The first thing you should do with Zoe is maximize Q. Everything in her kit revolves around this ability. Your waveclear and damage to enemy champions mainly come from this ability, so you should try to get familiar with it.

But what do we maximize second? The W and E both offer attractive benefits. The W gives you solid extra damage and more movement speed with each point in the ability. In longer fights where you keep activating the W through picked up items and Summoner Spells, you can benefit greatly from this. Nevertheless, most Zoe players choose to maximize E second. The reason for this is that the E receives an additional 80 damage with each point and the cooldown is reduced. In addition, the probability of getting a constant benefit from the E is significantly higher. Therefore, I definitely recommend maximizing the E second and the W last.

Tips:
An important tip about Zoe’s passive in combination with the Q: You can activate the Q twice – once when you throw it away from you and a second time when you trigger it again. Each activation triggers the bonus damage of the passive. Accordingly, you should always include autoattacks in trades in lane:
Q → Autoattack (with Passive) → Q → Autoattack (with Passive).
This trick is also helpful when pushing and load-hitting.

Since Zoe’s Q deals damage depending on the distance flown, you usually want to place the Q behind you first and then fire towards the opponent to extend the trajectory. However, there are exceptions, which I’ll get to in a moment.

During skirmishes or teamfights, you should try to get as many activations out of your W as possible. Collect everything and use the ability as often as possible. If you want to swap a worse ability for a better one but need a target, you can simply stand on the desired ability and click on it to swap it. For example, you can swap an Ignite for a Flash if no target is available to Ignite.

Zoe’s Ult can be used in a similar way to a mini-Zhonyas to buy time. It is therefore not only used to extend the Q. Watch out for opponents who can follow you to your original position, such as Lee Sin with his Q or Vi with her Ult. Also note that you can briefly stun yourself during the animation. During this time, you can easily be hit without being able to dodge, as the ult animation takes quite a long time and can be a potential disadvantage.

The three most common uses for Zoe’s ult are as follows:

1. To extend Q.
2. To gain vision.
3. To hit the E easier since you are closer to the opponent or the E would otherwise be blocked by minions or jungle monsters.

The best way to get maximum damage out of Zoe’s Q is as follows:
Throw Q → run towards the target while doing so → reactivate Q before it runs out → use Ult to extend the Q.
Be careful not to ult too late, otherwise the Q will not be extended. You can also use your own or collected flashes to extend the Q even further or replace the ult so that you don’t have to go back.

If a classic solo cue level 1 fight arises, I recommend skilling the W, as you can get a lot of use out of all the Summoner Spells used in the fight.

How useful a Zoe is depends 100% on whether she hits her abilities. If you don’t hit, you’re useless – it’s as simple as that. That’s why team members with CC who prepare enemies for you are very helpful. Zoe is also one of the worst champions against tanks, as she can do almost nothing against them.