How do you fight zoe?

Its All Skillzz·May 24, 2018·17 votes·9,308 views

Literally used exhaust and ignite on me in lane at lvl 3. kept getting ignites an using them for free poke. always had flash up, if i flashed on her she flashed away an then came back to lane an used my flash to get to me. impossible to dodge cc that does insane damage when she uses R to throw it at you point blank? Massive nuke on super low CD that can be shot off screen and does aoe damage basically 1 shots minion wave to push. Did i mention unlimited fucking summoner spells and actives????? How is this ok to have no chance to go in on her cause she always has a sum avaliable and can use stuff liek ignite protobelt and redemption before the items are even built, i had a lvl 3 zoe killed me with blue smite into proto belt like what??

56 Comments

BlackEyesBlueMay 24, 201816 votes

Dodge her E, hide behind minions when she casts Q, harras her when she goes for balloon minions, and DON'T USE your summoner spells unless you absolutely have to!

Prestige EveMay 24, 20181 votes

{quoted}

Dodge her E, hide behind minions when she casts Q

Did you forgot that her Q was designed around not allowing players to do that? She has splash damage.

D357R0Y3RMay 24, 20183 votes

the splash damage is like 150 radius if you're 400 range away of a minion how the hell will zoe hit you

also the passive bonus damage on Q is not applied in AOE

nm1010May 24, 20182 votes

The passive damage doesn't apply on Q at all, it is 80% damage to anything hit by the AoE.

D357R0Y3RMay 24, 20181 votes

hm? didn't know that i thought they changed her Q to something like that nevertheless if you don't get fronthit by zoe Q you take less damage

ninjaroxasMay 24, 20182 votes

Other way around, it use to apply it but not anymore

BlackEyesBlueMay 24, 201812 votes

G ZUS this is pre rework Eve all over again! [zombie-brand-facepalm]

There is just SO much false info here... She hasn't been able to get Gun blade drops for months! Her Q no longer stacks passive dmg, the splash is 150 range, its reasonable to hide behind minions to dodge it. She should not be getting constant W actives unless you are giving them to her! And it is not fair to compare an LCS performance to solo que. An organized team with 1000's of hours playing together, dedicated chat and a level of co-ordination solo que players can simply never have? It's almost a different game and it shows in their picks and bans. Just look at Gangplank's performance in Pro play Vs, normal play.

TheGreatNinxMay 24, 20186 votes

Simple, you don't. your only hope is that Zoe has zero idea what she is doing and makes enough mistakes to captlize on (i.e constantly miss using ult that alows you to get free damage).

BrokenRayquazaMay 24, 20185 votes

Oh yes finally a post I can explain how to beat her without sounding toxic, YES ok here goes

Zoe is like a mid lane panth. Tons of harass, pretty hard to kill, mistake capitalizer ect. But what she doesn't have is wave clear. Playing a champ with a lot of wave clear can easily beat her if you add a little harrass to your clear. She is also very immobile. I bet you have tried to engage onto her and she e's gets away AND blows up half your health. Get your jg to gank. Cc her so she can't e either of you. She will either be forced to flash or fight since she doesn't have any mobility besides her w which is very situational. This does not mean flash to cc her. Your giving her a ez escape. If she e's you no big deal. If she chooses to do big damage then she's risking a VERY high risk of dying to your jg. Also stand a little behind minions when your farming so she can't get you with the explosion of her q. Tanky champs also help and buying a hexdrinker if not bad idea either.

Ariel the CruelMay 24, 20182 votes

Relevent advice? I'm offended. <reported for being toxic.>

What do you think this is, Memes and Games?

######(Disclaimer: this is a joke)

BrokenRayquazaMay 25, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ariel the Cruel,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=coWNxTaY,comment-id=000c0000,timestamp=2018-05-24T21:53:07.778+0000)

Relevent advice? I'm offended. <reported for being toxic.>

What do you think this is, Memes and Games?

######(Disclaimer: this is a joke)

oWo

Madsin25May 24, 20184 votes

Funny thing is with those "huge nerfs" she got she is still ranked the #1 midlaner. (no I am not going by winrate)

Toxic design can be easily exploited if you know what you are doing I guess.

NevurwinMay 24, 20182 votes

{quoted}

Funny thing is with those "huge nerfs" she got she is still ranked the #1 midlaner. (no I am not going by winrate)

Toxic design can be easily exploited if you know what you are doing I guess.

I hate fighting Zoe as much as the next guy, but if you aren't going by Win rate in your statement, then what are you going off of?

Madsin25May 24, 20181 votes

https://lolalytics.com/ranked/worldwide/platinum/plus/champions/

Click "best rank" twice.

Camille has been a steady #1 for monthsssssss now. They do NOTHING to her.

NevurwinMay 24, 20182 votes

{quoted}

https://lolalytics.com/ranked/worldwide/platinum/plus/champions/

Click "best rank" twice.

Interesting, So shes the best when the most upper tier of players are using her. But to be fair i don't think anyone on these forums even come close to the rank that site is referring to.

Madsin25May 24, 20181 votes

That's not the point.

The point is the potential these champions have. Hence why riot will only balance around high elo.

NevurwinMay 24, 20181 votes

{quoted}

That's not the point.

The point is the potential these champions have. Hence why riot will only balance around high elo.

Well i guess i fail to see your point. Players like us will never utilize her to her full potential nor will we see it. Of course Riot balances for high elo, why would they balance to cater to lower tiers who don't know what they are doing?

Ariel the CruelMay 24, 20181 votes

why would they balance to cater to lower tiers who don't know what they are doing?

They do actually. It's the reason Garen, Yi, Teemo, old Eve, and some others I'm not thinking of aren't allowed to be competitive picks in high elo. When they are, low-to-mid elo just get slaughtered by their very existence.

Top teirs are always the priority, but some concessions are made to make the game playable for everyone else.

NevurwinMay 24, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ariel the Cruel,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=coWNxTaY,comment-id=0002000000000000000000000000,timestamp=2018-05-24T22:01:17.381+0000)

They do actually. It's the reason Garen, Yi, Teemo, old Eve, and some others I'm not thinking of aren't allowed to be competitive picks in high elo. When they are, low-to-mid elo just get slaughtered by their very existence.

Top teirs are always the priority, but some concessions are made to make the game playable for everyone else.

Show me in Patch Notes where those champions were balanced to specifically accommodate lower tier players. Yi and Garen dont perform as well in higher elo, not because they are adjusted to lower skilled players, but the fact that higher skilled players know how to work around them, and abuse their flaws.

Ariel the CruelMay 24, 20181 votes

Pretty sure I'd be looking through red posts, not patch notes, for acceptable citations. Possibly on the old forums.

I'll see if I can find something for you, but no promises.

IcyPepperMay 24, 20184 votes

Give her a hug.

~~then stab her in the back when her guard's down~~

Its All SkillzzMay 24, 20181 votes

{quoted}

Give her a hug.

~~then stab her in the back when her guard's down~~

j/k she just used barrier into heal and flashed using your own flash.

IcyPepperMay 24, 20181 votes

Man, at least mages have their own "annoying plz ban" champion after all this time.

Its All SkillzzMay 24, 20181 votes

{quoted}

Man, at least mages have their own "annoying plz ban" champion after all this time.

she is more of an assassin than a mage.

Stevev45May 24, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Its All Skillzz,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=coWNxTaY,comment-id=0006000000000000,timestamp=2018-05-24T16:33:45.264+0000)

she is more of an assassin than a mage.

I remember when assassin was just a secondary role that many different champions had. Most mages had a secondary role as "assassin" The game was more fun back then too.

IcyPepperMay 24, 20181 votes

Isn't that essentially a burst mage?

WalkingInACircleMay 26, 20181 votes

Burst mages aren't supposed to have the target access abilities that assassins have, in exchange they tend to have cc.

OurLestradeMay 24, 20183 votes

Minions can really mess her up in some scenarios. I remember trying her once and not being able to get a single good Q off because minions were in the way when I threw my Q back.

Its All SkillzzMay 24, 20182 votes

{quoted}

Minions can really mess her up in some scenarios. I remember trying her once and not being able to get a single good Q off because minions were in the way when I threw my Q back.

every zoe i fight seems to have no problem getting off Q, it does aoe damage so even standing minions you take damage. also being able to use gunblade actives and super strong actives as early as lvl 2/3 is pretty fucking dumb.

K l T T YMay 24, 20183 votes

Her cc is a skill shot, in fact most of her damage is all skill shot. I would practice dodging and predicting her next move.

Its All SkillzzMay 24, 20183 votes

{quoted}

Her cc is a skill shot, in fact most of her damage is all skill shot. I would practice dodging and predicting her next move.

you cant dodge a skillshot that comes at you from off screen out of nowhere, its not like a morg Q or something that you see flying at you to move out the way, + the bubble area is massive.

K l T T YMay 24, 20183 votes

I'm well aware of the e range through walls, you also need to adapt through out the game, change your play style to better suit your situation. Use minions as a wall, carefully calculate your moves. There is a ton of stuff you can do to counter her.

M00ndanc3May 24, 20183 votes

I've only had to lane against Zoe one time (during release she was always banned by at least one team, and she was never played really post nerfs) and it was before she got nerf. I was playing midlane Twitch (Heard from a friend that it wasn't bad and I've been a fan of mid Jhin for quite a while). I was expecting to get dunked on super hard but I realized, after a couple of bad trades, how to deal with her.

Abuse long E cooldown. Do what ever you need to to bait out her E and than go aggressive. Even if she hits you with a Q as long as you land something or even a couple AAs you should be fine.
Shove the lane constantly. Use whatever you can to push the wave (in this case Twitch W/E). but don't stand past the halfway point, thats a gank waiting to happen.
Roam/invade while she tries to deal with the wave.

Neptunia xoxoMay 24, 20182 votes

You perma ban her until they release her rework. Pretty sad when a champ is posted for rework 2 weeks after release tbh.

lolipopevelynnMay 25, 20182 votes

Ppl still dont know that minions cuck the hell out of zoe? Yikes.

heroikcMay 24, 20181 votes

Avoid the skillshots (especially E), zone her of goodies, and aim skillshots at where she started from when she ults (it's hilarious to land a Veigar W in that case).

FullmetallicMay 24, 20181 votes

Did I tell you about the time my enemy zoe got 4 redemptions in 6 minutes?

BârdMay 24, 20181 votes

Pretty sure that can't happen anymore, what with the changes to what her W can and can't give you as drops.

FullmetallicMay 24, 20181 votes

Nope, it 100% happened. not exaggerating

Mig89May 24, 20181 votes

He's just saying they have fixed that. It was a big issue for a while and they changed her drops for her W quite a bit.

The EcdysiastMay 24, 20181 votes

You get lucky. I played Zoe and didn't get a single offensive spell for twenty minutes, save for the ones the enemies used.

LacerationMay 24, 20181 votes

You gotta accept she might randomly win lane off W and play for farm.

Pika FoxMay 24, 20181 votes

Keep minions between you and her. Her e is slow, predictable, and hits minions.

Punish her when she goes to last hit to get her free drops.

Punish her when she goes for the drops themselves afterwards.

If you can get ontop of her, she has nothing she can really do except blow her own flash. If you used flash onto her, she needs to get by you to grab it, and since youre engaging you should have pressure over her, else why did you flash onto her?

Her damage is distance based, the closer you are, the less she does.

In teamfights, have your support and/or tank eat the Q after someone gets hit by E. Unless the tank gets hit by E, they should be able to tank it easily.

Dont get caught roaming alone, shes an assassin and you should treat her as such.

Ward. Her E is powerful through walls. She loses this advantage if you ward areas she might try to throw a long range snipe through.

SuperMewKittyMay 24, 20181 votes

just surrender :3

Spacesuit SpiffMay 24, 20181 votes

Impractical but satisfying solution: pick nasus. Hit lv6. She can't come near you because Wither is a death sentence, and you can apply it while she ults. She can't kill you, and can't really escape long-term if you chase/dive her.

IainG10May 25, 20181 votes

You take someone who can leave something nasty at her Ult return point; my personal favourite is Zilean 'oh no, a Drowsy Trouble Bubble' pops ult and drops QWQ

RaveolutionMay 25, 20181 votes

Zoe is pretty easy to stomp if she doesn't get ahead early. You should always go for teleport when against Zoe as she has no way to take it from you if you use it to get back to lane. Any other summoner is just asking for trouble. Playing safe is always the smartest option unless you are an assassin. There are many hard counters to Zoe that completely negate her. The easiest being Malzahar or Katarina, but anybody with decent mobility destroys her as she is worthless if you get close to her and don't walk into her E. Make sure you harass her hard when the E has been used early as it does have a long cool down and life gets pretty damn easy. If you do want to play aggressive post-6, just wait for her to inevitably R and aim your abilities at the beginning of it, as it will automatically hit her because of a delay on her actions when she arrives back. Zoe is not an easy champion to lane against because she is a pick champion. She isn't meant to be easy to play against because she suffers extremely hard once late game comes around if there are any tanks on the opposing team, and even more if she misses even a single combo in an important fight as she has no value whatsoever at that point.

The most important thing to do in a Zoe lane is to play safe at level 3 as that is typically when she has her W and will be looking to trade summoners as it will always work out in her favour.

DR34DN0UGHTMay 25, 20181 votes

So I'm pretty damn late, but here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UkEF-gr7BM

Dong does a really good job of explaining everything, hope this video helps.

Madsin25May 26, 20181 votes

If zoe was SO EASY to deal with she wouldnt the BEST midlaner.

Simple logic.

Malix FarwinMay 25, 20181 votes

A lot of mistakes i see people do against me as a Zoe Main is not take advantage of missed E's and use summons when they shouldnt. The only time you should flash against a Zoe is if you are trying to gap close, the spell will drop behind you. If you flash away it will just drop in front of us to ick up and flash + get speed bonus.

Also E, even at max rank has a long CD, if we miss our E we cannot stop you from getting on top of us unless we have a really good summoner(flash and ghost).

Also you can tell what summon we have it shows you on our health bar as well as shows you what minions have summons and what summons are on the ground. Use them to your advantage. Zoe has poor wave clear so denying her summons is not exactly difficult and using the fact that she is going to pick up that summon is easily punishable.

Lastly no matter what she is still squishy, assassins should have an easy time against her, the things she counters is the same things champs like Syndra would counter and things you would pick into Syndra would also be great picks into Zoe, Things you wouldnt, you prolly shouldn't pick into her(Ironically Syndra is a good pick into Zoe).

In conclusion, if you do not play her nor know anything about her kit other then the basic Bubble CC, she can burst you, and summons then you will have a hard time against her.