by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

Muradin is presently a 2,000 gold coin ($3.49 USD) dwarf that whoops ass and takes names. He can be built a few different ways, and thus far I’ve been pretty huge on utilizing him as an initiating stun machine that can take a bruising. While Heroes is in alpha and all of this can totally change, here are my recommendations for building a defensive minded bruiser for Versus play.

Talent Recommendations:

• Level One: Path of the Warrior – While not the most glamorous option, Muradin gains 25 additional health per level. As Muradin should be the focal point of most team fights in the mid to late game, he’ll need all the durability he can get.
• Level Four: Landing Momentum – After using Dwarf Toss, Muradin gains a 20% movement speed buff for  two seconds. While it’s tempting to take the additional snare for Thunderclap in Thunderburn, Thunderburn requires a foe to sit in place for two seconds. That’s great on paper, but rarely seems to pan out, at least not without considerable assistance. Landing Momentum gives Muradin more mobility and can allow him to get in front of an opposing hero and body block them. It can also prove useful if Muradin needs to get away from a  fight quickly.
• Level Seven: Stormbolt – While Block can reduce the damage on up to two basic hero attacks (before needing to gain more charges) Stormbolt provides Muradin’s Stormhammer with 100% more stunning ability. Stormhammer gains a piercing feature and can stun a second foe. Once Muradin initiates, he’ll be on top of multiple targets and can look to keep more desirable targets (Kerrigan, Zeratul, other Assassins) pinned down for quick destruction.
• Level Ten: Avatar – Avatar is one of the two heroic talent options presented to Muradin, and I’m a big fan. Upon activation, Muradin gains 500 health and his auto attacks stun targets. This is 100% what the aim of the build is, survive and stun. He hits reasonably hard too, which is a nice perk. Haymaker is not an awful choice, but the skill throws enemies away from the fight, something we’re not looking to do in this particular setup.
• Level 13: Dwarf Launch – Dwarf Toss will be Muradin’s primary method of initiating fights, making Dwarf Launch a fantastic choice. The talent increases both the range and impact radius on Dwarf Toss by 50%. This talent in conjunction with Landing Momentum will also help Muradin get out of a bind.
• Level 16: Heavy Impact – This talent is where everything comes together. Heavy Impact creates a stun effect that lasts .75 seconds after Muradin lands from his Dwarf Toss. You’ll be able to start a fight by jumping in, stunning and slowing with Thunderclap. This should give your team the upper hand in a fight.
• Level 20: Resurgence of the Storm or Unstoppable Force – If the match goes this late, you’ll have to make a judgment call between Resurgence of the Storm and Unstoppable Force. Resurgence of the Storm resurrects a fallen hero after five seconds (with a 120 second cooldown) at the Altar. This is obviously huge when you’re in a situation where a single lost teamfight can end the match. Unstoppable Force increases the duration of Avatar by 30% and reduces crowd control spell duration by 75% on Muradin. He becomes nightmarish to deal with. I prefer this talent because it’s more offensive and shows that you’re in it to win it, but I’ve had situations crop up where I’ve relied on Resurgence of the Storm to pick me back up after I fall.

What Muradin lacks in height he makes up for being horrifying.

Overall Strategy

It’s difficult to create a comprehensive strategy given that there are currently four different maps in Heroes of the Storm. That said, there are some basic ideas to remember as this build goes. Muradin becomes awful to deal with later in the match, but initially he can very easily fall to two opposing heroes if he does not flee. Try and look for opportunities to land Stormhammer. If you do land it and have backup, go in on your target and Thunderclap. Having slowed your opponent, either go for the kill (if not too close to towers) or send them scurrying. Upon hitting level four, take advantage of your new mobility (via Landing Momentum) and start looking to pick more dangerous fights. You’ll have the health pool to do so. It’s just a matter of brinksmanship.

From level ten on, look to be the guy who starts all of the fights. Jump into the fray, pop Avatar and try and drain the opposing team of as many spells as possible. There’s a decent chance you’ll die, but your teammates will have the upperhand against enemies with most of their abilities on cooldown. It might be difficult to do, but try and train yourself to not gauge your success by your KDR. Burly Brawler Muradin is a team player who looks to set his allies up for success.