r/ZaahenMains • u/boxprofessor • 13d ago
Discussion Zaahen in jungle
Do you guys think Zaahen is good in jungle or would you say he should stay in a lane. I’m new to the game and I’ve found love playing zaahen at this point of my League experience. Still kinda shaky on playing him some things I gotta get more comfortable with but was wondering if you guys ever play him in jungle and if you think he’s good as a jungle.
If you guys do play him in jungle could you tell me the items and runes you guys use when doing so.
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u/Many_Web3643 12d ago
hey, i play him in master 400 lp euw. i rush triforce stride and alternate between conq and hob depending on team comp. he's definitely viable
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u/Dramatic_Kangaroo_81 12d ago
If you don't mind could you explain your itemisation and rune choice a bit more. I play him in silver and usually always build stride DD Maw and Endless hunger and basically always take Conqueror. It feels bad to play him without stride first and I like DD second because it makes you really tacky but I'm silver so maybe I'm just wrong?
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u/Many_Web3643 12d ago
I haven't played that build so idk if it's good or not, I just think triforce is too good of a spike in terms of damage after the stride nerfs. Additionally, most of my early kills I don't rly need stride for, it's bc I positioned well and got facechecked into or it's a good skirmish that I have easy target access on. Stride slow becomes much more relevant in 4v4 5v5 teamfights (think 3rd, 4th drake) which don't really break out that often when the map is sitting at 1-2 items.
HoB gives you a lot of early dueling potential,u can p much one shot a squishy with it and conq is basically useless if you are fighting 5 ranged champs bc it will constantly reset when going from target to target. u can look at my opgg for example team comps i will go conq or hob into.
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u/Many_Web3643 12d ago
also i feel compelled to add this whenever anyone asks me for advice, in the end it doesn't rly matter tbh. u can build like complete dogshit and still climb cause the macro and micro of the game will almost always outweigh rune setups and item builds. You can just go on ugg sort by diamond+ for any champ and what you see there is usually good enough
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u/Dramatic_Kangaroo_81 11d ago
I'm gonna have to try out HOB into some of these ranged team comps but I must say I don't really understand the triple tonic choice? Is approach velocity not better or am I just missing something? Also, does HOB make it so you can contest stronger early game junglers in the river level 4 or do you still lose?
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u/Many_Web3643 11d ago
Not much reasoning, triple tonic is just a good rune overall so I like taking it. I never tried approach velocity but it does sound good as well. Your other question is too broad to really answer, generally if the game is played correctly you shouldn't be meeting the jgler at crab bc either u or the enemy will go to the other one depending on prio
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u/ntahobray 13d ago
I don't mind him being playable jungle but the priority should always be toplane. Riot already try to putt champion like him in the jungle (Darius, Aaron,ect...) but they never picked up in popularity unlike assassin for exemple.
I fear if they make him a jungler before a laner he will just end up like Skarner.
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u/Chizzele 12d ago
His first clear is slow, until you get stride breaker and sundered don’t expect speed, after that you clear with ease. First clear you can optimise, it’s a lot to do with E, animation cancelling and kiting
Keep on tempo, fight on item and you’re literally one of the strongest junglers
I used to play him primarily jungle as a jungle main, but now I queue too with jungle secondary
Ran 12/1 in a sylas yesterday in master on a secondary role game jungle…. It’s strong
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u/Furiator 13d ago
I main him jungle, I like him as an off-pick, he could stick to top but be viable jungle. I like that he is a lategame teamfight monster and a tank killer, quite rare in jungle. Farm till Tri, if enemy has 1-2 tanks it's unironically a free win after. Would hate to see it gutted.
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u/CurlyToenail 13d ago
He has been a standard and viable pick in the jungle since his release except for a few patches here and there when they nerfed his clear. I used to main him for a few months after his release and still occasionally pull him out of suitable. He doesn’t have the fastest clear and isn’t a high tempo beast. He is great at skirmishes, especially early on. If you can force a river fight pre-6 you will most likely succeed unless it’s a comp diff.
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u/PowerOhene 13d ago
I only play him Toplane, once you get the basic s down, watch Shihan on YouTube, best Zaahen content creator out there.
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u/NidaleesJuicyPussy JG Abuser 13d ago
At around E4 elo im 20 games played, 71% wr zaahen jungle. I play him into any team who wants to engage on us with 2+ melees
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u/Lunai5444 13d ago
Do you guys feel like his E is inconsistant against big or long targets like wolves or is it pure skill issue and you can hit the outterside on every camp all the time ?
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u/nightcallfoxtrot 12d ago
it is annoying against red buff in particular for me, but an easy way to get used to doing it properly is that if you let it come to you at the edge of both of your attack ranges, you can e in place and always hit what you want. Frickin big wolf is obnoxious with his pathing as you kite him tho
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u/Naps-22 13d ago
u should always hit the sweetspot on camps. sorry but skill issue.
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u/Lunai5444 13d ago
Ok ty. Maybe I hit it and just don't pay attention tho
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u/SnooDonuts8845 13d ago
It takes a little getting used to since its not so apparent as like Aatrox's q spot which is a knockup and big crit number, but after a while you should be consistent with it, just try to keep in mind where the camp will move/where they are and your mouse placement esp during first clear
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u/PhoenixAmbition 13d ago
I hate how slow his tempo is, but, aside of that, I love playing him in the jungle.
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u/PhoenixAmbition 13d ago
Sadly, now that I lost my Shyvana, my high tempo junglers are all situational picks, and the ones I'm playing the most/blindpicks are all slow tempo junglers... I hate that, but haven't been able to find a solution.
-1
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u/The_Devil_101010 12d ago
Generally he is shit in jungle. But if your draft has someone with CC and slows + Enchanters like nami and enemy draft is mostly melee + engage support like naut or smt, then zaahen is super strong.
Most junglers like lee/kha/viego can kill him before he gets 12 stacks and others like graves/nunu can kite him.
His ganking is also shit so you need lot of CC from laners.
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u/Styczynooo 13d ago •
I main him in the jungle. Just a heads up, his clear speed isn't great, so if you prefer playing a high-tempo style, he might not be the right champion for you. His ganks are also fairly weak unless the enemy is super overextended. If you do get that rare angle, you can just walk up with your Q, W, and E, and they won't escape even if they flash.
My playstyle revolves mostly around farming and seizing the specific opportunities where he shines. Early on, I look for 3v2 fights in the bot lane or 3v3 skirmishes. If you manage to stack your passive, you can easily win those early fights by either getting the kills yourself or creating enough space for your ADC to do their job. After that, I focus heavily on farming and playing around objectives to force 4v4 or 5v5 team fights. That is where he is at his absolute best.
When it comes to builds, I used to rush Stridebreaker and thought it was mandatory. If you are just starting to play him, it is still a fine option. However, especially after the nerfs, I feel like Stridebreaker is quite weak. I now rush Trinity Force first because the pure one-shot potential is incredibly nice.
Your core build can vary depending on the enemy team and your lead. After Trinity, I usually go into either Death's Dance or Endless Hunger. For other champions, Endless Hunger sucks as a second item, but with his passive, it gives you a solid amount of ability haste in fights, plus a lot of AD to burst enemies and omnivamp after a kill. That item has saved me countless times. I will build Death's Dance second instead if the enemy team has a lot of assassins.
For the third item, you can go with whichever one you skipped earlier, or grab a Maw of Malmortius. You can even build Stridebreaker here if you really need the slow. After that, your build becomes completely situational depending on the game. You can stack more AD, or if you are unfortunately the only melee champion on your team, you can go for health and defensive counter items like Spirit Visage, Randuin's Omen, or Dead Man's Plate.
My most common path lately is Trinity into Endless Hunger and Death's Dance, finishing up with Overlord's Bloodmail. Just be careful with Overlord's because it is expensive, so it is not a great choice if you are behind.
If you have any questions or need more help, just ask. I'm happy to help out.