Zed may never be a League of Legends power pick again, with Riot Games developer August Browning today admitting the balance team deliberately keeps him weak because he makes the game more frustrating and draws a huge number of bans.
The shock revelation came on Thursday, Nov. 30, when August was questioned about the Master of Shadows and his flagging place in the metagame. Instead of giving hopeful Zed mains something to look forward to, the lead League designer delivered a crushing blow: the iconic assassin is being kept weak intentionally—and Riot’s behind-the-scenes Zed block may stay in place “for all eternity.”
One of the biggest elements Riot looked at before deciding to keep Zed out of the limelight was his ban rate. It’s hovering at around 24.8 percent, according to League stats page U.GG, which leaves Zed fourth behind Briar (37.9 percent), Blitzcrank (33.8), and one-half of the wind brothers, Yone (30.4). Some patches though, it even climbs as high as 40 percent, leaving him in clear first place.
The assassin’s ban rate wasn’t the only factor though; August also repeated several times Zed is considered “the most frustrating champion in League of Legends,” which also contributed to his ban order.
Zed was originally released in late 2012 and has since remained one of the most iconic examples of the assassin class in League. Every player in the last eleven years would have a Zed story, whether it be they were choked out of the game by a dominant player piloting the Master of Shadows to perfection or one incredibly timed Death Mark combo swung the entire course of their ranked game. The champion even boasts some of the most memorable esports plays in history.
Right now he wins around 48 percent of ranked matches when played in the mid lane and 47 percent as a jungler. Judging by the League balance team’s stance on the Master of Shadows, sitting two percent below parity may be the best Zed mains can hope for heading into the 2024 season and “for all of eternity.”
Now, eternity is quite a long time. I am and always have been an AD carry who wakes up in cold sweats thinking about Zeds blowing me up from minute three to minute 20 before my team inevitably surrenders, but for the League devs to actively aim for lower-than-parity balance leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If Zed is on the chopping block now, what’s to say Aphelios, Akshan, or Blitzcrank won’t be next? Every champion has someone who loves them; it doesn’t seem fair for Riot to just decide a character cannot be redeemed, even if that character is Zed.
Only time will tell if the Riot team sticks to its guns on barring Zed from the League metagame but for now, expect him to see a little less love.
