Shen may not be the most popular champion in League of Legends, but he’s always present. No matter which season, meta, or patch it is, Shen is always picked by players of every elo.
His primary role is top lane, but Shen can also be played as a jungler or as a support.
And in this post, I’ll talk about whether Shen is a good champion for climbing in LoL and why.
Shen has many different tools for winning. From abilities that help him duel any champion in the game to a global ultimate that saves his allies.
Shen is a great pick for all types of players in League. He’s a useful champion and pretty efficient when it comes to solo queue.
So, here are the top 5 reasons why Shen is so good in LoL!
Top 5 Reasons Why Shen is so Good in LoL
1. Safe Laning Phase
One way to make sure you can be a carry in the late game is to play a champion with a safe laning phase. Not only is Shen a pretty safe pick early on, but he also doesn’t have too many counter matchups.
Champions like Darius and Vayne can be problematic, but Shen can still win the lane.
Here’s why.
Shen’s passive – Ki Barrier is one of the best effects in League of Legends. It grants Shen a shield when he uses an ability, but the best part is that the shield appears when the ability is completed.
For example, if Shen uses his E, the Ki Barrier will appear after the dash.
Having a shield on every ability is super useful early on, especially for a melee champion. Yes, Ki Barrier has a 10 seconds cooldown, but this can be reduced if Shen affects an enemy champion with his abilities.
Other than his passive, Shen has his W – Spirit’s Refuge. Once activated, this ability creates an area that blocks all basic attacks for 1.75 seconds around his Spirit Blade.
Being able to block at least 50% of your attacker’s damage is more than useful in League of Legends.
And finally, Shen’s E – Shadow Dash is a great mobility spell that you can use in multiple ways. Obviously, you can cast it to dash away from danger.
But you can also dash to an enemy champion to taunt them, making them unable to use abilities.
All these abilities make Shen a good champion in the early game. His laning phase is safer than most picks in the game, so you should never be afraid to lock him in.
Read Also: 5 Reasons Why Amumu is so Good for Climbing
2. Game-winning Global Ultimate
It’s true – Stand United is one of the best global ultimates in League of Legends. It’s just amazing how influential this single ability can be on the outcome of the game.
Stand United can literally win the laning phase for all of your teammates if used correctly.
When the enemy bot lane engages on your ADC and support, there’s little you can do as a top laner. But as Shen, you turn the 2v2 into 2v3, instantly winning the fight for your team.
Similarly, when your mid laner is dueling an opponent 1v1, you turn the fight into 1v2 and get a kill.
Obviously, you can use Stand United to shield and teleport to your jungler too. By having Shen’s R, your teammates can play more aggressively and pressure your enemies everywhere.
Stand United is so reliable because it can save players from across the map by giving a shield large enough to survive almost any damage. The shield actually scales with AP, Shen’s max Health, and his target’s missing health.
So, it’s a pretty beefy shield.
Normally, the top lane in LoL is called an “island” for a reason. It’s often isolated from all the action, especially in the early and mid game. But Shen contradicts that by always being present in fights around the map.
And while you’ll be teleporting and assisting your allies with Shen, your top lane opponent will likely just farm.
That’s why Shen’s R is one of the reasons why he is so good at climbing in LoL!
Read Also: Top 10 Best Tanks in League of Legends
3. Reliable Crowd Control
Aside from Fear, Taunt is one of the most annoying types of CC in LoL. It forces your champion to auto-attack the source for a couple of seconds. And it’s attached to Shen’s mobility spell – Shadow Dash.
If Shen dashes through enemy champions, he taunts all of them for 1.5 seconds. This is a perfect ability for a tank champion who doesn’t mind getting hit by auto-attacks. Why?
Because if Shen taunts his enemies, his allies are free to deal damage and win the team fight.
Shen’s taunt is also one of the best CC abilities early on. Depending on how you play, the animation can be pretty unpredictable.
It’s practically impossible to always dodge Shadow Dash, which makes it easy for you and your jungler to set up kills in the top lane.
One thing that many low-elo players don’t take advantage of is Shen’s E + Flash trick. This is an advanced mechanical move that you can use to taunt enemies without being in range.
Basically, you want to use your Flash near the end of Shen’s E animation. This will transfer the “taunt” part of Shen’s Dash over to the Flash location, even if the Dash animation is nearly finished.
This makes the ability way more unpredictable. And even if your enemies have Flash available, they’ll likely not use it since they won’t expect to get taunted from such a distance.
Here’s a helpful video on How to Taunt + Flash on Shen in League of Legends if you need to learn this trick. Watch the video, go to the Practice Tool, and master the move!
Shadow Dash also deals damage and scales with Shen’s maximum HP. When it damages a player, it restores a bit of Shen’s energy, so it’s a great spell all around.
Read Also: 5 Reasons Why Ahri is so Good in League of Legends
4. Unkillable Tank
If you’ve ever given an early game gold lead to Shen, then you probably know how hard it is to kill him once the mid game starts rolling. Shen builds full tank items that grant him HP, Armor, and Magic Resist.
And it’s practically impossible to one-shot Shen without giving him a chance to react.
Because of this, tanks like Shen are very forgiving champions in League of Legends. And even if you mess up a combo, for example, you still have enough HP to try it again in the same fight.
The two abilities that make Shen especially tanky are his passive and W. Like I mentioned above, Shen’s passive grants him a shield when he uses an ability. This effect has 10 seconds cooldown, but this can be lowered while fighting.
On the other hand, Shen’s W blocks all auto-attacks (except the turret’s) for 1.75 seconds. But since Spirit’s Refuge is an AoE spell, it also protects Shen’s teammates.
So, not only does this ability make Shen tanky, but it also makes his allies too. This is especially useful in 2v2 skirmishes with the jungler early on.
Combined with the tanky item build, you get a champion that deals good damage for a tank but can’t die. In other words, Shen is the perfect frontline in League of Legends.
Here you can check the latest Shen build with the highest win rate in LoL.
5. Easy to Play But Hard to Master
Don’t get me wrong, Shen isn’t an easy champion in the same sense as Master Yi, for example. But he isn’t as difficult as someone like Akali either.
The closest comparison I can come up with is Twisted Fate. And just like Twisted Fate, Shen isn’t a mechanically challenging champion. Instead, he requires macro knowledge in League of Legends more than skill.
And if you know when to teleport and which ally to shield with your ultimate, you’re going to climb with Shen!
Because of this, Shen is an easy-to-play but a hard-to-master champion in LoL. And the reason why this is a good thing is that if you start playing Shen today, you can definitely win games.
But if you dedicate the time and practice with him, you’re going to win even more.
The hardest thing to master with Shen is his E. The Taunt + Flash trick is mandatory in high elo games, so I definitely suggest you practice the move regardless of your current rank.
It might not be necessary for every situation, but it does surprise your enemies and gets you more kills overall.
Those are the 5 key reasons why Shen is such a good champion in LoL!
Is Shen Good in Low Elo?
I mentioned that a big part of playing Shen is his ultimate – Stand United. And the way you utilize this ability usually determines how much you win on this champion.
Shen is a good champion in low elo, but not as much as in high elo. This is because players in low elo won’t always take advantage of the fact that they have Shen on their team.
But in high elo, Shen’s teammates usually play more aggressively, take more objectives, and win more fights, thanks to his ultimate.
Even though Shen can easily carry a game in low elo, you can’t squeeze the maximum out of the champion. Shen is a team-based character.
Yes, he often splits, but that’s only because he can teleport and protect his allies regardless of where he’s at.
In low elo, you won’t always have a good teammate that you can shield and teleport to. However, that can also be a good thing since you can correct your teammate’s mistakes by using your ulti on them.
For example, if your mid lane Yasuo is being overconfident and 2 enemies are ganking him, you can save him and not give your opponents the gold.
That said, you can have success with Shen in every elo as long as you know how to play the champion.
Read Also: AP Shen Build Guide
Is Shen Jungle Good?
I’m sure by now you’ve heard the legend of River Shen. River Shen is a jungle playstyle for Shen, where he constantly walks up and down the river and ganks every lane.
It started out as a meme, but it influenced players to find good jungle builds for this champion.
There’s a big reason why Shen is so good as a jungler – ganks. Shen’s E is one of the best abilities for ganking in the game.
It’s an unpredictable long-range taunt. But Shen can also teleport to an ally with his ultimate and counter gank the enemy jungler while he’s farming his camps.
Jungle Shen isn’t just a meme anymore. Even professional junglers have picked Shen and showed us what this champion can do.
Just a look at how Spica won a game for TSM with the River Shen jungle playstyle. It’s a pretty old match now, but you’ll get the idea.
Can Shen be a Support
Can you play Shen as a support?
Shen is one of the best off-meta support picks in League of Legends. He has everything a support needs – an AoE ability that blocks damage, a shield for his ally, and a reliable CC.
Shen can protect his ADC and set up kills for all of his teammates with ease. He’s also great at roaming.
Aside from playing Shen in the top lane, I love playing him as a support too. He’s pretty similar to Leona and Nautilus, but he might be even better than them.
Not only can Shen engage and CC a target, but he can also protect his ADC with multiple spells.
The best part about support Shen is the fact that you can teleport to any ally on the map and grant them a shield.
And even if your ADC is getting into trouble while you’re roaming and setting up vision, you can still save them with Stand United.
Playing Shen support is definitely underrated. You’ve got plenty of different items and runes to choose from. You can either go offensive or defensive, depending on the matchups.
So, definitely try it out!
Conclusion
Shen is a very well-rounded champion with a great design. He has interesting abilities that allow him to be a carry in the late game. Shen is a good champion for the top lane, jungle, and support role.
He’s also a beginner-friendly champion that you can pick up and learn the game with. But even if you’re experienced in the game, Shen is a great champ for climbing in League.
That said, I hope I helped you figure out why Shen is a good champion and why people love playing him!
