by JR Cook - 7 years ago     show comments

It is that time of the week again, where we look at how the professionals play and think to ourselves, “That looks easy, I think I’ll do it too!”

It is important to keep in mind that while the rest of us have moved on to a new patch and a new Hero, the players in the HGC are still on the Valeera patch. This means no one is breaking it down and no one is impossibly hard to kill and only counts as a quarter of a Hero even if you do manage to kill him. Those are topics for another day.

Today it is all about fetishes, the kids who never get picked for dodge ball, and knowing when to move on.

Shaking With Excitement

I think we can all agree that there is something wrong with Nazeebo.

No, I don’t mean he is OP or bad for the game, I mean he is just a weird dude. With that being said, he is also sneaky good. While he hasn’t been picked often in the HGC, he does boast a healthy 67% win rate across 21 games. He also has a solid win rate in Quick Match and Hero League games as well.

Nazeebo isn’t just sneaky good, he is also sneaky difficult. While it is fairly easy to be a decent Nazeebo once you learn how to not trap your teammates with Zombie Wall (E), being a game changing Nazeebo is dependent on how quickly you are able to build up your Voodoo Ritual (D) stacks.

Most Nazeebo players go with the traditional Spider Build, but there is a new build that is showing remarkable strength. Dubbed “The Spider Zombie Thing” by Horsepants, it was the subject of a recent guide posted on Reddit. Although the guide itself is excellent, it may not be suitable for those who wish to avoid pay channel language or over use of memes, so consider yourself warned.

Although only a fraction of Nazeebo players are actually using it, this build has the highest winning percentage in both QM and HL, at 69.6% and 65.5% respectively. This build is especially strong against spell casters thanks to Superstition at Level 13, which allows you to shrug off 50% of spell damage. It is also best if you are able to rotate between lanes as much as possible to maximize your Voodoo Ritual and Blood Ritual stacks.

Nazeebo currently shows up in less than 25% of Hero League games so he is available in most drafts. If you are looking for a Hero to climb with and you can get good with him, Nazeebo looks like a great option.

And Then There Were Two

As we reach the halfway mark of the first phase of the HGC almost ever Hero has seen at least some play. The two exceptions are Gazlowe and Murky. Despite hundreds of games played, these two Heroes have yet to make an appearance. Given the recent buffs to Murky it is safe to assume that he will make his debut as soon as play moves to the new patch, but Gazlowe may be waiting a while before he gets his turn. Maybe some team desperate to avoid the Crucible will try some type of Gazlowe cheese strategy or maybe he will just have to wait until Phase 2 of the HGC and hope the map pool is more favorable to him.

You Can’t Win Them All

If your games are anything like mine, you regularly see people who contest each and every Objective, regardless of whether or not it makes sense to do so.

Three teammates down? Better charge in 2v5 because Objectives are important and we can’t let the enemy have it uncontested. Enemy team just hit Level 10? It doesn’t matter that they have Heroics and you don’t, the Objective is up! The entire enemy team is dead and the bottom lane is wide open? Obviously you should spend 25 seconds to control the Shrines and cap the Dragon Knight instead of just winning the game.

One great lesson that the HGC can teach us is that there are times when not contesting an Objective is the correct decision. As you watch the games keep an eye out for those situations where teams decide to pass on an Objective. Ask yourself why they made that decision and take note of what they did instead. As important as it is to know when it makes sense to forgo the Objective, it is equally important that you use that time to do something useful instead. Soak XP, push a lane, take a Merc Camp, hearth back to top off your health and mana so you are ready to defend. Just do something! Also be sure to communicate with your team, either by chat or by ping, to let them know not to contest the Objective. It doesn’t always work, but hopefully you can prevent them from rushing in shorthanded and getting killed.

Knowing when to give up an Objective is especially important on maps like Infernal Shrines or Towers of Doom, where the Objective can’t be split. Only one team is going to get a Punisher, so getting 39 guardians has absolutely no value if the other team gets 40. While there can be benefit in delaying your opponent, it is inefficient to devote your entire team to delaying if it is a foregone conclusion that you are going to lose the Objective anyway and it certainly isn’t worth dying for. If you want to delay and harass you are much better off having two Heroes poke at the enemy while the other three do something to create pressure elsewhere on the map.

With NA and EU on a bye leading into the Western Clash, all eyes will be on Korea this weekend. There should be some great learning opportunities considering that every global event in 2016 was won by a Korean team.

See you next week!