‘Heroes of the Storm’: Gul’dan terrifies, then destroys all who oppose him

Gul’dan: an individual so evil he betrayed his entire race to demonic overlords, therefore singlehandedly setting into motion the events that led to the first “Warcraft” and all subsequent titles in the series. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he has attached clever monikers—like “Darkness Incarnate” and “The Destroyer of Dreams”—to his person, forever reminding us that he’s probably a fan of 80s death metal.

Images: Heroes Of The Storm/Blizzard Entertainment

Thanks to his demonic benefactors, Gul’dan enjoys unimaginable power. This power, however, exacts a heavy price—his own life force, which he must sacrifice if he wants to continue using his destructive magic. This detail is incorporated into Gul’dan’s gameplay in “Heroes of the Storm,” making him a great example of a high-risk, high-reward Hero.

A highly damaging, self-sustaining Ranged Assassin, Gul’dan has one Hero Trait, three Primary Abilities, and two Heroic Abilities.

Life Tap (Trait, D)

Unlike a vast majority of “Heroes of the Storm” characters, Gul’dan’s mana doesn’t regenerate. By activating his Life Tap Trait, however, he can regain 25% of his mana in exchange for some health. With a cooldown of 0.5 seconds, it’s a skill you can spam until he recovers all his mana, or has no health left to consume. Unlike Chen’s Fortifying Brew, Gul’dan can cast Life Tap while on the move.

Though it’s impossible for Gul’dan to kill himself this way, you’ll want to avoid bringing him too close to death, for obvious reasons. With a skilled healer around, however, Gul’dan can unleash flurries of spells without having to worry about running too low on mana. So you can understand what an absolute beast he can be. With or without a healer, Gul’dan should pair Life Tap with his W Ability, Drain Life, in order to prevent death.

Fel Flame (Q)

Gul’dan hurls a short-range cone of green flame in the direction of his choice, dealing massive damage to enemies. And with a cooldown of 1.5 seconds, Fel Flame is another spell you can abuse.

Because it covers a wide area, it’s great at killing groups of minions and therefore clearing lanes. It’s also easy to hit enemy Heroes with it.

Drain Life (W)

Drain Life is an extremely important Primary Ability, as it is what you’ll use to keep Gul’dan alive. It doesn’t cost any mana. When cast, Gul’dan sucks the life from a target unit, dealing heavy damage per second for 3 seconds, while healing himself for a considerable amount of health. The spell is interrupted when Gul’dan moves.

The health restored is a little less than amount expended using Life Tap, however, which prohibits Gul’dan from spamming his spells ad infinitum. It therefore helps to pay attention to Gul'dan’s health and mana bars. Also worth noting is Drain Life’s 10-second cooldown.

Drain Life doesn’t have the best range, but this can be remedied by choosing the Glyph of Drain Life Talent, which boosts said range by 50%. Other Talents exist which reduce Drain Life’s cooldown, raise its damage, and increase the health Gul’dan recovers.

Corruption (E)

Gul’dan summons 3 AOE bursts of dark energy, massively damaging enemies over 6 seconds. The spell can stack as many as 3 times on enemies.

Corruption’s another Ability that’s effective at clearing enemy waves. When timed and positioned correctly, it can also be devastating against fleeing Heroes, as they’ll end up getting blasted by all 3 bursts. Corruption also has good range. It does have a 16-second cooldown, though.

Corruption can be upgraded to increase its damage and reduce its cooldown.

Horrify (R1)

Gul’dan’s first Heroic Ability is also one of the deadliest in “Heroes of the Storm.” Following a short delay, Gul’dan casts Fear on a target location. For 2 seconds, affected enemy Heroes suffer heavy damage and flee from the spell’s point of impact. Cooldown is 80 seconds.

Horrify has many uses. For one, if several enemy Heroes are gathered around an objective, Horrify will frighten them away, allowing you and your allies to steal said objective. Horrify breaks enemy formations, dispersing the opposing team and making it easier for you to pick them off one by one. The spell can also exert some control over where the enemy goes. For example, by detonating Horrify on just the right spot, it can force opposing Heroes to run towards you, or towards an allied Tower—much to their detriment, of course. The Heroic Ability can also be used as an escape tool by allowing you to scare away those pursuing you.

The Level 20 Talent Haunt makes Horrify more lethal by increasing its damage and duration by one second.

Rain of Destruction (R2)

Once cast, Rain of Destruction bombards a large area with meteors for 7 seconds. Each meteor deals heavy damage. Cooldown is 100 seconds.

Gul’dan is immobile while the spell is in effect, making him an easy target for individuals willing to brave his hellish storm. Getting attacked while casting also doesn’t interrupt Rain of Destruction, so Gul’dan’s basically a sitting duck until the spell expires. It’s therefore crucial to choose the perfect time and place before committing to the Ability.

Because where each meteor crashes is utterly random, it’s also possible for Rain of Destruction to miss an enemy Hero many times, or even entirely, throughout its duration. So while it’ll discourage opponents from entering its area of effect—therefore manipulating their movements to some extent—it’s not as great a deterrent as similar Heroics, such as Raynor’s Hyperion.

Juggling life and death

Gul’dan may not be the squishiest of Heroes, but he definitely ranks among those you’d call “fragile.” He also lacks escape options; aside from the aforementioned Horrify, an interesting Talent called Demonic Circle gives him the ability to teleport to a chosen location. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait till Level 20 to unlock it. Taking all this into consideration, you’ll understand why keeping him alive can be quite challenging.

The good news is Gul’dan is truly quite powerful, able to eradicate Heroes with a well-timed Fel Flame, Corruption, or even Drain Life. This alone can deter enemies from getting too close to him. Still, it’s in your best interest to seek the assistance of allies—especially Support Heroes—whenever possible.

One must also learn to manage Gul’dan’s health and mana properly, and avoid taking unnecessary risks. Never consume so much of his life that all it’ll take to eliminate him is a single hit, and always have some mana to spare in case you need to put the fear of whatever gods your enemies worship into them.

Reign of chaos

Gul’dan, a Hero with a host of devastating Abilities, is in the Nexus and ready to begin his reign of chaos. He’s great at clearing enemy waves and annihilating Heroes, plus he’s got one of the most effective Heroics in the form of Horrify. Skillful juggling of his mana and health will allow you to let loose a storm of destruction few will dare defy. Because if there’s one thing Gul’dan has mastered, it’s letting others know how easy it is for him to obliterate all who oppose him. — BM, GMA News

Gul’dan is now available for purchase in “Heroes of the Storm.”