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QSS Changes = Future Zed Nerfs/Reworks

Sása·5/2/2016, 10:50:23 PM·3 votes·1,164 views

Anyone who plays League frequently knows that the best way to deal with Zed as an AD Mid Laner or ADC is to buy QSS/MS to deal with his ult. As a Zed main, I hate the idea of QSS being nerfed to allow Zed's ult to remain, because its means that one of two things will happen:

  1. Zed will be Pick or Ban. His damage output will be unparalleled and ADC's will have no way to counter them aside from having a disengage support or a heavy cc team babysitting them.
  2. Zed will get a rework or a heavy nerf in order to compensate for the lack of counterplay.

Since the second option is more likely, I'll focus on that. Zed is one of the most unique champions in the game with a very high skill cap and a decent learning curve. His damage output is enforced mainly by the ability to correctly time and place his abilities. In my opinion, Zed does not require a rework. There are far more champions who have no positive input into the game. I'm not talking about meta picks; I mean champions who have outdated kits that do not reward players enough for the skill required to play. Yorick is a prime example. To play Yorick and be successful in winning lane and aiding the team as a whole is unfairly difficult. He doesn't add anything outstandingly helpful. There are many more champs that need reworks, and I personally don't believe Zed is among them. A heavy Zed nerf would do exactly what Talon's nerf did to him. Talon was seeing a huge amount of play time after the initial introduction of DuskBlade, which made him a very strong pick. When Riot nerfed him, they did it to such an extent, that they made him almost not worth playing. Post-Nerf, I've seen maybe 2 Talons in game. QSS being nerfed will require Zed to be nerfed. I just hope that Riot can find a happy medium for him to exist. Maybe by increasing the skill cap required to output damage, but lowering base damage to such an extent that only players who have practiced him know how to output damage.

If you disagree, do me a favor and say why. I'd like to have a discussion, not just a downvoted post.

5 Comments

AlwaysByMySide5/2/2016, 10:55:47 PM2 votes

That's the intention. QSS no longer making Zed irrelevant late game means that Riot has one less thing to balance Zed around. Zed's early game is usually what people dislike about him, so they can tone that down now that his late game is stronger.

Zero Skill Tank5/2/2016, 11:39:43 PM1 votes

His laning phase needs to be made noticeably weaker than his typical lane opponent. There is no other way of balancing an assassin that ever worked in this game than giving enemies actual ability to delay their power spikes.

Zed was allowed to be stronger than other midlaners because of how Zhonya and QSS affected him, but this pattern clearly also fails, and thus is getting removed with heavy nerfs to those items.

However, because his ult damage is directly tied to his basic abilities damage, such balancing change can't really happen, nerfing say Zed's poke necessarily means nerfing his all ins, because he has only two active abilities that do damage on their own.

Some changes to his kit will be necessary.

Rockm Sockm5/3/2016, 1:35:54 AM1 votes

I am all for this change but I wonder how long till Zed gets changes himself. If they just leave Zed the way he is till the assassin patch, then no thanks.

I like the ADCS just take the death comment like there will be counterplay. Zed could 100-0 you with QSS, now you just hide and hope your not on one of those teams where everyone roams through the jungle trying to skirmish.

People rage about adcs building maw and steraks gauge but its mandatory if you want to live past the tanks rotation.