What to build on Zoe, and what each item is for
An item path for Zoe with live gold costs, chosen from what the champion's damage actually scales on.
What your damage scales on
Riot rates Zoe at 1 for attack and 8 for magic. That single comparison decides most of the build before any matchup does.
Zoe wants to land a cooldown for a burst of damage, then be safe and largely useless until it returns, and items are how you buy more of that rather than a little of everything.
What to build, and what each piece is for
Riot rates Zoe higher on magic than attack, so the build follows ability power.
Rabadon's Deathcap
3500 goldMassively increases Ability Power
Zhonya's Hourglass
3250 goldActivate to become invincible but unable to take actions
Shadowflame
3200 goldSpellDamage, MagicPenetration
Dusk and Dawn
3100 goldHealth, AttackSpeed, SpellDamage, OnHit, AbilityHaste
Riftmaker
3100 goldHealth, SpellDamage, CooldownReduction, SpellVamp
Gold costs are live from the current patch. Order depends on the game — buy resistances when you are being punished, damage when you are not.
Skill order, and how to reason about it
Take Portal Jump at levels 6, 11 and 16 — the ultimate is always worth the point it costs.
For the basic abilities, Sleepy Trouble Bubble (E) gains the most from being ranked: its cooldown falls by 4 seconds between rank 1 and max, which is the largest improvement in the kit. That is the usual argument for maxing it first.
This is reasoning from the cooldown data, not a win-rate ranking — a matchup that punishes you can invert it.
- Q · Paddle Star! — cooldown 8.5/8/7.5/7/6.5s, improving by 2s across its ranks
- W · Spell Thief — cooldown 0.25s
- E · Sleepy Trouble Bubble — cooldown 18/17/16/15/14s, improving by 4s across its ranks
What you already have before you buy anything
| Stat | Level 1 | Level 18 |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 630 | 2432 |
| Attack damage | 58 | 58 |
| Armour | 21 | 100.9 |
| Magic resist | 30 | 52.1 |
Movement speed 340 and attack range 550 do not grow with levels — they are the two numbers that stay true all game.
Buy order is a reaction, not a plan
The list above is what the champion scales on. The order you buy it in is decided by the game — resistances when you are being punished, damage when you are not.
Riot's own notes on playing Zoe
These are the designers' words, not ours — the tips shipped in the client for Zoe.
- Paddle Star deals more damage the further it has flown. Casting it behind yourself before redirecting can deal tons of damage.
- Break Sleep with your biggest damage source, since enemies who are asleep take double damage.
- Sleepy Trouble Bubble travels further over walls. Find a hiding spot to set up for a long distance kill.