Hi guys!

My in-game name is snu***z and I've been playing league since season 2. I'm currently in Platinum Elo on the NA server, but I will be in Diamond very soon ;)

Zyra is by far my most played champion (support and bot). I have a pretty crazy 70% win rate playing Zyra bot (in gold & plat elo).



While Zyra is an amazing support, she's even more lethal when playing as an AP carry in the bottom lane. Her ability to burst down squishy ADC's and supports is largely unparalleled. I recommend combining Zyra bot with another champion with high poke/burst and a reliable form of CC, that combination will ensure you tons of kills bot, and a very tilted opposing bot lane :D

My mission with this guide is to cover the most important bits of information that will help you succeed when playing Zyra Bot. The early, mid, and late game sections will tell you exactly what you should be doing at all points during the game in order to win.

Let's get on with the rest of the guide!

Pros

+ Great poke damage with Q and plants (especially with Liandry's Torment!) + Super annoying to play against! + Can proc Electrocute or Arcane Comet easily + Great CC, if you land skill shots + Great at setting up kills for your ADC & team + Ult can deter enemy team from engaging + Plants and ult can be a massive help with tanking and getting dragons and baron + Can use plants & seeds like wards (super useful to check bushes, and drags/barons if you have no wards left) + Can zone off the enemy with plants (useful in getting objectives, and in team fights)

Cons

- SUPER squishy - No heals - Snare can be hard to land - Burns through mana quickly before getting Lost Chapter - Bad against assassins and high damage champs with gap closers - Low mobility

* Electrocute is probably my favorite rune on Zyra. It does a ton of burst damage to the target it hits, but most importantly, it rewards you for landing your snare (which is typically how your lane is going to set up kills & get ahead).

* Cheap Shot gives you a little extra true damage when you land your snare, or if your slow plants land 2 auto attacks.

* Eyeball Collection will typically allow you to build up extra AP the quickest as you pick up kills & assists. Ghost Poro is also good as it will give you a little extra vision in bot and prevent you and your support from getting ganked (which is very important on Zyra as she is not very mobile)

* Relentless Hunter is easily the best rune here, the extra movement speed will help you get in range to land your damage & your snare.

* Absolute Focus will give you extra damage early game which is really important because often the early game will determine the rest of the game. Manaflow Band can be nice since Zyra uses quite a bit of mana. Transcendence is nice for the extra CDR but the game has often already been decided by the time you reach level 10.

* Gathering Storm is a good choice here because it will give you a ton of extra damage in the mid and late gate. Scorch is also a good choice here as it will make your early game more oppressive for the enemy & it's easy for Zyra to proc with her plant attacks. Scorch will weaken your ability to carry in the mid & late game though.




* Arcane Comet is a great rune on Zyra as it's very easy for her to proc with her plant attacks. Try to proc it with your slowing snare plants when you can to ensure the comet lands.

* Manaflow Band is nice as Zyra needs quite a bit of mana to keep spamming her abilities.

* Absolute Focus will give you extra damage early game which is really important because often the early game will determine the rest of the game. Transcendence is the better rune choice for mid & late game.

* Scorch is usually the better choice when you're looking to maximize your poke damage. Gathering Storm is still a great rune for a bunch of extra damage in the mid & late game.

* Cheap Shot will give you extra poke damage & extra damage in fights, especially in the early game. Eyeball Collection or Ghost Poro are also good choices here for the extra AP damage they will give you in the mid & late game. (Ghost Poro will give you free wards that will help you & your support to not get ganked!)

* Relentless Hunter is a great rune because it will increase your movement speed so that you can get in range to land your skill shots, and also allows you to more quickly roam around the map.

PASSIVE ABILITY

GARDEN OF THORNS (Passive): "Seeds spawn around Zyra periodically (usually 1 at a time but sometimes 2), lasting for 30 seconds. If an enemy champion steps on a seed, it dies. If Zyra is hiding in brush, seeds will not spawn until she reveals herself.Casting Deadly Spines or Grasping Roots near seeds causes them to grow into Plants with 8 Health that deal 20-100 (at levels 1-18) (+15% of ability power) magic damage on hit and last 8 seconds. Plants of the same type deal 50% less damage against the same target." Zyra's passive is a bit random because you can't control where the seeds spawn but it can still be very helpful. Sometimes seeds will spawn near the enemy when you cast your Q or E and do extra damage for you. Sometimes seeds will randomly spawn in bushes and give you vision. Probably the best thing about her passive is that you can help give your jungler an amazing leash since the plants you spawn from your seeds will tank the red/blue buff and do a lot of damage as well. The way to do this is to first watch for the enemy to invade, and then run into the red/blue buff area (get there by 1 minute on the clock) and spawn 2-3 seeds. Then just use Q/E to spawn plants and your jungler can clear their red/blue buff without taking any damage (be careful not steal their buff though!).

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Q

DEADLY SPINES (Q): "Thick vines spread through the ground and explode into spines, dealing 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200 (+60% of ability power) magic damage to enemies within the area. If Deadly Spines is cast near a seed, a Thorn Spitter grows, dealing 20-100 (at levels 1-18) (+15% of ability power) magic damage. A Thorn Spitter has 750 range and lasts for 5-7.5 seconds depending on Zyra's level." Deadly Spines is Zyra's main poking and damage ability (it has a much lower cooldown than her E) and you'll want to use it quite often in order to be a harassing menace to the enemy laners. When you include at least 1 seed when you use this ability, the plant will continue to attack whoever you hit with this ability as long as they stay within the plant's range. Also, if you happen to miss your Q but still use a seed, if the enemy champion is closest to the seed/plant you spawn it will start attacking them, effectively increasing Zyra's harass range by a lot! Using seeds/plants in this way is a great way to proc Arcane Comet if you use that rune.

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W

RAMPANT GROWTH (W): "Zyra plants a seed, lasting 60 seconds. If an enemy Champion steps on a seed, it dies. Seeds spawned by Rampant Growth grant vision in a small area, and if stepped on they grant vision of the enemy champion for 2 seconds. Other spells cast on seeds will turn them into plants who fight for Zyra. Zyra stores a seed every 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 seconds (Max: 8 seeds planted). When Zyra kills an enemy, Rampant Growth's recharge time is reduced by 20%, or 100% for champion takedowns, large minion kills, and large monster kills." Rampant Growth is Zyra's ability to consciously dictate where her seeds will spawn. You'll almost always want to spawn at least one seed when using your Q & E in order to maximize your damage. One great perk of your W is that you can safely check bushes from a long way away just by spawning a seed in the bush. You can also spawn a seed in a bush and then use Q/E and the plant will give you even more vision (even if there's a control ward) and attack anyone that comes within range. This makes killing enemy control wards in Tri-Bush really easy because you can use plants to give you vision and protect you while you take out their wards. The last great thing about using this ability is that if you're out of wards you can check dragon/baron pit by spawning a plant there. This ability is super key when it comes to controlling objectives and is just one of the many reasons why Zyra is such a great support champion.

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E

GRASPING ROOTS (E): "Zyra sends forth vines through the ground to ensnare her target, dealing 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200 (+50% of ability power) magic damage and rooting enemies they come across for 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 seconds. If cast on a seed, Grasping Roots grows a Vine Lasher, whose short range attacks reduce enemy Movement Speed." Grasping Roots is what allows Zyra to lock down multiple enemies at a time with CC. Her grasping roots will root anyone it hits for 1-2 seconds (depending on level). It also summons plants from her seeds that will attack and slow the movement speed of enemies it hits (very useful when getting ganked to slow down the enemy jungler, even if you miss the root). Because this ability will lock an enemy, or enemies, down for a few seconds it's very helpful to your team in getting picks and catching people out, so always be looking to catch people with this ability. This ability also makes it much easier to set up kills in the bot lane with your support, especially if they have their own forms of CC.

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R

STRANGLETHORNS (R): "Zyra summons a twisted thicket at a target location, dealing 180 / 265 / 350 (+75% of ability power) magic damage to enemies as it expands and knocking them airborne as it contracts. Plants in the area are enraged, dealing 50% bonus damage and gaining 50% current and max health." Stranglethorns is Zyra's highest damage ability & debatably her best form of CC. You'll want to use this ability right after you land a root (if you think there's a decent chance you'll get the kill). The full Zyra combo is E->W+W->R->Q. Typically, even if someone flashes after the root wares off, the ult will still knock them up so that you & your team can secure the kill. This ability is also a great form of disengage. If it looks like a few of your teammates are going to get caught/picked off you can drop your ult to scare off the enemy, lest they caught out themselves by your knockup. Another great thing about this ult is that it makes taking dragons/baron much quicker/safer as you can spawn a bunch of plants & then use your ultimate to make them do 50% increased damage and gain 50% health so that they can tank even more dragon/baron attacks.

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Sorcerer's Shoes is the best option for Zyra bottom. The magic penetration is going to make our damage & burst much better.

Luden's Tempest is core on Zyra bottom because Luden's is going to give us a nice pool of mana and 20% CDR so that we can spam our spells and clear waves without running out of mana. Luden's also makes our waveclear and burst a bit better with the extra damage it does once we build up 100 stacks by moving around.

Liandry's Torment is the best item for Zyra in terms of overall damage dealt. Liandry's will melt the enemies' health bars as they get hit by your plant auto attacks and take percentage maximum health damage.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a decent pick up for Zyra because it will buff her Liandry's damage, make her more tanky, and provide utility for herself and her team by slowing down enemies hit by her abilities and plant auto attacks. I don't always build this item though on bot Zyra because I prefer to have more burst damage with Rabadons/Void Staff but this definitely increases her damage over time a lot.

Morellonomicon can be a great item for Zyra bot if the enemy team isn't building too much magic resistance, or if the enemy has high heal/sustain champions like Soraka/Vladimir/Etc. Building Oblivion Orb, and waiting to finish Morello's, is also a great option because it gives you extra AP, HP, and magic penetration for only 1600 gold. If you suspect the enemy will be stacking MR, or is going to have 2+ tanky champions, then consider skipping Morello's and getting Void Staff instead.

Void Staff is a great item if the enemy has tanky champions or if you think the enemy is going to stack magic resistance (like if your team has 3+ AP champions, or if you or your mid laner is getting insanely fed). Void Staff will negate 40% of the enemy's magic resistance, and then any additional magic penetration items will be calculated after that.

Zhonya's Hourglass is a great item that will save you in a pinch. This item is not always mandatory, but it is required when you play against high AD burst damage champions like Zed/Rengar. This item is also nice versus high AP burst champions (LeBlanc/Evelyn), or champions with long duration CC where you'd likely get killed before being able to move (Morgana/Lux).

Banshee's Veil is not mandatory on Zyra, but it is necessary when playing against high AP burst damage champions like LeBlanc/Fizz/Malphite/Etc.

Rabadon's Deathcap is a great item for Zyra bot because it's going to massively increase your damage, allowing you to consistently delete squishy enemy champions with your combos.

Last hit ( Zyra has a pretty good attack animation, so this isn't too hard once you get used to it)

Safely harass the enemy ADC with Deadly Spines when he goes for last hits.

Throw Grasping Roots when the enemy ADC is about to go for a last hit (especially siege minions) and do tons of damage. Coordinate with your support so that he knows you're about to snare so that he can follow up with his CC, and hopefully ensure a kill or flash burn. Zyra bot excels at getting kills in-lane due to her really good CC and high burst damage, constantly be looking to CC and burst down the enemy.

At level 6, look to land a snare, or for your support to land their CC. As soon as one of you lands your CC, drop everything else on them and pretty much guarantee a free kill.

Always be checking your mini-map every 3-5 seconds, check to see if mid/top are in-lane, if they aren't then be very careful and don't try to engage a fight until you see they are back in lane. Also, be checking to see if their jungler has been spotted. If you have good vision, and know where their mid & top laners are, feel free to get aggressive and try to get kills/snowball your lane.

Always try to keep a ward in river bush, ping/tell your support to ward it if you're out of wards.

Call M.I.A. when the enemy support leaves your lane, as he may be trying to roam mid to set up a kill.

Once you take down their bot tower roam around and help the other lanes take towers. Zyra is pretty good at sieging due to her long range and plants, as the plant attacks force the enemy to fall back, which allows your allies to hit the tower. (also, at this point you'll have finished Liandry's Torment, so your plant attacks will be doing large percentages of their health)

Don't forget to keep CS'ing as you run around, don't be afraid to step into the jungle and take a camp or two, keep farming and getting stronger. Don't let your bottom lane lead slip away because you're trying to siege and their bottom laner is getting farmed back up.

Use your plants, and sometimes your ult, to secure objectives since your ult will make your plants do way more damage and have more health (letting them tank dragon longer). Sometimes it's better though to save your ult to force the enemy step away and be unable to contest the dragon/baron, so be smart with how you use it.

Your ult can also help you steal baron/dragons, since it can knock up their players/junger, making them unable to do damage (although I believe the enemy jungler can still use Smite when knocked into the air).

Team fight with your team. Zyra is very strong in team fights due to her excellent CC, high burst damage on squishy targets, and good melt damage on tanks due to Liandry's Torment (side note, this also let's her melt baron and dragon as well).

Be sure to use your plants to get vision of bushes before face checking. This is massive for you and your team to not get picked in the late game, which is when a single death is often the difference between winning and losing the game. This is just another reason Zyra is a great champ to have on your team, especially in the late game.

Stay safe, do tons of poke damage as your team sieges & you zone off the enemy, take the objectives (barons/dragons/towers/inhibs), and win.

That's it! Thanks for reading guys!

Don't forget to hit that like button at the top of the page if you learned some useful information here :)

Try out Zyra bottom for yourselves, she does truly insane damage as an AP carry in the bottom lane, and will tilt the enemy so much, you have no idea!

If you have any additional questions, or want to see me play live, come join us on the stream.

That's it guys, peace!