About OCM:

I'm a 2x Rank 1 and Master+ player specializing in high MMR Assassin & "flex" play, and have played HotS since first wave technical alpha testing. I now stream and youtube more casually.

My guides are like notebooks. I update them progressively based on what I learn and theorycraft. As such, this guide is a culmination of my experience, successes, and feedback.

Twitch: OfClanMurray
Twitter: OCM_Heroes
YouTube: OCM

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I played World of Warcraft competitive PvP for a long, long time. Gul'dan excites me because of the parallels drawn to the basics of the WoW Warlock, and because of this, I feel a pretty significant and special connection to this hero in particular, even beyond just being an Assassin main.

Gul'dan effectively has been designed with the ability to mirror two of the Warlock's specializations from WoW; these are Affliction and Destruction. Both specs play very differently, and this is no different in Heroes. I have written this guide not only from experience and growing experience playing Gul'dan, but the years of experience I have had playing as and against the Warlock, and have a mastery to understanding this style of gameplay.

This guide contains three builds that I believe are the most effective for Gul'dan. The two to pay the most attention to are definitely the Affliction and Destruction builds. These are the best representations of the WoW Warlock, and what I believe to be the two most efficient ways to maximize Gul'dan and his potential as a ranged carry.

The Destruction Warlock in WoW is one of the fonder memories I have of playing the game, and simultaneously one of the most hated classes and specs to play against. The immediate difference between Destruction and other builds is the aggression with which Destruction is played. Destro is meant to play in the opponents face and mean. Centered around your Q, Destro build supplies quick pocked burst that only grows in strength based on skillshot accuracy and provides sustain and survivability for doing so.

Success with this build will come from understanding the balance between aggression and wit that will allow you to dish out maximum damage while not all the same time being your own demise. The potential for this build is limitless and lies in the hands of the one playing it.

An alternate approach to this build is featured below that's a fun alternative in solo-queue carry situations. Note that this build is much harder to use as self-sustain becomes a burden carried by the user, and this is very punishable without practice.

It's pretty crucial to clarify that there's no one objectively "best" Gul'dan build. This build emphasizes Gul'dan's damage over time (DoT) damage in a stunning translation of the Affliction Warlock into Heroes of the Storm. The core strength of this build centers around Corruption, and maximizing the number of targets hit to spread pressure the entire enemy team with Corruption stacks and wear them down in a brutal war of attrition.

This build's style is much less risk/reward based and more "reliable". The choices made for this build aren't going to drastically change anything but the way you deal your damage. Success with this build will come from strategic positioning and well-practiced Corruption skillshots to make sure that you make the most of your Corruption stacks to pressure down the enemy team, and wither away health pools pretty care-free.

I should note right off the bat, this build is not really practical. This is more of a "for fun", trolly build that repurposes your Life Drain into more than just a health regen, but actually makes it a substantial damage source and even an execution move. Essentially, this build works by dwindling your opponent below 50% HP and then using Life Drain to execute them, all the while self-sustaining.

Part of the reason this build isn't necessarily practical is because you must be standing still to channel Life Drain. Demonic Circle helps with potential positioning issues, but that's at level 20. Ultimately, it's up to the player to make the best of their positioning to try and make this build work. Perhaps others will find a way to make this build super viable, but in my eyes, it's a fun "BM" build to try when you're not playing competitively. Destro and Aff builds are by far the better way to go.