Heroes of the Storm Kael New Patch Builds

Heroes of the Storm Kael New Patch Builds by Zanthyst

About me: This will be my first guide. If you liked it please let me know what you think. I put alot of work into it and did alot of testing tonight. Also any feedback or thoughts would be appreciated and Im happy to try out other spec ideas and include them if they perform well. Average player not amazing not terrible around 2400 mmr (plat), tend to hover in ranking between 7 and 3. I have played Kael, ALOT. I have him it lvl 18 and am about a game or two away from 19. I love his play but hate how he’s a one trick pony in that he needs late game.

About the balancing pass: They’ve done alot to fix this though and have given him quite a few viable specs it seems like. On PTR its hard to tell what kind of numbers he’s putting out since matches are so short on new map but I tend to hover in the 40 to 50k range and am almost always top dmg. On initial impressions it seems like most of the spec variety is still going to be in the 13 to 16 range but there’s alot more options. That being said theres actually alot more choice in early talents too but build defining things are 13 and 16.

Spec Options

Chain Bomb Options

• 1: Mana Addict , or Fel Infusion based on enemy comp and map
• 4: Netherwinds is great. You could use envenom too I guess for if someone gets a little too close to eek out that extra dmg. I think netherwinds would be better though.
• 7: Fission bomb (new increased aoe range insanely helpful with build)
• 10: Either ultimate is fine I find pheonix easier to manage pyro got nice buff though
• 13: Chain Bomb – Bread and butter with increased radius on explosion applies like crazy
• 16: Backdraft gives CRAZY control, extra kills for team and extra survival for you! Arcane barrier if against stealthies or if you find they are tunneling on you this will wreck their day. Got buffed to double length and scales insanely with mana addict.
• 20: Bolt if you have been getting focused, Arcane power or ultimate evolution otherwise your choice. I find arcane power as it restores some mana and gives you a nice boost.

Pros: Lots of dmg, hard to avoid spread with fission buff. Provides tons of control with backdraft or tons of survival with mana addict / arcane barrier. Tornado moves insanely fast and goes a really really long ways.

Cons: You have to be more up close and personal with your playing which can result in riskier game play at 13 than a flame thrower route. With the big buff to tornado that’s not as a big a deal as you can see threats coming and deal with them easily though. At 16 you get a massive survival boost which almost negates cons and another at 20 if you choose.

Pyromaniac Build:

• Lvl1: Mana Addict (Must have) if you’re facing a team where you think you’ll need fel infusion go chain bomb
• Lvl 4: Your call you’ll be using tons and tons of mana so mana tap can be good. Nether wind offers more control and is great too.
• Lvl 7: Fission Bomb seems optimal but Tri-Optimal may be good too with all the tornados. Mana tap required if you go this route.
• Lvl 10: Pheonix is what you need. You’ll be rapidly casting alot of stuff. Going pyroblast slows you down too much.
• Lvl 13: Pyromaniac – Bread and butter of build provides you with 2 seconds off ALL basic ability cooldowns (does not affect trait). Keep living bomb up on as many targets as possible and spam empowered flame strikes. Only tornado to survive or secure kill on fleeing enemy.
• Lvl 16: If you find yourself having difficulty surviving then go arcane barrier otherwise go Fury of the Sunwell. Having double flame strikes for every cast is amazing when you have very very small cooldown on your flame strike.
• Lvl 20: If you’re having surivival problems then go bolt. Otherwise go rebirth. Arcane power gives you back some mana and a nice boost so that’s a good way to go too. Rebirth provides the extra pressure and utility you need through zoning and sieging.

Pros: Provides very fast game play with lots of pressure. High risk high reward style requires you to be up in face casting almost constantly. High skill cap spec.

Cons: Very easy to get ganked with this spec but with very fast cooldowns you just have to stand your ground when it happens. Running is pretty much pointless burn that mother to the ground.

Flame Thrower Builds:

• Lvl1: Fel Infusion or Mana Addict are both okay, only take fel infusion if you see a dive or stealthy comp that’s going to target you. You can use convection If you’re really confident in your mana control and are very aware of objective timers or have a Malf.
• Lvl4: Mana tap if you dont take mana addict, Netherwinds otherwise.
• Lvl7: Tri-Optimal is great if you took nether winds. Triple empowered full range tornado followed up by almost immediate super powered double flame strike later is quite good. Fission bomb is fairly useless for this as you won’t be going that close. You can take it if your team is really struggling in early team fights, but sunfire enchantment might be a better choice. This is because late game if you get dived it allows quick on demand extra burst by upping your auto dmg from 191 dmg to 445 dmg at 20.
• LVL 10: Pheonix on zoning maps, Pyroblast on maps with nice nooks and crannies to cast from. You will be at long range on this spec and the increased range on pyroblast works well with flame thrower range surprisingly. Pyroblast is easiest to work out though if you take nether winds for that awesome max range stun into ult combo. Also don’t take pyroblast unless they have at least 2 squishy dps and wait until they use their blink or vault so you don’t miss.
• Lvl 13: Flame thrower – Range = safety = constant bombardment
• Lvl 16: Fury of the Sunwell – Surprisingly the extra cast of flamestrike is pretty solid. They both do a full 780 dmg at lvl 20 which is 1560 dmg total if both hit. Not bad and not too far short of ignite.
• Lvl 20: Bolt if facing a dive team or your having trouble surviving, Arcane power otherwise. That extra power on pyro if you go that way is amazing and makes it hit like a mac truck (1840 dmg). Otherwise that extra ability power on your flame strike brings you up to 897 per strikke for a total of 1794 off of just a single flame strike. Overpower has a 60 second cooldown so relatively short and provides some nice burst increase.

Pros: Plays very similar to old Kael style, pretty safe, high dmg sustain as an artillery style character.

Cons: Susceptible to dive with less surival options than other specs.

First ptr game with flame thrower spec. Opted for fel infusion and pheonix for infernal shrines map. Mana tap made for great sustain with fel infusion: http://i.imgur.com/YQMYqpj.jpg