Hey guys, i'm new to MobaFire! I have no idea what i'm doing but here I go:

This build isn't complete yet, but i'd like to push it out ASAP for reasons.

I've been a Zed maniac ever since I started playing league of legends. I'm not ranked at all, just play to have fun so if you're looking for a pro-guide you're in the wrong place! More than for making a guide because i'm brilliant (I'm not), this is to help me organize my thoughts so I can be better at the reague of regends. If this helps ya'll too, then yay! For those of you who want to diss the build, go ahead. It just gives me active criticism so I can get better! That aside, tell me how to get better even if you're being nice!

-Kshaya

SO, the gyan aside (btw, gyan is sort of just a thought). For the current preseason, the assassin meta is sort of coming back and although Zed is probably not going to be the best pick for his situation, he's extremely fun and great to play when you can outplay the **** out of someone XD

There are a couple of routes that you can take with a current Zed build and i'll talk deeply about them later in the guide. In the guide, I may have some mistakes/weird things if you just skim through the guide. I usually will have an explanation of some kind to go with it in the appropriate text box. Please read the guide thoroughly, including the notes on the build guide.

Right so before I explain the itemization on this build, i'd like to talk about the skill sequence because it really isn't set in stone.

Level 2 (Rek or git Rekt): So level 2 is your first indication as to how the game is going to go in a general sense. If you're not doing very good at level 2 or if you just are doing fine and want to stay safe, take a point in E. It sounds kind of contradictory doesn't it? You'd think you'd want some more space between that Kayle ult counter or that stupid Lissandra? No. Chances are the reason you're suffering is because mechanically you aren't prepared yet. So to counteract this just prepare for mid to late game! Taking a point in E will help you farm better like how Katarina's W helps her farm! Now it doesnt matter if you get pushed to tower, with a little practice you should still be able to take the whole minion wave. If you're down, remember be there for your team when needed but don't widen the gap between your teams. Stay and push a lane, and be there for easy picks; your team should understand that you're not doing so hot.

If you wanna push your luck or if you think you can really take a first blood, take a point in W. Since your main source of damage is Q, you can double Q now. It will allow you to capitalize on your Q damage and then maybe if you're lucky you can Flash ignite and q someone for a quick kill. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Knowing your place and how strong you are is key to playing any assassin.

The rest of the game is pretty straight forward, Max Q, E, W and take a point in R whenever possible

I'm just going to copy and paste the notes for each step here:

First:
Cull is really nice, it gives you extra gold when you hit 100 farm which is generally really nice. However, if your really think you can win an easy lane, quite honestly take the long sword and rek.

RUSH YOUMUU'S:
Youmuu's is just such a great Item right now. Every Zed build should have it, it's pretty standard. I take Dirk first because its passive is nice for a good kill early game. Get this item ASAP.

I also get boots in the middle somewhere. Honestly whether it is with or after it doesn't matter. It will just help you roam early game and get that first kill when you hit 6 and get kill button.

If Snowballing / If not:
Get an IE if snowballing, upgrade your boots to T2. I explain why in the next section.

Buy a death's dance if you're doing okay. It'll give you some yummy and nice AD and then some nice sustain so you should be good in lane and in fights. Death's Dance is listed as a defensive item but as always "The best defense is a good offense."

If doing brilliantly / If doing okay:
The idea behind this build is to give you some nice AD while your power spike hits (that is at early to mid game - Hydra). During this power spike, with the AD you'll scale really nicely and while you're falling off you'd build crit to help you with your damage.

BUT, if you're snowballing like a mofo, capitalize on your existing AD and build crit. You clearly have plenty of AD, make use of it and grow to be the insane Zed inside of you. (Phantom Dancer)

Situational:
Fairly simple calculation to make, check enemy builds and make good purchases. BOTRK is not as good on Zed as it used to be in my opinion, but if you want to stick to the old build, don't get me wrong it's still really good. If taking a black cleaver, don't take CDR runes! Take scaling MR.

My Runes are fairly standard. I just take CDR runes instead of all the MR because I don't have a black cleaver this build (Which normally provides you with some nice CDR)

The idea is to run Thunderlords Decree. If you know how to do it ignore this section. I'll explain my reasoning:

On Ferocity: I take life steal in T3 over straight damage because @ level 18 that only gives you 10 AD, whereas the life steal even at an early level seems like a good idea for an assassin. I take oppressor because it works well with Zed slow if you're in a tricky situation, or for that matter any slow.

On Cunning: I take Wanderer because its just simply amazing for early game roaming potential when you just don't have the cash money to afford mobi boots or lucidity boots. As an assassin roaming to other lanes for ganks is a must.I take assassin because of the fact that you're in mid lane and logically you're in a 1v1 situation. Merciless on T3 synergizes beautifully with your passive. Dangerous game in T4 just synergizes well with in and out assassins as a general rule. Get your kill get healed enough to run away kind of thing. Armor Pen and Magic Pen in T4 is a good idea because of the fact that you're an assassin, it's really nice. As the final mastery, I take thunderlords because of how it works with your burst. You have (or should have) 2 shurikens hitting the enemy already (2 procs of thunderlords)and then either a slow or an autoattack should proc thunderlords' damage. It is pretty insane early game and definitely helps late game

On Resolve: Please don't take anything in resolve?