Laning Phase – Your laning phase depends heavily on your matchup and support. Zeri is relatively strong early if you maintain good positioning—hitting enemy champions while avoiding minion damage. Stay near the brush to look for Q pokes, and remember that E + Q resets with passive procs deal significant damage. As a scaling champion, focus on farming unless a clear opportunity to trade or secure a kill arises. Matchups are crucial: against Ezreal, you can play aggressively since your E over walls makes you hard to punish, while against Caitlyn, it’s safer to stay under tower with an enchanter support. Overall, prioritize safe scaling into mid and late game.

Mid Game – In mid game, you’ll often rotate to mid and use W to create vision while helping your support clear enemy wards. Focus on farming and waiting for your **Infinity Edge powerspike**, as Zeri becomes very strong once it’s completed, and few ADCs can match her if played correctly. Your high movement speed lets you kite safely, dealing damage even with just one auto attack. Continue farming until you finish core items like **Runaan’s**, **Yomuu’s**, and **Infinity Edge**, while clearing vision. Avoid risky fights, such as 4v5s—always let your team engage first and prioritize your own scaling.

Late Game – With all core items completed, Zeri ranks among the top late-game ADCs thanks to her **Lightning Crash ultimate**, which ricochets between targets. Let your frontline engage first, then use **E** to jump onto the backline and follow up with your ultimate; after 2–3 Qs, most enemies should be dead due to your massive damage. Always wait for your team to initiate fights, and keep **E** for mobility—flash to escape if needed, but don’t waste it beforehand, as it’s crucial for repositioning over walls. Continuously move between Qs to maximize your speed and dodge skillshots. If played correctly, Zeri’s damage is extremely high, making her very difficult to kill and a dominant late-game carry.

Combos

• **Q → E → Q** – Using E to reset Q allows for a second Q, dealing strong burst damage that can catch enemies off guard early.
• **E → Wall → W** – Jump to a wall with E and cast W for a large slow; difficult to predict but highly effective for zoning or setting up kills.
• **E → Wall → W (predict) → R** – Predict enemy movement, then use R while descending from the wall for unexpected high damage in teamfights or skirmishes.