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Zeus - There Is No Escape From The Heavens

13 1 57,106
by NightOfTheWatch updated April 21, 2014

Smite God: Zeus

Build Guide Discussion 11 More Guides
Tap Mouse over an item or ability icon for detailed info

Zeus Build

Starting Items

Build Item Vampiric Shroud Vampiric Shroud
Build Item Tiny Trinket Tiny Trinket
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
2

The Main Build

Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus
Build Item Bancroft's Talon Bancroft's Talon
Build Item Void Stone Void Stone
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti
Build Item Obsidian Shard Obsidian Shard
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation

Zeus's Skill Order

Chain Lightning

1 X Y
Chain Lightning
2 8 11 12 14

Aegis Assault

2 A B
Aegis Assault
4 15 16 18 19

Detonate Charge

3 B A
Detonate Charge
1 3 6 7 10

Lightning Storm

4 Y X
Lightning Storm
5 9 13 17 20
Chain Lightning
2 8 11 12 14

Chain Lightning

1 X
Zeus fires a bolt of lightning that arcs between enemies, doing damage and applying a charge on each hit.

Ability Type: Projectile
Damage: 40 / 70 / 100 / 130 / 160 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Arcs: 4
Slow: 20%
Slow Duration: 2s
Cost: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70
Cooldown: 12s
Aegis Assault
4 15 16 18 19

Aegis Assault

2 A
Zeus throws his shield forward dealing damage to nearby enemies and apply a charge. The shield remains for 5s, and Zeus may target it with Basic Attacks or Chain Lightning. Each Basic Attack or first Chain Lightning arc that hits the shield will deal additional static damage and apply a charge in the area. While Zeus' shield is deployed, he gains Attack and Movement Speed. Zeus may refire the ability to recall the shield early.

Ability Type: Ground Target
Initial Damage: 60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Static Damage: 55 / 65 / 75 / 85 / 95 (+30% of your Magical Power)
Attack Speed: 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35%
Movement Speed: 15 / 17.5 / 20 / 22.5 / 25%
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 12s
Detonate Charge
1 3 6 7 10

Detonate Charge

3 B
Zeus detonates any charges that have accumulated on enemies, doing damage, multiplied by 1/1.7/2.4 depending on the number of charges.

Ability Type: Instant
Damage: 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 (+25% of your Magical Power)
Cost: 60
Cooldown: 10s
Lightning Storm
5 9 13 17 20

Lightning Storm

4 Y
Zeus conjures a Lightning Storm, striking enemies in the area every second. Applies a charge with each hit.

Ability Type: Ground Target
Damage per Hit: 100 / 145 / 190 / 235 / 280 (+55% of your Magical Power)
Max Damage: 500 / 650 / 800 / 950 / 1100 (+275% of your Magical Power)
Lifetime: 5s
Radius: 30
Cost: 100
Cooldown: 90s

Introduction

Introduction


Aegis Shield
- Hi everyone, I'm NightOfTheWatch, and this is my Zeus Guide. I worked hard to make this guide the best I could, and I would appreciate any and all feedback that you guys may provide. Zeus is a fantastic champion, with good laning presence and amazing teamfight potential, which is probably why he is banned all the time -__-

- Zeus is a fairly popular champion that stands as one of the best mid laners in the current meta, yet many people who play him build him in a weird or outright stupid way, which has motivated me to create this guide and provide some insight on the build and playstyle of the God of Gods.

Pros / Cons

Pros / Cons


Pros


+ Ranged God
+ High Damage
+ Scales Well
+ Lane Bully/Punisher
+ Fantastic Teamfighter
+ Fast Mid Camp Clear

Zeus is a force to be reckoned with in all stages of the game. His Detonate Charge offers a very high source of damage and utility and his Chain Lightning allows Zeus to reliably apply charges. Thanks to these 2 skills Zeus has excellent harass during laning and can punish overextentions like nobody else. However he truly shines in Teamfights, where his Lightning Storm and Detonate Charge can apply immense damage and stun everyone in a large area.
Cons


- Squishy
- Low Mobility
- Vulnerable to CC
- Bad Lane Clear
- Ult is Counterable
- Terrible Jokes

Despite what he might want you to belive the Thunder God is not without his flaws. The most glaring one is his lack of mobility as he does not have any escape mechanism or gapcloser such as Agni and Chang'e. This makes his vulnerable to ganks and requires the player to have good ward coverage. Zeus also has very bad pushing power compared to other midlaners which can be problematic. A final issue that needs to be adressed is dashes or active items such as Aegis Pendant make Lightning Storm nearly useless.

Active Items

Active Items



Aegis Amulet: This is a must buy for Zeus. Not only does it save him from getting bursted down in teamfights, it can also be used to lure someone into his ult, use Aegis until 3 stacks are applied and then detonate.

Purification Beads: This item is so very simple yet so very effective. The ability to remove any CC is invaluable for any character especially for someone with no escape mechanisms such as Zeus.
Sprint

sprint: Pretty much a free escape from ganks as it boosts your speed immensely on a very short cooldown. At rank 3 it can also be used offensively since losing that attacking movement penalty allows for very easy stacks.

Ability Explanations

Ability Explanation


aegis shield

  • Overcharge: This 'passive' is what confuses most players into thinking that Zeus is an auto-mage like Freya and Chronos. In reality this passive is just a little extra boost for your autos and an extention of your Detonate Charge.
  • Chain Lightning (1): Besides auto attacks this is your best method of applying stacks. In early levels this is used more as a utility skill to apply Overcharge. However by mid-late game as you invest more points into it and get some magical power, it will start dealing respectable damage of its own. It is most potent in 1 v 2 situations where it will hit one enemy 3 times and the other twice.
  • aegis shield Aegis Shield (2): Possibly Zeus' most broken ability. It pretty damn useful; it provides protections , boosts movement speed and reflect back 10 percent damage from autos. However, in my opinion its main selling point is how it applies an Overcharge stack everytime someone auto attacks you. This is insane as against auto based gods you can pretty much pop the shield and you will get three stacks guarenteed.
  • Detonate Charge (3): This ability is Zeus. Everything else in his kit is to get stacks to make Detonate Charge stronger by applying stacks. It deals superb damage in all stages of the game and is without a doubt his most feared ability. Remember to apply at least 2 stacks while harassing and always 3 for the stun for all-in trades.
  • Lightning Storm (4): Zeus' is a gamebreaker in teamfights if placed right. During 1-on-1s Lightning Storm almost guarentees a kill if played right by stunning the enemy under your ult. Furthermore, with correct positioning your ult can potentially stun the entire enemy team while dealing massive amounts of damage. Scary stuff!

Ability Sequence Order

Ability Sequence Order


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
aegis shield aegis shield aegis shield aegis shield aegis shield
3
1
3
2
U
3
3
1
U
3
1
1
U
1
2
2
U
2
2
U
> > > aegis shield
You want to max out Detonate Charge because it is your main damage dealer. Then Chain Lightning to further increase your AOE damage and harass potential. Aegis shield is more of a one point wonder as points you put into it only increase the protections and the movement speed, which are nice but its much better to level your other skills.

Items

Items





Shoes of Focus: This item is crucial as it brings vital movement speed and precious CDR to the table. Zeus is a mage who needs his abilities to deal significant damage, as such CDR proves to be an excellent stat on him and this item is the most reliable way to get it.

Void Stone: This item is perfect for every mid laner and Zeus is no exception. The stats it provides are simply fantastic in the mid lane, not to mention it lowers magical protection by 15. Since you will be most likely be facing another Mage, the magical protection without hindering your damage makes this item a must-buy.

Rod of Tahuti: Best item for mages in terms of raw magic damage. Completing this item will give you a huge power spike thanks to its high 125 magic damage stat and its passive which increases your magic damage by 25%! What more can Zeus want?.

Obsidian Shard: With Zeus getting this is your second big power spike after Rod of Tahuti. Whereas the Rod boosted you immensly in terms of pure magic damage, this item will give you immense penetration to deal with pesky magical resist items which your opponents probably got if you are doing well.

Gem of Isolation: You mainly get this item for its synergy with your Lightning Storm.While the stats it provides are great the passive slow effect works wonders when combined with your ult in teamfights as it will be harder to get out of your ult, meaning more stacks, meaning more damage!

Bancroft's Talon: A very underrated item in my opinion. The sheer amount of magical damage it can provide is unbelievable. When you are at 40% it is the equivilant of a fully stacked Doom Orb. Combined with your other items your damage will be off the charts.

Situational Items


Breastplate of Valor: If there is an physical god going out of control on the enemy team, do not hesitate to get Breastplate of Valor as it is the best way of providing physical defence without drastically lowering your damage output thanks to the max CDR with your Shoes of Focus

Demonic Grip: Despite not being a auto attack based mage Zeus benefits immensely due to its synergy with your auto plus Detonate Charge combo. If you feel incredible dominant in lane swap it for Void Stone, but remember this will cut down your surviveability against other mages.

Polynomicon: A fantastic item for Zeus as it significantly increases his dueling potential. If the you feel that you need to have extra burst in 1 v 1 situations, swap it out for Bancroft's Talon but buy it earlier. If teamfights play a bigger role however, I'd stick with talon.

Laning

Laning


During the laning phase your objective it to harass the enemy as much as possible and then go for a kill at level 5. One tip for harassment is to leave one minion alive, and then to Chain Lightning it while the enemy god is in close proximity. This will be undodgeable and apply 2 Overcharge stacks on the enemy god, which you can proceed to detonate.

Once you hit level 5, apply 3 stacks on the enemy god then use your Lightning Storm on top of them. Then while they are under your ult use Detonate Charge to stun so that they cannot escape your ult and take as much damage as possible. Also, remember to always contest the mid camps as you have the best mid camp clear speed in the game with your Chain Lightning and Detonate Charge combo.

Teamfights

Teamfights


Your strongest aspect is definitely your teamfight presence. As for some tips, never use your Lightning Storm to initiate, as the enemy team will probably just walk out of it, barely applying one or two stacks. Instead wait for someone with hard CC like Ymir's Frost Breath or Hades's Pillar of Agony to immobilize the enemy team and then ult.

After getting as many people as you can with your ult, use Detonate Charge to highly damage and stun anyone caught in your ult. If pulled off correctly this will lead to clean deicides and victories. However, and I cannot stress this enough do not be in the vanguard to initiate, since not only will you have wasted your ult, you will also get burset down faster than you can type [VHH].

Summary

Summary


Overall, Zeus is an fantastic god, who excells at both laning and teamfights. Despite his low mobility screwing him over at times, he is still one of the best mages in smite at the moment and a joy to play.

Thank you for reading my very first guide on mobafire, I really hope it has helped you understand the mechanichs and playstyle of the Thunder God. Upvote if you liked the guide, and tell me if there is anything I should fix.

-NightOfTheWatch

Leave a Comment

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Collapse All Comments

1
Bardicher | April 17, 2014 5:14am
Very good guide (i've playing with Zeus from 2012).
1
NightOfTheWatch (2) | March 31, 2014 1:00am
Thanks for all the nice words UnknownPandr and ThePerfectPrism! You guys rock :3
1
UnknownPandr (35) | March 23, 2014 11:09pm
Wow, I can't believe I didn't notice this. This has to be the best Zeus guide I have ever seen, so far.
1
ThePerfectPrism (56) | March 9, 2014 8:53am
I agree 100% with you on this guide. It's perfect. I think a "God Match-ups" thing should appear, but other then that, this guide is pure GOLD !
+1 :3
1
NightOfTheWatch (2) | March 5, 2014 7:41am
Thank you!
1
Aphnex (30) | March 4, 2014 12:06am
Beautiful BBcoding, and the information is pretty accurate as well! Upvote!~
1
NightOfTheWatch (2) | March 2, 2014 9:24am
You make me blush, thanks for the compliments! As for the situational items, I will add them as soon as possible.
1
DroboBrandegee (2) | March 1, 2014 5:50pm
Absolutely brilliant guide. I think a situational items section where you can have stuff like Breastplate of Valor, Demonic Grip, and maybe other items, would definitely improve it. My Ability Sequence is more like Detonate Charge, Chain Lightning, Aegis Shield and points in Lightning Storm whenever possible. But that is more a personal note. The bb coding also very good. +1
1
NightOfTheWatch (2) | February 23, 2014 1:40am
Thanks for everything you said, I really means a lot! I'll add a situational items list soon where I will include stuff like Breastplate of Valor and Demonic Grip. Btw; I like to add points into Lightning Stormsince even the 20 extra damage really adds up if you stun them under your ult. Yet again thatks for all the kind words :D
1
Jordenito (66) | February 22, 2014 11:59am
This is an excellent, excellent example of a short guide. It is spot on.

Overall good build, beautiful BB coding (I'll assume you come from LoL or DOTA fire since you have great BB coding for your first guide and you call the gods 'champions').

There are some problems though;
In my opinion, the skill priority should be:
Detonate Charge > Chain Lightning > Lightning Storm > aegis shield. Why? because your ultimate only scales by 20 base damage per hit. That's it. And it's rare to get enemies stuck in there for longer than 3-4 lightnings.

Also, while I know where you are coming from saying that Zeus isn't an auto-attack god like Freya or Chronos, I do think that there is a place for demonc grip. I always take it over Obsidian Shard. They grant roughly the same amount of Magical Power, where as the penetration on demon grip is better than Obsidian Shard if fully applied up to about 210 magical protection. Plus, DG grants you 25% attack speed. And with Gem of Isolation it'll be very easy to constantly attack someone if you can hit them with Chain Lightning.

I would also like you to consider some situational items such as Breastplate of Valor or Divine Ruin.

Lastly, Zeus' wave clear isn't bad. It's horrific at level 1, but once you get both Chain Lightning and Detonate Charge it becomes good. It's not even near to how bad Chronos' early wave clear is.

This is an overall good guide. I like it. It's short and clear and provides all the basic knowledge you need.

An upvote from me.

P.S - Bancroft's Talon isn't an underrated item. It's found on almost every Mage's popular item list.
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