Do you want to know how to dominate games with Zeus?
The god of gods in Dota 2, Zeus, is not only the lord of heaven but an incredible intelligence-based nuker. His overwhelming damage output is the bane of all supports as it allows him to eliminate heroes before fights begin. Moreover, low complexity and a versatile playstyle are why all players should know How to Play Zeus in Dota 2.
He fits pretty well as both a core and support due to his incredible farming abilities and creeps clear. Consequently, this tendency to farm lanes quickly is another reason why he scales extremely well into the late game. Apart from this, being quite efficient at dealing with this AoE damage makes him unmatched in defending high-ground towers.
Perhaps the most important reasons for the hype around Zeus are his global abilities and true sight against target units. Having these amazing sources of lockdown and vision makes him an instant pick against invisible heroes. Additionally, an incredible laning stage that grants him snowball potential makes learning How to Play Zeus in Dota 2 vital.
Zeus’ Abilities
His first ability, Arc Lightning, allows him to fire a stream of lightning that bounces between enemy units. A large cast range and low cooldown make this skill extremely efficient in the early game and lane. Moreover, with a maximum of fifteen bounces and an impressive bounce distance, this spell can output insane damage.
Lighting Bolt or his second move is as simple as its name. This spell grants Zeus to bring down a massive bolt of lightning that can strike the ground or enemies alike. As one would assume, this spell is quite daunting with its max magic damage of 350. Not only this, but with a range similar to Arc Lightning, it is great to harass from a distance.
An extremely new addition to Zeus’ arsenal, Heavenly Jump is a minor escape that makes him even more balanced. Executing this spell makes him leap forward 500 units while slowing and damaging a single target. In addition to slowing the unit’s movement speed, it also slows down their attack speed, making them an easy target.
Zeus’s global presence and team fighting prowess is his ultimate ability; Thundergod’s Wrath. Allowing him to fire down a lightning bolt on every enemy hero alive, no matter their location, makes it terrifying. Besides this massive damage, giving true sight of every hero it hits makes it an incredible scouting tool.
How to Utilize His Spells
With an extremely low mana cost and cooldown, players initially find it fruitful to initially level up this spell. It works best as a tool to secure easy last hits in the lane due to its long-range and minimal animation. Moreover, often, mindlessly spamming this spell in lane can make creeps easy to deny. Thus timing it is extremely important.
Often his main source of damage in fights, one should always use Lightning Bolt earlier than his other spells. This is because enemies can get lost in the fog, making escape easier. Zeus’ weak stature works well with its long-range, enabling him to be far from any harm. Lastly, dewarding using this ability is crucial to winning games.
Heavenly Jump is quite new, and thus, many players are still not aware of how to use this spell. Firstly, one should be moving to cast this spell as only then Zeus will leap forward to escape. Another exceptional use for this spell is to slow down heroes while chasing them down, as he has minimal lockdown.
Bursting down low HP heroes from anywhere on the map is exactly why Thundergod’s Wrath is so iconic. Though stealing kills with this ability is tempting, it works best to aid one’s team in providing vision and damage. Using this ability in tandem with Lightning Bolt to quickly dispose of supports is often the best way to initiate.
Item Build
Starting the game with the right items can often be the key to demolishing your lane. In many low-ranked matches, players make the mistake of buying soul rings or clarities. Instead, buying Circlets, Faerie Fire, and Iron Branches to enhance your stats is extremely useful. Resultantly, these stats make him tankier and last hits easier to get.
In the early game, one’s items depend on their role in-game. However, a good rule of thumb is to pursue two to three Null Talismans, a bottle, and Arcane Boots. The spell amplification from the talismans works perfectly with the never-ending mana from the Arcane Boots.
The midgame is where Zeus dominates, and thus items that increase his impact are very important. Players achieve this by firstly, disassembling one’s Arcane Boots to complete the Aether Lens. Following this item are the Boots of Travel to enhance split pushing and Aghanim’s Sceptre to make team fights even easier.
Though it is best to destroy the ancient enemy while in the midgame, Zeus is terrifying in the late game. Most items built in this category are situational and depend on the game’s looks like for the player. Effective items to consider can be the Octarine Core and Refresher Orb, which multiply his magic output in fights.
Another conditional item that Zeus can look to build also includes Aeon Disk, which is perfect for surviving aggressive initiations. In addition, the lack of lockdown throughout one’s team can make Scythe of Vyse an amazing item to pick up. Amplifying damage output or increasing the player’s own safety are both tasks that the Ethereal Blade accomplishes.
Laning Stage
The game starts quite differently if Zeus starts as a support or core for his team. As a core, Zeus blocks the wave at mid as he has an average attack range. This makes it essential to secure good creep positioning. Support should help their team get runes and strike first blood on the enemies.
The laning stage appears to be quite similar in each case, as he uses abilities to farm the creep wave. Apart from this, harassing enemies is essential, as the article states above. Moving to the small camp near the lane is often something low-ranked players miss out on. This step is essential in getting an enhanced farm early on.
After the laning stage, Zeus is a good ganker with his insane nukes. However, he is vulnerable to ganks himself. With this in mind, smoking with support is the best way to play, as establishing a lead is important. This goes in hand with getting the correct vision placed and dewarding with his abilities. These are essential factors in knowing How to Play Zeus in Dota 2.
Gameplay
Zeus usually has Boots of Travel and Aghanim’s Sceptre, making him feel insanely strong. Pushing waves constantly to apply pressure is the best way to maintain a gold and XP lead. The upgrade to Nimbus helps, as one can get global vision by placing Nimbus in the enemy triangle or lanes.
As the game goes on, the enemy team will certainly have lots of items, which is threatening for Zeus. Because of this, nothing becomes more important than good positioning in team fights. Making sure that the player is under the vision and has teammates by his side is what players don’t consider.
With extraordinary map presence and insanely high amount of magic damage all, while pushing easily, one can consider Zeus overpowered. Enabling his team with Vision all over and making effective ganks, Zeus delivers everything a mid-lane hero needs. This is why this article covers in detail important points on How to Play Zeus in Dota 2.
