Cortyn has extensively played Stukov, the new addition in Heroes of the Storm. The new supporter is impressive!
In recent days, I have been playing Heroes of the Storm more frequently. This is not only due to the current summer event, which features some fun skins and sprays, but also due to the new hero in the Nexus: Stukov. The good Terran was already a significant figure in StarCraft, made an appearance in StarCraft 2, and quickly became one of the most popular characters overall. But who can resist the infested Terran with the penetrating eyes (at least, if you’re a Zerg)?
An overview of Stukov and all his abilities can be found in this article.
So I equipped the nicely red “Dictator Stukov” skin, along with a flaming horse, Zerg banner, and Nova’s spray logo, and (what else?) Sparkles as the announcer.
Stukov: A healer who needs brains
Stukov differs from other supporters in Heroes of the Storm in that he requires planning and timing. His healing pathogen is a relatively weak heal-over-time effect (HoT), which jumps to other allies every second.
By pressing a key, you can blow up this HoT with the immunoreaction and heal all affected allies for a large amount. The greatest effect is achieved when all teammates are affected by the HoT. But in the heat of battle, there is rarely 5 seconds to wait for everyone to receive the HoT.
The problem is: The “exploding” of the HoTs is not the only effect. His ability “Viral Cyst” infects all hit enemy heroes and applies a damage-over-time effect (DoT) and a slow. With the immunoreaction, this effect is also triggered, causing higher damage and a stronger slow.
The crux is that the immunoreaction has a relatively long cooldown of 16 seconds. If you do not precisely time the moment to trigger both the HoTs and the DoTs, you waste the strongest cooldown without any significant effect.
Where Stukov strikes, nothing grows anymore
Stukov’s automatic attacks are truly amusing. Because he is “only” a supporter, he is underestimated by many enemies. However, Stukov has one of the strongest (and slowest) auto-attacks in the game! To give a comparison: In the endgame, Stukov can kill minions with just one hit – without using abilities. Where the long Zerg arm reaches, grass doesn’t grow anymore.
Moreover, Stukov is a bit of a troll at heart. Because his heroic ability Massive Shove pushes an enemy away in a straight line – and keeps going until he collides with some object. And that can easily be the whole lane! Bonus points are awarded on the “Towers of Doom” map – if you push an enemy into the death zone, you are guaranteed a kill.
Equally “trolly” is the Deep Arm. This ability creates a zone where enemies take damage and are silenced. With the right talents, the zone becomes so large that whole paths and even fort gates can be blocked. Due to the high range of the ability, it often drives enemies crazy – a wonderfully satisfying feeling!
Conclusion: A cool healer who requires finesse
Stukov excels in situations where his team is closely grouped together – either a pure melee or a pure ranged team. In a mixed group, Stukov must ensure that healing jumps to all allies, which is why he has to be particularly careful to always stand in the right spot.
Although Stukov is only rated as “medium difficulty” by the game, I find it extremely challenging to play Stukov really solidly. It’s a bit comparable to Chromie, as only good planning ensures that Stukov is actually an asset to the team. But if it succeeds, you can single-handedly decide the games. My life for the swarm!
Have you already played some matches with or against Stukov? How do you like the new hero?
