Zed Build Guide - LoL Build, Runes, Counters and Stats

Zed is a champion in League of Legends that has become quite popular among players. He is an assassin-type champion, which means he is designed to quickly eliminate enemy champions. Zed's abilities include throwing shurikens, creating shadows, and dashing towards enemies. However, his ultimate ability is what really sets him apart from other champions.

Zed's ultimate ability allows him to swap places with one of his shadows and deal massive damage to nearby enemies. This can be a game-changing move when used correctly. But it takes skill and practice to master the timing and execution of this ability.

Because of his high skill-cap, Zed requires practice and mastery to use effectively. Players who are new to the game or inexperienced with assassins may struggle with him at first. But for those who take the time to learn his abilities and mechanics, he can be a powerful asset on the battlefield.

Zed is often played in the mid lane or in jungle, where he can roam around the map and pick off unsuspecting enemies. His mobility and burst damage make him a formidable opponent in one-on-one fights.

Zed's Abilities and Skill Order

Optimal Skill Order for Zed

The optimal skill order for Zed typically involves maxing out Razor Shuriken first, followed by Living Shadow and then Shadow Slash. However, there are situations where you may want to prioritize different abilities depending on the matchup or game state.

For example, if you're facing a particularly aggressive opponent who likes to dive onto you frequently (such as Yasuo), you may want to prioritize Living Shadow over Razor Shuriken so that you have more mobility to dodge their attacks and escape ganks.

Contempt for the Weak: Zed's Passive Ability

Zed's passive ability, Contempt for the Weak, is a powerful tool that can deal bonus damage to enemies below 50% health. This makes it an excellent ability to use in combination with Zed's other abilities, especially his ultimate ability, Death Mark.

When used correctly, Contempt for the Weak can help Zed secure kills on low-health enemies. It's important to note that this ability only works when enemies are below 50% health, so it's not always reliable. However, when combined with Zed's other abilities and items like Duskblade of Draktharr or Youmuu's Ghostblade, it can be incredibly effective.

Razor Shuriken: Zed's Q Ability

Zed's Q ability, Razor Shuriken, is a long-range skill shot that deals physical damage in a straight line. This ability is great for poking down enemies from a distance and can also be used to farm minions.

One of the best things about Razor Shuriken is its low cooldown time. This means that you can use it frequently throughout laning phase and team fights to deal consistent damage to your opponents.

Living Shadow: Zed's W Ability

Living Shadow is one of Zed’s most versatile abilities. It allows him to create a shadow clone of himself that he can switch places with at any time. This clone can also mimic his other abilities (except Death Mark) which makes it incredibly useful for both offensive and defensive purposes.

For example, you can use Living Shadow to escape ganks by switching places with your clone and then using Razor Shuriken or Shadow Slash to slow down pursuing enemies. Alternatively, you could use Living Shadow offensively by sending your clone towards an enemy champion while you flank them from another direction.

Shadow Slash: Zed’s E Ability

Shadow Slash is an area-of-effect ability that deals damage to all enemies in a small radius around Zed. This ability also slows down enemies hit, making it an excellent tool for chasing down fleeing opponents or escaping from danger.

One of the best things about Shadow Slash is that it can be used in combination with Living Shadow to deal even more damage and slow down even more enemies. By sending your clone towards an enemy champion and then using Shadow Slash, you can deal a significant amount of damage while also slowing them down.

Death Mark: Zed's Ultimate Ability

Zed's ultimate ability, Death Mark, is one of the most powerful abilities in his kit. It marks an enemy champion and deals physical damage after a certain amount of time has passed. This ability also amplifies all other physical damage dealt to the marked target during this time.

One of the best ways to use Death Mark is by combining it with Living Shadow and Razor Shuriken. By sending your clone towards an enemy champion while you use Razor Shuriken and Death Mark, you can deal a massive amount of burst damage that can often secure kills on low-health targets.

The Perfect Zed Build

Prioritizing Damage Output and Mobility

To create the perfect Zed build, it is important to prioritize damage output and mobility. This means choosing items that not only increase your damage but also allow you to move around the map quickly. The key items for the perfect Zed build include Eclipse, Ravenous Hydra, Black Cleaver, Serylda’s Grudge, and Ionian boots of lucidity as boots.

Eclipse is a great first item choice for Zed because it provides both lethality and sustain. The shield it gives can be a lifesaver in fights or when trying to escape from enemies. Ravenous Hydra is another must-have item because it allows Zed to clear waves quickly and deal AOE damage in team fights.

Black Cleaver is an excellent choice for its armor penetration and cooldown reduction which increases your overall damage output while reducing the enemy's armor. Serylda’s Grudge provides additional slow on abilities which helps with chasing down enemies or escaping from them.

Lastly, Ionian boots of lucidity provide additional cooldown reduction which allows you to use your abilities more often. This makes you more mobile on the map since you can use your W ability more frequently.

Situational Items

In addition to these core items, situational items are also important for the perfect Zed build. These are items that you can choose based on specific enemy compositions or situations in-game.

Guardian Angel is a great situational item because it revives you after death with a certain amount of health and mana. This means that if you die during a fight, you have a second chance to come back into the fight with full health and mana.

Maw of Malmortius is another good situational item because it provides both magic resist and attack damage while also allowing you to remove any crowd control effects that may be affecting you.

Other situational items include Edge of Night which provides spell shield against enemy abilities, Death’s Dance which provides additional sustain, and Lord Dominik’s Regards which provides armor penetration against tanky enemies.

What Rune You Should Choose on Zed?

Conqueror

Conqueror is the most popular rune choice for Zed, and for good reason. It provides extended fights and sustained damage output, making it an ideal choice for players who want to dominate their opponents in the game. In this section, we will discuss why Conqueror is such a popular choice among Zed players.

One of the main reasons why Conqueror is so popular on Zed is because it allows him to engage in extended fights. This means that he can stay in combat longer than other champions, dealing more damage over time. With Conqueror, Zed can stack his passive quickly and deal significant amounts of damage to his opponents.

Presence of Mind and Legend: Alacrity

Another reason why Conqueror is so effective on Zed is because it synergizes well with Presence of Mind and Legend: Alacrity. These two runes provide additional energy regeneration and attack speed respectively, allowing Zed to use his abilities more frequently and deal more damage overall.

Last Stand

In addition to Presence of Mind and Legend: Alacrity, Last Stand also works well with Conqueror on Zed. This rune provides additional damage when he is low health, which makes him even more dangerous in combat. When combined with the healing from Conqueror's stacks, Last Stand can make a huge difference in close battles.

Nimbus Cloak and Transcendence

Finally, Nimbus Cloak and Transcendence are two other runes that work well with Conqueror on Zed. Nimbus Cloak provides additional movement speed after using his ultimate ability, while Transcendence gives him additional cooldown reduction based on his excess CDR stats. These two runes help improve Zed's mobility and allow him to use his abilities more frequently.

Zed Jungle

High mobility and damage output are two key traits that make Zed a popular champion choice for the jungle role. With his Living Shadow ability, Zed can quickly move across the map and ambush enemies from unexpected angles. This allows him to catch opponents off guard and secure kills with ease. Zed's kit includes a slow and a gap closer, making him a versatile pick for ganking and chasing down opponents.

In the early game, Zed can clear jungle camps quickly with his Shadow Slash ability and passive energy regeneration. This allows him to keep up with other junglers in terms of farm while also having plenty of opportunities to gank lanes. When ganking, Zed can use his Living Shadow to get behind an opponent and then follow up with his Razor Shuriken to deal significant damage.

One of Zed's biggest strengths is his ultimate ability, Death Mark. This ability allows him to burst down single targets and potentially escape danger with its teleportation effect. When used correctly, Death Mark can be a game-changer in team fights or when trying to take down high-priority targets like enemy carries.

Zed's Counters

Crowd Control Champions

Lissandra and Malzahar are two champions that can make Zed's life difficult in the game. They both have crowd control abilities that can prevent Zed from using his ultimate effectively. Lissandra's Frozen Tomb ultimate ability can be used to stun Zed, while Malzahar's Nether Grasp ability can suppress him for a few seconds.

If you're playing against a Zed as Lissandra or Malzahar, it's important to save your crowd control abilities for when he tries to use his ultimate on you or your teammates. You should also try to keep your distance from him during laning phase, as he has strong poke with his Living Shadow and Razor Shuriken abilities.

Building Armor Items

Another way to counter Zed is by building armor items like Zhonya's Hourglass and Seeker's Armguard. These items not only provide armor but also give you the ability to become invulnerable for a short period of time.

Zhonya's Hourglass is an excellent item against Zed because it allows you to dodge his Death Mark ultimate ability. When he uses Death Mark on you, activate Zhonya's Hourglass immediately to avoid taking damage from the mark. Seeker's Armguard is another good item because it provides early armor in the game and can be built into Zhonya's Hourglass later on.

High Mobility Champions

Yasuo and LeBlanc are two champions with high mobility that can easily dodge Zed's skill shots and avoid his all-in attempts. Yasuo has Wind Wall, which blocks projectiles like Razor Shuriken, while LeBlanc has Distortion, which allows her to quickly move in any direction.

When playing against a Zed as Yasuo or LeBlanc, it's important to stay mobile and avoid his Living Shadow and Razor Shuriken abilities. You should also try to bait out his ultimate ability before engaging in a fight, as it can deal a significant amount of damage.

Exhaust

Finally, the Exhaust summoner spell can be effective in reducing Zed's damage output during team fights. When you use Exhaust on Zed, he deals less damage for a short period of time, which can give your team an advantage in the fight.

It's important to save your Exhaust summoner spell for when Zed tries to engage on your carry or when he uses his ultimate ability. Using it at the right time can make all the difference in winning or losing a team fight.

Zed's Stats

Attack Damage

Zed is a champion that relies heavily on his attack damage to deal damage to his opponents. His base attack damage starts at 63 and increases by 3.4 per level, making him a formidable opponent in the early game. Zed's kit revolves around his ability to quickly burst down enemies with his high AD ratios and mobility.

One of Zed's most potent abilities is his ultimate, Death Mark, which deals bonus physical damage based on a percentage of the target's maximum health plus all bonus AD gained during the duration of the mark. This means that building AD items on Zed will increase both his overall damage output and the potency of Death Mark.

Health and Regeneration

Zed has a decent amount of health for an assassin at level 1, starting with 584 health and increasing by 85 per level. However, he lacks sustain in lane due to having no built-in healing or shielding abilities. This makes it crucial for players to manage their health effectively and avoid taking unnecessary poke from enemy champions.

To compensate for this lack of sustain, Zed has a natural health regeneration rate that scales with levels. Players can purchase items such as potions or lifesteal items like Blade of the Ruined King or Ravenous Hydra to help mitigate incoming damage.

Energy

Unlike many other champions who use mana or have no resource system at all, Zed uses energy as his primary resource pool. He starts with 200 energy and regenerates it at a rate of 50 energy per 5 second.

This unique resource system allows Zed players to be more aggressive in lane since they are not limited by mana constraints but also requires them to manage their energy effectively. Using too many abilities consecutively can leave Zed without enough energy to escape or deal damage, making it crucial for players to balance their aggression with resource management.

Range and Movement Speed

Zed has a relatively short auto-attack range of 125 units, which means he needs to get up close and personal to deal damage effectively. However, he makes up for this lack of range with his high mobility.

Zed's W ability, Living Shadow, allows him to create a clone of himself that mimics his abilities and can be used as an escape tool or a way to engage on enemies. Zed's ultimate ability teleports him behind the target enemy champion, allowing him to quickly close gaps and catch out opponents who are out of position.

Armor and Magic Resist

As an assassin champion, Zed is naturally squishy and vulnerable to being burst down by enemy champions. To help mitigate incoming damage from both physical and magical sources, Zed has base armor and magic resist stats that increase with levels.

Players can also purchase defensive items such as Guardian Angel or Zhonya's Hourglass if they find themselves struggling against certain compositions or matchups. Building some defensive items can also allow Zed players to survive longer in team fights while still dealing significant damage with their kit.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, mastering Zed build is not an easy feat. It requires a deep understanding of his abilities and skill order, as well as the perfect rune selection and item build. Whether you're playing him in the mid lane or taking him to the jungle, it's essential to know his strengths and weaknesses.

One thing to keep in mind is that Zed is a high-skill champion that takes time and practice to master. But with dedication and perseverance, you can climb the ranks and reach Platinum or even higher.

So if you're looking for a challenge and want to dominate your opponents with style, give Zed a try. With his flashy plays and deadly combos, he's sure to impress both your teammates and enemies alike.

In the end, remember that League of Legends is all about having fun while improving your skills. So don't be afraid to experiment with different builds and playstyles until you find what works best for you.

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