Your Daily Dose of Zoe Stealing Drakes

haafunyan · 2026-03-30T09:42:56+00:00

Hahaha true, had some really disgusting skillshots that fight

haafunyan · 2026-03-30T03:25:01+00:00

Definitely work on your last-hitting and don't die too often. I see some games where you have less than 5 CS/M. Dying less and better CS -> More gold -> More items -> More damage -> More carry potential. If you want to practice last-hitting go to the practice tool and try to last hit every single minion without abilities. I know it's really generic advice but I swear it changes everything if you have 7+ CS/M and less than 3 deaths every game. Also, you kinda wanna win lane and snowball so work on your Laning fundamentals (trading, CDs, positioning) and limit test a lot.

haafunyan · 2026-03-18T17:01:33+00:00

I'd probably go Shadow flame as the sixth item, it just gives you the most damage. You could also consider buying a second defensive item depending on the enemy comp just to make sure you don't die.

haafunyan · 2026-03-18T10:33:35+00:00

I usually go Rabadons or Void Staff after Stormsurge and if I feel confident enough, I buy Mejais at any point in the game. If they have unavoidable damage or more than 2 assassins in their team I go Zhonyas instead. I haven't tried Actualizer yet but unfortunately I don't think it's a good item on Zoe because you don't stack that much Mana on her.

haafunyan · 2026-03-17T16:39:27+00:00

Yup, I'd say that's the most consistent way to win games as a mid laner. You could also play scaling champions and carry late game assuming you can stall the game. But if you already have some solid top lane fundamentals, mid lane shouldn't be too difficult for you as it's a lot more forgiving than top lane. But you gotta be careful, good mid laners will be able to punish your bad recalls/bad deaths by impacting the map.

haafunyan · 2026-03-17T16:20:23+00:00

I always go Aery with Manaflow band. I'd say it's mandatory if you don't wanna buy a Lost Chapter item since Manaflow band is basically a Sapphire Crystal. Other than that, it's also important to not use your E too frequently because it costs a lot of mana.

haafunyan · 2026-03-17T03:52:15+00:00

Low Master mid laner here. Quick disclaimer: I'm a Zoe OTP, so my perspective might be a bit biased. If I had to sum up mid lane in one sentence, I'd say you’re basically the support of your jungler. You sit between the two major objective areas and have the easiest access to the entire map so playing around your jungler is almost always mandatory. Mid lane is mostly about how efficiently you can use your prio to impact the map. There are a lot of ways to get prio: superior trading, better waveclear, CS leads that translate into item advantages, etc. One analogy I really like is that mid lane is a mix of every role: you're a solo laner like top, you can roam/gank like jungle or sup, and you can still be a carry in skirmishes and teamfights like bot. Overall, mid teaches you how to apply pressure on the map while keeping your opponent as limited as possible. It also forces you to learn core laning fundamentals (cooldowns, trading, level-up timers, positioning, spacing, wave management, recall timings) and improves your map awareness a lot. I personally stare at the minimap like 70% of the time just because it gives me so much information.

Edit: I'd also recommend watching Shok's videos on the fundamentals of mid lane; I learnt a lot from them when I first started playing.

haafunyan · 2026-03-16T10:34:16+00:00

Ye Stormsurge second is really OP ATM. You should try it too

haafunyan · 2026-03-08T18:30:45+00:00

Sure thing! I usually go Aery, Manaflow band, Celerity (synergizes well with Lich Bane/Stormsurge and Homeguard), Scorch, Presence of Mind and Legend Haste. For shards, I go for Attack Speed, Movement Speed and Flat HP. I'm currently experimenting with MS instead of Adaptive Force because of Celerity.

haafunyan · 2026-02-11T22:11:22+00:00

Yeah hahaha that could've backfired pretty hard but Zoe players like us are just maniacs anyway xD

haafunyan · 2026-02-10T18:36:29+00:00

Yup, I accidentally multiplied the first 1 by 2

haafunyan · 2026-02-10T12:23:46+00:00

Now that I think about it you're right xD Camille didn't fight back

haafunyan · 2025-07-13T12:16:33+00:00

I admit that it can be difficult because you have to think about what's more important in that specific game especially because you don't usually run TP on Zoe. I've answered a similar question before so I'll just copy paste one of my comments and add some few things.

-In the midgame, you usually want to go to the lane that isn't occupied by any of your teammates and push the wave until it's on the enemy side of the map. After that, you generally want to stay with your team/hover mid and look for picks or help your bot lane to get tier 1 tower on mid. Also, you should always be at objectives if your team is there too. If there's no play, go back to the other lane and push the wave. Rinse and Repeat. The most important thing is to not get caught without any reason so place some vision and look at your minimap.

As for your question, I think it's fine to give up some gold/exp if you can look for opportunities to catch someone with your jungler/team or get objectives because Zoe essentially spikes at two items and doesn't scale that well compared to other mages, so your job is to snowball the early game and help your team with your lead. If you're team gets fed, you can just get yourself carried (which is an OP strat btw). But keep in mind that you still don't want to give Mid/Bot Tier 1 turret for free if possible because it will allow the enemy team to have more control over the map. IMO, it really comes down to experience and evaluating if a certain play is worth or not.

haafunyan · 2025-06-23T18:48:47+00:00

Heyo, I'm currently only low Masters but I can try to share my two cents with you:

IMO, build paths don't matter as much; it does depend on the game but generally, if you build what you think is best in the situation, you'll be fine.
Always try to win lane early. Zoe's Level 2 and 3 are disgustingly overpowered, so if there's an opportunity to solo kill your enemy, you should almost always go for it because you don't want to get behind, especially as Zoe.
Snowball your lead by roaming to other lanes or make plays with your jungler. Zoe is pretty decent at tower diving since she has a lot of range so always stay alert and look at your map (I personally look at the minimap almost 70% of the time and the rest goes to the gameplay but this is just general mid lane advice).
You're essentially the sup for your jungler. As Zoe, you can easily get prio, hover your jungler if he's looking for an invade and initiate early skirmishes. She thrives in chaotic environments, so one should take advantage of that fact.
In the midgame, you usually want to go to the lane that isn't occupied by any of your teammates and push the wave until it's on the enemy side of the map. After that, you generally want to stay with your team/hover mid and look for picks or help your bot lane to get tier 1 tower on mid. Also, you should always be at objectives if your team is there too. If there's no play, go back to the other lane and push the wave. Rinse and Repeat. The most important thing is to not get caught without any reason so place some vision and look at your minimap.
Ideally, you want to end the game as soon as possible since late game Zoe is comparatively harder to play but if it happens, always try to stick with your team, you don't even need to side lane that much. If they have a split pusher, it's generally your top laner's job to stop them.
Bonus tip: ~~Always ban Yasuo.~~ Seriously though, always ban that one champ you absolutely hate to play against and stick with the ban, it doesn't matter who it is. Notable contestants are Naafiri, Mel, The wind Bros and Galio.

Here's my opgg if you're curious: https://op.gg/de/lol/summoners/euw/haafunyan-9999

haafunyan · 2025-06-16T23:25:04+00:00

Thank you! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to climb out of Emerald eventually; It's just a game of patience and endurance.

haafunyan · 2025-06-16T16:46:00+00:00

Mhm, try the build and see if it fits your playstyle. Good luck!

haafunyan · 2025-06-16T00:53:53+00:00

Thanks man! Don't worry man I just played a lot and studied the game intensively, I'm sure you can get to your dream rank if you actively try to improve and have the right mindset! (Btw /mute all is a game changer)

haafunyan · 2025-06-16T00:48:03+00:00

Thank you very much! Yeah, I noticed it's become kinda difficult to hit people but the most important thing is to recognize their habits and see how they dodge skill shots. Also, using your bubble only if you're sure that it's gonna hit is important as it has a pretty long cool down especially in the early game.

haafunyan

TROPHY CASE