Ziggs Build Guide : Making girls wet with Pool Party Ziggs.

Introduction

Attention

This guide won't get updated as much as often anymore, as I only get more and more involved in playing top-lane. I still play Ziggs now and then mid, but a lot less than before.

Hello, and welcome to my guide about Ziggs, the Hexplosive Expert.

Ziggs is a champion that is simply made for one purpose: dealing heavy amount of damage in teamfights. It doesn't matter what he hits, he must hit something. Preferably the most important people, such as the enemy ADcarry. All of his abilities have area of effect damage, so in this guide I focussed a lot of late-game scaling, while having at least some kind of sustain in his early-game lane.

Pros/Cons

Your pros

+ Tons of AoE damage
+ Excels in teamfights.
+ Very long-range ultimate, either allowing you to secure kills or giving a high advantage in a different lane (burning their flash, forcing them to recall etc.)
+ Great escape mechanism from ganks.
+ High early-level harass.
+ Insane ability range.
+ Great farmer.
+ Great zoner.

Your cons

- No build-in sustain and mana recovery.
- Really dependant on his laning phase to excel in teamfights.
- Squishy.
- All of your spells are skillshots.
- Your ultimate is visible for the enemy on the place where it lands.

How to prevent your cons

* Abuse your range to deny many damage done to you, or buy a . Don't burn your mana.
* Do it right in your laning phase: know where the enemy jungler is, buy wards, and know when to trade and when not. Also, know the enemy champion you're laning against.
* Use your range! If you're squishy, you simply don't stand in the range of your enemy ADC, for example.
* Predict the movement of your enemy. It gets somewhat harder if the opponent can dash, however.
* People can't multitask. Therefore, the best way to use your ult is when the teamfight or lanefight starts. For another in-depth example, click here. (Thanks to YeaISupport for this funny found :P.)

Masteries

Pretty much like any other APcarry, these are my standard masteries for Ziggs. Just dealing as much damage as possible with your abilities, while having the benefits from the buffs that the jungler gives you.
I also take a derpy point in , because all of your abilities are area of effect damage, but you might want to put it in instead for the extra derpy sustain or for more sustain in teamfights.

Summoner spells

Here I'll discuss what summoner spells are viable at which situations. Feel free to take your own chosen summoner spells, but here are just some general tips when you want to take that spell and why.
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Standard summoner spells

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This summoner spell helps you to secure kills, and to provide the bonus 5 ability power from . It's not a significant amount that the gives, but it does give some.

I take this summoner spell for emergency escapes or to make sure to get in range for a secure kill. Tip: only get in range if you know that your opponent can't dash away to dodge your abilities, such as or .

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Other somewhat viable choices

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On first thoughts, I would have considered this choice as useless, but now I think of it: Ghost is great to get in range with your abilties. If you replace this with , you still have your to get out of a nasty situation. Therefore, it is quite viable on Ziggs.

Ziggs has a high range with his abilities, as well as a gap closer. Therefore, it is a great optional spell on Ziggs if you want to help your other lanes out to force their enemies to use or to help them making kills.

So Ziggs can use his range, but what if they have the gap closers to get in your range? Well, this is the answer. If you have to face champions like with Ziggs, you will get bursted in no-time after level 6. This barrier prevents you from dying by burst.

So you have your long-range ultimate, but you don't know where your enemy is. This spell makes you more certain about where to aim your , allowing to make your kills even more secure.

If the enemy team is so CC heavy that you simply can't land any of your bombs at any time at all, get this spell. You are also a carry, your team needs you! If you don't get this spell against a CC heavy team and they will focus you, you have the chance to be useless in any teamfight.

I had the same thoughts first as I had on , but this spell allows you to land your bombs more secure, because of the movement speed the enemy will lose. Ziggs loves immobile targets, so this spell isn't even bad to pick on Ziggs.

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Don't take these spells

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This spell might be somewhat useful at your early game, but it's useless on later levels if you rush your . Due it's lack of being useful late-game (also where you will focus on with Ziggs), don't take this spell on Ziggs.

Since a lot of people take ignite instead of heal, this spell gets countered very easily. Also, if you want to make sure that you have high enough health, take instead, because it's stronger.

You're not a jungler, and you're one of the best farmers in the whole League of Legends. No need for smite.

one does not simply play the revive bungalow with Ziggs.

Runes - Standard runes

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

You need the magic resist to survive early-game. Therefore, these runes are a must-have. However, if your opponent is physical, you must swap these with and get instead.
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To get a better late-game scaling, you need as much AP as possible late-game. Even though these runes are not the best runes for seals, there isn't a big worry if you lack the armor runes, because Ziggs can abuse his range to deny auto-attack harass. Don't forget that Ziggs can easily win this trade with his passive.

These runes don't have to be late-game scaling in my opinion, because any kind of these runes in this rune section are just horrible. These are a lot better for Ziggs, as well as in late-game.
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I'd rather start with 15 extra ability power than get some scaling AP. The scaling AP runes on the quintessence give very low early-game ability power and don't really make a huge difference if you reach level 18, so it's better to get flat AP.
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Runes - Squishy alternative

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

You could also prever these runes if you don't mind to be less squishy in your lane. This will put you at a slightly higher risk during the laning phase (you only have 7 bonus magic resist instead of 12), but they will offer higher damage output at higher levels (you will have 28 bonus ability power instead of 16). I usually prefer to play it safe, because Ziggs doesn't have any build-in sustain other than the items he must buy for it.

Runes - Against AD

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

The funny part is that you actually gain a huge advantage if you have to lane against an AD champion. You get the primary armor seals for your protection, and you get the primary runes from the glyphs as well. If you have to lane against an AD champion, you gain 13 bonus armor from the seals, and 28 bonus ability power at level 18. He is also very safe from these champions in general, because Ziggs has a beautiful disengage(for more info, see "Gameplay - Ability usage").

Items - Starting items

sight ward

I usually start up with a faerie charm, 4 health potions, 2 mana potions and a sight ward. This gives you an extra 600 hp and 200 mana in your lane. If you don't use anything else to trade other than your , you're very mana efficient and you don't need to start with 3x health pots and 3x mana pots, and with 4 health potions instead of 3, you have more sustain (yey math!1!!).

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If you counter your midlaner or you have a way stronger early-game than your opponent, you can also start with these items. The doran's ring provides you even more starting ability power, and can force your opponent to recall even earlier. If you still have mana trouble with this setup, try to replace a health potion with a mana potion.

Items - Standard build

Here I'll explain which items are viable on a Ziggs build and which items aren't. Feel free to choose your own, but here are just some general tips that gives you a very high damage output, while having some kind of defence as well.
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Sorcerer's shoes

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Rabadon's deathcap

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Zhonya's hourglass

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The idea behind this is simple: you're a mage. You need magic penetration for high damage output, and you want to be mobile. Also make sure to enchant them with if you want a quick replenbish of your health and mana to get in your lane quicker, or to aid your allies quicker, because you are an important person in your team! Other enchantments are useless on Ziggs in my opinion, but you can consider if you want lower cooldown on your .

The idea behind this is quite similar to your boots choice: you are a mage, and you need ability power to deal more damage. More ability power is more damage. This item grants 120 ability power plus a 30% ability power bonus from all your ability power sources, which is an insane amount of ability power stored in one single item. So how much is this item needed on Ziggs? Well, let's say that this is your super hardcore core item.

You want to build this item for defensive purposes and for some nice amount of ability power. This item can help you a lot to survive late-game against AD scaling assassins or to deny a lot of damage done from any source. Consider to build this item earlier if you see that AD scaling enemies are being fed or if your opponent is AD scaling in your lane.
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Athene's unholy grail

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Void staff

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Lich bane

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To spam your bombs, you need mana. Lots of mana. You can't spam your bombs without this item. This item grants Ziggs everything he needs to do so: Ability power, HUGE mana regen, and cooldown reduction. It also gives you some early-game bulkiness to stay longer in your lane.

I usually take this item straight for the magic penetration. The problem I always find with taking for magic penetration is that your abilities have such incredible range that the passive isn't applied 90% of the time for the damage you deal . Therefore, I only take this item if I really need the magic resistance if I have to face counters, such as or .

I just love this item on Ziggs. So your is your spammable ability. Since you can spam this ability for each 3,04 seconds, you will also proceed the 's passive each 3,04 seconds. Combine this passive with your own passive, , and you suddenly get an auto-attack that deals damage based on 110% (don't forget !) of your ability power, which is even a higher AP scaling than your own ultimate. So now you only didn't create a champion that has huge area of effect damage, but you created an excellent burster as well. Ziggs also has a decent auto-attack range of 575, so it's highly possible to get these Lich banes passives off. Excellent snowball item, but if you're snowballing, make sure to play with instead.

Items - To consider

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Liandry's torment

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Morello-
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The cooldown of your scales very nice with 's duration of the burn effect. With this in your final build, you will have 24% cooldown reduction, which means that you will have exactly 3,04 seconds cooldown on your , just 0,04 seconds for the time that the passive of this item last. Scales also really good with your , because one target can be hit by multiple bombs, meaning that they will get multiple burns. Also gives you some nice magic penetration, health and some decent amount of ability power.

More cooldown reduction, more ability power, more s, more damage. Another good item to choose on Ziggs, especially if the enemy team has high sustain by heals and lifesteal and 's. Only if they have that kind of sustain, then I would pick this item on Ziggs, because there are better options.

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Deathfire grasp

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Only if you purely play Ziggs for maximum area of effect damage, take this item. Also grants you a nice passive that allows him to deal more magic damage to a single target. Since you have a very short cooldown on your bouncing bomb, they have to take at least 2 s to their face, and maybe a as well. Oh hey, that are 3 abilities, so he will also get to eat your passive. So with this item, his duellist skill somewhat goes down - not completely though -, but the area of effect damage in teamfights becomes better.
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Items - Defensive

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Twin shadows

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Mercury's treads

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Quicksilver sash

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Abyssal scepter

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Why would Twin Shadows be a good defensive item on Ziggs? Well, if you look at its passive, it causes to slow enemies down when you activate it. Since Ziggs loves immobile targets, this makes it a perfect defensive item for Ziggs! It also gives you a nice amount of magic resist, and some ability power as well. It's best to use it against very mobile enemies, such as and .

If you have to face someone in your lane with insane amount of CC, these boots are a must. Champions such as are able to damage you like crazy if you don't have any tenacity against their spells. It also gives you a nice amount of magic resistance, so you will be quite safe in your lane with these boots.

If your opponent has one very long and/or powerful disable, you should take this item. For example, 's is a heavy disabling ability that does a ton of damage. If you don't have this item ready for that, it's very hard to win the lane for you. It also gives you a nice amount of magic resist to stay longer in your lane.

This item is good if you have to face the following kind of champions: gapclosers, such as , bursters, such as... , and champions that really like it to get in your range, such as... . The reason for that is because they get in your range of this item's passive anyway, and with this item you get more tanky to resist that damage done while they still have their magic resist reduced. So this item would be very good if it's either not going well in your lane or you have to face a champion that constantly gets in your range or counters you. Void Staff is still far surperior on Ziggs than this item, because you have so much range with your abilities that it fails to apply the item's passive 90% of the time, so only build this item if you really need the extra magic resist for your laning phase.

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Rylai's crystal scepter

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Hextech revolver

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Banshee's veil

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This item makes you less squishy and adds a slow to your abilities. If there are many gap closers on the enemy team, for example: , this item is a must-have, because you won't survive with your base HP stats. Also consider to get this item along with an early if the gap closers are especially physical types. It's also a good moment to pick this item if it isn't going so well with your team, because the slow effects will slow the enemy team down if you combine it with your poke, and you will be safe from them.

If the opponent has some sort of poke ability, this item can be really handy to cover the damage done by them. I only take this item if the opponent has a somewhat weaker poke. 's , for example, isn't that powerful and you can easily cover up the damage done by him with this item. If the poke is stronger, such as 's , it might be better to buy some magic resist instead, because this item alone will never cover up the damage done by such abilities.

With this item, you get a spellshield, some health, health regen if you take damage, and a magic resist boost. This item is ideal against any AP bursters, such as , and . However, you should see this item as your emergency button, because this item gives no offensive stats at all, which are the most important for Ziggs. If you look for an item that still gives you resists while having some damage output as well, is a better item to pick.
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Items - Which 5th item to choose?

Here I'll explain which 5th item is the most effective item to take in what kind of team you are.
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...Lich Bane
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You should choose as your 5th item if:
* The enemy team has no gap closer combined with hard CC, such as 's . If they do, immediately cancel this item out.
* You don't have a burster on your own team.
* You're snowballing.
* You have nobody on your team that can take down tower/inhibitors quickly.

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Rylai's crystal
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You should choose as your 5th item if:
* The enemy team has a strong gap closer.
* Your team needs more utility.
* The assassin from the enemy team is fed.
* You'd like to have more survivability during teamfights.
* Your team isn't tanky.
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Deathfire grasp
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You should choose as 5th item if:
* The enemy team has no strong gap closers.
* You already have a burster on your team
* Your team needs maximum damage during teamfights
* You want to nuke a priotity target at a safe distance.
* You need more s.

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...Liandry's
....torment

You want to choose as your 5th item if:
* The enemy team has stacked a lot of magic resist.
* You need little more survivability through teamfights.
* The enemy team has a gap closer which doesn't combo with hard CC.
* Your own team has a lot of CC, such as slows (to make this item's passive more effective).
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Morellonomicon
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You want to choose as your 5th item if:
* The enemy team has a .
* The enemy team has a ridiculous spellvamp/lifesteal sustain in a teamfight.
* You want to greatly abuse your cooldown on your (which is 2,4 seconds at level 5 if you combine this item with ).
* Your team needs a poker.

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TL;DR: Just think about it what you really need on your own team, and make the right decision (maybe easier to say than done, but hey, I gave you some tips, right? :P).

Abilities

Ability Sequence
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

Short fuse

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Every 12 seconds, Ziggs' next basic attack deals 13 + (7 × level) (+0.35 per ability power) bonus magic damage. This cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds whenever Ziggs uses an ability. Short Fuse deals 50% bonus damage to enemy structures.

Tip: when taking down structures, randomly spam your to make this passive proc faster, which allows you to deal more damage. Only do this if you have your , because you will face mana problems without that item.

Tip: your early-game damage is very high with this passive. Harass them with this passive to give you an early-game advantage.

Bouncing bomb

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Ziggs throws a bomb to a target area. If the bomb doesn't hit any enemy in the area, it will bounce two times more or until it hits an enemy. The bomb will explode and deal magic damage in an area upon hitting an enemy or bouncing twice.

I unlock this ability at level 1 and max it at level 9 to deal high early-game damage.

Tip: if your passive is not up, never leave this ability on cooldown after you got your . Your passive deals damage, and dealing damage is how you kill enemies.

Satchel charge

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Ziggs flings an explosive charge to a nearby target area that will detonate after 4 seconds or when the ability is activated again. The explosion will deal magic damage to enemies knocking them away slightly. Additionally, if Ziggs is caught in the explosion, he will be knocked away a greater distance, without taking any damage.

I unlock this ability at level 3, and max it at level 18.

Tip: This ability is best used defensively. It has a way too long cooldown to use it offensively. If you're really sure you're about to win a fight, use it offensively, either as a gap closer or to knock the enemy back at you.

Hexplosive minefield

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Ziggs scatters 10 proximity mines in a circular area nearby, each will detonate on enemy contact, dealing magic damage and slowing them for 2 seconds. Enemy champions who have already hit a mine will take 40% damage from additional mines, minions will still take full damage. The mines are visible to all players and last for 10 seconds.

I unlock this ability at level 2, and max it at level 13.

Tip: this ability can be used offensively as well as defensively. Offensively when you have to block off an area that can be used as a escape route for your enemy, or defensively to slow down enemies that are chasing you. For an example, here is to block off an exit at the enemy tower:

Spoiler: Click to view

Mega inferno
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Ziggs deploys the Mega Inferno Bomb, hurling it an enormous distance to a target area. Enemies in the center of the explosion area will take a great amount of magic damage, while enemies away from the primary blast zone will take 80% of that damage. Minions take double damage.

I level this ability as soon as I can as with all other ultimate abilities.

Tip: to make even more sure that this bomb will hit all enemy members in a teamfight, take someone in the jungle that is able to make people completely immobile in a certain area. and are great examples.

Tip:It's a great idea to keep track of the items that opponents are buying if you want to help your lanes out with your ultimate. Keep in mind: their actual health = current health + 1% per magic resist. That's how armor and magic resist are calculated.

Tip:Since it deals double damage to minions, this is a perfect tool to snipe baron/dragon steals. Take your chance whenever you can to attempt to steal those, your team will love you for it!

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Ability priority

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Gameplay - Trading and zoning

Your high early-level harass allows Ziggs to win trade very easily with an auto-attack with and a . Therefore, it might be a good idea to play somewhat aggressively early on. There are not many mid champions with high level 1 burst as you have. You also have a nice auto-attack range, so use this to your advantage.

Ziggs also has a great zone-potential. Since all of his abilities deal area of effect damage, you should try to zone your opponent out completely. Oh, so you thought and his s were the best zoners of the League of Legends? He might have a great moustache, but you have some big teeth. And big bombs. Ziggs is just awesome in outzoning opponent, because of his long range and high damage output.

Try to trade a lot with your . It has nice burst if you combo it with a , and meanwhile it drains only very little mana.

Do not waste mana on a trade with your . It's extremely mana-hungry and actually does very little damage because it can easily be avoided. For the better use of this ability, see "Gameplay - Ability usage".

Positioning

Positioning in your lane is quite important, because if you stand at a wrong position, you are more likely to get ganked, and also more likely to get killed. So to give you a general idea about your lane positioning, here is a picture:

Spoiler: Click to view

Pushing your lane

If your lane has been abandoned by your enemy, and you know the position of the jungler, you can start pushing your lane. Ziggs is very good at pushing his lane, because of his , which deals 50% additional damage to structures. So whenever you have the chance to attack the tower, do it, because you are also one of the best pushers for a mid-laner.

Gameplay - Ability usage

Helping your other lanes out

Since your ultimate has a bizarre range, it can be used to help your other lanes out. The best moment to land your ultimate, is when the lanefight is starting right there. Either ping if you're about to throw the bomb, so your teammates know what you're about to do and what they have to do: start the lanefight. People can't multitask and it could happen that the enemies in that lane are completely unaware about your ultimate. Sure, they might notice it when the bomb lands in about 2 seconds, but then you need the time to react first (about 0,6 seconds) and they simply can't get out of the range radius of your ult, resulting in their flashes burned most of the time.

The situation you want to get with Ziggs

If the enemy chooses to run due low health, you land your on the place where he wants to go to. This is quite easy to do, because the minefield's range has quite a big area. Now the enemy has to decide to fight back or to risk the minefield damage and slow. And bingo, that is exactly what you want: you have the control of the positioning of the enemy champion. Ziggs loves it to know where the enemy goes, so he can land his bombs way easier. In this situation, there is a high chance that you will either get first blood or that the opponent is forced to use flash and to recall. With this in your pocket, there is a high chance that you will win your lane, because your lane opponent will return underleveled and underfarmed.

But what if Ziggs runs on low health?

What you don't do is panic . What you must do is use your combined with your . Proper use of the satchel charge gives you a knockback equal to a flash. While is instantly and instantly gets you away from that nasty situation, takes very little time and it can knock you over some walls as well, just like and slows down enemies. Here are some examples on how to use these 2 abilities properly.

Spoiler: Click to view

Gameplay - Warding

Warding

There is one spot in your whole lane that is very important to ward. And that's this spot:

Spoiler: Click to view

Why? So that the bottom lane only has to ward the dragon pit, allowing them to be completely safe from ganks. Why are they completely safe from ganks? Well, if the jungler knows that the dragon pit is warded, they will attempt to walk past the spot you have warded, but then he will be seen right there as well. It also saves you at the same time. For a clear image, click the following spoiler:

Spoiler: Click to view

But what about the upper bushes?

Well, if you're smart enough, you use the safety of the bottom bushes to avoid being ganked from the top. Stay close to your ward and you know you're safe in your lane. If you have your ready, you're usually 100% safe with one ward. If you still don't feel safe enough, ward the upper brush, although I don't feel that it has not that much effect. You can also ask the jungler to ward it.

Gameplay - Teamfights and long games

Teamfights

If you are in a teamfight, try to stay safe (duh). I mean it like an ADC gets protected. You are also a carry, and you are able to do a ton of damage in the teamfight. Use your range effectively, and be aware about the opponents. If you get focussed, use . If not, spam your s, and try to get your passives off. Don't focus anyone in particular, except if you get to face the enemy ADC, of course, just do as much damage as you possible can do.

Very, very long games

If insanely long games are going on, you might want to get a lot more of defensive items. Don't be afraid to buy overexaggerated items such as instead of your , or to buy instead of . You need the survivability and the presence to stay in teamfights, because you are important. What I usually do in this case is:
* First taking instead of ,
* Then taking instead of ,
* If the team deals a lot of magic damage, consider to take instead of .
This should give you a nice amount of survivability through teamfights and prevent you from dying. Sure, you have the range to stay completely safe, but it's better to not take the risk to have a 80 seconds dead timer than dealing more damage and taking this risk.

Thanks for reading!

I hope you have learned a lot from this guide and that you will win your games more frequently. If you still have questions, feel free to ask them. I will make a FAQ sections if there are multiple answered very frequently. This was also my first guide that got somewhat serious with BBcodes and stuff (and serious in general). Once again thanks for reading and GLHF on League of Legends!

Matchups (A-I)

Here I'll show you where to be aware off against your other champion, and what items to buy against them. Note that it isn't always necessarily to buy these items if it goes well in your lane. Only do it if it doesn't. You might already start building these listed items if you are being counterpicked.

NOTE: An easy lane doesn't mean that you instantly win the lane!

If you can't find your opponent that quick, press ctrl + F for a quick search!
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Ahri

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Medium-Hard. Late-game: Medium.
Ahri has some decent ability range as well, so you won't always be able to get your off. When you get in her range, she is pretty dangerous, so if you want to play safe, simply throw some s at a distance. At level 6, she gets somewhat harder to beat because of her ultimate that makes her very mobile for a short time. Later-game, Ziggs will scale better in overall than Ahri, but she can still deal some damage too.

recommendations

Akali

Early game: Very easy. Post level 6: Medium-Hard. Late-game: Easy.
Pre level 6, you need to punish her as much as possible for farming minions. Do NOT push the lane, because you want to be in her range to land the bombs. There is literally nothing she can do against you pre level 6. However, it gets very tricky if she reaches level 6. There is a possible escape for Ziggs to deny her s, because of his . However, the satchel charge has a long cooldown, while s can be stored, so if your satches charge is on cooldown, play safe. Late-game really depends on who she focusses. You outscale her better late-game.

recommendations

Anivia

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium.
Anivia has no movement speed at all and can't even dodge any at all unless she starts with boots. I suggest to abuse this as much as possible with your + combo. One tip: don't get egg baited().

recommendations

Annie

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Easy-Medium.
All of her abilities have less range than yours, but watch out for her . When I play against Annie, I simply stay at a safe distance throwing s, wait for her HP to go down, and force her out of the lane by doing so. There is no need to get in her range, except if you want to kill her. Just abuse your range as much as possible, and it's GG for Annie. Her late-game can be somewhat dangerous, because she does hurt in her range, because of the + combo. Engage with your only if her stun is down.

recommendations

Brand

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game:Medium.
Brand's abilities have decent range, and is able to win trades if you aren't careful. You have the range, so use this range. His spells hurt a LOT, so that's why you don't want to get in his range. Just poke all day and force him out of your lane. His ultimate also HURTS!

recommendations

Cassiopeia

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium.
Pretty much the same reasons as I'd give to . Get in her range and she hurts. Get out of her range and safely throw some bombs, and you're okay. Just poke all day and force her out of the lane. If it happens to you that you land in her ult, you're good as dead.

recommendations

Diana

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Medium-Hard. Late-game: Easy.
Her harass can be quite annoying. Pretty much like , punish her for taking any CS, but don't push the lane. After level 6, she has the ability to jump to you, just like Akali. If it happens to you that you're hit by , immediately away, because she will hurt you with her ultimate, and you're not safe with those marks above your head.

recommendations

Elise

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Easy-Medium.
Her early-game damage does monkeys, because you will stand safely behind your creeps to deny her . Basically, she isn't able to do anything. Proper usage of your can waste her kit entirely. It should be an easy lane in overall. It only gets harder when her %health damage starts to increase.

recommendations

Evelynn

Early-game: Very easy. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Easy.
She has no range, and you have all of it. You can harass her with auto-attacks any day and zone her out of your lane. Be aware of her , as she can chase you down if you're low enough health, but you're safe enough with your in general. Now most smart Evelynn players would build a on her, so she will get some sustain in her lane if she recalls. That's why can't give it a "very easy" post 6.

recommendations

Ezreal

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Medium.
Pretty much a poke lane, which you will win. He can't really do anything against you if you zone him out. He can dodge your abilities with his , but that's all he can do. If you don't zone him out, he can be quite dangerous, because you have zero creep block, and he can burst you down with his + + combo. His ultimate is also able of dealing heavy damage in teamfights.

recommendations

Fiddlesticks

Early-game: Medium. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game: Medium-Hard.
His harass can be annoying and he has good sustain. When you see him on a minion, then it's a good time to harass him, because his Drain would be on cooldown, and he has two skills left to harass him. Post 6, you must be careful about his ult. You can interrupt it or jump away from it, but if you fail to do both, you're good as dead. Also, call ss. Due his huge sustain, it's hard to win the lane, so you might be the first one to back for mana problems. After getting chalice of harmony, it's really skill dependant.

recommendations

Fizz

Early-game: Hard. Post level 6: Hard. Late-game: Medium.
Ziggs does not like him. Sure, he's melee and you're range, but he is so extremely good at dodging your abilities! This is purely anti-fun for Ziggs. You get out-trades, you can't land any bomb at all and you will be marked as a feeder. Stay safe under your turret, and try to farm while you can. At least try to harass him at level 1 with your and , and many AA's.

recommendations

Galio

Early-game: Medium. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game: Medium.
Most of the Galio's WILL go tanky. The problem with this is: you're not. His early-game AP can also be very high because of his . You can still trade with him from range, but he's able to deal a lot of damage as well. His also allows him to stay longer in lane. Stay aware of him in teamfights, because his will wreck the game if too many people get caught in it.

recommendations

Gragas

Early-game: Medium-Hard. Post level 6: Medium-Hard. Late-game: Medium.
Poke whatever you want, you can't kill this guy. His does a ton of damage (see wat i did ther?) and has big range, simply poking you out of the lane. Also has to dodge your abilities. He gains damage reduction and mana with his and restores health with each ability he uses (). It's very difficult to win this lane for Ziggs.

recommendations

Heimerdinger

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Easy.
After his rework, his gameplay almost remained the same, except for the fact that he now has skillshots to dodge and his grenade became more reliable. Heimerdinger will still find you anti-fun to play against, because you simply have more pushing power than him. Avoid his ultimate with the rocket at all cost, it hurts a lot, and try to set up some ganks as he has barely any escape possibilities.

recommendations

Matchups (J-R)

Karthus

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Hard.
Easy to lane against, harder to win against. A thing that can still be pretty annoying is his extremely short cooldown on his , because it has decent range and is able to deal a lot of damage if you don't watch out. Just don't underestimate him, use your range and you're able to win the lane. For late-game scaling, Karthus shines, and it's your job to punish him as much as possible.

recommendations

Kassadin

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Hard. Late-game: Medium.
Just like and , punish him for taking any CS. After level 6, you can't do anything against him and you will be bursted down in no-time. Pick as your summoner spell instead of ignite to prevent some of the burst done by him. That's all you can basically do. Kassadin will win this lane after reaching level 6, no matter how much you are fed in that time.

recommendations

Katarina

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium-Hard.
Pre level 6, she can't really do a lot to you, due her lack of range. You simply can use your + combo all day, while she uses that does monkeys. She does have a good escape mechanism with her , which she also use to dodge your abilities. Post 6, just be aware to not take the full damage of her , but you can avoid the damage quite easily with your , because it will interrupt her channel. It's hard to get her killed, and that's the only reason why I say Easy-Medium. Watch out for her in late game, she can wreck a whole teamfight if she's earning assist, because of her . Therefore, focus her down immediately in a teamfight, or get herself busy with hard CC ASAP.

recommendations

Kennen

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium.
So he has some ranged with his but is very hard to hit if you stay behind creeps. It's not really a big deal, so try to zone him out and harass him as much as possible with your and combo. If it happens that the hits you, you will lose the trade. When reaching level 6, don't get in his range, and play safe when your is on cooldown. His ultimate is capable of dealing heavy amount of damage if you stand in it, so whatever you do, don't get in his range. In teamfights, locate Kennen and stay out of his ultimate, basically the same thing what you do in the post 6 laning phase. Also fairly easy to achieve with your .

recommendations

LeBlanc

Early-game: Medium-Hard. Post level 6: Very hard. Late-game: Easy.
She dodges abilities very well and she huge burst. This burst only gets worse if she has her ultimate. You can probably do something at level 1 with your and combo, and harass her while her is on cooldown, but that's the only time you get the chance. This lane goes to LeBlanc, and you have to do it with teamfights, and the luck you get with aiding other lanes. You can't away unless the silence didn't hit you in time, but a good LeBlanc will make this always happen. She is quite useless in teamfights, so you rather want to go for a teamfight than a lanefight, but this also highly depends how it goes in other lanes.

recommendations

Lee Sin

Early-game: Hard. Post level 6: Hard. Late-game: Medium.
Same reason as for . He is able to jump to pretty much everywhere to dodge your abilities. Just never ever EVER get hit by his and stay behind creeps. Meanwhile you also have to be aware at the position of the enemy creeps, because he can jump to them with . Push your lane as much as possible, because you are still a great zoner. If you die to him once, get ready to lose your lane.

recommendations

Lissandra

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Easy-Medium.
She lacks a long-range poke, which is ideal for Ziggs. Ziggs wins trades pre level 6, so Lissandra simply gets outdamaged with proper dodging. After level 6, she has her + ready to use. You must predict that and immediately away. Somewhat similar to , I think.

recommendations

Lulu

Early-game: Medium. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium.
Her early-game burst at level 3 is strong and not to be underestimated, despite the old nerfs of her . She is quite mobile with her and you can't chase her because of her + , but you have to burst her down instead. She also has decent survivability with her shield , but she's weak at level 1. Also, her range is huge! Since has a leash range of 2000, she has 2925 max. range with her . She can poke you all day with it, so that's why I find this lane quite challenging. Her ultimate doesn't add any damage, but be aware of it when you're getting tower-dived. Late-game she scales more in utility than in damage, and she can boost her ADC for a lot of health.

recommendations

Lux

Early-game: Medium. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game: Medium.
Lux is great at zoning her lane, but so are you. She has some CC, but so do you. She has skillshots, but so do you. She is quite squishy, but so are you. She has decent range with her abilities, but so do you. Basically, this is purely a skill matchup, and the one that lands the most skillshots wins. Your cooldown on is lower than all of her spells, but she can burst you a lot if you don't watch out. You have to outplay her. After level 6, if she's able to land her full combo, you're dead. But if you're able to land your full combo, she's dead. Late-game, don't stand in a line for her . That's all.

recommendations

Malzahar

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game: Easy-Medium.
In early-game, don't get hit by the of your own minions, or by Malzahar himself. It's more about your positioning to prevent the damage done by him. You can easily win trades if you do so. Post level 6, he has a really, really, really nasty combo which you must prevent him to do. His + + gives him a free kill. At this stage, it's good to call for a gank, and to have a jungler that can interrupt his channeling, such as . It's just very hard to be safely in his range. You have that range, of course. Buy a quicksilver sash if you don't have cleanse.

recommendations

Mordekaiser

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Medium-Hard. Late-game:Medium.
He's quite weak early on, but drastically gets stronger once he has bought his . Punish him at early levels as much as possible, and keep track on his passive, so you know when to trade and when not. If you get to force him out of your lane at early levels, it gives you a huge advantage in your lane. If not, you will have a hard time psot level 6 and late-game.

recommendations

Nami

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium.
She lacks the range that your has, and you win the trade fairly easy with her. She still has the sustain, though. She has no kind of mobility other than her base movement speed, so little good predictions of her movement gives you some free damage with your . Her ultimate is very likely to hit you and slow you down, but slows aren't affected with knockbacks of your .

recommendations

Nidalee

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Easy-Medium Late-game: Easy.
There is nothing that she could do to you, but there is also nothing that you can do back. You are a poke champion, and Nidalee has such an enormous heal with her that your poking with doesn't have a lot of effect. Instead, just try to focus more on farming creeps and push the lane to her tower, because she will have a hard time at last hitting under the tower, and you get creep block advantage to deny her poke. Once she hits level 6, you can deny all her cougar form damage with a simple .

recommendations

Orianna

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game: Medium.
I think this is basically the same thing as . She is a zoner, so are you. she has a decent range poke, so do you. She has a nice defense mechanism, so do you. She is quite squishy, so are you. She has a low cooldown on her , but your + combo will win you the trade. On later stages, you should be more careful. Her allows her to win trades more frequently, and she can absorb some damage with her . Proper positioning and timing still allows you to win trades, but it gets tougher to do. Post level 6, you can avoid her with an insanely good timed , but don't rely on it. The one that lands the most abilities wins.

recommendations

Rumble

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium.
Rumble is capable to do a heavy amount of damage, but other than his ultimate, he lacks the range to do so. This make it easy for you early-game to let him eat some s, or he has to stay passive and farm minions with his. When reaching level 6, his ultimate is capable of dealing heavy damage, but you can simply out of his ultimate. There is nothing you should really worry about in the laning phase, but watch out for his in teamfights, and don't get burned by his .

recommendations

Ryze

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Easy-Medium.
Should be very easy for Ziggs, because Ryze has no range at all, and you can harass him constantly from a distance and he lacks the mobility to dodge your skills. Abuse this as much as possible and push him completely to under his turret, and force him out of the lane. He is capable of bursting you down very well, so don't bother to get in range.

recommendations

Matchups (S-Z)

Sion

Early-game: Medium. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Very easy.
Sion has two AP scaling abilities that can deal high amount of damage and burst you if you don't be careful. Sion can take fewer hits with his active, but getting out of his range is an easy way to deny the damage done. Meanwhile, you have huge advantage while his cooldowns are ticking. He is a good pusher, but so are you. Sion WILL go aggressive with his shield on, as he can easily take some minion hits. Also note that he is quite immune to auto-attack harass early-game because of his , making him quite annoying to poke out of the lane.

recommendations

Swain

Early-game: Easy Post level 6: Medium Late-game: Easy-Medium.
Swain also has problems to get in range of Ziggs. He is able to do a huge amount of damage, but the very low range on his abilities makes him quite vulnerable to Ziggs. If you get snared, try to HIM away instead of yourself. Post level 6, Swain gets a lot more sustain and it pretty much unkillable if you can't burst him down. Try to force him to stay longer in his stance by poking him, so he will have to waste more mana. Other than that, avoid to get in his range, because he is able to kill you quite easily if you don't watch out.

recommendations

Syndra

Early-game: Medium-Hard. Post level 6: Medium-Hard. Late-game: Medium.
Syndra has the ability to get in range of you, and you will get outtrades if she manages to do so. Stay careful in your lane and know when to trade and when not. Her ultimate is single-targeted and can be very powerful, so if she manages to get some balls on the field then it's not a great timing to go all-in. I'd rather stay somewhat more passively to her and abuse my range as much as possible.

recommendations

Talon

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game: Easy-Medium. Used to be an anti-mid laner, but got nerfed a lot. I don't find this guy very dangerous, but he is able to land his full combo on you when he jumps on you, no matter what. Since you outrange him by a lot, this lane could be quite easy for you. When he jumps on you, will prevent him for doing more damage with his auto-attacks. You are even able to get your off without taking damage of his . Just try to harass him all day with your and you should be completely fine, because this guy cannot burst you down, and must tank your damage constantly. His ultimate can be pretty annoying if he gets low on health, so try to take advantage on your early-game against him.

recommendations

Teemo

Early-game: Very easy. Post level 6: Very easy. Late-game: Very easy.
Rarely seen mid, but Ziggs counters him so extremely hard. You might want to buy a after reaching level 6 to clear out these mushrooms, but you outrange him constantly. You don't even necessarily have to be in his range to deal the damage, because all of your abilities have enough range. The only reason to be in his range is to kill him.

recommendations

Tristana

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Medium-Hard. Late-game: Easy.
She has some high AP scaling ratio's and is capable to burst you down by a lot. Her cooldowns are high, however. Her burst is one of the strongest of the mid-laners, and this can give Ziggs quite a hard time. She also has a gap closer, so stay out of her range and safely throw your s, or stay in her range when you know that her spells are on cooldown for your trade. Post level 6, prevent being on low hp and immediately when you see Tristana ing to you for the huge burst combo. Late-game she can't really do much other than shutting down someone completely.

recommendations

Twisted Fate

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy. Late-game: Easy.
Twisted fate is yet another one of those immobile targets Ziggs likes. Other than his , his range with his abilities are in his auto-attack range, so you can land your + combo any day. The only problem with Twisted Fate is that he can help his other lanes out very good, but you also cover it up with your . Watch out for his , and you're good to go to win this lane.

recommendations

Veigar

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Medium. Late-game: Medium.
Veigar has pretty much the same problem as and : range. While his + + combo can be very painful, it also drains a huge amount of mana from him. If he chooses to play like that, then Veigar loses his lane by himself. If he chooses to stay passive and farm minions with his , you punish him for that with your and poke. You can also dodge his stun with proper positioning, or using your . The last option doesn't prevent the stun, but does prevent to be out of range for Veigar. Late-game he has an area of effect stun, which can be very dangerous when placed correctly in teamfights. His ultimate HURTS!

recommendations

Viktor

Early-game: Easy. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Easy-Medium.
His can be annoying, but your has lower cooldown and does almost the same damage. Since you have the cooldown advantage, you will force him out of the lane earlier. If you're about to be trapped in his , use your . Post level 6, you can better use your to get out of his . His will be more painful to take if he has bought his , so be aware when he has bought it. In teamfights, his is able to deal heavy amount of AoE damage, but is avoidable. Just be aware where it is to negate the damage done by it.

recommendations

Vladimir

Early-game: Very easy. Post level 6: Medium-Hard Late-game: Easy-Medium.
Once he gets his , it becomes very annoying to lane against this guy. He lacks the range to do anything at all against you on early stages. Harass him as much as you want with your s, because he can't do anything back. It will either force him out of the lane or making him last hit under his turret. Post level 6, it is not his ultimate that is very annoying, but his items. He has pretty much infinite sustain and you can't really do anything against him, because he will heal it back anyway. But on the other hand, he is still not able to do anything at all against you either. Sure, he can use his ultimate , but then you will simply away. Basically, it will become a farm lane when Vladimir gets his sustain items.

recommendations

Xerath

Early-game: Medium-Hard. Post level 6: Hard. Late-game: Medium-Hard.
Xerath has the range to keep up with Ziggs. And on top of that, he outdamages you as well. His locus of power + mage chains + is deadly. If you get caught by that, you will be forced to recall very quickly. Post level 6, his ultimate is not fun to take in your face if you're stunned by the mage chains. Play safe and harass him with your whenever you can, but do NOT fight back when he's in his locus of power stance. He might seem very immobile when he is... but it's a trap!

recommendations

Ziggs

Early-game: Very hard. Post level 6: Very, very hard. Late-game: Surrender @ 20.
Or just play better than him. :)

recommendations

Zyra

Early-game: Easy-Medium. Post level 6: Easy-Medium. Late-game: Medium-Hard.
I hate her. But she's quite easy, in my opinion. She can zone her lane with her plants, but you can zone with your bombs. Bombs > plants. She is also quite squishy and is extremely weak at levels 1 and 2, so if you let her take some s early-game she will be forced out of the lane quite quickly. She has a weak snare. If you happen to get trouble with her plants, you can safely away. You can also make her ultimate useless on you with your . Basically, due her big squishiness, just poke her a lot, and if she wants to plant her plants, away when caught. Repeat this when you have your ready to use again, and you win the lane.

recommendations

Logz

14-7-2013 Started this guide.
17-7-2013 Published this guide. Feedback would be nice! :)
18-7-2013 Slight counteritem changes.
20-7-2013 Slight changes in names of builds, because they were too long to fit well.
21-7-2013 Abilties section changed, item section reformatted.
22-7-2013 Item section updated: defensive items added.
22-7-2013 Finally knew about the center code, and used it.
23-7-2013 Rune section reformatted.
23-7-2013 Ability priority added.
5-8-2013 Lots of things have been reworked. Deleted some builds because they didn't really add anything on second thoughts. Still revisioning some sections, but a big chunk has been done. Currently working on duellist Ziggs - Gameplay and duellist Ziggs - Masteries.
6-8-2013 Deleted off-meta build.
12-8-2013 Added section "Items - Which 5th item to choose?" and an in-depth example of people that can't multitask.
17-8-2013 Little layout change on Matchup section.
18-8-2013 Added optional runes.
18-8-2013 Added optional masteries. Change in late-game build.
19-9-2013 Introduction change - warning added.
27-9-2013 Reformatting some sections.
11-11-2013 Updated the ****er.
13-11-2013 Small overhaul in matchup section.
21-11-2013 New masteries for the pre-season 4 introduced.

Making girls wet with Pool Party Ziggs.

Making girls wet with Pool Party Ziggs.

Recommended Items

Spells:

Ignite

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Short Fuse (PASSIVE)

Bouncing Bomb (Q)

Satchel Charge (W)

Hexplosive Minefield (E)

Mega Inferno Bomb (R)

Introduction

Pros/Cons

Your pros

Your cons

How to prevent your cons

Masteries

Summoner spells

Standard summoner spells

Other somewhat viable choices

Don't take these spells

Runes - Standard runes

Runes

Runes - Squishy alternative

Runes

Runes - Against AD

Runes

Items - Starting items

Items - Standard build

Items - To consider

Items - Defensive

Items - Which 5th item to choose?

Abilities

Ability priority

Gameplay - Trading and zoning

Gameplay - Ability usage

Gameplay - Warding

Gameplay - Teamfights and long games

Thanks for reading!

Matchups (A-I)

Matchups (J-R)

Matchups (S-Z)

Logz

League of Legends Champions: