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Zed
Patch 16.3.1
JungleDifficulty
Very Hard
Strength
Early
Mid
Late
Win Condition
Focus on snowballing through the mid-game by finding picks on isolated targets. Use your mobility to keep side lanes pressured and force the enemy team to split up, then use to delete a carry before a major objective fight starts.
Playstyle
Fast-paced AD assassin who excels at flanking and picking off high-priority targets. You rely on shadow management to dodge skillshots and reset your burst windows while maintaining high jungle clear speeds post-first buy.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- + makes finishing camps and securing low-HP objectives like Drake or Grubs very fast
- +High map mobility with allows you to bypass common ward spots and wall-hop
- +Strong outplay potential with and shadow swaps to dodge key CC
- +Excellent backline access in mid-game skirmishes to delete carries
Weaknesses
- -Energy-gated—missing or during a gank leaves you useless for several seconds
- -Extremely vulnerable to heavy crowd control when landing from
- -Slow first clear compared to meta power-farmers, making you prone to early invades
- -Falls off significantly if you do not secure early kills and item leads
Abilities
Deals bonus magic damage to targets below 50% health. In the jungle, this is your best friend for clearing. Once a monster is low, your autos hit significantly harder. Use this to secure Smite-contested objectives by timing an auto with Smite.
Your main damage. Zed and his shadows throw shurikens. They deal reduced damage to targets after the first one hit. Position yourself so the shuriken hits the enemy champion first, not the minions or monsters.
Dashes a shadow that mimics and . Swapping with it is your primary escape and gap closer. Passive energy refund occurs when you and a shadow hit the same ability, which is vital for sustained fights.
A circular slash. When your shadow uses , it slows the enemy. Always lead with shadow during ganks to make landing much easier. Hitting champions reduces cooldown.
Dashes to a target and marks them. After 3 seconds, the mark triggers for damage based on what you dealt while they were marked. You are untargetable during the dash, making it perfect for dodging key enemy ultimates.
Teamfight Role
Backline Assassin and Diver
Wait for the enemy to use their primary CC spells. Flank from the side using , then onto the ADC or mid-laner. Get your rotation off and swap out immediately to your or shadow.
If your team has no frontline, you must stay back and use and to poke from a distance until someone is low enough to be finished by .
Combos
Standard Gank
-> -> -> swap -> Auto
The basic gap close. Use the slow from the shadow's to guarantee the hits, then swap to finish the target with empowered autos.
Ultimate Execution
-> -> -> Auto -> swap
Your core assassination pattern. Use immediately after landing from for the slow. Land the and an auto to proc , then swap back to your original shadow for safety.
The Kite Back
(behind you) -> -> -> -> swap
Used when being chased or counter-ganked. Place toward safety, use to dodge a spell and deal damage, then immediately take the shadow to escape.
Triple Shuriken Poke
-> -> ->
By having a shadow and an shadow active at once, you throw three shurikens. This provides the highest possible burst damage in your kit.
Power Spikes
| Spike | Why |
|---|---|
| Level 4 | With two points in , your clear speed increases and your damage in 2v2 Scuttle Crab skirmishes becomes threatening. |
| Level 6 | Your kill pressure spikes massively. You can now dive or solo-kill almost any squishy jungler or laner. |
| Level 9 | is maxed. Your poke damage is at its peak relative to enemy health bars before they start building armor. |
| Level 11 | The second point in reduces the cooldown significantly, allowing you to look for picks much more frequently. |
Tips & Tricks
- •You always land behind the target when casting , which helps you predict where to aim your
- • has a very long cooldown early; avoid using it for clearing if you suspect the enemy jungler is nearby
- •Hitting champions with your reduces the remaining cooldown of by 2 seconds
- •You can use to dodge turret shots or global ultimates if you time the untargetable frame correctly
- •Your works on monsters—use it to win Smite fights by timing an auto-attack to land at the same time as Smite
- •A shuriken icon will appear over an enemy's head if the mark damage is guaranteed to kill them
Common Mistakes
- ✕Using forward recklessly during a gank→You lose your only escape tool and become an easy target for a counter-gank or tower dive
- ✕Casting before the slow lands→Enemies can easily dodge the shurikens, and you lose the majority of your burst potential
- ✕Staying too long in the middle of the enemy team after →You are very squishy and will be collapsed on; you must swap back to a shadow after your burst rotation
- ✕Ignoring during your jungle clear→Slower clear speeds and lower health, making you vulnerable to invades or unable to gank effectively
- ✕Using into a grouped team with all CC up→You will be stunned the moment you appear behind the target and die before the mark can even trigger
AI-generated guide • Patch 16.3.1 • Generated