Zac vs Garen

Zac
vs
50.0%

over 36 games

Garen

Skill matchup

Heavy AD damageVery tankyHigh burstSustained DPS

Build vs Garen

The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup

Recommended items for Zac: Sunfire Aegis, Spirit Visage, Thornmail, Plated Steelcaps, Unending Despair, Randuin's Omen, Liandry's Torment, Dark Seal.

Starting items

Doran's Shield
Health Potion

Core build

Sunfire Aegis
1
Spirit Visage
2
Thornmail
3

Standard

Boots of Swiftness
4vs Slow
Unending Despair
5

Summoner spells

FlashDot62%
FlashTeleport26%

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Unending Despair
Randuin's Omen
Liandry's Torment
Dark Seal
Jak'Sho, The Protean
ResolveResolve
Grasp of the UndyingGrasp of the Undying
DemolishDemolish
Second WindSecond Wind
RevitalizeRevitalize
PrecisionPrecision
Last StandLast Stand
Legend: HasteLegend: Haste
Attack SpeedHealth ScalingHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Garen's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Perseverance (P)

If Garen has not recently been struck by damage or enemy abilities, he regenerates a percentage of his total health each second.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
38s22s9s–
68s22s9s2m
98s19.5s9s2m
118s17s9s1m40
168s12s7.5s1m20
188s12s6s1m20

Playing as Zac

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Smash them into each other

    After Stretching Strikes (Q) on one enemy, hit a second enemy with your auto: you fling them into each other, and if they collide, they and those nearby take damage.

  2. Pick up your Goo

    Pick up the chunks of Goo you shed when your spells hit: Cell Division (passive) heals you for each one, and Unstable Matter (W) comes back 1 second sooner.

  3. Charge your Slingshot out of sight

    Charge Elastic Slingshot (E) from the fog of war: the enemy has less time to react, and the longer the charge, the longer the knock-up on landing.

  4. Bounce into the middle of them

    Cast Let's Bounce! (R) into the heart of their team: the first bounce knocks back each enemy hit, the following ones slow them, and you can cast Unstable Matter (W) at the same time.

Playing against Garen

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Hit him regularly

    Hit him regularly, even with a small poke: Perseverance (passive) only regenerates him if he hasn't taken damage recently.

  2. At range, kite him

    If you're ranged, kite him: his kit has no dash, and only Decisive Strike (Q) speeds him up and removes his slows.

  3. Burst after his shield

    Wait for the Courage (W) shield to end before your burst: the spell starts with a shield and tenacity, then keeps only a damage reduction.

  4. Don't stay low once he hits 6

    Once he hits level 6, back instead of staying in lane at low health against him: Demacian Justice (R) deals true damage that grows with your missing health.

Patch 16.21.1