How to Play Zoe Support?

Zoe is one of the latest additions to the support lineup. And while she was never designed to be a support, her ability kit fits the role perfectly. Besides damage, she brings crowd control and utility, which allows her to help and set up her teammates for success.

So, how to play Zoe support?

Playing Zoe as a support is definitely different from her mid lane playstyle. But the fact that you don’t have to focus on minions and CSing makes the job way more fun. As a support, you can put all your effort into setting up kills for you and for your ADC.

I’ve been playing Zoe in the bot lane ever since the champion came out. I’ve reached Diamond elo in the past by only playing Zoe support, so it’s definitely possible to carry from this role. And in this post, I’ll talk all about how to play Zoe support in League of Legends!

So, let’s start with the basics.

Read Also: Zoe One Shot Build

Is Zoe Support a Good Pick?

Yes, Zoe is an excellent support pick. She has damage, crowd control, and utility. Zoe can set up kills in the bot lane with her E – Sleepy Trouble Bubble. She can also pick up spells like Heal and Exhaust from minions and use them to save her ADC. Zoe can also one shot enemies, even as a support.

Zoe’s biggest strength in the bot lane is her Sleepy Trouble Bubble. This is by far the best single-target crowd control spell in the game. It damages the enemy from a long range, puts them to sleep for several seconds, and makes them vulnerable.

And in the mid lane, Zoe doesn’t have nearly as much terrain to play around with. But in the bot lane, she can use every wall to aim her Sleepy Trouble Bubble.

For example, Zoe can sit in the tri-bush and look for bubbles in the lane or around the dragon pit. She gets access to so much terrain from this spot that she can influence fights in both her lane and the river.

But that’s not all! Zoe’s W – Spell Thief allows her to protect her ADC by stealing Exhausts, Heals, and active items such as Redemption or Locket of the Iron Solari. This ability is simply limitless!

And last but not least, Zoe’s damage is just unbelievable! She is an early game burst mage that can bully nearly all bot lane combos. Her combo is guaranteed to take 60-70% HP from her target, no matter her items. So, in most games, you’ll carry as hard as you mid laner.

That said, let’s jump into the runes and items to learn how to play Zoe support in League of Legends!

Zoe Support – Runes

Here are my recommended runes for playing Zoe support:

Dark Harvest – increases your damage against low HP targets and allows you to one shot them in the late game.
Sudden Impact – grants you Magic Penetration every time you use your ultimate or a Flash, but also when you fish for Sleepy Trouble Bubbles from a bush.
Eyeball Collection – gives you a bit of Ability Power in the early game, so it’s useful to have.
Relentless Hunter – makes you an incredibly mobile champion and allows you to roam the entire map a lot faster.

Nimbus Cloak – grants you a burst of Movement Speed every time you use a Summoner Spell, either your own or a stolen one through your W.
Transcendence – is a great way to get extra Ability Haste in the mid game, which is a crucial stat on support Zoe.

I believe you might have some questions about my recommended Zoe support rune page. So let me explain.

First of all, why Dark Harvest and not Electrocute?

Well, Dark Harvest does more damage than Electrocute, but only if you have enough stacks. You should always play aggressively in the bot lane as Zoe and poke your opponents all the time. This will get let you quickly stack Dark Harvest and make your combo really scary.

Second, why Sudden Impact instead of Cheap Shot?

Cheap Shot increases your damage only if you are the one that breaks the Sleepy Trouble Bubble. But since you play with a partner in bot lane, you won’t get to break the bubble always. On the other hand, Sudden Impact will give you Magic Penetration every time you need it.

And third, why Relentless instead of Ravenous Hunter?

Your goal here is to roam around the map and set up kills with your E. And more MS means more kill opportunities!

Read Also: AD Soraka Build Guide

Optional Runes

If you’re just now learning how to play Zoe support in LoL, I recommend you stick to my rune page above. But if you want to experiment a bit further, here are the runes you can go for.

Electrocute – a bursty keystone for dominating the early game.
Ghost Poro – helps you with setting up vision around the map.
Arcane Comet – excellent for poking in the lane.
Manaflow Band – increases your mana and mana regeneration.
Scorch – does great damage early on.
Gathering Storm – incredible for scaling for the late game.

Zoe Support – Items

And here is my recommended item build for playing Zoe support.

Spellthief’s Edge – the best item for AP supports.
Luden’s Tempest – is the best mythic item for Zoe because it grants the highest burst damage, plus a lot of Ability Haste and mana.
Horizon Focus – boosts your damage in the mid game and makes the enemies you put to sleep visible to all allies.
Morellonomicon – lowers the healing of your enemy so you and your teammates can secure more kills.
Rabadon’s Deathcap – almost doubles your Ability Power and significantly increases your damage in the late game.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity – give you 20 Ability Haste for only 950 gold, which is incredibly useful early on.

As a support Zoe, you need to prioritize building Morellonomicon! There is simply too much healing and self-healing in League of Legends. And Grievous Wounds is a must in every game.

As a support, you’re expected to help in any way possible. So even purchasing an Oblivion Orb will sometimes be enough. Denying your enemy the chance to heal themselves will get you more kills!

Optional Items

On Zoe, you have the freedom to build whatever you want, really. Any item that grants bonus Ability Power is a valuable item for Zoe. However, I recommend you stick with my item build above.

Why?

Well, the items I explained above all increase Zoe’s direct damage. And Zoe’s burst is her biggest strength. Yes, you could build items like Liandry’s Anguish or Lich Bane, but they’re highly situational.

For example, Liandry’s Anguish works great against tanks, and the damage-over-time burn doesn’t break Zoe’s Sleepy Trouble Bubble. And Lich Bane can be used to do deal extra damage to a melee-only team. But, you’ll get more value overall out of the item build above!

Here are a few optional items you should consider.

Liandry’s Anguish – is the best mythic item against tanks.
Lich Bane – empowers your basic attacks and is great against melee champions.
Void Staff – doubles your Magic Penetration.
Zhonya’s Hourglass – is a great defensive option against assassins.
Banshee’s Veil – can be used to counter heavy CC teams.

And those are the items for learning how to play Zoe support.

Summoner Spells

As Zoe Support, it’s best to go with Flash and Ignite. In some games, you’ll absolutely need to pick up Heal or Exhaust. However, Flash and Ignite is your best combo.

Zoe support using Exhaust — Zoe using stolen Exhaust to win trades in bot lane

Early Game

The early game as Zoe support is pretty simple.

You always want to rush to level 2 for the advantage and kill potential. Here you can use Q to help your ADC clear the minions faster. Remember that you unlock your E on level 2, so you can always try to get a kill.

After level 3, in case you play with Relic Shield, you should always save at least one Relic Shield stack for a minion with a balloon. Yes, this will make the process of collecting 500 gold just a bit slower, which means that you won’t unlock your wards as quickly.

However, it guarantees that you’ll get all the Ignites, Exhaust, Everfrosts, and Galeforces early on. And these are much more important because they increase the chance of slaying your opponents significantly!

Besides that, you should spend a lot of your time in the early game besides walls and terrains. This way, you can aim your Sleepy Trouble Bubble while in the fog of war, so you can surprise your enemies.

I definitely think that you should try playing Zoe with Quick Cast with Indicator on. It improves your aim, especially on your E. You can read how to practice that here!

Mid Game

The best way to learn how to play Zoe support is to constantly roam around the map. Always look for opportunities to assist your jungler and mid laner, especially if things aren’t going great in the bot lane. Sometimes it only takes to throw your Sleepy Trouble Bubble and set up a kill for your mid laner.

And as soon as you start grouping with your team, playing Zoe also starts being much more fun. The mid game is all about setting up a vision and punishing your enemies when they make mistakes while trying not to make many mistakes yourself! This will allow you to take more objectives around the map and secure and gain a gold advantage.

So the best thing around this time is to fish for Sleepy Trouble Bubbles. Make sure to pick up a Sweeper and carry two red wards with you at all times. You’ll need to clear the areas around certain walls so you can launch your E from a great distance.

If you could aim 2 or 3 bubbles successfully, chances are that your teammates will score a kill. Your damage isn’t low either, so it’s best to spend your time this way.

Zoe setting up kills with Sleepy Trouble Buble

Late Game

In the late game, you generally want to keep close to your team. Zoe is an extremely squishy champion and quite vulnerable if left alone. And most enemies can win a duel with you, especially as a support.

So, the best way to play the late game as Zoe support is to continue setting up kills with your Sleepy Trouble Bubble. Even though you can protect your ADC in a team fight by stealing Heal or an Exhaust, Zoe is still a mage champion after all. You’ll never be as effective as Soraka or Lulu in shielding teammates, so it’s best to shift your focus to dealing damage.

If you’ve been playing the early game well, then your burst should be deadly in the late game. Ideally, you should prioritize aiming towards squishy targets, such as the enemy ADC and the mid laner. But any Sleepy Trouble Bubble you hit will be helpful to your team.

Zoe is one of the best champions for sieging and taking objectives in the game. And any time your team moves to Dragon, Baron, or Inhibitor, it’s showtime for you. Use the surrounding terrain to catch enemies with your E and quickly one shot before they can do anything.

And that’s all the basics you should know on how to play Zoe support!

Now let’s talk about ADC synergies and bot lane matchups!

Zoe Support – Bot Synergies and Counters

Zoe Support Bot Synergies

Like any other support pick, Zoe has a few desirable combos in the bot lane. But any aggressive ADC that can control the laning phase is a good match for Zoe.

Here are the top 5 ADCs that Zoe has the most synergy with as a support.

1. Jhin

Jhin is easily the best ADC you can play Zoe support with. He brings an incredible burst to the bot lane. And combined With Zoe’s damage, you can almost always one shot an enemy.

Obviously, Zoe and Jhin can combine their crowd control too. Any time Zoe does her combo of E+Q, Jhin can follow it up with his snare and damage. All in all, a very fun duo to run in the bot lane!

2. Caitlyn

Cait is one of the most aggressive marksman champions in League of Legends. And in combination with Zoe, you can absolutely destroy your enemies.

You can combine Zoe’s bubbles with Caitlyn’s traps. When the enemy is asleep, Cait can put a trap underneath them for extra damage. Zoe can also hit her Q during this time, so it’s a win-win situation!

Read Also: How to Play Zoe Jungle – Guide

3. Ezreal

The Ezreal and Zoe lane isn’t just fanfiction. It’s actually a fantastic duo with a ton of poke damage in the laning phase.

The biggest synergy here is when Zoe puts an enemy to sleep, and Ezreal breaks with his W+Q combo. This will give you the highest burst damage, so you’ll likely slay the opponent too.

4. Varus

In theory, Varus and Zoe should be the deadliest bot lane combo. But even though it can sometimes fail in certain matchups, it’s still a great duo to run.

Varus’s arrow already does one shots if empowered with his W. And if Zoe uses her Sleepy Trouble Bubble and lets Varus deal extra true damage, then that one shot is guaranteed. One of the most fun combos in League for sure!

5. Ashe

The Ashe and Zoe lane isn’t particularly aggressive. However, it becomes significantly stronger once Ashe unlocks her ultimate.

With Ashe’s R, she and Zoe can create kills anywhere around the map. The stun is the perfect opportunity for Zoe to use her E and deal even more damage.

Burst damage in the late game. — Support Zoe’s damage in the late game.

Zoe Support Bot Counters

When learning how to play Zoe support, you’ll quickly notice that some support champions can really ruin your day. And if you can’t avoid all of them, you should at least be prepared.

Here are the top 5 worst matchups for Zoe support.

1. Leona

Leona is just obnoxious when it comes to controlling the laning phase. She can continually engage and not allow you or your ADC to play to your strengths.

If the Leona you’re playing against is aggressive, I advise taking the early game slowly and calling your jungler more often. If not, it’s best to roam and get kills elsewhere.

2. Nautilus

And the same can be said for Nautilus. This champion doesn’t leave any room for shenanigans in the bot lane. And if one hook hits you, you’re probably dead.

Obviously, you should try to dodge Nautilus’ Q as best as you can. You can often counter his engage by putting him to sleep. However, this means that you’ll have to use your E defensively rather than offensively.

Here’s what is most commonly played with Nautilus in the bot lane.

3. Morgana

Morgana will always be your nemesis as a Zoe support. Her Black Shield can remove the effects of your Sleepy Trouble Bubble, which is your best tool in the support role.

My advice here is to spend your ban on Morgana rather than on the other picks. You can dodge Leona’s engage, but you can’t make Morgana not use her own ability.

4. Zyra

Although you won’t have many Zyra players in your game, the champion is still a great counter to Zoe. Not only does she have enough damage to carry on her own, but her plants can also block your skill shots.

This becomes crucial in team fights when you won’t be able to put anyone to sleep. Against Zyra, you should definitely go for different angles and cast your E from behind walls.

Here are Zyra’s best ADC partners so you know what to expect from her in solo queue.

5. Yuumi

Yuumi isn’t really a counter pick for Zoe, but she can’t be hit while she’s attached to an ally. This lowers your chances of scoring a kill because she’ll always heal her ADC, even if you put them to sleep.

On the other hand, Yuumi can purchase Mikael’s Blessing and remove the sleep from her teammates altogether. It’s very annoying to deal with, but you’ll likely see it in your games.

Conclusion

And that’s all on how to play Zoe support in League of Legends! There are definitely a few tricks you can learn here and there, but these are the fundamentals to follow. Remember that your E is the best spell you have, so often roam to take advantage of it. This alone could get you to Diamond!

That said, I hope I helped you figure out how to play Zoe support and why she’s a great pocket pick in the role. Definitely try her in your own games and have fun!

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Last Update: March 2, 2024

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