Sgt. Hammer - How to be a Marksman Tank :: Heroes of the Storm discussion on HeroesFire

Sgt. Hammer Guide - How to be a Marksman Tank

UPDATED JULY 24, 2014 (RUNES UPDATE)

About Me

I have a decent MOBA background, starting all the way back in DOTA and now in League of Legends (Lolking link) where I am currently Gold despite doing very little ranked. Despite loving Sgt. Hammer, I mained support Morgana and have been doing so since late season 2. I got my HotS beta invite not too long ago, and made it to level 33 on the current Alpha phase (as of 6/20/2014) with a majority of my games as Sgt. Hammer.

I started with Demon Hunter, to Tassadar, Abathur, and then Sgt. Hammer. I didn't enjoy the others as much as I enjoy the Siege Tank, by far. I wouldn't say I have a -huge- amount of games, I'm currently 2/30 games on my Mount tint progress for Hammer, but I do think I have a fair amount of knowledge as to how to play her. With that being said, let the "go back to League scrub, DoTA 2 master race" comments begin.

Hero Overview

Sgt. Hammer, at least how I build her, makes both a GREAT Assassin and Siege attacker, obviously. The fact that she can do insane damage to heroes, creeps and towers makes her extremely valuable--but keep in mind that she can be extremely squishy and killed easily if not careful.

To play Sgt. Hammer to the max, you need to know how to kite, or using the more popular term Orb Walking. Sgt. Hammer focuses a lot on auto-attacking and distancing, making sure she is at max range to deal the most amount of damage because of her passive. Auto-attack, move. Auto-attack, move. Throw in some spider mines, concussive blasts, thrusters, and your ulti, and you have the Siege Tank.

When playing her, keep in mind that you are most of the time a very weak hero until level 10 when you obtain your ultimate. She is an exceptional mid/late game hero. *Laning with a Rehgar, Malfurion or really any healing support can make you a very strong early laning champ. If you do have a good healer and are able to poke down the lane, siege up as often as you can to damage turrets.

Fighting jungle monsters, you will take a lot of dmg from all mercenary camps solo (*Since the June 25 patch, it is no longer possible to dodge Siege Giant attacks) so I would suggest, at least for Knights, have 1 or 2 of your teammates help you so you can siege up and deal a lot of damage. Siege Giants are still soloable, but since you cannot dodge their attacks anymore you will inevitably take quite a bit of damage. Feel free to go into siege mode for the giants now, since you don't have to dodge.

Abilities Overview

Artillery (Passive) - Attacks do 40% bonus damage to targets over 4.5 distance away. I haven't taken the time to see the exact distance, but you don't need to stress about that. What this means, is you need to keep the maximum distance from your opponents as possible so you can do some insane damage.

Thrusters (Z) - Instead of a mount, Sgt. Hammer gets a 60% speed boost for 4 seconds, every 30 seconds. You really want to be careful using this, as it will almost certainly save your life. Sgt. Hammer has no other escapes, so use this wisely. *This was buffed up from 50 to 60% in the June 25th patch.

Spider Mines (Q) - Spawn 3 mines that deal fair damage and slow by 25% for 1.5 seconds. In a lane, I tend to place these at flanks as soon as possible. They can do an insane amount of damage if all three connect with a hero, so this spell is very much offensive as it is defensive. Kite backwards into your mines if a hero decides to follow you, they will be slowed and take a ton of damage alongside your autoattacks. Placing mines in a bush is smart, because the enemy will not see them until they get close.

Concussive Blast (W) - Deals a fair amount of damage and knocks enemies back. Between this and your Z, you can avoid ganks and heroes that want to get too close. I rarely use this offensively, but there are times that you want to use this as burst damage. For the most part, you want to use this to distance yourself and kite enemies to keep your auto-attacks going and getting the most out of Sgt. Hammer's damage potential.

Siege Mode (E) - Increase basic attack range by 5, sight range by 3, attack damage to minions and structures by 30%. Also gives attacks 25% splash damage. Unless you get the Hover Siege Mode talent, you will not be able to move in this mode. This is what makes Sgt. Hammer extremely unique, it is incredibly strong but can get you killed if you're not careful. When it's safe, you will use this to clear minion waves quickly and push towers. Pre-hover talent, if you notice that the enemies aren't poking you when you siege up waves of minions, feel free to push the wave with siege mode. Place some spider mines around your siege area, so you can escape that much easier. Be prepared to exit Siege Mode and press (Z) to get the hell out of there. Throw a (W) behind you at your pursuers if needed.

Talents

As Sgt. Hammer, I normally take the same talents with very few exceptions. I won't be listing all of the talents, only the ones I deem may viable.

Tier 1 (1)

Advanced Artillery - Increase damage bonus to targets over 4.5 distance away by 10%. I take this 100% of the time, as it meshes best with trying to play her as both an assassin and siege hero. The only other talent in this tier that might be viable would be the cloak, but I still almost never take it.

Tier 2 (4)

Maelstrom Shells - Increases basic attack range by 1. I get this almost every game, as the goal of this build is to stay as far away from your enemies as possible and deal insane damage. Both in and out of Siege Mode benefit from this attack range bonus.

Excessive Force - Doubles the distance that enemies are knocked back. This is an extremely important talent if you are up against a good Zeratul or Illidan. I still rarely get it, as most of the players still don't know how to play melee assassins like Zeratul and Illidan very well yet, but considering talents and spells stay relatively the same, this will be an important talent versus those two melee assassins, and perhaps even other melee characters. The reason for this is that both Zeratul and Illidan have insane gap-closers, so if you use this spell correctly and are able to combine it with your Thrusters, you can avoid death by exceptional assassin players.

Vampiric Assault - Basic attacks heal you for 15% of the damage. I've never got this talent, but it may be useful if you think you are going to be doing merc camps a lot more than team fighting or sieging towers, which I prioritize almost never. But Sgt. Hammer does focus on using only basic attacks, so this isn't a completely useless talent.

Focused Attack - I never get this one either, but it could prove to be a useful talent. However, it still doesn't offer you both the offense/defense that Maelstrom Shells can offer you. I honestly feel that this does not offer that much more of a damage boost, especially if you're not able to distance yourself enough from the enemy to get your passive damage boost, which is a huge deal. Paired with the tier 5 Crucio X-2 Cannon, this may actually prove a worthy talent but you will become even weaker in the early game until you are able to get a few levels.

Tier 3 (7)

Hover Siege Mode - I get this talent 100% of the time. When you're alone sieging up towers, or even with other heroes, you only have so much time before the enemy team collapses on your squishy metal arse. You don't have the time to cancel siege mode, move up in range of another tower, and siege mode again after the cooldown ends. With hover, you can even use this ability in team fights once you get enough range. If you're in a team fight and the enemy team won't go on you, stay behind your team and siege up. With hover, you'll be able to move back and forth if needed, albeit extremely slowly, and catch runners or backpeddle some distance away from any heroes that want to go for you, and hopefully your team is able to peel for you. Normally however in team fights, you do want to be out of siege mode just to be safe.

Hyper-Cooling Engines - Reduces the cooldown of Thrusters by 10. Thrusters are always active at the fountain. I don't like this one, at all, compared to Hover Siege Mode, but it is still one of the better of the other tier talents. If you feel yourself backing a lot and needed to get to lanes fast, or needing to get around the map a lot on maps like Cursed Hollow, this isn't a terrible talent. I still almost all of the time would rather go for the hover.

First-aid - Heals you for 35% of your max health over 4 seconds. If you plan on getting Stoneskin later on, and will have to deal with good assassins such as Zeratul or Illidan that keep jumping on you, this isn't a bad alternative. You will lose a lot of your good sieging power, but it could keep you alive in fights later on in the game when assassins gain their gap-closers. *Since the June 25 patch, this went up from 20 to 35% making it even better vs. assassins.

Tier 4 (10)

Napalm Strike - Deals a ton of damage on impact, and then damage over time on the impact area. Without a doubt the talent you want for every single game. Extremely useful in team fights, or in any fight really, this ability shines the most however versus structures. Between this and your Siege Mode auto-attacks, you can just wreck through anything and anyone. It has a SMALL cooldown and mana cost, so you can keep spamming it on heroes and structures. Use it every single time it's off cooldown.

Blunt Force Gun - Deals insane damage and travels in the direction you send it all the way to the end of the map. While this is a cool looking spell, it pales in comparison to the potential of Napalm Strike in extended fights. With the level 20 talent, it can travel across the map multiple times using only 1 cast which is pretty cool, but it's still nowhere near as useful. I like to get this talent in games that we are just stomping them early and have a huuuuuge level advantage, because it's just a fun spell to screw around with.

Tier 5 (13)

Crucio X-2 Cannon - Increase basic attack range by 2. More attack range allowing you to stay further from turrets and heroes, I get this 90% of the games still. It may not look like much, but this offers just even more safety both in and out of Siege Mode, and safely keep your passive damage boost up. Keep in mind however, that this will take your Siege Mode range higher than the Napalm Strike range, but it is still possible your target with the ulti if you aim short.

Giant Killer - Deal 1.5% of the target hero's max health in damage. Though I rarely stray away from the +2 range, I do get this at times. If there are a lot of tanks on the other team, like an Arthas, Diablo, Stitches team, I don't shy away from this one. Still, it's very rare that I choose this.

First Strike - Basic attacks deal 25% increased damage if not attacked in the last 5 seconds. This is definitely not a bad option, but use your good judgement on this. It's better to be safe and just get the extra attack range, normally, but this is useful if the enemy team is not focusing you or poking you in fights which is quite rare, in which case you might even be winning already anyways. This does increase your damage done to turrets and such, and your goal after all is to not get hit by anyone anyways by keeping your distance. Tl;dr, higher risk-reward, go +2 range if you want to stay safe.

Bullhead Mines - Spider mines now knock back targets a short distance. I rarely ever get this so it's hard to tell its usefulness, but this is an option if you are up against an annoying Zeratul or Illidan that won't stop going on you with their ultimates. However, this won't be a sure way to keep you alive because the both of them have insane gap closers that will allow them to keep going on you. (If Zeratul doesn't go Shadow Assault and you see him casting Void Prisons, there's no need for this talent unless you're having problems with other melees in which case I still wouldn't get this unless it's an Illidan)

Tier 6 (16)

Graduating Range - While in Siege Mode, Sgt. Hammer's range increase by 1 every 3 seconds, capping at a +5 range. This is nice for sieging safely and even staying back in extended team fights if you feel safe. I get this a large majority of the time, but this talent does cause some problems despite keeping you at a safe distance. Until level 20, this will allow you to hit structures from a range MUCH larger than Napalm Strike, decreasing your overall damage unless you move up to Napalm Strike which makes this talent somewhat useless. HOWEVER, once you hit 20 and spec into Napalm, the two of these talents combined are extremely strong and you become a super-tank, sieging from an incredibly large distance. HOWEVER, again, if you did not take the +2 and +1 range talents, you may have less of a problem landing Napalm pre-20.

Executioner - Basic attacks deal 40% more damage to slowed, rooted or stunned targets. Now, this is probably the best talent in the tree but it can be risky if you don't trust your team or don't have any sort of CC on your team. Yes, this does work with your Spider Mines slow, but if there's no other CC being pumped onto the team then this talent won't be able to be used to its full potential. Be aware of your team comp when choosing this talent.

Slowing Mines - Spider mines now slow targets by 50% up from 25%, and the duration lasts 2.5 seconds up from 1.5 seconds. This is actually not a good defensive option, because you already have your knockback and your thrusters. If you feel like you really do need this extra defensive talent, keep in mind that this will most likely not save you from death to an Illidan or Zeratul, who can simply use their gap-closing abilities to get back on you multiple times, completely negating the extra effect of the slow. Tl;dr don't use this if you need help vs. gap closer heroes.

Stoneskin - Activate to gain 30% of your max health as shields for 5 seconds. 60 second cooldown. Chances are, this might not save you from assassins like Zeratul or Illidan, but it could buy you some time if you have a good team that can peel off of you. I normally don't go this option with randoms, but I do use this with a team I'd trust to peel these two annoying assassins off of me. Combined with first-aid, this might even keep you alive in solo matches, but in the end if you have a team that won't peel off of you, you're likely dead to the assassins. So I would still take the alternative talents.

Tier 7 (20)

Advanced Lava Strike - Napalm Strike's range is increased by 75% and the base impact damage deals 50% additional damage. I get this 100% of the time. Combined with my personal choices in talents, this talent finishes off your build and you become a true Marksman Siege tank. No amount of range-increasing talents will beat your Napalm Strike in range now, allowing you to effectively siege structures and even heroes from an insane distance.

Orbital BFG - Blunt Force Gun's missile orbits the map every 5 seconds. You can only have one orbiting the map at a time. If I felt like doing this lolzy ultimate, this is the talent I would choose. It crosses the map basically until you tell it to stop, so it will deal damage in a line to all heroes and structures everytime it passes by. This is what makes the ultimate super fun, it's a shame the ultimate isn't as strong as Napalm Strike because this is certainly fun to use.

Runes

My recommended runes

Skyfire Emerald - Increases basic attack speed by 1-10%. You will see a significant attack speed increase, and here is why I take it. Sgt. Hammer relies heavily on kiting and escaping, so this will allow you to not only get a ton of splash attacks down in siege mode but help heavily when doing normal auto-attacks out of siege mode. With that said, damage runes are still a very good alternative if you'd rather not go attack speed.

Worldstone Shard - Increases damage vs. minions and structures by 1.5%-15%. The other options aren't near as good as this one, this passive is the best you could get as Sgt. Hammer.

Wirt's Leg - Increases base movement speed by 0.5%-5%. This rune is godly on Sgt. Hammer, and the others cannot compare in effectiveness. Though it should be easy to see, this will help you not only get away from heroes but also chase them down, there've been numerous times this has come in handy and I would say this and the attack speed runes are easily the most important.

Matchups

While this is a team game focused on team fighting, it's useful to know your strengths and weaknesses for both laning and even in the team fights.

Arthas

If you Siege Mode near him, he will root you with ease so be careful when pushing or he will lock you down and allow his team to destroy you. His dragon ultimate is also dangerous versus you, because it will slow you down which is exactly what you don't want. Be on your toes if you are fighting against an Arthas.

Brightwing

If you Siege Mode near Brightwing, you'll take a bit of damage due to Arcane Flare, which deals more damage in the center of the attack. It can block your attacks on a single target, up to 2 or 3 times, which is extremely annoying because of your attack speed. Polymorph will also slow you and you won't be able to attack, so you really need to stay away from this support. You shouldn't have too much of a problem staying away however in team fights, because they will want to stay close and heal their own team.

Diablo

Another champion that keeps you on your toes, chances are he is going to choose his global ultimate which will spawn an indicator below your feet that will stun after a few moments. If he casts it while you're in Siege Mode, you won't have a lot of time to move out of it. Diablo has quite a bit of CC, but nothing you can't get away from if his other teammates don't follow up to try and lock you down. He is not really a damage threat so much that he is a CC threat.

Illidan

Quite possibly the MOST ANNOYING F***ING HERO that you will have to go against. If he gets on you, and you are not peeled off of, you are screwed. He has gap closer, after gap closer, after gap closer, he will continue to hold onto your metal arse until you're dead. You -need- to tell your teammates to peel him off of you once he goes on you in a fight, or you are dead. Every. Single. Time. Most likely against you, he will get the ultimate that allows him to, you guessed it, gap close from an insane distance. At level 20, he can cast it globally. Try your best to outplay him, but later on you'll likely be dead by the time you want to get away.

Zeratul

About as annoying as Illidan ONLY if he gets the ultimate that allows him to continually pounce on you again, and again, and again, no matter how hard you try. Ask your team to try and lock him down in fights, even a single CC on him might help allow you to escape. Keep in mind that he has a teleport that can go pretty far, but it's on a long cooldown. It is much easier to outplay a Zeratul than an Illidan.

Kerrigan

Honestly, some might disagree with me, but Kerrigan is not a huge threat. Not as near as big as Zeratul or Illidan. She -is- an assassin, keep in mind, but doesn't have the gap closing potential of the other two melee assassins. After she grabs you, you can easily Concussive Blast and run away with thrusters if needed. It's easy to dodge her grabs and stuns, just be sure to keep your distance from her or you will both deal no damage and slowly die.

Malfurion

Like Arthas, he has a super annoying root that will stop you in your tracks if you Siege Mode in his lane, or really anywhere near him. He doesn't deal a ton of damage, and his heal over times will negate your poke, so he is annoying to play against but not a threat at all if you dodge his stun, which is easy if you're not Sieged up.

Muradin

Not much of a damage threat, but he does have a lot of annoying stuns and slows that will allow his team to kill you if you allow him to stay close by for an extended period of time. He doesn't have any annoying roots, but his stuns could allow for assassins or more CC to follow up. He's extremely simple to get away from using your escape abilities, so he's not a huge threat.

Nazeebo

If you stay Sieged near him, he will trap you in his zombies and you will take a ton of damage, if not die. Other than that, he cannot catch up to you and is fairly simple to kite outside of Siege Mode. Avoid his zombie circle wall, and you'll beat him a majority of the time.

Sonya

She's got quite a few gap closers that can be upgraded, and she's got quite a bit of damage. While she isn't the damage threat equal to an assassin, she will try and stick to you like glue if you're not careful. Be very wary of her gap closing, and outplay her by using your defensives to escape her reach.

Stitches

Another HUGE threat, equal to that of Zeratul and Illidan if not more. If you stand still, notably in Siege Mode in sight of him, he will grab you, maybe eat you and CC you for a few seconds and take massive damage, maybe trap you in a corner where you won't be able to get out of, and his team will kill you. If he does not kill you himself. He will keep you on your toes more-so than even Arthas or Malfurion, because if he hooks you, you are likely dead. If not, do your best to escape and good luck to you buddy; you'll need it.

Tyrande

Be careful of her in all stages of the game. If she catches you in a stun, you'll take a bit of damage. It'll be easy for her stun to land on you if you remain in Siege Mode, she will actively attempt stuns if she sees you. Be careful for her ulti, one of which summons a large circular area of slow and damage, that will be hard to get out of if you're in Siege Mode. Don't underestimate her damage if she follows you, but for the most part if you avoid her CC you might not have many troubles with her.

Valla

Demon Hunter is actually one of your top counters if you play it carefully. Her vault will keep her close in range with you, but don't get fooled. Do not Concussive Blast until she uses her spinning ulti, because she will lose a TON of damage as it will knock her out of the ultimate. If she takes the stun ulti, be aware and on your toes because then, it's highly likely she could snag a kill on you.