I played 5 games yesterday as Ziggs and won 4 of 5 plus I also won mid every time. One thing I noticed though is that his late game damage falls off even if they haven't built MR.

My build for him goes like this: Dorans Ring > Tier 1 Boots > then build towards Athenes because it so good on him along with great passives > Sorc Boots > Rabadons (sometimes I will build Needlessly large Rod before completing my boots) > and then depending on the situation either WotA, Rylai's, or Lich Bane

Even with all that AP it seems like I barely scratch them at times especially late game.

I have been very successful with the above build but I am wondering if I should build Void before Rabadons. What do you think and why?

Thanks.

Hello! Ziggs is my all-time favorite go-to champ (even before LOL, I watched Phreak's vids and decided he was the one for me)

I am NOT level 30 however, so I am not that pro
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What I have been finding is you can hold off on Athenes if you manage your mana.

Boots, 3 pots

Depending on the lane, I tech to catalyst the protector (they are a heavy hitter) OR haunting guise (I want to bully them more) FIRST, but get BOTH during the course of the game.

Build CTP into ROA and haunting guise into the new item, laundry laments (or whatever it is) LL is Awesome on Ziggs because of his E, and that's what I buy it for, since you can unload your q and ult on people that are slowed and it does more damage. it helps if you had other slow cc peeps on your team.

You could choose more tanky for your boots or more damage. Sorc boots are a go since you have the health from ROA.

This would be a good time for Athene's.

Other AP items like Rabbadons and zhonyas should be teched up to. And DONT buy rylais I don't like it anymore.

Best of luck!!!

There was a discussion about this a couple months ago:
http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/...ght=free+ziggs

I think the overall agreement was that all AP champs fall off in damage late game, but I still feel that Ziggs does so more than others.

Look at your opponents' items. If you've won mid that hard, there's a chance they figgured out how amazing you are and built some MR. If that's the case, get a void staff. It'll net you more damage than a second rabbadibledeathcap. If it still isn't enough, get the new torment item (haunting guise upgrades into it). I seriously fell in love with that item. I hope they don't nerf it.

I have found this to be my experience as well with Ziggs.

@Ronyk - I think I'll attempt to get Void as my third item and I am curious to see how Liandry's will work with his minefield.

Thanks to all of you for your responses.

Ziggs is still one of my most played champs.

As mentioned already, most APs fall off towards late game.. but I find that this is the whole purpose of the lich bane, it allows you to continue to deal damage inbetween your cooldowns.

Due to his range my runes are pre ap quint, mpen reds, ap/lvl yellow and blues with 21/0/9 built purely for constant damage.
Also due to his range, I'm rarely close enough to ignite so I go teleport+flash to allow for quick ganks in other lanes

My build route is:
lvl.1 - Dorans (this allows you to spam far more than I ever expected as long as you're good at last hitting)
First B. Tear preferably but if you really prefer chalice then it is a good item too (+ boots if possible)

From this point onwards I find build routes vary depending on how you and / or your team is doing / what type of damage and CC their side has.. but generally speaking the below items are worthwhile getting for ziggs depending on their team comp and how you're doing, so this is not a build order.. just a list of those really worthwhile:

Liandry's Torment - works with his mines. so everytime you hit them with it there goes 10% of their heath as a dot

Deathcap - pretty much required

Deathfire grasp - great if they're pretty tanky

Lich Bane - makes your damage insane

Archangel staff - I prefer this to athene's on ziggs. I know cdr is good for him but I find that going heavy ap (700-900ap type region) with a lichbane negates the need for cdr. Also the use on it once you max the stacks (which is easy as hell for ziggs) provides a very comfortable shield.

athenes unholy grail - good if you feel you need cdr and some mr

Void Staff - obviously brilliant item if they decide to build some mr.. otherwise I'd probably go for more ap/utility items

zhondas thingy - for if they're ad heavy and focusing you

Where possible, my preferred build route goes
dorans
tear +boots
needlessly large rod + t2 boots
deathcap
Archangel or Liandry's
Whatever I missed previously + sheen OR go for a lichbane
Last slot goes to whatever is needed to help vs their team.

I never thought to use these items on Ziggs so I tried it out last night.

Build Order:
Boots, 3 pots
Sorcerer's boots
Chalice of Harmony
Sheen > Lichbane
Zhonya's Hourglass


Mana is always an issue on Ziggs so I build early Chalice of Harmony for when blue buff is down.

Rushing Sheen>Lichbane was key as it provided the much needed MR against my mid lane opponent, and also provided my auto attacks extra damage for harass, and AP for extra damage for my ult to throw across the map for top/bottom gank help.

I then immediately built Zhonya's Hourglass as they had both Jarvan and Warwick on the other team. Those champions usually rush through my team's defense walls to take me down quickly. This saved my butt more than a few times as Ziggs is extremely vulnerable once all of his spells are on cooldown.

The game had ended at that point, but I am looking forward to adding Liandry's Torment by the time teams are hovering around Baron. I can use Ziggs' bombs to block any path they enemy team chooses to engage from, destroying 10% of their health with each tick, granting my team an immense advantage for the incoming teamfight.

In the future, I'll probably end my build with Rabadon's Deathcap. But if the other team has decided to build more than 30+ MR then I'll grab Void Staff.



Ziggs Build:
#1 Sorceror's Boots
#6 Athene's Holy Grail (chalice after boots, but upgrade this item last)
#2 Lichbane
#3 Zhonya's Hourglass
#4 Liandry's Torment
#5 Rabadon's Deathcap/Void Staff

Ziggs is never played in tournaments. I think this is mainly due to his squishyness upon spell cooldowns, and his AP ratio drop off upon each level.

***I'm making it my challenge to make Ziggs more viable, and I strongly believe this new build will help bring him on the table in high elo ranked games soon.