Zed vs Vex

Zed
vs
Not enough games
Vex
Heavy AP damageHigh burstHeavy CCCountered by spell shield

Build vs Vex

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

Recommended items for Zed: Voltaic Cyclosword, Bastionbreaker, Axiom Arc, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Edge of Night, Serylda's Grudge, Lord Dominik's Regards, Guardian Angel.

Starting items

Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion

Core build

Voltaic Cyclosword
1
Bastionbreaker
2
Axiom Arc
3

Standard

Ionian Boots of Lucidity
4CDR
Edge of Night
5

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Edge of Night
Serylda's Grudge
Lord Dominik's Regards
Guardian Angel
Endless Hunger
Youmuu's Ghostblade

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Vex's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Doom 'n Gloom (P)

Vex periodically becomes empowered, causing her next basic Ability to fear enemies and interrupt dashes. Whenever a nearby enemy dashes, Vex applies a mark that can be consumed for bonus damage that also reduces the cooldown of her empowered state.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
38s16s12s–
66s16s12s2m20
94s15s12s2m20
114s14s12s2m
164s12s12s1m40
184s12s12s1m40

Playing as Zed

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Combo with two shadows

    To kill, cast Death Mark (R), then Living Shadow (W), Shadow Slash (E) and Razor Shuriken (Q): with two shadows, you throw three shurikens.

  2. Dodge with Death Mark

    Cast Death Mark (R) just as the enemy casts their decisive spell: during the dash, you're untargetable.

  3. Save the swap back to your shadow

    After Death Mark (R), save the recast to get out: you swap places with the shadow left at your starting point, far from the fight.

  4. Save your energy

    Save enough energy for a full combo rather than casting your spells for nothing: Living Shadow (W) refunds energy when you and your shadow hit the same target.

  5. Flank to reach the carry

    In teamfights, go around the sides and save Death Mark (R) for an isolated target: going in from the front exposes you to the whole team's CC.

Playing against Vex

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Dodge her mist early

    Get out of the line of Mistral Bolt (Q) early: after a short delay, the mist narrows but speeds up.

  2. No dashes near her

    If you have a dash, avoid using it near her: it marks you with Gloom, and if Doom 'n Gloom (passive) is ready, her next spell interrupts it and fears you.

  3. Trade after her fear

    Start a trade right after she fears someone: her next spell empowered by Doom 'n Gloom (passive) then takes a while to come back.

  4. Dodge her Shadow

    Get out of the path of Shadow Surge (R): Vex can only dash to the first champion hit by Shadow.

Patch 16.21.1