Loading...
Playing Against Zaahen
TopPatch 16.2.1
What They Do
A scaling Darkin juggernaut who thrives in extended duels. He builds AD stacks via to eventually gain a revive and uses to pull enemies into his heavy-hitting combos. He is highly immobile once his short dash is spent.
Abilities (What to Watch For)
| Ability | What You'll See | What It Means For You |
|---|---|---|
| A red and gold resource bar filling up beneath his health | Each stack gives him bonus AD. When full, he gets a massive damage spike and can revive upon death. Do not take long trades if this bar is high. | |
| Glowing weapon strikes followed by a heavy overhead slam | The first two hits deal damage and heal him. The recast is a knockup that allows him to guarantee the rest of his kit. Dodge the third strike to win the trade. | |
| A narrow linear ground indicator followed by a pull | He stabs forward and drags anyone hit into melee range. If you sidestep this, he cannot easily stick to you for his stacking. | |
| A short dash with a circular blade spin | His only gap closer and escape tool. It has a very long early cooldown (18-14s). If he uses this to engage, he is completely vulnerable to a counter-gank. | |
| He leaps into the air and crashes down with his blade | A massive AOE slam that heals him for a portion of damage dealt. He is briefly untargetable while rising; bait this out before using your own execute. |
Respect
- !Full Determination →He gains a free Guardian Angel effect and massive AD. Never commit your Ignite or ultimate if he is about to fill this bar.
- !The knockup→It is his primary CC. Getting hit by the third strike usually leads into a full combo that you cannot out-sustain.
- !Tower-side →The pull is fast. If you are harassing him under his tower, a single hit from this will drag you into tower range for a guaranteed death.
- !Post-6 Dive protection→His makes him untargetable and heals him significantly. Dives that look easy will fail because he can dodge your burst and heal back to half.
Punish
- +is on cooldown (18-14s)→He has zero mobility. All-in him or call for a jungle gank immediately as he cannot escape.
- +Missed pull→He has no way to force you to stay in melee range. Use this 15s window to poke him down or shove the wave for a free reset.
- +Low Determination stacks ()→He is significantly weaker at the start of a fight. Force trades early in the wave before he can stack AD on minions.
- +After landing→He is vulnerable immediately after the slam. Burst him down before he can auto-attack to refresh his stacks.
Laning Tips
- •Buy Bramble Vest or Executioner's Calling on your first back to negate his and healing.
- •Take short, bursty trades. He wins long fights because gives him more AD the longer the fight lasts.
- •The third strike of is the most important to dodge; it provides the CC and the highest portion of his sustain.
- •Keep the wave closer to your side of the map to exploit his lack of mobility when is down.
- •If you are playing a ranged champion, tether him at max range and only walk up after he wastes .
- •Save your Flash specifically for the landing of . If he doesn't deal damage with the slam, he gets no healing.
Teamfight Warning
- ⚠Don't blow your high-damage ultimates on him while his revive is ready.
- ⚠Spread out during his animation; hitting multiple targets with the slam allows him to heal to full.
- ⚠Chain CC him the second he finishes his revive animation so he cannot lifesteal back up.
- ⚠He will use into to pick off your backline; stay behind your tanks.
- ⚠His sustain is tied to hitting abilities; if he is blinded or silenced, he cannot maintain his stacks.
AI-generated counterplay guide • Patch 16.2.1 • Cached