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Rehgar Build: Ride the Lightning

by - 8 years ago

Rehgar recently saw a huge upgrade and a spike in win rate. He has always been one of my favorite supports to play and to see him rocket back into relevance is exciting for me. I want to share the build that seems to be the winner at the moment but I will say that you have plenty of options with Rehgar right now and I dont see many dead talent choices in his kit. If you want to read up on the basics of Rehgar you can check out his hero page here

Basic Abilities 

Rehgar’s trait is Ghost Wolf(Z) which allows Rehgar to turn into a wolf instead of mounting. While he moves 10% slower than mounted characters he does not break form when struck. This allows Rehgar some great mobility for escapes and chase downs. Rehgar also gains 100% extra damage to his next basic attack while he is in wolf form but attacking will break the form. Make sure to use this when getting camps or for some extra damage when dueling other heroes.

Chain Heal(Q) is a heal that bounces to two more targets after the first target. The first heal is stronger and the second and third heals are 1/2 of the initial. Pretty straight forward ability just make sure you target the person who needs it most. You can also use Chain Heal to keep mercenaries alive while pushing a lane.

Lightning Shield(W) is Rehgar’s strongest basic ability in my opinion. Lightning Shield does a decent amount of damage that scales well with levels. I love to use this skill on Rehgar when dueling because of the damage that can be put out from this skill. Rehgar should use this shield on a melee engage during team fights to help them pile on extra damage. Since the recent patch Lightning Shield can be buffed with multiple talents so it packs a huge punch.

Earthbind Totem(E) is a nice skill because of the big slow and moderate cooldown. Earthbind Totem is used to muck up team fights and slow people trying to run away from death. When used during team fights it can really mess up the enemies movements which can lead to mistakes. Make sure to drop it in the middle of the enemy team a bit after the fight has started. Another obvious use is to slow people down that are either chasing or trying to escape.

Heroic Abilities

Bloodlust(R) is a decent ultimate when used in the right team composition. The time for Bloodlust is in a group dedicated to auto attack builds with possibly another support backing up the heals. Never take this ability if you don’t have a team plan based around it as it often has a very small payoff.

Ancestral Healing(R) is hands down the best single target heal in the game. For most characters it is a full bar of health which can be huge during a team fight. There is a slight delay on the cast so be sure to anticipate when the heal is needed instead of desperately hoping it will get off in time. If a hero dies before the cast animation finishes then Ancestral Healing will go on a 8 second cooldown and often times the team fight will have a very different outcome.

The Build

Level 1

Electric Charge – This gives Rehgar a bigger radius on his Lightning Shield which will be the focus of this build. A bigger radius mean more damage output and better wave clear in the early game so it works great for what you will be trying to accomplish with Rehgar.

Level 4

Stormcaller – This almost halves the cost of Lightning Shield and gives an extra 2 seconds on it duration. This is just a value pick because it means almost twice as many shields with a longer up time.

Level 7

Blood and Thunder – This skill is one of the reasons Rehgar has gotten a bit more aggressive lately. Lunging at your target for that extra basic damage while in Ghost Wolf form will now also reduce the cooldown on all of your basic abilities by 2 seconds. This skill is very useful but not a must have so if you are in a position where your team will need Cleanse or Farsight do that instead,

Level 10

Ancestral Healing – see heroic abilities section

Level 13

Earth Shield – Since you’re using the shield so much this gives it a damage soak that will further increase Rehgar’s effectiveness as the support. The shield that is provided is equal to 15% of the targets maximum health so the shield you place on Muradin will be much larger than the one you give to Li-Ming. For the most part you will want your shield on a front line target that is engaging unless your trying to save someone.

Level 16

Rising Storm – This ability makes Lightning Shields damage absolutely insane. The damage on Lightning Shield ticks off fairly quick and when the shielded ally is in the thick of things it can bounce up to a 200% damage increase very quickly. Enemies will need to account for the damage output of Rehgar’s shields when he hits 16 and takes this talent.

Level 20

Storm Shield – Pretty much the go to support level 20 choice these days. A big shield that hits all of your allies during an engage near the end of the game can be the difference between a win and a loss especially if you get 20 before the enemy and goat them into a fight.

The Strategy

Not of lot explanation is needed for support. Just be there for team fights and support your team with your abilities. Rehgar is a fast moving hero with great abilities so neither should be a problem. Rehgar has burst heals so be sure to make use of them on targets that get chunked for a lot of damage. Putting Lightning Shield on the correct target during big team fights will be important. If you find yourself alone and need to zone your enemies away from your structures or want to safely clear waves casting a Earthbind Totem in the proper position then putting a Lightning Shield on it can give Rehgar some form of ranged damage so he doesn’t need to stick his neck out.

It should be noted that Rehgar is good at taking mercenary camps by himself. Just put a lightning shield on Rehgar then pop in and out of wolf form for extra damage. Not many supports can clear camps by themselves so be sure to take advantage of Rehgar’s ability to do so.

Positioning is the most important aspect of being a healer. If you find yourself ahead of your team mates then often times you are probably out of position. Rehgar is a very mobile champion and over extending might not always be your death but it’s still a bad idea.  When team fights happen you want to think of yourself as the end of the radius circle around your team. Moving forward and backwards with the group so you can still affect the game with your support while watching the situation is positioning 101. There will be times to split off or jump on targets but only do this if you cannot save someone who needs it or the fight is already won. Putting yourself in the right position and using your abilities on the correct targets will allow your team to do their jobs.

I hope you enjoyed this guide and look for more from me in the future.


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.


0 responses to “Rehgar Build: Ride the Lightning”

  1. Saxifrage says:

    The bonus to basic attacks in Wolf form has been nerfed to 75%. The patch also reduced the lightning shield damage, meaning that this build is now even closer to other builds in terms of efficiency – potentially even behind but this is something we will see over the next few days.