AD, AP, and hybrid Xin Zhao are all viable now
He’ll make a man outta you.
Xin Zhao received slight buffs at the end of Season 10 which did not change his play rate. Now inLeague of Legendspatch 11.6, Riot went all out to buff AD and AP Xin Zhao, and opened up a new hybrid build path as well.
In his traditional AD brawler role, Riot is “is giving him tools to extend combos and initiate duels”.
W – Wind Becomes Lightning
E – Audacious Charge
By reducing the healing from his passive and base damage from Q, Riot shifted the power of AD Xin Zhao to his W, Wind Becomes Lightning. Key changes include a significant reduction of mana cost, and the addition of a new Thrust mechanic.
The fact that Thrust’s damage increases with critical strike chance is massive. Most attack speed AD items include critical strike chance, and Xin Zhao will now be getting more value from them. Not to mention, its missile speed went up by 1250, and reveals (potentially invisible) targets for three seconds.
R – Crescent Guard
With these changes, Riot wants to bring AP Xin back into the foreground. Once a cheese build, the fact that W now has an AP ratio attached, and his heal from Determination went up by 15%, does make his AP build path more attractive.
Hybrid Xin Zhao
Putting the AD and AP changes together, hybrid Xin may outweigh and out damage the first two builds. More testing will be required.
Similar to Kayle, Nahsor’s Tooth is a likely core, alongside Riftmaker. Other viable items include Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Triforce, and Lichbane. Most of these items also grant bonus movement speed, which tremendously helps Xin Zhao close the gap with his foes.
Read the fullpatch 11.6 patch notes here.
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