Imperius Build Guide “Valor will be victorious!”

1. Imperius' Overview

Imperius is a high-damage melee Bruiser that excels in close combat. He has a variety of self-healing mechanisms allowing him to pursue his enemies relentlessly. While his damage is to be respected, his limited mobility and underwhelming peel potential usually require him to be paired with another frontliner.

2. Imperius' Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• Outstanding self-healing
• Strong burst damage
• Decent in lane
• Good late game

Weaknesses

• Susceptible to anti-healing abilities
• Limited mobility
• Can be kited easily by mobile enemies
• Mediocre waveclear

3. Imperius' Talent Build Cheatsheet

Angelic Armaments Build

Talent calculator »

Level 1

Level 4 ?

Level 7

Level 10

Level 13

Level 16 ?

Level 20

The Angelic Armament Build focuses on Imperius' self-healing and team fight utility. Strong synergetic talents, such as Holy Fervor at Level 7, which works great if combined with Battle Hunger, allow Imperius to be an impactful Hero, especially in the mid-late-game phase. His first major power spike arrives after unlocking Angelic Armaments at Level 10. This Heroic Ability protects Imperius with a massive shield, allowing him to charge right into the enemy team's ranks. At Level 13, Divine Rage significantly lowers Molten Armor's cooldown, which greatly increases Imperius' survivability. Furthermore, it possesses great synergy with both Melting Touch and Sovereign Armor at Level 16. Imperius' second major power spike comes with Level 20. Heavenly Host turns Angelic Armaments into an amazing team fighting ability protecting all nearby allied Heroes with a potent shield.

See our Talents page for further information »

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4. Imperius' Synergies and Counters

Imperius synergizes with

Imperius' mobility is one of his greatest weaknesses, consequently, he pairs extremely well with Heroes like Lucio that can boost his Movement Speed. On the other hand, Heroes like Jaina or Arthas possess enough Slows and Roots to keep enemy Heroes crippled, which allows Imperius to unleash his full damage potential.

Imperius is countered by

Imperius does not really get hard-countered by a specific Hero, however, there are several foes that can cause some serious problems for him. First of all, high-mobility Heroes, such as Genji or Tracer, can kite him extensively. Secondly, anti-healing abilities, such as Ana's Biotic Grenade can shut down his important self-healing. Ultimately, Blinds are Imperius' bane, since they prevent Valorous Brand from getting triggered.

5. Imperius' Maps

Imperius's stronger maps

Imperius's average maps

Imperius's weaker maps

Imperius is not really a map-dependent Hero. However, he usually performs well on battlegrounds like Battlefield of Eternity or Infernal Shrines, on which he can use his superior damage to weaken PvE Objectives. On maps like Sky Temple or Volskaya Foundry that usually offer plenty of room for mobile Heroes to outmaneuver him, Imperius' lack of mobility can potentially cause difficulties for himself.

6. Imperius' Tips and Tricks

• Molten Armor is very strong in a 1-versus-1 situation, as it focuses all of its damage on the same target.
• Angelic Armaments can be used to take down enemy Heroes, so do not hesitate to use the activatable component if you do not have to worry about getting damaged.
• Celestial Charge can be used to impale and Stun several enemies at once, however, keep in mind that Imperius cannot move nor use other abilities during the animation.
• Stutter-stepping is crucial when playing Imperius in order to maximize Valorous Brand's damage output.
• To improve Imperius' waveclear, use Solarion's Fire when the enemy Minion wave is lined up in a straight line.
• Molten Armor can be activated while Imperius is impaling enemies with Celestial Charge to maximize his damage output.

7. Role in the Current Meta

While Imperius' sustained damage may be slightly higher than that of other Bruisers, his limited mobility also makes him susceptible to getting kited. Thus, picking allies with strong crowd control can boost his combat performance significantly.

Imperius' early game is decent, however, he truly shines in the later stages of the game with increased self-sustain thanks to talents such as Divine Rage at Level 13, Melting Touch at Level 16, and Heavenly Host at Level 20. When reaching these levels, Imperius can draw a lot of fire onto himself, potentially buying enough time for his allies to take down enemies.

8. Changelog