Midseason update: Zac gets a lot gooier

Each year Riot Games uses the Midseason update as a catalyst to make large scale changes to League of Legends. Over the next few days, we’ll be highlighting the most important changes from the Midseason update. This year, Riot’s design team sets their sights on the vanguard tanks- Sejuani, Maokai, and Zac. The update aims to improve many core tank items, as well as the Rift Herald and some AD items. It’s unclear how the meta will be affected by the update, but all of the proposed changes were made to improve the health of the game as a whole.

Among the champions targeted by the Midseason Update for changes, Zac’s probably the only one that didn’t necessarily need it. He’s always required some skill to play with his Elastic Slingshot and the mini-game passive of picking up blobs. Zac’s need for an update comes mostly from his identity. When casting Elastic Slingshot and his big, bouncy ultimate, he feels like goo, but what about his other abilities? They’re not much more than things to mash when you’re in a teamfight, but they don’t really do anything. Zac’s update should make the blob of goo feel… well, gooier.

Stretching Strike(s)

Stretching Strike, Zac’s Q, will now be Stretching Strikes. After Zac previously used his Elastic Slingshot, he was basically out of cool things to do without his ultimate up. Well, Stretching Strikes will definitely qualify as a “cool thing to do” after this update. When he activates it, he now throws one of his arms out, and sticks to the first thing that he touches. If he basic-attacks something, he will then slam it and whatever enemy he stuck to with the first cast together.

Let’s Bounce!

Zac’s ultimate definitely looks cool, but its function has always been a bit lacking. Its makeover should take care of that, because it’s not possibly the goofiest, trolliest ability in the game. When he activates his ultimate, he flattens himself into a big puddle of goop (ew). If he reactivates it right away, he knocks all enemies on him into the air, just like his old ultimate. If he waits for at least one second, however, the real fun begins. He slurps all of the enemies on top of him up into a blob and flies off into the sunset with them, like an anti-Ryze ult. The sound we imagine it making is the one when you slurp a drink through a straw when there’s only a little bit left at the bottom.

Zac’s rework is certainly smaller than both Maokai’s and Sejuani’s, but then again, he needed this update a lot less than both of them. He’s always been viable and more skill-oriented than both of them, but this rework should still be a welcome change. Have fun bouncing!