by JR Cook - 7 years ago     show comments

Anub’arak once rose from the dead to rule over Azjol-Nerub and the Icy Depths beneath the Crusader’s Coliseum. Now he has risen once again and this time he has claimed the Nexus as his kingdom.

Since being reworked in the Probius patch, Anub’arak has gone from being an occasional anti-mage counter to the strongest Warrior in the game. While he may not be picked as often as some other Warriors, he currently boasts the highest win rate of any Hero, Warrior or otherwise, on HOTSLogs.

Anub’arak still does well against spell damage heavy compositions, but he is no longer limited to that role. He is a capable tank regardless of the enemy comp and he can be an effective bruiser as well. Anub’arak has everything in his kit that you would want from a Warrior. He has solid self-sustain, good tools to engage, and two different ways to Stun enemy Heroes.

Basic Abilities

Impale (Q): Shoot a line of spikes that damages and stuns enemies.

Harden Carapace (W): Gain a shield.

Burrow Charge (E): Burrow underground and charge to a location, dealing damage and stunning enemies upon surfacing.

Scarab Host (D): Spawn a Beetle whenever an Ability is cast.

Anub’arak has a very well-rounded kit. Impale provides solid poke and interrupt potential. Harden Carapace, combined with 20 Spell Armor, makes Anub’arak a resilient tank. Burrow Charge can either be used to initiate an engagement or to provide a timely escape. The Stuns provided by Impale and Burrow Charge give Anub’arak playmaking potential and his ability to shrug off damage thanks to Spell Armor and Harden Carapace make him a disruptive force.

Heroic Abilities

Locust Swarm (R1): Damages nearby enemies while healing Anub’arak

Cocoon (R2): Wraps target enemy in a cocoon

Anub’arak has the choice between solid self-sustain and crowd control with his Heroics. Locust Swarm provides consistent self-healing while dealing moderate damage to enemies around him. Cocoon gives him the ability to completely remove an enemy from the fight for up to 8 seconds.

The Build

Anub’arak is a versatile Hero and his rework has provided him with several interesting talent choices. For this particular build, we are going to focus on what is often referred to as the Beetle Build. Anub’arak has great burst damage mitigation thanks to 20 Spell Armor and Harden Carapace, but he can be worn down with consistent, sustained damage. The Beetle Build aims to counter that weakness.

This build is ideal for new players wishing to learn Anub’arak and for Quick Match where you may not have a healer on your team.

Level 1: Resilient Scarabs – Beetles have 50 Spell Armor.

Anub’arak has three strong options at Level 1, any of which can be a viable choice in the right situation. Nerubian Armor is a great talent, but for the Beetle build, I prefer Resilient Scarabs. This talent keeps your Beetles alive longer, which means more damage, more healing, and more ground clutter to disrupt enemy skill shots.

Level 4: Legion of Beetles – Automatically spawn Beetles every 8 seconds.

Another Talent Tier loaded with great options. However, for the Beetle build the choice is obvious: Legion of Beetles. More Beetles means more of the benefits that Beetles provide. It is worth noting that this Beetle spawn can be toggled on and off by hitting the 1 key. This can be especially useful if you are hiding in a bush to set up a gank and don’t want a spawning Beetle to give away your location.

Level 7: Leeching Scarabs – Beetles gain bonus attack damage and heal Anub’arak.

All those Beetles that are continually spawning now do 20% more damage and heal Anub’arak for 50% of the damage they do. This consistent healing, combined with the other damage mitigation tools at his disposal, makes Anub’arak a great dueler capable of winning most 1v1 matchups.

Level 10: Locust Swarm – Deal damage in an area around yourself and heal for each enemy damaged.

As if Anub’arak didn’t already have enough survivability this talent makes him an absolute monster in team fights. Given the abundance of melee Heroes in the current Meta you can usually count on having multiple enemy Heroes within range of this ability. More Heroes, more value.

Level 13: Acid Drenched Mandibles – Increase Basic Attack damage to slowed, rooted, or stunned Heroes.

This Talent has built in value since two of your three abilities provide stuns and/or slows. Factor in the other crowd control abilities that your team is likely to have and this Talent just gets better.

Level 16: Beetle, Juiced – Every 3rd Basic Attack against Heroes spawns a Beetle.

Epicenter is a great talent, but for new players, it loses some of its value as they are often better served to save Burrow Charge for an escape tool. As your skills improve you may start to use Burrow Charge more aggressively, but until then Beetle, Juiced is the safe pick. More Beetles means more Beetle value.

Level 20: Hive Master – Gain a permanent healing Locust.

More AOE damage and more self-healing.

Part of what makes Anub’arak such an appealing Hero is that he has a fairly low skill floor and a fairly high skill ceiling. This means he is easy to learn but has enough depth and talent diversity to allow more skilled players the chance to shine.

The Beetle Build is a solid all around build and a great starting point for new Anub’arak players. As you gain more comfort with the Hero don’t be afraid to experiment with different talent choices or situation picks. Not only is this more enjoyable than simply following a guide each and every game, it is also how you get better.

Anub’arak is a very fun Hero to play and if you haven’t tried him, now is a perfect time.