Mel vs Zoe in League of Legends

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Mage

Mel

the Soul's Reflection

Mage

Zoe

the Aspect of Twilight

Mel

Major net nerf (score -7, 3 buffs / 10 nerfs). Notable: Q projectile speed 5000→4500; Q cast range 1000→950; base health 600→630. Touched across patches 25-19, 25-23, 25-24, 25-4, 25-8, 26-5, 26-8.

Zoe

Major net nerf (score -5, 0 buffs / 5 nerfs). Notable: W total damage 75→60; W total damage 60→45; Q damage 7→2. Touched across patches 25-14, 26-9.

Base stat comparison

STAT	Mel	Zoe
Health HP	630 +99/lvl	630 +106/lvl
Attack Damage AD	54 +0/lvl	58 +0/lvl
Armor	21 +5.20/lvl	21 +4.70/lvl
Magic Resist MR	30 +1.30/lvl	30 +1.30/lvl
Attack Speed	0.625 +2.50/lvl	0.658 +2.50/lvl
Move Speed MS	330	340
Attack Range	550	550
Resource	480 +28/lvl	425 +25/lvl

Patch history

Mel7 patches

Show changelog →

2025-02-19Patch 25.4

Q · Cast Range1000 → 950
Q · Projectile Speed5000 → 4500
W · Duration1 → 0.75 seconds
W · Mana Cost60/45/30/15/0 → 80/60/40/20/0
W · Reflected Damage40/47.5/55/62.5/70% → 40/45/50/55/60%
E · Root Duration1.75/1.88/2/2.13/2.25 → 1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25 seconds
E · Direct Hit Damage60/100/140/180/220 (+50% AP) → 60/105/150/195/240 (+60% AP)
R · Damage per Overwhelm Stack4/7/10 (+2.5% AP) → 4/7/10 (+3.5% AP)

2025-04-15Patch 25.8

Health600 → 630
passive · Damage per Stack5-20 (based on level) (+1% AP) → 8-25 (based on level) (+ 1% AP)

2025-09-23Patch 25.19

passive · Bonus Damage on attack per spell24-75 (based on level) (+3% AP) → 24-99 (based on level) (+9% AP)
passive · Maximum Bonus Damage on attack75-225 (based on level) (+ 9% AP) → 72-297 (+ 27% AP)

2025-11-18Patch 25.23

passive · Damage per spell24-99 (based on level) (+9% AP) → 24-150 (based on level) (+ 15% AP)
E · Root Duration1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 / 2.25 → 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.4 / 1.5 / 1.6

2025-12-02Patch 25.24

E · Orb Magic Damage60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 → 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220
E · Magic Damage per Second16 / 32 / 48 / 64 / 80 → 16 / 26 / 36 / 46 / 56
E · Lingering Debuff Duration0.75 → 0.5 seconds
E · Mana Cost50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 → 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 mana

2026-03-03Patch 26.5

passive · Minion Damage Modifier0.6x → 0.5x
Q · Base Damage per Bolt5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 → 5 / 7 / 9 / 11 / 13
Q · Total Q Base Damage90 / 132 / 176 / 222 / 270 → 90 / 145 / 200 / 255 / 310
R · Initial Base Damage100 / 150 / 200 → 125 / 200 / 275

2026-04-14Patch 26.8

Q · Initial Explosion Damage60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+ 60% AP) → 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+ 55% AP)
W · Cooldown35 / 32 / 29 / 26 / 23 → 38 / 35 / 32 / 29 / 26 seconds
W · Bonus Movement Speed Duration1.5 → 0.75 seconds

Zoe2 patches

Show changelog →

2025-07-15Patch 25.14

Q · Damage7 – 50 (based on level) (+ 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170) (+ 60% AP) → 2 – 50 (based on level) (+ 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170) (+ 60% AP)
W · Total Damage75 / 105 / 135 / 165 / 195 (+ 40% AP) → 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+ 45% AP)

2026-04-28Patch 26.9

W · Damage Per Bolt20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 (+ 15% AP) → 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 (+ 10% AP)
W · Total Damage60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+ 45% AP) → 45 / 75 / 105 / 135 / 165 (+ 30% AP)
E · Cooldown16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 → 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14

Sources

Numbers paraphrased from official Riot patch notes. See methodology for how the cumulative verdict is computed.

STAT

Mel

Zoe

Health

630

+99/lvl

630

+106/lvl

Attack Damage

+0/lvl

Armor

+5.20/lvl

+4.70/lvl

Magic Resist

+1.30/lvl

Attack Speed

0.625

+2.50/lvl

0.658

+2.50/lvl

Move Speed

330

340

Attack Range

550

Resource

480

+28/lvl

425

+25/lvl

Patch history

Mel7 patches

Show changelog →

2025-02-19Patch 25.4

Q · Cast Range1000 → 950
Q · Projectile Speed5000 → 4500
W · Duration1 → 0.75 seconds
W · Mana Cost60/45/30/15/0 → 80/60/40/20/0
W · Reflected Damage40/47.5/55/62.5/70% → 40/45/50/55/60%
E · Root Duration1.75/1.88/2/2.13/2.25 → 1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25 seconds
E · Direct Hit Damage60/100/140/180/220 (+50% AP) → 60/105/150/195/240 (+60% AP)
R · Damage per Overwhelm Stack4/7/10 (+2.5% AP) → 4/7/10 (+3.5% AP)

2025-04-15Patch 25.8

Health600 → 630
passive · Damage per Stack5-20 (based on level) (+1% AP) → 8-25 (based on level) (+ 1% AP)

2025-09-23Patch 25.19

passive · Bonus Damage on attack per spell24-75 (based on level) (+3% AP) → 24-99 (based on level) (+9% AP)
passive · Maximum Bonus Damage on attack75-225 (based on level) (+ 9% AP) → 72-297 (+ 27% AP)

2025-11-18Patch 25.23

passive · Damage per spell24-99 (based on level) (+9% AP) → 24-150 (based on level) (+ 15% AP)
E · Root Duration1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 / 2.25 → 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.4 / 1.5 / 1.6

2025-12-02Patch 25.24

E · Orb Magic Damage60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 → 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220
E · Magic Damage per Second16 / 32 / 48 / 64 / 80 → 16 / 26 / 36 / 46 / 56
E · Lingering Debuff Duration0.75 → 0.5 seconds
E · Mana Cost50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 → 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 mana

2026-03-03Patch 26.5

passive · Minion Damage Modifier0.6x → 0.5x
Q · Base Damage per Bolt5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 → 5 / 7 / 9 / 11 / 13
Q · Total Q Base Damage90 / 132 / 176 / 222 / 270 → 90 / 145 / 200 / 255 / 310
R · Initial Base Damage100 / 150 / 200 → 125 / 200 / 275

2026-04-14Patch 26.8

Q · Initial Explosion Damage60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+ 60% AP) → 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+ 55% AP)
W · Cooldown35 / 32 / 29 / 26 / 23 → 38 / 35 / 32 / 29 / 26 seconds
W · Bonus Movement Speed Duration1.5 → 0.75 seconds

Zoe2 patches

Show changelog →

2025-07-15Patch 25.14

Q · Damage7 – 50 (based on level) (+ 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170) (+ 60% AP) → 2 – 50 (based on level) (+ 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170) (+ 60% AP)
W · Total Damage75 / 105 / 135 / 165 / 195 (+ 40% AP) → 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+ 45% AP)

2026-04-28Patch 26.9

W · Damage Per Bolt20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 (+ 15% AP) → 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 (+ 10% AP)
W · Total Damage60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+ 45% AP) → 45 / 75 / 105 / 135 / 165 (+ 30% AP)
E · Cooldown16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 → 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14