While playing Heroes of the Storm there is a lot to know, starting with how your character plays, how your enemy plays, and how the map plays.  This guide will provide some tips that will help you win games played on the Haunted Mines map.

Haunted Mines – Basics

The Haunted Mines is the smallest map in Heroes of the Storm, being made up of only two very short lanes.  It does however have an extra part of the map that is accessed through two mine entrances located in the middle of each lane.

The mines open up to players every few minutes and it is then a race between the teams to slay the minions and boss found there.  There are 100 skulls that can be collected; 70 from the minions and 30 from the boss. Once all 100 are collected a Grave Golem is summoned for each team.  The golems strength is based on the number of skulls that your team has collected.  The more you get the better your golem will be compared to your opponents.

The golems travel down opposing lanes and focus on destroying enemy structures.  Once a golem has been killed its corpse remains in place and when the next round of skulls is collected it starts from there.

Haunted Mines – Map

Haunted Mines – Tactics

  • This map is really about maximizing the skulls your team collects and then maximizing your golem’s effectiveness. To do either of these things you need to be alive though so make sure that you are more cautious when a mine phase is nearing, especially later in the game when resurrection timers increase in length.  It is however also a great time to get a kill on an opponent, so if you see a chance to safely do so, take it.
  • Since your golem will travel down a set path and focus on enemy structures, any help you can give it makes a difference.  A great tactic is to send 4 players down the lane that your golem will travel and push down the first enemy towers and gate even before the first mine phase.  This is hard to do, as your opponents will likely catch on and react and try to stop you, but by doing so they are not focusing down your towers either.  The best hero to send to opponents golems lane to stall the enemy push is Tassadar as he can kill large amounts of lane minions with his AOE damage and also protect your towers with his shield.  If you do not have Tassadar, then Raynor or Valla can also stall for a while, just not as well.
  • When a mine phase starts, players should group up and enter the mines together at one location, either top or bottom whichever lane your team is currently pushing.  Make sure everyone on the team is aware of which location will be used and sticks close enough together to support each other when the enemy team is encountered.
  • The minions in the mines each drop 2 skulls when killed and once collected you do not lose them if you die.  It is therefore imperative that you kill them quickly and collect the skulls as soon as they drop.  You can also rush in to steal skulls as they drop as your opponent is killing off minions or the boss. 
  • Other than the first time that the mines open, players can enter before the minions spawn.  By doing this you can position yourself in the middle of the mines where more minions spawn so that you can collect more skulls faster.
  • If your team has a strong lane pusher such as Azmodan, Sergeant Hammer, or Gazlowe, it may be best to leave them out of the mine phase entirely and allow them to continue to push while the rest of the team is in the mines.  This is not always possible though as depending on team makeup the lack of DPS may cause the rest of the team to be killed in any team fight that occurs in the mines.  Adjust as required, but if able to this can significantly speed up your golems push to the enemy core.
  • Once the golems spawn maximizing your golems effectiveness is all about judging how much effort should go into protecting yours and how much should go into killing your opponents. A good basic guideline is to send 3 players with your golem and 2 against your opponents.  The DPS should kill your opponents golem while any support, tanks, or heroes with strong CC should focus on protecting your own golem.  This should be adjusted based on the relative strength of each teams golem.  If yours is much stronger then you can get away with only sending 1 player against your opponents, if theirs is much stronger then you should send 3 or more players against the opponents.  If the opponent’s golem is ever at 80 or more skulls then the whole team should just focus on it rather than wasting any effort support your weak golem.
  • Mercenary camps on this map do not do a lot, since they push the opposite lane that your golem travels.  Unless your team is in a dominant position, or has someone that can grab a mercenary camp solo, it is often not worth the effort to grab them.  The two other times that are viable times to get them are when you have died in the mines and will not make it back into the fight before it is done or just as the golems are starting their march and the mercs would help beat down your opponents golem.

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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Byron has been playing and writing about World of Warcraft for the past ten years. He also plays pretty much ever other Blizzard game, currently focusing on Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, while still finding time to jump into Diablo III with his son.

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