Ragnaros Build Guide “DIE, INSECT!”

Empower Sulfuras Build (talent calculator link)

Level 1 Level 4 Level 7 Level 10 Level 13 Level 16 Level 20

Empower Sulfuras Build focuses on improving Empower Sulfuras. Of all 3 main Ragnaros builds, this one provides the highest amount of sustained damage. Its main drawback, however, is that it requires you to remain in melee range to get the most out of it. And although it does provide superb self sustain, it is lacklustre against most forms of burst damage. Key Talents include Hand of Ragnaros, which halves the cooldown of Empower Sulfuras granted you strike at least two Heroes, and Giant Scorcher, which inflicts a tremendous amount of damage over time to high-Health Heroes. As such, this build is recommended against team compositions that feature little to no burst damage, and two or more tank-like or otherwise Healthy melee Heroes so as to guarantee consistent Hand of Ragnaros Cooldown reduction effects.

Living Meteor Build (talent calculator link)

Level 1 Level 4 Level 7 Level 10 Level 13 Level 16 Level 20

Living Meteor Build focuses on improving Living Meteor. This build is defined by Living Meteor's ability to situationally deal a tremendous amount of area of effect damage from a long range. This damage potential, however, is limited by the Ability's skillshot nature. In other words, Living Meteor requires a reliable setup, which generally comes under the form of crowd control provided by allied Heroes. The long-range nature of Living Meteor makes this build a solid choice against team compositions that feature several ranged Heroes that would otherwise be able to kite you and nullify your other melee Abilities. It is at its most effective when your own team composition features two or more aggressive melee Heroes that will often force opponents to play defensively, where Living Meteor excels. Key Talents include Shifting Meteor, which increases the reliability of Living Meteor, and Molten Power and Meteor Bomb, both of which vastly improve the raw damage output of the Ability.

Blast Wave Build (talent calculator link)

Level 1 Level 4 Level 7 Level 10 Level 13 Level 16 Level 20

Blast Wave Build focuses on improving Blast Wave. This balanced build provides a remarkable amount of short-range area of effect burst damage and survivability. This damage and survivability, however, hinge upon your ability to position in a way that you can get Blast Wave to hit as many opponents as possible. Given Ragnaros' lack of crowd control outside of a perfect Sulfuras Smash hit, this may be difficult to accomplish against Heroes with gap closers or ranged attacks and Abilities. Blast Wave truly comes alive when combining the Engulfing Flame, Tempered Flame, and Blast Echo Talents, which essentially quadruple Blast Wave's base damage to provide a formidable self-Shielding effect. This build is generally recommended against balanced team compositions that neither feature two or more tanks nor 4 ranged Heroes.

Synergies and Counters

Ragnaros synergizes with

Ragnaros is at his best when coupled with Heroes that feature some form of reliable ranged crowd control so as to help him setup his own Abilities. He is particularly effective with bruisers due to the Movement Speed increase provided by Blast Wave.

Ragnaros is countered by

As a generalist, Ragnaros is not particularly vulnerable or effective against anyone; still, his lack of crowd control makes him inadequate against some specific Heroes, notably Chen. He is also prone to be kited due to his lack of an effective gap closer.

Maps

Ragnaros's stronger maps

Ragnaros's average maps

Ragnaros's weaker maps None

Since Ragnaros offers both excellent waveclear and sustained damage, and a reasonable amount of self-sustain, he is not particularly weak on any Map. Molten Core and Lava Wave, however, make him exceptional at dealing with particular Map mechanics. Molten Core can specifically be used to absorb a number of Blackheart's Bay's or Sky Temple's Map mechanic attacks that would otherwise be aimed at Structures. Lava Wave heavily damages the Zerg wave on Braxis Holdout, and one Lane worth of Webweavers on Tomb of the Spider Queen. Molten Code does a good job of handling these mechanics as well, making Ragnaros particularly effective on these Maps.

TL;DR Tips

• Empower Sulfuras resets your Basic Attack; hit once, and then activate the Ability for a quick burst of damage.
• Living Meteor works best against Heroes that are running in a specific direction, such as during chases or escapes.
• Blast Wave can be quickly self-cast by holding ALT, and then pressing the Ability's hotkey (by default E).
• Sulfuras Smash's Stunning effect can be used to setup for your own E-W-Q chain.
• Lava Wave moves very slowly, but might just catch opponents that are not paying attention by surprise.
• Molten Core's effect can be used to mitigate the damage of certain Map Objectives, such as on Blackheart's Bay or Sky Temple.