Guide to Zeus ~Axres

Zeus is one of my favorite Gods in this game so far. He is a character that relies heavily on burst and because of that is great at ganking and harassing the enemy team.

Pros:
He is great at ganking
Easy to harass with
Fun to play
Can chase and run with his 2nd ability (+low mana cost)
Amazing in team fights

Cons:
Low survivability when his 2nd ability is on cool down.
Easy to avoid his ultimate and his Chain Lightning
His slow attack rate and low damage from his basic attack make pushing towers slow at low levels.
Relies on stacking charges on enemies that wear off quickly

Overcharge (Passive)

Basic attacks add a charge to an enemy (max 3).



Chain Lightning

Fires a bolt of lightning that arcs 1/2/3/4/5 times doing 70/100/130/160/190 (+50% of magical power) magic damage and applies a charge. Costs 50/55/60/65/70 mana, 12sec cooldown.


aegis shield
Aegis Shield

Grants 25/40/55/70/85 magical and physical protection, increasing his speed by 20% and makes him immune to all slows. Basic attacks made against him will reflect 10% back as magic damage and apply a charge. Costs 75 mana, 15sec cooldown.



Detonate Charge

Detonates all existing charges, dealing 60/80/100/120/140 (+25% of your magical power) and is multiplied by 1/2.5/4 depending on how many charges are on the enemy. Does nothing if there are no charges on enemies. Costs 90 mana, 10sec cooldown.



Lightning Storm

Conjures a lightning storm (target area) dealing 100/120/140/160/180 (+70% of your magical power) every second for 5 seconds. Costs 100 mana, 90sec cooldown.

warlock's sash meditation x3

Start off buying the lowest rank of Warlock's Sash, the ability Meditation and three Healing Potions.

The next item to build is the Fatalis or you can take Boots of the Magi I prefer the attack speed from the Fatalis for stacking charges, fully build the item before getting the next.

Now it is time to finish off the Warlock's Sash warlock's sash, this item will get better as the game progresses due to it's passive.

The next item I build is the Polynomicon it has magical power, magical lifesteal and it's passive makes the next basic attack after using an ability do +100% of your magical power in addition. (only happens once every 2 seconds, buff lasts 5 seconds).

The next item is hard to say, I prefer the Void Stone because it is an aura that lowers enemy magical protection, but depending on the enemy team's build Obsidian Shard can prove more useful.

Next item is the Rod of Tahuti , this is great boost for you magical power.

Last item is the Book of Thorh , another boost towards your magical power.

For the remaining two abilities I go with Purification Beads and the Hand of the Gods . When you get these greatly depends on how the match is going, if you get CC'd a lot grab the Purification Beads early on. If your dipping in and out of the Jungle the Hand of the Gods can greatly decrease the time needed. The Hand of the Gods is also great for pushing towers, especially if you are by yourself while your team distracts.

Early game I suggest avoiding this, Zeus takes too much damage and his damage relies on his Chain Lightning + Detonate Charges combo to deal damage so jungling without the use of the Hand of the Gods or team mates early on is hard. Once you get around level 10 you should be able to clear out the camps fairly quick with your Chain Lightning and Detonate Charges. If you can get help, start off by getting the blue buff. Once you get around level 10 you need to grab the mana buff and the cooldown reduction buff as much as possible.

Zeus should never be the first one in. The best place for him once the laning phase is over is popping in and out of the jungle. When you see your team heading towards the enemy team, flank them and open with your ult, by the time they are able to turn and realize you are there you will already be able to detonate your charges. If they ignore you then keep attacking, hit as many people with your Chain Lightning and get as many charges out there as you can before Detonate Charges is back up. If they turn to attack you, use your Ageis Shield and run towards your teammates, this not only deflects some damage back to them, but every time they hit you they get a charge. If Detonate Charges is up, try to turn around and fire a chain lightning, if you are about to die or if you cannot afford to turn around just use Detonate Charges. 95% of the time they will either be dead, running away from the fight, or at least have given up the chase seeing how it is only hurting them and allowing your teammates to pick them off. The opening (Ult + Detonate Charges + Chain Lightning) will usually kill squishy Gods, I often get triple kills from this. If your too far away from the team fight, the best thing you can do is burn down a tower or two. Keep pushing a lane (even the boss/Minotaur until the enemy re-spawns or if you see them falling back. Zeus can destroy lanes and Gods alike, but when he lacks the element of surprise and is out numbered he has very little chance to escape.

Aka, if your not going mid, this is who you lane with.

#1 Odin , his ultimate will trap your enemies in a circle near him, the area is just small enough that your ultimate can fit in. Warning, make sure that you are outside of the ring.

#2 Ymir , his can stun a group of enemies leaving them easy prey for your ultimate and Chain Lightning. His ability to wall of enemies will also make it easier to deal with tanky and quick champions.

#3 Hades , his ult will lower their defenses if they are blighted and draw them towards him.

Avoid laning with these people.

#1 Sun Wukong , his ult. year of the monkey will more often than not fear enemies away from each other, severely crippling your ability.

#2 He Bo , his abilities , have knockback which will hurt you more than help.

In general, try to avoid someone that will rival you as a lane partner, Ra for instance.

#1 Another Zues jumping on you.

#2 Thor , his ult , more than anything makes it hard to run from, as well as making it harder to chase him. Tectonic Rift can also ruin your ability to chase him or a weakened enemy.

#3 Ra , his ult and Celestial Beam makes it hard to fight against, not just because you have to dodge, but in early game it will decimate your creeps, leaving you without a meat shield.

#4 Hel , she isn't much when in her dark form, though you should be careful of her. The problem with her is her ability to heal/support when she is in her light form. If she lives through the initial burst she can easily heal herself back up, best to attack her with support from a God that has a CC

#1 He Bo , his knockback from waterspout more often than not will push you away from fights, which once you've cast your ult. you don't want to stick around much anyway since you can detonate the charges from range.

#2 Odin , if he uses his ult to trap your team in with him and his teammates, it lets everyone group up nicely.

Chain Lightning needs to be maxed ASAP, it hits more targets the higher the rank.

Aegis Shield aegis shield only takes one point in order to get the movement speed, immunity to slows, and damage reflect. The increased defense is more helpful towards the end and you need to be more aggressive, this ability is for chasing down and running.

Detonate Charge is your main damage dealer, why do I level Chain Lightning first? Because enemies (smart ones at least) will do their best to dodge your basic attack, this ability can travel through creeps and hit the Gods behind them at higher ranks.

Lightning Storm is powerful, but the main purpose of this is still to get charges on your enemy.


There are a few good uses of the ultimate outside of team fights.
Enemy is almost dead and slightly out of reach while Aegis Shield is on cooldown.
Enemy is being defensive and won't leave the tower.
Saving a teammate by forcing enemies to run through your ult if they really want that kill.
A big F off to the enemies trying to kill your Minotaur.
Screwing an enemy team over on a Fire Giant kill.
Using this then Aegis Shield, Detonate Charges, Chain Lightning, Detonate Charges when your by yourself facing 3-5 enemies will at least force them to retreat and heal up, or a few kills.