How to beat Zed

Common role: Mid

A burst assassin who deletes squishies with his shadows and ultimate.

What makes Zed dangerous

Zed pokes with his shurikens (Q) through his shadow (W) and all-ins with his ultimate, marking you and returning to detonate all stored damage. He is a lane bully who snowballs by assassinating carries in the mid-game.

How to play against Zed

• 1Dodge his Q-shurikens — most of his poke and damage comes from them. Stand behind minions so only one of the three shurikens can hit you.
• 2When he ults you, watch which shadow he's near — you can flash or dash away from the shadow he'll swap to, dodging the delayed burst.
• 3He uses energy, not mana. Bait his abilities and he runs dry — punish his low-energy windows with a trade.
• 4A single point of hard CC or a Zhonya's Hourglass shuts down his all-in completely. Group with your team — he struggles when he can't isolate a target.

Weaknesses to exploit

• ✓Energy-starved if he wastes abilities.
• ✓All-in is telegraphed by his ultimate mark and shadow.
• ✓Falls off if the enemy carries build defensively.
• ✓No reliable escape once his W shadow is used.

Abilities & how to counter them

What each of Zed's abilities does — and how to play around it.

• P
  Tod den Schwachen

  Zeds normale Angriffe verursachen zusätzlichen magischen Schaden, wenn das Ziel über wenig Leben verfügt. Dieser Effekt kann gegen denselben gegnerischen Champion nur alle paar Sekunden ausgelöst werden.

• Q
  Klingen-Shuriken

  Zed und seine Schatten werfen ihre Shuriken.Jeder Shuriken verursacht Schaden an allen getroffenen Gegnern.

  Strong: long-range poke that hits from him and his shadow for double damage. Weak: skillshot — stand behind minions so only one shuriken lands.

• W
  Lebender Schatten

  Passiv: Wenn Zed und seine Schatten ein Ziel mit der gleichen Fähigkeit treffen, erhält Zed Energie. Dies kann nur einmal pro Fähigkeit passieren.Aktiv: Zeds Schatten springt vorwärts und bleibt einige Sekunden lang vor Ort. Wenn er „Lebender Schatten“ reaktiviert, tauscht er die Position mit seinem Schatten.

  Strong: places a shadow to poke and dash to, key to his all-in and escape. Weak: once used he has no reposition — punish him while W is on cooldown.

• E
  Schattenschlag

  Zed und seine Schatten schlagen zu und verursachen Schaden an Gegnern in der Nähe. Gegner, die vom Schlag eines Schattens getroffen wurden, werden verlangsamt.

  Strong: slows and empowers his shurikens, part of every combo. Weak: short range — space out of melee to avoid the slow and reduce his damage.

• R
  Zeichen des Todes

  Zed kann nicht anvisiert werden und springt zu einem gegnerischen Champion, was diesen markiert. Nach 3 Sekunden wird das Zeichen ausgelöst und verursacht erneut einen Teil des Schadens, der dem Ziel während der Markierung von Zed zugefügt wurde.

  Strong: marks you and returns to detonate all stored damage — his kill button. Weak: telegraphed; flash or dash away from the shadow he'll swap to and dodge the burst.

Itemization

Zed deals physical damage, so armor is king: Seeker's Armguard into Zhonya's Hourglass is the classic answer for mid — the active negates his ult burst. Plated Steelcaps and any armor item help every role.

This guide covers Zed's core kit and playstyle — advice that holds up across patches.