Zed General Guide by ScissorsHands

Introduction

Hello, my name is ScissorsHands and i'm playing League of Legends almost for 2 years now. I don't have incredible elo, i don't play 5-6 hours a day, but I know one or two tricks to this game. This is my guide to an amazing champion, Zed. I bought him when he just released and i enjoyed every single game. Mainly i play him mid lane, because sometimes in top lane he lacks the natural survivability. BUT. It's also a viable choice. I've done numerous succesful top lane games and got fed as hell. Jungling with Zed is pretty nice too, because he has slow, can jump on to an enemy, counter-jungle and his clearing speed is impressive do to his E and passive. Remember, this is a BUILD, it's my way of playing him, every game is different and the items WON'T SURTENLY BE THE SAME! Be sure to remember this! By the way, sorry if my English won't be fluent the whole build. And now, ENJOY THE AWESOMENESS OF THE FORSAKEN NINJA!

Champions Lore

Zed is the first ninja in 200 years to unlock the ancient, forbidden ways. He defied his clan and master, casting off the balance and discipline that had shackled him all his life. Zed now offers power to those who embrace knowledge of the shadows, and slays those who cling to ignorance.

An orphan, Zed was taken in and trained by a great ninja master. Only one other student appeared to be Zed's equal - the master's son, Shen. It seemed Zed could never win the favor of the master, as every match between the rivals ended in a draw. Frustrated and jealous, he sought an advantage. The young ninja ventured into a sealed part of the clan's temple, where he found an ornate, foreboding box. Sensing the dark knowledge within, Zed knew he should not open it, but he peered inside nonetheless. In an instant, shadows touched his mind, revealing techniques that had long been hidden. Now armed with a secret edge, he challenged Shen, and this time he defeated the master's son. He expected praise and recognition in his moment of victory, but somehow the master knew Zed had used forbidden ways, and banished him.

Humiliated, the young ninja wandered for years. His bitterness turned to ambition, and he began to train others in the style of the shadows. As his power grew, so did his circle of followers, but he knew that without the box, his technique would never be perfect. One day, Zed looked at his followers and saw that his students were now an army. He led them back to the temple to claim his prize. At the gates, he was surprised to find the old master waiting, receiving Zed and his disciples as if they were welcome guests. The old man laid his sword at Zed's feet, declaring that he had failed Zed as his master. By banishing his former student, the master had doomed Zed to the shadows, instead of leading him to the balanced path. The old man implored Zed to enter the temple, destroy the box, and lead his followers to balance. The dark ninja followed the master inside. Moments later, the assembled ninjas heard Zed cry out in pain. Mysteriously, he emerged unscathed, and threw the severed head of the master at Shen's feet. Screaming in rage, Zed commanded his followers to slaughter the master's students and seize the box.

That day, the old ninja order fell. Though many students died, some escaped thanks to Shen's heroic efforts. Now the temple is a dark training ground for the Order of the Shadow. Zed rules as the Order's master, and his edict is simple: perfect one's technique, and kill all ninjas who refuse to embrace the shadows.

''Balance is a lie - we are the true ninjas.''

Champion Spotlight

Pros / Cons

PROS

CONS

+ No mana

- Squishy early on

+ High AD burst

- Takes a lot of practice

+ High mobility

- Uses quite a lot of energy

+ Very fun to play with

- Needs his items

+ OP if played well

- Weak to CC

Masteries

For masteries i go 21-9-0. Every lane (mid, top, jungle) differes a little bit, so be cautious and look seperataly at every mastery tree. I won't write about every single point, because in my view I think it's useless, everything is pretty easy and straightforward. But, as always, if you have some questions feel free to ask. This is my mid lane masteries:

This is my jungle masteries:
And ofcourse the top lane masteries:

Runes

For runes I try to get my OFFENSE and DEFENSE going. For Quintessences I always take Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage just to simply increase my attack damage, this will do more damage early on and make last-hitting easier. For Marks always pick Greater Mark of Armor Penetration to shred enemy's armor so they will cry like babies. For Glyphs pick Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist to increase your magic resist in late game. But why pick SCALING Magic resist runes, ScissorHands? Because you need that magic resist in LATE game. But you're going MID lane, ScissorHands! Yes. That's why in MID lane for Seals you pick Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist. BUT. In top lane and jungle pick Greater Seal of Armor. THIS IS CRUCIAL. Because other top lanes will annihilate you and jungle will be quite difficult. And again, i'll show to you all these choices in visual for mid, jungle and top.

My runes for mid lane:

My runes for jungle:

My runes for top lane:
And again,feel free to comment or critisize these choices.

Spells

The best choices surtenly are: AND


Other viable choices:


Take this when jungling. Always!
Take this for more CC. This works especially good when jungling!
This spell is decent too. Haven't used it much, but take it if you need MORE survivability!
Ahh.. Haven't used it much, but still, viable.

Skills

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Zed's basic attacks against targets below 50% health deal 8% of the target's maximum health as bonus magic damage. This effect can only occur once every 10 seconds on the same target. BRO TIPS AND TRICKS: 1.Your passive makes it SO EASY TO FARM AND LAST HIT! 2.Try to watch your opponent and poke him as much as possible, when he is lower then %50 health. Try to hit him one time every 10 seconds to damage him. Zed and his shadow both throw their spinning blades forward,dealing damage to any targets they pass through. Zed and his shadows throw their shurikens, each dealing physical damage to the first enemy they pass through, and physical damage to each additional enemy. Additional shurikens that hit the same enemy deal 50% less damage than the previous shuriken. BRO TIPS AND TRICKS: 1.This skill is your bread and butter. Use it. 2.With this skill you can easily swap out all the minion wave. 3.Use it to poke the enemy. 4.Use it to last hit, you're energy champion. (but dont overdo, zed uses a lot of energy) Zed's shadow dashes forward, remaining in place for 4 seconds, and mimicking his spell casts. Zed can reactivate to swap places with the shadow. Zed's shadow dashes forward, remaining in place for 4 seconds. Reactivating Living Shadow will cause Zed to switch positions with this shadow. Zed's shadows mimic his abilities. If an ability strikes any target twice, Zed restores energy. Energy can only be restored once per mimicked ability. Passive: Grants 5/10/15/20/25% additional bonus AD. BRO TIPS AND TRICKS:1. Use it to do even MORE damage with your Q. 2. Use it to slow your enemies with E. When your shadow hits an enemy with your Shadow Slash it slows him. 3. Use this skill to initiate. 4. Use it to ESCAPE (fck yeah, this makes Zed so mobile). 5. Use it to move faster around the maps, as you can shadow through a wall (NOT ALL OF THEM, KEEP IT IN MIND, YOU CAN'T SHADOW THROUGH A THICK WALL!) Zed and his shadow spins their blades, creating a burst of shadow energy. The shadow's spin slows. Zed and his shadow slash, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies. Each enemy hit by Zed's Shadow Slash reduces Living Shadow's cooldown by 1 second. Each enemy hit by a mimicked Shadow Slash will be slowed for 1.5 seconds. Enemies hit by both Shadow Slashes will be slowed but will not take additional damage. BRO TIPS AND TRICKS: 1. This skill makes Zed a quick jungler, because it has low CD and does damage around him. 2. Use it to slow enemies. 3. Use it to farm. 4. Use it to poke. Zed dashes to target Champion, projecting a shadow behind them, and marking the champion for death. After 3 seconds, the mark will trigger, dealing a percentage of the damage Zed has dealt while the mark was active. Zed becomes untargetable and dashes to target enemy champion. Upon arrival, he marks the target for death and spawns a Living Shadow behind the target. This shadow lasts 4 seconds and mimics Zed's abilities. Reactivating Death Mark will cause Zed to switch positions with this shadow. After 3 seconds, the mark will trigger, dealing physical damage equal to 1 plus 20/35/50% of all magic and physical damage dealt to the target by Zed and his shadows while the mark was active. BRO TIPS AND TRICKS: 1. After using your ult, quickly TRY TO HIT EVERY SINGLE OF YOUR SKILLS AND EVEN IGNITE, this will make insane damage to your enemy. 2. Use it to come closer to your enemy. 3. Use it to DODGE enemies skills. Yes. Dodge. When Zed becomes untargetable you can escape all of your enemies skills. 4. Use it on squishy champions.

Skill Sequence

I see a lot of people maxing E instead of Q. Well, in my opinion this is wrong. Yes, it has short CD. Yes, it is easier to hit. BUT . It doesn't do additional damage with your shadow. That's why i max it only second. And only then comes your shadow, W. It's crucial for your late game as it adds %25 AD. And ofcourse always take your ultimate when you can. This is when playing mid and top lanes. When playing jungle put earlier few points on E for quicker jungling time, that means MORE GANKS! PROFIT! Yes, i will again show the visual option:
MID and TOP lanes:

JUNGLING:

Items and their explanation

MID lane:
Start with: Long Sword + x2 health potions. But why start with longsword and not boots? The answer is pretty simple. Boots have been nerfed after S2. STRONGLY. Longsword gives you additional damage and you can quickly upgrade it into Hexdrinker or The Brutalizer

1st buy: Hexdrinker or The Brutalizer and Boots of Speed. This depends how you are in your lane. If you're feeling pretty good and you feel that you can dominate your mid opponent, pick The Brutalizer. And if not, pick Hexdrinker. EITHER WAY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THOSE 2 ITEMS LATER ON, SO IT'S JUST YOUR CHOICE. Hexdrinker gives you early magic resist + shield, and The Brutalizer gives you 25AD, %10 CD and %10 armor pen.

2nd buy:After this you should be well farmed and maaaybe gotten a few kills or assists. I recommend buy your Hexdrinker/ The Brutalizer, upgrade your boots to Mercury's Treads and rush into The Black Cleaver. Now i found it better to rush The Black Cleaver and not The Bloodthirster. It just gives huge early advantage.

Mid game:Buy your The Bloodthirster, follow up with Frozen Mallet. I think I don't even need to explain The Black Cleaver. It's ****ing OP in S3 on AD Casters, such as Zed. And the Frozen Mallet gives you survivability, permanent slow and additional AD. Now you will be BEAST MODE!

Late game:Finish up strong with your Guardian Angel and Maw of Malmortius. Guardian angel gives you armor and magic resist, which is crucial at this point + 2nd LIFE! An awesome item overall. After this nobody will even try to approach you. Well, except Dr. Mundo. He goes where he pleases.

TOP lane:
1st buy:I start with Boots of Speed + x3 Health Potion or Cloth Armor + x5 Health Potion. Why? Because you will be probably be against a strong top champ, and you need more mobility or more survivability. You're not very strong early on as other strong top lanes.

2nd buy: I take couple of Doran's Blade as it gives me more sustain and rush into Phage.

3rd buy: Then build up your The Brutalizer, Vampiric Scepter and Ninja Tabi. This will give you EVEN MORE sustain and damage.

mid-late game: Almost the same as mid game. Build your The Black Cleaver, Frozen Mallet, The Bloodthirster, Guardian Angel. BUT SCISSORHANDS, i don't have Hexdrinker, I NEED MAGIC RESIST! And here comes the great new item Mercurial Scimitar. It gives you additional AD and a free CLEANSE! And now, again, you're a freaking beast.


OTHER VIABLE ITEMS:
OFFENSE
This item is a beast. Build it when the enemies are stacking health. It will shred them down. Plus it gives 40 AD and 10 lifesteal granting you big sustain.

Yes. IE. But why? It makes your basic attacks destroy your enemies. BUT. As I personally don't build a lot of critical chance, i don't find it a good item. BUT. Viable.

This is an amazing item. It gives you AD plus shreds other team's tank. But as we have The Black Cleaver i don't build another armor pen item. But, if the enemy has a lot of tanks, be sure to pick it up.

Meh. It deals kind of damage all around, has a nice passive.. But.. It's expensive. And i can't find where to put it. This is still new to me.

Only pick it up when jungling. And after you finish up your 5 items be sure to sell it for a better item. ALWAYS PICK IT UP WHEN JUNGLING!


DEFENSE

You can actually change Frozen Mallet into this badboy. I just don't like the new version. Gives you TONS of health.

Other AD champions are giving you a hard time? Pick up the cape! It gives you additional health plus armor. And, it has a nice passive.

Pick this up if you're playing a more tanky style. Very good item. Just don't have the place to put it.

Ohh.. I used to love this item. Health, magic resist, neat passive. What not to love? Be sure to pick this if you're laning against a wild LeBlanc.

Having trouble with magic resist and want more attack speed? This should do the work.

Combos and tactics

This is the interesting part for all of you. Playing with Zed is really difficult, it takes time to master him and his shadows. If you're a beginner, try to poke your enemy with your Razor Shuriken as much as you can. For more advanced players, throw your Living Shadow behind him, slow him with your Shadow Slash and then give him double Razor Shuriken in the head. This will probably take a LOT of his health if you hit everything. And after this combo, if you feel like you can swap places with your shadow, BAM, a wild Zed appears and destroyes everyone in his path. Another combo is as i like to call it, the deceival. If you're playing against a champ that can teleport or somehow move towards you, something like katarina's Shunpo, THROW your Living Shadow BACK, that she wont basic damage to you, slow her, and razor shuriken in the FACE! That will annoy her to the bits. When you finally get your ulti, you can play with them as much as you want. Until then use your W + E + Q combo and bully your lane. ITS IMPORTANT TO BE AGGRESIVE. When you get your ulti, you should initiate with your Death Mark, throw 3 Razor Shuriken in the face IMMEDIATELY when you teleport to him (because later maybe you'll miss him), slow with your Shadow Slash and basic attack your opponent. After this anyone will hardly be alive. Believe me.

Jungling

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Jungling with Zed is quite interesting and fun. You can teleport to your opponent, slow him, deal a lot of damage. The key is to find the moment, when you need to gank. Start with Hunter's Machete + x5 health potions and go to your Wraith's. ALWAYS ask your teammates to help you out and protect your jungle creeps. After Wraith's take your Red buff, and feel free to gank couple of times. Then be sure to take your Golems, Wraith's again, Wolves and Blue buff. Always take the first Blue buff because you need that experience. After this, GANK GANK GANK! Remember to gank a lot. And if you can, ALWAYS counter-jungle. But this is fishy, because they can take you out. Do it when you only can.And ofcourse always take notice of dragon and baron.
This is a visual option for you to understand how the route works:

Summary

First of all, thank you all for reading and watching this guide. And big thanks to JhoiJhoi, without him it wouldn't be possible! I hope this will help you, and yet again, feel free to comment and critisize. I will take notice of every single one of you. Take care and i wish you some good games with Zed in the Summoner's Rift!