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
  Mépris des faibles

  Les attaques de base de Zed infligent des dégâts magiques supplémentaires aux cibles dont les PV sont faibles. Cet effet ne peut se déclencher sur un même champion ennemi qu'une fois toutes les quelques secondes.

• Q
  Shuriken-rasoir

  Zed et ses ombres lancent leurs shurikens.Chaque shuriken blesse tous les ennemis touchés.

  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
  Ombre vivante

  Passive : Zed regagne de l'énergie quand ses ombres et lui frappent un ennemi avec la même compétence. L'énergie ne peut être récupérée qu'une fois par utilisation d'une compétence.Active : l'ombre de Zed fonce vers l'avant et reste sur place pendant quelques secondes. Réactiver Ombre vivante permet à Zed de changer de position avec cette ombre.

  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
  Taillade des ombres

  Zed et ses ombres donnent un coup de taille et blessent les ennemis proches. Les ennemis touchés par la taillade d'une ombre sont ralentis.

  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
  Marque de la mort

  Zed devient impossible à cibler et fonce sur un champion ennemi pour le marquer. Au bout de 3 sec, la marque explose, infligeant de nouveau un pourcentage de tous les dégâts infligés par Zed pendant la durée de la marque.

  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.