Bruiser · Jungle

Xin Zhao Wild Rift Guide

Xin Zhao is an aggressive engage jungler whose kit is built for diving into enemy lines and creating chaos.

★ Jungle Tier S July 2026 · Patch 7.2a bruiserjunglegank

DMG

UTIL

TANK

DIFF

Win 50.7% #38 · ↓6pt

Pick 8.1% #5

Ban 0.3% #66

§ 01 — Editorial brief

Xin Zhao keeps a solid jungle position because he answers a very practical solo queue question: who can create a simple early fight without asking the whole team to execute perfectly?

By WRC Studio ~ 2 min read Patch 7.2a

Xin Zhao is an aggressive engage jungler whose kit is built for diving into enemy lines and creating chaos. His challenge locks onto a single target for amplified damage, and his ultimate Crescent Guard pushes all non-targeted enemies out of his zone, forcing an uneven 1v1. Auto-attack cooldown resets give him sustained DPS in extended fights. In Wild Rift, Xin Zhao is a early-game snowball jungler who creates advantages through aggressive ganks and forced uneven 1v1 scenarios.

Xin Zhao excels in dive compositions seeking numerical advantages through his scatter ultimate. He benefits from allies who can follow his knock-ups and engagements with immediate burst. All-in or early aggression compositions get the maximum from him.

Xin Zhao is heavily countered by kite or disengage compositions that keep him at bay and nullify his scatter ultimate. Champions with invulnerability or dashes exiting his zone render him powerless. His reliance on carry access makes his impact low against grouped compositions.

With Xin Zhao, use your ultimate mid-combat to create 1v1 or 2v2 situations by expelling non-priority enemies. Time your third strike to extend combos. In early, you're one of the strongest junglers — exploit this window aggressively.

Expert note

Expert take

Xin Zhao is an excellent champion for players who want to influence the game early without turning every action into a complicated mechanical sequence. His real difficulty is not understanding his combo, but knowing which entry is worth taking. Played well, he forces lanes to respect jungle pressure, secures early objectives, and gives his team a clear point of impact. Played poorly, he becomes a champion who spends E too quickly, ults to survive, then disappears when fights extend. His true value comes from discipline: choosing fights with priority, using Q3 as team setup, and saving Crescent Guard to reshape the fight rather than repair a mistake.

Weak point

Hidden weakness

Xin Zhao’s hidden weakness is not only kiting: it is his dependence on the first correct decision. When he engages with E, he immediately reveals his intention, spends his main access tool, and asks his team to read the same window. If W is dodged, if Q3 does not reach the right target, or if his ultimate is only used to save a bad entry, he has few clean ways to recover. Good opponents do not always try to kill him instantly; they mainly force him to enter too early, then retreat until his impact disappears.

§ 02 — Strengths & weaknesses Xin Zhao Wild Rift strengths and weaknesses

↑ Strengths

He punishes lanes that disrespect jungle pressure very well: a well-timed E followed by Q3 quickly turns a small positioning mistake into a kill or forced Flash.
He gives a clear answer to teams lacking simple engage: Xin Zhao can be the first point of contact without depending on a complex combo.
His Trinity Force and Death’s Dance spikes arrive around important dragon, Herald, and mid-game fight timings, making his windows easy to convert.
His ultimate genuinely changes fights around choke points: he can push away part of the enemy response while his team finishes a priority target.

↓ Weaknesses

Avoid Xin Zhao if your team has no lane able to follow your early ganks: without nearby crowd control or damage, your E often becomes an isolated entry.
Avoid him against a draft that can kite you for a long time, slow you before impact, then force you to use your ultimate only to survive.
Avoid him if the enemy has several champions able to win extended duels against you despite your engage, especially when they reduce your sustain or DPS.
Avoid Xin Zhao if your teamfight plan mostly requires poke, slow sieging, or very passive protection: he needs moments where contact is accepted.

Win Rate (30d) 50.70%+0.03 pts

Pick Rate 8.08%

Ban Rate 0.27%

Xin Zhao's win rate has climbed +0.03 pts over the last 30 days, now at 50.70%. See the full Wild Rift meta trends for more biggest movers.

§ 03 — Game planXin Zhao Wild Rift game plan: early, mid and late game

I Early

Look for short, decisive 2v2/3v3s based around…

Niv. 1 → 6

Look for short, decisive 2v2/3v3s based around ally priority.

II Mid

Play objectives: forward vision E, engages in…

Niv. 7 → 11

Play objectives: forward vision E, engages in corridors.

III Late

Insulate a carry with R or peel the backline…

Niv. 12+

Insulate a carry with R or peel the backline according to compo.

Data — Stats per levelXin Zhao Wild Rift base stats per level (1-15)

Movement speed 355Attack range 175Bonus attack speed / lvl +2.2%

Show stats per level

Lvl	HP	AD	Armor	MR	Mana	HP regen	Res. regen
1	690	62	46	38	345	9	12
2	810	66.5	50.3	40	386	9.8	12.7
3	930	71	54.6	42	427	10.6	13.4
4	1,050	75.5	58.9	44	468	11.4	14.1
5	1,170	80	63.2	46	509	12.2	14.8
6	1,290	84.5	67.5	48	550	13.1	15.5
7	1,410	89	71.8	50	591	13.9	16.2
8	1,530	93.5	76.1	52	632	14.7	16.9
9	1,650	98	80.4	54	673	15.5	17.6
10	1,770	102.5	84.7	56	714	16.3	18.3
11	1,890	107	89	58	755	17.1	19
12	2,010	111.5	93.3	60	796	17.9	19.7
13	2,130	116	97.6	62	837	18.7	20.4
14	2,250	120.5	101.9	64	878	19.5	21.1
15	2,370	125	106.2	66	919	20.3	21.8

Base data : wiki.leagueoflegends.com (CC BY-SA 4.0) · 2026-07-09

§ 05 — Recommended buildBest Xin Zhao Wild Rift build for the current patch

Xin Zhao builds around attack damage and attack speed to maximize third strike procs. Bruiser items offering survival and damage amplify his dive potential. In early game, his raw power spike is one of the highest among junglers.

Core

Trinity Force

Death's Dance

Sterak's Gage

Boots

Plated Steelcaps

Mercury's Treads

See the full build

§ 06 — The matchup wallXin Zhao Wild Rift counters and synergies

Hard Unfav. Skill Fav. Synergy

Orianna loves Xin Zhao's profile: linear entry, presence in the middle of the pack, and ability to hold the impact point for several seconds. This allows very clean Shockwaves after his dash, then Xin maintains the zone with his ultimate to prevent carries from walking out freely. The duo is especially strong in front-facing dragon fights.

Strong

Yasuo

Xin Zhao provides Yasuo with a direct knockup through Wind Becomes Lightning, opening Last Breath onto a priority target without waiting for a more complex setup. Yasuo can then dive very quickly while Xin secures the zone around him through melee pressure. The duo punishes overextended carries and corridor fights especially well.

Strong

Kai'Sa

Xin Zhao opens very clean lines for Kai'Sa because he often isolates a target or forces the enemy backline out of shape. After Xin's dash, Kai'Sa can choose an aggressive Killer Instinct onto an already disrupted target and benefit from the time created by Crescent Guard. The synergy is very good for fast and violent skirmish compositions.

See all counters · 4 See all synergies · 4

§ 07b — Advanced MechanicsXin Zhao: combos & tips Wild Rift

Standard gank combo

3 AA

5 AA

6 AA

7 AA

Dash to close the gap + slow, slow/damage with ability 2, auto-attacks to build up stacks for ability 1, knock-up on the third attack of ability 1

All-in combo

4 AA

6 AA

7 AA

9 AA

Dash, ultimate to knock back untargeted enemies + immunity to their damage, slow, full DPS

Isolated target combo

4 AA

6 AA

7 AA

8 AA

Ultimate to knock out the enemy frontlane and be left alone with the carry

Mechanical Tips

Three Talon Strike (1) knock-up: the first attack empowers the next three auto-attacks — the third knocks the target up — count the auto-attacks and use the third or second attack between auto-attacks so as not to lose the stacks whilst far away
Determination (passive): every 3 auto-attacks, Xin Zhao deals bonus damage and heals himself — when clearing the jungle, always finish the cycle of 3 auto-attacks on a camp for maximum healing; in combat, do not switch targets until you have completed a cycle
Crescent Guard (Ult) immunity: during the ult, Xin Zhao is immune to damage from enemies he has NOT hit with the ult — use this to isolate a carry by pushing back the enemy frontlane
Wind Becomes Lightning (2): two parts — the first slash slows, the second thrust deals damage in a line — use them together to maximise the slow and damage

Common Mistakes

Ultimate for engagement only: Using Crescent Guard purely as a ‘flashy move’ without taking advantage of the immunity and isolation wastes its potential — always aim to isolate an enemy carry
Three Talon Strike without completing all 3 stacks: completing only 2 auto-attacks from the first-tier sequence without the final knock-up drastically reduces burst damage — maintain pressure on the same target until the knock-up
Audacious Charge on a tank: Ability 3 is Xin Zhao’s only gap-closer — wasting it on the enemy tank instead of the carry leaves Xin Zhao exposed with no escape route

Notable Interactions

Crescent Guard knocks enemies out of a circular area around Xin Zhao — knocking them towards allies so that allies can follow up
Three Talon Strike’s knock-up is a hard CC — interrupts channels (Nunu’s ultimate, Katarina’s ultimate, Vladimir’s Pool)
With Blade of the Ruined King + Trinity Force, the passive heal from Determination becomes massive in prolonged fights

Patch 7.2 build — computed

›

Full variants, runes & power spikes →

§ 07 — PreceptsXin Zhao Wild Rift tips for ranked

Tip · 01

Don't extend without a CD: Xin excels at short, decisive entries.

Codex

Tip · 02

Announce your Q3 timing and your R so that the team can link up cleanly.

Codex

Tip · 03

Play choke points: your R zone is worth double.

Codex

§ 08 — DialoguesXin Zhao Wild Rift FAQ

Q.01 Is Xin Zhao a good jungler to climb ranked? +

Yes, especially if you want to learn how to turn early pressure into concrete objectives. Xin Zhao forces simple actions: level 3 gank, counter-gank, river duel, then dragon or Herald. He is less dependent on a complex combo than many junglers, but he requires good timing awareness. If you engage without priority or follow-up, his kit becomes very punishable. To climb, play him as a conversion jungler, not as a champion who must fight nonstop.

Q.02 When should Xin Zhao use his ultimate? +

The best use depends on the fight. If your team can kill a target quickly, use the ultimate to push away the rest of the enemy team and create a short but decisive isolation. If your carries are threatened, hold it to stop a dive or break enemy access. The classic mistake is using it only when you are already dying. Crescent Guard should change the structure of the fight, not just delay a bad entry.

Q.03 Should Xin Zhao always play aggressively in the early game? +

He should look for early pressure, but not automatic aggression. The difference matters: a good level 3 gank with a lane ready to follow is excellent, while an invade without priority can ruin his tempo. Xin Zhao wins many short fights, but he needs the play to lead somewhere: forced Flash, kill, stolen camp, prepared objective. If you fight only because your champion is strong, you give the enemy exactly the window to slow you down.

Q.04 Is Xin Zhao better at diving or peeling? +

He can do both, but the right answer depends on the game. If your team can instantly follow your entry, Xin Zhao can dive with E, Q3, and ultimate to isolate a target. If your carries are the real win condition, he is often stronger in front-to-back: he threatens whoever steps forward, uses Q3 to interrupt, then keeps ultimate to push away the second wave. Good Xin Zhao players do not choose one style before the game; they read it through draft and early fights.