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Having a hard time against Zed

MiracleMorg94··2 votes·1,223 views

This is my secondary account that I'm posting on because my main was wrongfully banned my the mods but that's another story for another time.

I've been struggling against Zed way more than I have the past four seasons I've played. I started in season four and could usually do either equal matches or better against him with champions like Cho'Gath, Morgana and I think even Diana but it's been awhile.

But ever since Runes Reforged came in, the stripping of defenses on top of too much damage and the stupid Duskblade, I'm having trouble even with playing Lissandra, his supposed "counter." **And he just does so well against most mid laners, even his counters (thanks to Runes Reforged) that I don't even know who to take against him anymore. **

The past three games against him, I've won two, but the last two in a row I've strugged heavily. Rushing Zhonyas is a noob trap and puts me way behind as he just gets stronger building his first item.

If I rush a cloth armor or two but still get my main item first, it takes longer because I have to farm more, and because I'm trying to be wary of his poke, I play a bit more safely and then get a bit more behind because he farms his ass off while I struggle.

And I can't even stay in lane at half health. The past few games, he's killed me without his R just by switching his shadow form, using Q and electrocute and I die so fast I can't even ult or flash.** And it's beyond frustrating, that I get tilted off my rocker. **

He's my most hated champion for a reason, and struggling against him when I usually haven't been before makes me even more frustrated.

Any help is appreciated. I ask that you don't elo shame or be insulting about skill or anything else. Thank you.

12 Comments

Noor Sakata1 votes

Aftershock on Lissandra usually works And just ban him if you struggle against him He pushes you to Rush Zhonia and not your core items which delays your power spike , which delays your carry potential And he power spikes with less than an item and you can't argue wity Zed mains , they think he's the weakest champion in the game and needs buffs

MiracleMorg941 votes

I take Aftershock and even double armor rune shards. Doesn't do shit.

I usually ban him but the one game that I decide to ban Yasuo or whoever, the enemy takes him. -.-

Totally agreed. It's so hard to not rush Zhonyas. But you struggle either way if you do or don't. And he just spikes off of less than an item or goes bot to get a double kill and then I can't do shit to him.

Ugh.

Noor Sakata1 votes

And there is a high possibility that he's getting a buff lol Yes at the end , you can't do shit , if you rush your core item , its over , he will nearly miss everything and kills you And yeah , not to forget that he's a perfect Roamer

MiracleMorg941 votes

So stupid. Seems like Zed is Riot's pet. Ugh.

It's always a struggle to decide who to ban because if I ban Zed, I have to struggle against Yas, Pyke, and Neeko. But if I ban Pyke, they take Zed along with Yasuo or other dumb shit combos. UGH.

Like I love my mages but I can't play them if the Zed is on the team. I don't know who to take against him anymore.

iiGazeii1 votes

Zed can be confusing, but he can be beaten.

Unlike most assassins, he has very good waveclear and can stay at a safe distance while still being a threat. You can't just outshove and poke like you would handle most other assassins.

Grab two armor shards before the game starts. Coming in with an extra 12 armor can make a big difference. Instead of Ignite, bring Barrier or Exhaust. Exhaust after he ults you will basically ensure that the mark won't kill you. Consider starting Corrupting Potion to keep your health high and save you gold in the long run. Otherwise, you're going to need to buy a LOT of potions.

A lot of his power is tied up in his ult. He generally won't be able to 100-0 you without it until he's super-fed. He can poke like crazy to get you low, but his ult is his main way of assassinating people.

Rush Seeker's Armguard. Buy it as your first item, and sit on it while you build your main item. It'll stack up to help keep you alive. Turn it into Zhonya's as your second item to have a free escape against his ult.

His shuriken is dodgeable. Juke it. If you can't dodge it, try to put a minion in the way to reduce the damage. It has a high energy cost unless he hits you with two at the same time, so he can't spam it. If you see that he's low on energy, you have a small opportunity to harass him while he can't attack you back at range.

Living Shadow has a long af cooldown. If he uses it, you have a window where he has no means to avoid or escape you. Respect the shadow as if it were Zed. Give it a wide berth. Just don't go near it.

When you get low, go back to base. Zed deals more damage when you're below 50% health, so if you get greedy and stay, he will kill you. It's better to miss a wave and come back with items than to die.

CrazyMonkeyCZ1 votes

Consider also buying Quicksilver Sash to cleanse his ult.

Few years back maybe xD No longer dude

iiGazeii1 votes

Damn, my bad

MiracleMorg941 votes

Already tried the two armor shard thing. Seemed like he did more damage to me than when I took one armor and one health shard. -.-

Took barrier last game. Killed me so fast I couldn't even use it in time. -.-

Rushed Seeker's. Farming was hell and he just free farmed and spiked from there.

I am decent at dodging his shuriken but some players are more better at hitting them on me. I try to give the shadow's a wide area but occasionally there are times where I'm focused on farm and don't see it in time, and bam he switches places and I'm dead.

I think it's my mindset because literally any other champion, I can stay at half health and farm near turret so I still think that when I'm against Zed, so I have to remember to leave when I'm against him. It's just frustrating because he gets even more ahead in farm by doing that.

iiGazeii1 votes

Seeker's Armguard costs 200 less gold than Lost Chapter, and the same amount of gold as Catalyst. It gives you less AP initially, but it stacks up to eventually give you slightly more AP than Lost Chapter, and the added armor really is a huge boon.

Zed is tough, but he's one of the healthiest assassins in the game right now because he offers clear windows of counterplay. When his W or his ult is down, he's much weaker. The core anti-assassin strategy is still sound (build armor, poke from range to discourage an all-in), Zed is just a bit different because of his mobility and waveclear. Once you see him teleport to a shadow or use his ult, it's time to get aggressive and start chipping away at his health so jumping you is too risky.

You also have to understand that he's designed to be good at mid-game 1v1s. That what assassins do. He quickly falls off the longer the game goes and is not as effective in a teamfight. Your job isn't to beat him in lane, it's to survive him so you can help your team secure dragons, barons, skirmishes, and inhibitors.

MiracleMorg941 votes

Seems to me he's one of the worst OP assassins in the game, not the healthiest in the slightest.

Vulkus I1 votes

Weird, Lissandra always shits on me whenever I'm playing Zed.

MiracleMorg941 votes

Probably didn't help the last two ones I faced were level 7 mastery Zeds and with Liss I'm around 3 or 4 I believe. But I still can play her very well, and I'm level 7 on multiple other mages.

But I can't seem to do shit to him and he just shits on me. :/

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