Dear Bigg,

I keep wondering what the point of a Specialist is. Before the camp and tower changes, Heroes like Azmodan and Zagara were a real threat if left to their own devices. Now, it pretty much seems that any Assassin can take camps, and hold a lane with ease. So, what's the point in even drafting any Specialist? Besides Medivh, it seems that the majority of Specialists don't really have a role any longer, so it's better to take another Warrior or Assassin instead. Do you think that's true?

-Ardengate

Hey Arden, Specialists are a very hard group to define. Each Specialist aims to complete a certain goal, or just plays differently enough from an Assassin. While some Specialists have fallen from the meta and become very weak, such as Murky and Sgt. Hammer, most are still very much playable and will contribute immensely to your team if played correctly. To elaborate on a few Specialists, Azmodan helps pressure offlanes with his Trait, General of Hell, while also dealing significant ranged burst with his Orb of Annihilation. He is also effective at clearing minion waves from a long distance. While he does not take mercenary camps, he does pressure lanes in a similar way with his Orb and Trait. Zagara plays similarly to Azmodan in the sense that she keeps pressuring multiple lanes. Nydus Network allows Zagara to be anywhere at anytime, letting her push the correct lane when needed. Knowing which lane to push, when to push it, as well as when to help your team, are the key points to a good Zagara. For the most part, Specialists have very good waveclear, allowing them to push multiple lanes at the same time, or just double soak (rotating back and forth between two waves to catch all of the minion experience from both). The ones that cannot double soak can usually hold an area for lengthy periods of time (such as Probius). Once he is set up, he is very strong at locking down a map objective for his team. Overall, whether to take a Specialist, Assassin, or Warrior depends entirely on your team composition as well as your teammates' hero pools. Specialists can make or break a team based on the Heroes you choose, as well as how the Specialist is played.

Max "Bigg" Hoskin is ranked #5 Grandmaster in Heroes of the Storm. He spends all his free time playing the game, and produces our Mind of a Master series. Have a Heroes of the Storm question you'd like Bigg to answer? Drop us a line on Twitter, Facebook or the comments section of our Tier List and Bigg will make every effort to answer it!