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Choose Champion Build:
Spells:
Flash
Ignite
Ability Order
Garden of Thorns (PASSIVE)
Zyra Passive Ability
Introduction
Introduction
Hi there! I'm Wooteq and this is my guide to playing Zyra. At the time of writing this Zyra has been released for only a few weeks and therefore there are few decent guides available, so I thought I'd have a crack at it. If you're looking for a quick guide or some ideas on how to build Zyra feel free to just use the cheat sheet above and get playing. If you want to take a bit more of an in-depth look at the character please read on. :) In this guide I wanted to outline some of the main concepts of the character; her strengths and how best to utilise them and her weakness and how to minimise them. Please bear in mind that this is how I like play Zyra so don't feel obliged by any means to stick rigidly to anything you read here. Everything you choose should be flexible as you likely wont be able to build her the same every time. Instead, try to tailor your build to your enemies' composition and what they themselves are building. I have included some extra builds just to give people some ideas as to the options available to them. More of that later, first Why Zyra? |
Why Play Zyra?
Zyra is currently one of my favourite champions to play in mid. She has a ton of things going for her; particularly her team fighting capabilities. If you're looking for a champion that is rewarding, exciting and fun please look no further than Zyra.
Runes
Runes
Greater Mark of Magic Penetration:
Greater Seal of Replenishment:
Greater Glyph of Ability Power:
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power:
Masteries
Summoner Spells
Flash:
Ignite:
Exhaust:
Teleport:
Clarity:
Heal:
Ghost:
Cleanse:
Abilities
Stranglethorns(R)> Deadly Bloom(Q)> Grasping Roots(E)> Rampant Growth(W)
Abilities
This is Zyra's passive and as far as passives go this one is pretty good. One last burst of true damage can really help prevent those lucky escapes and score you a bunch of extra kills. There are a few downsides to this ability though: Firstly, it can be difficult to get used to the skill shot as you don't get to use it that often meaning sometimes you will miss due to unfamiliarity with the delay or the travel speed of the projectile. Secondly, as far as Riot and their awful hit boxes go, this has to be one of the worst. It will miss when it really shouldn't and hit when it really shouldn't meaning it can be somewhat unreliable.
Deadly Bloom | SPACE |
Deadly Bloom |
SPACE | Deadly Bloom |
Rampant Growth: If Deadly Bloom hits a seed, a Thorn Spitter grows, dealing (+0.2 AP) magic damage. Lasts 10 seconds.
This is Zyra's Q and the ability I like to level first. Deadly Bloom deals more damage than her Grasping Roots and scales the same as it with AP. There is a short delay between placing the template and the damage being dealt. However, this is a pretty short period and you should have no problem catching enemies within the template. The plants summoned by this spell if you hit one of your Rampant Growth's really do pack a punch and have greater range than the Vine Lashers summoned by your Grasping Roots.
Rampant Growth: Spells cast on seeds grow plants. Plant damage is based on Zyra's level. Extra plants striking the same target deal 25% less damage.
This is Zyra's W and is essentially the glue that binds all of her abilities together. The laying of these seeds enables you to create lethal combinations of plants that can really wreak havoc in lane and in team-fights. The bonus cooldown reduction is pretty great too. One of the best things about this ability is that it can safely be leveled last; you only need 1 point in Rampant Growth to really get the use out of it. This means that you can level your Grasping Roots sooner thus maximising your damage output. Later in this section I will try to demonstrate how to effectively combine Rampant Growth with the rest of Zyra's abilities.
Rampant Growth: If Grasping Roots hits a seed, a Vine Lasher grows dealing 24 (+6*level)(+0.2 AP) magic damage and slowing enemies by 30% for 2 seconds. Plant lasts 10 seconds.
This is Zyra's E and the ability I like to level second. Grasping Roots is a medium range skill shot that roots all enemies it passes through. It does slightly less damage than Deadly Bloom. This ability is exceptionally useful for poking at your opponent in mid, chasing down fleeing enemies or covering the retreat of yourself and allies. The plants summoned by Grasping Roots when you hit one of your Rampant Growths are shorter range than their counterparts but the slow can be excellent at enhancing the previously stated functions of this ability.
Stranglethorns is Zyra's Ult and also one of the best team-fighting abilities in the game. First of all, Stranglethorns does an immense amount of damage in a huge area of effect (I'm talking similar to Galio's ult area!) after 2 seconds it knocks enemies in the air interrupting abilities such as Katarina's Death Lotus or Nunu & Willump's Absolute Zero. And to top it off, Stranglethorns increases the attack speed of Zyra's plants by 50%! Kicking her damage into the borderline overpowered scale.
Ability Combinations: Tips and Tricks
Basics
Basic Damage Combo: W->Q->W
Basic Root/Snare Combo: E->W or W->E->W
This is one of your most important survival tools as Zyra's lack of mobility makes it essential to use your plants intelligently. This can be tricky as often you will have to predict the path of your enemies and landing the skill shot is essential; if you don't you're likely to get stomped.
Advanced
Snare, Slow, Nuke. W->E->W->Q->R
Using Bushes and Luring Opponents
Essentially, chasing Zyra is a big risk and whilst she is squishy she can be a nightmare to tower dive. Try to use how squishy you are as a way of tempting enemies into chasing you when they really shouldn't!
Item Builds/Explanations
Opening/Early Game
Doran's Ring is such a great item for Zyra I like to get two! The extra HP will help address some of Zyra's squishiness in the early game as well as grant her some AP and mana per 5. With two Doran's Rings you will gain 160hp 30AP and 10MP5. The mana regen goes a long way to ensuring you can remain in lane. With these rings, masteries and runes Zyra should have no mana troubles meaning you can get aggressive!
Sorcerer's Shoes are your go to AP carry boots. Magic Penetration is always a good choice. There isn't much else to say here. xD
Mid Game
Don't get to hung up about this decision though; either way you will be building the one you didn't choose next!
Going into the later half of the mid game you should be building towards Rylai's Crystal Scepter this item is pretty damn good for Zyra; tons of HP to bulk her up, more AP means more damage and the slow effect can be procced by both your abilities and your summoned plants.
Late Game
My final item choice is Archangel's Staff. This is by far one of the best late game items; it gives huge amounts of AP and enables Zyra to scale better into super-late game territory. A second Rabadon's Deathcap would give slightly greater initial AP compared to Archangel's Staff, however, you will quickly exceed this through the passive granted by the Tear of the Goddess component in your Archangel's Staff.
With this build completed you will be sitting between 2.4k and 2.7k hp, and between 700 and 750+AP (depending on choices) making you a daunting prospect for any opponent.
Alternative Item Picks/Builds
Void Staff If your enemies start building a lot magic resist then this is a must. %40 magic pen coupled with your Sorcerer's Shoes will make their gold useless. This can be purchased in place of Rod of Ages.
Abyssal Mask Is another situational item that can be very useful. If your enemy's composition is based heavily on AP, or if their AP carry is getting pretty fed, pick up this item to try and negate some of his damage and help out your team. Again I would get this in place of ROA.
Banshee's Veil is another possible choice against teams with hard CC or a fed AP carry. The extra mana will compliment your Archangel's Staff nicely.
Deathfire Grasp is another potential item choice if you want to dial up the aggression; lots of AP on there as well as an Active that can do a truckload of damage on top of Zyra's already impressive repertoire.
Will of the Ancients I haven't yet tried building a more spell vamp focused Zyra but I would imagine it could work quite well as her plants can proc Spell vamp and she has ton of AOE damage.
To conclude this chapter, I'd like to point out that these are just my ideas on potential ways of building Zyra so please feel free to tell me of any other item combinations that work and I'll see if I can add them in. The four item builds above are just examples of what I have been talking about in this chapter. Remember, nothing is set in stone!
Mordekaiser:
Vladimir:
Akali:
Jax:
Talon:
LeBlanc:
Kassadin:
If you can think of more and are able to justify your reasons then I would be glad to add them to this list. Thanks.
Thanks
Thanks also to anybody who I have pinched pics from. Can't remember where I got them from but you probably know who you are!
Thanks to you! Yes, you! For reading my guide! <3
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