During one of the handful of breaks I took from my Destiny 2 binge over the last weekend, I took the time to have a few games using the newest champion in Heroes of the Storm, Kel’Thuzad. I lost as many games as I won, but a ranged assassin with mostly skillshot skills is not a hero I am much good at.
Kel’Thuzad is a high skill hero. With a massive reliance on combo’s and skill shots it takes quick reflexes and a good amount of game knowledge to properly utilize this hero. A player with enough skill could easily destroy a team with the proper backup and if they catch an enemy team by surprise. His slows, pulls and ground effects all combine into a brutal way of playing that matches Kel’Thuzad from the Warcraft franchise well.
On the surface, I thought KT would be pretty easy to play, and if I had been playing on AI Training mode I probably would have had a much easier time of things. I even managed to win my first game in a live match with him, but I think it was more the fact that the team underestimated his higher-level gameplay. KT in my hands was a slow burn hero, meaning that he takes a while before his damage is at a level where a surprise jump on anything but a tank means death to the enemy. Until that point, there is a lot of running away.
Outside of his gameplay though the aesthetic that Blizzard have built around him is excellent. You will often start a game with him only to hear a member of your team complain that he is there. KT doesn’t let these comments slide without remark either. His casual returns are exactly what people remember of his flippant attitude in Warcraft, or at least how I remember him as I culled Naxxramas in Wrath of the Lich King.
Beyond that his character design matches the characteristically stunning designs that every hero in Heroes of the Storm has. Every detail has been seen too with meticulous attention and for that I am grateful. No longer do I need to slog through Naxx in order to glory in his skeletal magnificence.
As to if he will be a highly played hero or not, only time will tell. His abilities in the early to midgame felt a bit soft but that could just be from my inability to play a MOBA with any degree of skill beyond a total noob. If you like Heroes of the Storm as well as have nostalgia from Naxxramas then KT is a must buy.
