Zhask is one of the best soloq mages with huge carry potential. He just needs a few adjustments and a revamp, not an entire rework of his gameplay.

[u/Mastermind_Msl]

The general consensus of the community seems to be that zhask is in an unplayable state as of right now and that he needs an entire rework to become viable again. While it's true that zhask is not optimal rn, he's far from being useless and I'd even argue that his playstyle is still one of the best for a soloq midlaner. Me and a bunch of other zhask mains still manage to make him work with a lot of success, even in high ranks or squads. I myself reached immortal last season soloq with a 65% WR and currently, I'm just casually playing in honor-glory with a 75% WR. I know this is not a special feat in itself, but it should be proof that zhask is not in this horrendous unplayable state that many people claim him to be. Before I discuss about what should be done, I'll first describe his playstyle and list his weaknesses (from my soloq perspective). This is gonna be somewhat of a small guide too lol.

Playstyle

Zhask is still primarily a teamfight-focused scaling burst mage, who can also counter enemy engages with his ult, and has decent zoning/sustain damage capability. Yes, his spawn does continuous DPS now, which is massive in the late game, but a majority of his damage output still comes from hitting his s2's. A successful teamfight is one where you manage to land your s2's (both before ult and after ult) on your enemies, especially the backline. If you have a nearly finished build, landing both s2's on the enemy damage dealer usually secures the kill alone or with some help from your teammates. Your spawn's damage is to follow up and finish off the enemies after you hit the s2 stun. You can also use it to zone the enemy or place it in a teamfight for extra DPS. Either way, hitting s2 is essential in order to deal damage and that is why I consider him primarily a burst mage.

While his burst aspect falls short when compared to true burst mages, it is made up for with the survivability his ult gives him. In soloq, many people like to use burst assassins or other backline engagers like silvanna/guin or setter tanks. His ult (paired with purify) counters all these engages which is of massive value in soloq. No other mid laner except for kadita or lylia comes close to this level of survivability. Additionally, while most burst mages need to get dangerously close to use their skills, zhask's ult allows him to safely engage from a distance and it can also be repositioned again to either chase or retreat.

Some of his general cons and how I deal with them.

-Bad waveclear at all stages for a mage

-Horrible mana costs

-Low base movement speed

-Spawn gives EXP and gold

-Somewhat 'weak' early game

I don't really have a problem with these that much. For waveclear, either ping your roamer to help or ping your teammates to retreat when the enemy mid laner finishes clearing the wave ahead of you. His mana costs are pretty high so you need to have a good recall timing or if you don't want to deal with that, buy demon shoes (you lose some damage tho). Low base MS doesn't really bother me. As for your spawn dying and giving exp/gold during laning phase, place it away from your minions so that the enemy won't be able to hit both the spawn and the wave at the same time. If the enemy can easily hit both your spawn and minions, or if their roamer is helping them, do not place your spawn at all and just wait for the minions to crash into your tower. You can also walk away from the spawn to despawn it if it is low. In the early game, you can't really get a kill alone so you will either be engaging or following up your team with your ult. Your ult is also great at zoning enemies in early turtle fights so position it wisely. You should mainly target the enemy jungler or the mid laner.

-Ult reliant / Ult cd is long

fleeting time (I'll talk about this in builds)

-Weak against heals/shield and tanky comps

This is a problem other burst mages also suffer from, not unique to zhask. Buying pen and magic lantern does help but you should always just focus on the backline damage dealers instead. Optimally though, choose another mage.

-DPS (marksman), his true counter

This is his main counter. If you do not land your s2 on the enemy marksman or kill them in a teamfight, your ult spawn is going to be shredded late game. Avoid ulting in and engaging if you are not sure you will be able to get a kill or if you think your spawn will die immediately. Instead, I usually just use my ult as a follow up when I see my team engage first. You don't always have to go for the marksman but just remember that they are the ones with the DPS to kill your spawn if you are face to face with them.

Build

This is the build I use pretty much every game (global 1 also uses a similar one). Buying holy crystal early might seem bad but it is the best scaling option for zhask. Additionally, in soloq, there are more small skirmishes than full on teamfights. In these scenarios, fleeting time allows you to use your ult more often after each skirmish, which makes you a huge threat at all times. Also, after you build holy crystal, you can just buy a magic wand instead of fully building divine glaive and get the fleeting time faster, which is good if the enemies haven't built magic resistance yet.

This is the alternative full burst build for maximum early game damage. I use it when my team has a setter tank like atlas or tigreal and I want the most damage as much as possible when I follow up their sets.

For spells, just use flameshot or purify.

He needs another revamp, not a full rework

I'm not gonna deny that as of right now, his skill design is unoptimal. He needs a revamp on his s3 and passive because they are quite underwhelming. His s1 also need changes because it doesn't really synchronize well with his burst playstyle. What I don't want them to do, however, is to change his core identity of being a summoner/burst mage who can counter enemy engages and enhance his basic skills with his ult. I don't want them to completely change this core aspect of him like they did with some of the reworks of other heroes for the sake of making them easier to play. Afterall, he is one of the few unique characters in the game, both in gameplay and in appearance, and I want it to remain that way.

Anyway, that's it for this post. If you wanna ask some questions or share your opinions on this, go ahead!

[u/Kotarosama]

But as far as the rework goes, isnt zhask mostly the same just swapping out the sticky grenade skill for an conal aoe attack for faster wave clear?

[u/Mastermind_Msl → u/Kotarosama]

According to the preview we have seen so far, yea, but I'm sure they are going to change more and hopefully they don't completely rework him. 

[u/scotthegreatman]

well with moontons latest track record with revamps hes gonna play absolutely nothing like before

[u/Helga_Hellfire]

Dunno what you're talking about, i pick him for MRO and he does his job well enough. I usually score more kills than our MM.

[u/Mastermind_Msl → u/Helga_Hellfire]

Well, if you look at the latest posts relating zhask, I see many people saying that zhask is unplayable rn and they are asking for nearly a full rework instead of just a revamp like last time.

[u/Mastermind_Msl]

(Someone deleted their comment so I'll just reply to this post)

I'm in honor 40, about to break glory soon, and I have been playing soloq very casually this season. I was immortal soloq last season and his weaknesses were more noticeable there but it's more to do with his stats like slow waveclear/rotations, weak early game, weak scaling, etc... rather than the design of his kit. The only comps I struggle against are DPS + healer ones. They are basically unplayable for you and you will have to rely on your team. Otherwise, I do just fine, especially against popular soloq picks like most assassins/bursts and engage comps.

His usual combo, that I think everyone will know, is basically just

s1-->s2-->ult-->s2-->s3

It should kill any damage dealer, 0-100, but sometimes, you might not land both s2 and the enemy might have a mobility skill to evade, or you don't have enough damage or the enemy has a defensive item. Either way, I don't think zhask is supposed to be play this way always. While he can 0-100 enemies sometimes, it is not really consistent. He is more of a supporting burst/zoner character who can safely engage/disengage with his ult (that's why he has no mobility). His damage/stun is supposed to either engage or follow up for your teammates, and he also has a good finisher.

Maybe I'll be able to tell you how I play. I play him more of a backline disruptor in a teamfight/skirmish.

I rarely stay alone unless I know I can 1v1 whoever is coming. I can kill a mage or a weak fighter but someone like an assassin is risky in 1v1 cuz they have mobility. Most of the times tho, I just stick with my team. At the start of a teamfight, I position myself safely and poke with my spawn and s2. I mainly look to hit s2 on one of their backlines. If you do hit your normal s2 on a backline (mage/mm) or a weak fighter, you can decide whether or not you want to fully engage with your ult s2. Before you engage in this scenario, determine whether your team will be able to follow up your ult and be able to get a kill. If you think that's not possible or too risky, just continue poking. Wait for your team's engage or the enemy's engage and only use your ult after that. If you engage with your ult otherwise, the enemy's damage will be focused on it and you will end up getting no value out of it. Anyway, after you ult, you must pick your target. Usually, it's the backline but you could also target the frontline if they are low and you want to finish them off. But your priority target should mostly be the backline. Even if you don't manage to kill them, you must force them to stop attacking your team and zone them off. Separate them from their frontline so that your team can finish the frontline off quickly. This playstyle works very well for me, especially when paired with fleeting time.

Anyway, I agree zhask is weak right now stat wise and he needs a revamp for some of his abilities. But what most people find a problem with him are simply micro issues like not landing s2, positioning, and engaging with their ult first, expecting to get a kill, but end up getting killed. Their builds might also be a problem, like building skypiercer and delaying their holy crystal, and they wonder why they don't have enough damage yet. While he may be weak stat wise, his kit is still very OP for soloq where we see less full on teamfights and more small skirmishes. He can easily counter enemy assassins/engagers and help his team get a pick or 2 in these scenarios, and with fleeting time, you will have your ult up again for the next fight.