These recent patch changes are a revolutionary change to how Dota 2 Zeus is approached. Replacing Static Field, Lightning Hands now occupies Zeus’ Aghanim’s Shard upgrade. On paper, it’s not quite the banger, but it is proving to be a menace in actual games. Changes to his talents also made this shard more relevant.
With the patch only a few days out, Zeus could be a niche pick in the upcoming Berlin Major. Let’s find out how we can achieve this lightning power for ourselves.
New Dota 2 Zeus Build: How it works
With each new patch in Dota 2, comes new approaches and builds not possible in previous versions. Be it a new item, shard, or scepter, these additions help keep Dota 2 fresh. After reading the patch notes, players are eager to enter Demo Mode to test out changes. Icefrog, to this day, provides ceaseless changes to Dota in an attempt to push the boundaries of the MOBA genre.
Aghanim’s Shard is a long-time mechanic that Icefrog added as an excuse to add more hero stuff. Some shards are better than others, and some are game-breaking or non-impacting. Zeus’ Lightning Hands ability is not as game-breaking as it is game-changing.
Without getting into it much, prepare to lower your volume down, because it gets loud, and fast. In a fight, you are expected to output at least 2K worth of magical damage with this shard. That could easily shred most heroes not just in the early game!Â
Lightning Hands grants Zeus an additional 100 attack range as its first passive component. The second component is that it has a toggle ability to cast Arc Lightning each attack. You heard it right, Zeus transforms into a right-clicker with the shard, altering his playstyle.
Don’t worry, you still retain the same Zeus-ness of his magical burst damage, now with man fight. Your problem now as a shard enjoyer would be to itemize for fight longevity.
Carry Itemization
Zeus is notorious for clearing waves in a flash, so let’s get into that. Lightning Hands scales down the Arc damage to 50%, so you’re looking to build around spell amplification and attack speed. Manta Style is a fantastic core item, as your illusions also shoot lightning. Chucking them into lanes is efficient farming, and pushing, and throws your net worth to the sky.
Other noteworthy items include Witch Blade and Pike, to increase your projectile speed and attack range, respectively. You may also consider items that bump up his movement speed as Zeus will undoubtedly be the first target of many.
Did you also know that Arc Lightning does percentage damage now on top of the flat damage? This change was made to accommodate the new shard, making for great damage. Don’t be misguided by Veil of Discord if you plan to go carry Zeus.
As we said, attack speed is the key to the new Dota 2 Zeus build. Assault Cuirass and even Moon Shard are great. Hell, even Mjöllnir, which pumps out even more lighting can be good, if you’re feeling nostalgic.
Hybrid builds are alright too. If you don’t want to go all-in on one side, why not go both ways halfway, right? Take note that Zeus has the pesky Lightning Bolt skill as well!
Let your creativity run wild on how to make this build work. After all, we advocate for creative expression and that is what Dota 2 is all about. If you can’t hack it on your own, there are guides in the game for you to follow, pretty easy! Now, go out there and zap enemies with the new Dota 2 Zeus Right-Click build!
