Diablo Build Guide “Kneel before the Lord of Terror.”

Free Hero Rotation

Free Hero Rotation

Free Hero Rotation

Free Hero Rotation

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Last updated on Dec 22, 2016 at 10:16 by Oxygen 28 comments

General Information

Welcome to our Diablo guide for Heroes of the Storm. Here you will learn everything you need to know in order to play Diablo in a competitive environment, whether you play on your own or with a team.

About the Author

Oxygen is a veteran of the MOBA genre, which he has been playing for nearly 15 years. He has coached some of Heroes of the Storm's most prominent North American players and teams alike, including Team Liquid. As a Master player, he enjoys playing all Heroes and roles.

1. Quick Reference

Shadow Charge Build (talent calculator link)

This Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge Build focuses on improving Shadow Charge to improve Diablo's ability to initiate and survivability. Key Talents are Bulwark Icon Bulwark, which reliably grants a lengthy Resistant effect, Diabolical Momentum Icon Diabolical Momentum, which greatly reduces the cooldown of Shadow Charge and Overpower Icon Overpower, and Domination Icon Domination, which allows Overpower to reset the cooldown of Shadow Charge. These talents synergise well with each other to make Diablo difficult to peel or otherwise kill and very disruptive due to the amount of crowd control he has at his disposal.

See our Talents page for further information Create your own build and share it with friends!

Synergies and Counters

Diablo synergizes with

Since Diablo provides such a reliable means of initiating, it follows naturally that he would work well with Heroes that have a strong and reliable way of playing off and following up said initiating. Any Hero that Stuns, Roots or otherwise hinders the movement of intended targets is preferred, but Heroic Abilities that synergise with Apocalypse Icon Apocalypse make for pleasant combos.

Diablo is countered by

As a tank with a large amount of Health, Diablo is naturally vulnerable to Heroes that deal percent-based damage. His reliance on being able to engage to be impactful also makes him lackluster against some of the more resilient backline Assassins who have tools to avoid or otherwise nullify his Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge + Overpower Icon Overpower combo.

Maps

Diablo's stronger maps Infernal Shrines

Diablo's average maps Blackheart's Bay

Diablo's weaker maps Battlefield of Eternity

As the premiere ganker, Diablo thrives on Maps that give him ample opportunities to catch isolated Heroes or otherwise interrupt rotations. Generally, this includes Maps with Objectives that have changing locations. In contrast, Maps that have static Objectives or that require you to destroy specific Monsters are hardly desirable for Diablo, who lacks sustained damage.

TL;DR Tips

Remember that after reviving through Black Soulstone, your Health pool will be 40% smaller.
Use Overpower right after Shadow Charge to unconditionally move opponents towards your teammates.
Cast Lightning Breath when you suspect you may be the target of a crowd control chain, as it makes you Unstoppable for the duration.
Use Apocalypse as a follow-up or counter-initiation tool to improve your chances of hitting many opponents.

See our Abilities page for further information

2. Introduction

Diablo is an aggressive Warrior. With multiple crowd control Abilities that also displace his opponents, he excels at setting up and peeling for his teammates, and punishing poor positioning. His very limited single-target damage output, however, makes him very dependent upon teamwork and precise Ability usage to perform well.

3. Strengths

Very large Health pool
Flexible Heroic Ability and defensive Talent choices
Excellent at body blocking and peeling
May respawn very quickly upon death through his Hero Trait, Black Soulstone
Multiple crowd control Abilities and interrupts

4. Weaknesses

Limited escapability
Very low single-target damage, leading to poor Merc'ing and sieging
No reliable means of dealing ranged damage besides Lightning Breath

5. Role in the Current Meta

Diablo's main strengths lie in his notorious Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge + Overpower Icon Overpower combo, which can unconditionally displace and control a target of his choosing, and very strong zoning Heroic Ability choices. Since his ability to waveclear, siege, and claim Mercenary Camps is limited by his low damage output, Diablo is often included as specific counterpick to team compositions that rely on one key damage dealer or healer. Widely recognised as one of the best gankers in the game, Diablo players are expected to both initiate and peel for their team, all while interrupting key channeled Abilities.

6. Reading Further

To take things further, we have 2 more pages that you can read:

Abilities and Strategy: an overview of your hero's abilities and how to use them;
Talent Build: a detailed rundown of your talents and how to choose them.