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Falstad Build:Hammer of the Sky

by - 8 years ago

Falstad is a famous griffin rider from the Warcraft universe. In Heroes of the Storm he brings a strong mobility game along with some great burst damage. It can be very hard to deal with a seasoned Falstad player which makes practicing him well worth the effort. Since he is not a high priority pick he is a nice option to have in case someone else takes the assassin you typically enjoy playing. This is not to suggest that he can’t compete with other assassins for damage he just plays differently than most. If you would like to check out the basics on Falstad they can be found here

Basic Abilities

Flight – (Z) This can make Falstad a nightmare to deal with on large maps. Without having access to a regular mount and Z being on a big cooldown this makes him much like Brightwing or The Lost Vikings. When using flight be sure to consider enemies pathing choices and if you will be putting yourself in a position of danger. Remember it will take some time for takeoff and landing with this and the area you’re flying into could change drastically by the time you land, especially if you’re flying into a team fight.

Tailwind – (Passive Trait) This is one of those traits that just sort of happen but keep in mind that if Falstad takes damage he will lose that 20% bonus and if you are able to move away from combat it will be returned.

Hammerang – (Q) This is Falstad’s bread and butter ability. It’s a tricky skill shot that fires in a straight line that will then boomerang back to you. With good movement or a nice barrel roll Falstad can manipulate the path it will return to him and possibly hit multiple enemies. This skill will receive the most talent upgrades and should be used as often and efficiently as possible to get the most out of this build.

Lightning Rod – (W) – This skill can really put some burst damage or the finishing touches on a target. I find best used as a defensive measure for when enemies try to get close to Falstad. If activating immediately when the enemy starts to walk within its radius it can really make them think twice about try to close the gap any further especially in the early game. It’s also great during the chaos of team fights if you keep your positioning strong.

Barrel Roll – (E) A dash ability that allows you to chase down or escape. I tend to leave it off cooldown for escape but if it will help me chase down and isolate someone fleeing then it is a great offensive tool.

Heroic Abilities

Mighty Gust – (R) This is an interesting ability that can be used to surprise the enemy team with well timed flights behind their position. Pushing an entire team against a wall in conjunction with other AOE or lockdown abilities used by your team can have devastating results. Pairing with Tassadar’s force wall can also be very fun and disruptive for the enemy team. That being said it is a combo heroic that requires some synergy and team coordination and you will most likely pass on this one.

Hinterland Blast – (R) A long range nuke that puts out pretty good damage in a straight line spanning very far across the map. This is one of the better skills in the game for securing kills against fleeing heroes as it will reach them even behind the wall. Its also a fairly wide skill shot so hitting 3-5 enemy heroes is not uncommon with a well placed shot.

The Build

Level 1

Power Throw – This is going to be part of your core build after the level 7 talent pick and early on the extra range and slow helps Falstad maintain superior positioning. The only other real choice at this level that would work with this build is Seasoned Marksman but I still maintain you get more out of Power Throw.

Level 4

Vampiric Assault – Falstad’s health pool is fairly small and his Auto Attack damage gets very high with this build. Those two factors allow him to get more out Vampiric Assault than most other heroes who have it as an option. In this particular build there are not any other choices for a talent at this level.

Level 7

Secret Weapon – This is a huge damage spike to Falstad’s auto attacks as long as the hammer is still traveling on the map. This is why power throw, vampiric assault, and giant killer synergy work in this build. The goal is to catch somebody with a well placed hammer, especially during a chaotic team fight, and focus your auto attacks on one dangerous target. The damage really gets crazy when Giant Killer is accessed at 13.

Level 10

Hinterland Blast – see heroic abilities section

Level 13

Giant Killer – Since this is a ranged auto attack build that makes Giant Killer a no brainer at this level. The damage becomes too strong with this talent and passing on it is not an option.

Level 16

Hammer Time – Adding a small stun to the core ability in your kit is really useful for making sure your focused target dies.  At this point a basic attack while a target hit with the hammer will be slowed then when hit with the first auto attack will have a small stun along with that auto attack being a guaranteed crit with life steal. Late game Falstad’s burst is crazy strong at this point for targets that find themselves hit by a hammer and focused by his auto attacks.

Level 20

Nexus Frenzy – This is just more range and speed on your autos which is always welcome in an Auto Attack build. I take this 99% of the time but if I find I need my flight more often then I have access to it I will take epic mount but that is rare.

The Strategy

Early game you just look for targets to overextend their lane and get hit by your hammer or lightning rod. Falstad’s auto attacks will be very important in this build so be sure to get a feel for the range on them and try to dance in and out of max auto attack range against your targets. Enemies who lane poorly against Falstad will often pay the price with an early death because his damage and zoning are very strong. Once you get to level 7 even heroes who are playing safe can be vulnerable to Falstad’s massive damage when focused by a well timed hammer and a few auto attacks.

Mid and Late is more of the same except you do it in team fights often around objectives. Falstad is a positional hero who really benefits from laying in wait and focusing his burst on an overextended target or cleaning up a favorable team fight where some enemies may have escaped. If you can stay safe, hit your hammers and autos, and finish fleeing enemies of with hinterland blast then you will be in good shape as the assassin of your team. If you like mobility on your assassins and out playing your opponents positional game then Falstad should be a fun and rewarding character for you.

I hope you were able to learn something from this guide and as always if you have questions or feedback you can leave them below. Come back for another guide right here 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.


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