SivHD was joking, right? AP Xin Zhao couldn’t work, right? Well, I figured I’d give it a shot and see what happens.
I didn’t feel like hurting my team mates in a Normal in case it was 100% troll, so I grabbed Xin in a bot game. I had a hoot. Most of your burst comes from your initial E when you dash in. His Audacious Charge actually only sports a 0.6 AP ratio, which isn’t low but isn’t anything to write home about. This actually seems silly because it’s one of only two AP ratios that Xin has. However, if you’re maxing E first then you’re getting a decent return on damage, so you still have an early game before you get a chance to buy some AP.
Xin’s other AP ratio is a joke. It’s a 0.7 ratio on his W, which increases his attack speed, but also heals him. The base heal ranges rather moderately from 26 to 50, not getting too out of control. Irelia’s W makes his look like a children’s toy. However, Irelia lacks the 0.7 AP ratio. What this means is that with some mitigation and attack speed runes I was hitting just over 100 Ability Power after my first trip back, which means that my heal with my first level of W was healing for over 100 life on each hit. This compounded quickly with attack speed. Guinsoo’s Rageblade is an item that normally doesn’t work well for anyone because, despite being extremely cost-effective, hardly anyone benefits from Ability Power and Attack Speed and Attack Damage. I tried it out on Xin, and it was great! I turned into a flurry of abilities and attacks that quickly got me to 8 stacks. The bonus AD stacked with the Attack Speed I was already pushing for was very effective at increasing my over-all DPS while still healing me for hundreds.
My favorite part of this build was that with zero lifesteal from my runes, masteries, or items I could dip to 100 health, walk into the jungle and come out with full health. I could tank a turret because it counted as attacks so I would get healed for a large amount.
I wish I would have gotten 2.5 Attack Speed, but instead I got Deathcap and had 448 AP. My burst damage was immense when I would dive in, and I was healing for ~350 every third attack. With 2.5 attack speed that equals 303 health per second. This is like being Attack Damage Sion and having your ult up all the time! Xin might be a candidate for Nashor’s Tooth, you know, that item that you’re not supposed to build on anyone (please note I just spent the last 30 minutes seeing if Nashor’s Tooth would be viable on Teemo. It actually looks like a decent fit. I’ll try it next game if I get a chance and let you know how it goes).
I guess if you’re getting on the Attack Speed Ability Power train you should probably pick up items like Malady and possibly even Wit’s End. It’s a rather inexpensive build. I still don’t feel comfortable trying this against people, but it was a load of fun using it against bots.
