Is Zilong good in Honor of Kings?

Current HOKMeta data lists Zilong as Tier A, with 51.9% win rate and 0.8% pick rate. Zilong is worth playing if your team needs reliable Jungling pressure, but you should avoid blind-picking into Guiguzi, Ziya, Fang without peel or defensive item planning.

How do you play Zilong in teamfights?

In teamfights, Zilong should respect enemy engage range first, then play around the hero's Assassin job: dealing damage, protecting carries, or entering after key control is used. When behind, clear waves and preserve cooldowns instead of face-checking fog.

AJungling

Zilong Build, Items, Arcana & Counters

Zilong is a Tier A Jungling pick. Get the best build, core items, arcana, battle spell, counters, and tool-backed item decisions.

WR 51.9%Pick 0.8%Ban 0.0%

Build answer

Zilong best build for S15 (June 2026)

International server

Updated: 2026-07-20

Reviewed by: HOKMeta

Role, lane, difficulty

Jungling · Assassin · Tier A · Medium

Current patch rates

51.9% WR · 0.8% Pick · 0.0% Ban

Core 3 items

Master Sword, Frostscar's Embrace, Blood Rage

Best arcana

Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Red Moon, Lvl 5: Stealth

Battle spell

Smite

Best into

Lapulapu, Ata, Sakeer

Watch out for

Guiguzi, Ziya, Fang

Zilong TL;DR

Tier A51.9% WRJungling

Zilong: The lower his Health, the greater his damage reduction and skills.

Fast conclusion

Zilong is a Tier A Jungling pick with 51.9% win rate.

Thunderbreaker → Stormpiercer → Skysplitter → weave basic attacks

Core 3 items

Master Sword

Frostscar's Embrace

Blood Rage

Pick when

Enemy carries lack reliable peel, and your side lanes can help secure early jungle tempo.

Avoid when

Main threats: Guiguzi, Ziya, Fang.

Open full counter pageMatchup notes, strong targets, and heroes that punish Zilong.

Current patch decision guide

How to decide if Zilong is the right pick

Pick Zilong if

Pick Zilong when your team needs a Tier A Jungling option and the draft gives this hero enough space to play around core cooldowns.

Avoid Zilong if

Avoid Zilong when the enemy composition directly attacks the hero's main weakness or your team cannot support the Jungling game plan.

Power spikes

First completed core item: check whether the hero can now contest lane or jungle tempo.
Two to three item point: decide whether to group for objectives or keep farming toward the late-game plan.
Final defensive or damage item: adapt to the enemy threat instead of following the build blindly.

Build decision

Start from the recommended build, then adjust based on whether the enemy is forcing burst survival, anti-tank damage, anti-heal, or safer positioning.

Matchup logic

Use the counter page and build compare tool together: first identify the threat, then test whether damage, defense, or utility gives the better answer.

Common mistakes

Following the build without checking the enemy draft.

Taking fights before the first meaningful item spike.

Ignoring wave state and vision before rotating.

30-day trend

Last 30 days of win rate, pick rate, and ban rate

Use daily snapshots to see whether this hero is heating up, cooling down, or simply staying popular without converting that attention into wins.

Win rate

Current 51.90%

7d change -0.10 pts

30d change -0.01 pts

Pick rate

Current 0.80%

7d change -0.04 pts

30d change +0.22 pts

Ban rate

Current 0.02%

7d change 0.00 pts

30d change 0.00 pts

Trend read

Zilong currently sits at 51.90% win rate, with a 30-day move of -0.01 pts and a 7-day move of -0.10 pts.

Win rate is falling by -0.01 pts.

Pick rate is climbing by +0.22 pts.

Ban rate is mostly flat.

Patch reason

There is no current-season official balance entry to cite in the last 45 days.

Tools

Test Zilong damage and item builds

Use the calculator for combo damage, or compare two item builds side by side before changing your ranked setup.

Damage calculator Compare builds

Best Build for Zilong

End-game item order with gold costs and slot notes. Purchase path may differ in-match.

Build philosophy

Zilong benefits from Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration — match items and runes to kit scaling.

Passive: As his Health declines, he gains more damage reduction and his basic skills are enhanced.

Physical attackCooldown reductionPenetration

Arcana: Prioritize runes that boost Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration for this hero's passive and skill scaling.

Recommended item build order
#	Item	Gold	Stats	Why
1	Master Sword	2,100g	PATK +55, Crit Rate +20%, HP +600 Enhances BAs	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Savagery — Casting a skill increases Movement Speed by 12% for 2s and the physical damage of the next Basic Attack within 5s by (80% {ad}).
2	Frostscar's Embrace	2,060g	PATK +60, PDEF +300, CDR +10% Enhanced BAs slow	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Savagery — The next Basic Attack within 5s after using a skill deals an extra 210–420 physical damage to enemies within range and slows them by 15%–30% for 0.5s (slow effect halved for ranged attacks).
3	Blood Rage	2,180g	PATK +75, HP +900 Trades HP for shield	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Apoplexy — Basic Attacks deal an extra (1.5% HP) physical damage. When Health drops below 50%, this damage increases by 25%–50%.
4	Sage's Sanctuary	2,280g	HP +900, PDEF +150, MDEF +150 Resurrect on the spot	Fits Survivability priority — Passive - Revive — Resurrects the wearer 2s after dying and restores 2,000–3,000 Health. This effect can be triggered up to 2 times per match.
5	Immovable - Sky Dome	3,280g	PATK +80, PDEF +150, CDR +10% Temp. damage reduction	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Maim — Skills slow the first enemy hero hit by 10%–20% and reduce damage taken from that enemy by 20% for 3s.
6	Ravage - Phantom	3,350g	PATK +75, HP +900 Trades HP for shield	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Apoplexy — Basic Attacks deal an extra (1.5% HP) physical damage. When Health drops below 50%, the damage increases by 37.5%–75%.

Best Arcana & Spells

Arcana and battle spell setup
Slot	Choice	Effect
Primary	Mutation	Recommended for Assassin Jungling
Spell	Smite	Adjust Purify/Execute based on enemy dive.

Abilities

Skill Order

Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Skysplitter (max Skill 2 first)

Stormpiercer provides mobility or stick—max first. Thunderbreaker second for damage. Skysplitter on every level.

Passive

Dragon's Roar

As his Health declines, he gains more damage reduction and his basic skills are enhanced.

Skill 1

Thunderbreaker

Charges forward, dealing damage and enhancing his next Basic Attack. This skill's cooldown is reset whenever his Health reaches a certain level.

Skill 2

Stormpiercer

Jabs repeatedly in the target direction, dealing damage. Recovers Health on hit.

Ultimate

Skysplitter

Leaps to the target area to deal damage, launching enemies in the center. 50% of the cooldown is returned if no heroes are hit.

Combos

1. Standard trade
Thunderbreaker → Stormpiercer → Skysplitter → weave basic attacks
When: Jungling skirmish or objective fight
2. All-in
Skysplitter after full rotation when Flash is down
When: Gank or backline dive with team CC

Counters & Matchups

🏛️ Camp Official Counter Data

Official counter reference from Camp HOK rank statistics.

Zilong is strong into

Pick Zilong when the enemy drafts these heroes.

Zilong struggles into

Avoid Zilong or ban these when they appear on the enemy team.

Full counter analysis →

vs Similar Heroes

Zilong vs Wukong (Assassin, Tier S): Wukong is 1.3% pick / 49.7% WR. Zilong has +2.9% WR vs Wukong in Camp data. Choose Zilong when you need Jungling identity; choose Wukong for Jungling comfort.
Zilong vs Musashi (Assassin, Tier A): Musashi is 1.1% pick / 50.7% WR. Zilong has +2.0% WR vs Musashi in Camp data. Choose Zilong when you need Jungling identity; choose Musashi for Jungling comfort.

Playstyle & Ranked Tips

Laning Phase

Clear to level four, then gank the lane with the least escape. Secure Tyrant when your bot or mid has crash wave.

Teamfight Role

Wait for CC from your team, then dive carry with full combo. Exit with reset or flash if focus fired.

High Rank (Diamond+)

Zilong sits at Tier B globally (52.7% WR). In high rank, pick only into favorable matchups or when you have a dedicated pocket pick. Camp data shows above-average win rate — prioritize when not hard-countered in draft.

Related decisions

Keep researching Zilong

Zilong full guide

Lane plan, teamfight rules, ranked mistakes, and matchup notes.

Zilong counters

Best counter picks, matchup notes, and draft risks.

Zilong damage calculator

Test item damage against marksman, mage, fighter, and tank templates.

Zilong build compare

Compare two item builds and get matchup-specific conclusions.

Best Assassin heroes

Compare this pick with other heroes in the same role.

Zilong Build 2026 FAQ

Quick answers for Zilong builds, arcana, counters, lane choice, and ranked value.

What is the best Zilong build in 2026?

The best Zilong build in 2026 uses Master Sword, Frostscar's Embrace, Blood Rage, Sage's Sanctuary, Immovable - Sky Dome, Ravage - Phantom. Play Zilong in Jungling, take Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Red Moon, Lvl 5: Stealth arcana, and usually run Smite. This recommendation is aligned with S15 (June 2026) and the 2026-07-20 HOKMeta data snapshot.

What is the best arcana for Zilong?

The best Zilong arcana setup is Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Red Moon, Lvl 5: Stealth. Keep the core damage arcana first, then adjust movement speed, pierce, or sustain only when the matchup makes your lane unsafe.

What should Zilong build first?

Zilong usually wants Master Sword first because the first item should stabilize Jungling clear speed, trading power, or tempo. If the lane is unsafe, adjust boots or a small defensive component first, but do not delay the core damage curve too long.

What should Zilong build against tanks?

Use the HOKMeta damage calculator or build compare tool to test penetration, sustained damage, and survivability against tank templates. The best anti-tank item choice depends on whether Zilong can keep attacking safely or needs a defensive item to survive the first engage.

Who counters Zilong?

Zilong is most vulnerable to Guiguzi, Ziya, Fang. Draft peel, respect engage range, and adjust items when the enemy lineup can dive or chain crowd control.

What lane does Zilong play?

Zilong is mainly played as a Assassin in Jungling. In ranked games, prioritize a stable farm pattern and only rotate early when the wave state keeps your economy safe.