Ziggs

Ziggs is probably one of the best, most rewarding, most fun and most awesome APC's. If he is played correctly, he can outdamage most champions in town. If played well, he is able to get kills easily, snowball and get away from chasers without any problems. He i fairly easy to play, but with that being said, he is kind of a "high-risk-high-reward" champion. Because if you can't land your abilities, if you are getting suppressed too much, and you are not able to gank and help other lanes, then it's going to be hard for you.
But are you good at landing his skillshots and you make some wise decisions during the game, then he is able to carry the entire team till the end. He will be able to help fellow champions get away from their chaser(s).

Pros +Excelent farmer! +Heavy AP-burst +Nice harass +Good mobility with Satchel Charge +Can snipe enemies from far away +Can chase down fleeing targets +If played right, he can take out multiple enemies +Can help team out with slow +Is awesome +Got a nice amount of CC

Cons - Squishy early-game - Vulnerable to assassin champions such as LeBlanc, ( Fizz), Talon, Kassadin, Aatrox, Zed, Diana, Kha'Zix, Akali, Wukong, Master Yi, Evelynn and Ahri. - Dies fast, if focused - Bad if you haven't got a constant overview of the match - Weak if you can't land skillshots

For masteries, I will advise you to pick the same masteries, as I've picked. There is a reason behind my picks. Some is self-explanatory, however some might seem a little odd, and might need some explanation.

First off, it's 23-7-0 masteries. Some might argue, that it is stupid not getting two more points into the defensive tree, but I fell, that those points are better spend in the offensive tree.
As stated before, I will not explain all my picks.


Expose Weakness is really nice having, as it benefits the entire team. You mark the enemies, and the entire team will do additional damage against these enemies. With Ziggs range, that is very beneficial.

Spell Weaving Since you are rewarded by basic-attacking enemies by your passive, then this is nice having. On this way, you can start off by basic-attacking, and then rapidly throw a Q ( Bouncing Bomb) on the target. This way you will deal additional damage.

Blade Weaving To be completely honest, this is almost entirely for finishing off enemies, and for tanks who can survive your entire combo. But it is also beneficial when you are in teamfights, and all abilities are on cool down (CD).

Arcane Blade Is very good with Ziggs Passive Short Fuse. This mastery gives passive bonus damage on every basic attack. Very nice for Ziggs, due to his long range.

For runes, I recommend some defensive runes to start out with. In that way, you can take some beatings (eventhough you want to stay out of harms way as much as possible), and focus your build on damage. This will really help you out earlygame.

So therefore:

9x Greater Mark of Magic Penetration
9x Greater Seal of Armor
9x Greater Glyph of Magic Resist
9x Greater Quintessence of Ability Power

This will leave you with these stats:

7,8 Magic Penetration
12 Magic Resist
15 Ability Power
13 Armor

So you get some Magic Penetration, that is valuable throughout the entire game, some sustain (specially early/mid game) and some flat damage which also comes in handy early game.

The item-order is in the top of the guide, so I won't repeat that. I will explain why I chose these items though.

Rod of Ages This is prefered to be the first fully built item on Ziggs, because it gives a quite good amount of AP (through Blasting Wand and unique passive), mana and health early on (through Catalyst the Protector. And the best part is, that it keeps getting better. You obviously want this as first item, because it takes time for the item to "charge" up to full stacks. This is a good starting item. When you get this, you can really begin to make some plays. But it isn't a good item lategame! Luckily, you have the ability to sell the item, when you reach full build!

Liandry's Torment A very good alternative to Rod of Ages, is Liandry's Torment. This provides a decent amount of magic penetration early on, and with Sorcerer's Shoes this is a very strong item. You want to start out getting Haunting Guise, and wait to complete the Liandry's Torment till you've finished Sorcerer's Shoes and Rabadon's Deathcap. The bad thing about this tactic is, that it cost you the mana and hp, that the Rod of Ages provides. But Liandry's Torment scales better later on in the game. The damage is decent on them both. If you go with Haunting Guisethen remember some Mana Potions.

Luden's Tempest

This item is good, since it's Static Shives AP-version. As Ziggs, you want to keep moving at all time, to make your bomb-patterns unpredictable!
Pick this item up relatively early!

Rylai's Crystal Scepter


This item is mainly for the sustain and utility (slow). It also have a decent amount of ability power, which you obviously want. With Rylai's, you can take some more beatings, you can kite, you can slow, you can help out teammates and so on. It synergizes very well with Ziggs' Bouncing Bomb.

Void Staff


Is mainly for the magic penetration. It also have a decent amount of ability power alongside the penetration. I wouldn't recommend getting Abyssal Mask unless you find yourself getting raped by another APC. As Ziggs, you won't be within the range of Abyssal Scepter's passive range anyways.

Zhonya's Hourglass


Has a very good passive, which might save your a** several times. Also it got a decent amount of armor, which gives you some more sustain. Also it got a very high amount of ability power. If needed, then pick this before Void Staff.

For situationel items I recommend

Abyssal Mask if your team is fighting in tight spaces a lot, and you are up-front, or if the enemies have gotten no magic-resist.

Athene's Unholy Grail if you are getting raped by an enemy AP-character, and you need the magic resist and the extra mana.

Luden's Tempest is usefull, if you are playing against champions with sustain, because it helps wearing them down, and keeping the target low on health. It also helps bursting down the enemy (Imagine Bouncing Bomb combined with Luden's Echo... Endless harrass!).
This synergizes well with Lich Bane, because of combined burst damage.
Luden's Tempest also synergizes very well with Rylai's Crystal Scepter, because the effect applies the passive from Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Lich Bane is good on Ziggs, because of his passive and combined with the masteries I've picked, this is good if you use your basic-attack a lot. Also use this for taking down structures as inhibitors or turrets quickly.

Banshee's Veil is an okay choice on Ziggs, but do only get this item, if you find yourself getting raped by Karthus' Requiem or by Nidaleespears or so. Only to deny heavy burst abilities. The problem with this item is, that it only takes one low-damage ability to take out the shield, and then the item is almost useless.

I would advice you to go with Flash at all times. Barrier is also a nice skill to have, but it can be substituted with Ignite, Clarity or Ghost.



Flash provides an extra escape-mechanism and an extra chase mechanism. But do only use flash as a last resort. You want to escape/chase with your Satchel Charge (allows you to jump across walls. Some might argue, that Ziggs can easily escape with Satchel Charge only, but many people chases with flash, and then you are back to square one in the escaping again. So therefore flash is a good backup. Also if you are playing against a champion such as Lee Sin, who has got an incredible mobility. Also your worst Ziggs-enemy Fizz who's also able to cross walls with his Playful / Trickster. So you should always pick Flash



Barrier is a very nice spell to get. This allows you to sustain better in fights, it allows you to kite, and it could save your life in case of a DoT attack. It can also save you in case of spells like Karthus' Requiem, Zed's Death Mark, Fizz's Chum the Waters or something like Ziggs' Mega Inferno Bomb. It could also come in handy against Katarina's Death Lotus. These are only suggestions.



Ignite is also a good choice of obvious reasons. This provides DoT, and if used properly, then it secures kills under tower, or in chases. But with Ziggs Bouncing Bomb you can often pick up kills using that. Bouncing Bomb got a CD on just 4 seconds at lvl 5, so therefore you almost always got a bomb ready. This is also a better way killing enemies, because the damage is instant, so the enemy can't react to it fast enough, or counter it by using potions, or getting heals.



Clarity is only recomended as an early-game spell. This enables you to kite opponents, when you are at low mana. People got a habit of engaging when they see, that their target is on low mana, even if they are on low hp themselves. But this is a high-risk-high-reward tactic. If they are not kite-able, then clarity is almost useless. So try this tactic when you feel confident playing Ziggs. Thus clarity enables you to farm better, by restoring mana, and enabling you to stay in lane for a longer peiod. Mana pots does the same for you.



Ghost is also just another chase/escape mechanism. You will usually do fine with flash. This is often unnessecary.

Specs of Short Fuse

Description: Deals additional damage to your basic attack.
Damage: 13+(7*level)+(35% of AP).
E.g. (100 AP, lvl 10 = 118 bonus dmg)
Does 150% damage against structures (50% bonus damage of Short Fuse). Does only
Apply on Short Fuse and not all basic attacks!
Cooldown: 12 seconds (Reduced by 4 seconds for every ability used)
Manacost: 0
Range: 575 (same as basic attacks)
Hint: There is a timer on Ziggs passive at the skillbar. Use it to time attacks! His hands will glow whenever he got a Short Fuse

Specs of Bouncing Bomb

Description:
Damage: 75/120/165/210/255 (+65% AP(0.65*#AP))
Cooldown: 6/5.5/5/4.5/4 seconds
Manacost: 50/60/70/80/90 mana
Range: 850
Maximum range: [/b) 1400
Hint: Spam throughout the game! Use Bouncing Bomb almost whenever it's possible. Also position the bombs in a path, which is difficault to predict and dodge.

Most of the time, you are going to spam your Q's Bouncing Bomb. Try to position this in the runningpath of the target. Preferrable a little in front of a moving target, otherwise behind the target if they are not moving, or if they are retreating. People often doesn't get to react on the bomb. Also the bouncing of the bomb allows you to hit, also if the bomb is thrown parrallel to the target (they must ofcause be within a close distance to the bomb). You want to max out your Bouncing Bomb as fast as possible.
Do not forget, that the bomb bounces! Do not be afraid of letting the bomb hit the ground, before the target! It hits the ground two times, before exploding the third time it hits the ground. If it should hit anything in it's path, then it explodes. It got a maximum range of 1400 units. In comparisation, Caitlyn got a range of 700 units on her basic attacks (the ADC with the longest range). Ziggs can throw the bomb (without bouncing) 850 units, and then it can bounce up to 1400 units. So around 61% of the range comes from the throw itself, and the remaining 39% comes from bouncing.



But don't forget your Satchel Charge in lvl 4, in order for you, to be able to escape. Satchel Charge is only for utility. DO NOT USE IT FOR DAMAGING! It is like using Condemn on Vayne for damage. It is for utility!
Your Hexplosive Minefield is for damageing the enemy, and for slowing. When the target is slowed, then it's easier for you, to land your Bouncing Bomb.

I would recommend you to only use Satchel Charge to escape early on. Walk on top of the area of the bomb, and detonate by pressing W again. Place the charge close to a wall, but leave enough distance, so that you can place yourself between the wall, and the bomb itself, but within the area. In this way, you are able to jump mediumsized walls.
If you are getting into a fight with a gap-closing melee champion, place an Hexplosive Minefield underneath yourself, and let the meleechampion chase you through it. If things have gone badly at this point, then you have slowed your opponent, and you should be able to walk away. If you think you can povide enough damage to take the champion out, then do that with a combination of Bouncing Bomb and kiting the champion to walk into more bombs. Remember to basic attack, when abilities are on CD.
Later on, you could benefit of placing a Hexplosive Minefield, and then place a Satchel Charge on the target, so that the target will be pushed into the minefield. Then spam your Q's. But remember to basic attack, when your passive Short Fuse isn't on CD.
Use your ulti Mega Inferno Bomb to finish off fleeing enemies, that is out of your range (or to secure some kills early on, when your target is under his/her tower). Mega Inferno Bomb is also very usefull to steal Dragon and Baron with. For this point, I advice you to read that section of Agoney's Ziggs guide.
When you are participating in teamfights, in tight spaces, or if the enemies are in a group, busy doing something, then pop your ulti, and hit them all. In this way, you maximises your damage, and the entire team benefits from this.
On another note, the ultimate damage is biggest in the center of the area. The damage also rises, the further away the bomb hits. So it's maximal damage is on maximal range, and in the center of the area. Travel time of the bomb gets longer, the further the bomb tavels. So traveltime is shortest , if the bomb lands near you. The range of Mega Inferno Bomb is 5300 units.

Early on, you need to lasthit minions with basic-attacks. Whenever Short Fuse is off cooldown, then basic-attack the enemy champion, and thereafter continue lasthitting minions. Use your Bouncing Bomb to harass the opponent in your lane. Do this often, preferable whenever you got a bomb ready.

Mid-game, you can clear all casterminions with your Bouncing Bomb. Later on, you can clear casterminions with Hexplosive Minefield, and melee minions with Q. Do not be afraid of clearing with your abilities, because it is very efficient, and the manacost of Bouncing Bomb is relatively low.

I recently noticed, that there is an existing "Bombs Away" guide. My sincerest apologies to the author of that Guide. I did not mean to steal the name of the guide, and I wasn't aware of it's existence.

Pros +Good Solo +Heavy AD +Good Offtank +Can smash an enemy squishy champ in no time +Can jump into fights +Can chase down fleeing targets +If played right, he can take out multiple enemies +If played with caution, he can 1v2 in top-lane +Is awesome

Cons - Squishy early-game - Vulnerable to range - Dies fast, if focused - Very vulnerable to heavy CC