The guide on never losing to Zoe

I'm really sick of all the whining and complaining about a champ that's more fair than 80% of the roster, and I don't want another champ I actually enjoy to be nerfed into nonviability, so I'm going to write a very detailed guide for all you whiners -- I doubt you'll read it, but maybe someone will, and they'll beat Zoe, and they'll tell other people.

So, first off, let's rehash a bit on Zoe's kit.

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#Passive:#

Any time Zoe uses an ability, her next auto does a little extra magic damage.

• When she has her passive ready, her left hand will have a little ring of gold sparkles around it.

• Her passive auto is instant, and goes through things like Yas's W. (Laserssss)

#Q:#

Zoe shoots a star in a direction, and for the next couple seconds, she can redirect it to a new location, dealing damage in a small area upon hitting a unit.

• This ability only moves in straight lines

• While there is no limit to how far the star can go, she can only direct it to a location within the original ability's cast range (about)

  • It's about the size of Ori's Q.

#W:#

Any time an enemy champ uses a summoner ability or active item, they leave behind a bubble for ~40 seconds that Zoe can pick up, allowing one use of the summoner spell / active dropped.

• She can only hold one at a time, and can only hold a spell for about a minute.

• Sometimes minions will have balloons in their hands, meaning they'll drop a random summoner spell or item active for Zoe (these bubbles only last 20 seconds)

  • Try to zone her off these minions, because she has to last hit them, or the bubble just disappears.

#E:#

Zoe kicks a bubble a set distance in a direction (extending over walls), that gradually slows any enemy unit and eventually puts them to sleep for 2.2 seconds

• If you get hit while sleeping, you take double damage from the next ability / attack to hit you

  • This damage has a cap, so Veigar isn't just going to hit you for 3,000 damage. The cap late game is ~500 extra damage.

• If nothing is hit, the bubble pops on the ground and leaves a little puddle that does the same thing to whatever walks into it.

  • If you walk into it... stop reading this guide, because nothing I say will help you.

• This ability has a serious windup, so just watch for that, and it makes it easy to dodge.

  • Additionally, as Zoe is winding up to kick, she always faces the direction the bubble will go, so dodge accordingly. (She holds the bubble up in the direction it's goinna go)

• During the windup, Zoe cannot move, so she's easy to pick off if she's trying to use E as she runs away.

#R:#

Zoe teleports to a location for a moment, and then teleports back to where she originally cast from.

• During this time she can be CCd, but she will always go back to her original cast location, even if you pull her with a Blitz Q or something.

• While in her ult, Zoe can still attack and cast spells like normal.

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So, hopefully you know how her kit works now. But I'm goinna go a bit further than that, and talk about some of the things I hear people complain about a lot -- namely, her Q and her E.

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#Dodging Zoe's Q#

So, in order to understand how to dodge Zoe's Q, you have to think about it kind of like Vel'Koz's Q. Don't look at the actual projectile, but look at where it can go. With Vel's Q you have to imagine that right angle splitting off of the first bolt, yeah? So, with Zoe's Q, you have to imagine a straight line connecting it to you, and if there's nothing blocking it in that line, it can potentially hit you. Here's an example of a Yasuo who won't get hit, since he's using his minions like a smart person, and knows that the line is broken.

https://i.imgur.com/pmeZa5z.jpg

Now, anywhere in the red side, Yasuo could be hit. But, since minions have those lovely hitboxes (outlined by black), Zoe's Q cannot get to the other side, and that whooooole side is safe, as shown by the green.

So, if Zoe throws her Q at you, just imagine that blue line connecting you both, and move so that the minions get in the way of the star, and wow, you don't get hit. But do remember that it blows up in an area about as big as Syndra's Q, so don't stand directly on top of your minions. :P

#Dodging Zoe's E#

The big one. The one that all the whiners whine about. The one that's already been nerfed since they whine so much... Zoe's E.

So, I already told you that it has a massive windup, right? And I told you that she ALWAYS faces the direction it's goinna go, right? So, she shouldn't land a close range one on you, or you're just bad at this point.

But what about a long range one? Well, there's a solution to that too: It's called proactive playstyles.

So, here's the area Zoe can hit with her E through a wall mid lane (if shot from around the red X).

https://i.imgur.com/Tb0f6BO.jpg

The green areas are safe, since she either can't reach you or you'd be able to see her at that point. Big area though, huh? So, that's where this whole proactive thing comes into play. Instead of just waiting for her to shoot an E at you, and then you mess up dodging it (then go and cry about how OP she is), you think about where she would shoot it from. Did you see her go topside? Did you see her in bot lane? Think about where she could shoot from, and react ahead of time, making it that much harder for her to hit you.

https://i.imgur.com/ps9151C.jpg

So, in this picture, imagine Zoe went off toplane, and you don't know where she is. Would it make sense to stand near the wall so she can shoot you through it? No. So, stand on the green side, where the minions will block her E for you (with their hitboxes shown in black again).

Now, what did we learn about Zoe's E? Well, it's very telegraphed for one, and it's predictable. So think ahead instead of rushing blindly like an idiot, and you won't get hit by it, wow! Plus it moves pretty slow, so it's easy to dodge anyway.

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#Beating Zoe#

So, now you know how to not die to Zoe (or even get hit at all), but how about beating her? Well, you gotta remember she's entirely immobile, she's goinna be playing close to the minion wave so she can reach you with Q, and she's squishy with no sustain.

Soo... someone with heavy poke through minions, or someone who can just all-in and ignore/avoid her E.

These guys all work. My personal picks into her are Liss and Lux, since you just poke her out of existence and dominate the lane. And if you land your combo, she's just dead. If you wanna be a real asshole, play Fiora. If she ever hits you with an E, Q up to her before you fall asleep, and parry in her face -- the stun will trigger your parry and stun Zoe, and then she's a free kill for you. ^^

#If you're still not convinced, give me a situation you struggle with, I'll explain even more.#

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Hopefully I can play Zoe in draft every now and then once people realize she's not god tier broken. But, with people being fucking sheep how they are, I really doubt that. She's going to be gutted into obscurity, just like so many other champs.

#If you don't believe me, then I dare you, add me and we'll have a 1v1. If I die EVEN ONCE, then you win. If I get your tower, I win. If you come in here and say Zoe is broken, I'll be adding you, and you're goinna prove how broken she is.

Edit: ... Good God did this thread and my Reddit post blow up.