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
Solid waveclear
High self-sustain
Structures defense with
Molten Core
Ragnaros's Talent Build Cheatsheet
Empower Sulfuras Build
RecommendedRagnaros's Empower Sulfuras Build can deal a high amount of single-target damage and provides a high amount of survivability while laning.
The damage boost mostly comes from Blistering Attacks at Level 7
and
Giant Scorcher at Level 16.
After hitting enemy Heroes with Blast Wave,
Slow Burn at Level 4 helps you land more Basic Attacks
on fleeing enemy Heroes and helps you to connect
Sulfuras Smash.
The additional survivability, especially while laning but not only,
comes from Sulfuras Hungers
at Level 1 that, after completing the 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 good amount of single-target damage and provides a high amount of survivability during team fights.
The damage boost mostly comes from the combination of Engulfing Flame
at Level 1 and
Blast Echo at Level 16,
but
Blistering Attacks at Level 7 helps as well.
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.
Ragnaros's Synergies and Counters
Ragnaros is at his best when coupled with Heroes that feature some form of reliable crowd control (such as E.T.C.).
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.
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
- 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.
- 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 (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.
- 22 Sep. 2020 (talents page): Builds updated.
- 22 Sep. 2020 (this page): Builds updated.
- 22 Sep. 2020 (abilities page): Minor fixes.
- 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 (abilities page): Abilities section reviewed.
- 11 Oct. 2019 (talents page): Talent builds and recommendations reviewed and updated.
- 11 Oct. 2019 (this page): Guide 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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