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Runes:
Sorcery
Inspiration
+8 Ability Haste
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+65 Base Health
Spells:
Summoners
Flash
Teleport
Items
Ability Order
Time in a Bottle (PASSIVE)
Zilean Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None
Champion Build Guide
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Hi there summoner, Massive Nuts at your service with another in-depth guide, this time on Zilean Mid. I'm a diamond zilean main with roughly 70% winrate on 320 games so I do know what I am talking about in this guide. It's a pick that has no true counter, no true counterplay, no weaknesses if played correctly. It has a very-low banrate and playrate considering how strong it is. But bear with me, it is a hard champion. That is why I will give you some advices to master it. |
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This item is absolutely necessary on Zilean. This is the item which will give Zilean its powerspike and insane waveclear that he is well-known for. Purchasing this item second will make your mid-game a lot stronger and hard to deal with for your opponents. It will give you a really good amount of AP and mana, allowing you to roam more around the map and help your team. Build this item second. You can also buy the ![]() ![]() |
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This item is the last core item on Zilean. Try and build your ![]() |
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This item is a huge investment. I recommend only upgrading your ![]() |
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This is a subjective representation of how well these keystones do into Zilean mid. I won't be covering any other keystone but Aery simply because I believe it is the most efficient and has worked the best for me, both during laning phase and late-game. However, I am happy to answer any questions you may have, or suggestions to consider.
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![]() ![]() Zilean's heavy reliance on his abusive use of mana makes it very hard to manage your mana efficiently without being overpoked or underfarming. To remedy to this issue, taking ![]() Transcendence is a must as you need to reach 45% of CDR ASAP to be considered a champ. This will also allow you to exceed the CDR limit and get extra-AP from it as most of the utility items you need will have CDR. (Zhonya, Banshee, etc.) Finally, ![]() ![]() |
As a secondary branch, Inspiration is an absolute must, and I will tell you why. First off, the ![]() ![]() |
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The scaling CDR is also a choice, like ![]() ![]() The adaptive damage is quite necessary, as you will need it to farm and to poke. Without it, you won't be a threat at all and will get lanebullied. Last, I would take health in most cases, unless their teamcomp is heavy based around AD or AP, in which case I would go for armor or MR. As Zilean, you should focus on the macro instead of taking resistances for your lane opponent. |
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Zilean's abilities are super unique and can seem simple, but take a lot of understanding to master.
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![]() Tips and tricks: Try using it on your jungler as much as possible in early and mid-game. Not only will it make him a more powerful jungler, having a better clear and ganks, but it will also give you an experience advantage on the enemy midlaner. For example, if he clears red-side, he can come by midlane so you and him can both hit level 3 at the same time. In late-game, use it on anybody. Waiting for it to stack too much experience can end up in your being behind your potential. |
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![]() Tips and tricks: Knowing the cast time (0.25sec), the throw time (0.5sec at max range) and the detonating time (3sec) will make you a much better Zilean. Mostly because enemies have 0.75 seconds at max range to dodge it, which means you need to predict their next move and analyse their gamestyle. |
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![]() Tips and tricks: Try and have both your ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Tips and tricks: Deciding if you want to slow or accelerate depends entirely on one question: "Are you the prey, or the hunter?" Your first cast should be the answer to that question. If you are the prey, boost yourself. If not, slow them down. Your second cast should in 99% of cases be on you or your teammates. Sort of like a "here's a stunned gift for you my fellow allies". |
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![]() Tips and tricks: As I said, the mark lasts 5 seconds. That's a long time for enemies not to be dealing damage to somebody. So don't wait until the very last minute and risk losing a fight because you're to shy to ult the carry. Also: who to ult depends on the situation. If you are outpositioned/ hard-focused, you should R yourself no matter what. Because you can help your other teammates later on with your other abilities. When you R yourself, try keeping your cooldowns so you can double bomb on yourself to escape afterwards. |
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ABILITY LEVELING
What leveling up your Q does: Increases cost and damage, lowers cooldown
What leveling up your W does: Lowers cooldown
What leveling up your E does: Increases the speed % boost or slow
What leveling up your R does: Increases cost and revive-health, lowers cooldown
Classic support leveling
Classic midlane leveling
What I recommend
The first two upgrades are pretty much mandatory, you want your bombs to be maxed as fast as possible and of course your R too, giving them both lower cooldowns and higher efficiency. But what you upgrade next is kind of awkward. You really need those two abilities upgraded as soon as possible. Here's what I recommend. You upgrade your
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TRICKS AND COMBOS
Like the name says, this is just a basic double-bomb. You should be able to do the whole combo in under 1 second. As fast as you can. Go in practice tool, try and get your fingers to memorize that movement because you will use it all the time. Should you aim at the exact same spot? Well, it depends on the mobility of the enemy you're aiming at, but in most cases, yes, on the exact same spot. The thing is, it should be so fast, most people shouldn't have time to react.
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Now this combo is just like that first one, you walk up to an enemy, except you're going to use a slow on him before putting your double bomb to secure their arrival at destination. Now be careful with that one: people with flash will know you are about to double bomb them when you
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Yet again, this uses the same principle as the above, but after this combo you will
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I hear y'all "But this is not hard why is it a diamond combo?". Well, see, I see too many Zileans only ulting themselves and acting like they are both the engage and the carry. You must respect the fact that you are never the engager. You guide others to a treasure you cannot possess. To engage teamfights, you should always use this combo on a character you think has the best engage. It can be Blitzcrank, Aatrox, Hecarim, Dr. Mundo, Kayn, etc. Basically anything that isn't an ADC or a squishy support, because they stay next to you, in the backline, so you can revive them if they outposition themselves. Really, when you start using this combo, you'll see a difference from regular engages. Giving that extra-MS can allow them to reach the backline and the bomb acts as an additional damage.
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The triple bomb challenger combo goes like this: you first throw a
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Now the chain-bombing is a really awkward combo because the timing is extremely precise and it's really hard to pull it out in game. You can theoretically stun champions for 1,5 seconds with 1 second break for up to 7 times in a row, but it is incredibly difficult. If you're interested, take a look at this really cool video made by a fellow Zilean main which explains it perfectly.
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If you have reached this section, congrats, you're actually in the core of this guide. This is what will matter the most for you to understand how to play Zilean.
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The game actually starts in champ-select. Does it matter if you first pick Zilean? Not really, there is no real counter to Zilean, so don't hesitate. You need to learn how to play every matchup to become better anyways. Always check your runes, your sums, and here we go. At the start of the game, position yourself defensively in a safe spot where you can have vision on enemy invades. For the first few waves, you shouldn't put any bombs or maximum 1/2 on your opponent, focus on farming. If he tries to poke, AA him and walk away. That doesn't mean you can't put pressure, it just means you should keep your mana. Keep a safe distance. In these few waves, your goal is to push as hard as possible with your auto-attacks without losing too much health. Farming undertower is really hard in early-game with Zilean as you have a low attack-speed. Know your AA aswell as your bomb damage. Your farm is really key to you snowballing into mid-game, and for that all you need is practice, knowing your damage, and the matchups. After those few waves, you should start pushing harder and looking towards roaming a bit. As Zilean, it is hard to 1v1 your opponent unless he makes mistakes as your damage is quite low until you get your core items. But try and mirror his poke, you have biscuits to survive past the early game without too much hassle.
Your first two Teleports should only be used on your own tower, as roaming will cost you too much in both experience and minions. Most early-games look alike and not having priority can be frustrating, but practice is the best way to achieve early-game perfection, and when you get the hang of it, you can abuse your opponents with good spacing and knowing their cooldowns.
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Now this is where the fun begins, gentlemen. By 15 minutes, you should have completed, or be close to complete your three core items:
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Chose the right items after your core items to assure a decent late-game. If you are ahead, good, keep being everywhere. You are a support mage, not an assassin, which means you don't want to facecheck bushes, so take
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Yes, pressure. That's what you will have until the end of the game now, if it's not already finished. Your late-game is the strongest in the whole of League of Legends if played correctly. Your positioning in teamfight is really decisive, don't be too close to the fight, but don't be too behind either. Chose the right person to focus and the right person to save with your ultimate. Your have an insane waveclear so use it to keep all lanes pushed, make use of your TP. Don't come to a fight too late, and keep being careful. I recommend not flaming or pinging as it will reduce your concentration. When you play Zilean, you have to become Zilean: the mindful calculator, the explosive gamechanger, the carry.
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This guide is now finished, hope you enjoyed it. If you did, leave a comment and a vote. Also if you have any other questions, I will be active and updating the guide whenever a big change comes along. Thank you for reading, this was Massive Nuts.
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