Zyra Build Guide by Hunderi

Introduction - Why Zyra?

Hi there! This is my first mobafire guide so if you find any mistakes let me know! I've been playing LOL for two years now and have been playing mostly support and supportish junglers on ranked. I'm currently playing gold division, and I've found this way of playing Zyra really efficient here.

NOTE: This guide is meant for more aggressive playstyle, harrashing enemy, catching them, and making plays along with supporting. If you are looking for a more defensive way to play support, consider looking for a different guide and preferably different champion :)

WHY ZYRA SUPPORT?

+ Fun to play
+ Has both great damage and great CC for peeling
+ Really good when you pick up the basics
+ Not easily countered
+ Has really much impact on the game, despite being support
+ Short cooldowns and passive CDR
+ Good pusher with plants


THE BAD SIDES:

- Squishy
- Some aggressive supports can crush you, like Blitz
- No heal/shield for adc
- All skillshots

Runes

• Greater Quintessence of Gold: You won't be taking last hits so you will need quintessences of gold to increase your GP5.
• Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: Highly increases your damage output, especially on laning phase when adc and support tend to have extra armor and no magic resist at all. This build's damage relies on magic penetration, not ability power.
• Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction: With CDR runes + 2% CDR from masteries you will start off with 9,50% reduced cooldown. You also don't have to buy nearly any CDR items, since maxed W will give you 20% reduced cooldown, resulting at 29,50% CDR without any items.
• Greater Seal of Armor: Standard support seals, grants +13 armor to start with.

Masteries

I use 0/9/21 rune page with support Zyra. Gives you loads of utility + some extra survivability for laning phase. Some notes on the masteries:

• Meditation : Extra +3 mana regeneration per 5 secs helps you alot in the beginning. If you aren't spamming your spells too heavily, that will be all the mana regen you need to start with, and allows you to buy Rejuvenation Bead instead of Faerie Charm as first item.
• Artificer and Mastermind : I pick 2 points in Artificer as I'm huge fan of active items and use them a lot. If you don't use active items too much, you might consider moving these two points to Mastermind instead to get 10% reducted cooldown of summoner spells.
• Greed and Wealth : Pretty basic for most supports. Some extra GP5 to help you keep up the vision, and that extra 50gold is just enough to pick up one more ward to start with.
• Biscuiteer and Explorer : Two more important tools for early game. Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation gives you some extra sustain + mana regen to help you throu the start of the game, and Explorer's Ward grants you 1 min of free vision. Using Explorer's Ward on your own buff against counterjungler is a good idea.
• Pickpocket : Gives you extra 3 golds when you use your basic attack on enemy champion (5sec cooldown). You are ranged support so it's not too difficult to take advantage of this. Just keep in mind not to go too aggressive early on.
• Intelligence : One point on intelligence is enough. With 2% CDR from Intelligence and 7,5% from Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction you will start off with 9,5% reducted cooldowns. Add in 20% CDR from maxed Rampant Growth and a Kindlegem and your CDR is as good as capped at 39,50%.

Items

There are a couple of different ways to start off. Zyra doesn't need too much mana regen at the beginning if you don't spam for nothing, so you can start off with Rejuvenation Bead for some HP regen. However, if you have mana problems, use Faerie Charm instead. Check out your and your opponent's junglers and either start with 4 Sight ward or if you expect early ganks from your own or opponent's jungler, replace two Sight Wards with one Vision Ward instead to have more map control. This will also let you start with a second health pot.

FIRST ITEMS

If you can afford you should pick this item when you first back. Grants health and free wards so you don't have to spend too much gold on basic sight wards.

Philosopher's Stone

If you can't afford Sight Stone, try to get Philo stone instead. GP5, mana regen and health regen, everything you need during laning phase. Remember that if you used all your wards and have just enough money for philo, instead of buying it you should get only Rejuvenation Bead or Faerie Charm and a couple of wards! Keeping up vision is your job, it wins the games.

CORE ITEMS

Get this item as soon as possible. If you can, you should get it even before philosopher's stone, it's way better. 3 free wards to keep the vision up and good amount of health will make you a bit tankier.

Sorcerer's shoes are the best shoes to get with Zyra support. You wont need CDR boots, and only pick up Mercury's Treads or Ninja Tabi if absolutely needed. Magic penetration highly increases your damage with this build.

It's a bit situational, but I tend to build Haunting Guise after Ruby Sightstone and Philosopher's Stone if I'm ahead and someone else is going for aegis. If my jungler/top WON'T get Aegis of the Legion, I will build it first instead of Haunting Guise!

Runic Bulwark is needed by every team! You are not supposed to be a tank, but if no one else in your team is going to buy Bulwark, you should do it! Remember to communicate with your team, I tend to ask my teammates about building Aegis of the Legion right when the match starts.

ACTIVE ITEMS

Shurelya's Reverie

This is the active item I buy more often than the others. It has so countless ways to be used. Just remember to use it! Best times to pop it would be at the beginning of teamfight to help your carries take cover and/or help your assassins to catch enemy carries, and when running away or chasing. Can also be used to engage. Just remember to use it! It has only 51sec cooldown when using my masteries.

Also a great active, and it also gives you some extra AP and MR. Really good for chasing down champs and keeping vision of champs like akali. Also a great tool for engaging.

I usually don't buy this item, but if you feel like you need some extra armor and shielding for your teammates, pick it up. I don't recommend buying both this and shurelya's reverie cause you will lose some of the benefit when your CDR will be capped with only one of these items anyway.

EXTRA AP

It's kinda luxury item but if you are doing good you can pick it up. More AP plus % damage makes you hurt even harder. No need to rush it unless you are far ahead.

If you get far ahead you can from time to time try to pick up this one. Tons of ap for extra damage.

These AP items are highly situational and only recommended when you are well ahead and have completed crucial supportive items!


CONSUMABLES

Ruby Sightstone won't provide you with enough vision. I try to get 1-2 Vision Ward every time I go back so I can have much more map control, and also keep buying sight ward even after you have completed your Ruby Sightstone. Also Oracle's Elixir is a great buy to have the map control you need.

Remember to keep up the vision always! If you are winning, try to ward opponent's jungle and buffs, if the enemy is pushing and is ahead, keep up the vision in your own jungle to catch up lonely wanderers! This is crucial!

Skills

• Rise of the Thorns: Great and fun passive. Don't always use it right away when you die, sometimes you want to wait for a good timing. More than often during teamfight you can get a kill on a chasing or fleeing enemy with your passive. It really deals a lot of damage, 423 damage when you are lvl18, and it's TRUE damage.
• Deadly Bloom Deadly Bloom (Q): Pick one point in E at level 1 for CC and second point to W at level 2, but after that max Deadly Bloom first. Deals more damage and is much easier to hit than Grasping Roots. And if the enemy ignores your plants, they really hurt a lot and have larger range than Grasping Roots. Remember to use Deadly Bloom also when you don't have a seed, it deals decent damage!
• Rampant Growth (W): Max this second to get seeds more often and get CDR on other skills. You can also use it to get a bit vision when needed, and thou you can have only 2 seeds stored at once, you can also have 2 more on the field already!
• Grasping Roots (E): Your main CC. Short cooldown with your CDR and if you make a plant with E, it also slows down the enemy. Usually you can use this skill 2, even 3 times in one team fight! Great for peeling and catching an enemy.
• Stranglethorns (R): The Ultimate. Really strong in teamfights and escaping. Usually you see enemies flashing and/or running when this is used. Aiming and timing it right is the key. After the teamfight has started is the best time to use it, as enemies will have tougher time running when they are already in a fight. When peeling, you can use it right on your carry to make sure enemies will either have to take the hit or run far away from the carry.

WHY Deadly Bloom FIRST OVER Grasping Roots?

Your Q Deadly Bloom is much easier to hit than your E Grasping Roots. Many ppl max E first, but maxing Q first usually helps you deal more damage. Also the longer range on Q plants helps you deal more damage. Thou upgrading Grasping Roots increases the duration of root, it doesn't lower its cooldown like upgrading deadly bloom does. If you feel like you need more CC = longer root, or if you find yourself in a position where you can't use deadly bloom for damage, try maxing Grasping Roots first.

If you are great at hitting you E both to enemies and the seeds, you should try maxing it first.


HOW TO USE THE SKILLS?

Since you are maxing Q over E this is how I tend to use the skills:
1) Hit the enemy with Grasping Roots to hold him still. You can easily hit it from bush when enemy has no vision of you or when enemies are running right at you or away from you.
2) Quickly plant 2 seeds with Rampant Growth on the enemy or depending where he is heading, ahead or behind him.
3) Now use your Deadly Bloom to make 2 plants to hit the enemy. All of this should be done in one second.

Advanced playstyle:
When you are sure your Grasping Roots will hit the enemy, quickly use Rampant Growth to put one seed on top of the enemy and make it into a slowing plant. Right after that use Rampant Growth again to put in another seed and use deadly bloom both on enemy champ(s) and the seed to make it into a ranged plant. This way the enemy will get hit by both plants, meaning he will get both the slow and ranged plant attacks. This is a bit more difficult to pull off, but will result in more damage and CC.

Laning phase

KEEP UP THE VISION

Everytime when you leave base you should have at least 1-2 sight ward with you and at least one Vision Ward. When you are pushing lane, make sure you have vision on river so you won't get ganked easily. Also try to keep one side brush warded all the time. If enemy jungler is invading your jungle, try to put one ward on jungle entrances to catch him alone.

DETERMINE WHO YOU ARE PLAYING WITH AND AGAINST, AND BUY ITEMS ACCORDINGLY

If you are laning against enemies with poke, it's better to start with Rejuvenation Bead. If you are planning to focus on harrashing enemy, pick Faerie Charm instead for extra mana regen. If I'm expecting my jungler to make early ganks, I always start with Vision Ward so I can clear out enemy vision to make the gank easier. Also if the enemies have kill lane, for example Leona/Blitzcrank support, try to build Sightstone or at least Ruby Crystal early on to survive their engage.

ZONING OUT ENEMY ADC

One of your jobs is to make enemy adc's last hitting as hard as possible. One key to this is having brush control. When the enemy doesn't have vision of you, you are a constant threat. The main combo I use to scare the enemy adc away is following:
1) Stay out of vision = stay in brush, and if it's warded try to pink it out.
2) Watch your own creeps health. That way you will see when enemy is coming for last hit. If cannon minion is low on health, the adc is guaranteed to come last hit it even by extending too far.
3) When the adc comes for last hit, use your E Grasping Roots to root him
4) Right after you root him, put 2 seeds on top of him or a bit behind him with your W Rampant Growth.
5) Make the seeds into plants with your Q deadly bloom.

This combo can be used from level 3 forward and it usually results in enemy carry losing around 1/3 of his health. If your adc reacts to it well, he will get a couple of free hits also. You can pull this off usually a couple of times, and then the enemy adc will stay a bit behind and lose last hits.

NOTE: Don't use your E Grasping Roots for harrash if there is a chance you will need it for defense. If you are up against someone like Leona, she can take advantage of the situation and counter-engage right after you have used all your spells.

Mid game

Mid game starts at around level 7-8, basically after the first tower is down and everyone starts to move around more. This is the time when you need to keep up much more vision than during the laning phase. You should have your Ruby Sightstone finished by now to grant you 3 free wards, but remember to buy more wards along with it. I usually try to buy 2 Vision Ward whenever I back to have at least 5 wards with me when I leave base.

DRAGON - Keep dragon pink warded whenever it's up and keep up the timer for its spawn time (6min). Time it for your team so everyone knows when it's up, and give a warning 0,5-1min before it spawns so you can be ready for it.

BUFFS - If your team is pushing, keep up vision on river and inside enemy jungle. Try to put wards at enemy buffs whenever possible so you can take them away, and also time them too if possible. Buffs are really important! However, if enemy team is the one pushing, it's crucial to keep the vision in your own jungle so you can catch lonely enemies there and have a bit more safety when going further from your own towers.

Late game and teamfights

Late game main objectives are pushing and Baron. This is the time when one guy getting catched can cost the whole game, so try to move around together, and once more keep up the vision so no one in your team wouldn't get caught. Also getting Oracle's Elixir to counter enemy vision should be done now if not earlier.

TEAMFIGHTS

Your job in the team fight is to help your carries survive and add in some extra damage with your plants. Try to stay more behind since you are not a tank. Stay near the best carry of your team and peel for him. When teamfight starts do the following:
1) If you have active items like shurelya's reverie, use it to help your team
2) When the fight starts, use your deadly bloom to make two plants for extra damage. The enemies can't focus on the plants once the fight is going, so they will do a lot of free damage.
3) Use your ulti when the fight is ongoing. If you use it too early, it can be easily avoided, but after the fight has taken it's place, people are having hard time running away from it. If you have hypercarry who is carrying the whole team, save your ulti for peeling.
4) Use your Grasping Roots either to peel for your carry, or to keep enemy carries at place so your team can kill them more easily.
5) If you are going down, remember to use your passive. 400+ true damage is A LOT.

Tips and tricks

- During the laning phase try to keep vision of the crucial bushes, best situation is when you have a ward in enemy bush and are standing yourself in your side bush + have a ward or two at river.
- Best time to hit with Grasping Roots during laning phase is when the enemy adc comes for a last hit and you use your skills from the bush. Hitting E, planting 2 seeds on top of him and using deadly bloom to make seed into plants will result in enemy adc losing 1/4 - 1/3 of his health.
- Remember that your Stranglethorns also makes your plants attack faster!
- You can greatly help your teammates on getting buffs/golems by making the plants attack neutral creeps and also tank them. If I'm going red and my adc is coming a bit after me, I can easily put 3 seeds on the golem and start the golem with Q + E to make it almost die before my ADC is even there.
- Towers will shoot down plants first, it also means you can tank 2 extra tower hits by putting 2 plants next to it.
- Remember that you are a support! Don't take last hits on purpose, leave them to adc, and also leave kills to adc when possible.
- Zyra deals A LOT more damage than many expect! Hitting Grasping Roots and making 2 plants with deadly bloom right after that will hurt enemy carries alot and also root them down for a sec.
- Be brave when fighting! Because of your damage output you can really make a difference! Also dont be too afraid of dying during teamfights, since really often you can catch fleeing enemy carry with well aimed passive hit!
- ALWAYS STAY POSITIVE AND COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR TEAMMATES! IF SOMEONE IS MAKING YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, USE THE IGNORE BUTTON AND FOCUS ON THE GAME, NOT ON THE CHAT!

Summary

Feel free to give any comments! I left out basic support things and focused more on the champ and the build. If you need help on basic supporting just ask me for an advice!

This is my first guide on mobafire, I want to hear what you think about it! :)