Zeri has been on the wrong end of the MOBA patch notes for months now, each time reducing or altering her power in an attempt to find a balance between the Zaunite, something that is proving to be very difficult.
Zeri is a tense character that can seem completely outright in the right hands, with seemingly no outplay to her infinitely-scaling motion. The players who have developed the ability of maneuvering around the map and kiting enemies are the ones who will get the most out of the unconventional ADC.
Zeri's kit differs from that of a regular ADC in that she attacks on her Q. Her non-point-and-click ability makes kitting around enemies easier, rather than the constant damage that an ADC provides.
Riot has found it difficult to get the champion to a level they would consider adequate because of this burst, with this article by Phroxzon going into more detail on what makes a champion.
When evaluating whether a champion is balanced or not, the League of Legends balance team considers four things:
- Perceptions of fairness and counterplay
- Champion is exciting to play and has high moments
- Performance in elite/pro play
- Performance in average play
Phroxzon analyzes Zeri's main high moments when played correctly: R's infinitely-scaling mobility, W's infinitely-scaling mobility, and E's infinite mobility. The design team has encountered an issue here, however: if a player knows how to use all of these abilities correctly together, there appear to be very little outplay opportunities for the opponent team.
Despite the fact that a good player will perform well, the flaws arise from a low/average player not being able to utilize Zeri to a satisfactory level. I do however think Riot hasnt quite discovered it yet.
The upcoming League of Legends 12.17 patch may not have caused any significant changes until later in the year, given the proximity of Worlds. 12.17 is coming this week, along with the Zenith Games skin release. It's possible to spend a lot of money on the new Jayce skin.