New Zac guide: how to play, what to build and what’s different

Zac is a beautiful blob man with one of the most satisfying abilities in the game (Elastic Slingshot is really, really good). But despite how fun and awesome Zac is, he has struggled frequently with balance since being added to League in 2013. When Zac was released, he was extremely powerful, causing Riot to eventually nerf him out of existence for quite some time. This past year, Zac picked up again with a vengeance with pretty high win rates and play rates, but there was still room to improve in his play style.

With this Vanguard Update, Riot hopes to make Zac more engaging, specifically stating that they don’t want you to just spam all of your abilities the moment you land in a teamfight. It looks like they have certainly succeeded at some of that, and as it should be with Zac, things get weird.

Passive - Cell Division

Completely unchanged.

(NEW) Q - Stretching Strike (Max second)

This is now one of the coolest and weirdest abilities in the game. Zac stretches his arm out, grabbing the first enemy struck, dealing damage. Zac’s next basic attack gains increased range and also attaches to an enemy. Once Zac has grabbed two enemies, he slams them together, dealing damage in an area.

WHAT!? How cool is that? This ability will make Zac’s clear pretty quick, allowing him to deal with both the large monster and their little minions. However, Red buff, Blue buff, and Gromp won’t benefit much from this update, as they are truly lonely now. As this works with enemies struck, not just enemy champions, it will also make for a great ganking tool. Both enemies get pulled together, meeting somewhere in the middle. Meaning that you can jump in, grab the retreating mid laner and slam them into their own minion wave. Cool!

W - Unstable Matter (Max third)

Also completely unchanged.

E - Elastic Slingshot (Max first)

Too good for its own good, this ability is being slightly nerfed. The damage has been slightly decreased and the knock up time has been halved. Indecision is now also being slightly punished, with the possible channeling time being slightly reduced.

(NEW) R - Let’s Bounce (Level when available)

Zac squishes down, become a puddle of goop and charging. While in puddle form, Zac is immune to all CC and slows enemies that walk over him. If Zac releases before being charged (at least one second), he will knock back all enemies. If Zac charges up before releasing, he will absorb all of the enemies currently standing on him and carry them to a location of his choosing nearby. When they land, the enemies will take damage and be briefly slowed.

This is another way cool ability being added to Zac’s kit. Basically, you want to land on top of some enemies, squish down, and pull them into your own team or a tower. The potential for Let’s Bounce is nearly limitless, as it allows Zac to do some incredible things positionally speaking.

The Build

Like all of the other Vanguard, Zac should probably be pretty tanky. Thus, we are going to build all tank on him all the time.

These are great starter items on Zac:

• Hunter’s Talisman
• Refillable Potion

This is a great build on Zac:

• Cinderhulk
• Abyssal Scepter
• Dead Man’s Plate
• Spirit’s Visage
• Randuin’s Omen
• Mercury’s Treads