Mage
Zhou Yu
周瑜
Mage
Zhou Yu's Chinese name is 周瑜.
Quick summary
Zhou Yu is a situational Mid Mage who wants to play sustained damage. Public guides recommend a build starting with Boots of the Arcane. Watch for Augran-style counters in the enemy draft.
When to pick Zhou Yu, when to avoid them, and how to adapt your build.
Zhou Yu is a situational Mid Mage who wants to win extended trades with regeneration. Public guide data shows a build centered on Boots of the Arcane, Venomous Staff, Sage's Tome, used to farm safely and rotate to side lanes when the wave allows. Pick him when the draft lets Zhou Yu reach targets that aren't built around Augran-style answers; avoid when the matchup denies the windows his kit needs.
Default mid path
Public build references for Zhou Yu recommend Boots of the Arcane, Venomous Staff, Sage's Tome, Void Staff, Frozen Breath, and Twilight Stream. Use this as the baseline mage plan before adapting to the enemy draft.
Situational item pivots
Spare options listed in build data include Breakthrough Robe, Ardent Dominion, and Splendor. Treat these as situational swaps when the default path is not enough — for example, swapping in defensive items against burst comps or penetration items against stacked armor.
Versus Augran
Augran is flagged in counter data as a direct answer to Zhou Yu. Read the enemy's primary win condition, time Zhou Yu's key cooldowns to the moment that condition activates, and don't pre-commit when the matchup answer is still up.
Versus anti-heal
Healing reduction items cut sustain by a large margin. Track when the enemy buys the anti-heal item and adjust your trade aggression accordingly.
Synergies
Public synergy data lists Dyadia, Kui, and Liu Bang as strong partners for Zhou Yu. Plan engages around Dyadia's setup window, then second-engage with Flames of War.
Inferno
“What a precise strike, just flawless!”
Between the interests of the family and Jiang's development, Zhou Yu, who cared deeply for the state and its people, chose the latter. Born into a noble family, Zhou Yu was compassionate and trustworthy, and his acquaintance with Sun Ce further fueled his determination to reform Jiang. The calm and proud noble son is sincere in his passion and willingness to sacrifice for his ideals, and that burning desire extends to his passionate love for Xiao Qiao as well.
Source: Official Honor of Kings — canonical lore for Zhou Yu.
Survivability
Offense
Utility
Mid lane
Rates are role-specific snapshots from the current Honor of Kings Camp data refresh.
How to choose a build
Start with the safe default badge if the draft looks normal, then swap to burst, anti-tank, sustain, or utility builds when the matchup clearly calls for it.
Best when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.
Best when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.
ﻞﻀ
Damage from Basic Attacks and skills apply marks to enemy units andstructures. At 4 stacks, targets are slowed and suffer damage over time.
Invokes a wind domain in the target direction, slowing and knocking back enemies in range. Nearby teammates gain Move Speed, and his nearby fires will spread in the direction of the wind.
Creates a fire domain at the target location that deals burning damage toenemies in it. There can be up to 5 fire domains at a time. He recovers Health over time while in a fire domain. Can stock up to 3 charges of this skill.
Deals damage to enemies in range. lf there's a fire zone in range, any enemies within it will be stunned and take extra damage.
Golden Coast
Eclipse Blaze
Flaming Lotus
Navy Admiral
Stay near the carry and time shields/heals to overlap the enemy's damage window, not before.
Increased base Movement Speed and Skill 1's late game cooldown.
"Zhou Yu needs some preparation to fully ignite the battlefield. We've slightly increased his mobility to help him find the right positioning and angles. At the same time, we've slightly increased the late game cooldown of his Skill 1, giving opponents a fair chance to dodge it."
Increased Skill 2's damage over time and recovery and reduced late game stock time.
"Zhou Yu's Skill 2 provides damage over time and recovery. We aim to strengthen this playstyle appropriately while adjusting the cooldown between early and late game to balance his power throughout the match."
