Like we mentioned earlier, we got a chance to talk with the top four college Heroes of the Storm teams that battled for first place in the Heroes of the Dorm tournament last weekend.
We asked them a lot of questions, but -- let's be honest -- nothing's more important than figuring out how we can dominate in the Nexus like they do. Here are their favorite heroes, and tips for how you should play them.
Elite Tauren Chieftain
by Daniel "Melkor" Korytowski, Dream Team (Arizona State)
Why Melkor loves him: "Elite Tauren Chieftain has a ton of self-sustain for the laning phase, and can bully people out of the lane 1v1. All it takes is one good Mosh Pit [an AoE stun] to wipe out the entire enemy team, which is extremely satisfying. His other Heroic Ability, Stage Dive [a global leap], is great -- especially when you want to dive people way behind their towers just to get that kill."
Pro Tip: "Choose defensive talents. The reduced mana cost on Guitar Solo [a self heal] means that you can stay in lane for a very long time before needing to heal."
Gazlowe
by Wenjie "MisterBurkes" Fu, Mad Banners (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign)
Why MisterBurkes loves him: "Gazlowe is an absolute blast to play! He's a walking Swiss Army Knife, with tons of options, and can set up ridiculous wombo combos for your team with Grav-O-Bomb 3000 [a vortex that pulls all enemies into the center]."
Pro Tip: "Not many players realize Gazlowe can manually deconstruct the Rock-It Turrets that he's placed down to recover mana and reduce his cooldown. He's also a natural jungler that can safely and quickly clear mercenary camps. Try to take them right before contesting a team objective."
Falstad
by Paul "Apauloh" Oh, Boston Eagles (Boston College)
Why Apauloh loves him: "Falstad is extremely mobile with Barrel Roll [a dash forward] and he does a lot of auto attack damage! Try to go ham and push your limits on the hero. He can outduel almost anyone in lane 1v1 and is really strong in skirmishes."
Pro Tip: "Play aggressively when you're trying to learn. You can find out the limits on every hero and situation, and then push yourself to make plays beyond what you think you could've done earlier. Games are won by playmakers."
Uther
by Cody "Kakisho" Chen, Mad Banners (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign)
Why Kakisho loves him: "Uther really surprised me with how hard he is to play at first, because he has four skills and gets four more activated abilities from his talents. That gives him eight skills he needs to use in less than five seconds in a fight. Cleanse [which removes all debuffs] is probably the hardest skill to use effectively. It has a very small timing window, and a stun or snare isn’t as easy to spot as a low-hp health bar."
Pro Tip: "First play without getting talents that add new abilities (Shield, Cleanse, Shrink Ray, Benediction). Make sure you’re perfect with your first four spells and then slowly add other skills to your repertoire one at a time."
Tassadar
by Kyle "Kotank" Noble, Dream Team (Arizona State)
Why Kotank loves him: "Tassadar is good at everything: healing, wave clear, and outputting damage. He also has a great unique heroic ability, Force Wall, which creates a temporary wall of terrain that blocks movement. With good communication, it change the dynamic of teamfights by cutting off pathways. It has helped my team win fights and even close out games."
Pro Tip: "Don’t use Force Wall if you're not playing with a coordinated team. Just stick with Archon [a big self buff]. If you decide to upgrade Dimensional Shift [which makes you invulnerable and invisible] at level 13, make sure you take the healing and increased movement speed for it at 16 too. You need both if you take one."
Sylvanas
by Yue "Serendipity" Gu, Golden Bears (University of California, Berkeley)
Why Serendipity loves him: "I really like the utility that Sylvanas brings to the team with Wailing Arrow [an AoE damage and silence]. Also, she's very strong at pushing lanes and sieging the enemy base with ease. She's also my favorite card in Hearthstone!"
Pro Tip: "You can hold down your Withering Fire cast to shoot more than one hail of arrows if you have multiple charges stored. Also, remember that it's fine to silence one target if it means preventing a big ability that might change the teamfight."
Stitches
by Miqueas “Wrath” Kim, Mad Banners (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign)
Why Wrath loves him: "He is the ultimate opponent demoralizer. Landing a good Hook [which pulls an opponent to you] on the enemy assassin can greatly shift the momentum of the match in your favor. All they can do is uselessly attempt to run away to no avail. Oh, and using the pink Wonder Billie mount is a must."
Pro Tip: "If you miss your Hook, your team becomes extremely vulnerable since he lacks the crowd control abilities that other Warriors possess. In order to get rid of this vulnerability, grab Putrid Bile [a heavy AoE debuff] as your Heroic Ability. It deals decent damage and turns you into a threat that cannot be ignored."
Best of luck out there in the Nexus! If you want some hands-on teaching, catch up on some of the videos on the Heroes of the Dorm website.
