Overview

Cho'gall is a unique Hero that requires two players to control him at all times. Unlike Abathur that can symbiote on a Hero temporarily, Cho'gall permanently requires two. Cho is the legs of the operation and players who choose him will move the partnership around the map. Cho is also focused on melee attacks and initiation, whilst Gall utilizes just abilities. What makes Cho'gall particularly interesting is the fact that both Heroes play very differently and require true coordination to maximize both sets of abilities.

Unsurprisingly, Cho'gall has the highest health of any Hero in the game, meaning he can not only withstand a huge amount of punishment but his total set of 8 abilities makes him a dangerous presence. Unfortunately for Cho'gall, he only really excels on small Battlegrounds where he can rotate quickly, while he's particularly vulnerable to sustained damage - especially if opponents have maximum health modifiers (such as Tychus).

Updated: 21 October 2019

Pros

Cons

A very "tanky" warrior that provides a great deal of prescence in a team fight

Requires exceptional communication as a pair 

His abilities synergise exceptionally well

Horrendous to play outside of using voice communication

Played properly, he's incredibly powerful and can really cause problems for most teams 

Team fights are, inevitably, 4 versus 5 

With access to two heroic abilities, he can be so strong in small team fights

If Cho'gall dies, it counts as two kills

Amazing when solo laning

Stupidly vulnerable to damage modifiers (based on maximum health)

Trait

Ogre Hide (Trait) - Ogre Hide allows Cho to boost his and Gall's armor by 25, reducing the damage they take by 25%. The downside is that having Ogre Hide active reduces the damage of Gall by 25%. It's incredibly important to regularly rotate into Ogre Hide when under pressure and when Gall doesn't neccesarily need huge damage. The amount of mitigation is massive so try to have it active when you anticipate being under heavy fire. 

Abilities

Cho

Surging Fist (Q) - Cho's primary attack and a means of both engaging in and escaping from combat, Surging Fist is vital to your play. It takes a second to wind up and you have to use the skill again to physically charge fowards. I would sincerely advise that you use it defensively however because it's your only form of mobility and it will often gaurentee your escape. It's also worth noting that Surging Fist doesn't make you Unstoppable until late game so a single root or stun can well and truly ruin your party. 

Consuming Blaze (W) - Consuming Blaze allows Cho to regain some health after striking nearby enemies. Unlike its previous iteration, Consuming Blaze now only heals Cho when an enemy is Ignited - which requires you to use a basic attack against them. The healing isn't huge but the AOE damage over time is fairly significant. Try to use Consuming Blaze in amongst a crowd of minions or players. 

Rune Bomb (E) - Run Bomb is Cho'gall's dual attack that requires interaction from both Heroes. Cho will roll the Rune Bomb forwards, dealing damage to enemies in its path. Whilst it's rolling, Gall can detonate it for additional damage. It's incredible for sieging enemy structures while it's fantastic to throw into a team fight for maximum damage. Just be sur Gall knows he has to detonate it. 

Hammer of Twilight (R) - Hammer of Twilight a strong Heroic because it provides a 25% damage bonus to his basic attacks, but he can also trigger the skill to deal damage, knock enemies back and stun them briefly. When you've melee Heroes hitting on you and if Surging Fist is on cooldown, it's your only tool for survival.

Upheaval (R) - Upheaval comes with a hefty cooldown, but is an enormously powerful Heroic ability. Its range is huge and pulls enemies struck towards Cho'gall, slowing them by 25% for 3 seconds. In a small environment or when your foes are fleeing, it's very useful at preventing that. Essentially it's a sexed up version of Kerrigan's Primal Grasp and ideal in the current meta if you're under heavy ranged fire. 

Gall

Ogre Rage (Trait) - Ogre Rage is a little different to Cho's Ogre Hide, Gall is immune to stuns and silence effects at all times, meaning that even if his partner is incapacitated, he can still fire all his skills. In addition to this, activating his trait allows him to boost his damage by 25% but this, in turn, reduces his armor by 25. Ideally you want Ogre Rage to be active when attacking as it's a huge boost to your damage output. Just be sure to switch to Ogre Hide when under pressure.

Shadowflame (Q) - Shadowflame offers a high damage beam attack that fires in a straight line. Its 3 second cooldown means it can be used constantly and if you can, against as many people as possible. You should never not be firing Shadowflame and if possible, always try to aim for squishy targets. 

Dread Orb (W) - Dread Orb is a long distance, slow moving bomb that bounces three times, dealing high damage to those caught by it. It's pretty predictable but it's great at knocking on enemy towers or dropping it early so it bounces to an Objective. On maps such as Infernal Shrines it's fantastic against a group of enemy players fighting over one location. If you can, you should also be reversing the bomb every third bounce so that it comes back onto enemy targets. 

Runic Blast (E) - Runic Blast is the detonate of Rune Bomb. I'd always recommend that you use it amongst as many enemies as possible for maximum damage. If Cho throws a Rune Bomb, don't forget to detonate it as the Rune Bomb will then simply roll forwards without any impact. 

Shadow Bolt Volley (R) - Shadow Bolt Volley is probably one of my favorite heroic abilities in the game and in the right hands, it can be absolutely devastating. Firing a huge amount of projectiles in front of Cho'gall, it deals very high damage to the first target struck. The downside is that it has a slow turning circle when you want to reaim it. Used in a corridor or small area, it can destroy players so easily. Just be aware that it has a very slow turning circle so be sure to aim in the right direction before firing it. 

Twisting Nether (R) - His second heroic ability and with a longer cooldown, Twisting Nether allows you to detonate an AOE slow, dealing huge damage to those affected. It's fantastic after using Upheavel as your pull > slow combination effectively traps players next to you. I think on balance though, the ranged damage of Shadow Bolt Volley just pips Twisting Nether. 

Talents

Cho

Level 1: Fuel for the Flame

Consuming Blaze isn't amazing by default, so taking Fuel for the Flame is much needed. Every minion killed provides an increase to the healing component by 0.3 and each takedown, 3%. It's a fair increase over the course of a match and provides some much needed sustain. 

Level 4: Rollback

Allowing Rune Bomb to roll forwards and then backwards, Rollback effectively allows for two strikes of the same ability, before allowing you to detonate it. It's a solid amount of additional damage, requiring nothing from Cho besides a good aim. 

Level 7: Firestarter

Building on Consuming Blaze, Firestarter allows Cho to increase the Ignite duration from his ability every time he lands a basic attack. Not only that but it provides a flat 3 second cooldown reduction on Consuming Blaze, allowing you to use it much more often. 

Level 10: Upheaval

Causing massive mayhem to those Cho catches, Upheaval pulls all enemies towards him and slows them in the process, allowing for considerable follow-up, especially when combined with Twisting Nether. 

Level 13: Runic Feedback

Runic Feedback builds on Rollback and allows Gall to lower the cooldown of Runic Bomb every time he detonates it. Enemies hit reduce its cooldown by 1 second, and Heroes hit 2 seconds. In a group environment, this provides massive up-time for the ability.

Level 16: Surging Dash

I really love Molten Block. It gives much needed mitigation during "Oh shit!" moments but also deals damage. It buys you time for cooldowns and for your allies to catch up with you. Considering you'll be focused a lot, it's a good way of avoiding damage.

Level 20: Hour of Twilight

Cho'gall's death timer is huge, so taking Hour of Twilight to reduce it by 50% is a no-brainer.

Gall

Level 1: Taskmaster

Reducing the cooldown of Shove by 10 seconds (Gall's Z that grants movement speed every 30 seconds), Taskmaster also sees its cooldown further reduced by 1 second every time Cho is hit by a basic attack. Some much needed constant mobility.

Variable: Cho'gall is vulnerable to a group of enemy players seeking to "gank" him, so having vision available when laning is a very good thing. We See You! allows Gall to improve his Eye of Kilrogg, increasing its vision by 33% and decreasing its cooldown by 15 seconds. 

Level 4: Bomb's Away

Being able to cast Cho's Rune Bomb from a 20% longer range is great for an early fight and also allows you to really capitalize on the fact the Rune Bomb will roll back on itself at maximum range. Bomb's Away is great for lane push, while hitting a Hero increases its damage by 5 (per Hero - limitless).

Level 7: Double Trouble

A Quest Talent, Double Trouble allows Gall to lower the cooldown of Shadowflame by 1 second for every Hero he hits who's affected by Consuming Blaze. If he hits a total of 20 Heroes, its cooldown is further lowered by 1 second. Simply put, when fully completed you can have as little as a 1 second cooldown on your strongest ability.

Level 10: Twisting Nether

Purely for its pairing with Upheaval, Twisting Nether is an amazing follow-up that further slows and then detonates for massive damage to those caught in its radius. It needs 5 seconds to fully channel, but you can trigger it any time you like.

Level 13: Searing Shadows

Building on your Shadowflame, Searing Shadows now deals an extra 2% of a players maximum health as damage. Against any player, that's a nice little bump to your damage output. 

Level 16: Deafening Blast

Deafening Blast is your last chance to build on Rune Bomb, and provides Gall with amazing utility: the ability to silence when Rune Bomb detonates. It's a no-brainer, and ridiculously strong in amongst a group of enemy Heroes.

Level 20: The Will of Gall

Granting Gall a 2% damage bonus on his Trait for every Takedown, The Will of Gall is incredibly potent and ensures that late game he deals enormous damage.

Tips

This list of tips and tricks are just a handful of things we think will help your Cho'gall play. We'll continue to add to the list as required and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here. 


1. As Cho'gall, you have to communicate with each other. Without good communication, you'll find you miss-time skills and fail to capitalize on attacking the enemy properly. Work together and use voice coms!

2. Remember that Gall has the offensive, constantly. It's his job to deal out the damage and be your extra pair of eyes. 

3. A lot of pressure is placed on Cho as he's in charge of movement - try to play him as you would Muradin or Johanna. You can take some punishment, but that doesn't mean you should overextend. 

4. Being two Heroes in one means you can often bully lanes. Use this to your advantage as you arriving on solo lane can make it a 3 versus 1 fight. 

5. Having two heroic skills is amazing for dealing an enormous amount of damage in a very short space of time. Make use of this as often as possible on squishy targets. 

6. If you die the enemy team will secure two kills - try your best to retreat when neccesary. 

7. Surging Fist is a valuable engage but also your best means of escape. Quickly double tap the skill to zip away.

8. You've more health than any other Warrior - use this to your advantage in a team fight, especially if you have a healer. You can withstand a lot of punishment with a pocket rocket by your side.

9. Hurry Up, Oaf! is an invaluable form of escape. Never use it to engage (hit Z!)

10. Gall should always be using his abilities, constantly. They have such low cooldowns that he's key to your damage output. If he isn't firing off skills, he's doing something wrong. 

11. Try to always communicate with your partner as to what trait you're going with. It's best to activate Cho's under pressure and Gall's when you can free damage. 

12. When it comes to drafting Cho'gall, be sure to ban heroes such as Tychus and Valla. Their damage modifiers can ruin your health in a matter of seconds. 

13. Cho'gall works best on small Battlegrounds so that he can rotate lanes quickly. He's a bad idea on something like Warhead Junction as it's simply too big and requires Objective interaction. 

14. A good support to encourage your team to draft alongside Cho'gall is Malfurion or Rehgar. Both can keep him alive for very long periods. 

15. Don't just rush in as Cho'gall as you can be quickly focused down. Be sure to poke with Gall before running towards the nearest target. It's best to save Surging Fist for when you want to escape, unless you can be sure you'll last long enough to use it twice. 


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Last Updated: Oct 21, 2019

About The Author

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

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