Heroes of the Storm Wiki
Master Blizzard heroes in fast team battles across objective-driven battlegrounds. Explore builds, talents, maps, ARAM, ranks, guides, and balance updates.
Heroes of the Storm Resources
Eight guide hubs covering everything from hero rankings to patch notes
Latest Updates
Discover the newest guides, tips, and content
Heroes of the Storm korea cup 2026: Finals Guide
Review the Heroes of the Storm Korea Cup 2026 final, including the 3-0 result, map drafts, turning points, and strategy lessons.
Heroes of the Storm system requirements: PC Setup Guide
Check Heroes of the Storm system requirements, graphics settings, storage needs, troubleshooting steps, and practical PC setup advice for 2026.
Heroes of the Storm xalatath: Lore & Hero Status
Learn what Heroes of the Storm xalatath means, how Xal'atath connects to Warcraft lore, and whether the character is a playable hero.
Heroes of the Storm blizzcon: 2026 Update Guide
Track the Heroes of the Storm BlizzCon 2026 announcement, Xal'atath release, PTR timing, and practical Nexus preparation steps.
Heroes of the Storm all heroes: Role Rankings & Picks
Compare Heroes of the Storm heroes by role, learn how to build a balanced team, and explore Xal'atath's battlefield control tools.
Heroes of the Storm last hero: Hogger Guide & Rankings
Find out who the last Heroes of the Storm hero is, why Hogger remains the latest addition, and how to draft, build, and play him.
Heroes of the Storm varian build: Talent Setup Guide
Use this Heroes of the Storm Varian build guide to choose talents, Heroics, matchups, and role-specific strategies for Storm League.
Heroes of the Storm blizzard classic cup: Match Guide
Review the 2026 Blizzard Classic Cup match between Dignitas and Gen.G, including Fearless Draft rules, map results, picks, and strategy.
Heroes of the Storm johanna build: Step-by-Step Guide
Build Johanna for durable engages, reliable peeling, and strong team-fight protection with talent choices and matchup tips.
Heroes of the Storm tier list: 2026 Meta Rankings
Use this Heroes of the Storm tier list to compare S-D tier Heroes, role priorities, draft flexibility, and Storm League picks for 2026.
Heroes of the Storm zeratul build: Talent Setup Guide
Use this Heroes of the Storm Zeratul build guide to choose talents, execute burst combos, adapt to matchups, and improve late-game playmaking.
Heroes of the Storm new heroes: Xal'atath Guide
Learn how Xal'atath controls fights in Heroes of the Storm with Void Volley, Shadow Mark, Dark Heart Ritual, and two powerful Heroics.
Heroes of the Storm Tier List
Compare heroes by role, general effectiveness, team-fight impact, map flexibility, and draft value. Specialist heroes can move significantly depending on battleground and composition.
This tier list separates Tanks, Bruisers, Healers, Supports, Melee Assassins, and Ranged Assassins. S-tier heroes offer reliable value across many drafts, while lower tiers generally require more specific maps, compositions, or player execution.
Tank
Top Picks: Johanna provides dependable waveclear and crowd control, Diablo offers powerful wall-based engages, and Anub'arak combines initiation with strong anti-spell tools.
Draft Notes: Prioritize reliable engage, survivability, and crowd control. Blaze is especially valuable when a team needs a durable frontliner who can also handle lanes.
Bruiser
Top Picks: Hogger combines mobility, waveclear, disruption, and camp control. Dehaka adds global rotation pressure, while Leoric provides safe laning and percentage-based damage.
Draft Notes: Bruisers are commonly responsible for solo lanes, wave management, camps, and secondary frontline duties. Map control often matters as much as raw team-fight damage.
Healer
Top Picks: Rehgar combines healing, waveclear, camps, and powerful Heroics. Brightwing adds global mobility and Polymorph, Anduin provides reliable saves, and Stukov brings strong area denial.
Draft Notes: Healing output is only one factor. Cleanse effects, crowd control, mobility, burst protection, and synergy with the team's win condition are equally important.
Support
Top Picks: Medivh offers exceptional protection, mobility, scouting, and playmaking through Force of Will and Portals. Abathur and The Lost Vikings provide unusual macro advantages.
Draft Notes: Supports usually require compositions built around their unique mechanics. Their value depends heavily on coordination, battleground layout, and team strategy.
Melee Assassin
Top Picks: Maiev provides initiation and multi-target control, Zeratul offers extreme mobility and late-game playmaking, and Kerrigan combines burst damage with reliable combo pressure.
Draft Notes: Melee Assassins generally need careful timing because they must enter dangerous positions to deal damage. Enemy crowd control and blinds can strongly affect their performance.
Ranged Assassin
Top Picks: Valla offers flexible sustained and burst damage, Hanzo combines poke with powerful initiation, Sylvanas adds siege utility, and Tychus excels against high-health frontlines.
Draft Notes: Ranged Assassin value depends on damage profile, waveclear, range, mobility, and enemy frontline. Tassadar is a damage-focused Ranged Assassin following his major rework rather than his former Support role.
Heroes of the Storm Builds and Talents
Use practical talent paths for popular heroes and switch builds when the enemy composition or battleground demands it.
Heroes gain talents at levels 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 20. A strong build should reinforce a hero's main job while leaving room to change defensive, utility, and Heroic talents according to the match.
Johanna
TankCondemn Control
- 1.Levels 1-7: prioritize survivability, Condemn utility, and reliable waveclear.
- 2.Level 10: Blessed Shield for fast ranged initiation and follow-up crowd control.
- 3.Levels 13-16: strengthen sustain and repeated crowd-control opportunities.
- 4.Level 20: upgrade the Heroic or select additional late-game defensive value.
Alternative: Falling Sword setup for compositions that benefit from a more aggressive dive-oriented Heroic.
Best For: Safe frontline play, objective fights, waveclear, and reliable initiation.
Muradin
TankStorm Bolt Engage
- 1.Levels 1-7: improve Storm Bolt pressure and personal durability.
- 2.Level 10: Avatar for a durable frontline and extended team fights.
- 3.Levels 13-16: add mobility, sustain, or additional Storm Bolt value.
- 4.Level 20: strengthen Avatar or take a utility option that helps secure late-game fights.
Alternative: Thunder Clap-focused setup when fighting melee-heavy teams that remain close to Muradin.
Best For: Engage, peeling, scouting bushes, and punishing isolated targets.
Dehaka
BruiserDrag and Global Pressure
- 1.Levels 1-7: emphasize Essence sustain, Drag utility, and lane durability.
- 2.Level 10: Isolation for pick potential and shutting down a priority enemy.
- 3.Levels 13-16: improve mobility, survivability, and repeated disruption.
- 4.Level 20: enhance the Heroic or strengthen Dehaka's late-game frontline presence.
Alternative: Adaptation-oriented setup for matches where surviving sustained focus is more important than silencing a target.
Best For: Solo lanes, global rotations, flanking from bushes, and objective pressure.
Hogger
BruiserHogg Wild Disruption
- 1.Levels 1-7: strengthen Rage generation, Hogg Wild value, and sustained fighting.
- 2.Level 10: Shockwave for additional team-fight control and initiation.
- 3.Levels 13-16: improve survivability and repeated ability rotations.
- 4.Level 20: upgrade team-fight control or select stronger late-game mobility.
Alternative: Hoardapult setup for greater mobility, escape potential, and unusual engage angles.
Best For: Waveclear, mercenary camps, chaotic objective fights, and terrain-based disruption.
Rehgar
HealerChain Heal Utility
- 1.Levels 1-7: improve healing efficiency, Lightning Shield utility, and mana management.
- 2.Level 10: Ancestral Healing for powerful single-target burst protection.
- 3.Levels 13-16: increase healing throughput and team utility.
- 4.Level 20: strengthen Ancestral Healing or take a powerful late-game utility option.
Alternative: Bloodlust composition for teams built around sustained basic attacks and aggressive team-fight tempo.
Best For: Flexible healing, camps, waveclear, saves, and aggressive rotations.
Anduin
HealerLightbomb Protection
- 1.Levels 1-7: improve Flash Heal consistency and basic ability utility.
- 2.Level 10: Lightbomb when the team has a reliable diver or initiator.
- 3.Levels 13-16: add stronger healing, crowd control, or protection.
- 4.Level 20: upgrade the chosen Heroic or improve late-game saving power.
Alternative: Holy Word: Salvation against compositions that struggle to interrupt the channel.
Best For: Saving overextended allies, follow-up crowd control, and stable sustained healing.
Medivh
SupportPortal and Protection
- 1.Levels 1-7: reinforce Arcane Rift value, Force of Will, and Portal utility.
- 2.Level 10: Ley Line Seal for coordinated setup and objective control.
- 3.Levels 13-16: improve protection and repeated spell rotations.
- 4.Level 20: upgrade the Heroic or increase team-wide Portal and protection value.
Alternative: Poly Bomb against grouped teams where repeated polymorph effects can disrupt enemy positioning.
Best For: Coordinated teams, dive protection, scouting, rotations, and creating unusual engage paths.
Valla
Ranged AssassinHungering Arrow Burst
- 1.Levels 1-7: invest in Hungering Arrow damage and repeated ability use.
- 2.Level 10: Rain of Vengeance for reliable crowd-control follow-up.
- 3.Levels 13-16: add survivability and stronger burst windows.
- 4.Level 20: select additional range, Heroic power, or sustained damage.
Alternative: Basic Attack build for longer fights where Valla can safely maintain Hatred and continuously attack.
Best For: High sustained damage, burst windows, objective fights, and flexible team compositions.
Jaina
Ranged AssassinFrost Burst
- 1.Levels 1-7: improve Frostbolt, Chill uptime, mana efficiency, and spell consistency.
- 2.Level 10: Summon Water Elemental for dependable damage and Chill application.
- 3.Levels 13-16: increase burst damage and exploit chilled targets.
- 4.Level 20: upgrade the Heroic or add powerful late-game spell utility.
Alternative: Ring of Frost for teams with reliable setup that can trap multiple enemies inside the delayed area.
Best For: Burst damage, waveclear, follow-up crowd control, and punishing grouped enemies.
Tychus
Ranged AssassinMinigun Tank Shredder
- 1.Levels 1-7: improve Minigun uptime, mobility, and basic attack pressure.
- 2.Level 10: Commandeer Odin for range, area damage, and safer objective fighting.
- 3.Levels 13-16: strengthen survivability and percentage-damage pressure.
- 4.Level 20: improve Odin or select additional late-game combat utility.
Alternative: Grenade-focused setup for additional range and finishing pressure against less durable targets.
Best For: Destroying high-health Tanks and Bruisers while maintaining strong close-range damage.
Zeratul
Melee AssassinMobility Burst
- 1.Levels 1-7: strengthen mobility, Singularity Spike, or Cleave depending on the chosen damage pattern.
- 2.Level 10: Might of the Nerazim for flexible ability resets and burst combos.
- 3.Levels 13-16: increase Blink mobility and assassination potential.
- 4.Level 20: amplify the Heroic or unlock stronger late-game combo pressure.
Alternative: Void Prison for coordinated teams that can use the time stop to isolate enemies or set up area damage.
Best For: Flanking, late-game assassination, mobility, and high-skill team-fight control.
Maiev
Melee AssassinTether and Fan of Knives
- 1.Levels 1-7: improve Fan of Knives resets, Spirit of Vengeance utility, and Umbral Bind pressure.
- 2.Level 10: Warden's Cage for powerful area control and coordinated engagements.
- 3.Levels 13-16: reinforce survivability and multi-target damage.
- 4.Level 20: upgrade team-fight control or improve repeated ability usage.
Alternative: Containment Disc for isolating one dangerous enemy from a fight.
Best For: Punishing grouped enemies, initiating fights, and enabling allied area-of-effect damage.
Heroes of the Storm Beginner Guide
Learn the shared-experience system, lanes, battleground objectives, mercenary camps, talents, and basic team-fight rules before entering competitive matches.
Heroes of the Storm is a team-focused MOBA built around shared levels and battleground-specific objectives. There is no traditional item shop: power comes from team experience, talent choices, objective control, and coordinated fights.
Choose a Simple Hero and Learn Your Role
Start with a straightforward hero so you can focus on positioning and the map. Johanna or Muradin are accessible Tanks, Li Li and Anduin offer beginner-friendly healing, while Raynor and Jaina provide clear Ranged Assassin fundamentals.
Priority: Understand whether your job is frontline protection, healing, lane control, sustained damage, burst damage, or map pressure.
Mistake to Avoid: Do not choose a difficult hero only for damage potential before learning positioning and battleground objectives.
Soak Experience From Minion Waves
Team levels are shared. Stay close enough to dying enemy minions to collect experience and rotate between empty lanes when possible. Maintaining experience income can create an important talent advantage before an objective.
Priority: Keep lanes covered without abandoning upcoming objectives.
Mistake to Avoid: Do not spend the early game chasing kills while multiple minion waves die unattended.
Learn the Talent Level Timings
Heroes normally choose talents at levels 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 20. Level 10 unlocks Heroic abilities and is one of the most important power spikes in a match.
Priority: Check both teams' levels before starting a major fight.
Mistake to Avoid: Avoid forcing an even-number fight when the enemy has reached a major talent tier and your team has not.
Prepare for Battleground Objectives
Each battleground has its own central mechanic, such as collecting tributes, controlling shrines, defending Immortals, gathering seeds, or capturing other objective areas. Objectives frequently create the strongest opportunities to damage enemy structures.
Priority: Watch the objective timer and rotate before it activates.
Mistake to Avoid: Do not arrive late after the enemy has already established vision, positioning, and control.
Use Mercenary Camps at the Right Time
Mercenary camps create additional lane pressure after being captured. A camp taken shortly before an objective can force the enemy to choose between defending structures and joining the team fight.
Priority: Capture camps when lanes are safe and the objective timing supports the push.
Mistake to Avoid: Do not start a slow camp when your team urgently needs you at an active objective.
Fight With Your Team
Most late-game fights are decided by positioning and coordinated focus rather than individual duels. Tanks initiate or peel, damage dealers attack from safe positions, and Healers protect allies while avoiding enemy crowd control.
Priority: Stay within useful range of teammates and follow crowd-control targets.
Mistake to Avoid: Do not chase one low-health enemy deep into unexplored territory while the rest of the fight continues behind you.
Protect Structures and Use Safe Recovery
Forts, Keeps, and the Core define your defensive lines. Healing Fountains provide local recovery, while Hearthstone returns your hero to the Hall of Storms when a full reset is needed.
Priority: Reset before important fights when health or mana is too low to contribute.
Mistake to Avoid: Do not remain on the map with almost no resources just because an objective is approaching.
Turn Advantages Into Structures
Kills are valuable mainly because they create time to take objectives, camps, Forts, Keeps, or the Core. After winning a fight, immediately identify the safest objective or structure your team can secure.
Priority: Convert every numbers advantage into permanent map progress.
Mistake to Avoid: Do not waste a full enemy death timer wandering between lanes without taking anything.
Heroes of the Storm Heroes
Browse the complete roster by role and quickly compare each hero's playstyle, strengths, difficulty, and purpose in a team.
Heroes of the Storm divides its roster into Tanks, Bruisers, Healers, Supports, Melee Assassins, and Ranged Assassins. Use these role groups to find heroes that match the type of positioning, damage, utility, or frontline responsibility you prefer.
Tank
13 HeroesAnub'arak
MediumMobile engage Tank with burrow initiation and spell protection.
Initiates fights and disrupts enemy backlines.
Arthas
MediumSlow-moving frontline Tank built around persistent slows and roots.
Controls space and punishes enemies that remain in melee range.
Blaze
MediumDurable area-control Tank with strong waveclear and self-sustain.
Controls lanes and creates safe zones during team fights.
Cho
MediumTwo-player body controlled together with Gall.
Acts as a massive shared frontline and damage platform for Gall.
Diablo
MediumAggressive Tank that uses terrain to amplify engages.
Isolates targets and creates explosive pick opportunities.
E.T.C.
EasyMobile initiation Tank with reliable knockback and stun tools.
Starts fights and protects allies from diving enemies.
Garrosh
MediumShort-range Tank that repositions heroes with throws.
Throws exposed enemies into his team and disrupts enemy positioning.
Johanna
EasyHighly durable Tank with blinds, pulls, and strong waveclear.
Provides a dependable frontline and controls grouped enemies.
Mal'Ganis
MediumSustain-oriented Tank using sleeps and repeated melee disruption.
Disrupts clustered enemies and survives extended engagements.
Mei
MediumControl Tank using slows, blinds, displacement, and defensive tools.
Controls chokepoints and separates enemies during objective fights.
Muradin
EasyMobile all-purpose Tank with ranged stun and strong regeneration.
Engages isolated targets and repeatedly pressures the frontline.
Stitches
MediumPick-focused Tank centered on long-range Hook catches.
Pulls vulnerable enemies out of position before fights begin.
Tyrael
HardMobile utility Tank with shields and aggressive dive support.
Enables aggressive teammates and creates protected initiation windows.
Bruiser
17 HeroesArtanis
MediumBasic-attack Bruiser with shields and position-swapping engages.
Pressures frontline targets and pulls enemies into dangerous positions.
Chen
HardMobile diving Bruiser using Brew and defensive channeling.
Occupies enemy backliners and absorbs attention during fights.
D.Va
MediumDisruptive Bruiser that alternates between Mech and Pilot forms.
Controls space with Defense Matrix and Self-Destruct pressure.
Deathwing
MediumPermanent Unstoppable dragon with powerful area damage.
Creates large danger zones while operating independently of allied healing.
Dehaka
MediumGlobal Bruiser with strong sustain and single-target disruption.
Soaks lanes and joins fights through bushes at critical moments.
Gazlowe
MediumArea-control Bruiser using turrets, bombs, and melee pressure.
Controls objectives and punishes enemies that fight inside prepared areas.
Hogger
HardFast, terrain-dependent Bruiser built around Rage and Hogg Wild.
Clears lanes quickly and disrupts fights with unpredictable movement.
Imperius
MediumBurst-oriented Bruiser with strong initiation and percentage damage.
Locks down priority targets and threatens high-health enemies.
Leoric
EasySustained Bruiser with percentage damage and unusual death mechanics.
Controls the solo lane and pressures durable frontliners.
Malthael
MediumMobile percentage-damage Bruiser designed for extended melee fights.
Wears down high-health enemies and finishes weakened targets.
Ragnaros
MediumWaveclear Bruiser with powerful structure-defense mechanics.
Controls lanes and delays enemy pushes with Molten Core.
Rexxar
HardRanged Bruiser who controls Misha as a separate frontline unit.
Uses Misha to contest objectives while attacking safely from range.
Sonya
EasyAggressive self-sustaining Bruiser using Fury instead of Mana.
Maintains lane pressure and dives into prolonged fights.
Thrall
MediumBurst-capable Bruiser with ranged poke and strong self-healing.
Follows allied crowd control and threatens priority targets.
Varian
EasyFlexible Bruiser whose talents can emphasize damage, defense, or utility.
Adapts his build to the team's frontline and damage requirements.
Xul
EasyLane-control Bruiser with skeleton summons and strong waveclear.
Clears multiple lanes efficiently and roots targets for allied follow-up.
Yrel
HardDurable mobile Bruiser whose abilities become stronger when charged.
Controls space and disrupts enemy positioning without easily dying.
Healer
16 HeroesAlexstrasza
MediumArea healer who periodically transforms into a powerful dragon.
Sustains grouped allies and dominates key fights during Dragonqueen.
Ana
HardLong-range skill-shot healer with anti-healing utility.
Supports allies from distance and disables important enemy targets.
Anduin
EasyTraditional ranged healer with emergency ally rescue.
Keeps allies stable and rescues teammates with Leap of Faith.
Auriel
MediumResource-based healer who converts allied damage into healing energy.
Pairs with strong damage dealers to generate repeated healing.
Brightwing
MediumGlobal healer with passive area healing and Polymorph.
Supports distant lanes and shuts down dangerous divers.
Deckard
MediumArea-control healer who places potions for allies.
Prepares objectives with healing potions and controls enemy movement.
Kharazim
MediumMobile melee healer capable of significant offensive pressure.
Supports aggressive compositions and follows divers into the enemy backline.
Li Li
EasySimple mobile healer with automatic targeting and blinds.
Provides steady healing while disrupting basic-attack heroes.
Lt. Morales
EasySingle-target healer with extremely strong sustained healing.
Keeps one priority ally alive while remaining safely behind the team.
Lúcio
MediumHighly mobile area healer who switches between healing and speed.
Improves team rotations and protects grouped allies during extended fights.
Malfurion
HardSustained healer combining Regrowth with offensive ability hits.
Maintains healing over time while controlling enemy movement.
Rehgar
MediumAggressive healer with strong utility, camps, and emergency healing.
Supports rotations and saves priority allies with Ancestral Healing.
Stukov
MediumArea healer with powerful silence and displacement tools.
Controls chokepoints while spreading healing across the team.
Tyrande
HardOffensive healer using basic attacks and crowd-control follow-up.
Amplifies allied kill attempts and follows existing crowd control.
Uther
EasyBurst-protection healer who grants Armor through healing.
Protects allies against sudden damage and adds frontline crowd control.
Whitemane
HardHigh-intensity healer who converts offensive spell pressure into healing.
Maintains allies through dangerous fights by balancing Zeal and spell damage.
Support
4 HeroesAbathur
HardGlobal macro Support who assists allies remotely through Symbiote.
Supports fights from anywhere while maintaining pressure across the map.
Medivh
HardUtility Support built around protection, Portals, and scouting.
Prevents burst damage and enables unique team rotations and engages.
The Lost Vikings
HardThree separately controlled heroes focused on map-wide experience and objectives.
Creates experience advantages by controlling several areas simultaneously.
Zarya
MediumShield-based Support who converts absorbed damage into Energy.
Protects aggressive teammates and becomes more threatening as shields absorb damage.
Melee Assassin
10 HeroesAlarak
HardCombo-based assassin whose damage scales through Sadism.
Pulls enemies into lethal combos and punishes positioning mistakes.
The Butcher
MediumCharge-based melee assassin who scales by collecting Fresh Meat.
Locks onto vulnerable targets and becomes stronger after completing his meat quest.
Illidan
HardHighly mobile basic-attack assassin with constant cooldown reduction.
Sticks to isolated targets and thrives when enemy crowd control is limited.
Kerrigan
HardBurst melee assassin built around a pull-and-stun combo.
Initiates lethal ability combinations against clustered or exposed targets.
Maiev
HardTeam-fight assassin specializing in grouped enemy control.
Groups enemies together and creates openings for allied area damage.
Murky
MediumUnusual macro assassin with a short respawn tied to his Egg.
Creates constant side-lane pressure and annoys enemies with repeated respawns.
Qhira
MediumMobile melee assassin with bleed damage and grappling movement.
Dives priority enemies and sustains herself through extended skirmishes.
Samuro
HardIllusion-based assassin focused on deception and map pressure.
Confuses enemies, controls lanes, and creates pressure through clones.
Valeera
HardStealth assassin with multiple openers and strong single-target control.
Ambushes isolated enemies and disables dangerous ability users.
Zeratul
HardStealth assassin with extreme mobility and late-game burst.
Flanks backliners and creates decisive late-game engagements.
Ranged Assassin
30 HeroesAzmodan
EasyLong-range siege mage who scales Globe of Annihilation.
Pressures structures and delivers heavy damage from long range.
Cassia
MediumShort-range ranged assassin with strong physical protection while moving.
Fights aggressively near the frontline while maintaining movement.
Chromie
MediumLong-range artillery mage with delayed high-damage skill shots.
Pokes enemies before engagements and controls narrow objective areas.
Falstad
MediumMobile ranged assassin with global Flight and flexible damage builds.
Maintains side-lane pressure and joins fights quickly with Flight.
Fenix
EasySustained ranged attacker with regenerating Shields and weapon modes.
Provides consistent ranged damage without relying heavily on healer resources.
Gall
MediumRanged spellcaster permanently sharing Cho's body.
Supplies damage and utility while Cho controls their shared movement.
Genji
HardHighly mobile assassin designed to finish weakened enemies.
Dives low-health backliners and escapes after securing kills.
Greymane
HardHybrid ranged and melee assassin with extremely high damage potential.
Pokes safely before transforming to finish vulnerable targets.
Gul'dan
MediumSustained spellcaster who exchanges health for Mana.
Applies continuous spell pressure during prolonged fights.
Hanzo
HardLong-range marksman with terrain-based skill shots and vision.
Damages enemies safely and initiates fights with powerful Heroic abilities.
Jaina
EasyBurst mage who slows enemies through Chill.
Follows crowd control with concentrated spell damage.
Junkrat
MediumLong-range disruption specialist using grenades, mines, and traps.
Controls chokepoints and disrupts enemy positioning from safe range.
Kael'thas
MediumArea-damage mage centered on Living Bomb and empowered spells.
Punishes grouped enemies and follows allied crowd control.
Kel'Thuzad
HardCombo mage with chains, roots, and high burst potential.
Chains enemies into precise spell combinations for kills.
Li-Ming
MediumLong-range burst mage whose cooldowns reset after enemy Hero takedowns.
Finishes weakened enemies and snowballs fights through ability resets.
Lunara
MediumMobile sustained-damage assassin using Nature's Toxin.
Spreads poison across several targets while remaining difficult to catch.
Mephisto
MediumCooldown-focused mage built for repeated area damage.
Deals heavy damage when multiple enemy heroes remain grouped.
Nazeebo
EasyScaling summoner mage with strong lane and late-game pressure.
Builds power through lane stacks and becomes threatening in long matches.
Nova
MediumStealth sniper focused on ranged burst against isolated targets.
Punishes vulnerable heroes and provides pressure from unexpected angles.
Orphea
HardMobile combo mage whose attacks provide self-healing.
Weaves abilities and attacks together while dancing around team fights.
Probius
HardTerritory-control specialist who builds Pylons and Warp Rifts.
Prepares defensive zones and forces enemies to fight through controlled territory.
Raynor
EasyStraightforward marksman with strong sustained basic attacks.
Provides reliable ranged damage while maintaining safe positioning.
Sgt. Hammer
MediumLong-range siege specialist who can enter stationary Siege Mode.
Forces enemies to engage into her team's protected firing position.
Sylvanas
MediumMobile ranged assassin with strong structure and team-fight utility.
Enables pushes and contributes strong damage and disruption in fights.
Tassadar
MediumLong-range spell damage hero centered on Psionic Storm and Shock Ray.
Controls lanes and delivers sustained spell pressure from behind the frontline.
Tracer
HardExtremely mobile basic-attack assassin who fires while moving.
Harasses backliners and chases weakened targets without stopping to attack.
Tychus
MediumShort-range marksman specializing in percentage-based damage.
Melts high-health frontliners with Minigun.
Valla
MediumFlexible high-damage marksman with ability and basic-attack builds.
Acts as a primary damage carry when protected by her frontline.
Zagara
EasySummoner-style ranged assassin specializing in lane and map pressure.
Controls lanes with summons and uses Creep to provide vision and mobility.
Zul'jin
MediumScaling basic-attack carry who becomes stronger through repeated attacks on heroes.
Builds attack power over the match and becomes a major late-game damage threat.
Heroes of the Storm Maps and Battlegrounds
Learn the objectives, lane structures, mercenary camps, and strategic priorities of major Heroes of the Storm battlegrounds.
Battleground objectives are a defining part of Heroes of the Storm. Teams that control lanes, arrive at objectives on time, and use mercenary camps efficiently can create major advantages even without relying only on hero kills.
Cursed Hollow
3 LanesObjective: Tributes periodically appear around the battleground. Collecting three Tributes curses the enemy team, reducing their minions to 1 health and preventing enemy Forts and Keeps from attacking.
Mercenary Camps: Siege and Boss camps provide additional pressure between Tribute phases.
Priority: Soak all three lanes before objectives, rotate early toward distant Tribute spawns, and avoid giving the enemy a free third Tribute. Boss pressure becomes especially valuable while the enemy team is cursed.
Dragon Shire
3 LanesObjective: Teams capture the top and bottom Shrines. Controlling both allows a player to channel the central Dragon Knight and use it to push structures.
Mercenary Camps: Mercenary camps can create side-lane pressure and force opponents away from Shrines.
Priority: Maintain strong top and bottom lane control instead of sending everyone mid. Secure both Shrines before committing someone to the Dragon Knight channel.
Garden of Terror
3 LanesObjective: Teams contest Seed objectives. Winning the objective sends Garden Terrors down the lanes to attack enemy structures.
Mercenary Camps: Multiple camps can be timed with Garden Terrors to increase pressure across the map.
Priority: Clear enemy Garden Terrors quickly while supporting your own pushes. Time camps before an objective victory so the enemy must defend several lanes simultaneously.
Infernal Shrines
3 LanesObjective: Teams fight over a Shrine and defeat Shrine Guardians. The first team to defeat 40 Guardians summons a Punisher that attacks the corresponding lane.
Mercenary Camps: Impaler and Fallen Shaman camps create useful lane pressure before Shrine fights.
Priority: Draft heroes with strong area damage and Shrine clearing. When pushing with a Punisher, be ready for its leap onto enemy heroes and use that engagement window to damage structures.
Battlefield of Eternity
2 LanesObjective: Two Immortals battle in the center. Each team attacks the enemy Immortal while defending its own. The winning Immortal pushes a lane with a shield based on its remaining health.
Mercenary Camps: Camps provide lane pressure while teams contest the Immortals.
Priority: Balance Immortal damage with defense. Heroes with strong sustained or percentage-based PvE damage can secure the race quickly, while defenders should disrupt enemy damage dealers.
Towers of Doom
3 LanesObjective: Altars periodically activate. Channeling an Altar causes each Bell Tower controlled by your team to fire at the enemy Core. The Core cannot be attacked directly.
Mercenary Camps: Sapper camps can damage enemy Bell Towers and contribute directly to Core pressure when escorted successfully.
Priority: Control Bell Towers before Altar phases and protect Sappers when practical. Because the Core is only damaged through map mechanics, objective control remains important throughout the match.
Sky Temple
3 LanesObjective: Temples periodically activate. Standing on an uncontested Temple causes it to fire powerful shots at enemy structures while Guardians spawn to challenge control.
Mercenary Camps: Siege, Bruiser, and Boss camps can pressure lanes while Temples are active.
Priority: Do not automatically contest every Temple. If the enemy controls one side of the map, pushing another lane or capturing a different Temple can produce a better structure trade.
Tomb of the Spider Queen
3 LanesObjective: Enemy minions drop Gems. Players collect them and turn them in at the Spider Altars. Reaching the required total summons Webweavers that push all three lanes.
Mercenary Camps: Camps can reinforce Webweaver pushes or force defenders away from Gem turn-in locations.
Priority: Protect teammates carrying large numbers of Gems and deny enemy turn-ins. Because the lanes are close together, fast rotations and coordinated ganks are especially effective.
Volskaya Foundry
3 LanesObjective: Teams contest Control Points that charge while occupied. Capturing the objective grants a Triglav Protector piloted by two players.
Mercenary Camps: Support and Turret camps provide deployable items that are valuable during objective fights and pushes.
Priority: Collect and preserve Turrets and Healing Pulses before major fights. Coordinate both Protector seats so its abilities are used efficiently during structure pushes.
Heroes of the Storm Ranked Guide
Prepare for Storm League with practical drafting, team composition, battleground, and climbing fundamentals.
Ranked matches reward players who can fill important roles, understand battleground objectives, and draft around both teams instead of relying on a single favorite hero. A stable hero pool and consistent decision-making are more valuable than constantly changing strategies.
Build a Small Ranked Hero Pool
Learn several heroes well enough to handle bans, enemy counters, and different battlegrounds.
- Keep dependable options for Tank, Healer, damage, and solo-lane or Bruiser duties.
- Focus on a small number of heroes you can execute consistently instead of trying to master the entire roster.
- Include at least one safe general-purpose pick for situations where your team composition is not yet clear.
Cover the Essential Team Roles
A standard composition usually needs reliable frontline control, healing, wave clear, and enough damage to finish targets.
- A Tank normally provides initiation, peeling, and crowd control.
- A Healer provides sustain and defensive support.
- Bruisers and solo laners handle side-lane experience and create frontline pressure.
- Ranged and Melee Assassins supply damage, wave clear, burst, or specialized utility.
Draft for the Battleground
Battleground mechanics should influence which heroes your team prioritizes.
- Infernal Shrines rewards strong area damage and fast objective clearing.
- Battlefield of Eternity rewards strong Immortal damage and effective defense.
- Tomb of the Spider Queen strongly rewards wave clear, rotations, and safe Gem management.
- Large battlegrounds make global mobility and efficient lane coverage more valuable.
Use Bans to Remove High-Impact Picks
Bans should target heroes that are especially strong for the battleground, dangerous against your planned composition, or highly valuable to the opposing team.
- Consider the map before using a generic ban.
- Remove heroes that would directly punish your intended draft.
- When the enemy has already revealed part of its composition, use later bans to restrict obvious synergies.
Watch the Enemy Draft for Counters
Every new enemy pick provides information about range, crowd control, mobility, sustain, and damage patterns.
- Avoid stacking fragile heroes into heavy dive and burst.
- Add reliable crowd control when the enemy relies on mobile heroes.
- Use sustained damage or percentage-based damage against durable frontlines.
- Consider Cleanse-style protection and defensive tools when the enemy composition depends on crowd-control chains.
Prioritize Experience Before Objectives
Missing large amounts of lane experience can leave your team a talent tier behind during the next major fight.
- Cover empty lanes whenever it can be done safely.
- Avoid unnecessary early fights that cause your team to lose multiple minion waves.
- Talent advantages at levels 10, 16, and 20 can dramatically change whether a fight is favorable.
Fight With a Clear Advantage
Good ranked teams avoid forcing equal or unfavorable fights when they can gain a better position first.
- Check talent tiers before committing.
- Track whether teammates are alive and close enough to participate.
- Use mercenary pressure to force opponents to choose between defending and contesting an objective.
- After winning a fight, convert the advantage into structures, Bosses, camps, or objectives.
Review Decisions Instead of Only Results
Consistent improvement comes from identifying repeatable mistakes rather than judging a match only by victory or defeat.
- Review deaths caused by poor positioning or fighting while outnumbered.
- Check whether important talent tiers were respected.
- Look for missed lane experience and poorly timed mercenary camps.
- Keep the heroes and strategies that consistently produce good results.
Heroes of the Storm Counters and Matchups
Use range, crowd control, mobility, sustain, and damage type to identify safer draft responses to common enemy compositions.
Heroes of the Storm matchups are rarely decided by a single one-to-one counter. The strongest draft responses usually attack a composition's main weakness while still giving your own team enough frontline, healing, wave clear, and objective power.
High-Mobility Dive
Example Threats: Genji, Tracer, Illidan
Recommended Responses: Uther, Brightwing, Varian, Diablo
Why It Works: Reliable point-and-click or fast crowd control makes mobile heroes easier to lock down before they can disengage.
Draft Priority: Add dependable crowd control and protection for your backline instead of relying only on skill-shot damage.
Heavy Frontline and High Health
Example Threats: Cho'gall, Diablo, Stitches, Deathwing
Recommended Responses: Tychus, Malthael, Leoric
Why It Works: These heroes have tools that remain effective against large health pools, including percentage-based damage or sustained anti-tank pressure.
Draft Priority: Choose damage that can threaten durable targets without requiring the entire team to overextend.
Sustained Healing Composition
Example Threats: High-sustain teams built around repeated healing and long fights
Recommended Responses: Ana, Deckard, Varian
Why It Works: Healing reduction effects can reduce the value of sustained healing and make focused targets easier to finish.
Draft Priority: Coordinate burst damage with healing reduction instead of spreading damage across several targets.
Dive Onto the Backline
Example Threats: Kerrigan, Anub'arak, Illidan
Recommended Responses: Johanna, Uther, Brightwing, Garrosh
Why It Works: Peel, stuns, displacement, armor, and defensive support can prevent divers from quickly eliminating fragile damage dealers.
Draft Priority: Protect the team's primary damage source and save defensive crowd control for the enemy engage.
Long-Range Poke
Example Threats: Chromie, Hanzo, Li-Ming
Recommended Responses: Anub'arak, Genji, Zeratul
Why It Works: Gap closers and dive pressure can punish heroes that depend on maintaining long distance from the fight.
Draft Priority: Avoid slowly trading health at maximum range. Look for coordinated engages or flanks that force the poke heroes to reposition.
Melee-Heavy Composition
Example Threats: Multiple Bruisers and Melee Assassins
Recommended Responses: Jaina, Kael'thas, Blaze, Johanna
Why It Works: Area damage and crowd control become more valuable when multiple enemies need to fight inside the same limited space.
Draft Priority: Fight around choke points and objectives where enemy melee heroes are forced to group together.
Summons and Strong PvE Pressure
Example Threats: Azmodan, Zagara, Nazeebo
Recommended Responses: Johanna, Ragnaros, Xul
Why It Works: Strong wave clear prevents summon-heavy compositions from gaining free structure damage and reduces their map pressure.
Draft Priority: Maintain lane control and clear summoned units quickly before committing to distant fights.
Global Split Pressure
Example Threats: Dehaka, Falstad, Brightwing
Recommended Responses: Falstad, Dehaka, strong wave-clear heroes
Why It Works: Matching global mobility or rapidly clearing lanes prevents the enemy from repeatedly creating temporary numerical advantages.
Draft Priority: Track global cooldowns and avoid overcommitting while an enemy global hero is missing from the map.
Crowd-Control Chain
Example Threats: Diablo, Tyrande, Kerrigan, Malfurion
Recommended Responses: Uther, Rehgar, Brightwing and heroes with defensive mobility
Why It Works: Cleanse-style effects, armor, mobility, and immediate defensive support can interrupt the enemy's attempt to eliminate one target during a control chain.
Draft Priority: Avoid isolated positioning and preserve defensive abilities for the enemy's primary engage.
Basic-Attack Focused Damage
Example Threats: Valla, Raynor, Zul'jin
Recommended Responses: Johanna, Cassia, Li Li
Why It Works: Blinds and defensive mitigation reduce the effectiveness of compositions that depend heavily on repeated basic attacks.
Draft Priority: Time Blind effects during the enemy's strongest attack-speed or damage windows.
Heroes of the Storm Patch Notes and Updates
Follow the types of official changes that affect heroes, talents, battlegrounds, bugs, and current strategies.
Heroes of the Storm updates can change hero power levels, talent choices, interactions, and battleground behavior. Balance adjustments should be checked when evaluating builds, counters, and tier rankings because even small numerical changes can alter important matchups.
Hero Balance Changes
Balance patches adjust hero health, damage, cooldowns, mana costs, ability values, and other combat statistics.
These changes can move heroes up or down in practical strength, especially when several abilities are adjusted together. Players should re-evaluate frequently picked Tanks, Healers, Bruisers, and Assassins after significant numerical changes.
Talent Adjustments
Official updates may buff, nerf, redesign, or replace individual talents.
Talent changes can make an established build stronger, weaker, or obsolete. When a key talent is modified, compare its value with alternatives at the same talent tier rather than automatically following an older build.
Hero Reworks
Larger updates can substantially change a hero's abilities, talents, or intended playstyle.
A rework can alter how a hero lanes, deals damage, supports teammates, or fits into drafts. Players returning after a long break should review affected heroes before using an older talent setup.
Battleground and Objective Changes
Updates may change battleground mechanics, objective values, mercenary behavior, timings, or other map-specific systems.
Map changes can influence rotations, objective priorities, camp timing, and which heroes perform best on a battleground. Objective-focused maps are especially sensitive to changes in timing or reward strength.
Bug Fixes
Patches regularly address incorrect ability interactions, talent behavior, visual problems, battleground issues, and other gameplay bugs.
Bug fixes can matter competitively when they affect damage calculations, crowd control, targeting, movement, or interactions between specific heroes.
User Interface and Quality-of-Life Changes
Updates can include interface fixes, tooltip corrections, collection changes, and other usability improvements.
These changes usually have less direct impact on tier rankings but can improve clarity around abilities, talents, queues, collections, and match information.
Maintenance Mode
Blizzard moved Heroes of the Storm into long-term maintenance mode in 2022 while continuing to support the game.
Seasonal rolls and hero rotations continue, while the game receives maintenance-focused support such as balance adjustments, bug fixes, and technical updates rather than the previous cadence of major new content.
How Updates Affect Builds and Tier Lists
The most important patch-note sections for competitive players are hero statistics, talent changes, bug fixes, and battleground adjustments.
When an update changes a hero's damage, survivability, key cooldowns, or core talents, re-check that hero's preferred build and common matchups. Changes affecting multiple popular heroes can also shift draft priorities across Storm League.