League of Legends S12: Zoe Mid Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Zoe in the midlane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Luden's Tempest

3200 Gold

Shadowflame

3000 Gold

Build

Luden's Tempest is a core item for midlane mages, granting great mobility and plenty of damage potential. 

Shadowflame adds to that, with 100 AP and adding more magic penetration. 

Other good items include Zhonya's Hourglass, Horizon Focus, Void Staff, and Mejai's Soulstealer.

Starting Item & Boots

Corrupting Potion

500 Gold

Sorcerer's Shoes

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Zoe skill priority is:

R > Q > E > W

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Zoe in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Zoe is annoying to play against, which means she's a strong champion to play if done right. Her strength lies in being able to throw her Paddle Star! into the fog of war, and deal tons of damage while moving towards her opponents. She's great in a siege, being able to block off the narrow jungle channels, and when enemies are grouped... yikes. 

• Level 1 - Take Q - Paddle Star! for the poke and zoning potential. 
• Level 2 - Take W - Spell Thief, for the chaos in lane.
• First Back - Start building towards your Luden's Tempest with a Lost Chapter, which will help with mana burn.

Tips & Tricks

• Zoe's passive, More Sparkles!, increases the damage of an auto-attack after a spellcast. Alternate spells and autos for maximum DPS.
• Paddle Star! inflicts damage proportional to the distance it travels before hitting its target. Use your Portal Jump to increase the distance travelled for even more damage.
• Use walls to increase the range of Sleepy Trouble Bubble, and nail enemies who don't expect it. 
• In a trade, you can use Spell Thief to use the summoner's spells of your opponent. Together with yours, this could mean you get to use Flash twice in succession, for example.