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Ziggs Build Guide by Slayus

AP Carry Ziggs - Hexplosive Personality!

AP Carry Ziggs - Hexplosive Personality!

Updated on July 18, 2013
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Slayus Build Guide By Slayus 375 49 1,923,720 Views 189 Comments
375 49 1,923,720 Views 189 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Slayus Ziggs Build Guide By Slayus Updated on July 18, 2013
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Introduction



Welcome to my Ziggs guide! Here you will find a guide on how to operate my favorite yordle Ziggs!

Ziggs is a ranged AP mage that has 100% AoE skills. Not only can he cause a lot of damage to the entire enemy team, but also has very versatile abilities to help tilt situations into his favor.


WARNING: This guide is currently undergoing a face lift in order to keep it up to date and as informative as possible. Refer to the "cheat sheet" section of the build for now as the other sections do not reflect the right information. Thank you to everyone who has voted and supported this guide so far!!!!
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Lore - Ziggs, the Hexplosive Expert

Ziggs was born with a talent for tinkering, but his chaotic, hyperactive nature was unusual among yordle scientists. Aspiring to be a revered inventor like Heimerdinger, he rattled through ambitious projects with manic zeal, emboldened by both his explosive failures and his unprecedented discoveries. Word of Ziggs' volatile experimentation reached the famed Yordle Academy in Piltover and its esteemed professors invited him to demonstrate his craft. His characteristic disregard for safety brought the presentation to an early conclusion, however, when the hextech engine Ziggs was demonstrating overheated and exploded, blowing a huge hole in the wall of the Academy. The professors dusted themselves off and sternly motioned for him to leave. Devastated, Ziggs prepared to return to Bandle City in shame. However, before he could leave, a group of Zaunite agents infiltrated the Academy and kidnapped the professors. The Piltover military tracked the captives to a Zaunite prison, but their weapons were incapable of destroying the fortified walls. Determined to outdo them, Ziggs began experimenting on a new kind of armament, and quickly realized that he could harness his accidental gift for demolition to save the captured yordles.

Before long, Ziggs had created a line of powerful bombs he lovingly dubbed ''hexplosives.'' With his new creations ready for their first trial, Ziggs traveled to Zaun and sneaked into the prison compound. He launched a gigantic bomb at the prison and watched with glee as the explosion tore through the reinforced wall. Once the smoke had cleared, Ziggs scuttled into the facility, sending guards running with a hail of bombs. He rushed to the cell, blew the door off its hinges, and led the captive yordles to freedom. Upon returning to the Academy, the humbled professors recognized Ziggs with an honorary title - Dean of Demolitions - and proposed that he demonstrate this new form of yordle ingenuity in the League of Legends. Vindicated at last, Ziggs accepted the proposal, eager to bring his ever-expanding range of hexplosives to the greatest testing grounds in the world: the Fields of Justice.

''Ziggs? Unpredictable, dangerous, yes yes. But quite brilliant!'' - Heimerdinger
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Pros / Cons



Pros

+ Tons of AoE damage
+ Semi-global Ult
+ Can deny an area with Hexplosive Minefield
+ Unique skills
+ That grin....

Cons

- Squishy
- Positioning of Ziggs and his skills can make or break him
- Mega Inferno Bomb has a warning indicator
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Runes

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Greater Mark of Magic Penetration x9 - Being an AP scaling champion means you will need Magic Pen. for when players being to build MR. It will also help you deal max damage early game.

Greater Seal of Replenishment x9 - Helps with early game mana issues.
Other Seal Options:
Greater Seal of Scaling Ability Power - Use these if you feel like you are not having any mana problems.
Greater Seal of Armor - The added armor will make you a bit less squishy early game.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power x9 - Added AP for max damage on all your skills.
Other Glyph Options:
Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction - Having a bit of CDR can not only increase your damage output by being able to lob more Bouncing Bomb, but will also let you use your utility skills more often.
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist - A decent option to help reduce the amount of damage you take from other AP carries.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power x3 - These will help give you the edge early game.
Other Options for Quints:
Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed - These will help make up for the missing mastery points into Swiftness .
Greater Quintessence of Health - If you find yourself new to Ziggs or just want a bit more cushion to absorb harass early game, these are a decent choice.
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Masteries



Offense tree: I drop 1 point into Summoner's Wrath to improve Ignite and the rest go into the standard spots for an AP carry.

Utility tree: Unfortunately I have to trade points in Good Hands and Swiftness for Expanded Mind and Meditation due to Ziggs' early mana issues. While the loss of movement speed could cause problems for other champions, Ziggs' Satchel Charge gives him a great escape utility.
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Summoner Spells

Summoner Spells I Use



Ignite
Helps secure your kills and get the upper hand on healing enemies. A pretty standard pick for any AP carry.


Flash
Great for escaping, but also very key to chasing. Another standard pick for AP carries.




Other Viable Summoner Spells



Ghost
I thought about replacing flash with this seeing as Ziggs' Satchel Charge can launch him over walls, but I stuck with flash since it is a little more reliable. Might switch this when I get more comfortable with him.


Surge
Some people prefer this to Ignite. It is a solid choice and will give you a good sized damage increase if used during team fights.


Heal
A decent choice if you are new to a champion, but you will be sacrificing your kill secure spell.
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Items

REMINDER: This is just one of many ways of building Ziggs. I might add more build options in the future, but for now this is how I build him.



CORE ITEMS



Sorcerer's Shoes
Standard AP carry boots. The added magic pen. helps your abilities do maximum damage. If you find yourself getting focused a lot or going up against a CC heavy team, you can replace these with Mercury's Treads.

Rabadon's Deathcap
A must have for any AP carry.

Will of the Ancients
This item will not only give you a boost in AP, but a good amount of sustain from the spell vamp it provides. Unfortunately since Ziggs abilities are AoE only 1/3 of the spell vamp applies to him. As I explain below Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a decent replacement.

Zhonya's Hourglass
The active on this item is amazing. It is a priceless item when facing a AD carry who likes to focus you. This item will save your life more than once if timed right.

Void Staff
A much needed boost to your Magic Pen. I usually grab this as one of my last items unless I see the enemy stacking MR. If you plan on getting this item, you should switch your Sorcerer's Shoes with either Mercury's Treads or Ionian Boots of Lucidity.

Lich Bane
The last item of every build is very situational, but my goal is to do well enough to get a Lich Bane. The passive of this item mixed with your passive Short Fuse will get you a good amount of burst damage. But remember, all of these items can be replaced with a lot of different items depending on the situation. Below I have listed a few of those items and why I chose them.


SITUATIONAL ITEMS

Rylai's Crystal Scepter
This is a great replacement for Will of the Ancients. It gives just as much AP with a good amount of HP and a slow to all his abilities.

Banshee's Veil
If you find yourself having a problem with the enemy AP carries, the MR and passive on this item is worth every piece of gold.

Archangel's Staff
I have had a few people ask me about using this item. While I avoided it at first, I found that it can be very helpful in some situations. Make sure that if you go for this item you get your Tear of the Goddess in the early game to begin stacking up mana.

Mejai's Soulstealer
I usually don't like going for snowball items, but with Ziggs massive damage and range, you can stack this item up pretty easily. Not to mention the assists/kills you can get with Mega Inferno Bomb from half way across the map. I would only suggest building this item is you have a very good early game and are confident in your skills to avoid death.

Deathfire Grasp
This item has amazing burst potential, especially against high HP enemies. Make sure to use its active right before you go for the kill as its damage is based off the targets current HP. With this current build, the active will do about 47% of their current HP.

Nashor's Tooth
This item was brought to my attention by a few other players. I was suprised to find the AS boost it gives a decent improvement and allowed me to get my passive off more often. It turns out to be a great item for Ziggs and is a decent replacement for Will of the Ancients or Void Staff.


WARNING: All the items in both the core item and situational sections are what I use in general. All games are different and you must alter your item build to reflect certain situations.
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Skills

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



Short Fuse (Passive) - Every 12 seconds, Ziggs' next basic attack deals 13 + (7 x level) (+35% of ability power) bonus magic damage. This cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds whenever Ziggs uses an ability.



Bouncing Bomb - Ziggs throws a bouncing bomb that deals magic damage.
Cost: 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 mana
Range of First Bounce: 850
Cooldown: 6 / 5.5 / 5 / 4.5 / 4 seconds
Magic Damage: 75 / 120 / 165 / 210 / 255 (+65% of ability power)

This is the skill you will use to poke with. With the new bounce mechanic, this skill can travel a very long distance. You can also toss this over minions and champions to hit someone behind them. The farther the initial throw is the farther the bomb will bounce before exploding.



Satchel Charge - Ziggs flings an explosive charge that detonates after 4 seconds, or when this ability is activated again. The explosion deals magic damage to enemies, knocking them away. Ziggs is also knocked away, but takes no damage.
Cost: 65 mana
Range: 1000
Cooldown: 26 / 24 / 22 / 20 / 18 seconds
Magic Damage: 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210 (+35% of ability power)

This ability has a lot of uses. It can be used for purely the damage, to knock an enemy away from their team/turret, knocking yourself away from an enemy to escape, and to split up a team during a team fight. You can even blast yourself over walls. Saving this ability for the right moment separates the good Ziggs' from the great.



Hexplosive Minefield - Ziggs scatters 11 proximity mines in a circular area nearby. Each will detonate on enemy contact, dealing magic damage and slowing them for 1.5 seconds. Enemies who have already hit a mine will take 40% damage from additional mines. The mines are visible to all players and last for 10 seconds.
Cost: 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 mana
Range: 900
Cooldown: 16 seconds
Magic Damage of First Mine: 40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 (+30% of ability power)
Magic Damage for Additional Mines: 16 / 26 / 36 / 46 / 56 (+12% of ability power)
Slow: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 %

Another great utility skill. Great for denying areas and can even block some paths in the jungle. Each mine has its own proximity and its own explosion, but champions take less damage from each mine after the first.



Mega Inferno Bomb (Ultimate) - Ziggs deploys his ultimate creation, the Mega Inferno Bomb, hurling it an enormous distance, Enemies in the primary blast zone take more damage than those further away.
Cost: 100 mana
Range: 5300
Cooldown: 120 / 105 / 90 seconds
Primary Magic Damage: 250 / 375 / 500 (+90% of ability power)
Outer Area Magic Damage: 200 / 300 / 400 (+72% of ability power)

This ability does have a ground indicator much like Pantheon's ult. If you are mid, using this to assist in a gank, bot or top, is a very effective way of using this skill. Also try using this after a team fight has started. Enemy players will be less likely to notice the indicator. The time between use and hit is longer or shorter depending on the range you deployed it. If used at max range, your enemy has more time to get out of the indicator.
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Gameplay

ANOTHER REMINDER: The descriptions below are an explanation of how most games will go. Depending on how well you last hit and kills you get or give to the enemy team, the game could go completely different. Remember that a good player does not blindly follow these guides and adapts to each and every game.


Early Game
As Ziggs you are going to want to grab a and x3 then head to mid. Poke your enemy with Bouncing Bomb and don't forget to throw in an auto attack when your passive is ready. Try not to spam your abilities though because Ziggs does have a bit of a mana issue early game. Once you get their health low, dropping your Hexplosive Minefield behind your enemy before going in for a kill can block his escape and can even earn you an easy kill. If you think your enemy still might escape, toss your Satchel Charge behind them and quickly detonate it to knock them back into range.

At around 7:20 see if the jungler will help you get blue buff or just go grab it yourself. Remember to go back and get it every 5 minutes or as soon as possible. This will help a great deal with your mana problems and will help you use Mega Inferno Bomb a lot more often.

On your first trip back you will want to get your or two if you were able to get a kill. Once you hit 6 either try for a kill in your lane or assist in a gank on bot or top with Mega Inferno Bomb. Wait for one of your teammates to lockdown an enemy before sending it in to help guarantee a direct hit.




Mid Game
By the beginning of mid game you should have your and should have your and be working towards your . Follow your Deathcap with to give you and any other AP teammates a bit of sustain.

Team fights will begin breaking out in mid game. Make sure to position yourself at a safe distance and focus one of the enemy carries. Drop Mega Inferno Bomb once the enemy begins to cluster followed by Hexplosive Minefield to slow any enemies that try to escape. Continue lobbing in your Bouncing Bomb whenever its off cooldown, mixing in auto attacks when passive is active. As the fight progresses you will have a few options for how to use Satchel Charge. If you become focused, use it to rocket yourself away from your enemies. If not, you can use it to separate the enemy team or knock an enemy back into your team. Knowing when and where to use Satchel Charge is key to being a good Ziggs.




Late Game
By late game you should have quite a large amount of AP and you should be building your to counter being focused. Try and grab blue buff as much as possible to shorten your cooldowns and continue to aid in team fights. If the game has lasted this long you will be grabbing your final items, which is ususally the most situational. is a great item to build during late game to counter the MR the enemy team is building. If the enemy is not building much MR you can get instead. For your last item in most games you will want to further increase your damage. A defensive item such as would be a good replacement if you find yourself taking a lot of damage.
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Tips & Tricks


DISCLAIMER: The names of these tips & tricks are random stuff that spilled out of my head and should not be held against me if they suck :P
Tip #1
Lead Your Opponent


If you plan on using the bounce mechanic of Bouncing Bomb to keep yourself at maximum range, lead your enemy. Aim for where you think your enemy is going to move next rather than were they are currently standing. This applies to all skillshot abilities, but since the bomb moves so slow, it is much more important to be able to read your enemies movements.

Tip #2
Safe Distances


Ziggs, like most AP carries, is very squishy which means you want to keep your distance to avoid unnecessary damage. Luckily, Ziggs abilities all have a very long range, so make sure to use that to your advantage in both lane and during team fights. NEVER be the first one running into a team fight, that is the tanks job.

Trick #1
Suprise Attack


An easy way to catch your enemy off guard is to "rocket jump" at them by using your Satchel Charge and while in mid air throw down Hexplosive Minefield behind them to block their escape path. Unload on them and finish them off with Mega Inferno Bomb if they get behind their tower. This is a great way to gank your opponent without having to waste your Flash.

Trick #2
Hexplosive Escape


If you find yourself a bit too extended when the enemy jungler comes in for a gank, this trick could save your life. Immediately drop your Satchel Charge in front of you and use it to "rocket jump" towards your tower. While in the air, drop your Hexplosive Minefield behind you to block the enemy from chasing or at least slow them down. If you still feel threatened, burn your Flash.

Trick #3
Wall Hop


While it might not be as easy as Body Slaming through a wall with Gragas, it is very possible to jump over almost any wall with your Satchel Charge. To do this, you must place the Satchel Charge near the wall you intend to hop, but make sure to leave enough room for you to get between the middle of the AoE indicator and the wall. Once your are in position, detonate or wait for the timer to expire and you will now be on the other side of the wall. Like I said before, it takes quite a bit of practice to do this well enough to be used mid battle or to escape, but it can get you through the jungle a tad faster.

NOTE: I will continue to add more tips and tricks as I uncover them while playing Ziggs.
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Results

Here are some of my recent results with following this build exactly.

Thanks again to vodkanaut for sending his results!

Here are some results from spiritson


Here is KH28 using this guide for his first Ziggs games


Here is a great example of this builds strength! Thanks BronY x DJ Pon3!


Send me a message with your match history of you using this guide and I will add it here!
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Final Thoughts & Change Log

This is one of my favorite champions in LoL. Unfortunately I do not get to play as much as I used to, but I hope that this guide can continue to help people enjoy one of the best champions in the League!

Please leave a constructive comment if you do/don't agree with some of my decisions so that I can make this guide even better, especially if you are going to vote.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY GUIDE!! HOPE IT HELPS YOU HEXPLODE YOUR WAY TO VICTORY!!


Special thanks to Jpickachu1999 & vodkanaut for their continued support of this guide!!




CHANGE LOG

1/1/2013 - Finally updated the masteries and will continue to update this to fit S3.
10/28/2012 - Updated damage on Mega Inferno Bomb when your hit an enemy with the outer ring.
7/13/2012 - Updated cooldowns on Satchel Charge that were lowered in the Twitch & Evelynn rework patch.
7/13/2012 - Updated mana costs of Bouncing Bomb per Jayce patch.
4/2/2012 - Added Trick #3 to Tips & Tricks section and updated a few item explanations
3/18/2012 - Adjusted the damage on Hexplosive Minefield
2/15/2012 - Added Mejai's Soulstealer to the Situational Items
2/10/2012 - Added Tips & Tricks section
2/9/2012 - Added Nashor's Tooth and Archangel's Staff to Situational Items section
2/8/2012 - Added alternative rune choices and a special thanks!
2/7/2012 - Published guide
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