About OCM:

I'm a 2x Rank 1 and 4x Master+ player specializing in high MMR Assassin & "flex" play. I have played HotS since first wave technical alpha testing.

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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Malthael is a long awaited addition to the game, and while I do believe this melee assassin has his strengths, I think "no one can stop death" is a bit of an overstatement.

I this guide, I'll go over the builds I see to be the most fit to high-tier play, and explain what I can of how Malthael is played the most effectively. More importantly, we'll cover a lot of the things you DON'T want to do when playing Malthael.

To no exaggeration, a lot of this hero is basically holding down Q, occasionally using W to position yourself, and ulting. But, we can go a little bit deeper. Strap in, kids.

As the name of the build suggests, this is Malthael's most "hardcore" build. It covers all of the bases he needs to be an effective contributor to a team, but makes most use of his strongest aspect: his passive.

Malthael's role is two-sided, but simple: consistent damage dealer who's good at shredding tanks. Though this is a tad moronic, because one of Malthael's biggest weaknesses is CC, provided more often than not by tanks.

This build focuses on a lot of snowballing provided by his passive. This dot is not very effective, if at all effective in the early game, but neither is Malthael as a whole in the early game. He needs to be accompanied by either a play-making tank, or a synergy support such as Auriel to see any sort of early-game effectiveness.

Try not to draft yourself into a situation where Malthael is responsible for a solo lane. While he can do it, he falls incredibly short at the feet of other power-pick solo laners like Thrall, Alarak, Gul'dan, and so on.

While this shouldn't be a secret to anyone, Malth's Q is on a short enough cooldown to just be consistently held down, and it will go off. If you find yourself in an engage, hold that button down like your life depends on it; because it does. Malthael's only true self sustain is his Q, and he needs to have as many targets marked as possible to make that happen. While his E can do a bit of work, it's a very slow moving skillshot that is easily dodged by conscious players. Get yourself in a position where you have the most targets marked to not only make use of your self sustain, but your damage spread as well.

Below are some alternative talent paths to this core build.

There's not a lot of practicality in this build, I'll admit. But, if you find yourself in either a no-support or weak support situation, this build can be pretty fun.

It revolves around the damage and damage spread provided by Malthael's W, while also making improved use of it's mobility potential and of course the execute gimmick of Last Rites.

NOTE: Last Rites is honest to god a terrible ult. It's really bad. BUT, if you're in (like I said) a NO-SUPPORT or WEAK support situation with no real way for the victim to either protect, shield, or heal off the proc of Last Rites, then it can be a pretty funny way to execute someone.

By nature, this build is competitively weaker in comparison to others because it doesn't make use of Malthael's core strengths, but players looking for a more cheesy, high-mobility way to approach Malthael might appreciate this as an alternative.