More people should play Zilean.

Bârd·Dec 21, 2015·10 votes·1,395 views

Seriously, his bombs take a bit of getting used to, but he is well worth it.

45% CDR can be reached really quickly with just

With that much CDR, you can bomb every 4.4 seconds and rewind every 3.3 seconds, meaning that you can doublebomb for a 1.5 second stun and 600 (+1.8 AP) magic damage every 4.4 seconds and speed/slow people ridiculously often.

Oh, and his ult is on a 33 second cooldown.

Is he OP? No, but he has enough damage, mobility, and utility that a skilled Zilean can make terrifying plays.

On a side note, Zilean is just stupidly powerful on Twisted Treeline with two bruisers, especially .

21 Comments

AyRe CoNteMpTDec 21, 20155 votes

yeah zilean is ridiculously strong and nobody should play him because of how annoying he is.

charcharmunroDec 21, 20155 votes

People really underestimate the double-bomb's usefulness in a wombo. You're basically adding another 1-1.5 seconds of the wombo'd ones not moving.

disregardableDec 21, 20152 votes

I played Zliean before the rework. He's just not fun anymore. They nerfed all of his abilities and his passive. His playstyle of "Throw bombs and hope they stick even though they do no damage because you can't do anything else" is unrewarding and not fun. I mean, I say this as someone who does not main support. If you like support, maybe you'll like Zilean. I hate support. I liked ZIlean because he didn't feel like a support when you played him- and that is completely gone.

magic poleDec 21, 20151 votes

now that bombs prioritize champions they're not as difficult to land. been playing him mid recently, he's still pretty fun and is still basically the same champion. You just have to get used to the new bombs; that's really all that's changed. Can still wave clear for days with 2 bombs, once he gets 1-2 items

what's more, if you can land bombs, he feels even stronger (because of the stun). Also, you can land a bomb on a minion, and if your opponent walks into the bomb's explosion radius, you can pop it with another bomb and they will take damage and the stun in AoE. Bombs can be sneaky and devastating as huge nukes and hard CC during team fights. Lastly, use E to set up easy Q's.

also, his passive is way more fun than his old passive.

disregardableDec 21, 20151 votes

You see, I don't think the stun makes him feel strong. If anything, I find landing it unrewarding. Great! You hit the stun! He's still half health, and you have absolutely nothing to follow it up with. Just, uh, walk away for 8 seconds? That's why Zilean mid basically died, at least to me. They budgeted a lot of power that used to be actual damage into a stun that's useless on his kit when he's by himself.

magic poleDec 21, 20151 votes

did they? i don't remember the numbers change on damage of Q. But mid lane 2 bombs CHUNK your opponent. like 1/3 to 1/2 (once you get some AP) of their HP.

and ya, you land the stun and just walk away. See, that way, you can use your E to either get in range or to slow your opponent, then hit the stun allowing you to safely walk away while not having to rely on your E to retreat unscathed

EDIT: ok so i looked it up. they gave zil attention patch 5.4-5.6 which is pretty nice. I really only looked at the Q change...but yes its base damage is slightly lower, yet it retained the same AP ratio. In addition, its early cool down is lower, mana cost lower at all levels, and range is higher. So besides the slight base dmg nerf and the fact that it's now a skillshot, the bombs were actually buffed

Shatter the SunDec 27, 20151 votes

The damage to his q remained the same, accept in one update they reduced it to 0.8 but brought it back to 0.9 where it has been for most of his time. Zilean has always had just 1 damage ability. I've yet to build a Lichbane but I can imagine it doing him some good you can easily proc its passive more than 3 times in a single combo> stun>aa>slow>aa>rewind>aa>retreat or ignite.

After reading magic pole's response it seems they have nerfed his damage very slightly.

RenascentDec 21, 20151 votes

Here, have a mid Zilean match history.

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2043678984/215452559?tab=overview

Be innovative; With all this new utility, Zilean just needs max cooldown, sustain, and tankiness to dish out an unending torrent of bombs that cannot be stopped.

VictoryDance96Dec 21, 20151 votes

45% CDR can NEVER be reached.

NoobLearninGameDec 21, 20156 votes

{quoted}

45% CDR can NEVER be reached.

Did you miss the mastery update?

VictoryDance96Dec 21, 20157 votes

Holy ****

Denims Wrath666Dec 21, 20155 votes

LOL welcome to the new masteries. can I show you to Nasus Veigar Lux Ezreal ?

KorilloDec 21, 20151 votes

His early game is rough, never really enjoyed Zilean sadly

Sinister AnubisDec 21, 20151 votes

They are going to nerf him. Like seriously zilean mid lane is super annoying to deal with. Not to mention if hes 6 and you try to roam he follows you and ultis the target you picked and ultimately you died because you tried to make a play. There is absolutly no counter to this other then trying to kill zil and guess what he ultis him self and you still die. The fact they gave him a stun and the ability to ZONE with his bombs is completely ridiculous his objective control is insane and on par with other champions like azir ori and anivia. I can't wait for him to get nerf to the ground and be season 3 eve status once more.

Rundus1Dec 21, 20151 votes

You made good points, except for the fact that his damage is all more easily dodged than those champs whose zoning abilities travel and hit faster. They also have much higher DPS at a more constant rate. Zil gets a stun to make up for that. Also, whereas they have massive amounts of utility, so to does Zilean. His ult isn't broken or op. If you're an assassin, it is easy to kill him in lane with most of the assassins and then kill him again after he ults. If he roams with you, that sucks that you found a Zilean player who plays Zilean correctly. Are you equally annoyed by others who can roam to stop you from slaughtering their team? Maybe a tf ult gave you away before you could get there or Ziggs ult killed you before you could finish off the enemy. Those ults can't be stopped either. Doesn't make them strong though, because they have counterplay, like Zilean. If a tf ults, you know he's coming and prepare. If a Ziggs ults, you stay out of that huge spot for a few seconds. If a Zil ults, you either swarm the target and mong his team while he respawns out of position or you cc him and wait 4 seconds to kill him. It's not broken or super strong. They can't do anything whilst reviving and they take a good deal of time to revive. They are effectively cc'd to use this ability. If you can't handle a zil, I'm gonna guess you play a lot of Zed or something. Oh, and another cool trick: cc zil and he can't ult when stunned, silenced, suppressed, displaced, or knocked up in any way. If they nerfed Zil it would make him even weaker early on then he currently is (which he's pitiful the first few levels as is) and so few people would ever play him that'd he'd just need buffs or another rework. Zilean is a good baiter though. My friends lump him with eve in the "noob killer" category, because most people can figure out how to avoid his damage and play around his ult.

Sinister AnubisDec 21, 20151 votes

{quoted}

You made good points, except for the fact that his damage is all more easily dodged than those champs whose zoning abilities travel and hit faster. They also have much higher DPS at a more constant rate. Zil gets a stun to make up for that. Also, whereas they have massive amounts of utility, so to does Zilean. His ult isn't broken or op. If you're an assassin, it is easy to kill him in lane with most of the assassins and then kill him again after he ults. If he roams with you, that sucks that you found a Zilean player who plays Zilean correctly. Are you equally annoyed by others who can roam to stop you from slaughtering their team? Maybe a tf ult gave you away before you could get there or Ziggs ult killed you before you could finish off the enemy. Those ults can't be stopped either. Doesn't make them strong though, because they have counterplay, like Zilean. If a tf ults, you know he's coming and prepare. If a Ziggs ults, you stay out of that huge spot for a few seconds. If a Zil ults, you either swarm the target and mong his team while he respawns out of position or you cc him and wait 4 seconds to kill him. It's not broken or super strong. They can't do anything whilst reviving and they take a good deal of time to revive. They are effectively cc'd to use this ability. If you can't handle a zil, I'm gonna guess you play a lot of Zed or something. Oh, and another cool trick: cc zil and he can't ult when stunned, silenced, suppressed, displaced, or knocked up in any way. If they nerfed Zil it would make him even weaker early on then he currently is (which he's pitiful the first few levels as is) and so few people would ever play him that'd he'd just need buffs or another rework. Zilean is a good baiter though. My friends lump him with eve in the "noob killer" category, because most people can figure out how to avoid his damage and play around his ult.

The thing about zil is there is no cast time for his ulti and no assassin besides lb or talon even remotely has cc. His ulti is unavoidable good zil players have no issues spamming his bombs for stun. You won't even catch zil because of how good his rewind is. He's a terror mid lane and a Billie and baiter and cc monster during team fights. My issue with zil currently is he's too good at a lot of things. His damage is really high, he has a damn good aoe stun, he zones way to hard on objective control rather it be dragon baron or even your own towers when bombs just sit and wait for you, his rewind gets him out of most situations and is so good even popping youmuu doesn't even help catch him. I been here since season 1 iv death with a lot of broken stuff and zill in his current state is among them. For a champion that was ment to be a support in lane and a utility champion out of lane he's doing way to much as a mid lane mage. Just my 2 cents tho.

I7A6X2v2Dec 21, 20151 votes

I like the kit, the perma slow, useful ult when used in time, i would play him supp (or even mid) everytimes BUT... I JUST CAN'T STAND HIS OUTDATED 2009 MODEL AND VO, ITS ABOVE ME, I CAN'T PLAY VISUALLY UGLY CHAMPS... I CANT

MunchCrunchLunchDec 21, 20151 votes

i always play him as support. and have high winrate. hes really good. however if you get caught your dead. not much you can do i wouldn't even ult myself sometimes tbh.