Hi, guys. I'm Azmayeen previously known as GHL Outcast presenting my guide based on Zed. I will be making a small itemization chapter to give you guys a general idea(didn't have one before). I try to update the guide every patch so please bear with me :3 (Also, it's been 2 seasons since I last updated this guide as I stopped playing as much in the last year or two)

Pros
*Easy to farm in lane with passive
*Ability to escape from bad situations
*High Mobility
*Outplay potential
*Strong up until lategame
Cons
*Has item counters
*Vulnerable to crowd control and good peel from enemy tanks and supports
*Can't beat armor stacked champions
*Mediocre in teamfights
*Very High Skill Cap

Passive : Contempt for the Weak
Deals extra magic damage based on max health against enemy under 50% hp. Helps with last hitting cs making it easier to farm. Has a cooldown on the same target (not applicable for jungle monsters).
Q: Razor Shuriken
Throws a shuriken, two combined with shadow from W, three with ult shadow and W. Can be used to harass enemy and farm safely from a distance. Main damaging ability.
W: Living Shadow
Used for combos, gap closing and escaping. Hitting the same target with 2 or more than 2 of the same abilities restores energy based on levels.
E: Shadow Slash
Melee ranged damage. Slows enemy instead of doing ranged damage if the enemy is hit by your shadow's E. If Zed(not the shadow) damages opponent with this ability, W cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds per champs hit.
R: Death Mark
Activating Death Mark leaves a shadow behind and Zed turns up on the other side of the enemy champ. After 3 seconds, it pops dealing damage depending on how much damage you dealt during those 3 seconds as the damage of your ult amplifies based on it.

From the notes in itemization, I'd say it's pretty obvious what I suggest for first buys. Let's talk about what to buy after those items.

It used to be pretty straightforward before the newer lethality items but now there's a lot more so it might become difficult to figure out a good build path. A predetermined build path won't always work as the itemization has become a lot more situational. It's not just dependent on comp anymore, it also depends on how well you perform in lane.

With that being said, if you manage to snowball early, going for a Voltaic Cyclosword- Opportunity built is great into squishy comps and then you can go for Serylda's Grudge if your oppponents have started stacking armor. Otherwise, Edge of Night for shield is great into CC, Maw of Malmortius into heavy AP, Hubris/ Profane Hydra/ Axiom Arc for more lethality.

Into comps with a lot of juggernauts or tankier champs, Eclipse followed by Serylda's Grudge or Black Cleaver is my go-to and from that point onwards, it's completely situational. If you can get away with stacking more lethality, go for it. If you need sustainability and tankiness, Death's Dance, Sundered Sky (even Sterak's) are great options.

All of it boils down to whether you're ahead or behind, whether you can get away with stacking lethality based on how the oppponents are playing or if you need more sustainability.

Basic Harass Combo: W-E-Q
W-E slows the enemy champs and hitting Q deals the main part of the damage of your combo. Hitting E and both Q's will proc your Electrocute. Good combo to harass without taking any damage in return.
Improved Combo after getting R: R-W-E-Q
Ulting and enemy then using your W to get out of range or reposition yourself against champions with some kind of dash or if they have their flash up,E to slow then Q to hit the shurikens from Zed and his shadows will deal enough damage and to finish it off, the death mark proc. Ignite might be required if you miss any Q.

There are a lot of combos with Zed and different Zed mains have their own combos. Watch different Zed mains to learn and improve your combos.

Zed has infinite potential when it comes to combos so figure out which combo is better in which situations by playing more and more games.
I would suggest watching different Zed mains like ZED99, Onzed, LL Stylish to better understand his abilities and combos.

TOP

One thing to note in case of top lane matchups, you need to avoid melee trading, play around your W's and farm at a safe distance since most of these champs have a way to catch you and beat you easily early on.

Aatrox: Trade with Q's, avoid getting hit by his Q's. W-E-Q when his rotation of abilities are down and all in when he's near 30%-40% HP. Post level 6, don't all in until he's below 40% HP otherwise he'll be able to heal back the damage you deal with his rotation of abilities.

Camille: The walls could be what gives the edge on her. She plays around walls so that she can easily stun you with her E. Stay away from the walls when you can't take a trade or use the walls to your advantage to bait her and kill her. One thing to keep mind is that when you triple Q her, she can dodge it if she times her ult. So, either let her ult first after the engage or triple Q her if she's not close enough to ult you.

Cho'Gath: Tank. He'll be harder to kill as you progress further in lane. I'd suggest to take Conq if the enemy comp isn't extremely squishy and play around your conq stacks. Eclipse rush is a must.

Darius: Avoid getting caught by his E, trade with W-E-Q's and farm at a safe distance. If you get caught by his E, W back to avoid getting damaged and do an instant E-Q as a follow up. Play around your shadows in order to avoid his Q's because if he hits his Q, he's gonna heal a lot. You could buy an early Executioner's Calling if you're unable to dodge his Q and it's giving him the advantage he needs.

Dr. Mundo:Same as the other tanks. Mundo is a bit squishier tho,so try to get early kill pressure. He's also relatively weak early on so the more you can snowball early on, the better because. Rush Executioner's Calling after completing your first item.

Fiora: You'll almost never beat a good Fiora. Her Riposte can negate all the damage you do from a combo in lane and post 6, it can cancel your death mark or it's damage. Either way, you gotta play smartly. Early Executioner's might help to deal with her healing. Always maintain a safe distance and play around your W-E-Q. She'll most likely go for an engage after you throw out your W so make sure to play around minions and close to tower if possible. Conq won't do much unless you're running ignite. I'd say go first strike if you're not confident about your laning phase.

Gangplank: He is a bit mana hungry so play around that. Stay away from the bushes if has pressure in lane because he's gonna try to get some hidden barrel damage on you. If you have pressure, play around the bushes so he can't get barrels there but it also makes you a bit vulnerable to ganks since you're not closer to your turret. Try to get him low before going for an all in because his W heal might save him.

Garen: This is just a bad matchup. It's mainly taking short trades and constantly damaging him so that his passive doesn't proc and he doesn't freakin' outsustain you in lane and also you have avoid taking too much damage. Post 6, if he tries to Q you, you can ult that and not get silenced and do your combo but you won't be able to kill him if he's not low enough because well..... he is Garen after all. Conqueror preferred for extended trades, First Strike otherwise.

Gnar: Gnar has a range advantage in his mini form and HP and CC advantage in his mega form. Try trading before he goes mega but from a safe distance and delay your Q's a bit when using W-E-Q in order to draw out his E(jump) with your W otherwise he'll just dodge everything and you'll lose the trade badly.
Ideally, just farm safely and trade with Q's and all in when his E is down or you have kill pressure when he's not in mega form.

Gragas: Gragas is a very difficult matchup to play against in toplane. The best chance you'll have of getting a lead is before the first recall. Once he starts stacking ability haste items, it'll be very difficult to match prio. Try to get an early kill if you want to snowball (take ignite).

Gwen: Rough matchup because she has a kit that's very difficult to deal with as Zed. She beocmes untargetable in her W if you're not in melee and she wins extended trades. Try E-AA-Q combos and don't use W unless you can get a proper poke in when her W is down, or for an engage/disengage.

Illaoi: Dodge her E, don't get poked down too much. Post 6, get her low, dodge E and play around your ult and W shadows while going for an all in. Ignite is a good option for this lane.

Irelia: Dodge her E, wait out her W when you're trying to trade, ult her ult or dodge it with W post 6. You need an early lead against her otherwise she beats you hard. So, play smartly. You can take Conqueror here if you wanna do extended trades but First Strike is fine if you wanna farm till Eclipse.

Jax: If you're the one starting the trade, dodge his E-Q with your W. If he waits out your W and then engages, then you need play a bit safer. It's all about playing around your shadows in this matchup. Utilize your shadows to avoid his stun.

Jayce: He has a better kit so you'll need 6 most of the times in order to beat him. Play around your W-E-Q's. If he gets low, go for an all in. He'll be using his range to outpoke you in lane so make sure you're landing everything when you're trading.

K'Sante: Ideally, you don't win this lane so you need to play First Strike and farm up till Eclipse and play around poke. But, if your laner is bad, obviously take advantage of it.

Kayle: She should be an easy matchup. She might rush Seeker's, so try to kill her early and end by midgame.

Kennen: Maintain range, farm with Q, trade with W-E-Q. Keep an eye on his passive stacks since at 3 stacks, it stuns you. Play all ranged matchups in a similar way.

Kled: Kled is a very aggressive laner who is very strong early on. Play around poke, don't all in when he's mounted. If you can get him low enough, then play for all in. Post 6, dismount him first or get him close to dismounting so that you can engage and dismount and then full combo him.

Malphite: .....yeah I don't really do well against Malphites so can't really help that much. But it won't be much of a guide if I didn't have any tips. Poke till you get his shield before you combo as when his shield is up, he gets a lot more armor so you won't deal any damage. You win early before he's able to stack Manaflow Band because after that, he can poke you down faster than you can and set up for an all-in. Try to dodge his ult with yours or play around your shadows.

Maokai: Just be careful of his W and E. Rest is the same for tank matchups. Eclipse rush.

Mordekaiser: Dodge his E and try to trade when he doesn't have W or his bar is low meaning he'll get a low shield. Maintain distance with your shadows when harassing him and also when you're trying to all in.

Nasus: You'll only beat him till he hits 6 and gets a sheen or an armor item. After that, it's not impossible to beat him but it'll be insanely difficult if he's able to match you in terms of items and levels.

Olaf: You won't win extended trades against Olaf but the advantage of playing into Olaf is he's very slow so you can just harass and get him low enough and then go for all in. Definitely take ignite if you wanna snowball hard in lane and remember that his W gives him a shield and he lifesteals a lot when he's low so keep that in mind when trying to execute him.

Ornn: Standard tank gameplay. Eclipse rush. Dodge his E knockups, don't get hit by his passive AA and you're good to go.

Pantheon: Do delayed combos to bait his E otherwise it'll negate everything. Don't get to close or he'll stun you and you won't be able to do damage due to his E. Post 6, you can do your combos in a lot of ways. Easiest way to beat him post 6 is to let him try to stun you because you can ult and dodge the stun. After you ult, wait till he uses his E. If you're in front of his E, your ult won't do damage(obviously) so use your W to get behind him and then Q. Your ult damage will go through and easy win. Try to be a bit safe early because he can beat the **** out of you.

Poppy: Same as every other tanks. Early lead with the help of your jungler will be extremely helpful so try to setup the lane that way. Eclipse rush.

Quinn: Maintain range, poke, get her low, all in. Standard gameplay into ranged champs.

Renekton Don't be the one to initiate a trade. He'll dash in so W back then E-Q. Post 6, get him really low before using ult because his ult can save him from getting executed by your ult.

Riven: Don't stay in melee range. Combo when she doesn't have E. Try to recognize the distance she can cover with Q1-E.

Rumble: Combo when his shield is down. Don't walk up to his face. His shield has a really low cooldown. so you need to be really patient with your combos and all ins.

Sett: Avoid getting into melee range or close enough for him to run you down. For Conqueror setup, play E-Q trades with melee attacks and use your W as an engage or an escape. For First Strike, just maintain a decent range and farm up till Eclipse. Be wary of his W.

Shen: Dodge E and combo. Don't trade with autos because you'll definitely lose. Eclipse rush.

Singed: There isn't tip required for this matchup lol

Sion: Same as every other tank.

Skarner: Skarner is one of those champions that becomes unkillable after a certain point and he's also not fun to deal with in lane. I'd recommend surviving lane till Eclipse, then playing cross map. As for the matchup, do your basic harass combos and try not get hit by his W (which is nearly impossible unless the Skarner is realllllllly bad) and see if you can get him low enough to all in.

Tahm Kench: One of those matchups where you ideally shouldn't win. Unlike other tanks, Tahm actually is more annoying to play against as he has high poke damage, solid engage and can mitigate a lot of the damage you deal so I'd say just survive in lane till Eclipse and roam.

Teemo: Play it like any ranged matchup. If he doesn't go for any armor item, it should always be easy to oneshot a teemo. If he's fed, hexdrinker first item won't be a bad buy.

Trundle: Q poke and farm. Don't use W because that'll be his cue to engage and he can run you down without any issues. Keep W for a disengage.

Tryndamere: Try to get pressure early and bully him. Post 6, wait out his ult in a fight or get him very low and then bait it out or do an instant burst so that he doesn't have time to react.

Urgot: Avoid getting caught by his E and you're good to go. Eclipse rush as usual.

Volibear: Standard harass combos. Eclipse rush. Relatively easier matchup if you don't take extended trades.

Yorick: Two things to worry about in this matchup. His E being one because those little things jump on your *** if he hits his E and they deal a LOT of damage. Second, his ult because his ult can passively cuck you or take turret. Otherwise, this should be an easy matchup.



MID

Some of the champs here have targeted dashes like Diana and Ekko's E. You can take advantage of that if they play aggro by shadowing back followed up with and E-Q with the shadow left behind. Easy trade, least damage taken, overall completely worth.

Ahri: Dodging her E is the key to winning this matchup. Should be easy pre 6. Post 6, try to ult then follow her ult with W but do it fast otherwise she'll dodge everything. Or you could W-E-Q and if it gets her low enough, R-E-Auto after that to finish it off.

Akali: Play around shadows. There are tons of ways you can win against her. You could use her E as bait because she's always gonna be coming in a straight line if she takes her E which means free W to the back and E-Q for damage. You can be the one to initiate the trade with your W-E-Q but it's best if you do it while maintaining some range as she might use her W to close the gap and trade back. Post 6, it's about who uses their mobility abilities better. You can use yours to counter hers and she can do the same.
In this matchup, Akali tends to have the upper hand so it'll be difficult to get prio without a lead. And even if you get a kill or two over her, she'll still be able to make a comeback but if she's ahead, it'll be nearly impossible for you to catch up.

Akshan: Standard ranged matchup. Do standard harass combos, get him low, all in. Be wary of the shield he gets from his passive.

Anivia: Play aggro early and try to get her egg without dying. You need an early lead in order to snowball hard. Ask jungler for ganks. Don't let it go to lategame.

Annie: Maintain distance when she has her stun up or close to having it up. Poke when the stun is down. Post 6, she can nearly 100 to 0 you with an all in so be careful.

Aurelion Sol: You have to get a kill or two early on because after Rylai's Crystal Scepter, it becomes hella difficult to trade in lane. He scales pretty hard so be careful not to give him any leads early on.

Aurora: Standard poke matchup. Stay out of her E range, try to sidestep her Q. Do your basic harass combo and all in when low. It'll be a bit difficult to follow her when she uses her ult.

Azir: Play safe and don't get poked down. Post 6, ult first because then he'll ult you away, giving you a window to W to him and get 3 Q's in.

Brand: Squishy, easy to beat. Just don't get stunned.

Cassiopeia: Sidestep or bait her Q and then harass. If she hits her Q, she can run you down pretty easily and chunk you for quite a lot. Post 6, if you ult her first, make sure to look away because most Cass players will try to ult behind to stun you.

Corki: He's a pain in the ***. Try not to fight till 6 if you don't understand the matchup. Post 6, ult first and then follow his W with yours.

Diana: Her W shield makes it a bit hard to trade so play around it's cooldown. Post 6, try to counter her ult with yours. I prefer going Hexdrinker if the enemy Diana is good. If you wanna take runes based on the matchup, electro if you're going for short trades, conq if you're going long melee trades.

Ekko: Ekko is easier to beat considering his dash and pre 6. Post 6, you have to play the matchup by drawing out his ult before using yours or getting a good setup with shadows so that he'd still be in a bad position after ulting.

Fizz: Fizz has the upper hand because of his E since it negates your ult damage, can dodge your Q's or even stop your death mark animation from being applied. If the Fizz is good, then there's not much you can do in lane. Try to trade with him using E and autos until he uses his E. If he uses E first, he's bad. You can ult him to dodge his ult but if he E's your ult, then both of your combos gets negated.

Galio: Absolutely cancer. Try to get a kill or two on him early on with/without the help of your jungler because after his first or second back, he might get armor and that's just ****ing ****ty. Play around your W and don't walk up too far. You can go for conq in this matchup to make your trading and all in easier.
Gragas (midlane full AP): I would suggest Hexdrinker into this matchup as midlane Gragas are usually full AP. Harass him when his W is down as it gives damage reduction.

Heimerdinger: Maintain a safe distance, play around your W's, use your shadows to dodge his E when you're going for an all in for instance, place your W shadow first so that you can jump to that after ulting in order to dodge his E.

Hwei: He has way too many abilities so do your best to sidestep as many as possible, harass with your W-E-Q whenever you can and all in. I would suggest using the anti-skillshot combo which is basically dropping your W down right before you ult so that you can dodge whatever ability he might throw at you with your W shadow.

Karthus: Overall, an easy matchup since he's a squishy and 0 mobility mage. You can ult to dodge his ult that is if you get too low.

Kassadin: Kassa gets hard countered by AD champs even if he rushes Seeker's. You should be able to beat him pre 6. Post 6 tip, ult him when he uses his Q on a minion or you, he might ult during your ult or after it, either way follow his ult with a W shadow and do a quick combo.

Katarina: Generally, Zed has an upper hand on Kata due to having better burst early game if played right. You can try to predict her E based on where she left her W dagger. Post 6, ult her first and follow her E with your W. If she's patient enough to not E away after you ult, place your W shadow in such a way that you'll still be able to get her with your Q's.

LeBlanc: Annoying matchup. I'd suggest to go Hexdrinker to withstand her burst. Try to follow her W with yours. If she Q's you, put your shadow right beside her before she W's and go to that shadow to dodge her W damage and then combo. Getting hit by her E means you've already lost the trade so try your best to dodge it. Post 6, try to get her low before you all in so that you can kill her before she escapes. Try bursting her with W-E-Q and ignite, then follow up with ult to finish it. This is a tricky matchup so be sensible and play smartly.

Lissandra: Has a lot of poke damage from Q, so avoid being behind the minions she's in front since her Q deals damage to enemies behind the target it hit but doesn't slow tho. She can setup a gank with her W stun pre 6 and ult post 6. Post 6, get her low enough so that she ults then finish it with your ult. If you ult first, she'll just stun you with W and deal an insane burst damage and maybe kill you with her ult, kinda like getting perma cc'd to death so DON'T ult first.

Lux: Ughh. Her Q is ****, her W is ****, her E is super ****. If she has barrier, then this whole matchup is just full of cancer. Maintain range and have good movement in order to dodge her Q and maybe juke her E's around a bit. Post 6, get her low, all in. She has no mobility so ask your jg for ganks. If you ult her, both of you get a free all in if she hits you with her Q cause it roots you which means you can triple Q her and she can E and ult you.

Malzahar: It's not as bad as everyone thinks. There are tons of ways you can play this matchup. He can permapush and keep you under turret which is one thing. If he does stuff like that, that means he's trying to play safe and farm up till he gets some items. In case of trading with him, you can do it in different ways like getting his shield down with a Q first then combo because it's cooldown is 30-12 seconds scaling and your Q obviously has a lower cooldown. Another way is to W-E to get his shield then jumping to that W and melee trading with autos and Q's. This is much better and deals more damage if you do it properly but a but risky if there's a possibility of you getting ganked by the enemy jungler. Post 6, ult him first, he'll ult you, after his ult ends triple Q his ***. Now, this might not always be good if he has barrier or Zhonya's or armor, therefore get him low enough so that none of it matters.

Naafiri: Dodge the Q and especially the second Q as it does a lot of damage. Do your general harass combos, get her low, then all in. Try to ult her W to avoid taking damage from the packmates jumping on you.

Neeko: Her E is the ability to look out for. She might use her W to confuse you when you try to W-E-Q so play around that carefully. You can counter her ult and it's damage with yours but you gotta time it right.

Orianna: Comparatively an easy matchup since she has no CC besides her ult and almost no mobility. You can counter her ult with yours. Just remember that during laning phase, she has more poke so keep an eye on her ball placement.

Qiyana: Has a targeted dash so you know what that means. Dodge her Q's since it deals a lot of damage. Try to dodge her ult with W or R.

Ryze: Stay a bit far from the minions since his Q bounces on targets with flux. His early game is weak so take advantage of that.

Swain: Avoid getting hit by his E because then you'll surely lose the trade. Also avoid getting hit by his W since it heals him and gives him soul. His combo will most likely be hitting E to root you and then pull while casting W and then Q for the damage. You can trade back but it's better if you just dodge it first and then trade back because it's completely worth for you and not at all worth for him since his entire trade relies on dealing the damage and healing from the stuns. Try to get him low before you all in because his ult healing might mess you up pretty badly.

Sylas: Play around your W, farm safely, don't let him hit his E and try not to get to close during trades as his W heal will gives an advantage in every trade. If he takes your ult, you can actually turn it around easily. If he ults you first, place a shadow behind the place he ulted from then ult him when he comes out and triple Q. If you ult first, you can do it in a couple of ways like letting him ult you after you ult so you get him in a fixed position to triple Q, or you could R back when he is in the animation to take him to dangerous territory and **** him up.
Just play smartly pre 6.

Syndra: Has good poke and burst and cc. Try to sidestep her E. You can ult her ult which makes her ult completely useless.

Taliyah: She's easy to beat anyway. Just don't get poked down to much.

Talon: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH the champ that deals a million damage compared to Zed. His passive deals a **** ton of damage so he just ****ing kills you if he hits both parts of W. That's the thing you need to dodge during lane. Post 6, try to get him low if you wanna all in. If he ults, wait for him to come out of invis to Q and time your ult in order to avoid his damage.

Twisted Fate: Weak early on. Easy to beat. Post 6, engage if his W is on cooldown. If he picks gold card, he's either trying to stop you from engaging or he's trying to setup a gank. Either way, you can dodge the card with your ult and turn on him.

Veigar: You kinda counter Veigar because his cage won't do much as you can shadow out of it. You can also counter his ult with yours. Try to all in him after his cage is down because he can position himself in such a way that when you come out from ult, you might get stunned.

Vel'Koz: You counter Vel'Koz because of your burst and mobility. Stay in between minions to avoid his Q's and sidestep his E.

Vex: Play around your W-E-Q and don't go for a melee trade unless she's pretty low. Post 6, I'd suggest you to get her low before going for an all in because if she has her doom stacks, she can cc you and all in. Anti-skillshot combo for a clean engage.

Viktor: Standard ranged matchup. Bsaic harass, get him low, all in.

Vladimir: It's important to land your W-E-Q because he has sustain and you can't afford to waste your abilities for nothing. Your full combo will deal a lot of damage early on. The Vlad might pool to dodge your W-E-Q so delay it a bit. Post 6, try to get him low so that his pool and ult won't do much to save him.

Xerath: The range on his poke is just too much to deal with. You're gonna have to farm safely and try to dodge his Q and E. Try to take advantage of his zero mobility with ganks. If he misses his E, it should be a free trade or an all in for you.

Yasuo: You'll never beat a really good yasuo if you don't get a lead. Do E-AA-Q trades with him to proc electro. Don't use W to combo if there's a wave for him to dash through and dodge everything or if he has windwall. Try to get him low before you all in because his windwall will most definitely cuck you. Conq makes the whole matchup very easy. If you get a lead on him, it makes the matchup way easier comparatively.

Yone: From what I've learnt, you lose trades pre 6. Take short trades pre 6. Don't take extended trades even if you have conq because he'll outdamage you. Post 6, your hopes of beating him relies on you having ult. Your ult can dodge his ult if you time it during his channel duration. I don't think you can ult his ult if the channel is finished and he's dashing but it might be a frame perfect thing. Either way, you need to play a bit safe since he outtrades you. If you have item advantage, you should beat him straight up.

Ziggs: No mobility, ranged poke. Should be easy to deal with.

Zoe: Dodge her E. Her ult can be used against her because you'll know where she'll pop up so set up a triple Q on her.

Zed is dominant till midgame like most assassins. Assassins struggle in lategame because it becomes easy to be locked down.

Early-Game

Your main aim in early game is to dominate lane so you can be most effective during midgame. Play the lane optimally. Farm safely in case of poke matchups and aggressively in case of comparatively easier matchups. Ask for ganks if you need to get ahead. Take 2v2 skirmishes in the jungle early on if you're playing against a weaker mid-jungle duo. Try to roam when you're pushed in and the laner is not there. If it's pushed in, try to roam in the enemy jungle if you can't roam bot. Get vision in the river whenever you can. Be proactive.

Mid-Game

Roam with your jungler. Setup for objectives by applying pressure through kills and getting prio. Your main job is to assassinate the squishies and win early skirmishes and fights. Try to roam bot most of the times, try to roam with your jungler, getting prio around bot is important than top because the game is more drake oriented. Rift is also important and it's good to secure both rifts and end the game fast too. Everything is situational.

Late Game

Try to get picks in late game. In teamfights, target their main carries. It is crucial to time your engage in a teamfight because a bad engage means you're gonna have no impact whatsoever. You can't be the one to engage because you'll surely get cc'd and die unless they don't have vision on you and you can get out. Try to engage after your frontline engages and keeps their peelers busy. You can also splitpush since you can easily escape.
But going for a pick is not the only thing you can do lategame. Your job in teamfights is not just to assassinate the carry but it sure is a priority. Your job is also to deal as much damage as humanely possible in a teamfight.


Overall, it's very important to try to end the game by midgame because assassins aren't always effective in lategame. Do your best to get ahead in lane and snowball your advantage.

Overall, Zed is a pretty tough champion to master but it can be very rewarding. If you are able to learn Zed properly then it will be very fun to play him. As a Zed main, I love one-shotting xD. He might be hard to learn and even harder to use in different situations but through playing more games, you can do it. It is hard to climb since he is not the type of champion to be really effective against good tank or bruiser-ish comps and certain midlane champs are just way better at teamfighting compared to him. But, I wouldn't discourage climbing with Zed.
I hope my guide was helpful and has given a general idea about Zed.

Ba Dum Tss