What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
192 buys
2ndSecond most
93 buys
3rdThird most
55 buys
4thFourth most
44 buys
5thFifth most
42 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Zeus
Ranged · Intelligence
- Win rate
- 49.8%
- Pick share
- 1.3%
- Matches
- 610,692
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsNukerCarry
NeedsSupportInitiatorDisablerFrontlineTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 50 min + — that is where this hero measures best, at 51.5% over 888 matches.
- You are playing around Crusader — its strongest medal, 50.4% over 91,493 picks.
Avoid
- Juggernaut is on their side — this hero wins 29.5% of 88 matches against it.
- Wraith King is on their side — this hero wins 31.9% of 69 matches against it.
- Void Spirit is on their side — this hero wins 32.4% of 68 matches against it.
192 buys93 buys55 buys44 buys42 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Zeus took at each level.
QArc Lightning
Hurls a bolt of lightning that leaps through nearby enemy units that deal damage.
Unit Target · Magical damage
WLightning Bolt
Calls down a bolt of lightning to strike an enemy unit, causing damage and a mini-stun.
Unit Target · Point Target · Magical damage
EHeavenly Jump
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.
No Target · Instant Cast · Magical damage
RThundergod's Wrath
Strikes all enemy heroes with a bolt of lightning, dealing damage no matter where they may be.
No Target · Magical damageMax Order
QWE
Max Q first, then W, then E. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QArc Lightning
- WLightning Bolt
- EHeavenly Jump
- RThundergod's Wrath
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QArc Lightning | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WLightning Bolt | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EHeavenly Jump | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RThundergod's Wrath | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Zeus performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
104 opponents · public matches40%60%Zeus's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “stun”, “leap”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”.
- See what is coming
Vision, or true sight against something invisible. Matched on “vision”, “true sight”.
By medal
- Herald49.9%16,793
- Guardian50.0%54,485
- Crusader50.4%91,493
- Archon50.3%126,963
- Legend49.9%130,990
- Ancient49.2%83,568
- Divine48.7%51,351
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min44.7%2,851
- 20–30 min49.3%8,726
- 30–40 min50.3%4,460
- 40–50 min51.1%1,748
- 50 min +51.5%888
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Zeus
Abilities
Arc Lightning
Unit Target · Magical damageHurls a bolt of lightning that leaps through nearby enemy units that deal damage.
Lightning Bolt
Unit Target · Point Target · Magical damageCalls 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.
Heavenly Jump
No Target · Instant Cast · Magical damageZeus 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.
Nimbus
Point Target · AOE · Hidden · Magical damageCreates a storm cloud anywhere on the map that automatically casts Lightning Bolt on nearby enemies.
Lightning Hands
Attack Modifier · Magical damageZeus 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.
Thundergod's Wrath
No Target · Magical damageStrikes 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.
Static Field
Passive · Hidden · Magical damageZeus shocks any enemy that he attacks or is hit by his abilities, causing damage equal to a percentage of their current health.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 21 +2.1
- Agility
- 11 +1.2
- Intelligence
- 23 +3.3
- Move · range
- 305 · 380
Talents
- 4AoE Lightning BoltHeavenly Jump Charges
- 3Arc Lightning DamageLightning Bolt Ministun
- 2Thundergod's Wrath DamageArc Lightning Mana Cost / Cooldown
- 1Heavenly Jump Target+200 Health
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Nimbus
Creates a storm cloud anywhere on the map that automatically casts Lightning Bolt on nearby enemies.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Lightning Hands
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.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.