Zac

Overview

Zac is one of the most satisfying junglers to play when things go right because his engage potential is completely unique. Elastic Slingshot lets him launch himself from an unexpected angle over walls and through terrain to land directly on a target — an ability that bypasses all conventional ward coverage if used correctly. His passive Let's Bounce means that when he dies he splits into four chunks that need to be stomped by enemies to prevent his resurrection, which in a chaotic teamfight where his team is nearby almost never happens. His W Unstable Matter deals damage based on maximum health which means he hurts tanks and carries alike. The key to Zac is that his power is almost entirely about his engage angle and timing. A Zac who slingshots into the middle of a grouped enemy team with his team ready to follow up is one of the most powerful plays in the game. A Zac who slingshots alone into five enemies is one of the most embarrassing mistakes.

Strengths

• Elastic Slingshot E can launch him over walls from unexpected angles completely bypassing conventional ward placement and escape routes
• Passive Let's Bounce resurrection chunks make him extremely hard to kill when his team is nearby to protect them
• Unstable Matter W deals percent maximum health damage making him relevant against tanks and squishies alike
• Ultimate Let's Bounce bounces enemies repeatedly in a large area creating enormous disruption and keeping targets airborne for extended durations
• Naturally very tanky scaling with health items which synergizes with his percent health damage to become both durable and threatening

Weaknesses

• Weak early dueling — his damage before items is low and he cannot win 1v1s against most junglers at level 3 or 4
• Elastic Slingshot is a high commitment ability — missing it or landing in a bad position leaves him extremely vulnerable before cooldowns reset
• Completely reliant on team follow-up for his engage to matter — a Zac who engages alone does nothing except die
• Passive resurrection chunks can be stomped if the enemy team is disciplined about clearing them quickly
• Very ability cooldown dependent — without abilities he has no mobility and no real damage which makes him easy to kite

Early Game

Zac early game is about efficient jungle clearing and finding the right angle for his first gank. His clear is decent but he is not a fast clearing jungler so prioritize full clears over rushing to gank. The key early habit is always scouting gank angles before committing to a lane — Elastic Slingshot from an unexpected direction is far more likely to result in a kill than walking up the river. Look for lanes where the enemy is pushed up and has limited escape mobility, then identify a wall or terrain you can slingshot over to land directly on them. Do not force early fights against the enemy jungler since his pre-item dueling is weak. Ward your jungle entrances and play around knowing where the enemy jungler is.

Mid Game

Mid game Zac becomes a genuine engage threat that the enemy team has to respect. With ability haste items his Elastic Slingshot cooldown is short enough to look for multiple engage opportunities per fight. This is the stage where vision control becomes critical — you need to know where the enemy team is to find the right moment to slingshot in. Before every dragon and baron fight try to get a slingshot angle over the pit wall or through the jungle that lands you directly in the middle of the enemy team when they least expect it. Always ping before slingshots so your team knows to follow immediately — a Zac engage with a half second delay from his team is a dead Zac.

Late Game

Late game Zac is a teamfight engine. His ultimate Let's Bounce becomes one of the most disruptive abilities in the game at this stage — bouncing multiple enemies repeatedly keeps them airborne and unable to act which gives his carries enormous amounts of free damage. The key late game discipline is patience — do not slingshot into a bad angle just because your team is pressuring you to engage. Wait for the perfect moment when the enemy team is grouped, you have a clear slingshot path, and your team is ready. One good Zac engage in a late game teamfight can end the game immediately. One bad one loses it. His passive resurrection is also more valuable late since his team has more time and better positioning to protect his chunks.

Tips & Tricks

• Always ping Elastic Slingshot before releasing it so teammates know to immediately follow your engage — the half second warning makes the difference between a successful engage and dying alone.
• Slingshot over baron and dragon pit walls for unexpected angles — most enemies ward the river approaches but not the pit walls themselves.
• Passive resurrection chunks are prioritized by the nearest enemy auto attack — when you die in a teamfight try to have your chunks land near your teammates rather than in the middle of enemies.
• Unstable Matter W resets its cost and duration when you pick up a Bloblet from your passive — in extended fights dying and resurrecting actually refreshes your W uptime.
• Elastic Slingshot channel can be cancelled by pressing the ability again — use this to fake out enemies who are positioning to dodge your engage and relaunch from a different angle.

For official ability details and lore, visit the official Zac page and the Zac Wiki.