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Ragnaros Build Guide “DIE, INSECT!”
Welcome to our guide for Ragnaros, 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.
Ragnaros's Overview
Ragnaros is a Bruiser whose main strengths are self-sustain and waveclear, however, he can dish out a solid amount of damage during team fights as well.
Ragnaros's Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Solid waveclear- High self-sustain
- Structures defense with
Molten Core
Ragnaros's Talent Build Cheatsheet
Basic Attacks Build
Recommended
Ragnaros's Basic Attacks Build can deal a high amount of burst damage and provides a great amount of self-sustain while laning.
The burst damage comes from 
Blistering Attacks at Level 7
and 
Giant Scorcher at Level 16.
The additional survivability, especially while laning,
comes from Sulfuras Hungers
at Level 1 that, after completing its Quest, will allow you to get more healing
while hitting a full wave of Minions using Empower Sulfuras.
Blast Wave Build
BeginnerRagnaros's Blast Wave Build can deal a high amount of burst damage and provides a fair amount of survivability and mobility during team fights.
The burst damage comes from Blistering Attacks at Level 7
and 
Engulfing Flame at Level 1,
amplified by Blast Echo at Level 16.
The additional survivability while fighting enemy Heroes
comes from Tempered Flame at Level 13,
in synergy with Engulfing Flame at Level 1,
and Blast Echo at Level 16.
Empower Sulfuras Build
Situational
Ragnaros's Empower Sulfuras Build can deal a high amount of sustain damage against team with multiple melee Heroes and provides a great amount of self-sustain while laning.
The additional survivability, especially while laning but not only,
comes from Sulfuras Hungers
at Level 1 that, after completing its Quest, will allow you to get more healing
while hitting a full wave of Minions using Empower Sulfuras.
Living Meteor Build
Situational
Ragnaros's Living Meteor Build is a decent alternative to other Builds for when you cannot afford to step up in melee range as it allows you to safely poke enemy Heroes from the distance.
The majority of your damage will come from the combination of
Shifting Meteor at Level 1 after completing its Quest,
Molten Power at Level 7,
and Meteor Bomb at Level 16.
Ragnaros's Synergies and Counters
Ragnaros synergizes with
Ragnaros is at his best when coupled with Heroes that feature some form of reliable crowd control (such as E.T.C.).
Ragnaros is countered by
Due to his lack of crowd control, Ragnaros will not be able to pressure Heroes who are weak to interrupts (such as Sonya).
Ragnaros is also particularly weak to kite because he does not have access to any tool that can help him playing around enemy Knockbacks (such as Garrosh) and Slows (such as Jaina).
Ragnaros's Maps
Ragnaros excels on Battlegrounds where he can double soak
with ease (such as Infernal Shrines), especially if he can get value
from 
Molten Core to win the Objective or defend after losing it.
The worst Battlegrounds for Ragnaros are the ones where it is important
to control a Capture Point, especially if it is impossible for him
to double soak as an alternative strategy
(such as Braxis Holdout), or where the Objective can be too far
from Forts that Molten Core cannot be used during it
(such as Towers of Doom).
Ragnaros's Tips and Tricks
Empower Sulfuras resets your Basic Attack, so use it immediately after a Basic Attack to maximize your damage output.
Living Meteor works best against Heroes that are running in a specific direction, such as during chases or escapes.
Blast Wave can be used on allied Heroes to help them disengage when in danger or even engage when appropriate.- To hit enemy Heroes with its center,
Sulfuras Smash should be used as a follow up to any crowd control effect. - Generally speaking,
Lava Wave should be used around x:22 or x:52 Game Time to catch the Experience of enemy Minions that will spawn near the enemy Core as it gets there. - After losing a Boss or an Objective, Molten Core should not be used to absorb damage directed towards your Structures because it would decrease its duration, but to deal damage to them before they can even hit you.
Ragnaros's Role in the Current Meta
Ragnaros is mostly played as a Solo Laner
because he has good self-sustain and solid waveclear
thanks to Empower Sulfuras.
On some Battlegrounds, Molten Core can be used
to defend Structures from Bosses and lost Objectives, as well as to poke
enemy Heroes while they are contesting the Objective.
Last but not the least, Ragnaros is not that hard to take down when focused by the enemy team, so be careful with your positioning during team fights. Rather than engaging as first, wait for your Tank to create a good opportunity for you to deal damage without being exposed that much.
Changelog
- 11 Apr. 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
- 11 Apr. 2021 (this page): Builds updated.
- 24 Mar. 2021 (talents page): Builds updated.
- 24 Mar. 2021 (this page): Builds updated.
- 12 Mar. 2021 (talents page): Builds fixed.
- 12 Mar. 2021 (this page): Builds fixed.
- 03 Mar. 2021 (talents page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 03 Mar. 2021 (this page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 03 Mar. 2021 (abilities page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 20 Jan. 2021 (this page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 20 Jan. 2021 (talents page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 20 Jan. 2021 (abilities page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (talents page): Talent Build partially revised to match new standards.
- Talent Build and Talent Build Cheatsheet modified to reflect the current metagame.
- New layout to improve readability.
- 24 Nov. 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.
- Talent Build Cheatsheet updated to reflect the current metagame.
- 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 was missing before and to delete more obvious ones.
- New layout to improve readability.
- 24 Nov. 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.
- New layout to improve readability.
- 22 Sep. 2020 (talents page): Builds updated.
- 22 Sep. 2020 (abilities page): Minor fixes.
- 22 Sep. 2020 (this page): Builds updated.
- 30 Aug. 2020 (this page): Role in Current Meta section updated.
- 19 Jul. 2020 (talents page): Talents reviewed and updated; Sulfuras Smash recommended.
- 09 Dec. 2019 (this page): Added a note about current Anomaly.
- 11 Oct. 2019 (this page): Guide updated.
- 11 Oct. 2019 (abilities page): Abilities section reviewed.
- 11 Oct. 2019 (talents page): Talent builds and recommendations reviewed and updated.
- 14 Jan. 2018 (talents page): Updated Sulfuras, Blast, and Meteor builds.
- 12 Aug. 2017 (talents page): Updated Talents and builds to reflect the August 8 patch and metagame changes.
- 12 Aug. 2017 (this page): Updated builds to reflect the August 8 patch Talents and metagame changes.
- 26 Jun. 2017 (talents page): Updated the amount of bonus damage from Sulfuras Hungers to 120.
- 14 Dec. 2016 (this page): Guide added.
More Bruiser Guides
Elitesparkle is a multiple times Master player in Europe who plays Heroes of the Storm since its release. He is an active member of the community — especially on Reddit — who likes to teach new and veteran players all he knows about his favorite game.
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