Xavius by JLE1138

18 Votes

Xavius

By: JLE1138
Last Updated: Oct 3, 2026
Quick Share

Xavius

Lord of the Nightmare

Xavius, Lord of the Nightmare, was once the loyal High Councillor to Queen Azshara, and servant of Sargeras, until his untimely death at the hands of Malfurion Stormrage. However, Sargeras restored the Night Elf to life as a Satyr, the first of his kind. With his newfound power, Xavius began to spread his presence into the Emerald Dream, corrupting it into the Emerald Nightmare. Now, he seeks more power, and new lands to defile within the Nexus...




Health: 1,874 (+4%)| Regen: 3.9 (+4%)
Mana: 500 (+4%)
Attack Speed: 0.7 per second | Attack Damage: 194 (+4%) | Attack Range: 1.5


Xavius is a Melee Assassin, but I would truly class him as a melee Mage. This is similar to Heroes such as Alarak, where abilities are the main tool they use, which have mainly ranged aspects, but to deal maximum damage, he must stay close to his targets. For instance, all abilities can be used at range, but are maximised when Xavius is close to opponents.

All of Xavius' abilities are augmented when used in conjunction with his trait: Fear Incarnate. This allows him to generate his custom resource, Insanity on enemy Heroes. This resource, when the maximum is reached, causes the spawning of a Nightmare Amalgam, which is a necessary part of his kit within team fights and laning alike.

The main priority of Xavius is to close the distance between him and his enemies. His Slows and Roots allow for him to catch up to enemy Heroes and generate as much Insanity as possible on them to be able to spawn an Amalgam. His goal is to deal damage from afar, generating as much Insanity as possible, and then, when an Amalgam is spawned, dive in to deal as much damage as possible.

+ Strengths


+ Peeling potential with Root, Slows and strong Basic Attacks
+ Strong solo laner due to high damage potential vs. Heroes
+ Fairly strong chaser

- Weaknesses


- Ultimate abilities rely on Amalgams
- Not able to camp due to lack of Amalgams
- Primarily combo based



Combat Trait

1
Fear Incarnate
Passive: Xavius builds up Insanity, on enemy Heroes as he damages them, up to 100. This does not decay over time, but is lost if Xavius fails to damage an enemy Hero after 30 seconds.

When 100 Insanity is reached, spawn a Nightmare Amalgam at the Heroes location for 15 seconds which poisons all nearby enemies every 0.5 seconds, dealing 31 (+4% per level) damage per second for 2 seconds.

Every additional application increases the duration of the poison by 2 seconds, up to a maximum of 10 seconds.

Passive: Basic Attacks generate 10 Insanity per attack.

Primary Abilities

1
Deform (Q)
Cost: 50 Mana
Cooldown: 12 seconds

Xavius leaps a small distance and smashes the ground in front of him, dealing 168 (+4% per level) damage to all nearby enemies. If this ability hits a Nightmare Amalgam, all enemies within the radius of the Amalgam take an additional 121 (+4% per level) damage and are also Rooted for 2 seconds.

Generates 25 Insanity on all enemy Heroes hit.
2
Corrupted Blades (W)
Cost: 40 Mana
Cooldown: 8 seconds

Blades of Corruption sprout from the ground at a targeted position at a small range, dealing 75 (+4% per level) damage. After 0.25 seconds re-activate this ability to cause the Blades to travel in the targeted direction, dealing an additional 126 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies hit.

Generates 15 Insanity on any enemy Heroes hit.
3
Desecrate (E)
Cost: 60 Mana
Cooldown: 14 seconds

Xavius seeps the essence of the Nightmare in an area for 6 seconds, Slowing enemies within it by 10% per second, stacking up to 40%. Nightmare Amalgams within Desecrate have their damage radius increased by 100%.

Secondary Abilities

1
Il'gynoth's Gaze
(Added by Level 4 Talent: Il'gynoth's Gaze)

Cooldown: 60 seconds

Active: Activate to greatly increase sight range for 5 seconds and reveal enemy Heroes in the area for 8 seconds.

Generates 25 Insanity on any enemy Hero revealed.
2
Rift of Aln
(Added by Level 16 Talent: Rift of Aln)

Cooldown: 60 seconds

Active: Activate to teleport to an area next to a target Nightmare Amalgam, gaining 30% Movement Speed for 3 seconds.
3
Feed on Fear
(Added by Level 20 Talent: Feed on Fear)

Cooldown: 15 seconds

Active: Activate to consume target Nightmare Amalgam to permanently increase Xavius' Maximum Health and Spell Power by 2%, up to a maximum of 40%.

Heroic Abilities

1
Doombolt (R)
Cost: 80 Mana
Cooldown: 60 seconds

After 0.5 seconds, Xavius launches a bolt of pure dread in a target direction that explodes upon impact with the first enemy Hero hit, dealing 310 (+4% per level) damage to all nearby enemies.

Whenever Defile Soul's bolt travels over a Nightmare Amalgam, increase its projectile speed, range and damage by 50%.
2
Eternal Shadows (R)
Cost: 100 Mana
Cooldown: 100 seconds

After 1.5 seconds, massively reduce the vision of all enemy Heroes poisoned by a Nightmare Amalgam for 5 seconds. At the end of each second, enemy Heroes that are moving whilst they have no vision are Slowed by 10% for 1.5 seconds, stacking up to 50%.

Talents




(Q) Crush Spirit
Deform's cooldown is reduced by 8 seconds and generates 15 more Insanity if it hits only one Hero.
(Trait) Unstable Minds
Insanity generation is increased by 50% on Heroes that are Stunned, Slowed or Rooted.
(Trait) Terrify
Nightmare Amalgams also generate 2 Insanity per second to all enemy Heroes within their damage radius.



(W) Dreadblades
(❢) Quest: Generate Insanity on enemy Heroes with Corrupted Blades.

(?) Reward: After building up 225 Insanity with Corrupted Blades, increase its range by 50%.

(?) Reward: After building up 450 Insanity with Corrupted Blades, Corrupted Blades' re-activation gains 1 additional charge.
(E) Spreading Dread
Desecrate's affected area grows by 50% over 3 seconds. Desecrate now deals 58 (+4% per level) damage per second to non-Heroic enemies.
(Active) Il'gynoth's Gaze
Cooldown: 60 seconds

Active: Activate to greatly increase sight range for 5 seconds and reveal enemy Heroes in the area for 8 seconds.

Generates 25 Insanity on any enemy Hero revealed.



(Q) Corrupt the Weak
Deform deals an additional 75% damage to Minions and Mercenaries. Minions damaged by Deform whilst poisoned by a Nightmare Amalgam are Stunned for 2.5 seconds.
(W) The Master's Call
If Corrupted Blades has not hit a Hero after it has travelled its maximum range, it additionally travels back to Xavius, dealing 25% more damage.
(Passive) Saytr Lord
Every 10 minion kills that Xavius takes part in spawns a Nightmare Amalgam for 15 seconds at Xavius' current location.



(R) Doombolt
After 0.5 seconds, Xavius launches a bolt of pure dread in a straight line that explodes upon impact with the first enemy Hero hit, dealing 310 (+4% per level) damage to all nearby enemies. Whenever Defile Soul's bolt travels over a Nightmare Amalgam, increase its projectile speed, range and damage by 50%.
(R) Eternal Shadows
After 1 second, massively reduce the vision of all enemy Heroes poisoned by a Nightmare Amalgam for 5 seconds. For each second an enemy Hero moves while they have no vision, they are Slowed by 10% for 2.5 seconds, stacking up to 50%.



(W) Creeping Doom
Whenever Corrupted Blades travels over a Nightmare Amalgam, it can be re-activated again to change its direction.
(W) Crippling Tendrils
Corrupted Blades reduces the Armor of Heroes hit by 15 for 2 seconds. This duration is doubled if they are poisoned by a Nightmare Amalgam.
(E) Profane Aura
Deal 54 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies whilst Desecrate is active. Basic Attacks against a Hero that is Slowed by Desecrate increases its active duration by 0.75 seconds.



(Q) Massacre
Deform now hits 3 times in a row every 0.5 seconds in the targeted direction, but has its cooldown increased by 8 seconds.
(E) Nightmare
Whenever an enemy Hero reaches 100 Insanity within Desecrate, instantly deal 15% of their maximum Health as damage. This damage does not generate Insanity.
(Active) Rift of Aln
Cooldown: 60 seconds

Active: Activate to teleport to a target area next to a Nightmare Amalgam, gaining 30% Movement Speed for 3 seconds.



(R) Defile Soul
Doombolt Mind Controls the first enemy Hero hit. Heroes hit are Silenced, Slowed by 25%, and forced to move towards Xavius for 1.25 second. For each Nightmare Amalgam travelled over, increase the duration of these effects by 0.5 seconds.
(R) Scared of the Dark
At the end of each second of Eternal Shadows, additionally generate 25 Insanity on each enemy Hero that is moving.
(Trait) Torment
(❢) Quest: Generate 3500 Insanity, including Insanity built up so far.

(?) Reward: Fear Incarnate can now be activated to summon a Nightmare Amalgam at a target location. Stores up to 3 charges. Each charge has a 20 second cooldown.
(Active) Feed on Fear
Cooldown: 15 seconds

Active: Activate to consume a Nightmare Amalgam to permanently increase Xavius' Maximum Health and Spell Power by 2%, up to a maximum of 40%.



Talent Tiers







Builds

Off-lane Build:


Level 1: Crush Spirit (Q)

Level 4: Dreadblades (W) OR Spreading Dread (E)

Level 7: ANY Talent (depends on Playstyle)

Level 10: ANY Ultimate (Possibly Eternal Shadows for escape).

Level 13: Profane Aura (E)

Level 16: Massacre (Q)

Level 20: Torment (Trait)


Teamfight Build:


Level 1: Unstable Minds (Trait) OR Terrify (Trait)

Level 4: Dreadblades (W)

Level 7: The Masters Call (W)

Level 10: ANY Ultimate (Possibly Eternal Shadows for the mass Crowd Control, but Doombolt can finish kills).

Level 13: Creeping Doom (W) OR Crippling Tendrils (W) (More solo damage vs. Team Utility)

Level 16: Nightmare (E)

Level 20: Feed on Fear (Active) OR Ultimate Upgrade.


My Other Concepts

- Vol'jin (Warcraft Support/Melee Assassin)

- Duriel (Diablo Melee Assassin)

- Mephisto (Diablo Ranged Assassin)

- Baal (Diablo Ranged Assassin)

Quick Comment

You need to log in before commenting.

[-] Collapse All Comments

Sort Comments By
1
[-]
Slombeeper (2) | March 25, 2020 11:10pm
Love the effort you did to add pictures!
2
[-]
MyDarKsTeR | March 14, 2020 3:04pm
Very interesting concept ! Good work :)
Loading Comments...
Load More Comments

HeroesFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new hero, or fine tune your favorite HotS hero’s build and strategy.

Copyright © 2019 HeroesFire | All Rights Reserved