Heroes of the Storm news » Dehaka Hero Week

"I am Dehaka, the one who collects."

- Dehaka, Primal Pack Leader

On their home planet of Zerus, all primal zerg know that to survive is to collect essence, consume, and evolve. Among these ruthless predators, there is one in particular who has set himself apart—the creature known as Dehaka. The alpha of Zerus and pack leader among the primal Zerg, Dehaka boasts an unrivaled ability to seek out essence ripe for collection in order to strengthen himself and his pack. His endless quest for new essence has now brought him out of Zerus and into the Nexus!

The newest StarCraft Warrior to join the Heroes of the Storm roster brings a whole pack-load of novel gameplay mechanics with him. In place of a mount, Dehaka is able to travel to any patch of brush on the map with his Brushstalker (Z) ability, making him a constant global presence.

Dehaka’s trait Collect Essence (D), meanwhile, grants a stack of essence any time a Hero or minion dies hear him. He can then consume his saved-up essence to restore health over a few seconds. When used effectively, Dehaka’s essence gathering-and-consuming make him capable of near infinite sustain.

Dehaka’s signature ability, Drag (Q), is a linear skillshot. When fired, Dehaka latches his tongue onto the first enemy hit, allowing the Primal Pack Leader to pull the target around briefly. A solid Drag shot can completely isolate an enemy Hero, pulling them out of position and into the waiting arms of your team.

Staying true to his zerg form, Dehaka’s Burrow (E) ability plunges him into the ground for a short period of time. This allows him to dodge deadly enemy fire, take a breather, and regain some health with Collect Essence. When paired with Dark Swarm (W), Burrow can also be used to deal some easy damage to enemies waiting above.

For Heroic Abilities, Dehaka’s first choice is Isolation (R), a skillshot ability that slows, silences, and greatly reduces the vision of the first enemy hit for a few seconds. Dehaka’s second choice, Adaptation (R), converts all damage taken over a few seconds back into health after a short delay. Dehaka’s playstyle is completely altered depending on which heroic you choose—you can either take the aggressive route with Isolation, or become practically unkillable with Adaptation. With either choice, Dehaka is certainly a primal force to be reckoned with.

Talent Highlights:

Enhanced Agility – Movement speed enhancements work two-fold for Dehaka. Granting increased mobility to compensate for his lack of mount, and giving him a major offensive boost through faster engagement positioning and Drag length. This talent gives Dehaka the boost he needs by increasing his movement speed throughout the course of the game as he collects essence.

Feeding Frenzy – As any enemy of Dehaka will soon learn, getting Dragged can be a real drag. Weaving in auto-attacks on minions and Heroes with this talent can cut the cooldown on this signature ability in half, allowing Dehaka to displace Heroes with terrifying frequency.

Rapid Regeneration – Healing Dehaka while Burrowed, Rapid Regeneration adds another method of self-sustain to Dehaka’s already impressive arsenal. Just when they think they’ve got you, Burrow with the Rapid Regeneration talent brings you right back into the fight.

Apex Predator – Reducing Brushstalker’s cooldown to 10 seconds and halving the cast time, no brush is safe for the enemy team once Dehaka is level 20. Enemies should just assume there’s a Dehaka in every brush, because with this talent, there could be.

Speaking of evolution, Dehaka marks a huge milestone in the growth of Heroes of the Storm, as he’s the 50^th Hero to join the Nexus! We hope you enjoy playing the Primal Pack Leader, and look forward to bringing you many more Heroes in the future!