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

Last updated on Feb 11, 2024 at 16:37 by Elitesparkle 48 comments
General Information

Welcome to our guide for Diablo, a Tank in Heroes of the Storm. Within these pages, you will find everything required to understand how best to play this hero, in both different map styles and team compositions.

1.

Diablo's Overview

Diablo is an aggressive Tank. 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 displacement Abilities are double-edged, however, and can help opponents more than hinder them when misused.

2.

Diablo's Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
X 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 Icon Lightning Breath
3.

Diablo's Talent Build Cheatsheet

Fire Stomp Build

Recommended
Level 1 Soul Shield Icon Devil's Due Icon ?
Level 4 Souls to the Flame Icon
Level 7 Eternal Flames Icon
Level 10 Lightning Breath Icon Apocalypse Icon ?
Level 13 Hellfire Icon
Level 16 Debilitating Flames Icon
Level 20 Hellgate Icon Hellstorm Icon ? Lord of Terror Icon ?

Diablo's Fire Stomp Build boosts your survivability and damage output when hitting enemy Heroes with Fire Stomp Icon Fire Stomp. Remember to alternate it with other Basic Abilities to get more value from Eternal Flames Icon Eternal Flames at Level 7.

While you can play this Build in most games, the self-healing provided by Fire Stomp Icon Fire Stomp empowered by various Talents makes this Build particularly useful when playing against Heroes who counter you (for example Tychus) and therefore force you to not play aggressively.

Shadow Charge Build

Situational
Level 1 Devil's Due Icon
Level 4 Sacrificial Soul Icon
Level 7 Malevolence Icon
Level 10 Apocalypse Icon
Level 13 Devastating Charge Icon
Level 16 Domination Icon
Level 20 Hellgate Icon Lord of Terror Icon ?

Diablo's Shadow Charge Build provides superior burst damage and crowd control on closed Maps where one can reliably slam opponents against impassable terrain (notably Infernal Shrines).

You should constantly look for good angles for Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge because you have various Talents depending on your target being Stunned with it. Ideally, you should go for squishy enemy Heroes, but any target is fine when they are out of position and/or have no defensive tools.

Sacrificial Soul Icon Sacrificial Soul at Level 4 makes it harder to get Souls back as you have to fully commit to Stun enemy Heroes with Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge. Malevolence Icon Malevolence at Level 7 increases your burst damage when doing so.

Basic Attacks Build

Situational
Level 1 Feast on Fear Icon
Level 4 Life Leech Icon
Level 7 Diabolical Momentum Icon
Level 10 Apocalypse Icon
Level 13 Cruelty Icon
Level 16 Domination Icon Overpowering Nightmare Icon ?
Level 20 Hellgate Icon Lord of Terror Icon ?

Diablo's Basic Attacks Build provides superior self-sustain and fair single-target damage potential. As a key Talent, Diabolical Momentum Icon Diabolical Momentum allows Feast on Fear Icon Feast on Fear to trigger often through repeated Ability casts for significantly increased combat survivability, especially once you get Cruelty Icon Cruelty.

You can get the most out of this Build when the enemy team has a low amount of crowd control—including Blinds—at their disposal as you will be generally free to hit your target and heal up via Life Leech Icon Life Leech at Level 4.

Hybrid Build

Situational
Level 1 Soul Shield Icon Devil's Due Icon ?
Level 4 Souls to the Flame Icon
Level 7 Eternal Flames Icon
Level 10 Apocalypse Icon
Level 13 Devastating Charge Icon
Level 16 Domination Icon
Level 20 Hellgate Icon Lord of Terror Icon ?

Diablo's Hybrid Build provides superior burst damage and crowd control on closed Maps where one can reliably slam opponents against impassable terrain (notably Infernal Shrines).

You should constantly look for good angles for Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge because you have various Talents depending on your target being Stunned with it. Ideally, you should go for squishy enemy Heroes, but any target is fine when they are out of position and/or have no defensive tools.

Souls to the Flame Icon Souls to the Flame at Level 4 makes it easier to get Souls back as you do not have to fully commit to hit enemy Heroes with Fire Stomp Icon Fire Stomp. Combined with it, Eternal Flames Icon Eternal Flames at Level 7 helps you get Souls and makes you more durable when you commit.

ARAM Build

ARAM
Level 1 Soul Shield Icon Devil's Due Icon ?
Level 4 Souls to the Flame Icon
Level 7 Eternal Flames Icon
Level 10 Lightning Breath Icon Apocalypse Icon ?
Level 13 Hellfire Icon
Level 16 Debilitating Flames Icon
Level 20 Hellstorm Icon Hellgate Icon ? Lord of Terror Icon ?

Diablo's ARAM Build boosts your survivability and damage output when hitting enemy Heroes with Fire Stomp Icon Fire Stomp. Remember to alternate it with other Basic Abilities to get more value from Eternal Flames Icon Eternal Flames at Level 7.

4.

Diablo's Synergies and Counters

V Diablo synergizes with

Since Diablo provides 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 particularly effective combos.

X 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.

5.

Diablo's Maps

Diablo's stronger maps
Cursed Hollow Dragon Shire Infernal Shrines Tomb of the Spider Queen
Diablo's average maps
Alterac Pass Battlefield of Eternity Garden of Terror Towers of Doom
Diablo's weaker maps
Blackheart's Bay Braxis Holdout Hanamura Temple Sky Temple Volskaya Foundry Warhead Junction

As the premiere ganker, Diablo thrives on Maps that give him the opportunity to Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge near impassable terrain, resulting into a Stun and thus extra damage.

In contrast, Diablo struggles on Maps lacking narrow spaces and where the Objective is surrounded by nothing but a relatively wide empty area, making it extremely easy for enemy Heroes to play around Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge.

6.

Diablo's Tips and Tricks

  • Play less aggressively right after reviving through Black Soulstone Icon Black Soulstone because you will not have 30% bonus maximum Health anymore.
  • Fire Stomp Icon Fire Stomp can hit any given target up to five times in melee range.
  • Use Overpower Icon Overpower right after Shadow Charge Icon Shadow Charge to unconditionally move opponents towards your teammates.
  • Cast Lightning Breath Icon 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 Icon Apocalypse right before Shadow Charge and Overpower to unconditionally Stun your target.
7.

Diablo's Role in the Current Meta

Diablo's main strengths lie in his notorious Shadow Charge plus 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 picked for his ability to reliably initiate and counter team compositions that rely on one key damage dealer or Healer. As Diablo is widely recognised as one of the best initiators in the game, Diablo players are expected to position aggressively and look for ganking opportunities or Heroes who are out of position all while interrupting key channeled Abilities.

8.

Changelog

  • 11 Feb. 2024 (talents page): Explanation for Heroic Abilities improved.
  • 11 Feb. 2024 (abilities page): Explanation for Heroic Abilities improved.
  • 17 Dec. 2023 (talents page): Guide reviewed.
  • 17 Dec. 2023 (this page): Guide reviewed.
  • 20 Sep. 2023 (talents page): ARAM Build added.
  • 20 Sep. 2023 (this page): ARAM Build added.
  • 15 Sep. 2023 (talents page): Guide reviewed.
  • 15 Sep. 2023 (this page): Guide reviewed.
  • 03 Feb. 2022 (talents page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 03 Feb. 2022 (abilities page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 03 Feb. 2022 (this page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 03 Nov. 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
  • 03 Nov. 2021 (this page): Builds updated.
  • 10 Sep. 2021 (talents page): New layout.
  • 10 Sep. 2021 (abilities page): New layout.
  • 13 Aug. 2021 (this page): Maps updated.
  • 20 May 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
  • 20 May 2021 (abilities page): Builds updated.
  • 20 May 2021 (this page): Builds updated.
  • 22 Nov. 2020 (talents page): Q build re-added to recommended builds.
  • 30 Aug. 2020 (talents page): Talent builds and recommendations updated to better reflect metagame state.
  • 30 Aug. 2020 (this page): Role in the Current Meta section updated.
  • 05 Apr. 2020 (talents page): Descriptions reviewed for Soul Armor and Devastating Charge.
  • 13 Dec. 2019 (this page): Added a note about current Anomaly.
  • 15 Oct. 2019 (talents page): Talent builds and recommendations reviewed and updated.
  • 15 Oct. 2019 (abilities page): Abilities section reviewed.
  • 15 Oct. 2019 (this page): Guide updated.
  • 22 May 2018 (talents page): Talents updated to account for the Diablo rework patch.
  • 22 May 2018 (this page): Guide updated to account for the Diablo patch rework.
  • 14 Jan. 2018 (talents page): Updated Heroic Talent assessments. Updated Shadow build.
  • 26 Jun. 2017 (talents page): Updated the Shadow Charge build.
  • 05 Jun. 2017 (talents page): Talents updated to better reflect metagame state.
  • 22 Dec. 2016 (this page): Guide updated to account for the Ragnaros patch rework and moved to the new format.
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