Leoric Build Guide “All will suffer as I have suffered!”

Last updated on Oct 22, 2021 at 12:00 by Elitesparkle 50 comments
General Information

Welcome to our guide for Leoric, a Bruiser 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.

Leoric's Overview

Leoric is an aggressive melee Bruiser with strong self-sustain and great mobility. He excels at dealing high damage through powerful Basic Attacks and close-range abilities, while his survivability allows him to stand his ground even if outnumbered by several enemies. After taking lethal damage, Undying Icon Undying causes him to turn into a Ghost capable of moving freely and using abilities to slow enemies. After a certain amount of time (influenced by how abilities are used while in Ghost form), Leoric comes back to life at the current location of the Ghost.

2.

Leoric's Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
X Weaknesses
3.

Leoric's Talent Build Cheatsheet

Basic Attacks Build

Recommended
Level 1 Ossein Renewal Icon Consume Vitality Icon ? Fealty Unto Death Icon ?
Level 4 Paralyzing Rage Icon Kneel, Peasants! Icon ?
Level 7 Drain Momentum Icon
Level 10 Entomb Icon
Level 13 Spectral Leech Icon
Level 16 Mithril Mace Icon
Level 20 Buried Alive Icon

Leoric's Basic Attacks Build is particularly good to increase your damage output in a reliable way, without the risk of losing too much value when the enemy Heroes dodge or disconnect Drain Hope Icon Drain Hope.

Spectral Leech Icon Spectral Leech at Level 13 and Mithril Mace Icon Mithril Mace at Level 16 combined together will empower your Basic Attacks, especially against Heroes with high maximum Health who do not have Armor (such as Azmodan). Drain Momentum Icon Drain Momentum at Level 7 helps you stick on enemy Heroes.

Wraith Walk Build

Advanced
Level 1 Consume Vitality Icon
Level 4 Ghastly Reach Icon
Level 7 Hopelessness Icon
Level 10 Entomb Icon
Level 13 Ominous Wraith Icon
Level 16 Royal Focus Icon
Level 20 Buried Alive Icon

Leoric's Wraith Walk Build provides a powerful and unique playstyle that, once you reach the late game, allows Leoric to severely cripple the combat performance of any Heroes coming in touch with Wraith Walk Icon Wraith Walk.

Ominous Wraith Icon Ominous Wraith at Level 13 drastically reduce the damage done by enemy Heroes for a few seconds, and it can be applied over and over again with the help of Royal Focus Icon Royal Focus at Level 16. Hopelessness Icon Hopelessness at Level 7 helps you keep Drain Hope Icon Drain Hope active during Wraith Walk Icon Wraith Walk.

Drain Hope Build

Situational
Level 1 Ossein Renewal Icon Consume Vitality Icon ? Fealty Unto Death Icon ?
Level 4 Paralyzing Rage Icon Kneel, Peasants! Icon ?
Level 7 Hopelessness Icon
Level 10 Entomb Icon
Level 13 Unyielding Despair Icon
Level 16 Crushing Hope Icon
Level 20 Burning Despair Icon Buried Alive Icon ?

Leoric's Drain Hope Build is extremely effective against low-mobility Heroes with high maximum Health (such as Arthas).

Unyielding Despair Icon Unyielding Despair at Level 13 reduces the cooldown of Drain Hope Icon Drain Hope, Crushing Hope Icon Crushing Hope at Level 16 increases its damage when lasting its full duration, and Hopelessness Icon Hopelessness at Level 7 helping you with that.

Hybrid Build

Situational
Level 1 Ossein Renewal Icon
Level 4 Paralyzing Rage Icon Kneel, Peasants! Icon ?
Level 7 Hopelessness Icon
Level 10 Entomb Icon
Level 13 Spectral Leech Icon
Level 16 Crushing Hope Icon
Level 20 Buried Alive Icon

Leoric's Hybird Build is meant to greatly improve your burst damage in the late game, so that you can get high value during short team fights, especially against Heroes with high maximum Health.

Spectral Leech Icon Spectral Leech at Level 13 makes your Basic Attack deal damage based on maximum Health, Crushing Hope Icon Crushing Hope at Level 16 increases its damage when lasting its full duration, and Hopelessness Icon Hopelessness at Level 7 helping you with that.

4.

Leoric's Synergies and Counters

V Leoric synergizes with

Leoric pairs off really well with Heroes who can follow up on his Entomb Icon Entomb with a huge amount of burst damage (for example Orphea using Eternal Feast Icon Eternal Feast and all her Basic Abilities) or complementary crowd control (such as Lurking Arm Icon Lurking Arm by Stukov).

X Leoric is countered by

Leoric struggles against high-mobility Heroes (such as Tracer) who can simply dodge Entomb Icon Entomb and/or disconnect his Drain Hope Icon Drain Hope (like Samuro using Mirror Image Icon Mirror Image or Image Transmission Icon Image Transmission).

Due to having self-healing in his kit, Leoric does not like to face Heroes who have access to healing reduction Abilities (for example Biotic Grenade Icon Biotic Grenade by Ana).

5.

Leoric's Maps

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

Leoric is a strong pick on Maps where the game lasts long enough to reach Level 20 and unlock Buried Alive Icon Buried Alive and/or where double soaking is strong (notably Towers of Doom where you can count on both).

Additionally, Leoric is a good pick on Maps where your team requires a solid Offlaner with good self-sustain and waveclear.

6.

Leoric's Tips and Tricks

  • Use Skeletal Swing Icon Skeletal Swing to reduce the chance that Drain Hope Icon Drain Hope will miss.
  • Drain Hope Icon Drain Hope is particularly effective when used on enemy Heroes with high maximum Health and who lack mobility.
  • Wraith Walk Icon Wraith Walk allows you to walk through enemy Gates, but not through the permanent unpassable terrain that forms the Battleground.
  • When necessary, do not be afraid to trade your life for something else because you can respawn faster with Drain Essence Icon Drain Essence, but remember you still give Experience for dying.
  • While in Ghost Form, use Ghastly Swing Icon Ghastly Swing to reduce the chance that Drain Essence Icon Drain Essence will miss.
  • Remember to Slow enemy Heroes and try to give vision to your team while you are in Ghost Form.
  • When respawning is dangerous, you can use your Hearthstone while in Ghost Form.
7.

Leoric's Role in the Current Meta

Leoric fulfills the role of an offensive Bruiser that is only played as an Offlaner, especially on Maps where double soaking is strong (for example Towers of Doom).

During team fights, he poses a constant threat to nearby enemies who lack mobility because of Entomb Icon Entomb being a powerful engage tool, especially after picking Buried Alive Icon Buried Alive at Level 20, a huge power spike for any team composition featuring Leoric.

8.

Changelog

  • 22 Oct. 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
  • 22 Oct. 2021 (this page): Builds updated.
  • 21 Aug. 2021 (talents page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 21 Aug. 2021 (abilities page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 21 Aug. 2021 (this page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 25 Jun. 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
  • 25 Jun. 2021 (this page): Builds updated.
  • 13 Apr. 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
  • 09 Mar. 2021 (talents page): Talents fixed.
  • 25 Feb. 2021 (talents page): New layout.
  • 17 Feb. 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
  • 17 Feb. 2021 (this page): Builds updated.
  • 04 Nov. 2020 (talents page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 04 Nov. 2020 (abilities page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 04 Nov. 2020 (this page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
  • 21 Oct. 2020 (this page): Maps fixed.
  • 05 Oct. 2020 (talents page): Builds updated.
  • 05 Oct. 2020 (this page): Builds updated.
  • 09 Jul. 2020 (talents page): Talent Build fully revised to match new standards.
    • Talent Build and Talent Build Cheatsheet modified to reflect the current metagame.
    • Talent Descriptions modified to better describe when to pick them.
  • 09 Jul. 2020 (abilities page): Ability and Strategy fully revised to match new standards.
    • Tips and Tricks modified to add important tips that were missing and to remove obvious ones that were not worth mentioning.
    • Ability Descriptions modified to better explain how to use Abilities effectively.
  • 09 Jul. 2020 (this page): Introduction fully revised to match new standards.
    • Overview rewritten to better describe the Hero.
    • Strengths and Weaknesses modified to give a better idea about the Hero when being played right.
    • Synergies and Counters modified to mention notable Heroes that were missing and to remove misleading Heroes that were listed.
    • Maps modified to focus on the main aspects of the Hero when evaluating a Map.
    • Tips and Tricks modified to list important tips that were missing before and to delete more obvious ones.
  • 12 Apr. 2020 (talents page): Talent Build partially revised to match new standards.
    • Talent Build and Talent Build Cheatsheet modified to reflect the current metagame.
    • Talent Descriptions modified to better describe when to pick them.
  • 12 Apr. 2020 (this page): Introduction partially revised to match new standards.
    • Talent Build Cheatsheet updated to reflect the current metagame.
    • Role in the Current Meta modified to remove the unnecessary part about the now fixed Experience Globes.
  • 09 Jan. 2020 (talents page): Changed Mithril Mace from Not Recommended to Recommended and updated the Life Leech Build accordingly.
  • 13 Dec. 2019 (this page): Added an entry about the current Anomaly to the guide.
  • 25 Nov. 2019 (talents page): Revised Leoric's guide and applied changes to his Drain Life Build. Entomb and Buried Alive are now prioritized.
  • 12 Jun. 2019 (talents page): Updated Leoric's talents and builds to better reflect the current state of the game.
  • 13 Nov. 2018 (talents page): Updated Leoric's talent builds and talents section.
  • 08 Jan. 2018 (talents page): Updated builds and talent recommendations to reflect changes in meta.
  • 12 Sep. 2017 (talents page): Changed Hopelessness from Not Recommended to Recommended.
  • 08 Sep. 2017 (talents page): Updated Ominous Wraith discussion.
  • 07 Sep. 2017 (talents page): Completely overhauled and updated Leoric's talents in accordance with the Kel'Thuzad patch.
  • 07 Sep. 2017 (abilities page): Updated Leoric's Abilities page in accordance with the Kel'Thuzad patch.
  • 03 Jul. 2017 (talents page): Updated Royal Focus' and Lingering Apparition's descriptions.
  • 07 Apr. 2017 (this page): Moved guide to new format.
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