• Home
  • Diablo Build: Choke Slam from Hell

Diablo Build: Choke Slam from Hell

by - 9 years ago

On our most recent episode of the Heroes Powerhour I unveiled my new favorite hero, Diablo. He has quickly jumped to my favorite tank in the game! The reason is so many teams are built around positioning right now and Diablo does a great job at disrupting that. Not to mention his health pool is massive along with okay damage for a tank. If you want to check out the basics on Diablo, or take a look at his skins, head over to the BlizzPro Diablo hero page here.

Diablo’s trait is a passive called Black Soulstone. For every minion that gets killed near Diablo he gains 1 soulstone or 10 per hero kill. For each soul you collect your maximum health is increased by 5. Diablo can collect up to 100 souls. Once at 100 souls if Diablo dies he will lose all 100 but resurrect in 5 seconds. This passive is what makes Diablo such a terror to deal with late game. When he has a solid healer around him he can be a nightmare to deal with and even if he dies odds are he will be up in 5 seconds when most other heroes will have to wait a full minute. Diablo’s Q ability is Shadow Charge. Diablo will charge towards the enemy doing damage and stunning them for .5 of a second. If the target hits an unpathable location, like a wall, they will be stunned for a full second. This ability allows Diablo to chase people down, force the enemy into your team or towers, stun channeled abilities, and can also be used as a desperate escape dash if a enemy minion or mercenary camp is in your escape path. Diablo’s W ability is Fire Stomp. When used Diablo releases a small fire wave in different directions originating from his body. This ability is sort of weak but should still be used for extra damage. I find I get the most out of it if I’m standing right in front of or on top of the target. Diablo’s E is Overpower or as I’m fond of calling it “The Choke Slam.” With Overpower Diablo lifts the target up and and slams them behind himself then stuns them for .25 seconds. This ability has many uses which I will go into more detail later but the main idea is disrupt a single targets position. Diablo’s two choices in Heroic Abilities(R) are Apocalypse and Lightning Breath. Apocalypse summons a demonic rune under all enemy targets and, after a short delay, the rune explodes dealing damage and stunning all targets hit for 2 seconds. This ability has a high skill cap but with some team coordination is amazing. You want to try and use this skill in tight spaces or in coordination with teammates abilities like Void Prison or Grav-o-Bomb 3000. Diablo’s other heroic ability Lightning Breath recently received a buff and is much stronger nowadays. Diablo channels his Lightning Breath for 4 seconds to deal damage in a wide line. The direction that this ability is firing can be changed by moving the mouse cursor. Diablo is also unstoppable once Lightning Breath has started which means he is immune to CC effects and cannot be moved out of his spot until the ability is over. I like the Lightning Breath ability choice unless I have a team that plans on working with me when I use Apocalypse.

The Build

Level 1

Soul Feast – This ability takes advantage of the strong trait Black Soulstone and makes Diablo the full pound of beef he looks like. The regeneration and extra health at 100 souls is pretty insane and allows you to get into your enemy teams space without fear of instant burst death. Also consider Block at this level if the enemy team is running 2 or 3 strong auto attackers. I find block to be more useful against Sgt. Hammer comps if I have a strong healer.

Level 4

Amplified Healing – This talent, in conjunction with Soul Feast, gives Diablo some great regeneration. I take this talent roughly 99% of the time because it adds so much to Diablo’s biggest strength: massive amounts of health. If for some reason I don’t have a dedicated healer on the team I might forgo this talent and roll with Demonic Strength but even then I would probably still want the increase to Diablo’s self regen he gets from Soul Feast.

Level 7

Battle Momentum – This talent is so strong that it’s very hard to pass up. If you take this skill make sure you’re using Diablo’s auto attacks in fights. Despite a slower attack speed Diablo has some great melee damage that scales well. Often times I will find that Battle Momentum allows me the chance to catch a runner with a Choke Slam that I would not have gotten otherwise. The only downside to this ability is that it can start to eat up your mana pool quick but that’s a small price to pay for constant access to your abilities. If you have trouble scoring auto attacks or find yourself in need of a larger health pool with more regeneration you should take Endless Death.

Level 10

Lightning Breath – This ability has strong damage in team fights and can be used to zone the enemy away from objectives. The fact that he becomes unstoppable makes this unique in that you can guarantee kills on low health targets and clean up team fights. The strongest part of the damage comes early on in the breath so make sure to aim it well. Apocalypse is a strong heroic choice if you are very skilled with the ability and have a team that will work with you when you hit the stun.

Level 13

Relentless – I take this ability more often than others just because CC is often present and this helps you avoid getting stun locked. Staying mobile is important for Diablo since your team relies on Diablo’s abilities to put the enemy in a bad position. If for some reason the enemy has no CC I will take Crippling Shadows for the small slow effect on Shadow Charge.

Level 16

Continuous Overpower – On this level I change my choice quite often depending on the enemy team comp. Having two charges of Overpower is very beneficial when it comes to guaranteeing that your target will not be getting away from your team although I feel the benefit is minor when you take Battle Momentum. I will often take Imposing Will if the enemy has two auto attack heroes like Valla, Sgt. Hammer, Illidan, Kerrigan, Thrall, ect. You can also consider Firestorm if you find yourself needing some extra damage because you chose Apocalypse.

Level 20

Bolt of the Storm – I like this talent on Diablo for escape and chasing down runners. Bolt of the Storm is the go to choice on most heroes who have it as an option because of its obvious strengths and low cooldown. Hellstorm can also be chosen if you find that your team needs the extra damage it provides late game but I often find it unnecessary. I will take Storm Shield on occasion to guarantee that my team finished that final push towards the core or if my back line is being targeted by champions who like to dive in. Never take Dying Breath… EVER. Taking skills that have a condition of you dying is just silly. Don’t plan on what you can do when you die but instead plan on what you can do to survive and win.

Strategy

Your job as Diablo is to protect your team and make sure they are in a great position for kills by using Overpower and Shadow Charge. Use Overpower to peel an enemy away from someone who is being focused and your teammates will be grateful. Use Overpower to isolate an enemy so that your team can jump down their throats for an easy kill. Remember one of Diablo’s biggest assets is his giant body which he should use to block the opponents escape path after an Overpower or Shadow Charge. Early game you can punish people during the lane phase who over extend with a Overpower then Shadow Charge combo into your towers. Remember to use Shadow Charge during team fights to interrupt strong abilities from the enemy like Mosh Pit, Ravenous Spirit, Triple Tap, and Strafe. Diablo does really well in tight spaces due to his strong kit and giant body so take advantage of that in maps that have a lot of tight spaces. I feel that Diablo’s strongest map is The Cursed Hollow because his kit really allows him to perform during the team fights that take place in the tight spots around a tribute.

Diablo is quickly becoming my favorite hero because of his strong displacement tools, massive health pool, decent damage, and all around strengths in team fights. As a player you should focus on mastering his main strength which is position awareness and displacement. If your team is smart they will take advantage of your Choke Slam from Hell and make the enemy pay. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this guide. Look for more builds and strategies from me in the future at BlizzPro.


posted in Heroes of the Storm Tags: ,
JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


Comments are closed.