The Nerfstick is here.

[quote=Arkharan]E has been the most maxed skill in most match, I'm not saying it's better but it's easier to hit, increased slow to keep the target in place for your ult = more damage with aa. On the other side while Q does more damage, it's harder to hit does less damage with everything it hits etc. While I kinda agree with GMD in a lot of situation it's just easier to max e and people are lazy. :P[/quote]

[quote=Joshified]Is maxing [[Zed]]'s q the actual way too play him? :3 I have always maxed e, never really had a problem. Cleared waves with ease and could still 100 - 0 a midlaner given the right circumstances at around level 8-9. I imagine his q helps his burst, but his e helps with so much more it just seems like a waste to invest in anything else til you actually start building some serious ad. Since I usually go [[Blade of the ruined king]] into [[Black cleaver]] and by the time I can buy [[the bloodthirster]] my q is already maxed XD[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=Joshified] Is maxing [[Zed]]'s q the actual way too play him? :3 I have always maxed e, never really had a problem. Cleared waves with ease and could still 100 - 0 a midlaner given the right circumstances at around level 8-9. I imagine his q helps his burst, but his e helps with so much more it just seems like a waste to invest in anything else til you actually start building some serious ad. Since I usually go [[Blade of the ruined king]] into [[Black cleaver]] and by the time I can buy [[the bloodthirster]] my q is already maxed XD [/quote] I max Q and can 100-0 almost any one at a given point from level 6 and beyond. Q max gives you so much more burst and laning presence.[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=Wayne3100] *facepalm* Maxing E is not "dumb in general". Just because you prefer one way of playing a champ doesn't mean every other way is automatically bad. The advantages of maxing E are that it is more reliable to hit, easier at waveclearing (yes, this can be done with Q too, but the advantage Q gives over E is that it is ranged and you can use it to poke, in which case you might not always be hitting all minions as well as your enemy laner), has a lower cooldown and lower energy cost. Placing the shadow in a place where the enemy laner has to cs will also often guarantee hitting E twice (or having the opponent miss cs for backing off). Note that I'm talking about the pre-nerf [[Zed]] here. The cooldown increase from E might make double E harder to use, since the shadow should only last 4 seconds iirc. Anyway, both have their uses. Personally I max Q mid or against anything ranged top (because landing E against a ranged character is a lot harder than against melee) and E against melee top laners. [/quote] I can see it being justified against a melee champion with a consistent, hard to avoid, gap-closer so you can have stronger trades in melee range. Outside of that, E is clearly inferior to Q. Hitting E twice with one W + E combo only works against the retarded who don't know how to walk away from a shadow. The advantages of Q over E are: [list] [*] Long range harass and farming capabilities. [*] Q no longer takes half your energy bar. (easier energy management) [*] Much, much higher burst. [*] W + E + Q combo hits harder. [/list] Advantages of E over Q are: [list] [*] It is easier to hit. [*] Maybe higher dps? (Can't be sure without crunching numbers since Q deals way more damage and goes on a lower cool down when maxed) [/list][/quote]

[quote=H4xDefender]There are reasons every good zed player maxes E first.[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=H4xDefender] There are reasons every good zed player maxes E first. [/quote] Name them. Also, mind that I'm playing Zed mid.[/quote]

[quote=H4xDefender]BigfatLP, Reginald, Wingsofdeathx, Ecco, Voyboy, Jintae, Pobelter, Reapered, Diamondprox, Cris, Nk Inc, Maknoon, Iwilldominate, A Lilac, Scarra. Exaggerated a bit when I said EVERY good zed player, but only about 30-35% pro players max Q on zed mid, about 5-10% on zed top, and none that jungle him. Not sure after the heavy E nerf, but we'll see.[/quote]

[quote=Satella][quote=GrandmasterD] (Can't be sure without crunching numbers since Q deals way more damage and goes on a lower cool down when maxed) [/quote] Q cooldown is flat. I have been maxing Q because it's pretty orgasmic to land a triple shuriken after ulting, but E max works too; it's just way more reliable as damage/waveclear and offers bigger teamfight DPS. The cooldown nerf is going to hurt pretty hard; this combined with a previous patch that shifted damage from E to Q tells me that Riot is just going "We want you to max Q first, so we're nerfing E until maxing it is no longer viable". Same shit that happened to Varus Q.[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=H4xDefender] BigfatLP, Reginald, Wingsofdeathx, Ecco, Voyboy, Jintae, Pobelter, Reapered, Diamondprox, Cris, Nk Inc, Maknoon, Iwilldominate, A Lilac, Scarra. Exaggerated a bit when I said EVERY good zed player, but only about 30-35% pro players max Q on zed mid, about 5-10% on zed top, and none that jungle him. Not sure after the heavy E nerf, but we'll see. [/quote] The 'them' in the sentence was, of course, obviously, referring to the reasons to max it rather than players who do so. Saying that something is true because they do is a lousy argument; that is, if it is one at all. @Satella: Completely right, got myself mixed up with [[Lee Sin]]. And yeah, that triple shuriken is just so strong. In teamfights as well for major AoE.[/quote]

[quote=H4xDefender]Oh, misinterpreted it l0l. E max is better since it all but assures you will land Q, and it does the most consistent damage as it isn't really dodgeable like Q is. It also helps more in assisting ganks, and doesn't suffer a damage reduction if it hits creeps as well as champs. When harassing with W>Q as opposed to W>E, you will almost always get more damage out of it if you maxed E since you can get two hits out of E with one W and because your Q will almost always hit creeps before the enemy champion as well. E also gives better waveclear since it has a lower CD. Q is just too inconsistent to max first.[/quote]