Introduction
Riot Games released a new champion, Zeri, that took the whole community by storm. She boasts a never-before-seen and fun playstyle. Zeri controls a unique type of magic, and in this way, she has the power of the storm in her hands. Since she is a new champion, many players will have a hard time playing around her kit, so to make things easier for you, this is Zeri Ultimate Guide 2022 that tackles everything about her, including laning, skills, runes, counters, combos, and items. Hope you like this guide, and let’s get started!
Zeri has a very short range, so she has to rely on kiting and positioning like Kai’sa, Vayne, and Samira. Nevertheless, you should not worry about that since her entire kit makes those things a lot easier. Of course, before learning the complexity of a champion, you have to learn the basics first, so let us begin by learning all of her abilities.
Complete Zeri Guide 2022: Skills
Passive: Living Battery
Whenever Zeri damages an enemy, she will absorb their shield and apply it to herself. This will be her main kiting and positioning ability since Zeri will receive additional movement speed at any time she gains a shield.
Q: Burst Fire
Burst Fire has both an active and passive effect. With her ultimate, burst Fire will be Zeri’s primary ability to build up attack speed and damage.
Passive: All of Zeri’s basic attacks will deal bonus magic damage, which scales with her ability power. Unlike other skills, Burst Fire is treated as an ability. Zeri will charge her sparkpack whenever she uses this ability. When her sparkpack becomes fully charged, Zeri’s next basic attack will deal bonus damage and slow enemies.
Active: Zeri will shoot a burst of 7 rounds that will deal additional physical damage when she uses this ability. Contrary to the passive effect, Burst Fire’s active ability is treated as an auto-attack and scales with Zeri’s attack damage.
W: Ultrashock Laser
Zeri will fire a pulse that will slow and damage the first enemy hit. It can also be cast on a wall, in which the pulse will travel on a longer range from the point of impact.
E: Spark Surge
Zeri’s main repositioning ability. She will dash on a target location shortly and empower her next three burst fire casts, which will pierce through enemies. Zeri can also vault and grind depending on the terrain and angle. The cooldown of spark surge will also be reduced whenever Zeri hits an enemy champion with either an attack or ability.
Ultimate: Lightning Crash
Zeri will overcharge herself, damage nearby enemies, and discharge a huge burst of electricity when cast. When overcharged, Zeri will have bonus effects, which are increased damage, movement speed, and attack speed. She will stack additional movement speed and reset the overcharge duration whenever she attacks an enemy champion. Additionally, when overcharged, Zeri will also modify her burst fire ability, wherein she will shoot a triple bullet that travels faster and chains lightning between her enemies.
Complete Zeri Guide 2022: Laning
Early Game
As mentioned previously, the early game will be a really difficult phase for Zeri because of her weak trading potential and short range. Play her like the usual short-ranged hyper carries like Kai’sa and Vayne. The best thing to do during the laning phase when playing Zeri is to play passively and save gold to hit the first item power spike. Use the additional range of her ultrashock laser (w) to get free damage and pokes on your enemies.
Do not try to trade with the enemy support and AD carry since this will lead to unfavorable positions most of the time. Never overextend as Zeri since it will almost be impossible to get out whenever the enemy jungler decides to gank. However, you can still use her spark surge (e) to jump through walls when needed.
Mid Game
This is the phase where Zeri gains some of her fighting power as long as you hit her first item power spike. However, it is still best to play safely during this phase because this is the time when objectives can either make or break the game.
Always remember that Zeri will get stronger as the game progresses. Focus on last hitting minions, clearing jungle camps, saving gold, and getting lane priority in order to set up your team to success when everyone enters the late game.
Late Game
Never overextend as the AD carry. It is important that you play smartly during this phase because it is game over for your team once you get picked off. Play around map control and set up team fights carefully.
Remember the number one goal when it comes to team fighting as the AD carry; YOU SHOULD BE THE HIGHEST DAMAGE DEALER AFTER THE FIGHT. You have to stay alive as much as possible to do this. Hit the closest enemy within your attack range. Whether they are a bruiser or support, just focus on staying alive.
It is also easy to position as Zeri since she has tons of self-peel in her kit. The movement and attack speed bonuses make it harder for enemies to catch you. Kite them to death, and I guarantee that your team will come out victorious after the team fight.
Complete Zeri Guide 2022: Runes
Lethal Tempo
This rune will allow her to easily stack her passive. If you thought that Zeri with multiple attack speed stacks is overpowered, then Lethal Tempo will make her even more powerful. Not only that, but the bonus attack range (75) at full stacks is also a big help for her burst fire ability. Using this rune will allow you to focus on attack damage items instead of being attack speed focused.
Fleet Footwork
A great rune alternative for Zeri since she is really squishy and has low mobility during the early game. Pick this rune up against bully AD carries like Draven, Varus, and Caitlyn. However, I still think that Lethal Tempo is still the better choice 90% of the time because of the bonuses that it gives during the late game.
Presence of Mind
Most of the time, you will have mana problems as a Zeri player. I take this rune most of the time to make my weak early game more manageable by providing more opportunities to cast my abilities.
Legend: Bloodline
This rune will be a big help for sustain in the early game and lifesteal during the late game. Since you would not be building lifesteal items most of the time as Zeri, Legend: Bloodline should be a staple in your rune lineup.
Coup De Grace
This is a great alternative to Legend: Bloodline if you want more damage.
Cut Down
I always pick this rune up if I am against tanky champions. You can have up to 100% bonus damage on enemies with more health than you, which is huge during the late game.
Taste of Blood
Since Zeri has a really weak early game, Taste of Blood will allow her to sustain during the laning phase. Not only that, but this rune will be pretty useful in staying alive during team fights.
Ravenous Hunter
Similar to Legend: Bloodline, this rune will grant Zeri a little bit of sustain during the late game. Do note, however, that the bonus from Ravenous Hunter is omnivamp, which means she will only recover health when she damages enemies using her abilities.
Complete Zeri Guide 2022: Items
Trinity Force
This might shock a lot of AD carry mains since this is not the usual item path for them. But Trinity Force is really strong on Zeri right now because of the Sheen passive and bonus stats, like attack speed, damage, and health. The ability haste from Trinity Force will also help in stacking her passive and ultimate. I usually go this build path when playing Zeri because I think this is currently the best mythic item for her.
Kraken Slayer
If you prefer going through the crit path, then Kraken Slayer should be your main choice. Like all other AD carries, this build will provide Zeri with the most DPS possible. Additionally, the attack speed will also reduce her burst fire cooldown.
Immortal Shieldbow
A great alternative to Kraken Slayer if you prefer lifesteal and survivability more than damage. Similar to its counterpart, Immortal Shieldbow provides bonus stats that greatly helps Zeri’s abilities and DPS potential. However, Kraken Slayer will still be the king for the critical path because of the higher attack speed and damage.
Runaan’s Hurricane
I usually build this as a second item if I go the Trinity Force path. The attack speed bonus from this item will significantly reduce the cooldown of Zeri’s burst fire ability. Not only that but the bolts from Runaan’s Hurricane are treated as an auto-attack, which means that Zeri’s ultimate will have to bounce off multiple enemies more often.
Titanic Hydra
Build this as your third item when you go with the Runaan’s and Tri-force path. The cleave passive of Titanic Hydra stacks with your ultimate and Runaans’ Hurricane, which deals massive damage during teamfights
Black Cleaver
This item should be the next build after Titanic Hydra. The bonus stats will greatly help Zeri’s survivability and damage. Not only that, but Zeri can also stack the carve passive really fast because of her attack speed. Bruisers will never be a problem for you once you finish Black Cleaver.
Situational Items
Bloodthirster
Go with this item if you prefer having more survivability. Not only that, but Zeri will significantly benefit from the additional critical strike chance and attack damage if you go with the crit path.
Mercurial Scimitar
A must-have item for AD carries against heavy CC enemies like Malzahar, Leona, Lissandra, and Maokai. The additional magic resistance will also help if you are going against enemies that rely on ability power.
Guardian Angel
Similar to Mercurial Scimitar, the bonus armor and revive passive from this item will provide you a safety net when going against enemy assassins.
Stormrazor
Since Zeri can stack items that have an energized passive really quickly, this will be an excellent item for her. The additional 120 magic damage for energized auto attacks that this item provides is really powerful for Zeri.
Mortal Reminder
Build Mortal Reminder if the opposing team has a lot of healing abilities like Nami and Soraka.
Wit’s End
A great situational item for Zeri because of the bonus on-hit effects for auto-attacks and for the bonus magic resistance.
Boots
Berserker’s Greaves
Because Zeri greatly relies on auto-attack speed, the bonus from these boots makes it the only viable choice for her.
Zeri Combos
Easy
W > Q
Q > Auto Attack
Q > E > Q
E > W
E > W > Q
Medium
E > W > Q > Auto Attack
Q > E > R > Q
Hard
Q > Auto Attack > E > Q > Auto Attack
Q > Auto Attack > E > W > Q > Auto Attack
Q > Auto Attack > E > R > W > Q > Auto Attack
Here is a video guide of the combos: zericombos
Complete Zeri Guide 2022: Counters
Caitlyn
Good luck dealing with her during the laning phase. The only way to win this matchup is to coordinate with your support and jungler. Play at a safe distance and farm until the late game.
Amumu
Since Zeri’s kit focuses on mobility, Amumu’s stun and ultimate counters her really hard. Whether it is the early game or late game, Amumu will give you a tough time. The only way to counter Amumu is to count his cooldowns or buy a Mercurial Scimitar.
Ashe
Probably the hardest counter to Zeri, Ashe, will be really hard to deal with in all stages of the game. Ashe’s slows cancel out Zeri’s movement speed stacks. On top of that, her ultimate, Enchanted Crystal Arrow, immobilizes enemy champions for a short period, so dodge Ashe’s ultimate as much as you can.
Farming until the late game and playing with your teammates during team fights is the only way to win this match-up. A Mercurial Scimitar will also be helpful when it comes to dealing with her abilities.
Draven
Similar to the Caitlyn matchup, a good Draven player will out damage and bully you to death during the laning phase. Play like what you should do against a Caitlyn player, coordinate with your support and jungler, farm until the late game, and play at a safe distance. Nevertheless, you will win against a Draven most of the time once you reach the late game.
Seraphine
I suggest banning Seraphine on all of your games since she will be your most challenging matchup when it comes to support champions. Seraphine has a lot of poke and CC, which are Zeri’s hardest counters during the laning phase. It will be hard to win against her, and your only chance of winning is to play safe until the late game.
Conclusion
That will be the end of “Complete Zeri Guide 2022,” and I hope you learned a lot from this guide. Zeri is an extremely fun champion, but it is really hard to hit her power spikes, especially when the enemy team snowballs. She might be challenging to play because of her weak laning phase. Just play smartly and do not force fights against the enemy laners. Apply all of the things mentioned above, and I assure you that your Zeri gameplay will instantly improve. Good luck on Summoner’s Rift, fellow summoner!
There are many AD carry guides on this website, and I suggest checking them out to up your game! Access them by clicking on these links below: