Zeal

Zeal is the crit marksman component in League of Legends: 15% Attack Speed, 15% Critical Strike Chance and 4% Move Speed for 1,200 gold in patch 26.21, with no passive. It is a Cloak of Agility and a Dagger with a 350 gold combine fee, and it builds into five finished items: Phantom Dancer, Rapid Firecannon, Runaan’s Hurricane, Navori Flickerblade and Fiendhunter Bolts.

What does Zeal do?

Three small stats that a marksman wants all at once. 15% Attack Speed means more autos, 15% Critical Strike Chance means some of them hit much harder, and 4% Move Speed is the part you notice first, because a carry with Zeal kites a little better than one without.

None of the three is large. Together they are the shape of a crit build in miniature, which is why the item exists as a component rather than as three separate purchases. Is it a power spike? Not the way an Infinity Edge is, honestly. What Zeal does is make the second item arrive faster by giving you most of its stats early (a Phantom Dancer is, in effect, two Zeals and a passive), and the Move Speed makes the awkward stretch between the first and second item slightly less dangerous for a champion with no escape.

Is it gold efficient?

Slightly above even: 106%. At the basic item rates, the Attack Speed is worth 375 gold, the Critical Strike Chance 600 gold and the Move Speed 300 gold at 75 gold per percent, which adds up to 1,275 gold on a 1,200 gold item.

The surplus comes entirely from the Move Speed, since percent speed has no cheap source and the reference table prices it high. Thing is, that is also the honest story of the item: the Attack Speed and crit are exactly what you paid for in the Dagger and Cloak, and the 350 gold combine fee buys the speed and the slot. The sell price is 840 gold.

What does Zeal build into?

Five items, which between them cover almost every way a crit marksman can want to play:

• Phantom Dancer, the Attack Speed and Move Speed version for carries who kite.
• Rapid Firecannon, the energised range boost for poke and safety.
• Runaan’s Hurricane, the extra bolts for champions who want to hit three targets.
• Navori Flickerblade, the ability cooldown version for marksmen who weave spells.
• Fiendhunter Bolts, the newest of the five.

So a Zeal commits you to a crit build but not to a specific second item, and most carries hold it for a recall while the game shows them whether they need the range of a Firecannon or the spread of a Hurricane. Put simply, Zeal is the one component in the game where the decision after it matters more than the decision to buy it. Prices for the five upgrades are kept current in the LoL items database.

Who buys it?

Crit marksmen as their second item’s first piece: Jinx, Caitlyn, Ashe, Tristana, Xayah, Aphelios, Sivir, Zeri and the rest of the bot lane carry pool, plus crit top laners like Tryndamere and Yasuo and Yone in mid. Who skips it? Lethality marksmen like Jhin in some builds, on-hit champions who build Rageblade and Terminus instead, and every non-attacker in the game. For what it’s worth, Zeal on a support is one of the more reliable signs that someone has clicked the wrong recommended item.

How has Zeal changed over the patches?

Fourteen entries, and the numbers have moved almost every season. The item has been in the data since 2013 or earlier, and the recent record reads:

• Patch 10.23: Cost 1400 → 1200 gold, Attack Speed 12% → 18%, Critical Strike Chance 25% → 15%.
• Patch 10.25: Cost 1200 → 1050 gold.
• Patch 13.10: Cost 1050 → 1100 gold, Attack Speed 18% → 15%, Move Speed added at 5%.
• Patches 14.10 and 14.11: Critical Strike Chance 15% → 20% and back to 15% one patch later.
• Patch 14.19: Cost 1100 → 1,200 gold, Move Speed 5% → 4%.

Before that, the price bounced between 1200 and 1400 gold through patches 5.24, 7.9, 8.11, 9.3 and 9.23 as Riot tuned how fast marksmen reach their crit items. Funny enough, after all of it the current Zeal is close to the 2013 one in price and crit chance, with Move Speed as the one genuinely new piece.

When should you buy it?

Right after your first finished item, usually as the first component of the second, when you have 1,200 gold on a recall. Buying it before the first item is a mistake for most carries, because the first item’s passive is worth more than Zeal’s stats, and a Dagger or a Cloak of Agility on its own is the better placeholder if you are short. If you are still working out which of the five Zeal items your champion wants, the guide to LoL roles covers what bot lane carries build around, and Zeal is the piece that nearly all of them buy at the same point in the game.

FAQ

How much does Zeal cost?

1,200 gold in patch 26.21: a Cloak of Agility, a Dagger and a 350 gold combine fee. It sells for 840 gold.

What stats does it give?

15% Attack Speed, 15% Critical Strike Chance and 4% Move Speed.

Does it have a passive?

No. It is a three-stat component.

What does it build into?

Phantom Dancer, Rapid Firecannon, Runaan’s Hurricane, Navori Flickerblade and Fiendhunter Bolts.

When was it last changed?

In patch 14.19, when the cost rose from 1100 to 1,200 gold and the Move Speed dropped from 5% to 4%.

Should you buy it before your first item?

Usually not. The first finished item’s passive matters more; Zeal is the standard start to the second item.