Falstad Build Guide “Time to drop the hammer!”

Falstad is a versatile and flexible ranged damage dealer. His strong points are his solid single-target DPS, extreme on-demand area of effect ranged burst damage, and map-wide mobility. However, his relative fragility makes him a high priority target.

Strengths

• Flight offers unparalleled Map control
• Solid single-target damage output
• Outstanding on-demand burst damage
• Strong in all phases of the game
• Versatile; fits most team composition
• Flexible Talents that allow him to adapt to many different situations
• Access to Mighty Gust, one of the most powerful Heroic Abilities in the game

Weaknesses

• Extremely dependent on good positioning
• Low base Health
• Vulnerable to crowd control
• Lengthy Ability Cooldowns

Standard Build

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Level 10

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This standard build provides superior single-target damage and utility. Key Lightning Rod-related Talents allow you to deal significant unavoidable damage, improving your ability to duel most Assassins and gank aggressively.

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Falstad synergizes with

Falstad is at his best when something stands between him and his enemies. Large, Healthy Tanks are particularly desirable as they draw attention away from Falstad, and often provide their own form of crowd control for potential follow-ups. Otherwise, anything that can protect Falstad is also desirable. Shielding effects are particularly impactful due to his limited Health pool.

Falstad is countered by

As a frail ranged Assassin, Falstad tends to naturally struggle against other high damage Assassins who have the ability to effectively gap close past his Barrel Roll's range or otherwise sneak up on him. With little in the way of self-peeling, see to stay near your Healer when possible against such Heroes, and make no bold attempts at outplaying your opponents. Also consider running a Lightning Rod-centric build, as such builds tend to do better against the majority of Falstad's counters.

Falstad's stronger maps

Falstad's average maps

Falstad's weaker maps

Flight makes Falstad particularly effective on larger Maps that feature multiple Objectives that must be contested, as it allows him to effectively soak and push without giving up potential team fighting presence, as would other Heroes. Falstad's Mighty Gust also makes him potent on Maps that feature Bosses, as he makes it particularly difficult for opponents to safely try and claim or contest due to the fear of being pushed away. With the Wingman Talent, Falstad is also fearsome on any Map where Siege Giants are present. Otherwise, Falstad's versatility makes him a viable pick almost anywhere.

• Capitalise on Flight's global range to split push or soak Experience. It can also be used to gank.
• Using Hammerang and Hinterland Blast against targets under crowd control will greatly improves your accuracy. Nothing beats practice, however.
• Limit your offensive use of Barrel Roll, as it leaves you vulnerable.
• Use Mighty Gust to disengage a losing battle, to split an opponent's forces in half, push your enemies into your team, or to steal capturable Objectives.

Note about the current Anomaly: Falstad's playstyle is affected little by the Anomaly. It does provide him with more opportunities to damage any opposing Hero attempting to collect Experience Globes, but he should not attempt to collect his own by himself unless absolutely necessary, as it puts him in a vulnerable position. Barrel Roll can always be used as a last resort to go in and out, but this is always dangerous if an enemy is present. Stay with your teammates.

Falstad's strong single-target sustained damage allows him to put a large amount of pressure on anything within his Basic Attack range. His on-demand burst damage, however, is where he truly shines: any bit of well-timed crowd control sets Falstad up to deliver one of the most devastating combos in the game, in the form of Hammerang and Hinterland Blast. Barrel Roll, Hammerang's slowing effect, and Epic Mount grant him respectable options for self-peeling, though they do not help him against crowd control.

Falstad is a solid pick against any team composition that does not feature specialised Assassins, such as Nova or Zeratul, who tend to force Falstad players to play too defensively to be effective. Beyond this minor weakness, Falstad is widely appreciated for his Flight Trait, which opens up a wide variety of powerful Map control-related strategies.