E.T.C. Talents

Last updated on Sep 20, 2023 at 13:12 by Elitesparkle 35 comments
General Information

Welcome to our Talents page for E.T.C.. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of E.T.C.'s talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.

1.

E.T.C.'s Talent Build

Level Choices
1 Guitar Hero Prog Rock ? Block Party ?
4 Crowd Surfer ? Loud Speakers Speed Metal ?
7 Pinball Wizard ? Hammer-on Echo Pedal ?
10 Mosh Pit Stage Dive ?
13 Mic Check Encore ? Face Smelt ?
16 Show Stopper Aggressive Shredding ? Imposing Presence ?
20 Tour Bus ? Crowd Pleaser ? Death Metal ? Storm Shield ? Bolt of the Storm
2.

E.T.C.'s Talent Build Cheatsheet

Guitar Solo Build

Recommended
Level 1 Guitar Hero Icon
Level 4 Loud Speakers Icon
Level 7 Hammer-on Icon
Level 10 Mosh Pit Icon Stage Dive Icon ?
Level 13 Mic Check Icon Encore Icon ?
Level 16 Aggressive Shredding Icon
Level 20 Bolt of the Storm Icon Crowd Pleaser Icon ? Storm Shield Icon ?

E.T.C.'s Guitar Solo Build increases your damage output and self-sustain when hitting enemies with Basic Attacks, which is particularly effective in prolonged team fights.

Face Melt Build

Advanced
Level 1 Block Party Icon Prog Rock Icon ?
Level 4 Loud Speakers Icon
Level 7 Pinball Wizard Icon
Level 10 Mosh Pit Icon Stage Dive Icon ?
Level 13 Mic Check Icon Encore Icon ?
Level 16 Show Stopper Icon Aggressive Shredding Icon ? Imposing Presence Icon ?
Level 20 Bolt of the Storm Icon Crowd Pleaser Icon ? Storm Shield Icon ?

E.T.C.'s Face Melt Build is designed to give you the highest amount of crowd control when playing as main Tank. Thanks to that, you will be able to disrupt enemy moves and peel for your team.

Loud Speakers Icon Loud Speakers at Level 4 enables defensive plays that would be otherwise impossible to execute. The extra range makes you able to interrupt enemy Abilities from afar (for example Discord Strike Icon Discord Strike by Alarak) or to knock away dangerous enemy Heroes (such as Garrosh).

Hybrid Build

Situational
Level 1 Block Party Icon Guitar Hero Icon ? Prog Rock Icon ?
Level 4 Speed Metal Icon Crowd Surfer Icon ?
Level 7 Echo Pedal Icon
Level 10 Stage Dive Icon
Level 13 Encore Icon
Level 16 Aggressive Shredding Icon Show Stopper Icon ? Imposing Presence Icon ?
Level 20 Crowd Pleaser Icon Bolt of the Storm Icon ? Storm Shield Icon ?

E.T.C.'s Hybrid Build boosts your waveclear and turns you into a global Hero, a combination that allows you to play as an Offlaner with great success, especially on big Maps because you can get more value from Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive there.

ARAM Build

ARAM
Level 1 Block Party Icon Prog Rock Icon ?
Level 4 Loud Speakers Icon
Level 7 Pinball Wizard Icon
Level 10 Mosh Pit Icon Stage Dive Icon ?
Level 13 Encore Icon
Level 16 Show Stopper Icon Aggressive Shredding Icon ? Imposing Presence Icon ?
Level 20 Tour Bus Icon Crowd Pleaser Icon ?

E.T.C.'s ARAM Build is designed to give you the highest amount of crowd control when playing as main Tank. Thanks to that, you will be able to disrupt enemy moves and peel for your team.

Loud Speakers Icon Loud Speakers at Level 4 enables defensive plays that would be otherwise impossible to execute. The extra range makes you able to interrupt enemy Abilities from afar (for example Discord Strike Icon Discord Strike by Alarak) or to knock away dangerous enemy Heroes (such as Garrosh).

3.

Level 1 Talents for E.T.C.

E.T.C. Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero (Level 1) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

While Guitar Solo is active, E.T.C. heals for 60% of his damage dealt by Basic Attacks. Basic Attacks increase the duration of Guitar Solo by 0.5 seconds.

Guitar Hero Icon Guitar Hero is a good Talent which provides a moderate amount of self-sustain while hitting enemies with Basic Attacks during Guitar Solo Icon Guitar Solo, regardless of them being Heroes or not. In addition to that, it also extends the duration of Guitar Solo Icon Guitar Solo by a considerable amount, allowing you get more value from other Talents which empower it.

E.T.C. Prog Rock ?
Prog Rock (Level 1) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Quest: Gathering a Regeneration Globe permanently increases the healing per second of Guitar Solo by 5, to a maximum of 100

Reward: After gathering 20 Regeneration Globes, Guitar Solo also heals nearby allied Heroes for 50 (+4% per level) Health every second while it is active.

Prog Rock Icon Prog Rock is a good Quest-based Talent that provides a reasonable and reliable amount of self sustain for each Regeneration Globe collected, and, after getting 20 of them during the course of the game, this effect is also extended to allied Heroes, making it an effective counter to some amount of poke damage and just generally good for recuperating Health.

E.T.C. Block Party ?
Block Party (Level 1) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Using a Basic or Heroic ability also gives nearby allied Heroes a stack of Block, granting 75 Physical Armor against the next Hero Basic Attack for 8 seconds, reducing the damage taken by 75%. Maximum 2 stacks of Block.

Block Party Icon Block Party is a strong Talent which gives to you and allied Heroes nearby Block charges every time you use an Ability, including Heroic Abilities.

In particular, Block Party Icon Block Party is especially valuable when playing against Heroes with slow but heavy-hitting Basic Attacks (such as Hanzo) and really bad when playing against Heroes with fast-hitting Basic Attacks (like Tychus).

4.

Level 4 Talents for E.T.C.

E.T.C. Crowd Surfer ?
Crowd Surfer (Level 4) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Allows Powerslide to travel over walls and terrain. If no enemies are hit, reduce the cooldown by 7 seconds and refund the Mana cost.

Crowd Surfer Icon Crowd Surfer is a situational Talent that allows E.T.C. to pass through otherwise impassable terrain, giving him extra defensive and aggressive opportunities in narrow areas (for example on Cursed Hollow), and reduces the cooldown of Powerslide Icon Powerslide when it doesn't hit anyone.

Consider going for this Talent when playing against Heroes who can block your path (such as Tassadar with Force Wall Icon Force Wall) to avoid being stuck in a dangerous position.

E.T.C. Loud Speakers
Loud Speakers (Level 4) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Increases Face Melt range and knockback by 50%.

Loud Speakers Icon Loud Speakers is a strong Talent that significantly increases the range of Face Melt Icon Face Melt, allowing you to make plays that would be otherwise impossible.

You can use this Talent to split the enemy team, to better peel for allied Heroes, to save yourself from danger, or even have an easier time when trying to interrupt enemy Abilities.

E.T.C. Speed Metal ?
Speed Metal (Level 4) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Using a Basic or Heroic ability also gives nearby allied Heroes 20% Movement Speed for 2.5 seconds.

Speed Metal Icon Speed Metal is a good Talent which, when using Abilities, provides a constant and solid Movement Speed buff to E.T.C. and nearby allied Heroes.

Movement Speed gives both offensive and defensive utility: it helps with Basic Attacks uptime, positioning, body-blocking, escaping, and avoiding skillshot-based Abilities.

Consider picking this Talent when you have gone for Guitar Hero Icon Guitar Hero at Level 1 and are planning to go for Hammer-on Icon Hammer-on at Level 7 as it helps you to stick on enemy Heroes while hitting them with Basic Attacks.

5.

Level 7 Talents for E.T.C.

E.T.C. Pinball Wizard ?
Pinball Wizard (Level 7) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Face Melt does 300% more damage to enemies recently affected by Powerslide.

Pinball Wizard Icon Pinball Wizard is a strong Talent that greatly increases the damage done by Face Melt Icon Face Melt if it deals damage within 2 seconds after Powerslide Icon Powerslide hit the same target.

As a general rule, you should wait for Powerslide Icon Powerslide's Stun to end before using Face Melt Icon Face Melt, even when having Pinball Wizard Icon Pinball Wizard. The 2-second window is more than enough for waiting allied Heroes to follow up with their skillshot-based Abilities the 1.25-second Stun provided by Powerslide Icon Powerslide before you suddenly move the targets with Face Melt Icon Face Melt.

You should avoid using Pinball Wizard Icon Pinball Wizard for clearing Minions and Mercenaries, however, sometimes it may be the correct play. Just make sure that there are no enemy Heroes nearby before wasting all your survivability tools like that and that you will not need them to fight in the next dozen of seconds.

Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive requires you to have Powerslide Icon Powerslide ready to use at any moment, so you cannot waste it for clearing Minions and Mercenaries. As a consequence, if you are playing E.T.C. as Offlaner and thus plan to pick Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive later on, do not pick Pinball Wizard Icon Pinball Wizard.

E.T.C. Hammer-on
Hammer-on (Level 7) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

While Guitar Solo is active your Basic Attacks deal 35% more damage.

Hammer-on Icon Hammer-on is a good Talent which increases your Attack damage while Guitar Solo Icon Guitar Solo is active. Without the help of Talents, this effect lasts 4 seconds.

If you want to empower this Talent, you can go for Guitar Hero Icon Guitar Hero at Level 1 to increase its duration by up to 7 seconds, from 4 seconds to a maximum of 11 seconds when you are allowed to constantly use Basic Attacks.

E.T.C. Echo Pedal ?
Echo Pedal (Level 7) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Using a Basic or Heroic Ability releases two pulses of 18 (+4% per level) damage. This deals 200% bonus damage to Minions, Mercenaries, and Monsters. The first occurs instantly, the second occurs 2 seconds later.

Echo Pedal Icon Echo Pedal is a good Talent which boosts your waveclear after using any Ability, allowing you to easily kill enemy Minions and Mercenaries.

We recommend this Talent when playing E.T.C. as Offlaner because it allows you to get rid of enemy Minions and Mercenaries by using Guitar Solo Icon Guitar Solo. This way you will be able to keep Powerslide Icon Powerslide off cooldown, available for offensive or defensive usage immediately after landing with Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive.

6.

Level 10 Talents for E.T.C.

In this section we discuss when and why to pick a given Heroic Ability. If you want to read how they work in detail and/or you are looking for some tips on how to use them, check them out on the Abilities and Strategy page.

E.T.C. Mosh Pit
Mosh Pit (Level 10) World of Warcraft E.T.C.
  • Mana: 100
  • Cooldown: 120 seconds

After 0.75 seconds, channel to stun nearby enemies for 4 seconds.

Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit is a strong Heroic Ability even when the enemy team has multiple interrupts at their disposal, however, in that case it will be harder to use because you will need to mentally track their cooldowns and only use Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit when none capable of interrupting it will be nearby, outside of its area.

Even if you are not able to cast Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit, you still get value from it because the enemy team will have to position accordingly while fighting and hold some Abilities for it, especially when they have to hold Heroic Abilities with a long cooldown.

E.T.C. Stage Dive ?
Stage Dive (Level 10) World of Warcraft E.T.C.
  • Mana: 70
  • Cooldown: 75 seconds

Leap to target location, landing after 2.75 seconds, dealing 495 (+4.0% per level) damage to enemies in the area, and slowing them by 50% for 4 seconds.

Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive is a good Heroic Ability which can be picked for one or more of the following reasons:

  • the enemy team has too many ways to play around Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit and you don't want to risk it;
  • your team has another main Tank and you have planned to play E.T.C. as Offlaner, at least after Level 10;
  • your team wants to dive the enemy backline to exploit their vulnerability;
  • the enemy team has powerful targeted Abilities which can be dodged with the Invulnerable frames you get while in the air.

When playing Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive as main Tank, it is extremely important to stay with your team and not split to soak like you would do when playing Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive as an Offlaner instead.

7.

Level 13 Talents for E.T.C.

E.T.C. Mic Check
Mic Check (Level 13) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Hitting at least 2 targets with Face Melt reduces its cooldown by 6 seconds.

Mic Check Icon Mic Check is a strong Talent which heavily reduces the cooldown of Face Melt Icon Face Melt when hitting multiple enemies.

You should pick this Talent when you need extra peeling for your team. If you see that team fights are not lasting more than 5 seconds, however, you may want to avoid this Talent as it will rarely give you value.

Loud Speakers Icon Loud Speakers at Level 4 is quite important to have when planning to go for this Talent later on, else you will rarely be able to hit multiple Heroes with it.

E.T.C. Encore ?
Encore (Level 13) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Face Melt leaves an Amp behind, which will knock enemies away again 2 seconds later.

Passive: Each enemy Hero hit by Face Melt or the Amp reduces your Heroic Ability cooldown by 5%.

Encore Icon Encore is a good Talent that provides a powerful cooldown reduction effect for your Heroic Abilities as well as a second pulse of Face Melt Icon Face Melt after a short delay.

If you do not need more peeling tools to protect allied Heroes, you can take Encore Icon Encore to greatly decrease the cooldown of Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit.

If you have Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive, you should prefer other options from this Tier because the cooldown reduction provided will not be particularly useful in that case.

Loud Speakers Icon Loud Speakers at Level 4 is quite important to have when planning to go for this Talent later on, else you will rarely be able to hit multiple Heroes with it.

E.T.C. Face Smelt ?
Face Smelt (Level 13) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Face Melt slows enemies by 50% fading over 2 seconds.

Face Smelt Icon Face Smelt is a decent Talent that empowers the already strong Face Melt Icon Face Melt by making it apply a decaying Slow to all enemy Heroes hit.

Consider picking this Talent when having picked Guitar Hero Icon Guitar Hero at Level 1 and Hammer-on Icon Hammer-on at Level 7 as it helps you sticking on enemy Heroes while hitting them with Basic Attacks.

8.

Level 16 Talents for E.T.C.

E.T.C. Show Stopper
Show Stopper (Level 16) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

After using Powerslide, gain 35 Armor for 4 seconds, reducing all damage taken by 35%.

Show Stopper Icon Show Stopper is a strong Talent which gives you a fair amount of Armor for a few seconds after Powerslide Icon Powerslide's animation ends.

If you find yourself getting inexplicably bursted down too often after initiating fights, Show Stopper Icon Show Stopper is there to provide you with all necessary added survivability.

Since you already get 20 Armor from Rockstar Icon Rockstar and considering that Armor does not stack additively with other sources, Show Stopper Icon Show Stopper basically gives you 15 Armor on top of it. All that said, do not underestimate its value because Armor gets exponentially more powerful the higher it becomes.

E.T.C. Aggressive Shredding ?
Aggressive Shredding (Level 16) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

E.T.C.'s Basic Attacks reduce the cooldown of Guitar Solo by 0.75 seconds.

Aggressive Shredding Icon Aggressive Shredding provides you with a large amount of survivability by significantly improving Guitar Solo Icon Guitar Solo's uptime. Another added benefit of this Talent is the ability to cheaply and rapidly trigger Echo Pedal Icon Echo Pedal through the added Guitar Solo casts.

E.T.C. Imposing Presence ?
Imposing Presence (Level 16) World of Warcraft E.T.C.
  • Cooldown: 20 seconds

Activate to reduce the Attack Speed by 50% and Movement Speed by 20% of nearby Heroes and Summons for 2.5 seconds.

Passive: Heroes and Summons that attack your Hero have their Attack Speed Slowed by 20% for 2.5 seconds.

Imposing Presence Icon Imposing Presence is a situational Talent that passively reduces the Attack Speed of enemy Heroes attacking E.T.C and, when activated, applies a Slow and reduces the Attack Speed of nearby enemy Heroes and Summons.

Reducing the Attack Speed is multiplicative with Block Party Icon Block Party at Level 1, so you will get more value from them when combined together. That said, Imposing Presence Icon Imposing Presence helps you in a situation where Block Party Icon Block Party is not effective: facing Heroes with high Attack Speed (such as Tracer) or with Basic Attacks that can hit multiple times (see Genji).

9.

Level 20 Talents for E.T.C.

E.T.C. Tour Bus ?
Tour Bus (Level 20) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Channeling Mosh Pit refreshes Powerslide's cooldown, and it can be cast to increase Mosh Pit's duration by 2 seconds.

Tour Bus Icon Tour Bus is a situational Talent that makes Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit extremely punishing against teams that lack the interruption to deal with the channel. In some occasions, however, you can use the free Powerslide Icon Powerslide to dodge interrupts.

Use it to catch more enemy Heroes than you typically would by only using the regular Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit instead, as the Powerslide Icon Powerslide reset feature gives you a second chance to hit enemy Heroes you missed.

When having this Talent, you can even cast a Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit that hits no one in the beginning and then move it on top of enemy Heroes thanks to the free Powerslide Icon Powerslide you will get when it starts.

E.T.C. Crowd Pleaser ?
Crowd Pleaser (Level 20) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Stage Dive's impact area is 50% bigger, and its Slow is increased by 30%.

Crowd Pleaser Icon Crowd Pleaser is a good Talent that turns Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive into an absolutely fearsome engage tool. With such a wide area of effect, it becomes difficult for everyone to avoid the Ability. In addition to that, its Slow will be more potent than before.

E.T.C. Death Metal ?
Death Metal (Level 20) World of Warcraft E.T.C.

Upon dying, a ghost uses Mosh Pit at E.T.C's location.

Death Metal Icon Death Metal is an extremely situational Talent which usually requires you to die specifically near enemy Heroes to be impactful, and also requires allied Heroes to be able to follow up on the impending Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit.

The upside is that a Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit coming from a dead E.T.C. cannot be interrupted. If you find yourself dying often, this Talent may have significant payoff, especially if you manage to position yourself right next to your opponents when you expect to die within 2 seconds.

You may need this Talent when playing with Stage Dive Icon Stage Dive against enemy teams who tend to focus E.T.C. immediately after landing, but you can also pick it in other circumstances for similar reasons. Alternatively, it can be used against team compositions featuring 4 melee or low-range Heroes because they will struggle to finish you off without being caught by Death Metal Icon Death Metal immediately after, especially if they lack mobility tools.

E.T.C. Storm Shield ?
Storm Shield (Level 20) World of Warcraft E.T.C.
  • Cooldown: 45 seconds

Activate to give all nearby allied Heroes a Shield for 20% of their max Health for 3 seconds.

Storm Shield Icon Storm Shield is a situational Talent that may be useful when you feel like your peeling tools are not enough to keep allied Heroes alive, whether because the enemy team has too much burst damage or mobility. You can also use it to boost E.T.C's own survivability.

When using Storm Shield Icon Storm Shield, keep in mind two things:

  • the Shield provided does not stack with Shields coming from other Talents with the exact same name, but only refreshes its amount and duration;
  • being based on maximum Health, the Shield generated is more effective on some Heroes and less effective on others.
E.T.C. Bolt of the Storm
Bolt of the Storm (Level 20) World of Warcraft E.T.C.
  • Cooldown: 70 seconds

Activate to teleport to a nearby location.

Bolt of the Storm Icon Bolt of the Storm is a strong Talent which can be used to instantly teleport from a position to another within range.

You can use this Talent for either offensive or defensive plays, from simply repositioning to dodging an enemy Ability. When in danger, use it to increase the distance from enemy Heroes, preferably by teleporting across impassable terrain. When your team is ready to follow up, feel free to use it as a range extender for your Powerslide Icon Powerslide and try to get a good Mosh Pit Icon Mosh Pit.

10.

Changelog

  • 20 Sep. 2023: ARAM Build added.
  • 20 Sep. 2023: Guide reviewed.
  • 07 Jul. 2022: Builds updated.
  • 03 Feb. 2022: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 28 Jan. 2022: Builds updated.
  • 28 Sep. 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 18 Aug. 2021: Talent Build page updated.
    • Build added.
    • Descriptions improved.
    • New layout.
  • 27 Oct. 2020: Talents and builds reviewed and updated.
  • 07 Sep. 2020: Talents and builds reviewed and updated.
  • 19 Jul. 2020: Talents reviewed and updated.
  • 05 Apr. 2020: Description and recommendation updated for Pinball Wizard.
  • 11 Oct. 2019: Talents section updated.
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