Stukov is the sort of support hero I’ve been waiting for. I’ll freely admit that his kit was a surprise, and although I’d have preferred another Specialist added to the roster, supports desperately need their numbers improving. Having launched on July 11, 2017, our favorite Admiral has now been out in the wild for some time.  With a little over 14,000 games played on HOTSLogs, combined with 18,000 bans, it’s fair to say he’s not only popular, but also loathed in equal measure.

What’s particularly interesting about Stukovs launch is the fact that the number of bans made against him have always been high. Whether this is a hangover from Malthael and his strength at release, or because of sentiment shared by streamers such as Grubby about how strong Stukov can be, it’s strange to see a new support hero so readily removed from play. What’s particularly interesting about Stukov and bans made against him is that he’s not particularly difficult to deal with, and - I would argue - has an array of limitations that neuter his potential. I’m not suggesting he isn’t strong, but to make him first ban material feels somewhat overzealous.

If I may digress a little before I talk more about Stukov, I think it’s fair to say that support heroes in Heroes of the Storm are fairly one dimensional. Besides the need for strong positioning and a keen eye for reading fights, support kits are fairly simple and most, if not all, lack any considerable depth. Despite my love of playing such heroes, they aren’t always as engaging as they could be, and I’d argue that many other MOBAs offer an array of support heroes vastly superior to what Heroes of the Storm has. Despite this quibble, the arrival of Stukov has, at the very least, set out to significantly improve the existing roster.

Despite a kit that looks fairly straightforward, Stukov has surprising amount of depth. The need to manage his primary heal (Healing Pathogen), alongside the use of his Trait (Bio-Kill Switch), and his offensive attack (Weighted Pustule), sees him juggle relentlessly. While there are periods of down-time, certainly when Bio-Kill Switch and Weighted Pustule are on cooldown, he still has to effectively manage his positioning, need to melee, use of Lurking Arm, and the refreshing of Healing Pathogen. It’s a lot to handle, especially if you’re to not only monitor the effective use of when to best use your trait, but also your silence on the right player, at the right time.

The level of involvement Stukov requires feels rare in Heroes of the Storm, so it’s incredibly refreshing to play a Hero that aims to not only be a support first and foremost, but one that’s genuinely challenging. While many might argue that all existing support heroes have their own learning curve, I’m not entirely convinced they’ve the amount of layering Stukov has. It’s undoubtedly a good thing to have complex heroes, though it does highlight the simplicity of others (Lt. Morales).

If there’s anything I dislike about Stukov, it’s simply that his talent choices are fairly poor and opportunities to build on Weighted Pustule are limited. Ideally, I’d have liked to have seen an equal array of talents across all three of his abilities, at all levels, but with variants on Weighted Pustule that would allow him to pursue much more damage over time. He has a kit that is ripe for allowing him to become a hybrid (not too dissimilar to Kharazim). Unfortunately for Stukov, many of his talents are lacklustre and as HOTSLogs clearly demonstrates, there are few, if any variables.

If I were Blizzard, I’d be looking at revising all his Weighted Pustule talents so that he could, as one example, build as an epidemic DOT dealer. A talent I thought could be interesting would be to reverse the functionality of Weighted Pustule and Healing Pathogen, so that his offensive ability spreads, while his heal becomes a path-based projectile.

Other improvements Stukov needs would include a lowering of the base cooldown for Flailing Swipe, while taking a look at all his level 13 and 16 talents. With the exception of Pox Populi (which ensures Bio-Kill Switch doesn’t remove Healing Pathogen), they’re all fairly dire. Finally, would granting players control over Massive Shove and when they can cancel, it be too strong? As it stands, sometimes I want to just push someone away to a point of my choosing and not necessarily into scenery: it feels a little odd to not have such control.

Besides the above I think Stukov is a triumph and an exceptionally well designed hero. He has undoubtedly muscled in amongst the likes of Auriel and Malfurion and in many ways, has unseated both. For what he lacks in mobility he more than makes up for in sustain and utility. Although he remains fairly easy to draft against, he’s a hero which will undoubtedly see a great deal of playtime in the competitive scene. If Blizzard can revisit the majority of his talents to increase his build diversity, he’ll undoubtedly be one of, if not the strongest support heroes in the game.


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Last Updated: Jul 24, 2017

About The Author

Lewis is a long standing journalist, who freelances to a variety of outlets.

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