Introduction
Zilean is one of the most popular champions in the game League of Legends. The champion is a Support Mage, which means he is capable of dealing tremendous amounts of damage while also providing a lot of utility. His versatility and power make him a must-have champion in most team compositions in the game.
In this article, we’ll discuss all that you need to know about this champion, from his abilities and playstyle, to his strengths and weaknesses:
Overview of Zilean
Zilean is a champion in the popular game League of Legends, created by Riot Games. He is a part of the Chronokeeper group, powerful beings who manipulate time itself to help or harm other beings in the world.
Zilean is a powerful support character, capable of granting healing and shielding to his allies while also slowing his enemies with his inherent powers over time. He is has high mobility, excellent crowd-control potential and multiple unique spells at his disposal.
Overall, Zilean has an interesting playstyle which focuses on either providing support to other carries or controlling the fight through crowd-control abilities and area of effect damage spells. With maximum cooldown reduction, he can often be found cycling between these two roles throughout the course of a game depending on what will benefit his team most significantly in any given situation. His kit provides excellent utility for pushing objectives and fighting enemy teams even without building items outside of standard support spell items such as Archangel’s staff or Redemption.
In any matchup, it can often be beneficial for the team to have Zilean as their primary support character as he provides both damage output and crowd-control for whichever side holds him.
Zilean’s Abilities
Zilean is a champion in League of Legends who excels at offering utility, control, and lane dominance. He can be played both offensively or defensively depending on the lane matchup. He is also able to help teamfights with his ability to slow and speed up allies/enemies.
Passive: Heightened Learning
Heightened Learning grants Zilean three additional ability power or attack damage per level, as well as an extra 25% experience gain when he kills an enemy unit.
Q: Time Bomb
Time Bomb is Zilean’s primary damage dealing ability. When cast it will place a bomb on the target that detonates after a few seconds for magic damage and slows enemies near the blast radius. If Zilean recasts this ability on a previously placed bomb it will detonate instantly, dealing more damage and slowing even more enemies in the area.
W: Rewind
Rewind enables Zilean to reduce the cooldown of all his other spells by 8 seconds whenever he uses it. This enables him to chain combos of spells very quickly and make plays that would normally not be possible.
E: Time Warp
Time Warp is Zilean’s signature spell which allows him to grant sped up movement speeds or reduced movement speeds to allies or enemies respectively whenever casted on them for 2-3 second durations which makes it better at getting into or out of fights or even zone out priority targets in teamfights.
R: Chrono Shift
Chrono Shift gives Zilean’s teammates a layer of safety net before death as they will be went back in time before they died with all their health restored back while they were invulnerable while being shifted back in time for 6 seconds enabling them escape most trysts at death easily if used correctly.
Zilean’s Strengths
Zilean is a great champion to use in League of Legends for a number of reasons. His time-manipulating abilities allow him to turn the tide of fights and his spells have great utility in team fights and skirmishes. His kit is packed with powerful abilities that can make him a valuable asset in any team composition. Let’s take a closer look at Zilean to explore his strengths and capabilities.
Ability to Stun Enemies
One of Zilean’s unique abilities as a champion is his crowd control capability. He has the ability to counteract enemy skill shots, disrupt coordinated attacks, and secure kills with his Chronoshift support ult. His main stun comes from his E ability “Time Bomb” which causes an area of effect damage and stuns enemies for the duration of 1 second.
This ability does not rely on attack speed to be effective, because the additional attack speed that Zilean rolls don’t increase the duration or damage, so it maintains its same usage throughout a match.
To use this correctly you must keep in mind that Time Bomb has a very short range and requires you to get close to enemies in order to apply it. It is useful as both an initiation tool, as well as an extension tool when mixed with other crowd control abilities due its short duration despite decent range. It can be used while chasing down enemies, or setting up ganks. Additionally, Time Bomb is great for escape tools coupled with Zilean’s passive “Time Warp” that speeds up allies and slows down enemies for two seconds. This gives Zilean immense control over team fights if used correctly!
Ability to Heal Allies
Zilean is a highly versatile and powerful support character in League of Legends inspired by a legendary chronokeeper. His primary strength lies in his ability to heal allies both in the laning and mid-late game stages. He can restore health, revive recently slain allies, and supplement crowd control abilities with his low cooldown basic abilities.
His Time Warp ability allows him to bestow an ally or himself with an additional burst of speed for three seconds. Zilean can also use the Chronoshift ultimate to revive the closest dead ally at full health after a short channeling period. This can be used either offensively to initiate fights early on or defensively in later game stages against enemies who have taken down members from your team.
Zilean’s passive ability Time Lord grants increased Health Regeneration as well as bonus Ability Power and Movement Speed on leveled up Q (Time Bomb) cast which makes it even easier to keep allied heroes alive both through healing spells and bonus stats granting extended survivability in fights. Not only does this make him one of strongest supports due to his allies sustain capabilities but also a possible contender for mid lane solo roams when paired with appropriate itemization.
Ability to Slow Enemies
One of Zilean’s key abilities is to slow enemies within a large radius. He does this by using his powerful time spells, Chronoshift and Time Warp.
These two abilities give him the ability to slow his opponents and gain a distinct advantage in combat.
Chronoshift is Zilean’s ultimate ability and it allows him to freeze an allied champion in time. This champion, who must be chosen carefully, will be given all of the benefits of his Chronoshift including an increase in health, armor, speed and magic resist. The frozen champion also has their attack damage increased making them formidable in battle. Enemies who come too close to this champion will also be slowed by Zilean’s Time Warp spell allowing him to gain an advantage over them before they can react.
Time Warp is Zilean’s second ability and it slows enemies as well as heals allies when cast on them. This ability has both offensive and defensive uses that are extremely advantageous for the team if used effectively by the player controlling Zilean. It can be used to:
- Assist allies escape from ganks.
- Reposition themselves for better crowd control during team fights.
- Pair offensively with Chronoshift, creating a deadly combination that allows allies time to land devastating attacks while enemies cower beneath its power.
Zilean’s Weaknesses
Zilean is a champion in League of Legends who is known for his versatility and high damage output. However, like all champions, Zilean has his weaknesses. In this article, we will explore the weaknesses of Zilean and how they can affect his performance in the game.
We will look at how his low mobility and low health pool can be exploited by enemies, as well as how his lack of crowd control abilities can be used against him. By understanding these weaknesses, players can learn how to better counter Zilean in their next game.
Lack of Mobility
One of Zilean’s weaknesses is a lack of mobility in comparison to other champions. His only method of movement is Eulogic Shift (W), which allows him to gain movement speed, but it is on a relatively long cooldown. As such, zoning and crowd control abilities can lay him up and make it difficult for him to turn fights in his favor. Moreover, since Eulogic Shift only lasts for a few seconds at maximum, even if he manages to escape danger with it, Zilean may not be able to fully realize the advantage gained. As such, Zilean players need to carefully choose the moments when they engage the enemy or try to retreat from dangerous situations.
Zilean also has no escapes built into his kit and relies heavily on his allies for support in team fights or skirmishes. When pushing ahead or attempting a difficult all-in maneuver, it is important he communicates with his team prior so they can help cover any potential retreats. Although the safety benefit may not always apply due to the extended cooldowns on his abilities; having an aware ally nearby can help tilt any unfavorable situations back into Zilean’s favor.
Besides this strategic disadvantage, Zilean lacks both physical and magical damage capabilities in terms of dealing direct DPS as most of his damage will come through bombs and slows:
- No escapes built into his kit
- Rely heavily on allies for support in team fights or skirmishes
- Needs to communicate with team prior to pushing ahead or attempting a difficult all-in maneuver
- Lacks both physical and magical damage capabilities
- Most of his damage comes through bombs and slows
Weak Early Game
Zilean’s weaknesses are primarily focused on his early game performance. He is very mana hungry and lacks waveclear, which makes it difficult for him to stay relevant in the early game. He is vulnerable to ganks due to his slow base movement speed, lack of an escape, and low health pool.
His kit offers few trading opportunities and requires careful positioning to maximize individual effectiveness.
At all stages of the game, Zilean needs sustained protection from his team, as he can be easily bursted down in fights due to his squishy nature and inability to engage safely. His ultimate also requires him to be in the thick of the fight for maximum impact, making him a potential target for enemy burst crowd control. Zilean does not provide any form of lane sustain either – and can be easily harassed by most common ADC matchups.
His skill-floor is relatively low due even if he underperforms early on; however overall effectiveness is tempered by a high skill-ceiling and strategic play pattern – primarily relying around teamfight positioning and ability usage timing/comboing.
Low Damage Output
One of the biggest weaknesses of playing as Zilean in League of Legends is that he does not have very much damage output. Zilean’s main form of damage dealing is his Time Bomb ability, which deals an initial burst of damage when placed on an enemy and detonates a second time to deal 30 (+20% AP) additional magic damage. While this burst can be very effective in setting up a gank or finishing off an enemy, it pales in comparison to most other mages who have access to more powerful spells that can deal significantly more burst damage.
In addition, Zilean lacks the ability to consistently poke opponents with auto-attacks, making it difficult for him to trade effectively compared to most other mages in lane.
Best Items for Zilean
Whether you’re new to League of Legends or have been playing for a while, playing Zilean well requires knowledge of what items are best to buy. There are a lot of items that work well on Zilean, and understanding which of these items give him the most power is key to being successful in game. Here, we will discuss the best items for Zilean and how to use them to maximize his potential:
Boots of Swiftness
Boots of Swiftness are a great choice for Zilean. With his passive, Time in a Bottle, Zilean can instantly restore some cooldowns and move around quickly, making Boots of Swiftness the right choice. These boots grant +50 movement speed and additional +10 movement speed when out of combat. The Tenacity passive Ability reduces the duration of stuns and slows by 35%, allowing Zilean to chase after enemies and make quick escapes when necessary. This makes Boots of Swiftness an excellent choice when playing Zilean in League of Legends.
Rabadon’s Deathcap
Rabadon’s Deathcap is an essential item for Zilean, granting immense amount of Ability Power. Rabadon’s Deathcap amplifies all other Ability Power gained, resulting in an exponential increase in damage output. With 155 base Ability Power, this item gives a whopping 30% additional ability power to items with flat Ability Power such as Archangel’s Staff. As with all ability power items, it grants a 15% cooldown reduction to skills when fully stacked.
In addition to this, Rabadon’s Deathcap has additional passive Bonuses: Incarnation and Spellblade. Incarnation increases Zilean’s base ability power by 30% – allowing him to deal more damage from the start – while Spellblade grants bonus physical and magical damage on basic attacks and abilities after using an ability.
Overall, considering how important ability power is for boosting Zilean’s burst damage potential and his consistency in dealing massive amounts of spell-oriented damage on a regular basis makes Rabadon’s Deathcap the most important item for him.
Morellonomicon
Morellonomicon is a powerful magic item for the champion Zilean in the popular video game League of Legends. It provides a low-cost source of ability power for Zilean, as well as bonus cooldown reduction and reduced mana costs when using his abilities. The passive effect of this item is also extremely useful, granting Zilean an immense power boost whenever he kills one of his enemies. This makes Morellonomicon an essential tool for any competitive Zilean player’s inventory.
Morellonomicon’s other effects include:
- -15% Cooldown Reduction on all spells
- -10% Spell Vamp
- -15 Ability Power
- -Reduced Mana Cost on Abilities by 15%
- -Grants bonus 5 Magic Resist and 30 Health per level up to 99 (+21 Magic Resist and 126 Health at level 18)
- -Passive : Upon obtaining 40 Ability Power, converts 20% of damage taken from champions into true damage for up to 5 seconds (maximum 3 times increased). Recharges every 45 seconds with no cooldown reduction.
Best Strategies for Zilean
Zilean is a powerful champion in League of Legends and has many different playstyles depending on how you build and position him. Knowing when and how to use Zilean’s abilities, such as his Rewind and Time Warp spells, can give you a huge advantage in the game.
In this article, we’ll cover the best strategies for playing Zilean, his best builds and team compositions, and how you can counter him and play around him:
Harass Enemies with Q
Harassing enemies with Zilean’s Q, Time Bomb, is a great strategy for maximizing your damage output in team fights. Time Bomb’s low cooldown and its explosion on both cast and recast makes it one of the most powerful abilities in Zilean’s kit. When a target is afflicted with the Time Bomb, casting it again within 3 seconds will cause it to explode for additional damage, healing or shielding effects depending on how many bombs are present.
When using your Q, keep in mind that it can reach longer distances than most abilities so you should aim to place your bombs away from enemy creeps and structures to maximize their effectiveness. Additionally, Zilean can mark enemy champions more frequently than other similar champions since he can carry up to three time bombs at once with fully maxed out Time Lord stacks. Use this to your advantage; try focusing on chipping down enemy health bars during lane phase by placing bombs where they are least expecting them and causing unnecessary pressure on enemies so your team can capitalize off of those situations later in game.
Time Warp Allies with W
Utilizing Zilean’s W, Time Warp, is an important tool for those looking to craft a viable strategy with the Chronokeeper. Time Warp provides an ally with a large increase in move speed that lasts for a few seconds before fading. This helps allies close in on enemies or flee from engagement when needed.
Due to the nature of this ability, it’s best used on champions like ADC/Marksmen, Assassin’s, fighters and tanks that excel at getting up-close and personal with their opponents. With the power of movement speed and Time Warp active, allies can chase down fleeing targets or escape dangerous situations with ease. Having this level of momentum control will open up opportunities and create some serious headaches for your opponents.
When possible it is best to apply a charge of this spell twice on your intended target during team fights for maximum efficiency; however if you are unable to recharge your ability between casts then one charge should be enough if applied correctly. Finally, do not underestimate Time Warp’s application either early game or late game as movespeed provides invaluable tools during laning phase when maneuvering around minions and players alike come into play as well providing momentary reprieve in teamfight repositioning allowing allies to flee (or warps) quickly without losing too much health points while doing so!
Use E to Slow Enemies and Escape
Zilean is a great solo-laner in League of Legends with many tools at his disposal to overwhelm enemies fights and help teammates out. His E ability, Time Warp, gives him the ability to slow or speed up friendly or enemy champions respectively. Using his E ability on enemies that are trying to dive or focus you down can be great for your survivability and in conjunction with flash can give you enough time to escape any sticky situations.
Time Warp not only slows down your enemies but also increases their casting time which makes them very vulnerable during teamfights. In addition, Zilean’s Q grants him bonus attack speed which when combined with his E can give him a great advantage when engaging fights against enemies as well as disengaging from them. The bonus attack speed quaffiness up the rest of your cooldowns, allowing you to use all of your abilities quickly and efficiently, giving you an edge in any fight.
Time Warp can not only be used offensively but also defensively by using it on your allies so they won’t get caught out in those intense teamfights or ganks mid-lane. Zilean’s ultimate is a global heal that allows him to share his health pool with multiple allies at once so they do more damage without taking too much damage themselves, giving you the edge in many different scenarios like teamfights, chases, sieges and tower dives. Use this powerful combination of abilities to capitalize on enemy mistakes and come out on top of any situation!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What abilities does Zilean have in LoL?
A1: Zilean has the following abilities: Time Warp, Time Bomb, Chronoshift, and Rewind. Time Warp increases the movement speed of an ally champion or himself. Time Bomb deals magic damage and slows enemies. Chronoshift revives a dead ally champion and gives them bonus health. Rewind reduces Zilean’s cooldowns.
Q2: What is Zilean’s role in LoL?
A2: Zilean is a support champion in League of Legends. His primary role is to provide assistance to his team in fights by providing crowd control and aiding in objective control. He is also able to provide healing to his allies, as well as revive them with Chronoshift.
Q3: What is Zilean’s playstyle in LoL?
A3: Zilean’s playstyle is that of a utility-based support champion. He should be focusing on keeping his allies alive and providing them with the resources they need to succeed in fights. He should also be controlling objectives such as dragon and Baron Nashor, as well as providing vision control with his Time Bomb.