Kael'Thas
By David Connell
1 Introduction:
Kael'thas is a damage heavy fire mage. His crazy burst damage currently makes him one of the strongest heroes in the game. Kael'thas is effective at both single target and team-wide damage, forcing frequent re-positions from enemies who want to avoid spreading Living Bomb to their teammates.
To balance his very high damage Kael'thas lacks mobility and sports a low health pool. Because of this, he often plays near allies to maintain his own safety. Though lacking mobility, Kael'thas is one of the only ranged heroes with a stun as a basic ability. It is very important for his survival to defensively stun enemies.
To balance his very high damage Kael'thas lacks mobility and sports a low health pool. Because of this, he often plays near allies to maintain his own safety. Though lacking mobility, Kael'thas is one of the only ranged heroes with a stun as a basic ability. It is very important for his survival to defensively stun enemies.
2 Build:
Level 1: Fel Infusion
Increases ability power by 4% and heal for 94 (+4% per level) health when you activate Verdant Spheres
We mainly suggest this talent because of the ability power. In this build we look to quickly kill one target during a Gravity Lapse combo, and the 4% increase in ability damage can be the difference between a kill and an enemy escaping! However, in this tier you may rarely want to consider Mana Addict if you fear being targeted by burst damage later in the game (such as a Zeratul, plus an Abathur on the other team)
Level 4: Nether Wind
Increases Gravity Lapse's range by 30%. When Gravity Lapse hits an enemy Hero, refund 80 mana.
This is the best talent in this tier. It makes it much easier to hit Gravity Lapse. The range from this talent allows for consistent followup after teammates use their stuns. Also if you hit Gravity Lapse you'll get a mana refund, making this a stronger talent over all than Mana Tap.
Level 7: Gravity Crush
Gravity Lapse causes enemies to take 30% additional damage from Kael'thas for 4 seconds.
This talent is essential to our Kael'Thas build, as we will rely on Gravity Lapse combos for a majority of our kills. The damage increase from this talent lasts even after the target is no longer stunned, allowing for living bomb and autoattack damage to be be fully increased.
Level 10: Phoenix
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Launches a Phoenix at the enemy that deals damage to a single enemy in its radius for 7 seconds, splashes to nearby enemies.
This talent is our go to choice because it is better than Pyroblast in many ways! It is an instant cast and Pyroblast is not, this means you can use it and not risk falling into a bad position. Pyroblast can also be negated by many abilities such as ice block and divine shield.
Level 13: Fission Bomb
Increases Living Bomb's radius by 20%
All three talents in this tier are viable, feel free to choice your personal preference! We suggest Fission Bomb here, especially for players still climbing to rank 1. Fission Bomb severely punishes badly positioned enemies and increases the area that chain bomb will spread by a lot (since area = p(r^2))
Level 16: Sun King's Fury
Your Basic Attacks do 137 (+4% per level) bonus damage to enemies affected by Living Bomb
During your Gravity Lapse combo you will be able to hit 2 to 3 auto-attacks. This talent alone increases your burst damage by about 750 points at level 16.
Level 20: Master of Flames
Living Bomb's spread from explosions can now also spread Living Bomb
While Rebirth (Phoenix lasts longer and can be moved) is an attractive choice in this talent tier, Master of Flames is one of the best talents for climbing in ranks. It makes Living Bomb incredibly powerful and forces enemies to react if they get hit by one
Increases ability power by 4% and heal for 94 (+4% per level) health when you activate Verdant Spheres
We mainly suggest this talent because of the ability power. In this build we look to quickly kill one target during a Gravity Lapse combo, and the 4% increase in ability damage can be the difference between a kill and an enemy escaping! However, in this tier you may rarely want to consider Mana Addict if you fear being targeted by burst damage later in the game (such as a Zeratul, plus an Abathur on the other team)
Level 4: Nether Wind
Increases Gravity Lapse's range by 30%. When Gravity Lapse hits an enemy Hero, refund 80 mana.
This is the best talent in this tier. It makes it much easier to hit Gravity Lapse. The range from this talent allows for consistent followup after teammates use their stuns. Also if you hit Gravity Lapse you'll get a mana refund, making this a stronger talent over all than Mana Tap.
Level 7: Gravity Crush
Gravity Lapse causes enemies to take 30% additional damage from Kael'thas for 4 seconds.
This talent is essential to our Kael'Thas build, as we will rely on Gravity Lapse combos for a majority of our kills. The damage increase from this talent lasts even after the target is no longer stunned, allowing for living bomb and autoattack damage to be be fully increased.
Level 10: Phoenix
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Launches a Phoenix at the enemy that deals damage to a single enemy in its radius for 7 seconds, splashes to nearby enemies.
This talent is our go to choice because it is better than Pyroblast in many ways! It is an instant cast and Pyroblast is not, this means you can use it and not risk falling into a bad position. Pyroblast can also be negated by many abilities such as ice block and divine shield.
Level 13: Fission Bomb
Increases Living Bomb's radius by 20%
All three talents in this tier are viable, feel free to choice your personal preference! We suggest Fission Bomb here, especially for players still climbing to rank 1. Fission Bomb severely punishes badly positioned enemies and increases the area that chain bomb will spread by a lot (since area = p(r^2))
Level 16: Sun King's Fury
Your Basic Attacks do 137 (+4% per level) bonus damage to enemies affected by Living Bomb
During your Gravity Lapse combo you will be able to hit 2 to 3 auto-attacks. This talent alone increases your burst damage by about 750 points at level 16.
Level 20: Master of Flames
Living Bomb's spread from explosions can now also spread Living Bomb
While Rebirth (Phoenix lasts longer and can be moved) is an attractive choice in this talent tier, Master of Flames is one of the best talents for climbing in ranks. It makes Living Bomb incredibly powerful and forces enemies to react if they get hit by one
3 Playstyle:
Kael'Thas is a damage heavy hero, early game, he can be in a lane or ganking. His ganking capabilities rely on hitting a Gravity Lapse Combo which is: Fel Infusion (D) to Living Bomb (W) follow by a Gravity Laspe (E) then Flamestrike (Q) another Living Bomb (W) and autoattacks. In lane Kael'Thas early game has two choices; he can try to force his enemies out of lane using Verdant Spheres (D) and Living Bomb (W) or he can try to kill enemies minions faster by using Flamestrike (Q) and Living Bombs (W) that are empowered by Verdant Spheres (D)
In teamfights you will want to use the same Gravity Lapse combo mentioned above. Look to follow your tank player and combo after they stun an enemy. Use Phoenix (R) when the enemy tank commits to a fight and it will deal massive damage to the lowest health hero in range!
Play carefully in the late-game! Its common for players to get in the habit of extending past their team's warrior because of how strong Kael'Thas becomes with Chain Bomb. Instead, let enemies extend too far into your team, as late game Kael'thas becomes monstrously strong. With careful protection from teammates Kael'thas will easily dispose of any enemy.
In teamfights you will want to use the same Gravity Lapse combo mentioned above. Look to follow your tank player and combo after they stun an enemy. Use Phoenix (R) when the enemy tank commits to a fight and it will deal massive damage to the lowest health hero in range!
Play carefully in the late-game! Its common for players to get in the habit of extending past their team's warrior because of how strong Kael'Thas becomes with Chain Bomb. Instead, let enemies extend too far into your team, as late game Kael'thas becomes monstrously strong. With careful protection from teammates Kael'thas will easily dispose of any enemy.
4 Tips and Tricks:
Stick with teammates as they can compensate for your low health and mobility. Kael'thas is an important target for the other team to focus, be ready to defend yourself.
Kael'thas relies on hitting his Gravity Lapse to do single target damage therefore avoid fighting around minions. Fighting near minions will force Kael'thas to position slightly to the side and make him vulnerable to enemy flanks. If possible use bushes to conceal yourself before teamfights start making it harder for the enemy to find and kill you.
Kael'thas relies on hitting his Gravity Lapse to do single target damage therefore avoid fighting around minions. Fighting near minions will force Kael'thas to position slightly to the side and make him vulnerable to enemy flanks. If possible use bushes to conceal yourself before teamfights start making it harder for the enemy to find and kill you.