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Zhong Kui the Demon Destroyer

1 2 28,380
by Threebleez updated September 5, 2013

Smite God: Zhong Kui

Build Guide Discussion 6 More Guides
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Zhong Kui Build

Starter

Build Item Vampiric Shroud Vampiric Shroud
Build Item Shoes Shoes
2
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus

Core Items

Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus
Build Item Doom Orb Doom Orb
Build Item Hide of Leviathan Hide of Leviathan
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Polynomicon Polynomicon
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti

Situational

Build Item Focused Void Stone Focused Void Stone
Build Item Soul Reaver Soul Reaver
Build Item Winged Blade Winged Blade
Build Item Warlock's Staff Warlock's Staff
Build Item Wall of Absolution Wall of Absolution
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor

Actives

Build Item Combat Blink Combat Blink
Build Item Purification Beads (Old) Purification Beads (Old)
Build Item Heavenly Wings Heavenly Wings

Zhong Kui's Skill Order

Expose Evil

1 X Y
Expose Evil
1 8 11 14 15

Exorcism

2 A B
Exorcism
2 4 6 7 10

Book of Demons

3 B A
Book of Demons
3 12 16 18 19

Recall Demons

4 Y X
Recall Demons
5 9 13 17 20
Expose Evil
1 8 11 14 15

Expose Evil

1 X
Zhong Kui pastes a card on all enemies in front of him, marking them as a demon, Slowing and damaging them each second while they are marked. If the card is removed, 75% of the remaining damage is done instantly.

Ability Type: Line, Slow, Damage
Damage Per Tick: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 (+20% of your Magical Power)
Slow: 20%
Card Lifetime: 5s
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 12s
Exorcism
2 4 6 7 10

Exorcism

2 A
Zhong Kui drives out the demons of his enemies, dealing damage as they leave the body. Demons exorcised from Enemies marked by Expose Evil will be absorbed by Zhong Kui, healing him per demon (up to 3), and will remove the card.

Ability Type: Cone
Damage: 75 / 125 / 175 / 225 / 275 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Heal: 15 / 40 / 65 / 90 / 115
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 10s
Book of Demons
3 12 16 18 19

Book of Demons

3 B
When fired, the Book of Demons deals damage and Stuns enemies, stunning marked enemies for 2x the duration and removing the card. Once this ability has been ranked, the Book of Demons flies nearby Zhong Kui, firing for 50% of Zhong Kui's basic damage.

Ability Type: Circle, Stun, Damage
Damage: 80 / 135 / 190 / 245 / 300 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Stun: 1s (2x for marked targets)
Radius: 20
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 13s
Recall Demons
5 9 13 17 20

Recall Demons

4 Y
Upon activation, demons pulse out from his bag at nearby players every second for 5s. They chase and accelerate over time, doing damage to enemies as they enter the body. Zhong Kui is immune to Knockback and Slows for the duration.

Ability Type: Circle, Buff, Damage
Damage: 80 / 95 / 110 / 125 / 140 (+25% of your Magical Power)
Radius: 40
Cost: 100
Cooldown: 90s

Introduction

Zhong Qui is an excellent mage who can put out an absolute ton of damage, but he is quite short range. His lane clear is great and he can gank pretty well so be sure to check him out.

(By the way, this is my first guide :3)

Items

The Shoes of Focus are a great item to get for several reasons; not only does it give you movement speed which is crucial on a god with no escapes, but it also gives you cooldown reduction which is always good on mages. The reason we choose these instead of Shoes of the Magi is that you deal enough damage to not need the penetration that item offers.

Doom Orb is a great item for this build because of Zhong Qui's fantastic lane clear, meaning that you can get lots of stacks quickly! It's also great because it gives you some mana and MP5 which is great for Zhong Qui as he is very mana hungry, particularly in early to mid game.

This item really is crucial for Zhong Qui because of the fact that he has no proper escapes. The protections are really good but the best thing about this item is the CC reduction which gives you a much better chance to get out of a fight alive. The reason you would choose this item over let's say voidstone is that it gives you more protections and the CC reduction really is good, also you deal enough damage to not need the magical power from voidstone but if you are against alot of magical enemies then you can take voidstone instead.

The Gem of Isolation is a great item for Zhong Qui for multiple reasons. The first reason is that it gives you magical power, meaning that you deal more damage. The second reason is the health and mana which give you more sustain. The third reason is of course the 25% slow, which is superb on him because of the lack of jumps and chasing abilities on the god.

Polynomicon is really nice for Zhong Qui beacause it gives you damage, lifesteal and mana; these three thing are great but the item also gives you a buffed basic attack after you use an ability which can really help secure kills when an enemy is on low health.

The Rod of Tahuti is great on pretty much every mage. It give so much damage because it gives you 125 magical power and 25% extra from all of your items together meaning that with a finished build you will have 512.5 magical power.

Pros / Cons

Pros:

    -High burst damage
    -Some damage over time
    -Good self heal
    -Insane lane clear
    -Nice skin
Cons:
-No escapes
-Very mana hungry

Skills

Passive: Demon Bag

The demons that Zhong Kui captures from Exorcism are stored in his demon bag, giving him additional protections for each demon captured. When Recall Demons is activated, Zhong Kui gains double the protections from his Demon Bag, but eventually losing all stacks when the bag is empty.


This is a really fantastic passive, particularly early game, because it gives you SO MANY PROTECTIONS. I mean seriously, you get 3 magical AND physical protection for each stack and the limit is 20 stacks, giving you a whopping 60 protections; that's the same as a bulwark of hope that is physical as well!

1. Expose Evil

Zhong Kui pastes a card on all enemies in front of him, marking them as a demon, slowing and damaging them each second while they are marked. If the card is removed, 50% of the remaining damage is done instantly.

Damage Per Tick: 20/30/40/50/60 (+15% of your magical power).
Slow: 20%. Card Lifetime: 6s.


This ability is pretty damn good but is mostly used as a setup for his other abilities because it makes them more powerful.

2.Exorcism

Zhong Kui drives out the demons of his enemies, dealing damage as they leave the body. Demons marked by Expose Evil are captured by Zhong Kui, healing him per demon captured (up to 3), and have the card removed.

Damage: 75/125/175/225/275 (+50% of your magical power).
Heal: 30/45/60/75/90 (+20% of your magical power).


Zhong Qui's 2 is really what this guy is about, it really does do ALOT of damage and if you use it in conjunction with his 1, you can heal back most of your health.

3.When fired, the Book of Demons deals damage and stuns nearby enemies, with marked enemies getting stunned for 2x the duration and removing the card. When this ability is not on cooldown, the Book of Demons flies nearby Zhong Kui, firing for 50% of Zhong Kui's basic damage.

Damage: 60/115/170/225/280 (+70% of your magical power).
Stun: .5/.6/.8/.9s (2x for marked targets).


This ability is really the only way that you are going to get out of a sticky situation, the stun is good but it only has a short range.

4. Recall Demons
Key Bind: 4

When Zhong Kui activates this ability, demons pulse out from his bag at nearby players every second for 5s. They chase and accelerate over time, doing damage to enemies and healing to allies as they enter the body. Zhong Kui is immunte to crowd control for the duration.

Damage: 80/95/110/125/140 (+20% of your magical power).
Healing: 25/40/55/70/85 (+20% of your magical power).


Zhong Qui's ultimate is really quite strong, shooting unstoppable demons at everyone in the area of effect around him. This ability is really great for teamfights and can be used as a somewhat decent escape because of the CC immunity.

Gameplay

As this is a solo lane guide I shall be talking about solo lane playstyle.


Overview


To start the game, follow the skill guide and item build and then go into the short/solo lane. Alternatively accompany the rest of your team to the buff camps and help take the first one, giving you a nice gold/xp boost. Head back to your lane and from there try to use your ability sparingly until you get your (2). At all times throughout the game look out for ganks from the enemy jungler and be quite cautious in your lane early game.

The wave clear


[*]Stand where your melee creeps/minions are and cast your (1) on the whole wave
[*]Move to the wall side of the lane (facing the jungle) and cast your 2 on as many minions as possible after a couple of ticks from your (1)
[*]retreat slightly (for safety) and enjoy the gold, xp, health and passive stacks!
Using this tactic will almost always kill all of the minions (except for early game) and is why Zhong Qui has such amazing lane clear! Be warned, doing this is mana hungry so you will want to get the mana/blue buff

the first recall


After the lane has reached the enemy teams tower and hit it a fair bit you can go back to base so run to the safety of your tower or freindly unoccupied jungle and hit the "B" key. As you are at spawn, you might have enough money to buy Doom Orb comletely but if you don't then just get it to rank 2 and buy some wards, 2 or 3 should do. (If after a couple of minion waves you have enough money for the rank 3 Doom Orb you didn't get earlier, feel free to press "B" and buy it so you can start building stacks as soon as possible!)

OK so now run back to your lane and continue pushing up your lane using the tactic from earlier. Don't forget to place your wards and try to take down the enemy's first tower. Once this has been accomplished go back to spawn again and buy some more items (following the build). Get back into lane and push your minions until you have taken down the second tower, then, fall back to your base, buy more items and from here, things start to get interesting...

Mid game


Now you can start roaming the map and help to push other lanes, engage in teamfights and gank BUT don't forget to keep some pressure on your lane. Once all or almost all of the enemy teams towers are destroyed, you can move back to your lane and start trying to push for the phoenix as long as you don't have a few thousand gold lying about, if you do then go back to base and buy up more of your items. While at the enemy's phoenix, be very careful as people can come out of spawn very quickly to there and try to kill you! Remember to keep the top end of your lane warded, but also the Fire Giant and Gold Fury.

Late Game


Once the Phoenix is down, you can either go back to base and spend your money or start to focus on the other lanes but try to go back to base with at most every 3000 gold you get. From this point winning the game shouldn't be too hard! :P

Tips and Tricks


[*] Your (1) makes your other abilities more powerful so remember to use it.
[*] Don't get too over-enthusiastic while chasing, remember that if some other enemies show up then you are probably screwed so: Be careful!
[*] If you get into a teamfight make sure to use your ultimate as the damaging and healing potential can turn the tide of a fight.
[*] You can deal an awful lot of damage with your (2) so don't underestimate yourself in a fight!
[*] If an enemy on low health is getting away and your ultimate is on cooldown don't worry, just hit them with your (1) and watch their life drain away.

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1
FishTacklz | September 11, 2013 12:02pm

Good guide, seems like everyone is having the same ideas. I'll just kind of add on to what Rave said...



No not good guide, and what do you mean he's very mana hungry, hes just normal level of mana thirst if not less mana hungry. With gem of iso escape is not a problem he has stun too. I don't agree with your build at all either


EDIT: also you pretty much put every magical item up there but voidstone (which is one of the best items) so ur not really helping anyone choose itemss
1
Political Squid | September 9, 2013 6:32pm
Good guide, seems like everyone is having the same ideas. I'll just kind of add on to what Rave said...

Every point you put in W increases its mana cost by 20 mana. Again, EACH point that goes into W increases mana cost by 20. At level 1 its 20 mana. At level 5 its 100 mana. That could be where some of your mana issues lie. I say unless you're struggling in the solo lane to stay healthy I'd just leave both Q and W at one point for the low cost soul farming and just put points into E. Besides, you don't really want to push the solo lane that much so your jungle can gank.

Second, don't max Expose Evil until you absolutely have to. Rave already said something about that, but I figured I'd elaborate with why. The main reason you don't put points into Q is that the slow doesn't scale. Your Q really has two purposes, to slow people and to tag them for an empowered W or E. If it doesn't scale up the slow, then you might as well keep at at the lowest mana cost possible. 60x4 casts or 80x3 casts, same amount of mana but you got a fourth tag for the cost. Third, the damage scaling is "eh". It scales about the same as your W or E, and since you don't use Q for damage, you might as well scale your W or E for the other benefits (More health, longer stun).

Uh, yeah, other than that I agree. I actually didn't think about Doom Orb, but that's probably a combo of my low time played and the fact that I 100% play with a group when I play smite so rushing an iso gem for those vent ganks is great. If you list examples for when to grab alternative items you'll help people new to Smite in general with your guide.

Kind of a quick recap:
  • Every point in W increases the mana cost by 20. Consider keeping points out to alleviate mana costs early and max it second to push waves midgame.
  • Don't put point in Expose Evil. There's zero benefit to doing it.
  • In the guide, discuss why you level up skills. I.E. W if you're under a lot of harass or up against range, E if you're against melee or you've got a safe lane. Zhuang is pretty flexible in levels for the early game
  • The same follows for items. Doom Orb is great if you can safely eat critters. If you're doing badly, then going for iso gem for the health and slow may be preferred.

I went ahead and +1'd already, keep updating it and you'll be fine.
1
Raventhor (158) | September 3, 2013 5:18pm
How does Zhong Qui need Leviathan due to no escapes? He has a Slow that turns his Stun into an even longer stun, plus a very big heal. I guess that comes from you maxing Expose Evil over Book of Demons though =/

Would heavily consider swapping out Hide for something like Chronos' Pendant or Breastplate of Valor - for more damage or more survivability, yet hitting that amazing CDR cap. Plus you get either a lot of MP5 or a lot of Mana/impossibility to die to physical.

I would definitely go more indepth into the mechanics of your ultimate
>It does not heal you (if I remember correctly)
>It functions as a buff; ergo, you can use other abilities during it
>It damages enemies, and heals allies upon that damage
>No matter what ability is used - jump, dash, etc - the demons will always reach their target
>You can activate it, then Aegis, and the effect will still be occurring (Unless this was undone since literally yesterday, I've tried and done it)
>The combo would be to activate it to give immunity, blink (if you have it) or run in, stun, and exorcise for more AoE damage + healing whatever you took
>Undoes your passive

All in all, not a bad guide, and I respect much of the depth you put into this. Please make a section describing actives and alternatives, however, so we know WHEN to replace core items, in what situation. Also suggest making a 'combo' section for easy to reference ability rotations to know what is most effective in a fight, as well as when to not stun to keep the auto attack enhancer, and when you should, and sacrifice the 50% boost.
1
FishTacklz | September 3, 2013 4:38pm
no voidstone? I shall not think so
1
Threebleez | September 3, 2013 12:08pm
Thank you very much for your comment, I have have tried to add alot more to it and really flesh it out. (Please, not the cheesecake!)
1
JararoNatsu (51) | September 2, 2013 3:23pm
Well, creator of his first guide, allow me to do what I do best: Rant.

You have little to no viable information. I do like that you gave insight on Zhong Kui's skills, but it's not enough. Here is what I recommend:

The build is... ok, but you should give an Items section explaining why you picked those items. This is an important piece of the guide because it adds credibility to the build.

A Gameplay section is a necessity. You should give tips and tricks to playing Zhong Kui, an overview of what the player could and should do during a game, and other things as you see fit. Without this, you have removed the skeleton of the guide, with the build being the brain and the other sections being... limbs or something.

I'm going to show you two things. One is my Ao Kuang guide, which I take pride in and I think it can give you some ideas on bettering your guide: https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/ao-kuang-an-in-depth-guide-to-raising-storms-2319

The other is a thread I made to show guides for BB Coding. This is an important piece of information, because the cosmetics of a guide are half of what makes a good guide: https://www.smitefire.com/smite/forum/build-guide-discussion/help-with-bb-coding-for-guides-2024

I hope this helps. If I don't see improvement, I WILL throw a cheesecake at you. I will...
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Threebleez
Zhong Kui the Demon Destroyer
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