For everybody complaining about Zz'Rot being useless: You're wrong.

Zz'rot was the strongest, bar none, item in the game.

No other item in this game has the power to win by itself, they need the player, they enchance what the player can do. The portal doesn't. Once spawned, it will continue to push a lane by itself, endlessly, awarding gold to the player, with no form of interaction needed. That was pure power and it was insane and the user didn't even have to remain close. Or do anything at all.

That right there is against ANY healthy game logic. There HAS to be some interaction.

Now Zz'rot can't be left alone. It is a tool for pushing, a ridiculously powerful one, but a tool. Not a powerhouse of doom that needs no one to achieve it's goals.

Ever since I reached Diamond the Zz'rot spam has disgusted me so much. The support, the top, the jungle. You could be 100% sure any team losing would try to drag the game for 40min by placing a Zz'rot behind their towers, perfectly safe. I've won this way, I've lost this way, and fuck, It's.Not.Fun. Now this can't happen, and that is good. If you've been on a game where everybody and their mother bought Zz'rot you know what kind of disgusting I'm talking about here.

Zz'rot niche is clear: Characters who have very low pushing power (This means, tanks. REAL tanks, name Shen, Poppy, Sejuani, Leona, Braum, etc) who did not build AD nor AP nor AS, so they were horrid at tower killing, are now given a chance to impact pushing by having an item that scales off HP for tower damage. It was not a splitpushing tool, nor an AFK farm tool, but one for enhanced pushing for certain characters.

Is it niche? Yes. As so many things are. Lich Bane is a niche item few champion can use well, it doesn't mean it's bad.

As a main top laner who ocassionaly goes Taric or Janna support and so very grateful for this change. I've used it in 3 games already as Yorick and Illaoi and I'm very happy with the structure burst potential.

TL;DR: Zz'rot was overwhelmingly unhealthy and everybody could exploit it. That's not the case anymore while still being a powerful tower siege tool.