Well it has been a long time since I have updated this guide. Mostly because there wasnt any changes and the other part is cause I had been playing World of Warcraft exclusively for a couple months. So i wasnt even reading patch notes for HotS.

Gazlowe had some major work done in Patch 24 (March 14, 2017). I'll let you read those changes here since they are two months old. My take is that basically turret builds got nerfed, deth lazor builds got buffed. You now have to choose between turret storage and superior schematics, and schematics no longer has a damage buff. You also now have to choose between EZ-PZ Dimensional Ripper and Goblin Fusion, so you either get crowd control added, or damage, not both. If feel the changes made in this patch have made Gazlowe less viable in ranked play and he wasn't all that viable before.

Make sure to read the sections on playing with gaz on your team and teammate combos.

1. Introduction
2. Ability Discussion
3. Talent Discussion
4. Phase Strategies
5. Map Strategies
6. Mercenary Camps
7. Playing with Gazlowe on Your Team
8. Teammate Combos
9. Update List

To use this guide, you can put your mouse cursor over the icons to read their flavor text.

Gazlowe is one of the game's most underrated heroes. He is constantly placed bottom tier in metas and if you pick Gazlowe you are almost always guaranteed to catch some flack for it. Don't be disheartened, just get better at playing him. This guide should show you how to play well with Gazlowe, as well as how to play better with Gazlowe on your team.

I have over 574 games in with Gazlowe and play him whenever I can, even in Hero League (HL). At the time of this update I have a 55.6% win rate with him in HL and have had as high as 62%. HOTSLOG Profile

Click here for extensive lore on Gazlowe

Pros:

• Siege utility
• Can solo mercenary camps (except boss camps)
• Crowd control
• Zoning
• Turn in map objectives
• Setting up team combos

Cons:

• Survivability
• No escape mechanism
• Control point maps
• Solo fights

Stats:

Health 770 (+170/lvl)

Health Regen 1.6054 (+0.3554/lvl)

Attack Speed 1.25 (per second)

Mana 500 (+10/lvl)

Mana Regen 3.00 (+0.0976/lvl)

Attack Range 1.25

Damage 99 (+9/lvl)

Flavor text is italicized but you can also mouse over the icons.

Trait

Salvager

Destroyed enemy Structures and your Rock-it! Turrets drop Scrap. Collecting Scrap restores 30 Mana and causes your Abilities to recharge three times as fast over 3 seconds. Activate Salvager to dismantle a target Rock-it! Turret and turn it into Scrap.

Q

Rock-It! Turret

- Mana: 60 - ChargeCooldown: 15 seconds. Creates a turret that deals 62 (+4% per level) damage. Lasts for 30 seconds. Stores 2 charges. Turrets can be used to attack enemies as well as used as tanks against minions and mercenaries. They will attack an enemy until that enemy dies, or moves out of range, for which they will then select the next closest target. You can now also focus your turrets manually (See ability below).

1

Focus Turrets!

Mana: 0 - Cooldown: 1 seconds. Orders any nearby Rock-It! Turrets to focus the target. This was previously an added functionality given to the Robo-Goblin heroic. It is nice to see this added as an additional ability so it can be used across all builds. This ability is great for putting pressure on opponents causing them to have to move outside of the turret range. It is also good damaging down units as well. I still, however, would like to see turrets prioritize enemy heroes as a rule. W Deth Lazor Mana: 60 - Cooldown: 12 seconds. Charged attack that deals 137 (+4% per level) damage to enemies in a line. Damage and range increase the longer the Ability is charged, up to 100% after 3 seconds. Deth Lazor can be channeled indefinitely. Charging causes you to become rooted. This is a great tool for zoning and sniping. The zoning potential is from being able to hold the charge and wait for opponents to enter its range. Any opponent who knows this will more than likely choose to stay out of range or wait for teammates to provide backup. E Xplodium Charge Mana: 70 - ChargeCooldown: 12 seconds. Places a bomb that deals 233 (+4% per level) damage to enemies within target area after 2.5 seconds, stunning them for 1.75 seconds. I use this ability primarily for clearing minion waves & merc camps. It works pretty well for zoning heroes as they will more likely choose to move out of the blast radius that be stunned. It combos really well with the grav-o-bomb heroic ability especially if you take the Extra TNT talent (see the video below). Heroic Abilities R Robo-Goblin Permanent - Activate to gain 30 Armor and 30% Movement Speed for 4 seconds. Passive: Basic Attacks deal 100% bonus damage. The text on the patch may be confusing. So what this does it is increases the basic attack damage instead of just to minions, mercs, and structures. This makes this heroic much more viable as previously you didnt get any damage bonus against enemy heroes. However, Gaz is still squishy so trying to go toe-to-toe with enemy heroes is not very recommended unless you have teammates to help you. R Grav-O-Bomb 3000 Mana: 100 - Cooldown: 110 seconds. After a 2 second delay, pull enemies toward the center of an area and deal 251 (+4% per level) damage. I take this heroic more often than Robo-Goblin. Robo-Goblin has certain maps it is very useful in, but this ability is going to be more of a benefit in team fights, especially after taking the Miniature Black Hole talent at level 20. With this you can pull all of the heroes caught in its radius into a nice hit box for your teammates to use their abilities on. (see Teammate Combos section below) 5 Person Xplodium Charge + Grav-O-Bomb 3000 Combos Play Video Play Video

For this section, mouse over the talent icons for a description of that talent.

Never beholden yourself to one particular build, or one particular way of playing a hero. Also be able to be flexible and change based on the map, your team, the opposing team, and how the match is playing out. This is why I changed from having multiple "builds" and discussing those builds to just discussion the pros & cons of the abilities and talents available.

Level 1

(No changes to this level with Patch 17)

Goblin Repairs

This talent will help with survivability meaning you wont have to hearthstone back or hit the fountains as often depending on how much pressure you are getting from the enemy heroes. You shouldn't have much trouble completing the quest during or slightly after the laning phase.

Scrap-O-Matic Smelter

If you are finding yourself getting low on mana a lot, then this talent may benefit you more. By default scrap will refund you half the mana cost of a turret or deth lazor and nearly half of an xplodium charge's cost. When taking this ability your scrap will therefore return the same amount of mana as those abilities cost. This will help make liberal turret placement less costly as long as you pick up the scrap. This talent, I feel, is more useful during the early game phase where you will risk being mana depleted more than later game phases, than it will in later phases. This ability pairs well with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Break it Down!

This talent works especially well when paired with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. That being said, if you arent making sure to pick up scrap, there is less value in this talent than Extra TNT. In weighing it against the bonus damage from Extra TNT, especially when considering the Xplodium + Grav combo discussed in the section above. I use that combo a lot. Your cooldowns arent really that bad to begin with, really, so I'd recommend Extra TNT over this talent. One benefit of this ability is to sit in your base, drop turrets, and detonate them with your trait. You will regen the spent mana fast and decrease the cooldown on grav-o-bomb.

Extra TNT

I take this talent the most often. Right off the bat you get at least 10% extra damage as you should always get at least one enemy of some kind in the target zone. However, this talent really shines when you combine it with Grav-O-Bomb 3000. For instance, if you are in a tight fight, for every hero you catch with Grav, you will get 10% extra damage, to all hit by the xplodium charge. Remember that each minion will count toward the bonus as well. This talent also makes clearing minion waves faster. You should be able to place the charge so that it gets all 7 minions from a wave which in turn makes for 70% increased damage. The talent will also benefit taking mercenary camps, especially bruiser camps (see Mercenary Camp section below).

Level 4

Hired Goons

This is a great talent to take if you are going to primary focus on siege damage. The buff applies to all minions and non-boss mercenaries. Your turrets will also last longer against minions & mercenaries. However, keep in mind the buff only applies to those in your proximity. So if you leave the buff leaves as well.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

While 15% doesnt seem like a lot, you would be surprised on how often minions end up dropping scrap. This talent will have a benefit no matter the situation. The extra scrap also helps speed up your cooldowns. The extra mana and extra cooldown reduction means you will be able to use your abilities more often.

Clockwerk Steam Fists

I feel this talent shines more when you are focusing on siege damage than if you are team fight orientated. having played with this talent a lot, I felt I had difficulty completing the quest unless I was focused more on sieging than team fights. This talent does allow for you to get out quite a few turrets if there are enough targets for you to hit. Keep in mind, hitting walls does apply.

ARK Reactor

While this new talent doesn't boost Gaz very much in the early game, it does give a good benefit of reducing the cool down on Xplodium Charge. After level 10 though, if you take Grav-O-Bomb, this talent comes into play with the Grav + Xplodium combo. I probably pick this talent the least.

Level 7

Rock-It! Turret XL

The problem with this talent is that the additional shots fire in a cone, not in any/all directions. Also, those extra shots only deals 60% (+4%/level) damage so this talent has no value against a single target. However, this talent is still very useful. At this point, I'm not going to say either is best as they both have their pros & cons. You'll definitely want to take this talent on Infernal Shrines though for added damage to the shrine guardians. This talent does help with wave clearing as well. I switch back and forth depending on the map and team composition. Definitely take this talent if you are siege damage orientated.

Engine Gunk

The appeal of this talent is the crowd control (CC). The CC caused by this talent is reapplied every time it hits the target. You can use this talent to help escape by slowing down pursuers, or for slowing down heroes trying to escape. However, there is no benefit toward siege damage. Take this talent if you are team fight orientated, unless the map would call for the other turret based talent.

Hyperfocus Coil

This is a must select for deth lazor builds. I would not select this unless I was making that specific type of build. With Patch 17 having swapped this talent with Goblin Fusion at this tier, the Deth Lazer build becomes a much more viable option.

Level 10

These were already discussed in the abilities discussion section above.

Level 13

EZ-PZ Dimensional Ripper

The CC from this talent is really good, applying it however, can be tricky, but less tricky than in the past with Hyperfocus Coils being able to be taken before this tier. I would only recommend this for a deth lazor build and if your match will benefit more from having crowd control, than additional damage gained from Goblin Fusion.

Goblin Fusion

I would only take this talent in a Deth Lazor build as it requires the hyperfocus coils talent to really shine. Unfortunately with Patch 24, we are now forced to choose between increased damage, or crowd control. So pick either this talent or EZ-PZ Dimensional Ripper based upon the match's needs.

X-Tra Large Bomb

With Patch 24 this has been on of my go-to talents, especially since I don't use the deth lazor build nearly as often. The added functionaility of having a free xplodium charge drop if you are stunned or rooted increases Gaz's survivability more, or punishes those who stay within range. This talent also helps the Xplodium + Grav combo by increasing the xplodium radius by 30% giving you more room to work with.

Level 16

Turret Storage

Having one additional turret is fairly beneficial. You have one more turret to tank for you while taking merc camps, as well as attack the mercs. If you took engine gunk you would have one more turret to apply CC with. And you have one more turret to attack structures with. Giving you extra turrets means more DPS as well as more CC if you take engine gunk.

Superior Schematics

With Patch 24 they replaced the damage buff with an increase in range. Some history on this. They used to have a talent called Long-Ranged Turrets that added 25% increased range, the same as this talent does. However with the removal of that talent, and addition of this one, they added 27% to the base range of your turrets, doing what long-ranged turrets had added. So now your turrets can pew-pew at targets farther away as long as you are near the turret. This can also be reworded to say, you can park your turrets father back from structures.

Kwik Release Charge

This talent will help out immensely in taking out merc camps and in team fights. It combos nicely with grav-o-bomb as you can now through out a charge, throw out grav to land your targets on to that charge, and throw out another charge for successive stuns & damage. You just have to make sure to use throw your 2nd charge as soon as the cooldown is over. It will also help for taking structures out faster too.

Level 20

Mecha-Lord

A nice increase of 100% basic attack damage to the previous 150% buff you got at level 10. You can only take this if you took Robo-goblin, and you should, if you did. It's a no brainer. Just remember, you are still kinda squiushy even with the additional armor. Dont expect to be able to go toe-to-toe with melee warriors without also having some turrets down. That being said, if you have a turret or two down, and can throw some xplodium...then yeah, you stand a chance.

Miniature Black Hole

You can only take this if you took Grav-O-Bomb 3000, and you should, if you did. It's a no brainer. The increased radius makes all the difference, but the 50% additional damage is nice too.

Firin' Mah Lazorz

If you are building the Deth Lazor, this is the top talent for that built. Each of your turrets get a deth lazor of their own. However, they do not get increased damage benefit from Goblin Fusion. This talent can make your Deth Lazor lay out some massive damage. With Patch 24 the laser of the turrets targets your mouse cursor, where previously they only fired in the same direction.

It's Raining Scrap

I am still really unimpressed with this talent, especially at the cost of not taking the other talents which offer so much more increased utility and damage output. It only gives you 150 mana over 5 seconds but requires you to pick up pieces of scrap that fly out in random direction. You can easily be chased away from them if use this talent too close to enemy heroes. The additional cooldown reduction also isn't any more beneficial when you consider what you lose in not picking one of the other talents.

Early Game

Gazlowe's main use during the early phase should be focused on laning and objectives first, merc camps second. If you can get a minion wave to the enemy's gate, drop an xplodium charge so that it covers both the tower and the gate and place turrets down next to the tower. The most effective way to clear minion waves is to drop the center of the xplodium charge on the caster (the ones who drop the orbs). If you take regeneration master, I recommend dropping the charge and then placing a turret right next to the caster so that it is the first minion taken out. This way you can get the globe and fall back behind your minions if a enemy hero threatens you.

You can start taking mercenary camps at level 4, however, you will be out of lane for a significant period of time. If nobody is in that lane, no XP is earned for it. I would only focus on mercenary camps early game if you have someone in all three lanes who are capable of soloing. You dont want to miss out on the xp. Siege camps will be easier to take out lower level than bruiser camps. (See the section below on Mercenary Camps)

Mid Game

Mid game you should be trying to focus more on objectives, and team fights will become more frequent. At this phase you should consider prioritizing grouping with your team over solo laning unless your team is doing well without you. Most of what you should do will depend on the map, opposing team composition, what the enemy team is doing, and what your team needs. You want to stay flexible. If the enemy team is staying grouped, then select Grav-O-Bomb as your heroic and help out in team fights. If you are tasked with sieging and mercenary camps then take Robo-Goblin. Remember though that with Robo-Goblin, you wont get increased damage against heroes until level 20.

For engaging enemies, use your xplodium charge more for zoning as it is easily dodged. Enemy heroes will, more often than not, choose to move out of the blast radius instead of staying to avoid being stunned. This should be helpful in making enemy heroes disengage from any fights they are in with either you or a teammate.

Late Game

Team fights is where you are going to be most of the time. You should be grouped with your team more than not to prevent being ganked. Be mindful of mana and cooldown timers. Only worry about minions if there is a large group of them and even then, team fights and objectives should take priority. Fight as a group. You can take merc camps out, in between team fights.

If you are solo lane, wait closer to mid game to start camps. If you are laning with someone else, in other words if all 3 lanes are covered, then you can start taking merc camps at level 4. Leaving a lane to get a merc camp means you are losing out on potential XP. Prior to level 10, if you are solo in a lane, you should prioritize soaking XP over pushing a lane, if possible.

Mercenary Lord - If you select this talent you will want to make sure you escort your mercenaries, whenever possible, instead of leaving them by themselves. This is because the buff only works while you are near them. If you arent going to stay with the mercenaries you may as well not even take this talent. If you are on maps that have objective events, then dont even bother with this talent as you will get pulled away to participate in the event. In fact, the only maps where I consider taking this talent is on Blackheart's Bay and Infernal Shrines.

Siege Camps

- The easiest and fastest to take. These should be the first camps you take. Place your turrets between the two mercenaries but slightly closer to one. This will make your turrets focus on one mercenary but also tank damage from the other. I start off my tossing an xplodum charge so that it's radius touches both mercenaries. It does not have to be centered or even, just as long as they are both touching the blast radius. I will ten place my first turret, as mentioned previously, and begin autoattacking the mercenary by turret is focused on. When the xplodium charge goes off I will place a 2nd turret next to the first. The 2nd turret should also be closer to the mercenary you are attacking first. You want to focus on one mercenary first and keep focused on it until it is down. Once both mercenaries are down you will need to decide on if you can hit a healing fountain and return to lane (if needed) or if you should hearthstone back and recharge instead. Either way, you will want to minimize your time away from lanes as much as possible. If there are more than one siege camp, take both before bruisers camps.

Bruiser Camps

- These camps are a little harder to take at early levels because there are 4 mercenaries instead of 2. Your turrets get taken out quicker and you will be left without a tank. It is recommended, at early levels, to take these camps with a teammate, especially a tank. You will be able to take these camps early level, but you will more than likely have to hearthstone back to recharge. Ganks from Nova or Zeratul are especially burdensome on these maps since you will end up lower in health during the take down making you for being easily picked off.

Boss Camps

- I used to be able to solo boss camps on Cursed Hollow starting at level 10 by taking the Robo-Goblin heroic, but not so much anymore. Instead of your turrets tanking boss, you will immediately take aggro away from the turrets and the boss will focus on your instead. Place your turrets away from the boss merc as its AoE will destroy them. Best is to place them immediately behind you so that when they do explode, you will automatically pick up the scrap. So never solo a boss camp. Boss mercs are also very powerful and one of the strategies is to deny other team from taking the boss. Your grav-o-bomb does not damage nor stun bosses so dont even use it. Your xplodium charge will damage but not stun the boss. Boss camp take downs should be coordinated with the rest of your team. Also, mercenary lord will not buff bosses. If your team can, on Cursed Hollow, take the boss camp near the opposing team first when you are clear to do so. Best times to take is when the there are 3 or more opposing heroes in in the respawn timer.

Inferal Shrines: Mercenary camps on this map differ from the others. The siege camp has three mercenaries (called Impalers) instead of 2, and the bruiser camp is called Fallen Shaman. There are 5 total camps with 3 impaler camps (one on each side lower middle, one center bottom) and two Fallen Shaman camps (one on each side upper middle). The impaler camps tactic is the same as the previous siege tactic, you will just have one additional merc to have to take out. However, the Fallen Shaman tactic is different. Work it like a siege camp but focus on one of the hours first, then the other, then the shaman.

Towers of Doom: These camps are called Sappers, with three total, and all camps on this map are the same. They are slightly tougher than regular siege camps and operate differently. When released they will attack minions as normal, but when they get near a structure they will go buck wild and sprint to that structure, exploding on impact. Once they are past the tower closest to the core, they will move toward the core and do the same and damage the core directly by turning into projectiles. Mercenary Lord will buff them for minions and structures but not for attacking the core (Im hypothesizing). The top and bottom camps behave differently. The top lane, if both towers are captured by the team releasing them from their camp, they will work toward the core. The bottom two camps are different in that if say the releasing team controls both bottom lane towers, but not the mid lane towers, they will go to the mid lane tower. The boss camp, the headless horseman, is like a normal boss camp but instead of walking off to attack down the lane, he converts to projectiles and damages the core directly.

One of the best maps for Gazlowe is the Infernal Shrines (team fight build). His turrets will tank as well as attack the guardians that spawn. Plush the enemy team usually ends up grouped more often for getting them your grav-o-bomb.

Battle for Eternity: I recommend a team fight orientated build. Grav-O-Bomb will be of a better benefit in this map especially for the objective event or pushing with your immortal. If you are defending your immortal, place a turret or two under him as it will hamper the enemy's ability to target them. You can combo grav-o-bomb with your immortal's abilities by pulling enemies into the AoE if timed right. The CC from engine gunk can help slow enemies from fleeing the AoE of your immortal. You can also do some nice damage to their immortal with TNT & turrets aiding your melee efforts. Dont place your turrets too close to the opposing team's immortal as it will wipe them out with the large AOE he is centered in. I usually place them on the edge of the dias the immortals are "floating" over. You can, and should, place them a little farther back when you have the long-ranged turrets. Place them so the immortal is just within range.

Dragon Shire: You will be facing more skirmishes while fighting for control points, so Grav-O-Bomb will be of better use. Liberal and strategic turret placement is key. For the shrines, I usually start off by placing a turret in each bush and one adjacent to the shrine. As more turret charges become available, I will place them near the shrine. Xplodium charges will stun the enemy's dragon knight. This is one of Gazlowe's weaker maps. Turrets can also aid you in defending the dragon knight if your enemy has control of both shrines.

Sky Temple: Again, the control points will force more skirmishes thus making Grav-O-Bomb more beneficial. You can use turrets to tank the guardians. Grav-o-bomb also helps in denying the enemy from capturing the boss merc.

Blackheart's Bay: I prefer to roam the merc camps and gold sources so robo-goblin will help immensely with this. However, one tactic is to guard the turn-in to keep your enemy from being able to turn in, or they will be trying to stop you, which often leads to team fights. If this is happening, then grav-o-bomb will be better. Turrets will attack the chests, and TNT also damages them. Robo-goblin also allows you to solo the boss merc around level 12. If I am in the top 2 lanes then I try to get the gold camps while focusing on pushing the lanes. Grav-o-bomb also helps in denying the enemy from capturing the boss merc.

Infernal Shrines: One of my favorite maps to play as Gazlowe as your turrets & tnt charges help a lot in taking out the guardians. Xplodium Charge works well in zoning enemy heroes out of the objective area. Grav-o-bomb also does a lot of good as enemy heroes will often group up at the shrines. At level 4, Mercenary Lord may be a better choice as having buffed mercs AND the punisher will make quick work of enemy forts & keeps. Or you can push lanes that your punisher is not in with the buffed mercs. Grav-o-Bomb also damages the guardians so while you should use it for teamfights, just know that any guardians caught in it will also be damaged severely.

Cursed Hollow: Since you will be battling for tribute, grav-o-bomb is usually the best bet. Use turrents and TNT to disrupt the enemy from gathering the tribute.

Garden of Terror: Robo-goblin helps take down the garden terrors when harvesting seeds as well as increased damage to the enemy's spawned terror. This map has 6 merc camps (2 siege and 1 bruiser on each side) that will benefit from being able to be captured faster. One of my favorite tactics is to push with mercs while the enemy team is off fighting our team's terror.

Tomb of the Spider Queen: Another map to use your judgement on. Robo-goblin deals more damage to the spiders that are summoned by the gems as well as the mercs. Grav-O-Bomb is still the defacto best ability for team fights. There are only two bruiser merc camps (one on each side), one seige camp center bottom, and one boss merc center top. Grav-o-bomb also helps in denying the enemy from capturing the boss merc.

Temple of Doom: I have only played this map a dozen or so times. So Im still learning the best strategies for Gazlowe. There are 3 sapper camps and one boss. Merc camps should be a big focus as they will instantly damage the core if they can get to it. This makes the top lane is the most important. That is because there is one sapper camp, but only one path for them to go. If you have both towers in the top lane, they will go straight for the core. With the lower two lanes, if you have, for instance, both bottom towers, they will then go for the middle towers. When sappers get close enough to structures, they will sprint at the structure in kamikaze fashion. Once they touch the structure they explode doing major damage to it. There is one boss merc toward the top that once taken will instantly damage the core. Getting shrines is pivotal for this map. Once taken, the shrines cause your "core" to fire at their core damaging 1 point for every tower you control until the 12 minute mark where they will fire 2 bullets instead of 1. Destroying keeps causes them to rebuild under your control. I have not used mercenary lord on this map to see if they do increased damage to the structures or not, Im going to hypothesize that they do. Im also going to hypothesize that they do not do increased damage to the core. Since this map is pretty gank heavy, I have been reluctant to play Gazlowe on it as much. That and people are still learning this map too.

Custom Game Maps

Haunted Mines: You can use two different strategies here. If you go with robo-goblin you can be capturing merc camps while your team is down in the mine collecting skulls. I have had good results with pushing a merc camp with the laning build while the other team is focused on skulls, at least for the first mine. Robo-goblin also helps kill the golem in the mine as well as your enemy's golem faster. At level 20 you will be able to 1v1 easier if you are caught by an ememy while in the mine However, youe team may need added help in the mines, when enemies are pushing with their golem, or defending against yours, and this is where grav-o-bomb would be better to use. Note: Grav-O-Bomb does not hurt golems. You will have to use your judgement as there are only 3 merc camps on this map and some of your teammates may complain if you arent down helping them get skulls.

Lost Cavern I haven't played this map yet, but when I do, I will update this section. For now what I will say, based the description of what the map is, treat it as any other map but without an objective. The Deth Lazor build may come in very handy on this map. I would reconsider building for Robo-Goblin and stick with Deth Lazor or Grav-O-Bomb.

This section is for those who have a Gazlowe on their team. This will help in making Gazlowe a better contribution toward getting the victory.

I recommend against having Gazlowe solo lane early game. Why? So that starting at level 4 he can venture off to take mercenary camps while you stay in the lane to soak. His best usage comes from allowing him to leave the lane to capture a mercenary camp and return with it. I would then let Gazlowe solo lane after level 10. This is so that he can go focus on structures while the enemy team is distracted. If you can allow Gazlowe to get merc camps it will make the early game push that much more effective.

Knowing when to let Gazlowe solo a merc camp is also important. I've encountered many instances were I go off to get a merc camp and my teammates follow, when another merc camp is available for them to take. Instead, let Gazlowe solo one of the camps and the other teammates should then take the 2nd camp, or go back to the lane to soak XP.

Gazlowe's Grav-O-Bomb heroic is great to build combos on. Howver, you need to know when to use those combos. For instance, if Kael'thas (KT) casts Phoenix first, it will cause the enemy team to spread out, making Grav-O-Bomb less effective. Instead, KT should wait and cast Phoenix immediately after Grav-O-Bomb. See the section below on combining your abilities with Grav-O-Bomb.

Timing your ult with your teammates is crucial for getting these combos off. If you are in a voice chat you can communicate these combos so much better. Most of the combos are best if grav-o-bomb goes off first

Becareful not to use abilities that knock enemies away as it can break up the hit box.

DO NOT use any ability that takes the enemy heroes out of play (stasis) until AFTER grav collapses fully. You may negate grav's damage as well as prevent heroes from being moved into the center. Examples Zagara's devouring maw & Zeratul's void prison.

Grav-O-Bomb 3000 combos well with any AOE when they are placed at the center of grav's radius, but here are some heroes of note:

Abathur - There is really not anything to say cause you wont be comboing with Abby as Ultimate Evolution cannot use the heroics of the heroes they clone. Abathur can use Xplodium Charge to chain stun.

Alarak - Alarak's telekinesis can work for and against grav-o-bomb by either pushing enemies out of the bomb's range, or into it. But grav will make a nice hitbox for both of Alarak's heroic abilities.

Anub'arak - His Impale and Burrow Charge can help give you time to get grav off. Better would be right after grav goes off putting them into a nice hit box for the stuns to hit more heroes. After gav is also best for burrow charge as it puts Anub in the hit box for using locust swarm. Locust Swarm will benefit greatly from the hitbox created by grav but Cocoon will prevent any damage or affects caused by grav to be applied to the cocooned hero. I recommend waiting until after grav has collapsed before you use cocoon.

Artanis - Both Suppression Pulse and Purifier Beam will combo with grav-o-bomb well. Purifier Beam should be cast as soon as grav is laid down and on a target that will for sure be grabbed by grav. Phase Prism Can be used to pull heroes into grav's radius as well as within range of Gaz's turrets. Grav-O-Bomb 3000 can also create a nice hitbox of multiple enemy heroes for Blade Dash.

Arthas - Summon Sindragosa will combo nicely with grav-o-bomb. Howling Blast and Frozen Tempest can benefit as well. Frozen Tempest and Army of the Dead will benefit best if you are in the center of grav's radius when it collapses.

Auriel - Auriel will need to make sure not to knock back enemies out of your grav or explodium radiuses. With that said, she could help snap enemies into the radius too. Your hitbox made by grav gives her a nice target for Sacred Sweep.

Azmodan - Globe of Annihilation and Demonic Invasion both combo well with grav-o-bomb.

Brightwing - Emerald Wind has the chance on pushing heroes outside of grav's radius, as well as breaking up the hitbox formed after grav collapses. Caution is advised on Brightwing players on taking this talent with a Gazlowe on your team who takes Grav-O-Bomb. That being said, Arcane Flare works nicely with grav and xplodium charge.

Cassia - Grav-o-Bomb could pull heroes away from Cassia's Ball Lightning disrupting the ult. However, grav would make a nice bunch for Cassia if she casts it after Grav has started collapsing. Grav also makes a nice hitbox for her Fend and Blinding Light abilities.

Chen - As with Brightwing's Emerald Wind, Wandering Keg has a chance of knocking enemy heroes out of grav's radius, as well as disrupt the created hitbox, however it can also be used to knock them in. So use caution when playing with a Gaz on your team. You can also use Wandering Keg to knock enemies into range of gaz's turrets.

Cho - Most of Cho's abilities will pair nicely with Gaz's, especially Upheaval. See Gall.

Chromie - Dragon's Breath is about the only ability that will combo with Chromie really well. However enginee-gunk will allow her to potentially target enemy heroes easier. And Slowing Sands can help you land Grav-O-Bomb 3000 and Xplodium Charge. Timing will be key. Players in stasis caused by Time Trap will not be affected by grav.

Dehaka - Dropping a turret into a bush can provide Dehaka vision of that bush. When able, Dehaka should try to drag heroes into range of Gaz's turrets.

Diablo - Overpower and Shadow Charge can be used to put enemy heroes into range of Gaz's abilities and turrets, as well as knock them out, so use caution. Apocalypse and Lightning Breath can both pair nicely with grav.

E.T.C. - His Powerslide and Mosh Pit can combo well with Grav. Either to stun the enemies so you can launch it grav better, for ETC to stun them after gav pulls them into a nice little hit box. I have seen mosh pit work very well right after a grav. The ultimate would be to grav all the enemies you can, then ETC power slide in and follow up with mosh pit, and then Face Melt if needed. Pray he doesnt use face melt first to ruin the hit box.

Falstad - PLEASE use great caution if you are playing Falstad and if you take Mighty Gust when you have a Gazlowe on your team who has taken Grav-O-Bomb 3000. I cannot tell you how many times someone playing Falstad has used gust and blew the entire team out of grav's radius and thus wasting its use. It would be much more beneficial to take Hinterland Blast as when Grav collapses it will create a nice hitbox for you. Hammerang also pairs nicely with grav and Xplodium Charge.

Gall - The hitbox created by Grav will work nicely with Twisting Nether or Shadow Bolt Volley as well as Runic Blast. Engine Gunk will also help in slowing enemies making them easier to hit with Shadowflame and Dread Orb.

Genji - Gaz'z abilities synergize well with Genji as the CC form engine gunk can allow him to keep on the enemy hero better. Grav's hitbox after collapsing works well with both of Genji's ults as well as the Swift Strike ability.

Greymane - Enginge Gunk may benefit Greymane by allow him to chase down fleeing enemy heroes to get within range for his leaping abilities.

Jaina - Gaz's abilities pair nicely with Blizzard, Cone of Cold. Grav is especially nice when combo'd with Ring of Frost. I recommend casting ring halfway through grav's delay (1 second) so you dont root enemies prior to grav's collapse but also not giving the enemy heroes time to walk out of ring of frost's radius.

Johanna - Grav can create a nice hitbox for Falling Sword or Blessed Shield.

Kael'thas - He is one of the top heroes to combo with Grav as the hit box created is great with his flame strike and Living Bomb, Phoenix and Pyroblast. If you can, get living bomb on right before grav, then target the AOE abilities for the center of grav's radius. I have seen enemy team wipes by gaz + KT combos.

Kerrigan - She can chain stuns using Impaling Blades and grav will make a nice hitbox for Ravage and Maelstrom.

Kharazim - Seven-Sided Strike will combo nicely with Grav-O-Bomb 3000, but that is the only ability of his that will, and at the cost of not taking Divine Palm.

Leoric - Try not to cast Entomb until after grav has collapsed. Grav cannot pull them into the cage created by entomb. However, grav can pull enemy heroes out if the center of grav is right in front of the cage. March of the Black King Should be cast immediately before, upon, or immediately after grav's collapse as you will want to use the tighter hit box created when it does.

Li Li - The only ability that will really combo with Gaz will be Water Dragon but that would be at the cost of not taking [Jug-of-1000-cups]]. Water Dragon also takes timing for it to benefit most when comboing with grav. Water Dragon should be cast right after grav is laid down so that the dragon will land right after grav has collapsed. The Lightning Serpent talent will will benefit from grav's hitbox and Cloud Serpent will benefit in general from slows applied by engine gunk and stuns from xplodium charge.

Li-Ming - You wont be much help in combos with Li-Ming though Grav-O-Bomb 3000 may present her with a nice oppurtunity for Arcane Orb. Engine Gunk's slow may help her land her abilities.

Lt Morales - Observe caution with Displacement Grenade as it can knock enemy heroes out of grav's and xplodium charge's blast radius. Although well timed/placed grenades can also knock them into the radius. Stim Drone can really help Robo-Goblin especially after Mecha-Lord has been taken. However, research other heroes to make sure you are stimming the right one, a stimming Raynor would usually, or Valla could, be better than mecha-lord gazlowe depending on the talents taken. So make sure you are checking to see which talents your teammates are taking.

lucio - Not much going on here.

Lunara - Like with Li-Ming, Engine Gunk and turrets may help present her with better targets.

Malfurion - his Entangling Roots can help to prolong the hit box allowing for more combos to be made and should be cast at the center of grav's radius as soon as grav is laid down. Twilight Dream will combo very nicely with grav but at the cost of not taking Tranquility and also will require timing since Twilight Dream has a cast delay however entangling roots should help with that.

Medivh - This guy can be tricky to work with. His Poly Bomb will be difficult to time as he will want to cast it just before or right when grav-o-bomb collapses for maximum effect. Ley Line Seal can make for good grav oppurtunities, or could break them, with poorly timed uses. If used after grav is dropped it could negate grav's entire ability.

Muradin - Take caution with Haymaker in that you dont end up knocking enemies outside of grav's radius. Thunder Clap and Dwarf Toss will benefit from grav's hitbox.

Murky - This hero combo can be hilarious. Grav's hit box works well with Slime, Pufferfish, and March of the Murlocs. Pufferfish has to be timed just right though. Best to center grav immediately onto pufferfish than the other way around as grav's timer is 2 seconds and pufferfish is 3 seconds.

Nazeebo - Very effective if naz can get a Zombie Wall on the hit box created by grav and then follow up immediately with Ravenous Spirit or Gargantuan.

Nova - Grav + Precision Strike aimed at grav's center...game over, man, game over! Especially nasty since precision strike can be targetted globally. If you are in voice chat, you can tell nova your ult is ready so they can put their camera over your area.

Probius - Probius and Gaz both build turrets causing double trouble however Probius's deal better damage. Grav-o-Bomb and Null Gate would work very well together

Ragnaros - It is unfortunate that Blast Wave cant be cast on Gaz's turrets. But Grav-o-Bomb would make a nice hitbox for Sulfuras Smash

Raynor - Gaz's biggest benefit to Raynor is the slows from Engine Gunk and stuns from Xplodium Charge and hit box made by Grav-O-Bomb 3000. Hyperion can benefit a lot from these abilities though you want to make sure to either cast right as grav is laid, or before. Poor timing can make this combo not very effective as both have a tendency to cause zoning on the other team. Use care with [[Penetrating-Round] as it might knock enemy heroes out of xplodum's radius.

Rehgar - Rehgar doesnt get much benefit from Gazlowe other than the slows applied from engine gunk when Earthbind Totem is on cool-down. Gazlowe will benefit from Lightning Shield and blood-lust is especially helpful to Robo-Goblin especially if Mecha-Lord is taken.

Rexxar - Rexxar will benefit from grav's hitbox since most of his multi-hit abilities execute in a line. Engine gunk's slow will also be a benefit to him. I recommend activating Bestial Wrath or Unleash the Boars just after grav has been laid down.

Samuro - About the only benefit to this matchup would be the hitbox from Grav and Samuro's Bladestorm.

Sonya - Leap on grav's hit box to prolong the hit box increasing time for further combos. Engine gunk can help with Whirlwind.

sgt-hammer - The hitbox created by Grav-O-Bomb 3000 works nicely for both Blunt-ForceGun or Napalm Strike.

stitches - Use caution with Hook as you could pull them out of grav or xplodium charge's radius and Gorge can make grav in effective. However, hook is really good for pulling enemies into the radius. Stitches will work best at the center of grav's radius to for Vile Gas, Slam, Devour, and Putrid Bile.

Sylvanas - Sylv has some nice synergy with Gaz. Mind Control can walk enemies within range of gaz's turrets as well as into blast radius of grav and xplodium. Grav can also set up a nice hitbox for WailingArrow and Haunting Wave. Though I do not recommend purposefully having both Sylv and Gaz on the same team, together they can take out camps and structures VERY efficiently.

Sgt Hammer - The hitbox created by Grav-O-Bomb 3000 works nicely for both Blunt-ForceGun or Napalm Strike.

Tassadar - Mostly T*** and Gaz have good abilities at zoning the enemy heroes. Use care with Force Wall so that you arent zoning enemies in the wrong directions. That goes for both gaz and t***. T*** should try to combo Psionic Storm onto enemy heroes stunned by Xplodium Charge and Archon will benefit from the hitbox created by grav. Just make sure to activate it before grav collapses.

The Lost Vikings - This pairing really should only happen in Quick Match as Vikings and Gaz should never be purposefully taken on the same team in Hero League. Longboat-Raid! is really the only ability of note as it benefits from the hitbox created after grav collapses. Just make sure to activate prior to the collapse.

Thrall - Use care with Sundering as it can knock enemies out of grav's radius. But grav will maake an excellent hitbox after it collapses, so make sure to wait for grav to finish before launching it. Earthquake can also pair nicely with grav if you use it just prior or immediately after the collapse. It can also help gaz land a nice grav+xplodium combo if earthquake is used before grav. Chain Lightning will also benefit greatly from the hitbox created by grav.

Tracer - Engine Gunk's slow will benefit tracer by allowing her to keep on the hero for longer as well as make it easier for her to place her sticky bomb on them.

Tychus - works well with all his abilities except Frag Grenade which will break up the hit box.

Tyrael - El'druin's Might and Smite work well, but be careful with Judgment as it will break up the hit box.

Tyrande - Starfall benefits the most from Grav-O-Bomb 3000] and should be cast immediately after grav is dropped and right on drop of it, or off center toward where the enemy team may more likely try to flee. Lunar Flare should follow up the combo after after grav's collapse, and it also works well with Xplodium Charge. Placing Hunter's Mark on an enemy hero right before a grav/starfall combo will be deadly for that hero. Sentinel will benefit from Gaz's abilities especially enemies slowed by Engine Gunk.

Uther - his Divine Storm, when cast immediately after grav collapses can prolong the hit box created for additional combos to be made

Valeera - The best way to synergize with Valeera is her stunning opponents within range of your turrets or the stuns locking opponents in place for your laser.

Valla - Like Raynor, Valla will benefit most by engine gunk's slow and the stuns caused by grav and explodium charge. She will also be able to take advantage of the hitbox created by grav especially with Rain of Vengeance and Multishot.

Varian - The only real combo here would be Varian to use Lion's Fang on the hitbox created by Grav-o-Bomb.

Xul - You can use Xplodium Charge to try to zone enemy heroes into predictable movements for Xul's Spectral Scythe. When you see Xul's Bone Prison applied, immediately start charging your Deth Lazor, if safe to do so, even if you are not using a Deth Lazor build. This way you can fire at the rooted enemy hero right when they become rooted. Follow it up with either turrets within range of the rooted hero or an Xplodium Charge if there is enough time. Try to place the charge slightly off center of the direction you think the hero may try to flee. You can also use turrets and Xplodium to zone other enemy heroes away from the rooted hero, or to punish them for coming to the rooted heroes aid.

Zagara - Grav's hit box is a great place to use Devouring Maw but also good with Baneling Barrage and Infested Drop. Devoruing Maw will prevent enemies from moving into the center as well as negate any damage dealt by grav. Be very careful in castin grav onto a maw. You can time it so grav goes off once they are released

Zarya - Zarya combines with Gaz pretty well as she can shield Gaz with Shield Ally. Gravitron Surge can be used before or after Grav-o-Bomb to great effect. If used before, Grav can pull more opponents into its field. When used after, if can keep any heroes caught by grav in the hitbox.

Zeratul - As I said above, Void Prison will negate the damage to, and movement of, enemy heroes. So it is imperative to use the void prison AFTER grav finishes. I have had more than one person use void prison right I cast grav-o-bomb. Although.....you can use grav-o-bomb to pull people into void prison. So all is not lost if there are some outside of the prison when grav goes off. Be very careful in castin grav onto void prison. You can time it so grav goes off once they are released.

Zul'jin - Grav-o-Bomb makes a nice hitbox for Guillotine.

10/08/2018 - No changes to his kit but I do need to add info about playing with other heroes. I took a pretty long break from HotS and will be getting back into it real soon.

07/04/2018 - no changes since my last update...yeah, its sad they havent made any changes at all, not even a new skin!

05/10/2017 - Large update with Patch 24 information that was long overdue. Added all heroes available to this date.

11/19/2016 - changed clockwork steam fist talent rating from bad to better.

09/13/2016 - Added Alarak to teammate combo section. Minor note addition regarding Patch 20 at top of the guide.

08/17/2016 - was late updating the guide with the talent change. Added Auriel to teammate combos section

07/13/2016 - updated descriptions with new changes (Robo-Goblin, Rock-it turrest XL, xtra large bombs, and mecha-lord)

07/06/2016 - Added Medivh to Teammate Combo section.

07/05/2016 - Minor updates, mostly to what I play most often (build displayed at the top) and some minor additions to those talents in the discussion.

05/17/2016 - Added Chromie to the Teammate Combo and threat sections. Also adding all other heroes to the teammate combos section. Corrected base attack damage.

05/17/2016 - Added notes for today's patch at the very top of the guide.

05/02/2016 - added 2nd combo video

04/27/2016 - Corrected Level 20 talent of Deth Lazer build. Added Tracer to Teammate Combo section and threats.

04/03/2016 - changed older grav + xplodium video for newer one.

04/02/2016 - Forgot to remove the Demolitionist talent during last night's update. Replaced video in Introduction section with match using Patch 17 updated talents. Changed all Deth Lazor talent value indications from Situational to Build Specific. Added the newer heroes to the teammate combo section. Added new heroes to threat meter.

04/01/2016 - Reworked for Patch 17 update

03/21/2016 - changed Rock-It! Turret XL from bad to good and Engine Gunk from good to best.

12/6/2015 - Complete revamp of the guide.

11/9/2015 - Overhauled, too many changes to list, complete rework of this guide.

10/21/2015 - updated recommend maps for the builds.