Best Zata Build, Rune Page & Guide for 2026

• If the enemy team has a lot of crowd control, replace Flashy Boots with Gilded Greaves .
• If the enemy team has a lot of magic resistance, build Staff of Nuul instead of Boomstick
• If the enemy’s physical damage is strong, build Mail of Pain , and if their magic damage is strong, build Medallion of Troy instead of Boomstick .

Basic 3-dash combo for Zata :

• Use Skill 1 Screeching Hawk or Skill 2 Waterspout toward the enemy.
• Activate Skill 3 Heaven's Wing and dash in the direction of the previous skill to reach 3 stacks and take flight.

Advanced Zata 5-dash combo:

• First, make sure all your skills are ready to use.
• Use Skill 2 Waterspout toward the target, then immediately activate Skill 1 Screeching Hawk at that same location.
• Activate Skill 3 Heaven's Wing to dash once in the direction of the previous skill, then release the movement key.
• Use Skill 2 Waterspout a second time, then use the movement key to dash in that direction to take flight.

While dashing, weave in enhanced basic attacks from the passive Wind Slash to stack up more dashes.

The most important thing when performing Zata ‘s combo is that you must dash in the exact direction you cast the previous skill — so pay close attention to your movement key, or you’ll break the chain and won’t be able to take flight.

Passive Wind Slash :

• The enhanced basic attack pierces through targets in a line, so take advantage of that to clear minions fast or hit all targets standing in a straight line.
• Basic attacking twice in a row (doesn’t need to hit a target) or landing any two skills on the enemy consecutively will enhance your next basic attack.
• Each time you land an enhanced basic attack on an enemy, it reduces your ultimate’s cooldown, not by a flat 5 seconds.

Skill 1 Screeching Hawk :

• This skill deals damage along its flight path but slows down over distance, so when trying to pick off a lone enemy, close the distance first or slow them down before casting to increase accuracy.
• When Skill 1 reaches the end of its range it explodes, dealing area damage, so take advantage of that to clear minions fast or poke multiple targets in a fight.

Skill 2 Waterspout :

• Use this skill to poke, clear minions, check bushes, and slow down a target.
• You can cast it to cut off the enemy’s path so the whirlwind deals damage to every target along its way back to Zata ‘s position.

Skill 3 Heaven's Wing :

• When you activate the skill, watch the yellow bar for the time limit you have to dash, and the number 3 above ‘s head for the number of dashes remaining.
• Use the movement key to start dashing in the direction you want — if the dash lands on a target you can continue dashing again, and once you’ve dashed 3 times you’ll take flight and deal damage.
• After each landed dash, you can use the enhanced basic attacks from the passive to gain extra dashes, up to a maximum of 5.
• The fewer dashes you use, the faster the skill’s cooldown resets, so you can dash 1 or 2 times (crossing terrain) just to move faster without triggering the flight state.
• The damage on takeoff is reduced in the early game but scales up strongly with level, so in the early game don’t expect the ultimate alone to finish off a target — combine it with Skill 1, Skill 2, or your teammates; by the late game, this skill’s damage is still just as formidable as before.

Entering the early game, Zata ‘s main job is to focus on clearing minions fast and limit trading skills with the enemy hero before level 4, since this hero isn’t really strong without the ultimate Heaven's Wing .

Use Skill 1 Screeching Hawk skillfully so it travels its full range, dealing a large amount of magic damage in an area, helping you clear minions fast and poke the enemy hero more effectively.

The mid game is when this mage-assassin hybrid becomes their strongest, with extremely high mobility and massive damage.

Clear minions quickly to create openings to rotate lanes for ganks, invade the enemy jungle, open fights, and attack major objectives together with your team.

Depending on the situation, use Skill 3 Heaven's Wing wisely to move faster, dive in to finish off enemies in fights, or escape dangerous situations to protect yourself.

By the late game, move together with your team, ready for the full team fights about to break out.

At this stage, be more careful and don’t dive into fights recklessly, since the enemy could easily burst you down while you’re mid-dash and haven’t taken flight yet with the ultimate Heaven's Wing .

First, hold your position and use Skill 1 Screeching Hawk and Skill 2 Waterspout to poke the enemy team from a distance, then wait for an opening when they spread out and their carry is exposed — dive in to combo and finish them off to bring your team the final victory.