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Zed
ZedSquare
General Information
TitleThe Master of Shadows
Real NameGovos
PronounsHe/Him
Release DateNovember 13th, 2012
Cost1350 BE 585 RP
AttributeAssassin
Statistics

HP
654 (+ 99)

HPR
7 (+ 0.65)

EP
200 (+ 0)

EPR
50 (+ 0)

MS
345

AD
63 (+ 3.4)

AS
0.651 (+ 3.3%)

RNG
125

AR
32 (+ 4.7)

MR
29 (+ 2.05)
Developer Info
DDragon KeyZed
Integer Key238
External Links
Universeuniverse.leagueoflegends.com
Game Info Wikileagueoflegends.fandom.com

Zed is a champion in League of Legends.

Lore[]

For outdated and now non-canon lore entries, click here.
  • Biography
  • Story
Utterly ruthless and without mercy, Zed is the leader of the Order of Shadow, an organization he created with the intent of militarizing Ionia’s magical and martial traditions to drive out Noxian invaders. During the war, desperation led him to unlock the secret shadow form—a malevolent spirit magic as dangerous and corrupting as it is powerful. Zed has mastered all of these forbidden techniques to destroy anything he sees as a threat to his nation, or his new order.

Beneath Ionia’s veil of harmony lie the tales of those left behind. For Zed, his story began as a boy on the cold steps of the home of the Kinkou Order.

Taken in by Great Master Kusho himself, Zed found his place within the temple’s ancient walls. He dedicated himself to understanding the Kinkou’s spiritual tenets, quickly outpacing his peers both in combat and study. Even so, he felt overshadowed by another—his master’s son, Shen. Though Zed’s passion shone through in every technique he perfected, he lacked Shen’s emotional balance. In spite of this, the two pupils became like brothers.

In time, they journeyed together with their master to track down the infamous Golden Demon. When they finally succeeded in capturing this feared “monster,” it was revealed to be a mere man named Khada Jhin. The young Zed marched forward with his blades held high, but Kusho stopped him, ordering that Jhin be imprisoned instead.

Returning to their temple, Zed’s heart bloomed with resentment, and he began to struggle in his studies. He was haunted by the memories of Jhin’s grisly murders, and rising tensions between Ionia and the imperialistic forces of Noxus only worsened his disillusionment. While Shen was growing to adopt his father’s dispassion, Zed refused to let lofty notions of balance stand in the way of punishing evil.

He ventured deep into the temple’s hidden catacombs, and there he discovered an ornate, black box. Even though he knew it was forbidden to any but the masters of the order, he peered inside.

Shadows enveloped Zed’s mind, feeding his bitterness with contempt for the weak, and hinting at an ancient, dark magic.

Returning to the light of the temple, he came face to face with Great Master Kusho. Zed demanded the Kinkou strike at the Noxian invaders with every means at their disposal. When Kusho refused, Zed turned his back on the order that had raised him.

Unbound by Kinkou doctrine, he raised a following of warriors to resist Noxus. Any soul who threatened his homeland, or stood idle in its defense, was marked for death without mercy—including native vastaya who wavered in their allegiance. Zed urged his followers to embrace the fervor of war, but soon enough he realized his own abilities would never match his ambitions without the black box.

Amassing his new acolytes, he returned to the Kinkou temple, where he was met by Kusho. The elderly man laid his weapons at Zed’s feet, imploring his former pupil to renounce the shadows in favor of a more balanced path.

Moments later, Zed emerged back onto the temple steps. In one hand, he grasped the box—and in the other, his freshly bloodied blade.

The Kinkou, frozen with shock, fell in droves as Zed’s warriors cut them down. He then claimed the temple for himself, establishing his Order of Shadow, and began training his acolytes in the ways of darkness. They etched their flesh with shadowy tattoos, learning to fight alongside shrouded reflections of themselves.

Zed took advantage of the ongoing war with Noxus, and the suffering it brought to the Ionian people. In the wake of a massacre near the Epool River, he came upon Kayn, a Noxian child soldier wielding nothing but a farmer’s sickle. Zed could see the boy was a weapon waiting to be sharpened, and took him as his personal student. In this young acolyte, he saw a purity of purpose to match his own. In Kayn, Zed could see the future of the Order of Shadow.

Though he did not reconcile with Shen and the remaining Kinkou, now scattered throughout the provinces, they reached an uneasy accord in the aftermath of the war. Zed knew what he had done could not be undone.

In recent years, it has become clear that the balance of the First Lands has been disrupted, perhaps forever. For Zed, spiritual harmony holds little consequence—he will do what needs to be done to see Ionia triumph.

"Balance is a fool’s master."

- ZedSquareZed

THE MAN WITH THE STEEL CANE
I

The gun in his hand was simply a tool—but a perfectly crafted one. Gold type was inlaid into the blackish-green metal. It spelled the smith’s name: This detail spoke of its creator’s pride and confidence. It was not a Piltovian weapon—those gaudy things that attempted to function with the minuscule amounts of magic available in those lands. This gun was made by a true forge master. Magic pulsed from its bronze, Ionian heart.

He wiped the gun’s stock a fourth time. He couldn’t be sure it was clean until he wiped it down four times. Didn’t matter that he hadn’t used it. Didn’t matter that he was only going to stow it in the bag under the bed. He couldn’t put it away until he was sure it was clean. And he couldn’t be sure it was clean until he had wiped it down four times. It was getting clean though. Four times makes it clean.

It was clean, and it was wonderful. His new patrons had been generous. But did the finest painters not deserve the finest brushes?

The scale and precision of the new device made his previous work with blades seem insignificant by comparison. Understanding firearm mechanics had taken him weeks of study, but evolving his chi techniques from blades had taken months.

The gun held four shots. Each bullet had been infused with magical energy. Each bullet was as perfect as a Lassilan monk’s blade. Each bullet was the paint from which his art would flow. Each bullet was a masterpiece. It didn’t just cut apart the body. It rearranged it.

The rehearsal at the mill town had already shown the gun’s potential. And his new employers had been pleased with the work’s reception.

He had finished polishing it, but with the gun in his right hand, the temptation was too great. He knew he shouldn’t, but he unpacked the black, eel-skin bodysuit. He drew the fingertips of his left hand across the slick surface of the clothes. The feel of the skin’s oily surface quickened his breath. He picked up the tight, leather mask, then—unable to help himself—slid it over his face. It covered his right eye and mouth. It constricted his breathing and removed his depth perception…

Delightful.

He was putting on the shoulder armor when the bells he’d hidden on the steps leading up to his room sounded. He quickly folded up the weapon and removed the mask.

“Hello?” the maid asked through the door. The lilt in her voice hinted to an upbringing far south of this town.

“You did what I asked?” he said.

“Yes, sir. A white lantern every four yards. A red lantern every sixteen.”

“Then I can begin,” Khada Jhin said as he swung open the door to his room.

The woman’s eyes widened as he exited his room. Jhin was well aware of how he looked. Normally, it elicited pangs of self-conscious loathing, but today was a performance day.

Today, Khada Jhin cut a slender, elegant figure as he walked out with a cane. He was hunched, and his cloak seemed to cover some huge deformity on his shoulder, but a jaunty stride belied this. He forcefully tapped the cane ahead of him as he marched toward the window. He tapped the frame rhythmically—three beats, then a fourth. His gold sparkled, his cream cloak flowed, and his jewels glittered in the sun.

“What...what is that?” the maid asked, indicating Jhin’s shoulder.

Jhin paused for a moment to study the woman’s cherubic face. It was round and perfectly symmetrical. A dull and predictable design. Removed, it would make a terrible mask.

“It’s for the crescendo, my darling,” Khada Jhin said.

From the inn’s window, he had a clear view of the rest of the town in the valley below him. This performance had to be wonderful, but there was still so much work to do. The councilman would be returning this evening—and so far, all of Jhin’s plans for tonight seemed... uninspired.

“I brought some flowers for your room,” the woman said, walking past him.

He could have used someone else to place the lanterns. But he didn’t. He could have changed clothes before opening his door. But he didn’t. Now she had seen Khada Jhin in his finery.

The inspiration he needed was so obvious now. So preordained. There was never a choice. There was no escaping the Art.

He would have to make this maid’s face... more interesting.

II

The candied pork glistened on top of the five-flavor broth. The aroma entranced Shen, but he set aside his spoon. As the waitress left, she smiled and nodded in approval. The fat had yet to melt into the broth. Doubtless, the soup was already excellent, but in a moment, the flavor would be at its peak. Patience.

Shen considered the interior of the White Cliffs Inn. It was deceptively simple and rough. The wood weavers had been masters, removing the tree bark and living leaves only where necessary.

The candle on Shen’s table flickered...wrongly. He slid away from the table, retrieving his blades from under his cloak.

“Your students are as quiet as a pregnant worax,” Shen said.

Alone and dressed like a merchant, Zed entered the inn. Brushing past the waitress, he sat down three tables from Shen. Every part of him wanted to dash at his foe. To avenge his father. But such was not the way of twilight. He calmed himself as he realized the distance was too far... but only by the length of Shen’s index finger.

Shen looked over at Zed, expecting to see him grin. Instead, his rival sighed. His skin was sallow, and dark folds hung beneath his eyes.

“Five years, I have waited,” Shen said.

“Have I misjudged the distance?” Zed asked wearily.

“Even if my head is cut off, I will still close and strike,” Shen said, sliding his foot backward and cocking it against the floor. Zed was ten paces and one half of a finger length away.

“Your path’s closer to mine. Your father’s ideals were a weakness. Ionia could no longer afford them,” Zed said. He leaned back in his chair, keeping himself just outside of the range Shen would need to strike a killing blow. “I know that’s not something I can make you understand. But I will offer you a chance for vengeance.”

“I do not act because of vengeance. You defy the balance. For that, you are damned,” Shen said as he inched forward to the edge of his chair.

“The Golden Demon escaped,” Zed replied.

“Impossible.” But Shen felt a hollowness had caught in his chest.

“Your father’s greatest victory. And now, again, his foolish mercy has tarnished his legacy.” Zed shook his head. “You know what that... thing is capable of.” Then Zed leaned over the table, well within Shen’s range—his neck intentionally exposed. “And you know that we are the only two people who can get close enough to stop him.”

Shen remembered the first time he’d seen the body of someone killed by the infamous Khada Jhin. His skin prickled from the memory; his teeth clenched. Only his father had been strong enough to still believe a merciful justice could be served. Something in Shen had changed that day. Something in Zed had broken.

Now, that monster had returned.

Shen put his swords on the table. He looked down at the perfect bowl of soup in front of him. Little droplets of the pork fat’s oil shimmered on its surface, but he wasn’t hungry anymore.

III

There was still no sign of Zed. It was disappointing. Very disappointing. He certainly must have sought out his former friend. It was likely Zed was hiding, watching. Jhin needed to be careful.

From the jetty, Jhin looked back to the foreign ship. The tide had come in, and the ship would be leaving in a few moments. He would have to return soon if he was going to perform in Zaun next month. Risk on top of risk.

He stopped to check his reflection in a puddle. From the water, a worried, elderly merchant stared back at him. Years of acting practice combined with his martial training had given him total control of his facial muscles. It was a common face, and he had given it an unexceptional expression. When he walked up the hill, Jhin blended easily into the crowd.

He checked the white lanterns above him, counting the distance. If Zed appeared, he would need them. At the inn on the top of the hill, he glanced at the planters where he had hidden traps. Sharpened steel blades, shaped like flowers. They protected his escape route in case anything went wrong.

He thought of how the metal would slice through the crowd and splash the building’s freshly painted teal walls with red. It was tempting.

He was pushing through the crowd when he heard the village elder speaking to Shen.

“Why would the demon attack her and the councilmen?” the elder asked.

Shen, dressed in his blue outfit, didn’t answer.

Another kinkou, a young woman named Akali, stood beside Shen. She walked to the doorway of the inn.

“No,” Shen said as he blocked her path.

“What makes you think I’m not ready?” Akali asked, annoyed.

“Because I wasn’t when I was your age.”

At that moment, a town guard stumbled from the entrance, his face pale and hollow.

“Her flesh, it was... it was...” he said. He took a few steps, then collapsed to the ground in shock.

“He saw it. He saw the flower!” Against the far wall, the tavern’s owner laughed. Then he began weeping—his face painted by madness.

These were not people who would forget seeing Khada Jhin’s work.

Shen scanned the faces of the onlookers.

“Clever boy”, Jhin thought, before fading into the back of the crowd.

He checked the rooftops for Zed as he walked back to the ship.

The work was inescapable. Together or apart, Zed and Shen would chase the clues he had left. They would follow them back to the Blossom Festival. Back to Jyom Pass. And when they became desperate, then they would have to work together again.

It would be like it had been when they were young. They would huddle together in awe and fear.

Only then would the great Khada Jhin reveal himself...

And his true masterpiece would begin.

IIII

Abilities[]

Contempt for the Weak Contempt for the Weak [Passive]

Innate: Whenever Zed basic attacks an enemy below 50% health, he deals additional magic damage (doubled against monsters, capped at 300). This effect cannot occur on enemy champions more than once every 10 seconds.
Magic Damage: [+6 / 8 / 10% target's max]
Razor Shuriken Razor Shuriken [Q]
Cost: 75 / 70 / 65 / 60 / 55 Energy Cooldown: 6 seconds Range: 900

Active: Zed and his shadow both throw their shurikens, each dealing physical damage to the first enemy they pass through, and 60% physical damage to each additional enemy. Initial Damage: 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 (+100% bonus)
Reduced Damage: 48 / 72 / 96 / 120 / 144 (+60% bonus)
Living Shadow Living Shadow [W]
Cost: 40 / 35 / 30 / 25 / 20 Energy Cooldown: 20 / 19 / 18 / 17 / 16 seconds Range: 650

Passive: Whenever Zed and his shadows strike an enemy with the same ability, Zed gains Energy. Energy can only be gained once per cast ability.
Active: Zed's shadow dashes forward, remaining in place for 5 seconds. Reactivating Living Shadow will cause Zed to swap positions with this shadow.
Energy Restored: 30 / 35 / 40 / 45 / 50
Shadow Slash Shadow Slash [E]
Cost: 40 Energy Cooldown: 5 / 4.5 / 4 / 3.5 / 3 seconds Area of Effect: 290

Active: Zed and his shadows slash, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies.

Each enemy champion hit by Zed's slash reduces Living Shadow Living Shadow's cooldown by 3 seconds.

Enemies hit by a Shadow's slash are slowed for 1.5 seconds. Enemies hit by multiple slashes take no additional damage but are slowed more instead.

Physical Damage: 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 / 165 (+65% bonus)
Single Slow: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40%
Enhanced Slow: 30 / 37.5 / 45 / 52.5 / 60%
Death Mark Death Mark [R]
Cost: No Cost Cooldown: 120 / 110 / 100 seconds Range: 625

Active: Zed becomes untargetable and dashes to an enemy champion, marking them. After 3 seconds, the mark triggers, dealing physical damage plus a portion of the damage dealt to the target by Zed while the mark was active.

The dash leaves a shadow behind for 6 seconds. Reactivating Death Mark causes Zed to switch positions with this shadow.

Damage: (+100% total) + 25 / 40 / 55% of damage dealt by Zed

Patch History[]

Patch 10.14

W missile speed increased; cooldown decreased early.

We’re bringing Zed out of the shadows to bring up his higher elo power in an exciting way that gives him higher consistency in his combos and more outplay potential. Yeah, you heard us—with the landscape of the game changing drastically from season 3, we’re reverting his W speed nerf all the way back from patch 3.13 and increasing its accessibility. This should make his combos feel smoother and stronger and open more windows for shuriken shenanigans.

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

MISSILE SPEED : [1750] 2500
COOLDOWN : [22/20/18/16/14]
20/18.5/17/15.5/14


Patch 10.4

One trend we've seen over the years is that new and low-MMR players pick jungle at a much lower rate than other positions—even when it's stronger than those other positions. For 10.4, we're approaching this problem by giving some popular champs at these skill levels better tools to jungle with, especially also because jungle has an arguably smaller champion pool than other positions. While players here will still have to contend with the learning curve of jungle as a position, they won't have to learn to play a new champion as well. All the changes below are to ability effectiveness against monsters to avoid accidental impacts to lane strength. As a caveat, we're investigating other solutions to help out jungle and the satisfaction of playing the role in the future too, so look forward to seeing more from us outside of these changes.

ZedSquareZed

CONTEMPT FOR THE WEAK DAMAGE : Increased by 100% against monsters
CONTEMPT FOR THE WEAK MAXIMUM DAMAGE TO MONSTERS : [120/240/360 (levels 1, 7, 17)]
200/350/500 (levels 1, 7, 17)


Patch 9.8
Q damage decreased. W cooldown increased.

We're reducing Zed's burst potential a bit and giving his opponents more chances to catch him.

Razor Shuriken Q - Razor Shuriken

BASE DAMAGE : [90/125/160/195/230]
80/115/150/185/220

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

COOLDOWN : [20/18.5/17/15.5/14]
22/20/18/16/14 seconds


Patch 9.4
Attack speed growth increased. Q damage increased. W recast range increased; cooldown decreased. R no longer grants attack damage on kill.

The theory behind Zed's Death Mark passive—kill high-AD threats to get stronger—breaks down in practice because the highest-AD target is often not the most important threat for Zed to go after. At the same time, buffs to make hunting the highest-AD target correct at all times would make Zed entirely reliant on Reaper of Shadows, preventing him from finding success in other ways. We're removing it and giving its power back to Zed in areas he's been struggling in, namely a better early lane and more powerful late-game splitpushing.

Base Stats

ATTACK SPEED GROWTH : [2.1%] 3.3%

Razor Shuriken Q - Razor Shuriken

DAMAGE : [80/115/150/185/220 (+0.9 bonus AD)]
90/125/160/195/230 (+1.0 bonus AD)

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

RECAST RANGE : [1300] 1950 range
COOLDOWN : [22/20/18/16/14]
20/18.5/17/15.5/14 seconds

Death Mark R - Death Mark

REAPER OF SHADOWS Zed no longer gains 5 (+5/10/15% target's AD)attack damage when Death Mark earns him a takedown on a target that would grant him a higher bonus than his current one


v8.7
Q damage falloff to units beyond first decreased.

The Duskblade update hit Zed harder than expected, so we're giving back some of the strength we took away last patch.

Razor Shuriken Q - Razor Shuriken

DAMAGE TO UNITS BEYOND FIRST : [50%] 60%


v8.6
Q damage to targets beyond the first decreased. Landing multiple shurikens on the same target no longer deals reduced damage. R damage amplification increased at later ranks.

Razor Shuriken Q - Razor Shuriken

PASSTHROUGH DAMAGE : [60%] 50% to targets beyond the first
MULTI-HIT PENALTY Landing multiple shurikens on same target no longer causes each beyond the first to deal only 75% damage

Death Mark R - Death Mark

STORED DAMAGE : [25/35/45%]
25/40/55% damage dealt during Death Mark


v8.4
R cooldown decreased at later ranks.

Over time, supports and marksman have picked up much better tools to prevent burst deaths (Redemption, Knight's Vow, et al). This makes Zed players feel worse about trying to make plays, knowing that if they fail, they'll be without a key cooldown for so long.

Death Mark R - Death Mark

COOLDOWN : [120/100/80]
120/90/60 seconds


v7.22

BASE ARMOR : [26.88] 32
BASE ATTACK DAMAGE : [54.71] 63
BASE HEALTH : [579] 584
HEALTH GROWTH STAT : [80] 85

Razor Shuriken Q - Razor Shuriken

BASE DAMAGE : [70/105/140/175/210]
80/115/150/185/220

Shadow Slash E - Shadow Slash

BASE DAMAGE : [65/90/115/140/165]
70/95/120/145/170


v7.17
Base attack speed increased. W shadow duration increased.

Zed could be a little bit stronger right now, but we believe his burst damage is at a pretty sweet spot already. So instead, we're giving the Master of Shadows more opportunities to out-maneuver his opponents and use Living Shadow to do more ninja stuff. This helps Zed control minion waves, split push, and find more windows to use his abilities more aggressively.

Base Stats

BASE ATTACK SPEED : [0.644] 0.651

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

SHADOW DURATION : [4.5] 5 seconds


v6.22
Zed now gains a portion of the attack damage of champions killed with Death Mark for himself.

Among our assassins, Zed’s the generalist—some stabbing here, a bit of sidelane pressure there—the Master of Shadows does just about everything you want from the role. It’s because of this that he’s been such a balance headache: whenever assassins are good as a class, Zed’s right there to push his knife-wielding brethren out of the spotlight. We’re giving Zed some more differentiation to help inform when you should and shouldn’t consider picking him.

Given his ‘fondness’ for marksmen, we sought to hit two birds with one stone—reducing some of his general power while making him the blade in your arsenal when it comes to dealing with physical damage threats. While Zed will still be potent in the right hands against most team compositions, his true late-game scaling is now dependent not just on how he executes his foes, but who he chooses to mark for death. And how many BF Swords they have.

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

OVER THE TOP No longer provides 4/8/12/16/20% bonus attack damage
ENERGY RETURN ON MULTI-HIT : [20/25/30/35/40] 30/35/40/45/50
SHADOW SWAP RANGE : [1100] 1300

Shadow Slash E - Shadow Slash

COOLDOWN : [4 seconds at all ranks] 5/4.5/4/3.5/3 seconds
DAMAGE : [60/90/120/150/180] 65/90/115/140/165

Death Mark R - Death Mark

SHADOW REAPING Whenever Death Mark kills an enemy, Zed steals their shadow for himself, gaining a portion of their attack damage. Zed can only possess one shadow at a time, and only steals a new shadow if it would give him more damage.
REAPING BONUS : 5 attack damage + 5/10/15% of the target’s total attack damage


v6.12
W and R now have indicators.

While our last round of changes to Zed in 6.11 have made him less powerful, fighting him can still be a daunting task. Even though some of Zed’s inherent frustration is intended (it’s his job to kill people and dying isn’t really fun), we’re always looking into addressing that frustration head-on without removing his ability to compete. To that end, we’ve added some shiny new indicators to Zed’s shadows to keep foes out of the dark when he starts his shifting-shenanigans. We like Zed’s skill-intensive plays, but getting the upper hand simply because your opponents can’t see what you’re doing isn’t fair.

General

THE SEEN BLADE : Shadows created by W - Living Shadow and R - Death Mark are now marked by a circular team indicator


v6.11
Q damage and ratio down, but has less fall-off on multi-hits.

Melee assassins expect to excel at diving onto their opponents and bursting them down. Zed’s sustained ranged poke violates expectations by exerting a pretty significant amount of pressure on his lanes. The catch-22 Zed creates - get poked out at range or bursted in melee - leaves other midlaners without satisfying options for counterplay. We’re toning back on Zed’s damage (both from poke and all-ins alike) unless the Master of Shadows can line up multiple shurikens on his foes.

Razor Shuriken Q - Razor Shuriken

DAMAGE : [75/115/155/195/235] 70/105/140/175/210
RATIO : [1.0 bonus attack damage] 0.9 bonus attack damage
REDUCED DAMAGE ON MULTIPLE TARGETS : [50%] 75%


v6.7
W cooldown increased. W’s bonus attack damage passive decreased.

From laning to late-game, Zed’s dominating every phase of the game. Zed’s a challenging opponent at all skill levels, but key among the frustrations of dealing with him is the safety at which he operates. Be it long-ranged, dual-shuriken action or a clean getaway, the window Zed presents to interact with him is on the shorter side when compared to the duress he places upon his victims. Widening the gaps between Zed’s aggression and taking out some of his back-loaded scaling (now that he’s got access to some sweet items) will bring careful opponents closer to victory and further from being styled on in someone’s highlight reel.

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

COOLDOWN : [18/17/16/15/14 seconds] 22/20/18/16/14 seconds
PASSIVE BONUS ATTACK DAMAGE : [5/10/15/20/25%] 4/8/12/16/20%


v6.3
R damage lowered.

Back in 5.23 we added a bit more Death into Zed's Death Mark, citing a lack of itemization and scaling for AD-assassins as a whole. Now that Duskblade's entering an item shop near you, we're partially reverting that change so that Zed doesn't spike and snowball too heavily off just a single item purchase.

Death Mark R - Death Mark

DAMAGE AMPLIFICATION : [30/40/50% of damage taken] 25/35/45% of damage taken
QUALITY OF DEATH : Now more accurately represents when a target will take fatal damage from Death Mark's detonation


v5.23
W cast range and missile speed increased. R's early damage increased.

Similar to Kha'Zix, Zed's gotten the short end of the stick from a variety of preseason changes. We're still committed to solving these problems on a systems-level, but passing out some more early playmaking power for Zed never hurt anybody (except his victims. It'll hurt them a lot).

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

MAXIMUM CAST RANGE : [600] 700
MINIMUM CAST RANGE : [400] 350
MISSILE SPEED : [1500] 1750

Death Mark R - Death Mark

FINISHER DAMAGE : [20/35/50% of damage dealt while marked] 30/40/50% of damage dealt while marked


v5.22
W won't hide Q's cast time.

While often seen as an 'advanced technique' for Zed, this bug actually just removed the ability to react to Razor Shuriken if cast a specific way. Zed's been on the brain for us recently (stronger marksmen = higher-value assassinations), but he shouldn't rely on an exploit for power.

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

IT ACTUALLY WAS THE DEADLIEST : Fixed a bug where quickly casting Living Shadow and Razor Shuriken would cause Zed's Living Shadow to cast instantly, instead of using the cast time


v5.17
The unseen spaghetti code is the deadliest.

Just like Azir and Syndra before him, Zed’s script complexity was high enough we took him on as a refactoring project to clean up some of the issues with his code.

Razor Shuriken Q - Razor Shuriken

UNSEEN BUT NOT DEADLY : Fixed a bug where Razor Shuriken sometimes failed to launch if cast shortly after Living Shadow

Living Shadow W - Living Shadow

SHADOW MAGIC : Fixed a bug where casting Razor Shuriken before Living Shadow would allow the shuriken to be cast from the shadow

Death Mark R - Death Mark

HE SAW THE LIGHT : Fixed a bug where Zed couldn't swap to his shadow after reviving from Guardian Angel
IMAGINARY NINJA : Fixed a bug where Death Mark would sometimes spawn a shadow for the rest of the game


v5.16
Balance is a fool's master.

Rounding out our trio of assassin changes, we have Zed. Similar to Leblanc and Kassadin, we’re happy with the direction, but not the destination. We’re still leaving the swap-timer back in (because counterplay is neato), but tipping the scales back in Zed’s favor.

Death Mark R - Death Mark

REACTIVATION TIME : [1 second at all ranks] 0.5 seconds at all ranks


v5.9
Zed can't teleport back to his Death Mark shadow instantly.

"Another one of the League's flashiest champions, Zed isn't well known for letting his opponents get a word in (let alone a single spell-cast) once he's marked them for death. Now even the most unsuspecting of prey has a small window to throw a wrench in Zed's plans before he vanishes to safety."
  • Death Mark R - Death Mark
    • EMBRACE THE SHADOW : Now has a 1 second cooldown before it can be reactivated to return to Death Mark's shadow.

v5.2

Less attack speed all around.

"In the 5.1 notes, we mentioned Zed as a good example of what we refer to as a "Healthy Assassin" - but that doesn't come without its own set of balancing woes. To help bring Zed in line with other champions while preserving his power as a competitive option, we've looked toward his strengths outside of pure assassination - in this case, attacking his ability to split-push by lowering his attack speed.
Zed's pattern of poking from a distance and waiting for the moment to strike is layered with counterplay and complexity. That is, up until his AD items remove the need for his spells, allowing just a few auto-attacks to seal your fate. With a base and scaling attack speed rivaling that of Xin Zhao and Tryndamere, Zed's auto-attacks were as much a menace to champions as they were to towers. He'll still be effective in a side-lane due to his strengths in 1-v-1 duels, but taking power here allows us to keep his damage output focused in landing spells and using combos effectively."
  • General
    • BASE ATTACK SPEED : 0.658 0.644
    • ATTACK SPEED GROWTH STAT : 3.1 2.1

v5.1

"Ah, Zed. With your amazing plays topping many a competitive player's highlight reel, how could we not love you? All in all, Zed is one of the best examples of what we call a "healthy assassin" in League of Legends.
That doesn't mean there aren't problems - while Zed's ability to delete squishies with a button press and some smooth moves is going to remain intact, he has so many other additional strengths that seem to push him over the edge. Given his amazing AD stats and his waveclear, should Zed be a top-tier tower-taker? Should he have amazing clean-up when his resources are depleted? While Zed's not receiving changes in this patch, we're committed to keeping LoL's favorite playmaking ninja fun to play as, and to play against."
  • BALANCE IS WEAKNESS : NOT FOR LONG

v4.14
Death Mark now places Zed behind his prey and allows him to ignore unit collision while active, finally making him a real-er ninja.

"Zed lost a lot in 4.10 with our marksman itemization changes, but he's still performing consistently at the highest levels of play. That said, we saw we could give him some small usability buffs to help him stick to his Death Marked targets better."
  • DeathMark R - Death Mark
    • NEW THE UNSEEN ZED IS THE DEADLIEST When Zed uses Death Mark on a target, he dashes in front of them ⇒ behind them
    • NEW THE UNBLOCKABLE ZED IS THE DEADLIEST Zed now ignores unit collision while the Death Mark is active on a target

v4.10

  • DeathMark R - Death Mark
    • BUGFIX: Zed no longer teleports to a random location if he Death Marks someone who is in the middle of a dash (eg: Xin Zhao's Audacious Charge, etc).

v3.13
Summary: Living Shadow and Death Mark have had their cast wind-up time increased. Death Mark now spawns the shadow at Zed’s starting position rather than behind the target. Death Mark’s shadow will stay around longer and Zed can switch places with it at any range.

Context: Zed’s been a balance pain point for a while, especially at the competitive level. In particular, Zed’s current play patterns – while satisfying for the player – can be executed so quickly that they offer little to no reaction time for his opponents. In its current iteration, Death Mark sets up Zed’s gameplay for free with little execution needed beforehand. Because Zed’s intended gameplay focuses so heavily on manipulating his shadows, we want to force him to actively think about how he’ll use his tools to assassinate his targets.

  • Living Shadow
    • Significantly increased the time it takes for the Living Shadow to reach its destination (missile travel speed reduced to 1500 from 2500)
  • Death Mark
    • Now spawns the Living Shadow at Zed's starting position rather than behind the target
    • Increased the time Zed remains untargetable before dashing to the target to 0.75 seconds (from 0.35)
    • Death Mark shadow duration increased to 6 seconds (from 4)
    • Increased the range at which Zed can switch places with his Death Mark shadow to 2000 (from 1100)

v3.07
As a resourceless champion, Zed was able to farm efficiently and safely without giving his opponent much opportunity for interaction. These changes should hit his wave clearing efficiency, especially at early levels. The vision reduction on Zed's Living Shadow was just to bring it more in line with other abilities of this type.

  • Razor Shuriken
    • Damage dealt to secondary targets reduced to 45 / 69 / 93 / 117 / 141 (+0.6 bonus Attack Damage) from 60 / 92 / 124 / 156 / 188 (+0.8 bonus Attack Damage)
  • Living Shadow
    • Vision radius of the Shadow reduced to 700 from 1,300
  • Shadow Slash
    • Cooldown increased to 4 seconds from 3

v3.06
Previously, Zed could safely farm large minion waves with Shadow Slash by consistently resetting the cooldown of Living Shadow. These changes were intended to promote aggressive play with Zed while also creating a window for players to engage on him in lane.

  • Living Shadow
    • Cooldown reduced to 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14 seconds from 22 / 20.5 / 19 / 17.5 / 16
  • Shadow Slash
    • Hitting minions and monsters no longer reduces Living Shadow's cooldown
    • Hitting enemy champions reduces Living Shadow's cooldown by 2 seconds, up from 1

v3.05

  • Living Shadow
    • Fixed a bug where Living Shadow would sometimes cast in a random direction

v3.03

  • Razor Shuriken
    • Damage increased to 75 / 115 / 155 / 195 / 235 from 75 / 110 / 145 / 180 / 215
  • Shadow Slash
    • Damage reduced to 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 from 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200

v1.0.0.152

  • Base Movement Speed increased by 25.

v1.0.0.151
ZedSquareZed released


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