Ziggs puts the artillery in artillery mage. This diminutive master of making things go boom is a super strong mage with incredible range that makes him a viable pick in nearly any meta. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started playing the Hexplosives Expert. 

With the meta constantly shifting as new items and mechanics are introduced in the game, Ziggs is one of those champions that can consistently carve themselves a niche no matter what the meta is. Thanks to his versatility and a bit of help from the meta changes, Ziggs can be played in either the Mid Lane or the Bot Lane. It’s because of this versatility that a lot of players have turned their attention toward this fun little yordle. He has insane poke, good burst damage, excellent wave clear, great crowd control, and a semi global ultimate that deals massive damage. His biggest strength is his distance and his ability to peel for himself while consistently staying out of harm’s way. Despite all of these, Ziggs is still easy to take out in a fight. He doesn’t have any reliable escape so you need to rely on your own positioning skills to get by or have somebody playing support to babysit you. 

Abilities

As we’ve mentioned before, Ziggs literally puts the artillery in artillery mage. His whole kit is fitting for someone labeled as the Hexplosives Expert. If you like wearing your opponents down with a constant barrage of explosive, difficult to avoid magical bombs then you’ll find a lot to like in Ziggs’ kit.

Passive – Short Fuse

Every 12 seconds, Ziggs’ next basic attack deals bonus magic damage. This cooldown is reduced whenever Ziggs uses an ability. When Ziggs’ target is a structure, his attacks deal 250% damage.

This ability is great for incentivizing players to weave basic attacks in between Ziggs’ typical combos. Short Fuse is excellent at trading against your opponent and has its cooldown reduced whenever you use an ability. It also lets Ziggs be a great split pusher thanks to the huge 250% damage boost he gets when attacking a structure.

Q – Bouncing Bomb

Ziggs throws a bouncing bomb that deals magic damage.

Nothing too fancy here. Ziggs literally just tosses a bomb that bounces three times before exploding or explodes when it hits a target. While it can feel a bit wonky at first, you’ll find that its short cooldown and tricky angles make it a great ability to consistently poke your opponent with. It has a decent radius too so it can be good for clearing waves as well. This is the core part of your combo and what you’ll mostly be using to deal most of your damage.

W – Satchel Charge

Ziggs flings an explosive charge that detonates after 4 seconds, or when this ability is reactivated again. The explosion deals magic damage to enemies, knocking them away. Ziggs is also knocked away, but takes no damage. Satchel Charge will hexplode structurally unsound towers below a Health threshold.

Satchel Charge is one of those rare crowd control abilities that also affect its user. This is great for keeping enemies away or just setting them up for other combos with your abilities or your teammates. This is also a really great ability to wear towers down and push lanes. 

E – Explosive Minefield

Ziggs scatters proximity mines that detonate on enemy contact, dealing magic damage. Enemies hit are slowed for 1.5 seconds. Enemies triggering a mine take 40% damage from additional mines. Mines disarm automatically after 10 seconds.

This is a great ability to clear waves and to disrupt enemy movements. It is a very annoying ability to get out of, especially if you can get it right on top of your target. Explosive Minefield is mostly used to farm minion waves, slow down targets, or to set up your other abilities.

R – Mega Inferno Bomb

Ziggs deploys his ultimate creation, the Mega Inferno Bomb, hurling it an enormous distance. Enemies in the primary blast zone take magic damage. Enemies farther away take two-thirds damage.

Ziggs’ ultimate is literally what it sounds like: a huge freakin bomb. Mega Inferno Bomb deals massive damage. That’s pretty much all you need to know. Since it has a very wide, semi global range, you can use it to effectively finish off targets, secure objectives, or just have some sort of presence on team fights that you are too far away to be a part of.

Runes and Item Builds

For items, all you need to do is to focus on building Ability Power items. Try to buy items that can give you consistent damage over time since your abilities’ damage tend to linger on. Items that add to your sustain and survivability should also be on your priorities.

Starting Items

Ziggs has two options when it comes to his starting items. The most common set players run with is Doran’s Ring and Health Potion. This gives you enough damage and sustain to make it through the laning phase. The next option would be to start with a Tear of the Goddess first so that you can begin stacking it. Both are good choices but we lean more towards the Doran’s Ring start since you’ll be buying a Tear of the Goddess anyway later on in the early game.

Mythic Items

You could argue that all of the Mythic AP items are good on Ziggs. While that is true to an extent, there are only two items that really work well with this champions kit. These Mythic items are Liandry’s Anguish and Luden’s Tempest. Liandry’s Anguish gives you a lot of AP, Mana, and lets you absolutely shred tanks thanks to its Agony and Torment passive. Luden’s Tempest, on the other hand, gives you a lot more burst damage to work with. Both of these items are great and what you buy should mostly boil down to preference or your situation. If the enemy team has a lot more tanks, go with Liandry’s Anguish. If they’re pretty squishy, take Luden’s Tempest instead.

Full Build

After purchasing your Mythic item, go for boots next. Since Ziggs is a mage, go with Sorcerer’s Shoes. After buying boots, complete your Tear of the Goddess into an Archangel’s Staff. Then go with Zhonya’s Hourglass for more damage and survivability thanks to its Stasis active. Finally, round out your build with a Void Staff for additional magic penetration and Rabadon’s Deathcap for even more ability power.

Other Viable Items

There are plenty of other viable items you can buy when playing as Ziggs. Rylai’s Crystal Scepter is a popular choice since it gives you health, AP, and imbues your abilities with an additional slowing effect. This can be handy when kiting opponents. Morellonomicon is another great item to counter mages, tanks, or enchanters that have a lot of heal on their kit. Demonic Embrace is a good item to shred tanks that you can pair with Luden’s Tempest or Liandry’s Anguish. Shadowflame is a pretty new item that also has anti tank and anti shield properties that you can go for when you need it. Basically, try all these items out and see what works best for you.

Runes

For runes, go with the Sorcery tree and take Arcane Comet as your keystone. This will make your trading even more powerful since it will throw a damaging comet at the location where you damaged a champion with an ability. Next, take Manaflow Band for the sustain, Transcendence for the ability haste, and Scorch for bonus damage over time. For your secondaries, take Magical Footwear and Biscuit Delivery from the Inspiration tree. Magical Footwear gives you free basic boots while Biscuit Delivery gives you additional sustain in the early game. For rune shards, take double Adaptive Force and Armor. 

Useful Tips

1. You can actually knock yourselves over certain walls and terrain using Satchel Charge. Try to use this to outplay your opponent with a fancy juke or a quick escape. 
2. Ziggs isn’t particularly mobile so he is vulnerable against heroes that outrange him, can catch him off guard, and easily dodge his abilities. Champions like Jhin, Vayne, Lucian, Samira, and Sivir are some of his biggest counters.
3. For summoner spells, always take Flash and Heal in the Bot Lane. When playing in Mid, swap out Heal for Barrier or Cleanse.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Ziggs in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!