Guide to play midlane Zed in League of Legends pre-season 2023

Zed is one of the most interesting and unique champions in League of Legends. The amount of scope for skill expression and his ability to snowball in the late game put him a step above the other champions in the game.

As it happens, Zed has been topping the popularity charts in League of Legends pre-season 2023. This article offers a brief guide so players have an easier time with Zed in ranked matchmaking.

However, it is important to understand that Zed has a comparatively steep learning curve. He is an extremely complex champion to master, and his entire skillset revolves around manipulating shadows. Hence, practicing in unranked games would be ideal before jumping into ranked games.

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Runes, Item build, and gameplay guide for Zed in League of Legends pre-season 2023

League of Legends pre-season 2023 saw the inclusion of a wide range of items. As a result, certain champions like Zed became insanely overpowered and have been taking over solo queue matchmaking.

In the current state, Zed has an S+ rating in the Challenger rank and boasts a massive 53.48% win rate. He has 8.7% pick rate and a 21.6% ban rate, which shows that players are not very fond of having to go up against him.

Zed is as strong in the jungle role as he is in the midlane. However, this guide will focus on the midlane, and the items and runes will be catered to the role.

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Runes

Zed midlane rune path (Image via Riot Games)

Primary Rune (Inspiration): First Strike, Magical Footwear, Future's Market, Cosmic Insight

Secondary Rune (Sorcery): Nimbus Cloak, Scorch

Zed's primary and secondary runes are catered towards enhancing his damage. First Strike is obviously a top-tier choice as it provides both gold as well as damage, while also enhancing Zed's ability to scale in the late game.

Cosmic Insight reduces the cooldown of Zed's abilities which is always beneficial for a champion that relies on energy instead of mana.

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Item builds

The item build for Zed in League of Legends pre-season 2023 is as follows:

• Prowler's Claw
• Ravenous Hydra
• Black Cleaver
• Spear of Shojin
• Serylda's Grudge
• Ionian boots of Lucidity

Amongst these, the two main items that players should be focusing on are Prowler's Claw and Ravenous Hydra. The second item, in particular, has been overtuned during pre-season 2023, and Zed can really take over the game once players have it.

Black Cleaver and Spear of Shojin provide even more damage scaling, while Serylda's Grudge provides armor penetration. This new item build makes Zed an all-purpose champion who can cut down almost anyone and everyone.

However, if players want to, they can build Eclipse instead of Prowler's Claw as it provides some protection as well.

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Gameplay guide

When it comes to gameplay, the key aspect that League of Legends players need to master is his W ability. The ability has Zed throw out a shadow, and upon recasting the ability, players can swap positions with the shadow in an instant.

Zed's W ability is similar to the summoner spell Flash and can be used to not only harass and bully enemies in the lane but also to dodge skill shots. Once players master his W ability, they will be able to play around with it and combine it with his other two abilities, namely his Q and E.

Obviously, his R is very simple as it is a burst that can execute almost any champion who is below 50% health. One of the key things that new League of Legends players should remember is that Zed's biggest weakness is his lack of crowd control.

Apart from this, his W ability is the only escape tool that he has. Once he gets caught or stunned, Zed is almost certainly dead since he isn't particularly tanky. Hence, understanding the timing windows and using the skills optimally is the key to success with Zed.