McStappy's Guide to Zeus

Thank you for reading note

Thanks for reading the first guide I've made!

Comments/Ratings are most certainly welcome and if you need to talk to me, just add me on steam.

THIS GUIDE IS MAINLY FOR DOTA2

www.steamcommunity.com/id/ursicimus <-- that's me.

I understand this guide might be a bit short, but it is my first guide, sorry :|

*I would post replays but I just don't know how to actually post one up here from the dota2 game itself.

Introduction

Welcome to my guide for my favorite hero in DotA, Zeus, the Lord of Olympia. Zeus is a natural ganker and nuker all throughout the game, he is never obsolete.

If you follow my build, Zeus plays the role of a ganker and semi-carry, one that is not scared to face an Anti-Mage or Phantom Assassin in that manner.

In this build you will require to have a steady gpm all throughout the game, you are not a support in this build.

Pros / Cons

Pros:

[+] You are always a threat to the enemy
[+] Fast farmer
[+] An excellent ganker
[+] Global presence
[+] Great First Blooder

Cons:

[-] You might not be able to afford team items such as upgrading the courier or buying wards
[-] Hard to master this build
[-] Item dependant
[-] Rune Dependant to a degree
[-] No stuns/disables

Items

For items, I suggest you buy this in the beginning:

-3x Iron Wood Branches
-3x Clarity Potions
-1x Tangos
-1x Healing Salve

Why? the branches are basically for the +3 stats which helps quite a lot early game, you need the potions in order to keep up a healthy early game farm and the tangos & salve are for emergencies only.

If you random Zeus and was wondering what to spend with the extra random gold, then I would suggest buying the courier OR wards for the team with it.

Core Items in Order:
-Arcane Boots
-Bottle
-Veil of Discord
-Orchid Malevolence
-Ghost Scepter (Optional)


Arcane boots is needed by Zeus and is the first item you rush, it is very helpful all throughout the game and I would not suggest replacing these into any other boots unless it is 50-60 minutes in and you have nothing else to buy, then get Boots of Travel.

Bottle is essential for Zeus, whatever the situation, solo mid, solo lane, and even in dual laning. It helps you with that instant boost of health or mana. But Arcane Boots come first in the priority list

Veil of Discord is one of the items people don't usually get, although this is a big boost for Zeus, 12 intelligence, 6 HP regen and 6 armor, they're all nice, but the main reason you get this item is for the amplify, and trust me, this will change the tides of a match if used properly. This is the item you try to get after your bottle and boots.

Orchid Malevolence would be the next choice for this build, and I think you already know why, great stats, a 5 second silence and +30% damage taken from the enemy, this will help you when fighting another spell dependant hero or when you're just ganking in general

The Ghost Scepter is mainly for fighting against physical damage enemies such as Juggernaut or Phantom Assassin.


Optional Luxury Items in order of priority:

-Refresher Orb
-Ethereal Blade
-Sythe of Vyse
-Aghanim's Scepter
-Black King Bar

These are what you try to get after you are done with your core items, I strongly suggest ethereal blade and refresher to keep up the amplifying and the nuke.

Refresher might be costly but with the farming strategy I'll give later on it will not be impossible.

Ethereal Blade might be in question, but it is a great item for Zeus when you're going for more amplifying, it also helps against physical damage based heroes, plus if you already got a Ghost Scepter before, this will be easier to get.

I would not suggest sheep stick because chances are another ally will get it and there are better items for this build.

Aghanims is not strongly suggested but will work because it improves your ultimate by 140 damage at level 3, it is not much compared to what you can get with that money, the stats are nice too, though.

Black King Bar only if you have problems with enemy casters nuking you before you nuke them such as Lion or Lina or Nyx Assassin.

Situational Items:

Magic Wand: For early game if your enemies are spell spammers like you (e.g. Batrider)
Blink Dagger: If mobility is a serious factor in the game
Gem/Dust: If you have an invisible enemy, you would be the gem holder since you are probably the one who will be targetted by these heroes.
Aegis: You potentially can be the one in your team taking the Aegis as a semi carry / main damage source
Boots of Travel: When its 60 minutes into game (or very late game) and you have nothing else to buy, please note that do not buy this if it means you'll have no buyback money left.


DO NOT get the items listed above on the "do not get" list, mainly because they don't really enhance your damage much, and some items are meant for supports, you are NOT a support in this build. Dagon might be a decent choice but there ARE far better items than a dagon.

***If you have an enemy that goes invisible, I advice you be the one to buy dust of appearance since you are a ganker and you want to get him/her as well.

Skills

Skills:

Level 1: Arc Lightning
Level 2: Static Field
Level 3-5: Lightning Bolt
Level 6: Thundergod's Wrath
Level 7: Lightning Bolt
Level 8-10: Static Field
Level 11: Thundergod's Wrath
Level 12-14: Arc Lightning
Level 15: Stats
Level 16: Thundergod's Wrath
Level 17-25: Stats

A simple generic build, arc lightning first because you want to get the first few wave's farm followed by a level 2 static field so it does more damage, but you max out Lightning Bolt first because it is Zeus' main nuke and is very useful all throughout the game for plain damage, interrupts or checking for invisible enemies.

Spam Arc Lightning strategically early game to get as much farm as possible, you know you're doing fine if you get Arcane Boots before 6 minutes.

Creeping / Jungling

Not much to say here, you NEED farm with this build, so I suggest you go solo or lane with a support who will not try to fight with you for the creeps, the range of your Arc Lightning is also quite high meaning you don't have to go near to get cs.

If you're with a friend, I suggest you lane with Keeper of the Light, let the keeper max out chakra while you spam the hell out of Arc, not only that you'll get all the cs, but you'll harrass enemies too!

You'll have a tough time laning if your enemies have slows, stuns, or can gang up on you easily.

Team Work

You need your team, Zeus can be a semi carry with this build, but he's not a one man show, he needs other people to provide the disable Zeus lacks.

You do not go in first, you wait for your allies to make a successful entry before you go in.

Great Hero allies:
-Nyx Assassin
-Tidehunter
-Witch Doctor

Nyx Assassin is a great ganker and would go well with Zeus' nuke
Tidehunter is a great ally for anyone because of his ult which can be the initiation Zeus needs to make his entrance
Witch Doctor has his cask which is great to keep enemies in place but more importantly he has his maledict which if placed on an enemy and got nuked by Zeus, he'll be lucky to survive.

Summary

Your Role is: Semi-Carry or Ganker

-You are item dependant
-You are rune dependant
-You prefer ganking in groups
-You don't enter until a good initiation is made

With this build you have the capability to destroy carries in a snap if played right.

Have fun playing the Amplifier Zeus!

Screenshots