An Unpopular Opinion

Hey guys, just thought I'd give my two cents on how Zed will look after the QSS change goes live.

Now, I'm not going to say that he isn't going to be overpowered, because he clearly is going to be. But, before you assume the worst and ban him every game, hear me out.

He's strong. I get it. He's annoying to lane against, and his sustainable poking damage is second to none in the mid lane. The QSS change might break him, but there's more to the equation than that.

Let's take a look at the mid season update.

With Malzahar receiving a new and more powerful kit, he might see play in the mid lane. Any mid laner worth their salt KNOWS that Malzahar makes Zed's life hell.

Lissandra has also seen play in the mid lane, and she's also mighty powerful against him.

Not to mention Lulu, who has always been a decent pick to bring mid.

Also, let's not forget Cassiopeia's new ability to utterly deny him not only the opportunity to initially ult with her W (I believe it counts as a mobility spell, correct me if I'm wrong,) but she will also be able to stun and prevent him from escaping her combo.

Let's also keep in mind the extensive list of powerful picks against Zed like Vlad, Kayle, Taric, Fizz, and a couple of other softer counters.

Now, you might be saying, "Spinning, your argument is stupid! The majority of the champions you listed are going to be countered by Zed getting QSS!"

And you'd be right.

My point here is that the QSS change is a positive thing for League of Legends in the long term, but they have to change it so that it isn't so effective on assassins.

My suggestion? Remove Mercurial Scimitar from the game.

Have QSS grant a small amount of AP and have it build into an AP item.

Honestly, it's a bit of a stretch. I haven't done much theorycrafting or number crunching, so I'm not totally sure whether this will be a healthy change for the game. However, I feel as though that QSS is extraordinarily strong on AD assassins in particular, and should Zed not be able to comfortably fit QSS into his build, he will be severely weakened.

Not only that, but buying QSS on an ADC will mean a huge damage loss long term, which means they can no longer be uncatchable, tanky, and dealing ludicrous amounts of damage.

Ultimately, it's probably a bad idea. However, I truly believe that Zed is just one step away from being balanced, and this could be a way to fix him.