Zed Build Guide : Zed: Now you see me, now you're dead. *UPDATED FOR S4*

INTRODUCTION

Hey summoners! My name is Nath and I'd like to welcome you to my very first guide here on MobaFire! I'm here to teach you guys how to play one of my favorite champions, , the Master of Shadows! A little background on myself, I'm a Motion Picture Science major currently attending the Rochester Institute of Technology and an avid league player. I'd like to use my video engineering skills that I'm constantly refining at school to provide enjoyable content for my fellow summoners to enjoy! I hope you all enjoy my take on playing !

First of all, who is ? For those of you who aren't familiar with the champion, is a highly mobile melee assassin who specializes in quickly bursting down squishy enemy carries, he utilizes switching places with his shadow clones () to swiftly get in range of his targets or to make a quick escape. His quick burst output as well as his high mobility makes him a very versatile champion and in my mind, one that is extremely enjoyable to play.

PROS / CONS

Here's a brief look at some of 's strengths and weaknesses.

PROS

+Extremely High Burst
+Very Mobile
+Hard to Gank
+Great Poke Potential
+Kit Uses Energy Instead of Mana
+Strong Wave Clear
+Supports Aggressive Play-style
+Exceptionally Fun to Play

CONS

-Skills Not Very Energy-Efficient
-Vulnerable to Ganks if is on Cool-down
-Full Burst Requires Melee Range
-Very Hard to Comeback with if Behind
-Team Fight Presence Low if Burst Does Not Secure Kill / Severely Hurt an Important Target on Enemy Team

It's important to note that by just glancing at this list you can see that in my mind, has more strengths than weaknesses. I consider him a great assassin and an extremely powerful duelist, which makes him perfect for the top or mid solo lanes. is a well respected champion in the community as a whole; you can see him often picked in professional play as well as appearing as a tier 1 champion on several lists including Reign of Gaming's Competitive Tier List.

MASTERIES

RUNES

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

I like to utilize flat AD marks, glyphs, and quints to give an early AD advantage over his opponent. I take flat AD over Armor-Pen because as the game goes on you will have two great sources of Armor-Pen through and . However, if you know that you are facing a champion with higher base armor or one that is likely to start and 5xs then feel free to replace the flat AD with Armor-Pen.

I grab armor seals to give higher armor to help him sustain through any early game harass being dished out by his lane opponent or jungler pressure. I favor grabbing AD over MR glyphs because if you're playing top lane you are more likely to go against another AD champion and any extra AD he has will give him a higher starting advantage and will assist his already high AD scaling. However, much like with his masteries, if you are planning on a lane swap or to play mid, feel free to adjust your runes accordingly.

SUMMONER SPELLS

-: In my mind, a must for most champions. Provides an excellent escape for bad situations as well as a great tool for surprise initiations. When combined with , lots of ground can be covered in a very short amount of time. His combined with makes him an extremely difficult target to gank and allows him to play more aggressively while feeling relatively safe (similar to and his ).

-: My preferred second summoner spell on . Not only is it a great tool for securing early kills but it also synergies very well with because by popping it after the ultimate is cast, it can possibly give you the kill if the mark pops and leaves your opponent extremely low. However, it is important to note that does not add additional damage to 's detonation due to being classified as true damage. only is affected by physical and magic damage, for example, popping while the ultimate is active would add additional damage.

-: Not my favorite choice on . Can be quite risky to grab in solo queue as you are not in direct communication with your team. Can be useful if you wish to help other lanes excel or get the jump on out of position enemies later in the game. I'm generally not a fan of this spell in general as it has a very high cool down and is an extreme risk to take in general, it could either end up being extremely beneficial for the team or severally hurting the team. I would recommend to take for the added kill potential, but feel free to take instead if you're confident using it or if it works well into your team's strategy.

SKILL SEQUENCE / EXPLANATION

As you can see from the ability sequence chart above, I prefer to max first, followed by , , and taking points in whenever available.

I believe is the most useful skill to max first, it gives you the highest single target damage out of any skill in his kit. By maxing it first and picking up an early point in at level 2, is able to harass his lane opponent without ever getting within melee range, this makes 's harass extremely frustrating to lane against because more often than not, unless your lane opponent is a ranged champion, they can do nothing to retaliate.

Maxing second gives Zed plenty of AoE wave clear and damage in team fights. However, it is definitely worth taking a point early at level 3 due to the ability's slow. In case of an early jungle gank, a quick into combination can more often than not insure your safety. The slow combined with the high mobility through are what make an extremely hard target to gank. Maxing over however is not a terrible idea if you've fallen behind and just wish to farm or if you are playing in the jungle.

is in my mind one of the most powerful and useful passives in the game. This passive is what makes such an easy champion to farm with. The extra damage to targets below 50% health makes last hitting extremely easy, where as most champions you have to wait until the creeps are around 70 hp before you can last hit. The ability to clear minions at higher health than your opponent can also give you an early experience lead, allowing you to hit level 6 before your opponent and possibly use that advantage to all-in them before they hit 6 themselves.

is not only useful for farming but quickly finishing off low-health enemies. While in lane if your opponent is around or below 1/4 hp a quick , , and poke combination into a re-activation of and a single auto attack utilizing can ensure an easy kill.

is 's main form of poke and single target damage. One of the most important thing when learning to master this ability is knowing your range. does not have an extremely long range, however, this range can indeed be extended through the use of . As soon as you hit level 2, you want to start harassing your opponent with the use of these abilities.

If you want to poke safely, you can use into while you are far away from your opponent. However, spamming this combo at a far range is not the most efficient way to harass. You want to position your shadow so that both your own and your shadow's s are able to hit and therefore refund energy. Doing this will maximize your damage while also staying energy-efficient, allowing you to harass more often.

is also a great tool for farming while playing against opponents who can punish you early by taking advantage of your necessity to be in melee range to successfully last hit using auto attacks.

is the ability that single-handedly makes such a fun assassin to play and such a frustration for the enemy team. The ability to essentially have a second makes one of the most difficult champions to chase in the game. Having the option to switch between different shadows, especially after has been activated, makes a duelist that can easily out-play and confuse his opponents.

Although can be used for both aggression and defense, it is by far the most important ability to keep tabs on while playing . You must always be aware of when it's available and when it is on cool-down. The first thing any enemy jungler will tell his lane when trying to gank is to try to get him to burn his . This is why whenever you are pushed past the river in your lane you should not be using to harass unless you are sure that the enemy jungler is at another lane or if you have your lane warded well. Knowing when you can safely use and not use it prematurely can be the difference between surviving a gank or being picked off in a team fight.

as stated above has a plethora of uses. Not only can in be used to quickly escape the scene after an assassination or to gap close to a squishy target, but it can also to grant vision. By throwing a quick shadow over a wall you can grant easy non-destroyable vision of the enemy team. Also it allows you to harass via with this granted vision and in some rare cases you may even be able to sneak a dragon or baron steal if the enemy jungler does not have available.

The positioning of your s is also an important skill to learn when playing . As i previously said in the section, positioning your shadows in a spot where both of your s can hit is a must for efficient harass. The slow percentage is also increased if both and his hit a successful . It is also imperative to keep tabs on where your is. I can not count the number of times I have poked my lane opponent with a into combo only to have them walk right back into my shadow and given me an open opportunity to land an easy for free extra damage. One of the most common misconceptions with is that after he throws his into combo, he has no more poke potential. People are often lured into a sense of false security and approach s thinking they are home free. You can use this misplaced confidence to punish your opponent and deny them from farming effectively or if they severally misplace themselves, go in for an easy kill.

can also be used to add additional damage to your activation if you are confident you will not need to use to escape, or desperately want to burst down an enemy carry and are unsure if you have enough damage without the use of your shadow. By popping after you activate your ultimate, you are adding an extra that is thrown and therefore adding damage to the detonation of . can also be useful in this scenario if your target attempts to fight you, because re-activations of both and can allow you to dodge any skills they may try to throw at you and ensure that they are the only casualty of your engagement.

Having an ability in his kit that slows like combined with the mobility from makes one of the hardest champions to gank in the game, similar to and his , can have junglers banging their foreheads on the table in frustration.

The primary use for is its slow. More often than not, is the skill that either seals the fleeing champion's fate or allows to get away. Much like , you want to position your so that both your own and your shadow's hit your target. Ensuring a double hit increases the slow's percentage as well as restoring 60% energy. However, unlike a successful double hit does not deal additional damage.

also combos with very well. Once has a few items under his belt, can nearly one-shot an entire wave of minions. Combining this AoE clear with his already strong farming capabilities due to his passive makes a very strong split pusher.

There are a couple of different ways you can utilize your s while trying to harass your opponent. In a normal trade situation, you want to open with your into followed by . You generally want to prioritize your first because it has a higher cool-down of the two abilities, so you want it available as soon as possible. However, if your lane opponent seems to be dodging your or its just not your day for skill shots, feel free to open with then followed by . Opening with will put an immediate slow on your opponent and ensure and easy hit for . You also may want to lead with if you're wanting to go in for the kill. If you lead with into you can ensure that with a quick re-activation of your opponent will be still be slowed from and in range for . If you can execute this combo with good timing, may even be off cool-down and be able to be utilized again to add damage to . However, after already using such a long combo, you may be running low on energy, in which case you would want to prioritize over for the single target damage.

is in my opinion one of the scariest ultimates in the game. If you get fed enough with , can be true to its name and ensure death for the squishy enemy carries. gives yet another shadow, that when combined with can give him even more mobility and ensure that he gets the kill and gets out alive.

When using your main priority is to do as much damage as you can to your target before the mark detonates. Therefore, if you're going for maximum damage, you want to try to save all your abilities until after you've activated . Keeping that in mind, if you are able to get the jump on your opponent, or reach them without having to use any of your abilities besides you want to open with if you have it, followed by into then . Due to slows from both and you should be able to reach them for an extra auto attack or two as well. If you're able to successfully deal enough burst (which is pretty likely) the auto attacks will mean even more because they will proc dealing even extra damage while adding to the amount that will incur from 's detonation.

In a team fight situation the positioning of your while using is as important as ever. If you're confident in your damage output or want to ensure your escape, you may want to consider leaving out of your burst all together. If you do use it however, make sure to position it so that you're still able to hit your target but will be able to escape or dodge abilities by switching to it.

's re-activation is also something to always keep in mind. The re-activation is what turns many 1 for 1 exchanges into 1 for 0 exchanges. A quick re-activation of can allow you to escape lots of sticky situations. For example, if your assassination attempt fails and the enemy team shows up. Also, by running in the opposite direction of 's shadow, using and then re-activating you can completely juke a perusing enemy team, you may even be able to blow some of their own s as well. This re-activation is also especially pertinent when being turret dove, by combining a re-activation of with your are able to dodge abilities while ensuring your enemy is taking as much turret damage as possible.

not only allows you to quickly catch your opponent but it can also help while trying to run by turning the fight in your favor. When playing you can lure your opponent to use their ultimate before yours by running away, however, makes untargetable. This means that if timed properly, you can negate a ton of damage while leaving your opponent with nothing left to use. This untargetable effect works much like 's . A few examples of ultimates that can be dodged by this would be 's , 's or 's . This is why if you're playing a normal game and you find yourself in a vs. match-up, the who ults last, wins.

Heads up! 's ultimate saw some changes right before the launch of season 4!

now places its shadow at the location of the spells casting, no longer directly behind the location of the enemy you activate it on. What does this mean? It means that you have to be more careful choosing targets. If you try to pick a target that's far away or can easily slip away, 's second shadow will miss, preventing damage from the detonation. All in all, not a super nerf, just can't easily yolo straight into their carries anymore.

All in all, 's skills can be used in a variety of different combinations, knowing when to use which combo is one of most important things to master when playing . In my opinion, for new and experienced players, the most important thing is to always keep tabs on , mastering that timing is what will separate you from the "always going in and getting himself killed " from the "I want to shoot myself because I can never catch this ".

I know that in this section there is lots of text about each ability, so here's a cheat sheet if you're looking just for which skill orders to use in specific situations:

HARASS/BURST CHEAT SHEET

Max Damage Poke: > > ( and order interchangeable).

Low HP Pre-6 All-In: > > > > Auto Attack >

Early Level 6 All-In: > > > > Auto Attack >

Mid/Late Game 100% Kill Assassination: > > > > > Auto Attack >

Team Fight Carry Assassination: x2 > > > > > Auto Attack > >

Enemy Jungler Gank Response: > >

Minion Wave Fastest Clear: > >

ITEMIZATION

STARTING OPTIONS

Fortunately, Season 4 did not bring about any crazy item changes for . His starting options and final builds are still standard / situational based on the team you're facing. Woohoo!

Recently in the LCS a lot of Pros have been utilizing counter lanes that would try to harass a lot with auto attacks (mostly mid-lane casters or ranged champions). Start this if you're worried your lane match-up's auto attacks will prevent you from farming effectively.

Season 4 made this the preferred safe start for . Starting Rejuvination Bead, and 5 s is no longer necessary since you can have a free ward through the trinket system.

and 2 s is my preferred start for . The allows for extra AD against opponents who may start and allows you poke your opponent to the point where they start to miss farm. The long sword also builds into and makes securing it on your first back much easier, you'll only need 1,000 gold instead of the 1,400 it would cost without already having the . Start this if you're confident in your map awareness and feel safe relying only on to survive any ganks.

and 3 s is what you want to start if you are going for the all-in at level 6. This is a bit of a risky start because you are relying on getting the early kill for this to be gold-efficient start. However, the bonus AD granted from can easily make you a much scarier level 6 . Also, the bonus health granted can be helpful if they either try to fight or gank you. Start this if you are confident in your lane match-up or are looking to make early aggressive plays with your team.

Other Options:

Start if you're planning on doing some early roaming or your lane match-up has skill shots that you want to be able to easily dodge.

CORE EARLY/MID GAME PURCHASES

I put this first because I'm a huge proponent of the "everyone should buy wards" mentality. It will help you survive ganks and your team will appreciate it if you lay down some extra if you have the gold to spare. Especially in lower elos, vision wins games. Just do it.

On a successful first back, you should be rushing straight for your and from then on be working towards your . This is a huge item on because it is the only item that can add guaranteed damage to 's detonation. This ups his assassination power significantly when he completes the item.

These two items combined with makes 's simply devastating. Once you've completed all 3 items, your burst spells instant death for any squishy enemy carry. Furthermore, the added armor penetration given from both and allows to be an assassin who can burst down even the tankier members of the enemy team.

If you have the cash, pick up an early if you already have your and don't have enough to fully complete your . I would also recommend to build straight towards before finishing because by waiting you are sacrificing free bonus AD. is an annoying and costly item to finish and the passive from alone makes up for not rushing to complete the item.

is a great item if you're playing mid. Increased AD along with MR and the item's shield allows you to duel mid-lane AP opponents much more confidently. Definitely an item to consider.

BOOTS OPTIONS

As with many items outside those included in your core, what to upgrade into is extremely situational and there is not necessarily a right or wrong option. Here's my two cents on the matter:

Unlike many players, I actually prefer to get CDR boots if I have a choice. Any extra CDR on can be the difference between surviving a jungle gank or making it out of a team fight alive. Since I believe is what makes shine, any cheap way to lower its cool-down is in my book, a plus. 's CDR is also fantastic when combined with the increased energy restoration given while wearing blue buff. These combined make an even more mobile and powerful assassin.

However, you can't always have an idle situation and sometimes it's more beneficial to build into another option. One of the major things to learn when playing league is to be adaptive in your builds, you always have to be looking at what the enemy's composition is and what they're building and react accordingly. Staying locked on a specific build in the long run can actually hurt you rather than help you.

That being said, you want to pick up:
if you're playing mid and going against a strong AP opponent, or are facing an enemy team with lots of CC.
if the enemy ADC is becoming a serious threat or you are worried about other enemies who rely heavily on auto attacking.
if your other lanes are struggling and you are desperately needing to roam and give assistance or if you're trying to be a strong split-pushing threat.

END GAME ADDITIONS

If you are already fed or are just completely facerolling the enemy team, pick up to even further the domination. The added life-steal through allows you to sustain in fights even if you're being targeted. This only furthers your dueling capabilities because you can easily turn on an opponent even if you're low HP due to the untargetable effect of and your ability to life-steal through much of their damage due to the combination of and .

The most realistic and often built end-game addition on most s. The extra armor and MR allow you to survive in fights longer even if you're being focused. Also the revive is huge if an assassination attempt goes wrong because unlike many champions that are just instantly killed upon reviving, can often make a quick escape through the use of his . This item is also a great pick-up because more often than not if you've become a severe threat, the enemy team will be building accordingly. For example, many ADCs will pick up a to try to survive your burst. All around, my preferred final item and a great buy in general while playing .

A great item if you earlier picked up a . Gives decent AD and great MR and allows you to survive longer if an enemy AP carry is becoming a high threat. Its shield also allows you to more confidently duel that AP carry or allows you an escape after a failed engagement.

A more cost-efficient item in my mind than . Gives you the extra health that would while still giving you some bonus AD and another slow outside of and 's active. Pick this up instead of if the enemy team has yet to be able to stop you. Will further ensure that your assassinations are successful.

Don't forget to pick up your elixirs if you're already full build or your game is stretching past that 45 minute mark. Will only make you an even scarier and helpful !

FINAL SUMMARY

I know there's a ton of info in this guide so I'll try to leave some quick final tips here:

LANING PHASE

-You want to use to safely poke your opponent and eventually force them to lose CS. Your goal should be to use this CS advantage to hit level 6 before your opponent and all-in them while you have available and they don't have their own ultimate.
-Remember to adjust your runes/masteries for which lane your playing. Focus more on armor when going top and MR when going mid.
-Don't use while pushed up in lane, leaves you vulnerable to jungle ganks.
-You have high mobility through always be watching your map for roam opportunities!
-If you're having a hard time, request a jungle gank or roam from another lane. is hard to come back with if he gets too far behind.

TEAM FIGHTS

-Your job is to pick off any squishy enemy carry. Pay attention to how the game is going, the priority targets are not always the ADC.
-Unless your target is isolated and you have a clear path, don't be the first to rush in. If you blindly run in you risk their entire team peeling and your assassination will fail.
-Don't underestimate the power of 's detonation. It does A LOT of damage if you execute your full burst correctly. Don't go chasing down a low HP enemy before the mark has detonated.
-Know where your is. This is how you juke and confuse the enemy team.

DUELING

-Know who you're fighting. It is not always advantageous to lead with , try to bait out their own ultimates first.
-If you're ahead and have an opportunity to pick off an isolated squishy, do it. The most frustrating thing about playing against is his insane gap close abilities. More often than not, the enemy team isn't ready for such a sudden engage. BE AGGRESSIVE!
-DON'T FORGET TO USE !!! I can't tell you how many games I had to play until I finally remembered to always use the item. It makes a huge difference. The slow as well as the additional damage added to is huge.

CONCLUSION

I can't end my first guide without thanking a few people that made it all possible! I'd like to give special thanks to:

Jhoijhoi For the amazing "Guide on Making a Guide" I'm sure that many of the guides here on mobafire wouldn't exist without it!

Strider87 & TotalMook For peer pressuring me into downloading League after watching them play it at school.

Roffamau For teaching me the large majority of what I know about the game and putting up with how awful I was pre-30 and continually reminding me about how bad I still am.

I hope all my fellow summoners enjoyed my guide! I know that it was a little lengthy in some parts, I'll try to more concise in future guides :). Also, as this was my first guide, I wanted to focus solely on the information so I also apologize for the very basic formatting, coding, etc. For my first guide I wanted to focus mainly on the content!

Please leave me feedback I'd love to hear it and have no problems editing the guide as more information comes in or as I try new things! I'll keep a regularly updated change log here on the guide! If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Give me an up vote if you liked my guide! If you feel it deserves a down vote, that's fine too. Keep leaguing! :D

CHANGE LOG

September 3 2013: Guide Published
September 4 2013: Slight changes to masteries and small grammar fixes.
September 9 2013: More grammar fixes.
December 6 2013: Season 4 comments / item name fixes. (Will be updating S4 masteries after more testing)

Zed: Now you see me, now you're dead. UPDATED FOR S4

Zed: Now you see me, now you're dead. UPDATED FOR S4

Recommended Items

Spells:

Ignite

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Contempt for the Weak (PASSIVE)

Razor Shuriken (Q)

Living Shadow (W)

Shadow Slash (E)

Death Mark (R)