About OCM:

I'm a 2x Rank 1 and 4x Master+ player specializing in high MMR Assassin & "flex" play. I have played HotS since first wave technical alpha testing.

My guides are like notebooks. I update them progressively based on what I learn and theorycraft. As such, this guide is a culmination of my experience, successes, and feedback.

Twitch: OfClanMurray
Twitter: OCM_Heroes
YouTube: OCM

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Once the primordial muck of the Heroes meta, Cho'gall has received enough love with his rework to be considered a fairly dangerous situational pick. I must admit, I hated even the pure concept of Cho'gall for the longest time, and saw him as nothing more than a gimmick.

In this guide, I'm going to show you what happens when you commit to mastering the art of Gall. A large misconception about Gall is that he's a turret, and nothing more. Gall requires a level of micromanagement that people are really not aware of, and this became even more relevant with his rework. Mastering not only your ability to land effective skillshots, but the subtle micromanagement that Gall requires, will turn you into a huge threat to any enemy team.

In this guide, I'm going to break down the three builds I see best fit for Gall, and which one I consider the most "meta".

But, before we get into that let's take a look at a few general Gall tips.

A good magician never reveals his secrets. At least not all of them. While there are a few things I think it's pretty fun to learn on your own, here's a few general tips and tricks for enhancing your Gall play.

- Use voice comms with your Cho. It's insanely important to be in tandem with your other head; literally. Be vocal and attentive to what your other head is thinking, but don't be afraid to call your shots as well.

- Pay attention to your passive. Cho'gall's rework introduced a new functionality to their passive that allows for a tug of war between each player for either increased armor or increased AP. The general system I personally use with my Cho is keeping AP on above 50% health, and switching to armor below 50% health. There are obviously situations that bend this rule, but that's part of the learning curve.

- Choose your ult wisely. Don't be stubborn on your ult choice. There is no objective best ult for all situations. Take a look at what your Cho is thinking in terms of their ult and react accordingly. SBV is great for things outside of purely fighting, like objective burn, intense siege, and of course team fighting when necessary. Twisting Nether is a great wombo combo tool that synergizes well with not only Upheaval, but other ults your team may provide. Keep an open mind when picking your ult.

- Shove is a great tool. Use it wisely. It's not only great for adjusting that inch for your Cho that may mean life or death, but it also ignores most CC. Stunned? Shove yourself back. Polymorphed in a bad spot? Shove. The utility shove offers is a large reason why you'll see "Taskmaster" as a pretty static level 1 choice.

- Eye isn't just a ward, it's a reveal. Don't be afraid to use your Eye offensively. It's great for quick reveals on stealth, over gates, around bushes, and so on. While it obviously serves well as a ward for defensive scouting, don't be afraid to lay down some of that eternal sight in an aggressive way.

(Note: This is the build I consider the most "meta".)

How does a Gall effectively solo carry? I'll tell you. It's this build.

The concept is simple, but the execution for some reason has alluded people for ages. Cho'gall's bomb requires tandem synergy between both players. Obviously it does good damage, but it's often dodged and sometimes the shot just doesn't line up. Orbs are obviously great damage and have good utility options with the rework, but again, they're easily dodge and fairly predictable.

That leads us to Gall's Q. This is one of the few abilities in the game that has no "bullet time". You point and fire in the target direction, and the damage goes off instantly. There is little to no room to dodge outside of fortunate anticipation, and with Gall's rework, his Q has been introduced to both damage and utility unseen in the past.

The key to this build is "Double Trouble" on level 7. Work hand in hand with your Cho to ensure finishing the 20 hero hits required to finish this quest, and you'll be rattling off Q's like auto attacks. Not only that, but by level 13, your Q will be doing an extra 2% of the affected max health, and by 16 it'll slow for 1.5 seconds on every hit. It's nearly impossible to get away from, and allows for Gall to decisively choose his own targets while also managing the damage of both orbs and bombs to seal the deal.

Make sure to have your Q on quick cast, as well as your W. Accuracy is key, but so is consistency. Don't relent. Take advantage of the siege potential of Runic Persistence (4) and SBV (10) and maximize the damage from your passive when appropriate.

This build requires more teamwork than others, but the damage output from the new bomb talents is pretty worth it.

There's honestly not a whole lot to discuss here. A large part of the burden falls on your Cho effectively aiming bomb to allow you to detonate in the best way, but you'll notice a couple of talents I've edged towards Q and so forth that allow for leniency in bomb accuracy in the worst case scenario.

Again, a large part of this falls on your Cho. If your Cho is having trouble lining up bomb shots, probably not the best build to use. But, if you're both confident, this build can dish out some heavy pain.

Keep in mind that the level 10 choice with this build is very flexible. Choose what works most appropriately.

If you just straight up hate Gall's rework and want to go back to the old days, this is the closest you can really get to matching that.

This build emphasizes Gall's "old" power picks in a way that's still relatively effective. I'll admit I find the other two builds to just simply outperform this one, but if you're not a fan of the changes made during the rework, this is the build you'll want to stick to in order to most accurately recreate the old Gall style.