Heroes of the Storm news » Gul'dan Hero Week

"Your soul shall be mine!"

- Gul'dan, Darkness Incarnate

Betrayer of the Orcs. Founder of the Shadow Council. Creator of the Death-Knights. Destroyer of Dreams. Gul’dan – the first Orcish Warlock, has held many titles throughout his storied and… troubled… history. Now transported to the Nexus, we’ll see if he has what it takes to stand against opponents more powerful than he has ever faced and claim his natural title: Darkness Incarnate!

Gul’dan is the newest Assassin to be introduced to the Nexus. With the ability to sacrifice health for a limitless supply of Fel energy, Gul’dan is sure to rain chaos on the Nexus! Read on for more detailed info on some of his talent choices and Hero synergies.

Talent Highlights:

Demonic Circle – Summoning a two-way portal that Gul’dan can instantly teleport to on a one-minute cooldown, Demonic Circle allows Gul’dan to go for those risky all-ins before teleporting back to the safety of his teammates or the healing hands of the Hall of Storms.

Health Funnel – Fully utilizing the Health Funnel talents means that if there are minions nearby, Gul’dan has near infinite sustain. Killing a minion with Drain Life drastically reduces the cooldown of the ability, so with a couple of Life Taps, a couple of Minions, and couple of casts of Drain Life you can fully top off all your resources in a matter of seconds.

Hunger for Power – Life means next to nothing to the Warlock Gul’dan, and that includes his own. With the Hunger for Power talent, Gul’dan trades survivability through an allied healing reduction for a permanent Spell Power buff.

Friends and Foes:

Works well with:

		Who knew that Gul’dan and Malfurion would be best buddies? Malfurion’s high sustain combined with Innervate means that Gul’dan’s machine of using his Health and Mana to fuel abilities becomes much more efficient. These two in a lane together can be terrifying, as Gul’dan can use his abilities much more often without fear of running out of resources.
		Similar to Malfurion, Lt. Morales’s high single-target healing keeps Gul’dan fueled and able to put out a lot of damage over a long period of time with little regard to managing his Mana.
		Gul’dan is a hero that needs a defensive Warrior to help peel for him and keep him safe. Johanna fits the bill with slows, blinds, and enemy displacement. Other strong front-line Warriors such as Muradin, Arthas, and ETC can fit the bill, as long as they don’t leave Gu’ldan vulnerable by diving too far into the enemy team.

Struggles against:

		Anub’arak has everything that Gul’dan hates. Two ways to interrupt Drain Life (three if he talents into Web Wrap), a strong initiation tool to easily reach Gul’dan and put on the pressure, and a ton of spell mitigation.
		Gul’dan struggles against heroes who have strong initiation abilities that can be used to dive past his frontline. Kerrigan can easily get to Gul’dan, which forces him to play a much more conservative game than he would like to. It also doesn’t help that using Drain Life makes him a sitting duck for her devastating combo.
		Chromie excels against heroes who stand still, which Gul’dan is doing every time he casts Drain Life. This pressure makes it hard for Gul’dan to have a sustained presence in team fights. He also does not have any way to reliably reach or punish Chromie, which forces him to depend on his teammates to keep her busy while he dishes out damage.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief journey into darkness, Heroes. For more Heroes of the Storm information be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and be sure to let us know what you think about Gul’dan, Darkness Incarnate, in the comments below!