Fans of MOBAs refer to League of Legends as one of the heavy-hitters in the industry - particularly due to its whopping roster of 153 Champions (and counting), plus their unique mechanics. Interestingly, some of these Champions easily become fan favorites due to their engaging mechanics. Particularly, half-dragon Shyvana sets a mark among her peers as one of the few Champions who have a dynamic form change as part of her rotation.
Interestingly, fans who want to try out Shyvana might find out that this Melee/Jungle specialist has a ton to offer in both offense, defense, and speed. Moreover, her Dragon-specific arsenal allows her to eliminate and benefit from killing dragons much better than other Champions. However, what else can players expect when playing Shyvana?
10 AP, AP-Bruiser, AD Specialization
Given Shyvana's kit, newcomers might notice how easy they can use her mechanically. However, players need to watch out for her weak early-level play, especially against aggressive enemies.
Essentially, Shyvana excels as a Pure AP in a team that greatly lacks magic damage (0 to 1 Champions). Remember, enemies that can itemize to counter magic damage can be a breaking point in a match. Likewise, Shyvana works as an AP-Bruiser following the same setup, and if the enemy has two tanks - and AP-Bruisers love killing tanks.
Meanwhile, Shyvana excels as Pure AD if her team has around two Champions that focus on magic damage. Thankfully, AD Shyvana provides a healthy split between physical and magic damage. At its core, AD Shyvana can split her damage output evenly across these types.
9 The Kit: Dragonborn's Fury
At its core, Shyvana devastates the battlefield courtesy of her specialization against dragons. Her Fury of the Dragonborn (Passive) amplifies her anti-dragon damage. Additionally, Dragon's Descent (R) transforms Shyvana into a dragon, perfect for turning the tide in teamfights.
Her Twin Bite (Q) capitalizes on her auto-attack for massive damage. Meanwhile, Burnout (W) provides the additional movement speed in early levels, while Flame Breath (E) deals massive damage that level-scales in both her forms. With the right attack speed, Shyvana can devastate teamfights easily.
8 Domination Versus Precision
Essentially, AP Shyvana needs the damage boost from Domination. Killing enemies with Dark Harvest pumps Shyvana with extra damage. Likewise, Taste of Blood (Slot 1) and Ravenous Hunter (Slot 4) offer decent HP buffs. Shyvana ravages the field further with damage buffs from the other keystone slots. With Transcendence (Secondary Rune), the AP scaling from Gathering Storm, and the Axe-Diamond Shard combination, Shyvana can amass decent attack speed as well.
Likewise, AD Shyvana excels with Precision as Press the Attack enables her to both boost team damage and gank much faster. Triumph (Slot 1) easily becomes her lifesaver against tougher opponents. Meanwhile, Precision's other keystone slots focus on boosting Shyvana's attack speed and attack damage, either depending on her HP levels or damage dealt. Precision works great with the Ravenous Hunter (Secondary Rune) for healing. In terms of Shards, Axe and Diamond work, again, for decent attack speed boosts.
7 Mobility Versus Aggression
As a speed-focused Champion, Shyvana can only decimate opponents if she's too fast for them to react against. At its core, AP Shyvana benefits best from Flash as it works not just with any playstyle, but over walls as well. Shyvana can chase enemies and run away from them, should the need arise. Shyvana can even prevent enemies from running away with Exhaust, allowing her to secure the kill.
Meanwhile, players who want to gank players might want to work with Smites. For instance, Chilling Smite serves as a great AOE to compensate for Shyvana's lack of CC. Likewise, Challenging Smite works for Shyvana builds focused on single targets.
6 Focus On Speed, Mobility, Aggression
In terms of item management, Shyvana needs to maximize her speed and damage output, especially in the middle of combat. For AP Shyvana, players ought to tap into the bonus damage and attack speed from items such as Nashor's Tooth, Night Harvester, Cosmic Drive, and Sorcerer's Shoes. They can finish it off with the decent AP boost from Rabadon's Deathcap and extra speed from Void Staff.
Likewise, AD Shyvana taps into multiple damage sources. For instance, Blade of the Ruined King, Frostfire Gauntlet, and Titanic Hydra either provides damage boost depending on enemy HP left, or bolsters damage depending on Shyvana's attacks. Items for AD Shyvana also leaves more room for versatility - for instance, Plated Steelcaps bolsters her defenses while Sorcerer's Shoes increases her overall damage output. Likewise, Bramble Vest or Executioner's Calling boosts her healing reduction, while Warmog's Armor boosts her protection.
5 Opening Gambit: Clear The Jungle, Watch The Gank
As with other damage-oriented Champions, Shyvana heavily relies on her opening gambit to build her damage output. In short, players should clear all six camps of the Jungle prior to doing anything else. Essentially, Shyvana can clear the team's jungle the fastest if she starts with Red Buff. Likewise, Shyvana needs to steer clear of Champions such as Olaf and Graves nearby, as these tend to invade opposing Jungle camps.
Likewise, Shyvana shouldn't be left to her own devices when farming since she doesn't gank well. However, Shyvana does have a chance of landing a decent opening assault with Red Buff. Dragon's Descent and Chilling Smite work against enemy invaders, since Shyvana doesn't have a lot of mobility options.
4 Early Game: Focus On Dragons
Unfortunately, Shyvana doesn't have much use roaming the battlefield if she doesn't have a few dragon skulls in her person. In short, early game Shyvana needs to prioritize clearing Jungles and dragons while she builds her damage output. As such, Shyvana's early game "rotation" needs to involve killing dragons, obliterating both Jungle camps, and forcing ganks if possible. Moreover, Shyvana should avoid unnecessary conflicts with other aggressive Junglers, as this takes time off her building her damage output.
Since Shyvana relies heavily on dragon-slaying, Shyvana should solo dragons as much as possible. Her teammates should be able to fulfill their other objectives as Shyvana opts for Jungle-clearing, as she can't be useful in anything else in the early game.
3 Mid Game: Start Diversifying
As mentioned, Shyvana's straightforward kit means she remains effective as a Jungle clearer even in mid game. Essentially, at this stage Shyvana should have around half her equipment already bought. That means Shyvana can kill dragons much faster, and even take on a baron with just another teammate. In turn, Shyvana can focus on new objectives, such as eliminating wards and getting vision for the rest of the team.
However, this stage also means other teammates might be looking for buffs, courtesy of dragons. To avoid conflicts, Shyvana should ping teammates if she wants to take on a dragon on her own so as to avoid interrupting the team flow.
2 AP Shyvana: Positioning Is Key
In terms of teamfighting, AP Shyvana rakes up her damage numbers in Dragon's Descent. This helps her be in a position where she gets to hit the most targets, especially the ones players want to prioritize. Flame Breath easily becomes her go-to damage-dealer here, with Burnout allowing her to regroup whenever needed. When cornering an enemy, Chilling Smite slows the enemy down just enough for Twin Bite to deal massive damage.
AP Shyvana becomes a monster especially when players know enemies have depleted their CDs onto her and the team. Dragon's Descent in this situation leaves enemies at a huge disadvantage, especially since they tend to be lined up for the kill with no means to escape, even against laners.
1 AD Shyvana: Follow Up On Engagement
Unlike AP Shyvana, AD Shyvana instead follows-through a teammate's initial engagement. Again, Dragon's Descent works well to position Shyvana, but this time towards a priority target. She can crowd-control everyone with Dragon's Breath, with Burnout and Twinbite on standby to chase her main opponents.
In turn, AD Shyvana works best when following-up on a battle just after teammates initiated the first assault. That way, enemies likely have wasted their relevant skills onto them, leaving them ripe for a terrifying Dragon's Descent. Again, Burnout is great for chasing enemies down, just to finish them off with Twin Bite.