Zac ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch; ARAM balance numbers come from the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data.

Our Zac ARAM build is a pure tank path: Sunfire Aegis, Spirit Visage, Unending Despair and Abyssal Mask on Mercury’s Treads. He slingshots into the enemy team, bounces on everyone with Let’s Bounce! and heals off his own blob chunks. ARAM helps him twice: 96% damage taken and 110% healing.

Everything below is built on his abilities and the item text (no win rates, no tier lists).

How is Zac changed in ARAM?

Both changes make him harder to kill, and on a champion whose whole job is to land first and survive, that’s the best kind of buff to get. He takes 4% less damage and heals 10% more, and that healing bonus applies to every chunk Cell Division drops. On a map with no base to return to, self-healing is worth a lot. Why would Riot buff a tank who already revives? Our guess: melee tanks get poked down before they can engage, and these numbers let Zac arrive with enough Health to matter.

Why does Zac do well on the Howling Abyss?

Long-range engage, an area knock-up and a lot of healing. His patch 26.21 kit:

• Cell Division (passive): ability hits drop chunks he can reabsorb for Health; fatal damage splits him into 4 bloblets that revive him if any survive. 5 minute cooldown.
• Stretching Strikes (Q): an arm grab, then a throw that slams two targets together when he attacks a second enemy. Cooldown 14/12.5/11/9.5/8.
• Unstable Matter (W): bursts outward for magic damage equal to a percentage of nearby enemies’ maximum health. Cooldown 5.
• Elastic Slingshot (E): a charged launch forward from a long distance. Cooldown 21/18/15/12/9.
• Let’s Bounce! (R): four bounces that knock up and slow everyone hit. Cooldown 120/105/90.

Elastic Slingshot lets him start fights from outside the enemy’s vision of the bush or the fog, landing right on the backline. Let’s Bounce! then knocks up anyone nearby four times over. Unstable Matter’s percent-health damage comes back every 5 seconds, and every ability hit drops a chunk he can eat, so a long ARAM brawl turns into a steady source of healing. The revive is just a bonus (a big one). Is there anything he lacks? Damage, honestly. He’s there to engage and soak.

What items does Zac need in ARAM?

Health, resistances and items that do damage just by standing next to people. Here’s the order (Plated Steelcaps instead of Mercury’s if the enemy is mostly attack damage).

Sunfire Aegis first. Its Immolate burn keeps ticking on everyone around him for 3 seconds whenever he trades damage, and in a one-lane brawl he’s trading constantly. 350 Health and 50 Armor on top.

Spirit Visage second. Boundless Vitality raises heals and shields on him by 25%, so the chunks from Cell Division heal for even more on top of the 110% healing modifier. Then Unending Despair: Anguish hits nearby enemy champions with magic damage every 4 seconds in combat and heals him for 250% of that damage.

Abyssal Mask closes the core. Unmake makes nearby enemy champions take 12% more magic damage, which helps his own W and R as well as his team’s mages. Mercury’s Treads give 30% Tenacity against random crowd control. In practice, Zac never builds damage items here, and he doesn’t need them.

How do you play Zac in teamfights?

• Engage with Elastic Slingshot onto the backline. It launches you from long range.
• Follow with Let’s Bounce!; every bounce knocks up and slows enemies hit.
• Pick up your chunks. Each one restores Health, boosted by the ARAM healing modifier.
• Use Stretching Strikes to slam two enemies together, ideally a carry into a tank.
• Don’t panic at low Health if Cell Division is ready; the bloblets can revive you.

How do shopping on death and Mark work for Zac?

You buy only when you die, and Zac doesn’t die often. Health components fit every item in this build, so any early death still turns into progress. Health relics help, but his chunks do most of the healing.

Snowball hits from Mark open a dash to that champion. Zac already has a long engage, so Mark is mostly a follow-up or a way to reach a target when Elastic Slingshot is on cooldown. Summoners are locked once the game loads. Flash and Mark are the usual pair, to be fair, and Flash during the slingshot charge is a classic trick.

Is Zac a strong ARAM pick?

Yes. A tank with two ARAM buffs, long-range engage and lots of self-healing is exactly what most random teams lack. Grievous Wounds and heavy kiting are his problems.

Facing him in the jungle on Summoner’s Rift instead? The Zac counters guide walks through the five junglers we’d pick against him. Stats for Sunfire Aegis and the rest are in our League items list, and his blobby costumes are on the Zac skins page.

Long story short, the Zac ARAM build is Sunfire Aegis, Spirit Visage, Unending Despair and Abyssal Mask, with Elastic Slingshot opening fights and every chunk picked up afterward.

FAQ

What are Zac’s ARAM modifiers?

Damage taken 96% and healing 110%, according to wiki data for patch 26.21.

Why Spirit Visage on Zac?

Boundless Vitality increases heals on him by 25%, so every chunk he reabsorbs heals for more.

Does Zac’s revive work in ARAM?

Yes. Cell Division splits him into 4 bloblets on fatal damage, and he revives if any survive. It has a 5 minute cooldown.

How far can Zac engage?

Elastic Slingshot launches him forward from long range. Its cooldown is 21/18/15/12/9 seconds.

Should Zac take Mark?

It’s a good second engage. A snowball hit gives a dash to the target when Elastic Slingshot is on cooldown.