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
  Desprecio por los débiles

  Los ataques básicos de Zed contra objetivos con poca vida infligen daño mágico adicional. Este efecto no puede aplicarse al mismo campeón enemigo más de una vez cada pocos segundos.

• Q
  Shuriken navaja

  Tanto Zed como sus sombras lanzan los shurikens.Cada shuriken inflige daño a todos los enemigos que golpea.

  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
  Sombra viviente

  Pasiva: Cada vez que Zed y sus sombras golpean a un objetivo con la misma habilidad, Zed obtiene energía. Solo se puede obtener energía una vez por habilidad lanzada.Activa: La sombra de Zed se desliza hacia delante y se queda en el sitio durante unos s. Si Zed reactiva Sombra viviente, intercambia su posición con la sombra.

  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
  Cuchillada de sombra

  Zed y sus sombras acuchillan e infligen daño a los enemigos cercanos. Se ralentiza a los enemigos golpeados por Cuchillada de sombra.

  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
  Marca de la muerte

  No se puede marcar a Zed como objetivo y se desliza hacia un campeón enemigo, marcándolo. Tras 3 segundos, la marca se activa, repitiendo una parte del daño infligido por Zed al objetivo mientras estaba marcado.

  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.