We need to talk about Zoe.

I recognize this probably isn't a popular opinion, but I've been seeing it a lot on twitch and youtube videos so I decided I would state my opinion. Personally, I don't think that Zoe is super broken. Before I get flamed in the comments hear me out on this one.

You've probably all been watching one shot builds on Youtube or seeing Twitch plays, but those are meant to build hype because once again they're one shot builds. Yeah her q's distance scale is a lot, but I guarantee you if anyone tapped one of those players they would die. Not only that the skillshot is actually very small. The PBE is a wide variety of skill levels so its probably not high elo streamers and youtubers that will be playing Zoe in your games, landing every single q. On the other hand, she still won't be broken in high elos where the Zoes have the capacity to land the q because more players have the capacity to dodge it.

Additionally, while Zoe's ability to steal item actives and summoner spells seems op, her w is actually a hindrance unless she's good at using them. For most of the game, especially lane phase, she literally does not have an ability. She should always get outtraded as she has only 2 damage spells both of which are slim skillshots. Her e doesn't do a lot of damage and has a delay before the sleep effect. So once again, burst champions will counter her.

Finally, her ult has a unique effect and is utility based. Its cooldown is low because Zoe NEEDS to play around it. Without a low cdr ult, dpsing becomes impossible as it isn't feasible to both get long range q's for damage and proc her passive. That's why she's such a high skill champ, her poke might be ridiculously strong at first glance, but in terms of impacting the game lets look at her style. Zoe can't hold a candle to dps mages like Ryze and Casseopeia. Her artillery doesn't match the consistent firepower of Xerath and Vel'Koz, She lacks a combo to fully burst someone like Taliyah or an assassin. And she's definitely not an engager. At best she can use her e to pick of a lone member of the enemy team. So how does she win the teamfight?

Her closest similarities lie in LeBlanc and Nidalee. Her waveclear is at best decent so she can conceivably hold her own, however her push will be much slower in contrast to other mages. Her cross map potential is nonexistent without teleport, so she is not a pressure provider. She's slippery, and she does enough damage to solo the carry in a couple rounds of q if left unchecked. Consequently, tanks will peel her off their carries as the carries run. This is also the purpose of her w. As angles to attack vulnerable carries close, multiple team members will hopefully have used abilities to save their carries. Zoe uses these items to play a filler role, using these items for team defense or using extra flashes for an aggressive distraction or flank. As the team fight begins to turn in her teams favor, Zoe can use the flashes enemies used to escape to chase them down and secure pressure for the team.

I'm not a high ranked player (Only ended gold 3 last season) so I don't know if I'm qualified to pretend like I know exactly how this champ should be played. In fact, I definitely know I'm not qualified. So why did I write this article? It's because I think its a shame that a champion that people will witch hunt a champion because one aspect of the champion appears broken. There is never a single side to one story. Just like every other champion, she has drawbacks. Some champions are easily exploited using methods like kiting or dodging key abilities. Others are countered using less recognized techniques like good wave management that can lead to roams and snowballing against a particularly difficult dueling champion.

You might disagree with me, you might not, You're entitled to your opinions. Maybe I'm wrong, but if so explain your reasoning other than her q's ability to hypothetically 2 shot you? A strong ability doesn't win a game. The unique skills a champion brings allow a champions team to win a game. Characters like taliyah hold map pressure as they can push waves and make a teamight unbalanced in seconds via their passives and ults. Characters like zed and talon hold kill pressure as the slightest underestimation from their opponent could lead to death and the option to roam and turn a fight in their favor due to a number advantage. Jax and Fiora are also map pressure champions, but in a different way. They push waves denying gold, xp, and hold the threat of towers over the enemy team. League is a strategy game at its core demanding not only skill but sacrifice and strategy. So why is Zoe relatively balanced? Because she, like every champion, has sacrifices in her kit. Her strength is her ability to turn a teamfight or outplay an opponent. These options are directly related to Zoe's skill not just her scaling, which is exactly what makes her interesting to watch and play. Players who can utilize her skillcap can do immense work in teamfights. To summize, Zoe is no different than any other champion with strengths and weaknesses. Just because a streamer claims they are broken doesn't mean they are.

TL;DR Zoe isn't broken because her damage and pressure aren't reliable, or a streamer said so, she has easily exploited weaknesses that skill with her can over come, which is exactly what makes her an exciting champion.