Kael'thas Flamestrike Build by Crubick

Kael'thas Flamestrike Build

By: Crubick
Last Updated: May 14, 2015
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Kael'thas

Build: Flamestrike!

Level 1
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 Illidan
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Table of contents Top

1. Introduction!

2. Kael'thas in a nutshell!

3. Abilities!

4. Heroics!

5. Positioning!

6. Talents!

7. Conclusion!

Introduction! Top



Greetings, lads and lasses of HeroesFire! My name is Crubick, and I've been playing HotS since alpha. I have a rather shallow experience of League of Legends and over 1000 hours of gameplay in Dota2. HotS captivated me with its dynamic and everchaging (map-wise) nature, and I've been playing it a lot recently. Hero league rank atm - 28, have not played much of it at all, but trust me - I do have the grasp of fundamental knowledge of the game.

I have absolutely adored Kael'thas ever since his appearance in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne campaign and have eagerly anticipated his arrival in Heroes of the Storm. So here is my take on how to play Kael and be successful with this regal blood elf.

My bnet tag is: Crubick#2544, feel free to ask me any questions.

Kael'thas in a nutshell! Top



Kael'thas is the epitome of the word "glass cannon". Before you pick Kael, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1) Do I like to stay behind and dish out massive damage?

2) Can I play the positioning game properly?

3) Can I live with having no escape?

If you answered "yes" to at least two of these questions, then you are good to go. But these three points describe Kael succinctly.

Abilities! Top



Trait - D - Verdant Spheres, Cooldown: 6 seconds, no mana cost

Author's notes: Use this. Always. Try spending it on your Flamestrike empowerments and make sure you never forget to press it. Accustom yourself to it. Having your trait off cooldown in a teamfight without proper usage menas a huge loss to your damage and utility.



Q - Flamestrike, Mana: 70, Cooldown: 7 seconds

Verdant Spheres effect: increases the radius by 50% and deals 111 (+30 per level) damage.

Author's notes: This is an amazing ability. Nice range that will be made even more with your lvl 13 talent Flamethrower and then even further with talent at lvl 16 Ignite. Make sure to constantly spend your trait Verdant Spheres to empower it. Works wonders damage-wise and positioning-wise. Kael's bread and butter.




W - Living Bomb, Mana: 50, Cooldown: 10 seconds

Verdant Spheres effect: makes this Ability cost no Mana and have no cooldown.

Author's notes: Potentially, this skill is great on paper, however, in the game, its range is what offsets its efficient usage. You have to be real close to the enemy to cast it and the next thing you know - you are out of position and cannot escape. In my humble opinion, this skill is not worth to use "D" on.




E - Gravity Lapse, Mana: 85, Cooldown: 13 seconds

Verdant Spheres effect: causes Gravity Lapse to stun the first 3 enemies hit.

Author's notes: A great, albeit slow-moving skillshot stun. Use it in conjunction with spells like Tyrande's arrow, Muradin's stun and etc. Beware of the creeps. They will get in the way of the spell, causing it to hit them. I usually save this spell as a potential escape tool at times, against pesky bastards like Illidan and others who can just jump into the middle of the fray. You should not spend Verdant Spheres on this spell, imo. Three person stun is great and all, but the cast time and range do not guarantee it landing every single time. And its a huge trade-off for our Flamestrike damage.

Heroics! Top



R - Phoenix, Mana: 40, Cooldown: 40 seconds

Author's notes: Excellent ultimate. Its viable anywhere and with a right setup it does wonders, like with ETC's Mosh Pit. Casts quickly, creates space, deals great damage, cannot be interrupted unlike Pyroblast (see below).




R - Pyroblast, Mana: 80, Cooldown: 50 seconds

Author's notes: Many people have been very vocal about the damage of Pyroblast and its apparent inescapability. That is true to some degree, however, the more you play Kael, the more the drawbacks of this ult start getting to you. Huge cast time, stationarity while casting. The damage in fact is not -that- great. Someone like Diablo or Stitches will eat like 25% of it and then what? Due to its casting range as well, you have to get closre to your enemies, which might eventually mean your demise.

Positioning! Top


I might seem like a parrot who learned only a few words and continues to spew them over and over, but I cannot stress this enough: proper positioning wins you games in any MOBA. And positioning is effectively doubled in its importance for a character like Kael.

Your general gameplan will be to:

1) Play extremely safe and at range. Do not ever overextend and try to never, never go alone. You are so squishy that it seems like sneezing near Kael will accidentally kill him. A lack of escape does not help either. Never. Never be out of position.

2) Tanks are your best friends, try to play around them.

3) Be aware of the map, objectives timers and your enemies. Fairly generic, but invaluable when playing Kael. Good timing is everything.

4) Constantly empower your Flamestrike and look for harassment with it. Especially if two or more heroes are just clumped there together. You will likely catch a few of them due to Flamestrike's range. Try to assess the way they move, are they moving in? Are they scared and about to move out? And place your Flamestrikes accordingly.

Talents! Top


Mana Addict - Kael'thas' spells can be quite costly, especially in a prolonged teamfight. As the game progresses, this talent will speak for itself with your increased teamfight presence. Be careful when chasing after the regen globes in lanes however, as you may be caught out of position.



Gathering Power - This is a talent that just helps you snowball your damage with time. Since you'll be playing safe (hopefully), you won't be losing the stacks frequently, if at all. The damage compounds nicely as well. These 5% to 15% could be crucial to killing off an important hero in any teamfight.



Fission Bomb - This talent is taken for a huge increase of 75% of Living Bomb explosion damage. I am not fond of Living Bomb's small casting range, but with later talent at lvl 16 Ignite it will surely pay off.



Phoenix - To repeat what was said above: excellent ultimate, due to its damage, area of effect and diversity. You can aid with it in teamfights and pushes, thankfully the cooldown allows you to use it quite generously.



Flamethrower - This talent is perfection. Sheer perfection. With the range of Flamestrikeincreased so much, you practically can throw it from a huge distance and the enemies will have an incredibly hard time of reaching you. Moreover, this allows for an almost perfect positioning game, since you'll always be able to contribute to teamfights with its range.



Flamethrower - Now, it is complete. With the range of enhanced Flamestrike, this talent helps Kael wreak havoc on the field of battle from miles away. Nothing else compares to it when you build him for Flamestrike.



Bolt of the Storm - Caught out of position? Blink away, over the wall or blink it to give chase to the fleeing enemy team. At times you can play Kael aggressively, but only if you are 100% confident you'll net a kill. Bolt of the Storm allows for all of it. For a hero without an escape, this is absolutely crucial as a talent.

Conclusion! Top

I hope this guide was helpful to all of you, folks! Good luck picking up Kael'thas and getting better and better with him. This character is a blast in every sense of that word. ;)

Remember - patience and ability to learn from your mistakes are key to getting good at anything you do. If you fail, do not worry. Try to always analyze your mistakes post-death, so to speak.

Might add map specific thoughts and tips on Kael, so stay tuned! :)

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