Anub'arak has mostly been a stable and good Tank, but being one of the oldest characters has its effects on mechanical depth, especially when talking about a character who is all about crowd control. He is currently very one dimensional.
The goal of this rework is to modernize the Traitor King and improve his variability.
Note
This concept used to be completely different. As of 10/10/2025, it has been changed significantly.
Stats
Health increased from 2150 to 2208
Health Regen increased from 4.48 to 4.6
Attack Damage decreased from 81 to 80
Combat Trait
1
Scarab Host (Trait)
Health decreased from 285 to 240 and is now mentioned in the tooltip
Damage increased from 20 to 24
Beetles now spawn in the direction of the mouse cursor instead of randomly chosen locations
Primary Abilities
1
Impale (Q)
Mana: 60 Cooldown: 12 seconds
Shoot spiked tendrils in a straight line, dealing 60 damage and Stunning all enemies in their wake for 1 second.
Tooltip updated
Mana reduced from 65 to 60
Damage decreased from 90 to 60
2
Spiked Carapace (Reworked W)
Mana: 40 Cooldown: 8 seconds
Deal 80 damage to nearby enemies and gain a 320 point Shield for 4 seconds.
While active, this Shield grants 40 Spell Armor.
Radius: 4
Renamed from Harden Carapace to Spiked Carapace
Mana increased from 25 to 40
Cooldown increased from 7 to 8 seconds
Shield amount decreased from 340 to 320
Shield duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
Now also damages nearby enemies on cast
3
Burrow Charge (E)
Mana: 40 Cooldown: 12 seconds
Burrow to the target location, becoming Unstoppable and moving through terrain. Upon surfacing, deal 120 damage and Stun enemies in a small area for 0.5 seconds, then Slow them by 25% for 2.5 seconds.
Burrow Charge can be reactivated to surface early.
Tooltip updated
Mana reduced from 65 to 40
Cooldown reduced from 14 to 12 seconds
Damage increased from 91 to 120
Impact area is now displayed around Anub'arak while traveling and is visible to all players
Heroic Abilities
1
Locust Swarm (Reworked R1)
Mana: 60 Charge Cooldown: 60 seconds
Release an angry locust at each nearby enemy. It deals 90 damage on impact and then returns to heal you for 60, increased to 120 when hitting Heroes.
Stores up to 3 charges, with a 3 second cooldown between uses.
Radius: 6
Missile Speed: 18
2
Cocoon (R2)
Mana increased from 70 to 80
Cooldown reduced from 70 to 40 seconds
Duration decreased from 7 to 4 seconds
Health increased from 24 to 40
LEVEL 1
Nerubian Armor (Reworked)
Increase Spiked Carapace's Spell Armor to 65. Passive: Gain 10 Spell Armor that stacks with other sources of Armor.
Underking (Moved from Level 4)(Reworked)
Increase the range of Impale and Burrow Charge by 20% and their damage by 50%.
Legion of Beetles (Reworked)
Automatically spawn a Beetle every 12 seconds. Can be toggled on and off.
Basic Attacks reduce the cooldown of Legion of Beetles by 1 second.
LEVEL 4
Bed of Barbs
Damage increased from 21 to 30.
Duration decreased from 3.5 to 2.5 seconds.
Subterranean Shield (Moved from Level 7)(Reworked)
Burrow Charge grants 240 Shields upon burrowing and an additional 160 Shields for 4 seconds upon surfacing.
These Shields stack with each other.
Leeching Scarabs (Moved from Level 7)(Reworked)
Beetles gain 25% increased Health and heal Anub'arak for 50% of the damage dealt with their Basic Attacks.
LEVEL 7
Chitinous Plating (Reworked)
Reduce the Mana cost of Spiked Carapace to 25, but increase its cooldown to 10 seconds.
While Spiked Carapace is active, taking damage from enemy Abilities reduces its cooldown by 1 seconds, up to 4 seconds.
Debilitation (Moved from Level 16)(Reworked)
Heroes who are Stunned by Impale or Burrow Charge have their Spell Power reduced by 40% for 3 seconds.
Acid Drenched Mandibles (Moved from Level 13)(Reworked)
Basic Attacks deal 100% more damage to enemies who are Stunned, Rooted, or Slowed.
Beetles deal 50% more damage to enemies who are Stunned, Rooted, or Slowed.
LEVEL 13
Shed Exoskeleton (Moved from Level 4)(Reworked)
Increase Spiked Carapace's damage by 50%.
While Spiked Carapace is on cooldown, gain 20% Movement Speed.
Symbiotic Armor (New?)
Increase Spiked Carapace's Shield amount by 25% and its duration by 1 second.
While Spiked Carapace is active, Beetles gain its Armor bonus.
Burning Beetles
Primary damage increased from 21 to 24.
Secondary damage decreased from 6 to 4.
LEVEL 16
Urticating Spines (Moved from Level 13)(Reworked)
Increase the radius of Spiked Carapace's damage by 50%.
Enemies hit by Spiked Carapace are Slowed by 25% decaying over 4 seconds.
Epicenter
Tooltip now says "impact radius" instead of "impact area" to match the actual bonus.
Beetle, Juiced (Reworked)
Spawning a Beetle restores 2% of Anub'arak's maximum Health and 1% of his maximum Mana. Passive: Every 4th Basic Attack spawns a Beetle. The counter is reset after 4 seconds of not attacking.
LEVEL 20
Hive Master
Damage increased from 165 to 180.
Healing increased from 80 to 120.
Search Radius decreased from 7 to 6.
Search Radius is now displayed to Anub'arak.
Vampire Locust now prioritizes attacking Heroes.
Cryptweave (Reworked)
Increase Cocoon's Health by 50% and its duration by 4 seconds.
Cocoon's Health does not decay by itself while Anub'arak is nearby.
Radius: 4
The Traitor King (Reworked)
Spiked Carapace now grants both Physical Armor and Spell Armor.
Venom of Nerub (New)
Heroes damaged by Anub'arak or his Beetles have their Spell Power, damage dealt, and healing received reduced by 3%.
Stacks up to 10 times. Lasts 3 seconds.
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