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High Pen Zhong = Best Zhong (S4) (All Modes)(Build 2 = New Great Idea)

7 0 133,001
8.8
by Pojo updated August 1, 2017

Smite God: Zhong Kui

Build Guide Discussion 7 More Guides
Choose a Build: High Pen Zhong
High Pen Zhong Zhong Great Experimental S4
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Zhong Kui Build

High Pen - Standard Conq

Build Item Sands of Time Sands of Time
Build Item Shoes of the Magi Shoes of the Magi
Build Item Dynasty Plate Helm Dynasty Plate Helm
Build Item Warlock's Staff Warlock's Staff
Build Item Spear of the Magus Spear of the Magus
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti
Build Item Spear of Desolation Spear of Desolation

High Pen - Anything Not Conq

Build Item Sands of Time Sands of Time
Build Item Shoes of the Magi Shoes of the Magi
Build Item Warlock's Staff Warlock's Staff
Build Item Spear of the Magus Spear of the Magus
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Spear of Desolation Spear of Desolation
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti

Relics

Build Item Bracer of Radiance Bracer of Radiance
Build Item Aegis Amulet Aegis Amulet
Build Item Purification Beads Purification Beads

5th Item (Replacement) (Situationals)

Build Item Chronos' Pendant Chronos' Pendant
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Divine Ruin Divine Ruin

Things To Not Get... Almost Ever, Even Though Some Do.

Build Item Book of the Dead Book of the Dead
Build Item Bancroft's Talon Bancroft's Talon
Build Item Soul Reaver Soul Reaver
Build Item Pythagorem's Piece Pythagorem's Piece

Alternate Items (If Your Feeling Variation)

Build Item Ethereal Staff Ethereal Staff
Build Item Obsidian Shard Obsidian Shard
Build Item Polynomicon Polynomicon

Pots

Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
Build Item Multi Potion Multi Potion

Assault (only mode you don't build warlocks... you know why)

Build Item Chronos' Pendant Chronos' Pendant
Build Item Shoes of the Magi Shoes of the Magi
Build Item Spear of the Magus Spear of the Magus
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Spear of Desolation Spear of Desolation
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti

Duel Against Physical

Build Item Sands of Time Sands of Time
Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus
Build Item Dynasty Plate Helm Dynasty Plate Helm
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor
Build Item Spear of the Magus Spear of the Magus
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti
Build Item Sundering Spear Sundering Spear
Build Item Shield of Thorns Shield of Thorns

Duel Against Magical

Build Item Sands of Time Sands of Time
Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus
Build Item Warlock's Staff Warlock's Staff
Build Item Spear of the Magus Spear of the Magus
Build Item Bulwark of Hope Bulwark of Hope
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti
Build Item Sundering Spear Sundering Spear
Build Item Shield of Thorns Shield of Thorns

Zhong Kui's Skill Order

Expose Evil

1 X Y
Expose Evil
1 8 11 12 14

Exorcism

2 A B
Exorcism
2 4 6 7 9

Book of Demons

3 B A
Book of Demons
3 15 16 18 19

Recall Demons

4 Y X
Recall Demons
5 10 13 17 20
Expose Evil
1 8 11 12 14

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 9

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 15 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 10 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

Updated New Build For All Modes (Build 2)

Build 1 shows what I previously had put for my start of S4 builds for Zhong, but now to anyone looking at this page I HIGHLY suggest trying out my new build (located at build 2). It is honestly pretty freakin' good and I must say the movement speed and the power and total damage output of the build while still having the tankiness of warlocks is shockingly effective in any situation and mode.


I decided to test these rings out over a course of games after trolling with full movement Zhong. Then I started using the rings for more and more games until I came to the realization that having not just one, but both rings on Zhong isn't great, but amazing. The movement allows you to dodge so many abilities and escape more frequently. The movement AND the passives just pair amazing with The Demon Queller. It might as well be a match made in heaven.

(Probably Not Optimal For Duel.... Just Sayin'.)


Honestly though, Always use Shaman's Ring. Almost No Matter What. That item is actually amazing on Zhong Kui. I would say though for you folks that just simply can't or dislike a non super tanky Zhong (two defense items) Replace Telekhines Ring with Mantle of Discord or Spirit Robe. The build becomes more tanky while still doing actually ridiculous damage due to Shaman's Ring, Spear of the Magus and Rod of Tahuti in combination.

Introduction

To Penetrate The Body And Mind Of Your Foes And Exorcise Their Demons Properly, You Must Follow This Guide!

WARNING, DO NOT BE FOOLED: Zhong tick damage is great and all, but All lifesteal items are NOT worth it on Zhong kui. It is much better to invest onto your build an item to be tanky or an item of penetration.

This is the ONLY build I build on Zhong unless I'm trying to experiment with various buff/nerfed items as I commonly do. It's just too strong. Unless I wish to Tank/Bruiser Kui.

P.S. Getting the D.O.T. ability upgraded is much more important than Book of Demons.

Pros / Cons

Zhong Pros:
Fairly tanky when passive is full
With enough Pen has extremely high mid-late game damage potential
Knockup-Slow Immunity Ult
Great Self Heal
Effective Damage/Slow ability mid-late (if you have enough pen)
A short duration stun for when you initiate or de-initiate (could be better)
One of the only mages with progressive magical protections
High Base Damage


Zhong Cons:
Immobile (do I need to say more)
Vulnerable to aggressive anti-heal characters such as Serqet, or Protection Shred characters like Nemesis.
Usually Quite Vulnerable to aggressive basic attack oriented characters such as Kali, Erlang Shen, etc.
One of the Weakest early games (must be especially careful during this time, particularly in conq)
High Base Damage (Not the best scaling, why it is also here in negative)
Self Heal takes a good amount of time to reach you (will change in patch 4.4)
Book of Demons is a very short duration stun unless you have the tag applied to targets

Conquest

Note: This is what I would generally consider a MID build, since it is not as tanky as it COULD be. Much more oriented around getting loads of damage out.

Starting Sands of Time or Soulstone is optional, I personally prefer the Sands of Time though, since cooldown is always nice. Either way, good for your extreme mana mongering issues.

For high pen Zhong Kui getting Dynasty Plate Helm is optional, you could opt to going straight into stacks. Either way, you'll be even tanker than usual. Of course with Dynasty Plate Helm, you have even more pen! Sell it late game for a situational item, such as Chronos' Pendant if you simply want the cooldown, Gem of Iso if they are not a very mobile team already, or Divine Ruin to keep some pen and get the anti healing your team needs.
Gem of Isolation In Purchase Order Is Filler
Remember, Base Pen is capped at 50, so getting Divine when replacing Dynasty Plate will still over cap you by 5 pen. which is no big deal if you want your enemies to not heal instead of dying. (which they will die, very fast)

Other General Build Knowledge

Still I suggest starting with Soulstone or Sands of Time. Sell them whenever you feel is best.

Remember the 5th item is entirely situational and you should decide on it on what your team (or you) needs most to Exorcise those pesky demons. Go with either Gem of Iso, Chronos' Pendant or Divine Ruin. Gem of Iso is filler example.

Remember my Demon Quellers, only get bracer if they Don't have a load of anti-healing. If they did, it would make the whole endeavor quite fruitless (the cooldown is still nice though!) .Seriously though, not that great if you are double anti-healed.

If you feel as though it is entirely unnecessary and you Need more utility, then you don't Have to get Rod of Tahuti. (I just Highly recommend it)
Shoes of the Magi, Spear of the Magus, Spear of Desolation and Warlock's Sash are still all MUSTS on Kui Kui.

Recently through experimentation I feel as though Spear of Desolation is not a 100% must (still recommended) but if you feel as though you Need to be more tanky to survive, say a Scylla who can hit all her abilities, than that is the item you likely want to switch out for defense.

Your Ultimate

BE VERY CAREFUL OF WHEN AND HOW YOU USE YOUR ULT AS ZHONG!

Your Ult when combined with this High Pen build is extremely strong at keeping you alive and doing incredible amounts of damage to all the demons you seek to smite.

It is very easy to waste it and not use it at the best of opportunities, but remember, once your 4 goes on cooldown, you are much more susceptible to damage than you were prior to activating your ult, and you should look for the most opportunities to replenish your passive as quickly as possible.

Attack Speed For Zhong!?!?

I don't want to even discuss this. It can either be horribly bad, or hilariously good. Find Out.

(Make Sure To Get Fatalis, Don't Do It If Their Team Comp Would Ruin An Immobile Basic Attacker, Be Very Conservative About Using Your 3)

Zhong In Ranked Play

Zhong Is now (Unlike what i've previously said) actually quite viable in ranked. He can be a bit harder to play in Joust because of the Joust meta for Ranked has quite a few counters to Zhong.
As for Conq, as long as you can make it past the early game well enough and ward well, you can be an absolute game changer in the mid/late game.

And for Duel, I consider myself a good Zhong player, and i went 8/0 as him in qualies and ended Spring Split last night at rank 6th Duel Zhong. So honestly, if you play him well and ban well, A win will simply be dependent on how well you play that match.

Zhong In Duel....

Is Zhong Kui Viable in duel?!?! Of course he is. You just have to not fight someone like Freya, Kali, Nemesis or He Bo, and honestly if you play smart enough you could actually pick up a relatively easy victory in the mid-late game as long as they don't hard counter and are amazing at that god in duel.

I have been playing quite a bit of duel recently, and I would say the standard build I have above will be one of the best ways to get you the victory. Sometimes Double Defense is the best option though, that is already the case with the physical build, but with magical if you are facing a chang'e, freya, vulcan it may be smart to pick it up.

When to upgrade Sundering Spear is entirely up to you, I recommend doing it relatively early, Definitely before end-game. I usually get it around after I start stacking Warlocks Sash, or for duels against physicals after the item you get after Dynasty Plate Helm.

Make sure to get pestilence against gods that can heal or build lifesteal, ex; chang'e

When facing physicals, remember it is perfectly fine to situationally have Hide of the Nemean Lion as your defensive pick over Breastplate of Valor. Or if you feel as though you are taking too much damage in the late, even though it will reduce DPS you can trade out Dynasty Plate Helm for either Breastplate of Valor Or Hide of the Nemean Lion(which ever one you don't have)

IMPORTANT, If your opponent gets double defense (likely Pest/Bulwark) Get Replace Spear of the Magus with Obsidian Shard

Summary Of Kui Kui

Zhong Kui has potential to be an extremely strong god in the mid-late game, with high pen this is easily achieved. He is quite immobile, but very tanky and has the potential to have slow immunity and knock-up immunity for a short duration. As long as you are careful for a time after using Zhong's ult, you should be relatively safe.

I hope this Guide on Zhong Kui and an effective build for him will help all of my fellow Demon Quellers out there. Good Luck and Have Fun Smiting ALL THE DEMONS!

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Collapse All Comments

1
Kriega1 (143) | July 8, 2017 4:21am
Good guide/builds but two questions: 1. Why no Bancroft's Talon on Zhong? (It's cheap and the passive works well on him) and 2. Why no Warlock's Sash for against physical build in duel? (You went Dynasty Plate Helm- an item I have never seen been built in Duel)
1
Pojo | July 14, 2017 12:06am
Also sorry for not using the special images for the items, but it took AGES to write that as is on my computer, because my computer either hates Smitefire or Smitefire HATES Me. Like I don't know why, but it was so freaking laggy and cutty when trying to write that.
1
Pojo | July 14, 2017 12:04am
First off, bancrofts is simply not worth as much to Zhong as pure defense. I would say a mantle of discord or a hide of the urchin pick up is far better for because Zhong just simply doesn't have the scaling to make use of the bancrofts. It is simply just that, his scaling isn't enough for the lifesteal to be worth it. Also, for Warlocks Sash in duel, my answer is one very simple one. Qin Sais. It can be effectively built on all warriors and hunters and multiple assasins and having that extra health will simply do you no good. And for Dynasty Plate Helm, it is a ridiculously effective early game item because it makes you much harder to kill in the early and gives you the Pen to assist in early game damage. If the nerf goes through for Dynasty Plate Helm, Then it will likely be no longer optimal though. But that by no means means that Warlocks will be safe. Though, I will say this. Warlocks Sash CAN be quite useful against ABILITY based Assasins. Only them though, otherwise qins will ruin your day. As for why it's still viable against mages, that is because most people do not pick up soul reaver and or ethereal staff, and when they do, it's in very rare occasions and usually not optimal at all in the build. Though E Staff can be annoying, the 5% single hit is by no means as strong or as worrisome as say, Qins.
1
masterricu (12) | April 24, 2017 10:43pm
Thanks for the idea. Never really thought about building zhong similar to cab. Before I was using cdr boots and breastplate and was getting **** on. But this guide gave me an idea that worked pretty well.

Shoes of the Magiwarlock's sash Dynasty Plate Helm Void Stone Gem of Isolation Rod of Tahuti

http://smite.guru/match/pc/

Also, g.i. zhong's laugh sounds great on a macro!
1
Pojo | May 4, 2017 7:35pm
Yea, Void Stone is a great and viable option when trying to run more tanky against magical opposition. I usually prefer to get myself some extra extra pen, but Void is definitely a great pick up.
1
Technotoad64 (46) | March 12, 2017 8:13pm
I would replace Spear of the Magus with Obsidian Shard. You have a lot of flat pen already and the % pen will be more effective against tanks.
1
Pojo | March 12, 2017 9:07pm
I understand fully what you mean, but in this build with all the base pen the build is the most optimal for going into a teamfight and ruining the squishies lives. With Spear in this build you overcap base pen in a way by a very good amount. Obsidian Shard I would consider a situational item replacer for Spear of the Magus based on if you are facing a very tanky comp or if they build in a tankier way. I have tried it both ways and honestly, Spear of the Magus can just simply ruin their days' since it also easily bypasses the entirety of a supports aura item.
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