Basic-attack duelist who resets his gap-closer on every kill to keep chasing
Zilong wins extended trades by weaving Dragon Flurry's free lifesteal into a simple basic-attack loop, then using Spear Strike to lunge onto the next target the instant he lands a kill. Supreme Warrior strips every slow on him and grants slow immunity, letting him stick to a single target through kite attempts that would stop most other EXP-lane fighters cold.
The entire kit loops around auto-attacking into Dragon Flurry procs and using Spear Strike to reset onto a fresh target after a kill, a rhythm most players pick up within a few games.
Max Spear Strike first for the gap-close and defense shred, level Spear Flip second for the CC, and take Supreme Warrior at every available level.
After every 3 Basic Attacks, Zilong triggers Dragon Flurry on the next Basic Attack, hitting the target 3 times. Each hit deals 30 (+40% Total Physical Attack) and heals himself for 30 (+20% Total Physical Attack) HP.
Always active — no cooldown
Zilong flings the target enemy over his head, dealing 250–350 (+80% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage.
Zilong lunges at the target enemy, dealing 250–450 (+60% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage and reducing their Physical Defense by 15–30 for 2 seconds. He then launches a Basic Attack on the same target. The cooldown of Spear Strike is reset if Zilong kills an enemy.
Zilong removes all Slow Effects on himself and gains 40% Movement Speed, 45%–75% Attack Speed, and Slow Immunity for 7.5 seconds. For the duration, he can trigger Dragon Furry after every 2 Basic Attacks (instead of the previous 3).
Signature combo
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
7,020g total
Default EXP-lane pick for winning extended 1v1 trades off Dragon Flurry's lifesteal.
Battle spell
Flicker120s CDThe 'Flicker combo' — blinking in right as a hook or stun lands, or blinking out the instant an enemy ultimate is cast — is the single most common high-elo outplay moment in the game.
Swap in when needed
War Axe — Extended fights where stacking Physical Attack from Fighting Spirit outvalues a burst item.
Blade Armor — Against enemy crit marksmen whose basic attacks would otherwise shred through his lifesteal.
Immortality — Against burst assassins or mages who can kill him before Dragon Flurry heals him back.
Queen's Wings — Against sustained poke or DPS comps; the low-HP damage reduction keeps him in the duel longer.
8,120g total
Playing him as a jungle pick, snowballing off Spear Strike's kill-reset for early kills.
Battle spell
Retribution35s CDA well-timed Retribution on a low-HP objective — a 'smite steal' — can snatch Turtle or Lord away from a team that appeared to be securing it, often the single biggest swing play of the early-to-mid game.
Swap in when needed
Immortality — Cheats a losing duel or gank once he's committed to Spear Strike's reset chain.
Blade Armor — Against enemy crit-reliant marksmen contesting the same jungle.
Haas' Claws — Extra lifesteal when the game goes long and raw damage items alone leave him too fragile.
Beyond the swaps listed in the builds above.
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
EudoraMageHardBall Lightning's 1.2-second stun lands before Zilong can close with Spear Strike, and the Thunder's Wrath burst that follows can kill him outright before Dragon Flurry's lifesteal has a chance to matter.
KarinaAssassinHardDance of Blades blocks all incoming Basic Attacks while reflecting damage, shutting down Dragon Flurry entirely during her active window, and Shadow Combo's third-hit True Damage ignores his physical defense stacking.
LukasFighterHardHero's Resolve feeds Unleash the Beast, which lifts every one of his attributes by 15%, and Flash Step's Flash Strike blinks him behind Zilong to reposition around a single Spear Flip and win the straight duel.
JawheadFighterHardUnstoppable Force grants CC immunity during its dash, meaning Spear Flip can't stop the engage, and Ejector can fling Zilong himself away from the fight entirely, erasing his positioning.
BaratsTank · FighterHardDetona's Welcome suppresses and carries its target for over a second — a CC type Supreme Warrior's slow-immunity does nothing against — while Big Guy's stacking defense lets Barats tank through Dragon Flurry.
Popol and KupaMarksmanSoftKupa fights on wherever Popol stands, so Zilong never gets the single isolated target his duel depends on and has to chew through the wolf before he can touch the hero behind it.
JohnsonTank · SupportSoftElectro Airbag's shield scales off 700% of Johnson's Physical Defense and triggers automatically under 30% HP, absorbing exactly the physical damage type Dragon Flurry deals and stalling out the duel.
AamonAssassinSoftCamouflage after every skill hit makes Aamon untargetable, and Zilong's only lockdown, Spear Flip, is on a 12-second cooldown, giving Aamon room to burst him with Magic Damage that skips his physical itemization.
GatotkacaTank · FighterSoftBlast Iron Fist leaves a persistent damage-and-slow zone that punishes Zilong for standing still to auto-attack, and his Rage-fueled enhanced basic attack deals Magic Damage that ignores his physical defense stacking.
ChipSupport · TankSoftCrash Course deals damage scaling off a percentage of the target's Max HP, so Zilong's own tankier HP pool from defensive itemization makes him take more from it than a squishier hero would.
Antique CuirassDeter stacks up to 18% Physical Damage reduction against a skill-combo hero, blunting Spear Flip and Spear Strike's damage before Dragon Flurry ever comes online.Blade ArmorReflects Physical Damage back on every basic attack he lands, punishing the exact Dragon Flurry loop his sustain depends on.ImmortalityA revive shield survives his all-in kill window and lets a target disengage before Spear Strike can reset off the kill.
Winter CrownThe freeze negates a full Dragon Flurry combo window and lets a target reposition the instant it ends.Heroes whose own counter list names Zilong — the same matchup, read from the other side.
AngelaSupportSoftHis gap-closing dash and sustained melee combo let him reach Angela before she can peel with Love Waves' slow.
EstesSupportSoftSpear Strike shreds up to 30 Physical Defense off whoever he lunges onto, cutting straight through the bonus Hybrid Defense Moonlight Immersion's link grants.
FannyAssassinSoftZilong's Spear Flip throws Fanny backwards the moment a cable run puts her on the ground, breaking the chain she needs to keep her energy up, and Supreme Warrior's attack-speed burst cuts through her low durability regardless of defensive items.
HanzoAssassinSoftZilong's Supreme Warrior attack-speed burst and Dragon Flurry healing let him sustain a longer duel than Hanzo, who needs the full five-stack setup to do real damage.
HelcurtAssassinSoftSupreme Warrior's Attack Speed and Slow Immunity plus Dragon Flurry's self-heal let Zilong win an extended duel even after eating Helcurt's opening burst.
NovariaMageSoftSpear Strike lunges straight onto her, and Supreme Warrior strips his slows and grants outright Slow Immunity, so Astral Meteor's zone does nothing to stop the chase.Duo partners whose kit completes this one.
GlooTankGrab, Grab attaches to an enemy at full Sticky stacks and holds them near Gloo for up to 9 seconds, a window where Zilong can walk up and unload his entire Dragon Flurry chain on a target that can't disengage.
BelerickTankWrath of Dryad's taunt locks nearby enemies in place for 1.5 seconds, long enough for Zilong to land Spear Strike's shred and follow-up basic attack risk-free and start the Dragon Flurry cycle.
BaxiaTankBaxia-Shield Unity's dash stuns the first enemy it hits, opening exactly the window Zilong needs to close the remaining gap with Spear Strike and begin auto-attacking safely.
BadangFighterFist Wind and Fist Break knock enemies into obstacles for a stun, pinning a target against terrain long enough for Zilong to land his flip-and-flurry combo before they can reposition.
AkaiTankHeadbutt knocks an enemy hero airborne and Heavy Spin bowls everyone else back out of the fight, isolating a single target for Zilong to dash onto with Spear Strike before backup arrives.BaratsTank · FighterDetona's Welcome suppresses and displaces a target for over a second, handing Zilong a CC-locked, disoriented target to immediately follow up on with Spear Flip or a basic-attack chain.
FredrinnFighter · TankEnergy Eruption's taunt forces nearby enemies to attack Fredrinn instead of retaliating, giving Zilong a safe window to auto-attack the taunted target and stack Dragon Flurry procs uncontested.
KajaSupport · FighterDivine Judgement suppresses a single target and drags them back regardless of position, delivering an isolated enemy directly into Zilong's melee range for a guaranteed Dragon Flurry combo.
KhufraTankBouncing Ball knocks airborne any enemy who tries to blink past Khufra, denying the exact escape tools that would otherwise let a target flee Zilong's chase before Spear Strike can land.
JoyAssassinLeonin Crystal's slow and her chain-dash mobility let Joy tag and pin a fleeing target, keeping them inside Zilong's basic-attack range long enough for Dragon Flurry to stack while Spear Flip is on cooldown.Land Spear Flip before engaging when possible; it's the only real CC in the kit and wasting it on a target that dodges leaves a 12-second gap
Use Spear Strike's defense-shred and follow-up basic attack to start the Dragon Flurry cycle, not just to close distance
Chain Spear Strike resets aggressively after a kill — the cooldown refresh is wasted if you don't immediately look for the next target
Pop Supreme Warrior the moment a slow lands on you, not preemptively, since its cleanse only clears effects already active
Avoid extended duels against true damage or magic-defense-ignoring heroes; Dragon Flurry's heal can't outpace damage that skips his physical defense stacking
Yes. His combo loop is straightforward — auto-attack through Dragon Flurry, use Spear Strike to close gaps and reset on kills — and he doesn't require precise cancel timing to function.
Tough Boots into Blade of the Heptaseas, Endless Battle, and Haas' Claws covers his HP, penetration, and lifesteal for extended duels. Swap in Blade Armor against enemy crit marksmen.
Karina's Dance of Blades blocks the basic attacks his entire kit depends on, and Barats's suppression ignores his ultimate's slow immunity entirely. Eudora's Ball Lightning stun also lands before he can close distance.
Fighter emblem with Firmness for flat defense, Festival of Blood for stacking spell vamp, and Brave Smite to recover HP off his own skill damage in extended trades.
