Heroes of the Storm Forums

DISCLAIMER: I am not claiming to be an expert or even an experienced player. I never played League of Legends or DOTA and had no interest in MOBAs until Heroes of the Storm. As such, I've been slowly trying to learn a bit of the terminology (such as "laning," "ranged carry," etc). I still don't know most of it, I'm sure, so I may not use it in discussion or may ask for clarification when I see others use it.

When I first started with Heroes of the Storm, I was determined to play Nova (whom I've learned is what is called a "ranged carry" unit, though I have no idea what that means). I've loved Starcraft Ghosts since Starcraft: Brood War and really enjoyed the idea of stealthing around the field and sniping enemy heroes. I've learned a lot about positioning, timing and talenting to maximize her effectiveness. However, I was eventually drawn back to my usual role - the tank/warrior.

With that said, I've always had a soft spot for Dwarves across multiple worlds (Dungeons and Dragons, Tolkien, Dragon Age, etc). I enjoyed Muradin as a character in Warcraft III and the Mountain King was my favorite hero before I started playing Undead. Now I see him in Heroes of the Storm and I've decided to try and learn to play him effectively. This, of course, means I must learn the ins-and-outs of being a warrior in this game and just what that involves.

This thread will basically just be home for my thoughts on the hero, his abilities, talents, mechanics, timing, strengths, weaknesses and various ideas I have from time-to-time. I'm, of course, open to discussion (hence why I'm making a thread) but I'm not interested in hearing things like "Stitches is better." I'm not playing Heroes of the Storm to play the best tier heroes so I can win every game, I'm playing to have a good time and enjoy playing the hero I want to play. I'll post more in a bit.

Role

Muradin is a Melee Warrior in Heroes of the Storm. I've found that this skills allow him to control the field of battle pretty regularly but he can easily run out of mana if you're wasteful. I've also found that he can fill both the tank and the bruiser role effectively, but not really both at once.

I personally think it's important to consider your team, the opposing team and the map before deciding which direction you wish to take Muradin in. If Muradin is the only warrior on your team, it's probably wiser to talent him toward increased tanking and resiliency since your team is going to be relying on you to initiate and be a mainstay at objective points while the more fragile members of your team deal the damage. If Muradin isn't playing the tank, a few options on how to maximize his damage become available and his play style can change pretty dramatically as well. I'll discuss a bit of my own perceptions and opinions below:

Tank

If Muradin is being fielded as the tank of the group, then focusing on his defensive talents will allow him to stand on the field and be a thorn in his opponents' sides for far longer. It does diminish his overall damage output, but if you're worried about your damage while tanking for the group, you're already losing sight of your purpose.

While filling this role, I find it is best to think of Muradin's skills less as extra damage and more as utility on the field. Timing your Thunderclap so it slows an enemy while your teammates get into position to destroy them, or hitting an area to decloak an enemy or even simply to draw attention to yourself (yes, it works) are all effective ways to use Thunderclap as a tank. Stormbolt is best used to stun the group's current target or to stop an enemy pursing one of your weakened allies. Dwarf Toss can be used to block an enemy against a wall or in a closed path, intercede against an opponent's skillshot or leap over obstacles to quickly get involved in a fight.

Finally, I suggest using Avatar while filling in as the tank because of the increased hitpoints, resiliency and stunning that all help to stall for time or hold down an objective for even longer.

Conversely, using Haymaker to knock an enemy away from an objective point or toward your allies to be destroyed can be effective, but I find that Avatar will benefit the role of tank a little better.

Bruiser

In the role of Bruiser, Muradin can direct his talents toward dealing damage but sacrifices a bit of his resiliency. You basically have two paths to take in this role: Stormbolt or Thunderclap. Along with that decision comes the decision of whether or not to empower your basic attacks (through various talents) or focus exclusively on maximizing your abilities.

I find that Stormbolt is probably the better path to choose if your team is largely composed of single-target assassins (Nova, Zeratul) and Thunderclap works better in groups that are usually traveling together and engaging in group battles. Unlike the tank role, in the Bruiser role, you definitely want to use your abilities when they're most going to maximize your damage output. Save Stormbolt for fleeing enemies, use Thunderclap to slow your target and deal solid damage between your Stormbolt.

Unless focusing on stuns and auto-attacks, I find Haymaker to be the better option of Hero Ability for the bruiser role. Not only does it do impressive damage, but it allows you to control where the enemy can engage you at. Using Dwarf Toss to land on the other side of an adversary and Haymaker them back toward your party or towers can make a quick end of an enemy. You can also use Haymaker to interrupt channeled attacks.

In either role, one of the best things you can do for your team is "body block." Muradin is a Dwarf but he's not small. By using Dwarf Toss to jump past enemies or into tight choke points, Muradin can keep an enemy from fleeing while they are focused down by your damage dealing adversaries. If you're body blocking a moving target, I find that using a very small zig-zag movement pattern works pretty well and you can sneak in the occasional auto-attack while waiting for Thunderclap and/or Stormbolt to come off of cooldown.

What do you think is the best team comp for Muradin?

I'm not sure I'm qualified to state was the "best" team comp for Muradin is, as I'm sure there are countless players here with more experience and skill than I.

One comp I've been working on, which seems to work relatively well:

Zoning and Control
Muradin - Primary Tank, talent Thunderstrike and Haymaker for this comp to assist with zoning
Sgt. Hammer - Works well with Muradin, great zoning and can capitalize on Muradin's control
Tyrael - Off-tank, talent for Judgment (Judgment isolates the primary target which makes Muradin's Thunderclap extremely devastating and helps bring down the primary target very quickly).
Uther - Strong single target heals which will keep Muradin and/or Tyrael in the fight longer and his stuns can chain well with Muradin's for prolonged control
Tychus - His grenade adds further zoning to the team and his DPS makes up for the overall lack of DPS in the team

I've got a few others I'm toying with, but the general premise is what sets Muradin apart from other tanks is his ability to disengage, heal rapidly and re-engage in a very short time span. So building a team around the concept of allowing Muradin to do that will ultimately prove effective, particularly in objective based play like Cursed Hollow, Dragon Shrine and (to a lesser degree) Haunted Mines.

If Muradin goes for Avatar instead of Haymaker, focusing on control and area damage would work as Muradin can lock down a single target or group of targets thanks to Stormbolt/Thunderclap and allow area DPS to capitalize on it. That comp may look something more like this:

Muradin - Primary tank, talent for Avatar, Dwarf Toss
Malfurion - Solid heal to keep Muradin in the fight, AoE control and damage
Jaina - AoE damage plus consistent control
Nazeebo - Talent Ravenous Spirit, capitalize on the control and area damage for team fights
Sonya - Off-tank/bruiser - Whirlwind and Leap for added control and area damage

You could sub out Jaina for Tassadar for increased shielding and still have solid area damage. This idea is less developed, but something I'm working on as well.

I've not been playing this long, recently tho I've almost got Muradin to lvl10. Not sure what it is that has drawn me to his play style. I find him great fun to play and really useful in a variety of situations! ^^