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IntelligenceIntelligence · Ranged

Zeus

Strikes enemies near and far with lightning

CarryNukerSimple to play
Zeus portrait

Win rate

50.3%

B across all ranks

Pick rate

13.0%

of public matches

Public picks

438.8K

in the sample

Pro scene

1

0 bans · 100% win rate

Win rate by rank

  • Herald1Herald49.8%
  • Guardian2Guardian50.2%
  • Crusader3Crusader50.6%
  • Archon4Archon50.5%
  • Legend5Legend50.4%
  • Ancient6Ancient50.0%
  • Divine+7Divine+49.3%

Bars start at 50%. Sample sizes: Herald 10.8K · Guardian 34.4K · Crusader 65.1K · Archon 103.7K · Legend 117.9K · Ancient 65.4K · Divine+ 41.5K.

Last 6 days

50.1%

Popular item build

Starting items

Bought before the horn

  1. 1

    Iron Branch

    55g
  2. 2

    Tango

    90g
  3. 3

    Observer Ward

    0g
  4. 4

    Enchanted Mango

    65g
  5. 5

    Faerie Fire

    65g
  6. 6

    Blood Grenade

    50g

Laning

The first minutes

  1. 1

    Boots of Speed

    500g
  2. 2

    Arcane Boots

    47%1,500g
  3. 3

    Bottle

    675g
  4. 4

    Staff of Wizardry

    1,000g
  5. 5

    Null Talisman

    505g

Mid game

Core items

  1. 1

    Aghanim's Shard

    47%1,400g
  2. 2

    Aghanim's Scepter

    54%4,200g
  3. 3

    Kaya

    47%2,100g
  4. 4

    Arcane Boots

    47%1,500g
  5. 5

    Tiara of Selemene

    62%1,700g

Late game

The full build

  1. 1

    Refresher Orb

    62%5,000g
  2. 2

    Divine Rapier

    5,600g
  3. 3

    Octarine Core

    5,100g
  4. 4

    Aghanim's Scepter

    54%4,200g
  5. 5

    Yasha and Kaya

    4,200g

Most-bought items for Zeus in OpenDota’s sample of parsed public matches (1,671 purchases counted). Bars compare each item with the most-bought one in its phase. The percentage is the win rate in games where Zeus bought the item by minute 30 (green or red when it is clearly above or below Zeus’s average). Teams that are ahead buy items sooner, so a high number shows the item goes with winning games, not that it causes the win. Items with fewer than 100 games show no percentage. Cheap components are hidden from the mid and late game.

Best win rate by purchase time

Bought ≤ 12 min

  1. Kaya

    160 games

    53%
  2. Arcane Boots

    665 games

    48%

Bought 12–15 min

  1. Kaya

    152 games

    46%
  2. Arcane Boots

    144 games

    44%
  3. Aghanim's Shard

    97 games

    44%

Bought 15–20 min

  1. Aghanim's Scepter

    69 games

    51%
  2. Aghanim's Shard

    383 games

    49%
  3. Kaya

    135 games

    44%

Bought 20–30 min

  1. Refresher Orb

    80 games

    66%
  2. Tiara of Selemene

    261 games

    62%
  3. Ring of Tarrasque

    142 games

    62%

Final items compared within the same purchase window (at least 60 games each), so they are not simply ranked by how late or expensive they are. Still a correlation: a team that is far ahead can buy anything sooner.

What these items do

  • Iron Branch

    55

    • +1 All Attributes

    Use: Plant Tree: Targets the ground to plant a happy little tree that lasts for 20 seconds.

  • Tango

    90

    Use: Devour: Consumes a target tree to gain 7 health regeneration for 16 seconds. Consuming an Ironwood Tree doubles the heal duration. Comes with 3 charges.

  • Observer Ward

    0

    Use: Plant: Plants an Observer Ward, an invisible watcher that gives ground vision in a 1600 radius to your team. Lasts 6 minutes.

    Full description

    1s

    Use: Plant. Plants an Observer Ward, an invisible watcher that gives ground vision in a 1600 radius to your team. Lasts 6 minutes. Hold Control to give one Observer Ward to an allied hero.

  • Enchanted Mango

    65

    • +0.4 Health Regen

    Use: Eat Mango: Instantly restores 100 mana.

    Full description

    Use: Eat Mango. Instantly restores 100 mana.

    • Hold Control to use on a nearby allied hero.
  • Faerie Fire

    65

    • +2 Damage

    Use: Imbue: Instantly restores 85 health.

    Full description

    5s

    Use: Imbue. Instantly restores 85 health.

  • Blood Grenade

    50

    • +50 Health

    Use: Throw Grenade: Throw a grenade at the target area. Enemies in the area will take 50 damage on impact, and be slowed by -15% and take 15 damage every 1s for 5…

    Full description

    10s

    Use: Throw Grenade. Throw a grenade at the target area. Enemies in the area will take 50 damage on impact, and be slowed by -15% and take 15 damage every 1s for 5 seconds. Radius 300.

  • Boots of Speed

    500

    • +45 Move Speed

    Movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack.

  • Arcane Boots

    1,500

    • +45 Move Speed
    • +0.25 Mana Regen
    • +125 Mana

    Active: Replenish: Restores 150 mana to all nearby allies. Radius: 1200

    Win rate when bought46.5% · 843 games

    • ≤ 12 min48%665
    • 12–15 min44%144
    • 15–20 min40%30
    • 20–30 min–4
    Full description

    55s

    Active: Replenish. Restores 150 mana to all nearby allies. Radius: 1200

    Passive: Basilius Aura. Grants 1 mana regeneration to allies. Radius: 1200 Movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack.

    • Does not work on Meepo clones.
  • Bottle

    675

    Active: Regenerate: Consumes a charge to restore 110 health and 60 mana over 2.7 seconds. If the hero is attacked by an enemy hero or Roshan, the effect is lost.

    Full description

    0.5s

    Active: Regenerate. Consumes a charge to restore 110 health and 60 mana over 2.7 seconds. If the hero is attacked by an enemy hero or Roshan, the effect is lost. The Bottle automatically refills at the fountain. Hold Control to use on an allied hero.

    Passive: Store Rune. Runes can be stored in the Bottle for later use by right-clicking them. Unused runes will automatically activate after 90 seconds. Using a stored rune fully refills the Bottle.

    • Bottle is shareable. Stored runes cannot be shared.
    • Using a stored Bounty or Water rune fully refills the bottle if the bottle was full when the rune was stored; otherwise, it refills two charges.
  • Staff of Wizardry

    1,000

    • +10 Intelligence
  • Null Talisman

    505

    • +5 Intelligence
    • +2 Strength
    • +2 Agility
    • +1 Mana Regen
  • Aghanim's Shard

    1,400

    Passive: Ability Upgrade: Upgrades an existing ability or adds a new ability to your hero.

    Win rate when bought46.6% · 614 games

    • ≤ 12 min–20
    • 12–15 min44%97
    • 15–20 min49%383
    • 20–30 min41%114
  • Aghanim's Scepter

    4,200

    • +10 All Attributes
    • +175 Health
    • +175 Mana

    Passive: Ability Upgrade: Upgrades the ultimate, and some abilities, of all heroes.

    Win rate when bought53.9% · 616 games

    • ≤ 12 min–18
    • 12–15 min–18
    • 15–20 min51%69
    • 20–30 min55%511
  • Kaya

    2,100

    • +16 Intelligence

    Win rate when bought47.4% · 563 games

    • ≤ 12 min53%160
    • 12–15 min46%152
    • 15–20 min44%135
    • 20–30 min47%116
    Full description
    • Multiple instances of this item do not stack.
  • Tiara of Selemene

    1,700

    • +6 Mana Regen

    Win rate when bought61.6% · 297 games

    • ≤ 12 min–4
    • 12–15 min–15
    • 15–20 min–17
    • 20–30 min62%261
  • Refresher Orb

    5,000

    • +14 Health Regen
    • +7 Mana Regen

    Active: Reset Cooldowns: Resets the cooldowns of all your abilities. Shares a cooldown with Refresher Shard.

    Win rate when bought62.0% · 100 games

    • ≤ 12 min–0
    • 12–15 min–2
    • 15–20 min–18
    • 20–30 min66%80
    Full description

    180s325

    Active: Reset Cooldowns. Resets the cooldowns of all your abilities. Shares a cooldown with Refresher Shard. This item's cooldown only progresses in your hero's main inventory.

  • Divine Rapier

    5,600

    • +100 Damage

    Toggle: Transmute: Toggle to gain either 25% bonus spell amplification or 250 bonus attack damage.

    Full description

    6s

    Toggle: Transmute. Toggle to gain either 25% bonus spell amplification or 250 bonus attack damage.

    Passive: Everlasting. Dropped on death, and cannot be destroyed. Becomes unusable if picked up by an ally of its owner until it is returned to its owner. It is immediately usable by anybody if an enemy of the owner picks it up and is killed. A dropped Rapier cannot be picked up by a courier.

    • If Divine Rapier is dropped and picked up by an enemy of its original owner, it cannot be dropped again except by death.
    • Spell Amplification from multiple Rapiers does not stack.
  • Octarine Core

    5,100

    • +25% Cooldown Reduction
    • +450 Health
    • +450 Mana
    • +6 Mana Regen
  • Yasha and Kaya

    4,200

    • +16 Agility
    • +16 Intelligence
    • +20 Damage

Abilities

Arc Lightning

1.6s85 / 90 / 95 / 100

Hurls a bolt of lightning that leaps through nearby enemy units that deal damage.

DAMAGE
105 / 130 / 155 / 180
JUMP RADIUS
450
JUMPS
5 / 7 / 9 / 11

Lightning Bolt

6 / 6 / 6 / 6s120 / 125 / 130 / 135

Calls down a bolt of lightning to strike an enemy unit, causing damage and a mini-stun. When cast, Lightning Bolt briefly provides unobstructed vision and True Sight around the target in a 600 radius. Can be cast on the ground, affecting the closest enemy hero in 325 range.

DAMAGE
140 / 220 / 300 / 380
SIGHT RADIUS
600
SIGHT DURATION
5
MINISTUN DURATION
0.35
  • You can interrupt channeling spells and items with this ability.

Heavenly Jump

26 / 22 / 18 / 14s50 / 60 / 70 / 80

Zeus performs a Heavenly Jump, leaping forward and shocking the closest visible nearby enemy (prioritizing heroes), dealing damage as well as reducing their movement and attack speed. Zeus gets 900 unobstructed vision around him for 3 seconds.

DAMAGE
25 / 50 / 75 / 100
LEAP DISTANCE
375 / 450 / 525 / 600
SHOCK RANGE
700 / 800 / 900 / 1000
VISION RADIUS
900
DURATION
1.4
MOVE SPEED SLOW
80
ATTACK SPEED SLOW
100
TARGETS
1

Nimbus

Granted by Aghanim’s Scepter45s275

Creates a storm cloud anywhere on the map that automatically casts Lightning Bolt on nearby enemies.

DURATION
30
LIGHTNING BOLT BASE COOLDOWN
2.5
RADIUS
450
HITS TO DESTROY
8
CREEP HITS TO DESTROY
16
  • Grants 125 gold if destroyed by an enemy hero.
  • Affects the closest enemy unit with strikes from Zeus's current level of Lightning Bolt.
  • Towers and creeps do half damage to the Nimbus.

Lightning Hands

Granted by Aghanim’s Shard

Zeus gains bonus attack speed and his attacks create Arc Lightnings that deal a percentage of its damage. Can be toggled off to stop this effect.

BONUS ATTACK SPEED
20
ARC LIGHTNING DAMAGE
50

Thundergod's Wrath

Ultimate130s250 / 375 / 500

Strikes all enemy heroes with a bolt of lightning, dealing damage no matter where they may be. Provides True Sight around each hero before they are struck.

TRUE SIGHT RADIUS
600
DURATION
3
DAMAGE
275 / 425 / 575

Static Field

Innate

Zeus shocks any enemy that he attacks or is hit by his abilities, causing damage equal to a percentage of their current health.

DAMAGE
3.45

Talents

325 AoE Lightning Bolt

25

3 Heavenly Jump Charges

+60 Arc Lightning Damage

20

+0.5s Lightning Bolt Ministun

+75 Thundergod's Wrath Damage

15

-20% Arc Lightning Mana Cost / Cooldown

+1 Heavenly Jump Target

10

+200 Health

Base stats

Attributes

  • StrengthStrength21+2.1/lvl
  • AgilityAgility11+1.2/lvl
  • IntelligenceIntelligence23+3.3/lvl

At level 1

Damage
53–63
Attack time
1.7s
Attack range
380
Move speed
305
Armor
2.8
Magic resistance
25%
Health
582 (+2.4/s)
Mana
351 (+1.2/s)
Vision day / night
1800 / 800

Recent changes

latest 12 patches
  1. 7.41e
    • Thundergod's Wrath:Damage decreased from 300/475/650 to 275/425/575
    • Lightning Hands:Toggling on/off no longer breaks invisibility and can be done while silenced
    • Bonus Attack Speed decreased from 30 to 20
  2. 7.41
    • Base Strength increased from 19 to 21
    • Base Damage increased by 1–3
    • Damage at level 1 increased from 52–60 to 53–63
    • Base Movement Speed decreased from 315 to 305
    • Base Armor decreased by 1
    • Static Field:No longer levels with Thundergod's Wrath
    • Damage changed from 2.5/3/3.5/4% to 3.45% + 0.05% per level
    • Arc Lightning:Mana Cost rescaled from 75/85/95/105 to 85/90/95/100
    • Base Damage increased from 90/120/150/180 to 105/130/155/180
    • Lightning Bolt:Vision and True Sight radius increased from 500 to 600
    • Thundergod's Wrath:Now applies the True Sight before the damage and strikes even untargetable and still invisible enemies
    • Vision and True Sight radius increased from 500 to 600
    • Nimbus:Damage source changed from Nimbus to the caster
    • Talents:Level 15 Talent -0.4s Arc Lightning Cooldown replaced with -20% Arc Lightning Mana Cost/Cooldown
    • Level 25 Talent +2% Static Field Damage replaced with 3 Heavenly Jump Charges
  3. 7.40b
    • Static Field:Current HP Damage increased from 2.5/3/3.5/4% to 2.5/3.25/4/4.75%
  4. 7.40
    • Arc Lightning:Jumps decreased from 5/7/9/15 to 5/7/9/11
    • Talents:Level 25 Talent Static Field Damage increased from +1.5% to +2%
  5. 7.39d
    • Heavenly Jump:Leap Distance increased from 300/400/500/600 to 375/450/525/600

Lore

Lord of Heaven, father of gods, Zeus treats all the Heroes as if they are his rambunctious, rebellious children. After being caught unnumbered times in the midst of trysts with countless mortal women, his divine wife finally gave him an ultimatum: 'If you love mortals so much, go and become one. If you can prove yourself faithful, then return to me as my immortal husband. Otherwise, go and die among your creatures.' Zeus found her logic (and her magic) irrefutable, and agreed to her plan. He has been on his best behavior ever since, being somewhat fonder of immortality than he is of mortals. But to prove himself worthy of his eternal spouse, he must continue to pursue victory on the field of battle.

Win rates come from public Dota 2 matches (OpenDota), 3.4M matches counted, refreshed Oct 24, 2026. Tiers use the win rate in the chosen rank: S 52.5%+, A 51%+, B 49%+, C 47.5%+, D below; heroes with too few games are left unrated. Hero data and patch notes are Valve’s. Builds Forge is an unofficial fan site, not affiliated with Valve.