4Game

If you watch any of my content you probably know I’m not a mid player. I commonly queue for all roles except mid. However, one of my favorite heroes in the game is Zeus, and in the interest of mixing it up, I’ve played 8 games of Zeus mid recently, and have a 75% winrate.

Check the video for a walkthrough game where I explain everything: https://youtu.be/h7HXDaIFSA0
Link to game if you're interested: https://www.dotabuff.com/matches/6997867823

Here’s the basics. There is a Zeus item build that feels very strong right now, and it’s very simple. Bottle, rush mana boots, rush kaya, pick up shard at 15, rush aghs. Skip null(s) (which are pretty bad right now imo), and skip wand unless you’re against a bat or bristle in lane. Zeus isn’t a hero that’s “in” the action a lot, so wand isn’t that great and just slows down your other items.

With bottle+arcane boots+kaya and getting the occasional rune and clarity, you actually mana sustain quite well, given that Kaya buffs all mana regen (like clarities and bottle charges) by 50%. If you find literally any mana regen neutral item, you’re basically set for the entire first 20-25 mins.

Playstyle in the lane: Attempt to right-click every CS, but always use Q to secure if you won’t otherwise get it. Do not attempt to heavily pressure or harass your opponent unless they are a weaker non-str melee hero (ie pango or void spirit). You can easily push the lane in at rune timings to secure at least one water rune and bounty. It’s very important that you go get a bounty rune, preferably theirs if you don’t think it’s been taken, around 3 mins.

With constant rune pickups, you typically get your arcanes at a reasonable timing, as it lets you consistently use Chain Lightning to secure CS. You also typically can pick up a global kill with your ult at some point.

Make sure you go for the 50/50 on the power rune at min 6 (I typically will not go to where I think they are since you’re weak and squishy). Then get a 6min bounty as well if you can.

Bounce between jungle and lane while you farm kaya. You can show up to fights, but typically you don’t want to unless the enemy is overcommitted and won’t be able to focus you. Contribute with your ultimate as often as you can.

Playstyle after the lane: focus on cleaning up safe creep waves at towers. You should not extend on the enemy’s side of the map unless you’re behind your whole team and feeling very strong. Get the occasional clarity if you’re not getting runes, but otherwise you should be going for the 8 and 10 min runes (safely!) with a bounty at 9. All these runes pretty much keep up your mana sustain, as long as you’re using arcane boots off CD and backpacking them when using bottle charges. Remember to also backpack any +200 mana pool neutral items.

Finish kaya, then pick up shard at 15. If you have the gold, you can start aghs before 15 as long as you’ll get back to enough for shard at 15.

Finish aghs after shard.

Playstyle for pretty much the rest of the game: clean up your team’s waves. Split push the opposite side of the map as the enemy team. Jungle when no lanes are safe to show on. Contribute with Nimbus and your ulti globally. If there are no waves to clean up, you can play with your team, just be very careful with your positioning. Always be in the back. And remember to be constantly checking for obs with W.

Item choices after aghs should be whatever will keep you alive followed by whatever else you need to deal with the opponent. Defensive options can be force staff, euls, ghost scepter, kaya/sange, and aeon disk.

Follow up items for me I’m typically looking at octarine, refresher, boots of travel, maybe a hex. Blink can even be decent.

Skill Build:

2-0-1 to start. At 4 if you want you can take a value point in W. Can help to deward mid. But I also sometimes go 2-0-2.

Always max Q first for farming, it’s also just as mana-efficient for damage in fights as W so even if you’re fighting more, it’s still preferred.

After level 7, I have been experimenting with maxing W next and E next. I think either is fine, go with whatever seems better in your game. (Less danger for you = max W, more danger = max E).

Talents:

10: I’ll take the health if they have a hero who’s gonna jump me and I don’t want to get insta bursted (I.e tusk, void spirit, storm). Otherwise I prefer the CD reduction on E. However, if I do get the CD reduction talent, i don’t take it until level 13/14.

15: movespeed is better. If you’re owning the game and running at them, you can take the other one.

20: mini stun 100%. The utility of your ultimate late game is more vision than damage. Also the mini stun will translate to the nimbus and eventually the 25 talent we want.

25: aoe lighting bolt is much better imo. Clears waves just as much as the higher damage on arc lightning, with the added bonus of being an aoe mini stun for 0.7s with the 20 talent.