Rakan vs Zilean
You are stronger early. Look to snowball before your opponent scales.
Build vs Zilean
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Rakan: Zeke's Convergence, Locket of the Iron Solari, Knight's Vow, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Celestial Opposition, Redemption, Bandlepipes, Thornmail.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Zilean's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Zilean stores time as Experience and can grant it to his allies. When he has enough Experience to finish an ally's level up, he can right-click them to impart it. Zilean receives as much Experience as he gives.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10s | 14s | 15s | – |
| 6 | 9s | 14s | 15s | 2m |
| 9 | 8s | 12s | 15s | 2m |
| 11 | 8s | 10s | 15s | 1m30 |
| 16 | 8s | 6s | 15s | 1m |
| 18 | 8s | 6s | 15s | 1m |
Playing as Rakan
Tips to maximize your impact
- Land a quill, then return to your ADC
Hit a champion with Gleaming Quill (Q), then return to your ADC: you heal yourself, and the heal reaches nearby allies as soon as you touch one.
- Engage when your ADC can follow
Engage with Grand Entrance (W) when your ADC can follow: you leap onto them, and enemies around your landing spot take a knock-up.
- Dance through, then leap
Cast The Quickness (R) and run through their team, then Grand Entrance (W): each enemy you touch while running is charmed, then takes a knock-up when you land.
- Recast your dance to another ally
Recast Battle Dance (E) a second time to reach another ally: each dash shields the ally you target.
Playing against Zilean
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Move away from the bomb
Spread out from your allies when Time Bomb (Q) is stuck on you or one of them: a second bomb makes it explode instantly and stuns every enemy around.
- Focus Zilean as a team
In teamfights, focus Zilean with your team: he's fragile under pressure, and without him, there's no Chronoshift (R) to save his carry.
- Switch targets under his rune
If an enemy has the Chronoshift (R) rune, hit someone else or wait for the effect to end: if they die with the rune, they come back to life.
- Force fights without his ult
Force an objective or a fight when Chronoshift (R) is on cooldown: without it, he revives no one, and it takes 120 to 60 seconds to come back.
Other Rakan matchups
Patch 16.21.1