing 125/250/375 + 20% of their current health in physical damage. For 6 seconds, his Magic Resistance and Armor are increased by 25 plus 7/10/13 for each champion hit.

Cooldown:75 seconds
Ability priority:FIRST

Low cooldown,high AoE damage ability. Use it in teamfights immediately after Audacious Charge to do highest possible damage and to put yourself in "tank" mode. Hitting more champions will grat you higher bonuses,you can increase your armor and magic resistance for WHOOPING 90 on level 16 if you hit 5 enemy champions. Also,don't be afraid to use this ability to get Lizard and Golem buffs at level 6-10.

Tip:added magic resistance can save you from sure death of Karthus Requiem! Since Crescent Sweep can be used anywhere,don't be afraid of using it for something like this!

Affected by:Armor penetration

Masteries + Runes

LANE RUNES

Greater Mark of Desolation
Best marks for any DPS-er,so that means those marks are best for Xin Zhao too.

Greater Seal of Defense or Greater Seal of Evasion
Your choice. I already have armor runes for Warwick so I'm using them,but nothing stops you in choosing dodge runes.

Greater Glyph of Shielding
Xin Zhao doesn't needs cooldown reduction runes and he shouldn't has any mana problems during the game,so I'm taking this runes to increase his survivability.

Greater Quintessence of Fortitude or Greater Quintessence of Desolation
Again,your choice. Both runes are so common that you should have some of them already. Choice of quintessences can also decide choice of starting item.

LANE MASTERIES
It's pretty standard,2/H/ mastery build which focuses on increased damage,little survivabilty and improved Exhaust and Ghost.

JUNGLING RUNES

Greater Mark of Desolation or Greater Mark of Alacrity
Your choice. Personally I don't like AS runes,but they're really helpful for Xin Zhao.

Greater Seal of Resilience
Flat armor runes which makes your jungling safer.

Greater Glyph of Shielding
Xin Zhao doesn't needs cooldown reduction and he shouldn't has any mana problems during the game,so I'm taking this runes to increase his survivability.

Greater Quintessence of Desolation or Greater Quintessence of Alacrity or Greater Quintessence of Strength
Again,your choice. Currently I'm using 2 Greater Quintessence of Strength and 1 Greater Quintessence of Desolation,but nothing stops you from choosing your own set of runes.

JUNGLING MASTERIES
It's standard offensive/utility F//Á mastery build with improved Smite. Second improved spell can be either Exhaust or Ghost.
Summoner Abilities

Good choices for Xin Zhao:
Exhaust helps you in achieving first blood and in fighting against auto attackers. In teamfights,use this on their carry to disable him and then focus on downing him fast.
Ghost is great ganking and escaping ability. Since Xin Zhao hasn't any escaping ability,this will help him in running out of tight situations.
Flash is replacement for Ghost,but it's better only for wall flashing. But if you're fan of Flash,nothing stops you from using it.
Cleanse was nerfed in last patch,so it isn't so great choice now. But,it still helps you get rid of stuns,slows etc.
Ignite-Added DoT effect and healing reduction,useful in getting first blood and disabling heals.
Teleport is ability for map control and for pushing. Also,if you're gonna 1v2 ( Xin Zhao is pretty good at this ),Teleport is necesarry for quick return from base.
Smite is necesarry for jungling Xin.
Skilling Order

LANING ORDER

Basic setup is:
-->-->-->

JUNGLING ORDER

It's a little modified version of laning skill order. It differs in first 3 levels ( start with Three Talon Strike, follow with Battle Cry and again Battle Cry, then get Audacious Charge ),but rest of the setup is same.
Core items

Now we're at most interesting part of all guides. Item section!

If you have already played Xin Zhao,you surely tried full AS build with little defense. Well,that build is efficient only in low ELO games. In higher ELO games,where all people knows how to play,you won't have chance to auto attack 2 times in a second almost never. Also,you'll be downed pretty fast without any defense. So,let's see how ideal Xin Zhao build looks in my eyes!

STARTING ITEMS:
Doran's Shield or Long Sword + 1 Health Potion or Doran's Blade
Choice depends on you preferences,enemies ( are they pwning in early game or they're really weak in early game ) and on your choice of quintessences. If you have Greater Quintessence of Desolation, you would probably take Doran's Shield for increased survivability and if you have Greater Quintessence of Fortitude,you would probably take Long Sword or Doran's Blade for increased damage and for easier last hitting.
Why not Dagger? Because you probably won't have chance to auto attack in your lane and you should focus on last hit,not on auto attack.

CORE ITEMS:
Phage + The Brutalizer + situational boots
Core items are same in both builds which you'll see later. This items provides you with good amount of damage,survivability,ArP and CDR.

BOOT CHOICE:
Mercury's Treads are great against heavy CC/magic damage teams.
Ninja Tabi is great against heavy DPS teams.
Berserker's Greaves are great against noob teams :P.

This is the core item build:
[builder=Xin Zhao/70f574d524b69bb41223c54d9ac30fc3]
Now,this build splits into three paths:
DPS path

Finishing Youmuu's Ghostblade is priority here because it adds good attack damage,critical strike,CDR,ArP and amazing active. This is the best item for any Xin Zhao.
Finishing Frozen Mallet isn't a bad idea,but you should get more dps items earlier. So,finish Frozen Mallet later.

Infinity Edge
Always a good choice if you wanna maximize your damage output,but if you don't like it,take The Bloodthirster and you'll do fine too.

Executioner's Calling
You need some lifesteal too and if you don't wanna get The Bloodthirster,then take this. Increased critical strike chance,lifesteal and on demand healing reduction are always welcome.

Phantom Dancer
Great item for critical Xin. AS,critical chance and movement speed? Yes please!

[item=Stark's Fervor]
Great team item,many Xin Zhaos are taking it.

Last Whisper
Good item against heavy armor team.

The Black Cleaver
Very nice item for Xin Zhao. Take it if you want more armor reduction.

The Bloodthirster
Amazing item for our DPS Xin. Damage + lifesteal,oh yea!

Sword of the Divine
Not so good item,but if you're going on combo Youmuu's Ghostblade and Sword of the Divine,then take it.

Some of the build ideas for DPS path:

THREE TALON CRITICAL STRIKE
[builder=Xin Zhao/c3d3bc431283caaebc64ba1b099ef725]
AS MONSTER
[builder=Xin Zhao/37962516784f4031828c194d7fdd96d8]
GOING THROUGH YOUR ARMOR
[builder=Xin Zhao/84a167ec5b6b14b34e16475bf6b9d34b]
USE THOSE ACTIVE ABILITIES!
[builder=Xin Zhao/97bdbf1607c4300abc4fae41dcf0d9c8]
All builds have 1 slot free. In that slot you should put some defensive item which best suits the situation.
DPS gameplay

You're not so squishy as other glass cannon carries ( like Yi,Ashe etc. ),but you should not initiate. Get in after your tank with combo -->-->-->. Focus their main threat and punish him hard. You should survive long enough with added armor and magic resistance to really bane your enemies.
TANK path

Finishing Youmuu's Ghostblade is not bad,but get some defense first!
Finishing Frozen Mallet is priority because of good amount of health and slowing ability.

Randuin's Omen
So good item against physical DPS-ers. Get this if you're having trouble with them.

Thornmail
Same situation as at Randuin's Omen,but I prefer Randuin's Omen more because of active effect and CD reduction.

Guardian Angel
Who doesn't like this item? Armor,magic resistance and reviving effect,all great for our tankish Xin.

Banshee's Veil
Blocking one spell every 45 seconds is useful for all tank character ( and not only for them ),so it's useful for our Xin.

Quicksilver Sash
Rarely seen item,but it's your personal cleanse!

Hexdrinker
Another great item against mages!

Warmog's Armor
Another good item,but you must rush it ( get it after core items ).

Sunfire Cape
Another replacement for Randuin's Omen and Thornmail.

Some of the build ideas for TANK path:

AGAINST BALANCED TEAM
[builder=Xin Zhao/6baeȂ5āaňĆeeeÈbHˆdǁcɁ]
DPS-ERS INCOMING!
[builder=Xin Zhao/fˆĆaǈbedffŇɈaaffcb†dƄŅe]
MAGES INCOMING!
[builder=Xin Zhao/ećcaȆcHƃćɆfdǃcȉǂfdÄǄÁ]
HEALTH STACKING XIN ( NOT SO BAD AS YOU THINK! )
[builder=Xin Zhao/cĄfdcfcbÇaƄaaɈ0ȄaĄǇǄcǈ]

Tank builds are really durable and all have good damage.
TANK gameplay

You're initiator. Starting combo is same as in DPS build: -->-->-->. You're very durable with your ultimate and enemy team will think that you're just tank. No,you aren't just tank,you also can deal large amounts of damage if they forget about your existence! Focus their carry,kill him,destroy him,scare him,whatever! They must regret that they ignored you.
TRINITY FORCE path

This is a little different build for Xin Zhao which utilizes burst damage from passive procs of Sheen and Trinity Force. I would recommend this build only to more experienced Xin Zhao players.

So,what's so special with Trinity Force? 3 things to notice:

1.All of his stats are useful for Xin Zhao,except ability power and mana.
2.150% damage after spellcast makes him really strong burst damager. I'll explain later how to maximize it's effectivenes.
3.It takes only additional 1560 gold to finish this item ( Sheen + 300 gold )

How to maximize proc damage

For this you must modify your basic combo in something like this:
-->-->-->-->-->

OR,step by step:
1.Audacious Charge at your target
2.Auto attack ( it should be instant ) with Trinity Force proc
3.Immediately after auto attack use Three Talon Strike to ensure additional Trinity Force proc
4.Activate Battle Cry to get your third Trinity Force proc

Try this combo in practice games and masterize it. It's not so easy to master,it requires patience and good timing. Attack speed helps here,so in Trinity Force build we'll get some more attack speed. Also,if you are sure about getting a kill or you aren't experienced well ( or aren't patient ) to ensure proc at third step,use your Three Talon Strike before Audacious Charge,but you'll lose one Trinity Force proc.

If you are doing this combo in teamfight,use Crescent Sweep before second step.

Patch 1.0.0.100 note:
"Sheen, Lich Bane and Trinity Force's "reservoir" system has been removed. These items will now strictly respect the cooldown time between procs. The cooldown has been reduced to 2 second delays between procs from 3 seconds."

I don't know is this because of my build ( who knows? ),but now you can't get 3 procs with your combo,but it's easy to get 2 procs. That's little nerf for experienced TF Xin Zhaos.

TRINITY FORCE build

After finishing your Trinity Force,you should get some attack speed.

[item=Stark's Fervor]
Great team item and really useful for this build. It will really help you in maximizing Trinity Force proc damage.

Youmuu's Ghostblade
In this build cooldown reduction will help in repeating your proc combo after few seconds of Battle Cry auto attacks,of course without last,Battle Cry part.

[builder=Xin Zhao/433f39d808ba22d09d15ddf2d3aae20b]

This is the TRINITY FORCE core build. After this,you should get one defensive item,and in the end of the game if you have money,one offensive. For good choices,check DPS and TANK sections.
My choice is:

As you can see,I've put various builds in previous sections. But I've ignored my favourite Xin Zhao build:

The Black Cleaver
Youmuu's Ghostblade
Mercury's Treads
Frozen Mallet
Atma's Impaler
Banshee's Veil

Code name: ATMA'S IMPALER
Should I repeat this: ATMA'S IMPALER
ATMA'S IMPALER
ATMA'S IMPALER
.
.
.
.

ATMA'S IMPALER!

Do you understand? ATMA'S IMPALER!

I'm fan of this item. You can see that I favor it in my WW guide. That item is so good that I buy it in almost every game ( when I have enough gold )!

[builder=Xin Zhao/cȄcdÈeƈÆcǃɇddcÃąƄcƄcŇ]

Just look at those sweet stats. More than Ȁ0 effective health for each type of damage, ˆ sweet damage with Ʉ armor penetration and maximum of D armor reduction. Ń% critical strike. Ł% CDR. ȃ% CC reduction. Blocking one spell each ń seconds. And also, amazing active! This makes you tank among the tanks and carry among the all carries! And I'm not counting here his ulti,which would raise his defensive stats into madness!

Unfortunately,this build is not recommended if your team is failing. You need great amount of gold to finish it. And you won't finish this build in every game. However,you should get items in order which is shown at the top of this section.

Also,if this game last too long,get this item and finish you OP build:
Phantom Dancer ( replace your boots )

[builder=Xin Zhao/aŃabdɂƉaae„bĀdÂ8bdǇcaadbd]
LOL. Finish this build,take all pots,all Ã buffs and feel like god. You can't die easily,but you can murder them easily.
Jungling Xin

I won't bother so much with jungling Xin. It's now very viable,but he's not so strong like WW. Lets proceed!

Starting item must be Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potions. Take that damn Smite too!

Also,practice this combo:
JUNGLING COMBO
DOUBLE STRIKE-->-->DOUBLE STRIKE
First use double strike combo on strongest monster,then after knock up use your Battle Cry and again use double strike combo when your TTS is ready to cast. If you do this correctly,you can save few seconds in jungle and maybe even Health Potion.

FIRST PATH - Safe path: very high health during jungling ( not going below half hp ), resistant to counter jungle, but you get your buffs later.
LVL 1
Get Three Talon Strike. Go to golem camp near lizard and kill them both.

LVL 2
Get Battle Cry. Go to wolf camp near big golem and kill them. After that,go to big golem and kill him.

LVL 3 and LVL 4
Get Battle Cry. Go to wraith camp near lizard and kill them. After that, clear lizard camp, get Audacious Charge and clear golem camp. Go on enemy ancient golem if you can. If you can't,go on wolves. Also,you can gank if you want. To be honest,ganking is recommended because he's very strong ganker. On recall,buy Madred's Razors and Health Potion ( if you can,get Boots of Speed also! ).

SECOND PATH - Basic 1-4 path: you get your buffs very fast, but you haven't so much health. Help on golem is almost necesarry. Ask your teammates to do first hit on him and to cover you.
LVL 1
Get Three Talon Strike. Clear ancient golem camp.

LVL 2
Get Battle Cry. Go to wolf camp near big golem and kill them. After that,go to wraiths and delete them from your map.

LVL 3 and LVL 4
Get Battle Cry. Go to lizard camp and kill him. After that clear golem camp.Get Audacious Charge.Go on enemy ancient golem if you can. If you can't,go on wolves. Also,you can gank if you want. To be honest,ganking is recommended because he's very strong ganker. On recall,buy Madred's Razors and Health Potion ( if you can,get Boots of Speed also! ).
JUNGLING XIN build

Replace Phage with Wriggle's Lantern. But if you're rocking early game and you're getting a lot of gold,save money for [item=Madred's Bloodrazor]. After that,just continue building other items. However,I strongly suggest that you build some more AS to support madred's passive.

Some item build ( specific jungling build ) suggestions:
CORE JUNGLING BUILD
[builder=Xin Zhao/ǇbÅcɇcɀǄabŁńba8feǃńǈ]
YOU'RE OWNING,DON'T YOU?
[builder=Xin Zhao/ȈffĂCÁdf‰b3Geņdb‡ăaȆ6]
Early game - preparation and laning phase

You're in the champion selection screen. You choose Xin in order to get that missing tanky dps. Now, it's time to check your team and answer on few question:

1.Is anyone in your team jungling?
If the answer is NO,then change your mastery setup, rune setup and get Smite so you can fill that role.
If the answer is YES,then answer yourself on few more questions:
2.Is there any champion which, together with you, compose deadly lane?
If the answer is YES, then you should go with that person in bottom lane.
If the answer is NO, then you should go solo top.
Also,if your team haven't good mid laner, go there. You're just fine in mid.

This is the usual situation is Solo Queue. Remember- communication is the most important thing! Be constructive, try to plan early game with your team. Ranked games and banning system is much more complicated, but remember- Xin is great counter against long ranged carries who relies on attacking from distance.

Game is starting. Check your enemies and their summoner spells. If necesarry, change the lane setup.

2v2 ( BOTTOM LANE )
This isn't my favourite setup, but if you and your lane partner are good combo, then it's good. In the beggining, patiently farm. Test your enemies. If they're squishy and you know they can't stand against you and your lane partner, first scare them. Try to zone them. They must be afraid of your and your lane partner's damage. If they're foolish, use the situation and kill them. Also, try to made them to waste their summoner spells, so you can get easier kill later. But don't overextend if they have jungler! However, if you're punished, then just patiently farm and stay in the experience range. Also,ask your jungler to help gank your lane if necesarry.

1v2 ( TOP LANE )
This can happen often in solo queue,especially if you're not high ELO ( like me ). 1v2 can be annoying lane, but you're really strong at this. Patiently farm, auto attack whenever it's possible so you can recover HP and defend your tower. Don't risk anything. Stay in the experience range and don't try to do anything foolish. They will usually be very agressive and sometimes you can turn the tables and make kills. Ask your jungler for help and gank as soon as possible.

1v1 ( TOP OR MID LANE )
This is my favourite setup. However, I like top more than mid lane. Mid lane is harder to gank and you should leave mid lane to your carry. Just farm, take as many last hits as possible, try not to push,but if you have chance to zone your enemy, do it. Scare him, tell him that you're too strong for him and he can't do anything but only farm. Unfortunately, you can't always be stronger than your enemy. In that case, just farm and defend your tower. However, sometimes your enemies can overextend and feel too comfortable ( example: Mordekaiser or Nidalee ). Attack them when they don't expect it!
Mid game

This is the phase you shine most. If you have finished your core item build before level 10, then you're doing good. Start ganking, put pressure on other lanes. Don't forget about red buff and especially dragon. Dragon is the most important task in mid game. He's worth 950 team gold ( almost 4 kills )! If you have advantage in dragon kills, you also have big advantage in gold and experience.

Teamfights should start soon. Prepare for them. In the beggining, teamfights won't be 5v5, they will be 4v4, 3v4, 4v3 etc. Try not to die, at least. Sometimes death is inevitable. In that case, try to pull one ( or even 2 ) enemy to grave with you.

Baron is another interesting task. If your team has advantage, you can do him and get that sweet buff. Also, you can him and surprise your enemies which surely won't expect that.

I've almost forgot the most important task: WARDS! Don't think that buying wards is the job of your supporter. No,it's not only his job. It's your job too! Ward everything important: Dragon, Baron, your buffs, enemy buffs etc. Map awareness is OP and it can win the lose game!
Late game

It' very similar to mid game, but be patient and don't run anywhere without your team. One death can decide the whole game! Baron is now the most important task. Team with Baron buff is much stronger and harder to kill. The best thing I can tell you is just to follow your sense and use your brain! Remember, Three Talon Strike is your tool for breaking enemy's ultimates.
Ability combos

BASIC XIN ZHAO COMBO
-->-->-->
Use this for teamfights and for getting lizard at lvl 6-8.

GANKING COMBO
-->-->-->
After finishing your Three Talon Strike,you should have your Audacious Charge up. Use Crescent Sweep only if you really need to.

DOUBLE STRIKE
AUTO ATTACK-->
For fastest possible double strike,click on Q while Xin Zhao is landing his attack.

JUNGLING COMBO
DOUBLE STRIKE-->-->DOUBLE STRIKE
First use double strike combo on strongest monster,then after knock up use your Battle Cry and again use double strike combo when your TTS is ready to cast. If you do this correctly,you can save few seconds in jungle and maybe even Health Potion.
Best lane partners

2v2 lane partners

Alistar
He's great lane controller and babysiter,you'll never ran out of you health while he's spamming Triumphant Roar. Also,if enemies get's too aggresive,he can Pulverize them and allow you to try and eventually get a kill.

Blitzcrack
His Rocket Grab and Power Fist,together with your Three Talon Strike makes this lane composition one of the scariest and deadliest. If Blitz succeed in Rocket Grabbing,that's almost always a kill.

Janna
Her Eye Of The Storm allows you more harrasing and keeps you alive while doing it. Also, succesful Howling Gale is indicator for your Audacious Charge and Three Talon Strike.

Nidalee
Not so great like other ones,but her Primal Surge / Swipe heals you and gives you additional attack speed,which can lead into kill.

Pantheon
You and him are one really deadly combo. -->-->=GG

Poppy
Another deadly combo. If Poppy manages to Heroic Charge into the wall, that's indicator for your Audacious Charge and Three Talon Strike.

Sion
He has really high early game damage and one of the best stuns. If you are with him in lane,always try to kill someone because -->--> is really devastating combination.

Taric
One of my favourite champions with Xin Zhao makes really good dual lane composition. His Dazzle is not so strong as Sion's Cryptic Gaze,but Taric also has Imbue which is the best lane phase healing spell.

Jarvan IV
You and him are not only demacian brothers in arms,you're also one terrifying combo. Double knock up FTW!

Jungle Udyr
He comes from nowhere,stuns someone in Bear Stance,then you comes with Audacious Charge and Three Talon Strike. This and few more auto attacks should result into a kill.

Jungle Nocturne
Help him to became the worst nightmare of your enemies! You and him can make easy double kills.
Creep Jungling

Always when you can,take small camps and get free and easy gold.Also,keep your buffs up,especially lizard buff which really helps in ganking enemies.
Summary

Xin Zhao is great champion and great asset to any team without tough DPS. His strong early game,ganking possibilities and survivability makes him pain in the ass for the enemy squishies. Late game he's unstoppable 1v1 and great teamfighter. Maybe because of all this advantages,he's often banned in ranked games.

I hope you enjoyed reading this guide! Rate it and leave your comments. Please,I want only constructive criticism,not comments like "bad guide". Good luck and see you ingame!
Replays from me and guide readers!

I wanna encourage you to try and to use one little,but very good program,which is called LOLReplay! Download link is below!

http://www.leaguereplays.com/download

It will make replay of your game. During recording,you won't experience any lags,and replay is only 5-10 MB big! So,if you wanna show your pro skills,or you wanna blame yourself ( or anyone else ),put links to your replay files in comments section.

LANE XIN ZHAO

JUNGLE XIN ZHAO
8-2-11 by Hedelma