How to Play Zaahen: Ability Tips, Build Path, and Pro Strategy for Patch 25.23

This guide was created by STATUP.GG, an AI-powered voice coach designed to help you play smarter and more confidently.

‍

Zaahen was released as the 172nd champion in League of Legends on November 20 with patch 25.23.

Whenever a new champion is released or an existing one receives a remake, players often repeat the same feedback that the gameplay is straightforward yet the ability descriptions are unnecessarily long and complicated.

For many players, carefully reading and understanding every line of the skill tooltips from start to finish feels burdensome.

This article aims to lower that barrier by breaking down Zaahen’s abilities in a clear and intuitive way and by explaining how to use him effectively in real games from a practical gameplay perspective.

1. Champion Identity

A champion’s identity and role are usually most clearly expressed through their passive and ultimate abilities. Zaahen is no exception, and his passive is built around two core components.

(1) A stacking mechanic similar to Conqueror

He gains Determination stacks whenever he lands a basic attack or hits an enemy with an ability, and each stack grants bonus AD. This creates a scaling pattern in which Zaahen becomes progressively stronger the longer a fight continues.

(2) A revival effect that activates at 12 stacks

When his Determination stacks reach the maximum of 12, Zaahen gains a single opportunity to revive. This effect greatly amplifies his survivability in extended engagements and significantly enhances his ability to stay in fights.

Considering that he is a melee champion and that his kit combines stack based bonus AD with a revival mechanic, it is clear that Zaahen is designed as a sustained fighting bruiser who becomes stronger the longer a battle goes on.

2. Ability Overview

(1) Passive: Determination

• Zaahen gains up to 12 Determination stacks whenever he deals damage to an enemy. 
• Each stack grants bonus attack damage. If he takes lethal damage while at 12 stacks, he enters a revival state for 4 seconds on a long cooldown, becomes untargetable, and restores up to 75 percent of his maximum health.
  
  

(2) Q1: Empowered Strike (Active)

• Zaahen empowers his next basic attack to strike twice and deal physical damage. 
• Each hit restores health based on his maximum health, and the attack timer is reset.
  
  

(3) Q2: Recast

• After using Q1, Zaahen can recast the ability to empower his next basic attack. 
• The attack deals additional physical damage and knocks the target airborne for 0.75 seconds.
  
  

(4) W: Glaive Lash

• Zaahen swings his glaive forward, dealing damage to enemies in its path. 
• If the ability hits, it stuns all affected enemies for 0.25 seconds and pulls Zaahen toward them.
  
  

(5) E: Impact Dash

• Zaahen dashes to a target location and deals physical damage to nearby enemies. 
• Enemies hit on the outer edge of the ability take additional physical damage and bonus magic damage based on their maximum health.
  
  

(6) R: Judgment Leap

• Passive: Grants up to 30 percent armor penetration.
• Active: Zaahen leaps to a target location, dealing physical damage in an area and restoring 33 percent of the damage dealt to enemy champions. While casting, Zaahen becomes immune to crowd control and takes 50 percent reduced damage.

‍

3. In-Game Strategy

(1) Passive Stacks

Zaahen can build up his passive stacks at a very fast rate thanks to the way his abilities function.

The first hit of Q counts as two basic attack instances, W hits twice through its thrust and pull, and E triggers two instances of damage on its outer area. In addition, both W and E grant extra stacks for every enemy they hit, which means landing W and E together can nearly guarantee full stacks on their own.

Because of this, weaving basic attacks between abilities is crucial. In particular, inserting W or E during the short window after Q’s first hit is one of the most reliable ways to maintain strong uptime in extended trades and fights.

(2) Rune Choice

Zaahen builds up stacks quickly through basic attacks and ability hits, so Conqueror is effectively the best rune option for him.

The stacking mechanic of Conqueror works very similarly to his passive, and the bonus attack damage and damage based healing it provides during extended fights fit perfectly with his role.

(3) Core Item Choices

Zaahen gains a significant amount of AD naturally through his passive, so items that provide both AD and health are far more efficient than pure damage items.

• Sundered Sky: health, damage, healing
• Black Cleaver: health, ability haste, armor reduction after engaging
• Sterak’s Gage: health, attack damage, shield effect

This trio of items highlights Zaahen’s intended design, which focuses on sustained fighting power and reliable engage durability.

‍

Found this helpful? Try STATUP.GG for real-time voice coaching in-game.
Questions or feedback? Email us anytime at contact@gamerrepublic.gg