Jhin Laning

LANING

Jhin’s a different kind of marksman. While most look to whittle their opponents down with a constant barrage of sapping attacks, Jhin’s fastidious to the extreme, and thrives when he handpicks his opportunities to strike. In lane, he’s best off saving his valuable bullets for last-hitting, keeping track of his ammo count and looking for moments when he can expend his fourth bullet - his deadliest - on his lane opponent. Jhin’s basic attack range is distinctly average at best, making him relatively easy to harass in lane. That’s where the Virtuoso can turn to Dancing Grenade, using the bouncing cannister to secure last hits from relative safety, and even apply effective harassment if his opponents stick too close to their minion waves.

Still, Jhin’s low attack speed will often see him pushed under tower, and having to fire off his shots to last hit instead of harass. Here’s the thing, though: when Jhin correctly plans for this, when he places a few of his Captive Audience traps as he falls back, he’ll be perfectly placed to call on his jungler and slowly close the noose around his hapless opponents’ necks. As the gank starts, Jhin and his allies work best initiating the attack and corralling their targets towards their pre-set traps. Once they trigger, Jhin can follow up immediately with Deadly Flourish, damaging his target and rooting them inside the trap’s slow zone as it ticks down toward zero. The explosion, which they’re now guaranteed to be caught inside, chunks them down further, setting the stage for Jhin’s fourth and final bullet. They’ll die, one way or another.

Traps being traps, they also make perfect defensive cover for Jhin when he decides to aim his iron sights at his enemies and get aggressive. While these opportunities are rare, a fortuitous crit against a weakened enemy doesn’t just give Jhin the chance to kill his target, but also the means to chase. Jhin excels here, following up on enemy marks with Deadly Flourish to root his target as he blows them away with basic attacks. Overextending generally attracts enemy junglers, of course, but if Jhin manages to pull the trigger on his fourth and final shot, the guaranteed crit (and therefore guaranteed speed boost) should help him speed away as his would-be killer slogs through the Virtuoso’s traps.

"A fortuitous crit against a weakened enemy doesn’t just give Jhin the chance to kill his target, but also the means to chase."