Ragnaros Build Guide “DIE, INSECT!”

Ragnaros is a unique battle-mage-like Bruiser. His high proficiency at dealing large amounts of area of effect damage is offset by the avoidable nature of his Abilities. Opposing insects stand no chance against Ragnaros when he overtakes Structures (or their smoldering ruins), for his true power can then be unleashed... until a group of appropriately-geared adventurers go and claim their weekly treasures, that is.

• 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.

Although labeled a Bruiser, Ragnaros works best when positioned at a midpoint within any given team's formation, somewhere between the frontline and the backline, so as to be able to make the most out of his positional Abilities. Without any non-Heroic crowd control and a very weak gap closer, Ragnaros is ill-equipped to be played like a typical melee Hero that would seek to single-out vulnerable targets. He is, however, incredible at following up on any crowd control or opportunity provided by allied Heroes. This makes Ragnaros a natural fit to any team composition that may be able to lock down their foes but lack that "finishing touch".

The features that makes Ragnaros stand apart from Heroes that fulfil a similar role, however, lie in two of his Abilities: Molten Core and Lava Wave. These two Abilities have the capacity to outright counter or heavily impact certain Map mechanics. Molten Core is also particularly potent against teams that rely heavily on pushing to generate an Experience or Structural advantage. These Abilities will be discussed further, in the Abilities and Strategy section of this guide.