Shyvana · Jungle
Shyvana Guide
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
Shyvana belongs to Riot's Fighter and Tank classes and is played mainly as Jungle (100% of the public matches we measured). It fights in melee range and uses fury. In this guide you play it as Jungle: your job is to clear camps efficiently, gank the lanes that can win and control dragons, grubs and Baron. The kit brings mobility with Dragon's Descent and sustain with Inferno Aegis. Its ultimate is Dragon's Descent. Riot rates it 8/10 in attack, 3/10 in magic, 6/10 in defense and 4/10 in difficulty.
Strengths
- High physical damage: Riot rates it 8/10 in attack.
- Mobility: Dragon's Descent lets you reposition, engage or escape.
- Sustain from Inferno Aegis.
Weaknesses
- Falls behind if the early ganks fail: every wasted trip is lost farm.
- Predictable if you always play it the same way: adapt your build to the enemy team.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Standard buildBalancedRecommendedThe default path: Black Cleaver, Trinity Force and Spear of Shojin give the health, attack damage and on-hit effects this class relies on. Pick it when you have no reason to adapt. Built from Riot's item tags and the champion's class; Riot publishes no build statistics.
- Lethality buildOffensiveAdvancedAll-in on damage: Terminus, Lord Dominik's Regards and Blade of The Ruined King stack attack damage, attack speed and on-hit effects. Choose it when you're ahead or the enemy team is fragile — it gives up safety for kill pressure.
- Defensive buildDefensiveSituationalKeeps enough damage while adding health, magic resist and armor through Jak'Sho, The Protean, Bandlepipes and Zeke's Convergence. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.
Builds
Standard build
When to use it
The default path: Black Cleaver, Trinity Force and Spear of Shojin give the health, attack damage and on-hit effects this class relies on. Pick it when you have no reason to adapt. Built from Riot's item tags and the champion's class; Riot publishes no build statistics.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- JungleMain100% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Spear of Shojin
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Resolve
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Smite
Lethality build
When to use it
All-in on damage: Terminus, Lord Dominik's Regards and Blade of The Ruined King stack attack damage, attack speed and on-hit effects. Choose it when you're ahead or the enemy team is fragile — it gives up safety for kill pressure.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- JungleMain100% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Terminus
- 2Lord Dominik's Regards
- 3Blade of The Ruined King
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Precision
Secondary· Domination
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Smite
Defensive build
When to use it
Keeps enough damage while adding health, magic resist and armor through Jak'Sho, The Protean, Bandlepipes and Zeke's Convergence. Choose it against dive, assassins or a lane you can't win.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- JungleMain100% of matches
Jungle priorities
StartRed buff
Objectives by priority
- 1Voidgrubs
- 2Gank top
- 3Rift Herald
- 4Scuttle Crab
- 5Dragons
- 6Baron Nashor
- 7Atakhan
Guideline, not a measurement: an early skirmisher starting red side. Take the void grubs and look for ganks while your early damage is ahead, then Herald and dragons.
Starting items
Core items
- 1Jak'Sho, The Protean
- 2Bandlepipes
- 3Zeke's Convergence
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Smite
Abilities
ScalemailPassiveTakedowns on enemy champions, large minions, and large monsters grant Shyvana Scalemail stacks, improving her defenses.
QEmberstrike10/9/8/7/6sShyvana's next attack strikes both the target and the surrounding area. This Ability can be recast. While in Dragon Form, it gains an additional recast, dealing massive damage to a single target.- Cooldown
- 10·9·8·7·6
- Range
- 25000
WInferno Aegis13/12.25/11.5/10.75/10sShyvana gains a shield, movement speed, and after a short delay, the area around her detonates. While in Dragon Form, the explosion will heal her if it strikes an enemy champion.- Cooldown
- 13·12.25·11.5·10.75·10
- Range
- 350
EMolten Burst12/11/10/9/8sShyvana launches a fireball that explodes upon striking a large target and slows them. In Dragon Form, it passes through and explodes upon striking large enemies, leaving behind a trail of fire.- Cooldown
- 12·11·10·9·8
- Range
- 800
RDragon's DescentUltimateShyvana transforms into a Dragon and leaps forward causing enemies along her path to flee. While in Dragon form she becomes larger and her basic abilities are empowered.- Range
- 1050
Strategy
1Early game
Start with your jungle pet and Smite, plan a full clear towards the lane you want to gank and show up when that lane has the enemy pushed and without Flash. A gank works when the lane is pushed towards the enemy tower and the enemy has used Flash or their escape: pick those moments instead of forcing a bad one.
- Early items: Phage and Kindlegem.
2Mid game
With Black Cleaver and Trinity Force, play around the next dragon or Baron: take vision with your laners first, then force the fight or trade the objective across the map. Your spikes are level 6, when Dragon's Descent comes online, and each completed item: Black Cleaver first, then Trinity Force.
- Core items: Black Cleaver, Trinity Force and Spear of Shojin.
3Late game
Late, Smite decides Baron and Elder: stay close to the pit when it's up and never get caught farming on the far side of the map before an objective spawns.
- Late items: Death's Dance and Mercurial Scimitar.
4Team fights
In fights, enter after the enemy uses their key crowd control and go for whoever your team can reach with you. Use Dragon's Descent where it hits the most enemies or catches the key target.
5Playing against Shyvana
Riot's own advice for facing this champion:
- A significant portion of Shyvana's power is generated through aggression, making her weak against opponents who are able to keep their distance.
- All of Shyvana's basic abilities hit multiple enemies in dragon form. It's important for opposing champions to not cluster while fighting her.
- Shyvana's Fury Bar indicate her ultimate can be activated. Harassing her when she's low on Fury can be very effective.
Tips
- Shyvana's abilities all benefit from attacking units. As a result, Attack Speed items are more valuable on her than most champions.
- Flame Breath is great to level-up against difficult lane opponents.
- Burnout is an ideal choice for jungling. Monsters will be hit by the full duration, and the speed boost improves her ganking potential.
- Rush Black Cleaver: it's the item that speeds up your clears and your ganks the most.
- Before an objective, reset and buy wards: fight it with full health and Smite ready.
- Gank the lane with crowd control: two stuns in a row are worth more than any damage.
Matchups
Strong against
Graves looks for fragile targets to jump on; Shyvana is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Kayn looks for fragile targets to jump on; Shyvana is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Kha'Zix looks for fragile targets to jump on; Shyvana is built to take hits and makes that dive costly.
Weak against
Shyvana has to walk up to start a fight, and Bandage Toss (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Shyvana has to walk up to start a fight, and Ixtal's Impact (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Shyvana has to walk up to start a fight, and Permafrost (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
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