If you’ve ever played against Zed in League of Legends, you’ll know just how painfully annoying the champion can be – especially at lower ELO. While the good Zed players are good, though, the bad ones are bad; that 0/10 Yasuo power spike doesn’t seem to quite hit right for weaker Zed players. Riot has shed some light on this, though, with lead designer August ‘August’ Browning claiming that the team intentionally keeps Zed in the balance doghouse because he’s “the most frustrating champion in the game.”
As someone who recently tried out midlane for the first time in too many years, I quickly realized that Zed can quickly become the bane of your existence in League of Legends. However, in one of my latest support games, our Zed went 3/14/10, and had absolutely zero impact on the game.
He’s a champion that, when he thrives, he thrives, but when he dies, he really, really dies. As a result, he remains at the bottom end of the LoL tier list – especially at higher levels of play. This led one player to ask August if the MOBA‘s not-so-premier assassin would ever get a buff.
In what appears to be a clip from either a Tuesday, November 28 or Wednesday, November 29 stream (August doesn’t save vods, so I’m going based on Twitch aggregator SullyGnome), he explains that Riot actually keeps Zed relatively weak because he’s “the most frustrating champion in the game.”
Responding to the fan’s question, August states “I’m going to be very honest with you, you’re right: Zed is weak. It is intentional, as Zed must be kept weak because he is the most frustrating champion in League of Legends. So, for all of eternity, Zed will probably be slightly weaker than he should be because of how often he is banned and how frustrating [he is].” So, tough luck, Zed mains.
Riot August: “Zed Is Weak And Will Be Intentionally Kept Weak Forever Because He Is The Most Frustrating Champion In The Game”
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Unfortunately the clip ends here, but this just seems a bit odd. Given that characters like Yuumi – potentially the most frustrating character to ever have graced the Rift – have seen regular balance changes, leaving Zed as he is feels really strange. The option is always there to rework him, but given August’s choice of “for all of eternity,” that clearly doesn’t seem to be on the cards.
On the other hand, though, given I ban him when I’m playing midlane because he is just so annoying, I’m not particularly mad at the idea of no buffs, either.
There are some huge changes coming in League of Legends Season 14, though, so maybe we’ll see Zed thrive as a result. Alternatively, if you’re sick of being paired up against him, but have other champions you’re banning, we have a list of other multiplayer games that are, potentially, less aggravating.
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