Falstad Talents

Last updated on Jul 06, 2024 at 10:15 by Elitesparkle 33 comments
General Information

Welcome to our Talents page for Falstad. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of Falstad's talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.

1.

Falstad's Talent Build

Level Choices
1 Gathering Storm Dishonorable Discharge ✘︎ Frequent Flyer ?
4 Static Shield ? Updraft ? Hammer Gains
7 Secret Weapon ? BOOMerang Charged Up ✘︎
10 Hinterland Blast ? Mighty Gust
13 Thunderstrikes ✘︎ Flow Rider Sustained Winds ?
16 Crippling Hammer ? Aerie Gusts Afterburner ?
20 Call of the Wildhammer ? Wind Tunnel Nexus Frenzy ? Epic Mount ?
2.

Falstad's Talent Build Cheatsheet

Hammerang Build

Recommended
Level 1 Gathering Storm Icon
Level 4 Updraft Icon
Level 7 BOOMerang Icon
Level 10 Mighty Gust Icon
Level 13 Flow Rider Icon
Level 16 Aerie Gusts Icon
Level 20 Wind Tunnel Icon Epic Mount Icon ?

Falstad's Hammerang Build provides a high amount of poke damage, which can be increased by pairing him with a Mage who will get value from BOOMerang Icon BOOMerang at Level 7.

Basic Attacks Build

Advanced
Level 1 Frequent Flyer Icon
Level 4 Hammer Gains Icon
Level 7 Secret Weapon Icon
Level 10 Mighty Gust Icon
Level 13 Sustained Winds Icon
Level 16 Aerie Gusts Icon Crippling Hammer Icon ? Afterburner Icon ?
Level 20 Wind Tunnel Icon Epic Mount Icon ?

Falstad's Basic Attacks Build provides a fair amount of sustain damage on a single target thanks to multiple Talents that improve your damage via Basic Attacks: Frequent Flyer Icon Frequent Flyer at Level 1, Secret Weapon Icon Secret Weapon at Level 7, and Sustained Winds Icon Sustained Winds at Level 13.

As this Build gives you access to percent-based damage, it is great for pressuring and/or taking down the enemy frontline, even if they have access to Armor effects.

Given it does not need to stack on enemy Heroes, this Build is the go-to when you are playing on a big Map (for example Sky Temple) and your strategy revolves around split-pushing to pressure the enemy team.

Lightning Rod Build

Not recommended
Level 1 Dishonorable Discharge Icon
Level 4 Static Shield Icon
Level 7 Charged Up Icon
Level 10 Mighty Gust Icon
Level 13 Thunderstrikes Icon
Level 16 Afterburner Icon Crippling Hammer Icon ? Aerie Gusts Icon ?
Level 20 Wind Tunnel Icon Epic Mount Icon ?

Falstad's Lightning Rod Build offers a scary amount of burst damage on a single target by empowering Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod with multiple Talents.

Although this Build helps when you are facing dive Heroes by greatly increasing your dueling power, we do not recommend playing it because it is extremely hard to stack Dishonorable Discharge Icon Dishonorable Discharge at Level 1.

ARAM Build

ARAM
Level 1 Gathering Storm Icon
Level 4 Updraft Icon
Level 7 BOOMerang Icon
Level 10 Mighty Gust Icon Hinterland Blast Icon ?
Level 13 Flow Rider Icon
Level 16 Aerie Gusts Icon
Level 20 Wind Tunnel Icon Call of the Wildhammer Icon ?

Falstad's ARAM Build provides a high amount of poke damage, which can be increased by pairing him with a Mage who will get value from BOOMerang Icon BOOMerang at Level 7.

3.

Level 1 Talents for Falstad

Falstad Gathering Storm
Gathering Storm (Level 1) World of Warcraft Falstad

Quest: Every time Hammerang hits a Hero increase its damage by 0.5% and refund 6 Mana.

Reward: After hitting 30 Heroes with Hammerang, increase its damage by 15%.

Gathering Storm Icon Gathering Storm is a strong Talent that increases the damage done by Hammerang Icon Hammerang each time it hits an enemy Hero. After reaching 30 stacks, you get the equivalent of 30 stacks as a bonus.

While it will be harder to stack on 3-lane Maps, especially if you have to help covering side lanes, we find it to not be a problem because this Talent gives a percentage bonus and not a flat bonus. As a result, the bonus damage from each stack you get keeps scaling together with Hammerang Icon Hammerang's damage as your team levels up, so you are not forced to constantly farm stacks all game long.

Falstad Dishonorable Discharge
Dishonorable Discharge (Level 1) World of Warcraft Falstad

Reduce Lightning Rod's cooldown by 2 seconds.

Quest: After 3 Lightning Rod strikes, subsequent strikes on enemy Heroes increases its damage by 1%, up to 75%.

Reward: After 30 subsequent strikes, further reduce Lightning Rod's cooldown by 2 seconds.

Reward: After 75 subsequent strikes, Takedowns reset Lightning Rod's cooldown.

Dishonorable Discharge Icon Dishonorable Discharge is a weak Talent that reduces the cooldown of Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod by 2 seconds when picked and by additional 2 seconds after reaching 30 stacks. Hitting enemy Heroes with Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod will permanently increase the damage done by Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod. After completing the Quest, killing enemy Heroes will reset the cooldown of Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod.

You can only get Quest progress after 3 strikes. Considering that Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod hits once immediately and once every second while active, you have to channel it for at least 3 seconds in order to get 1 stack and then you will get 1 stack per second, up to 2 stacks per cast without any Talent and up to 4 stacks per cast with Charged Up Icon Charged Up at Level 7.

There is notable synergy between this Talent, Static Shield Icon Static Shield at Level 4, Charged Up Icon Charged Up at Level 7, and Thunderstrikes Icon Thunderstrikes at Level 13. Picking all those Talents makes Falstad extremely difficult to duel for most Heroes.

Falstad Frequent Flyer ?
Frequent Flyer (Level 1) World of Warcraft Falstad
  • Cooldown: 45 seconds

Activate Frequent Flyer to gain 40% Attack Speed and Tailwind for 4 seconds.

Quest: Minion kills grant 0.2 Basic Attack Damage. Hero Takedowns grant 0.5 Basic Attack Damage.

Frequent Flyer Icon Frequent Flyer is a good Talent that can be activated once every 45 seconds to increase your Attack Speed and to enable Tailwind Icon Tailwind for 4 seconds. In addition to that, killing Minions and Heroes will permanently increase your Attack damage. There is no cap for this Quest.

Contrary to normal Tailwind Icon Tailwind, the effect coming from this Talent does not get canceled when taking damage, so it always lasts 4 seconds; therefore, other than to boost your Attack damage, you can activate it to refresh your Trait right after taking damage while fighting, especially if you are playing with other Trait-based Talents in addition to this one. You can also activate it to increase your damage against enemy Structures when needed, assuming you do not expect to fight for the next 45 seconds (its cooldown).

As it does not require to hit enemy Heroes, this kind of Quest is particularly good for a Hero like Falstad who can easily take care of Minions in lanes that are far from the rest of the team and quickly join them with Flight Icon Flight when a team fight starts.

4.

Level 4 Talents for Falstad

Falstad Static Shield ?
Static Shield (Level 4) World of Warcraft Falstad

Lightning Rod strikes grant a Shield equal to 4% of Falstad's maximum Health, up to 28%, for 4 seconds.

Static Shield Icon Static Shield is a decent Talent that creates a powerful Shield when Falstad is hitting enemy Heroes with Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod, based on the damage it deals.

You may want to pick this Talent when facing dive Heroes (such as Tracer), to increase your survivability against their quick and scary attacks.

There is notable synergy between this Talent, Dishonorable Discharge Icon Dishonorable Discharge at Level 1, Charged Up Icon Charged Up at Level 7, and Thunderstrikes Icon Thunderstrikes at Level 13 that make Falstad extremely difficult to duel.

Falstad Updraft ?
Updraft (Level 4) World of Warcraft Falstad

Increases Barrel Roll's range by 40% and Shield amount by 70%, and its Shield now lasts indefinitely.

Updraft Icon Updraft is a good Talent that turns Barrel Roll Icon Barrel Roll into one of the longest mobility Basic Abilities in the game. The Talent is mostly useful when you are against dive Heroes who can put a lot of pressure on you with their high damage and mobility. With it, not only you will have a Shield, but you will also be able to create more distance between you and enemy Heroes trying to take you down.

Falstad Hammer Gains
Hammer Gains (Level 4) World of Warcraft Falstad

Basic Attacks heal for 20% of the damage dealt to the primary target.

Hammer Gains Icon Hammer Gains is a strong Talent that increases your self-sustain, something that is especially useful while taking care of side lanes on your own and slightly increases your survivability during team fights.

Being based on the amount of damage done with your Basic Attacks, this Talent has synergy with Frequent Flyer Icon Frequent Flyer at Level 1 and Secret Weapon Icon Secret Weapon at Level 7, but has no synergy with Sustained Winds Icon Sustained Winds at Level 13.

5.

Level 7 Talents for Falstad

Falstad Secret Weapon ?
Secret Weapon (Level 7) World of Warcraft Falstad

Increases Hammerang's range by 30% and Basic Attacks deal 75% bonus damage while Hammerang is in flight.

Secret Weapon Icon Secret Weapon is a good Talent that increases the range of Hammerang Icon Hammerang and temporarily allows Falstad's Basic Attacks to deal more damage.

With this Talent, you have to focus on using as many Basic Attacks as possible while Hammerang Icon Hammerang is flying in the air.

The range increase makes Secret Weapon Icon Secret Weapon generally safer and easier to use.

The damage increase provided has synergy with other Talents based on Basic Attacks: Frequent Flyer Icon Frequent Flyer at Level 1, Hammer Gains Icon Hammer Gains at Level 4, and Nexus Frenzy Icon Nexus Frenzy at Level 20.

Falstad BOOMerang
BOOMerang (Level 7) World of Warcraft Falstad

Hammerang's explosion deals 100% additional damage, and hitting enemy Heroes reduces their Spell Armor by 15 for 3 seconds.

BOOMerang Icon BOOMerang is a strong Talent that increases the damage you deal when reactivating Hammerang Icon Hammerang and also reduces the Spell Armor of enemy Heroes damaged by the explosion.

Pick this Talent when you want to empower the burst damage of your team and/or when you want to increase your waveclear even more.

Falstad Charged Up
Charged Up (Level 7) World of Warcraft Falstad

Increases the number of Lightning Rod strikes by 2 and its range by 25%.

Charged Up Icon Charged Up is a decent Talent that empowers Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod by increasing its range, so that it becomes harder for enemy Heroes to exit its area, and by extending its duration by 2 seconds makes it hit 2 more times.

There is notable synergy between this Talent, Dishonorable Discharge Icon Dishonorable Discharge at Level 1, Static Shield Icon Static Shield at Level 4, and Thunderstrikes Icon Thunderstrikes at Level 13 that make Falstad extremely difficult to duel. If you are not going for that synergy, then it does not make sense to pick this Talent. Since we do not recommend Dishonorable Discharge Icon Dishonorable Discharge, the same is true for this Talent.

6.

Level 10 Talents for Falstad

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.

Falstad Hinterland Blast ?
Hinterland Blast (Level 10) World of Warcraft Falstad
  • Mana: 80
  • Cooldown: 120 seconds

After 1 second, deal 475 (+4.75% per level) damage to enemies within a long line. The cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds for every enemy Hero hit.

Hinterland Blast Icon Hinterland Blast deals a substantial amount of area of effect damage from great range that most players have come to take for granted from Falstad. It is usually chosen as the damaging piece of any kind of teamwide combo that involves a certain amount of crowd control. Hinterland Blast, however, must compete with Gust, widely recognized as one of the best Heroic Abilities available in the game.

Falstad Mighty Gust
Mighty Gust (Level 10) World of Warcraft Falstad
  • Mana: 70
  • Cooldown: 60 seconds

Push enemies away, and slow their Movement Speed by 40% decaying over 4 seconds.

Mighty Gust Icon Mighty Gust is a unique Ability that uniquely provides Falstad with a reliable area of effect crowd control, something that is seldom seen in other Heroes, especially Ranged Assassins.

Its relatively short cooldown makes it difficult to pick out Falstad or any of his allies, making the Ability an excellent counterpick to dive-oriented team compositions. It also shines against Healers such as Kharazim and Uther, who strongly rely on specific positioning to be effective.

The knockback effect is also useful for attempting to steal Boss Camps from your opponents by using Flight Icon Flight or Barrel Roll Icon Barrel Roll to position yourself on the Capture Point just as the Boss is about to die.

7.

Level 13 Talents for Falstad

Falstad Thunderstrikes
Thunderstrikes (Level 13) World of Warcraft Falstad

Lightning Rod deals 25% more damage each subsequent strike.

Thunderstrikes Icon Thunderstrikes is a good Talent that increases the damage done by each consecutive hit of Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod on the same Hero, turning Falstad into a real threat for enemy Heroes who cannot outrange or break Lightning Rod Icon Lightning Rod with ease.

There is notable synergy between this Talent, Dishonorable Discharge Icon Dishonorable Discharge at Level 1, Static Shield Icon Static Shield at Level 4, and Charged Up Icon Charged Up at Level 7 that make Falstad extremely difficult to duel. If you are not going for that synergy, then it does not make sense to pick this Talent. Since we do not recommend Dishonorable Discharge Icon Dishonorable Discharge, the same is true for this Talent.

Falstad Flow Rider
Flow Rider (Level 13) World of Warcraft Falstad

While Tailwind is active, Falstad's Basic Abilities recharge 100% faster.

Flow Rider Icon Flow Rider has the potential of vastly increasing Falstad's damage potential. It does, however, require you to play extremely safely, to the point of not letting Tailwind Icon Tailwind fall off by taking damage. The task is often impossible against Heroes with plenty of area of effect damage or who are capable to dive aggressively. Other than that, we find this Talent quite powerful, particularly when combined with Aerie Gusts Icon Aerie Gusts at Level 16 to keep Tailwind Icon Tailwind going.

Falstad Sustained Winds ?
Sustained Winds (Level 13) World of Warcraft Falstad

Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes deal bonus damage equal to 1.5% of the Hero's maximum Health, increased to 2% while Tailwind is active.

Sustained Winds Icon Sustained Winds is a good Talent that increases your damage output in the form of percent-based damage on your Basic Attacks, slightly increased when under the effect of Tailwind Icon Tailwind.

The damage increase provided has synergy with Frequent Flyer Icon Frequent Flyer at Level 1 and Nexus Frenzy Icon Nexus Frenzy at Level 20, but not with Hammer Gains Icon Hammer Gains at Level 4.

Pick this Talent when you want to pressure and/or take down the enemy frontline and/or when you need damage that goes through Armor effects.

8.

Level 16 Talents for Falstad

Falstad Crippling Hammer ?
Crippling Hammer (Level 16) World of Warcraft Falstad

Increase Hammerang's Slow from 25% to 50%, and Hammerang's explosion also Slows.

Crippling Hammer Icon Crippling Hammer is a good Talent that empowers the Slow applied by Hammerang Icon Hammerang and allows you to apply it via its explosion as well.

You may need this Talent to kite enemy Heroes who lack mobility and/or range in order to help your team damage them or escape, based on the situation. Generally speaking, the crowd control provided by allied Heroes should be enough.

Falstad Aerie Gusts
Aerie Gusts (Level 16) World of Warcraft Falstad

Reduces the activation time for Tailwind from 5 to 3 seconds, and increases the Movement Speed bonus from 15% to 25%.

Aerie Gusts Icon Aerie Gusts is a strong Talent that simultaneously provides offense, defense, and utility in the form of more Movement Speed. This is on top of greatly increasing the uptime of Flow Rider Icon Flow Rider, another potent Talent, by making Tailwind Icon Tailwind reactivate faster when not taking damage.

You can combine this Talent with either Flow Rider Icon Flow Rider at Level 13 to quickly reactivate its cooldown reduction effect after taking some damage or with Sustained Winds Icon Sustained Winds at Level 13 to have more Movement Speed for kiting enemy Heroes and also to restore its bonus damage component in less time.

Falstad Afterburner ?
Afterburner (Level 16) World of Warcraft Falstad

Barrel Roll increases Movement Speed by 60%, decaying over 3 seconds.

Afterburner Icon Afterburner is a good Talent that provides extra Movement Speed after using Barrel Roll Icon Barrel Roll, so it can be used to either chase enemy Heroes or to escape from danger.

As with Updraft Icon Updraft and Static Shield Icon Static Shield, Afterburner is primarily picked against aggressive team compositions that make it hard for you to stay alive.

9.

Level 20 Talents for Falstad

Falstad Call of the Wildhammer ?
Call of the Wildhammer (Level 20) World of Warcraft Falstad

Hinterland Blast has double the range and deals 25% more damage.

Call of the Wildhammer Icon Call of the Wildhammer is a good Talent that increases the damage done by Hinterland Blast Icon Hinterland Blast by 25% and its range by 100%. The bonus damage is high enough to make this Talent interesting to pick without even taking into account the bonus range, especially if we consider that it will be rarely useful as the baseline range will already cover your whole screen.

Falstad Wind Tunnel
Wind Tunnel (Level 20) World of Warcraft Falstad

Mighty Gust creates a wind tunnel for 4 seconds. Enemies caught in the tunnel will periodically be pushed back.

Wind Tunnel Icon Wind Tunnel is a strong Talent that transforms Mighty Gust Icon Mighty Gust in one of the most powerful crowd control effects in the game by allowing you to lock one or more enemy Heroes on top of impassable terrain, rendering them unable to act for the duration.

Falstad Nexus Frenzy ?
Nexus Frenzy (Level 20) World of Warcraft Falstad

Increases Attack Speed by 20% and Attack Range by 1.1.

Nexus Frenzy Icon Nexus Frenzy is a good Talent that provides you with additional Attack damage and Attack range, something that gives more value when you are playing a Basic Attacks Build but it is not required nor advised because it competes with the powerful Wind Tunnel Icon Wind Tunnel.

Falstad Epic Mount ?
Epic Mount (Level 20) World of Warcraft Falstad

Reduce the cooldown of Flight by 50 seconds, reduce the cast time before flying to 0.5 seconds, and increase the speed by 50%.

Epic Mount Icon Epic Mount is a situational Talent that drastically lowers the cooldown of Flight Icon Flight, reduces its channel time from 2 to only 0.5 seconds, and makes the flight animation 50% faster.

The cooldown reduction allows him to completely negate any Catapult pressure on the Core and/or to quickly travel across the battlefield for claiming Capture Points when needed (for example on Dragon Shire).

The shorter cast time and increased travel speed combined together can be useful for when you need to use Flight Icon Flight for an offensive Mighty Gust Icon Mighty Gust, to quickly deny a powerful crowd control effect (excluding Time Stop) after a delay (notably Temporal Loop Icon Temporal Loop by Chromie) with the useful Unstoppable frames that Flight has, to dodge a delayed effect on the ground (such as Grav-O-Bomb 3000 Icon Grav-O-Bomb 3000 by Gazlowe), to outrange Abilities that require the target to be within a certain range to go off (for example Pyroblast Icon Pyroblast by Kael'thas) or as a form of escape because the enemy team will have less time to interrupt the cast or kill you.

10.

Changelog

  • 06 Jul. 2024: Epic Mount's Description improved.
  • 20 Sep. 2023: ARAM Build added.
  • 04 Feb. 2022: Builds rearranged.
  • 07 Dec. 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Major Patch.
  • 24 Nov. 2021: Builds updated.
  • 22 Jul. 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 17 May 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Patch.
  • 04 Mar. 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 25 Feb. 2021: New layout.
  • 30 Nov. 2020: Talent Descriptions fixed.
  • 05 Nov. 2020: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 20 Sep. 2020: Builds and Talent discussions updated.
  • 19 Jul. 2020: Talents reviewed and updated; AA build added.
  • 05 Apr. 2020: Mage build recommendation added.
  • 12 Oct. 2019: Talents section reviewed and updated.
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