Zagara Build Guide “The Swarm hungers.”

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HomepageHeroes of the StormSpecialist HeroesZagara

Last updated on Nov 10, 2016 at 20:30 by Micekrispies 25 comments

General Information

Welcome to our Zagara guide for Heroes of the Storm. Here you will learn everything you need to know in order to play Zagara in a competitive environment, whether you play on your own or with a team.

About the Author

Micekrispies is a Grand Master Hero League player who has a passion for the MOBA scene and its community. Having over 6 years of experience in the upper divisions of League of Legends, Micekrispies saw Heroes of the Storm as an exciting new endeavor. His priority is to share his knowledge of the MOBA genre with any and all who desire to learn more. Feel free to drop off a comment in the comments section or check out him out on Twitch where he will gladly answer any of your questions.

1. Quick Reference

Split Push Build (talent calculator link)

Larger maps with multiple objective locations (Cursed Hollow, Sky Temple, Garden of Terror, Infernal Shrines) tend to favor the Split Push Build where Zagara may take advantage of distracting moments of opportunity for the enemy team. Baneling Barrage Icon Baneling Barrage should be used for waveclear and to quickly deal massive amounts of damage to enemy structures, while Infested Drop Icon Infested Drop's primary purpose is to soak up ammo from enemy towers and forts. Zagara should constantly rotate around the Battleground via Nydus Network Icon Nydus Network to maximize the amount time she can effectively splitpush. Keep in mind that it will be much more difficult to effectively play the Split Push Build if they enemy team contains a high burst damage assassin Hero such as Zeratul or Nova. Heroes like these will frustratingly spend most of the match hunting down and picking off Zagara when she is overextended.

Team Fight Build (talent calculator link)

The Team Fight Build is designed to give Zagara the most effective blend of damage and utility in matches where crossing paths with enemy Heroes is frequent and unavoidable. Use Infested Drop Icon Infested Drop as often as possible to harass opponents and allow the spawned Roaches to provide vision and block certain enemy skillshots. Hunter Killer Icon Hunter Killer is Zagara's primary source of damage and (when possible) should be saved for the team's target of focusfire. Be patient when looking to cast Devouring Maw Icon Devouring Maw. Most often, Zagara should engage the enemy team with her other abilities and Basic Attacks, and use Devouring Maw when the opportunity arises. Try to consume multiple enemy Heroes by keeping note of their positioning and striking when they are grouped too closely together.

See our Talents page for further information Create your own build and share it with friends!

Synergies and Counters

Zagara synergizes with

Due to her lack of mobility, Zagara is best when paired with one or two tanks who can provide her a strong frontline. Those with reliable crowd-control can also set up devastating combos with Zagara's Devouring Maw Icon Devouring Maw.

Zagara is countered by

Zagara is counterd by high mobility assassins with large amounts of burst damage. Zagara's lack of a reliable gap-closer may regularly be capitalized on by more agile opponents.

Maps

Zagara's stronger maps Braxis Holdout

Zagara's average maps Battlefield of Eternity

Zagara's weaker maps None

Zagara tends to be a viable Hero pick on most maps due to her vast build diversity. Larger maps with multiple objective locations (Cursed Hollow, Sky Temple, Garden of Terror, Infernal Shrines) tend to favor a split pushing build where Zagara can take advantage of distracting moments of opportunity for the enemy team. Maps that are smaller such as Tomb of the Spider Queen and Towers of Doom make it much more difficult for Zagara to sneak away to push lanes and destroy defenses, although it is not impossible. On these Battlegrounds some players might consider going for a build that revolves around team fighting and applying massive amounts of sustained damage to enemy Heroes.

TL;DR Tips

Baneling Barrage should be used primarily for waveclear as to conserve valuable mana.
Use Hunter Killer to zone enemies from team fights or lane.
Always use Infested Drop when it is available to deal damage safely and provide vision. Infested Drop can also be used to tank Mercenary Camps, drain ammo from enemy structures, and interrupt channeling of objectives (like Tributes on Cursed Hollow).
Do not try to force Devouring Maw and instead wait for enemies to come into range.
Place Nydus Worms provided by Nydus Network in spots clear of heavy foot-traffic as to prevent them from being immediately destroyed.
Always use all available Creep Tumors. Place them inside bushes and at other out-of-the-way locations to prevent the enemy from accidentally destroying them with AoE abilities.

See our Abilities page for further information

2. Overview

Zagara is a long ranged specialist who draws support from her seemingly endless brood to wreak havoc on her opponents. Creep Tumor Icon Creep Tumor is by far her strongest ability, providing not only buffs to several of her attributes including attack range and movement speed, but also supplying precious vision throughout the Battleground. Zagara is capable of tearing down enemy defenses from afar and when left alone for even a small duration will turn the strongest enemy fortifications into nothing more than heaps of rubble.

3. Strengths

Excellent long range, sustained damage
Great waveclear
Incredibly strong sieging and pushing power
Creep Tumor provides a massive amount of vision throughout the entire map
Good poke and harass
Can contest objectives for long a duration
Able to solo Mercenary Camps with ease

4. Weaknesses

Quite vulnerable to crowd control
Zero mobility, except on Creep
Painfully Mana hungry; requires careful Mana conservation
Low burst damage
Her only form of crowd control is Devouring Maw

5. Role in the Current Meta

When fighting on a widespread area of creep, Zagara is unexpectedly a phenomenal duelist. The attack range and movement speed provided by Creep Tumor Icon Creep Tumor combined with the relentless single target damage of Hunter Killer Icon Hunter Killer makes Zagara quite the bully. She is easily able to kite enemies in pursuit of her as well as chase those down who may have regretfully overstepped their boundary. The vision that Creep Tumor provides is extremely powerful, especially on maps like Tomb of the Spider Queen and Sky Temple, where Heroes are constantly roaming to gank. This vision allows her to safely harass opponents without fear of being ambushed unexpectedly. She is also able to safely stop the channeling of map objectives on maps like Cursed Hollow and Blackheart's Bay by casting a single charge of Baneling Barrage Icon Baneling Barrage or Infested Drop Icon Infested Drop. Assuming it was talented for, a well placed Devouring Maw Icon Devouring Maw on multiple enemy Heroes may win a fight by itself, as it allows your allies to follow up with devastating AoE combos.

Aside from the movement speed boost provided by creep, Zagara's kit lacks any sort of reliable gap-closer. However this does not prevent her from creating an almost unparalleled global presence when talenting for Nydus Network Icon Nydus Network in conjunction with Endless Creep Icon Endless Creep. This can be used to create pressure almost anywhere on the map, forcing enemy teams to have to make a constant choice between losing precious objectives or their own defenses.

6. Reading Further

To take things further, we have 2 more pages that you can read:

Abilities and Strategy: an overview of your hero's abilities and how to use them;
Talent Build: a detailed rundown of your talents and how to choose them.