Deathwing Abilities and Strategy

• Most of your damaging Abilities have a significant casting delay until they hit. Take this into consideration and aim accordingly.
• Deathwing can switch Form, heal up, and restore lost Armor Plates by using Dragonflight.
• When fighting melee Heroes, Destroyer Form is recommended. Against ranged Heroes, World Breaker's long distance Abilities have an edge.
• Molten Flame should ideally be used on enemy Heroes under crowd control effects.
• Incinerate can be used on cooldown to hit enemy Heroes who get too close to Deathwing while in Destroyer Form.
• Onslaught deals more damage at the edge, so make sure to aim it properly when fighting against enemy Heroes while in World Breaker Form.
• Lava Burst can be used to poke and zone enemy Heroes while in Destroyer Form.
• Earth Shatter can be used as interrupt for channeled Abilities while in World Breaker Form.
• Cataclysm is your best escape tool but also your best engage tool. Use it carefully.
• Bellowing Roar is a powerful Heroic Ability which can be used to break the enemy formation and isolate a target to kill.
• Deathwing does not get any healing in the Hall of Storms. When you need to heal up, use Dragonflight instead of Hearthstone.
• Skyfall at Level 7 can be used to stall a channeled Objective multiple times during Dragonflight.
• Elementium Plating at Level 16 can be activated to protect Deathwing from incoming burst damage.

Molten Flame (Q) Deathwing

• Cooldown: 3 seconds

After 1.5 seconds, Deathwing breathes a stream of flame, dealing 19 (+4% per level) damage every 0.125 seconds. Drains 30 Energy per second.

Molten Flame is a Basic Ability that deals a lot of damage to all foes standing in its area.

Deathwing cannot move or cast other Abilities while channeling it, so be sure to not be in a dangerous position before using it.

Keep in mind that Molten Flame consumes a lot of Energy, preventing Deathwing from using other Abilities for a few seconds if you channel it for 3 seconds.

We recommend using Molten Flame after enemies have been locked down in place by friendly crowd control to maximize its value.

Remember that you can use it while sieging as it deals damage to enemy Structures as well, although it is not as effective against them as it is against Heroes.

Incinerate (W) Deathwing

• Mana: 30
• Cooldown: 7 seconds

After 0.75 seconds, Deathwing flaps his wings, dealing 100 (+4% per level) damage to nearby enemies.

World Breaker: Lava Burst

Create a lava pool that damages and Slows.

Incinerate is a Basic Ability available only when Deathwing is in Destroyer Form that, after a short delay, deals damage to everyone in a relatively big area around Deathwing.

While it does not deal a large amount of damage itself, both the cooldown and the Energy cost are relatively low and as such Incinerate can be use whenever available, especially if Deathwing is surrounded by multiple enemies.

Onslaught (E) Deathwing

• Mana: 20
• Cooldown: 5 seconds

After 0.5 seconds, Deathwing lunges in a direction dealing 60 (+4% per level) damage to enemies and Slowing them by 35% for 2 seconds. Deathwing bites enemies at the end of the lunge, dealing an additional 120 (+4% per level) damage.

World Breaker: Earth Shatter

Damage and Stun enemies in two lines.

Onslaught is a Basic Ability available only when Deathwing is in Destroyer Form that, after a short delay, makes Deathwing lunge in the chosen direction.

While it does not make Deathwing faster at travelling from a point to another, Onslaught is the only reliable source of mobility that Deathwing has access to. Use it as a form of engage, to dodge enemy Abilities, or to quickly disengage.

Lava Burst (W) Deathwing

• Mana: 25
• Cooldown: 9 seconds

After a 1 second delay, deal 35 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies in an area and create a pool of magma that deals 28 (+4% per level) damage per second and Slows enemies by 45%. Lasts 6 seconds.

Destroyer: Incinerate

Damage enemies near Deathwing.

Lava Burst is a Basic Ability available only when Deathwing is in the World Breaker Form that, after a short delay, spawns a small lava pool in a target area that damages and Slows enemies inside.

Thanks to its cooldown and duration being the same, you can easily use Lava Burst as a powerful zoning tool that will force enemy Heroes to choose between taking damage and changing path.

Earth Shatter (E) Deathwing

• Mana: 25
• Cooldown: 12 seconds

Create a fissure of earth that deals 90 (+4% per level) damage to enemies hit and Stuns them for 0.75 seconds.

Destroyer: Onslaught

Lunge in a direction.

Earth Shatter is a Basic Ability available only when Deathwing is in the World Breaker Form which creates two fissures on the ground that damage and Stun enemies hit.

You can use it to interrupt enemy Heroes who are trying to channel an Ability.

Cataclysm (R) Deathwing

• Heroic
• Cooldown: 90 seconds

After 2 seconds, Deathwing flies in the targeted direction, dealing 90 (+4% per level) damage on impact and leaving scorched ground that deals 36 (+4% per level) damage a second. Lasts 6 seconds.

Quest: Hit Heroes with Molten Flame to grant 1 stack.

Quest: Score Takedowns to grant 50 stacks.

Mythic Reward: After reaching 2000 stacks, Deathwing brings on the Hour of Twilight. Cataclysm's periodic damage to Structures is increased by 2500%.

Cataclysm is a Heroic Ability that, after 2 seconds of delay, makes Deathwing fly over a wide and long area, dealing damage to enemies who touch that zone during the next 6 seconds.

To avoid that enemy Heroes will simply walk out from the fire, use Cataclysm in conjunction with crowd control provided by the rest of your team and/or when the enemy team is near a choke point.

As good as Cataclysm is when used offensively, sometimes using it defensively to escape an enemy assault can be the wisest approach. Not only will Deathwing fly a considerable distance away, but he can even fly over impassable terrain to completely deny the enemy team any chance to take him down. When using it this way, it is crucial to anticipate its cast time to compensate the huge delay it has before actually going off.

Deathwing can use this Heroic Ability from Level 1, but it will have almost 4 minutes of cooldown when the game starts.

Bellowing Roar (2) Deathwing

After 1 second, Deathwing unleashes a mighty roar, dealing 25 (+4% per level) damage to nearby Heroes and causing them to run in Fear for 1.5 seconds.

Bellowing Roar is a Heroic Ability that can be used to Fear enemy Heroes who are surrounding Deathwing. Since it has a short delay, it should be cast when enemy Heroes are quite close to Deathwing and have no mobility tools to suddenly run away, or as a follow-up to allied crowd control effects.

Deathwing can have both Heroic Abilities at the same time. This means that he can use both Cataclysm and Bellowing Roar in quick succession to surprise enemy Heroes with a powerful engage. This aggressive play should only be attempted when you are confident in your team's ability to follow-up with damage and/or crowd control.

Aspect of Death (D) Deathwing

• Passive

Deathwing is fitted with 4 Armor Plates which grant 10 Armor each. Every 25% Health lost causes Deathwing to lose a plate. Plates are only restored when Dragonflight is used, based on the amount of Health Deathwing has when landing.

Deathwing is also a mighty Dragon Aspect who is permanently Unstoppable and deals 100% additional Spell Damage to Heroes, but views his allies with contempt and ignores any of their friendly effects.

Aspect of Death is a Trait that is a unique mechanic that provides Deathwing with a surprising amount of survivability on the battlefield. Every 25% health lost causes him to lose one Armor Plate, lowering Deathwing's innate Armor by 10. The lost Armor can only be rebuilt when Dragonflight is used, depending on the amount of Health that Deathwing has upon landing.

Due to his massive dragon body, Aspect of Death also causes Deathwing to be immune to any form of enemy crowd control at the cost of also ignoring any form of allied buffs and healing, including the instant heal provided by Hearthstone and the healing over time effect in the Hall of Storms. This means that, when Deathwing needs to heal, he must rely on Dragonflight. All that said, Deathwing can still use the Healing Fountain as any other Hero.

Dragonflight (Z) Deathwing

• Cooldown: 15 seconds

After 3 seconds, fly into the sky, becoming Immune to all effects and gaining 2.5% Health per second. Once cast, this ability cannot be interrupted. Cannot be cast for 6 seconds after taking damage, Basic Attacking or casting an Ability.

Dragonflight is a Mount replacement Ability that, after 3 seconds of delay, allows Deathwing to fly in the air, regenerate 2.5% maximum Health per second, and restore Armor Plates as he heals up. After flying for at least 8 seconds, Deathwing will be able to land wherever he has vision by using either Destroyer or World Breaker. Deathwing's Form after landing will be based on which Ability has been used to land. After landing, you will not be able to use any Ability for 4 seconds, therefore you should generally prefer to land away from enemy Heroes.

This unique Ability is your main form of self-sustain in lane and makes up for the fact that Healers and other allied Heroes cannot heal Deathwing. Use it every time your Health is dangerously low, in preparation for upcoming fights, or right before an Objective spawns on the battlefield. Avoid landing too early or you will not restore the last Armor Plate, which will result in you having 30 instead of 40 Armor.

Deathwing has a Baseline Quest which requires to damage enemy Heroes with Molten Flame to gain 1 stack every 3 hits or to kill enemy Heroes you recently hit to gain 50 stacks. Upon reaching 2000 stacks, you unlock the Mythic Reward: Cataclysm deals 2500% damage to Structures and Minions. This means that Deathwing can single-handedly destroy enemy Structures in the area affected by Cataclysm in a few seconds.

The best way to get stacks is to kill enemy Heroes. The second best way to get stacks is to stay together with allied Heroes capable to lock enemy Heroes in place with crowd control effects and be ready to use Molten Flame as follow-up. This way enemy Heroes will not be able to simply walk out from the affected area.