“Behold Ragnaros - the Firelord! He who was ancient when this world was young! Bow before him, mortals! Bow before your ending!”

— Majordomo Executus


Ragnaros is a raging, blazing, surging column of fire. Boasting the highest burst damage of any bruiser, Ragnaros is an excellent addition to any team that needs more firepower and macro. He has the speed and ferocity to exterminate absolutely anything he sees in an instant. This includes having the best wave clear in the game in many different aspects. Ragnaros is unique in keeping the team afloat in challenging matches due to the defensive capabilities of Lava Wave and Molten Core. This scores his team a reliable level 20 without requiring interaction with the enemy team. However, much like an uncontrollable inferno, Ragnaros will not only raze his enemies but he is equally likely to combust and extinguish himself in the process. But why should that stop you? Ragnaros is one of the coolest characters in all of fiction; and you too will come to embrace the flame. Unto Ragnarok!

Due to the meta, Ragnaros does not see much play in high MMR matches owing to his overreliance on pure damage and meager utility. A stronger tiered offlaner will have what Ragnaros lacks, and still possess dependable wave clear. The Lava Wave XP advantage is less pronounced against teams that optimally soak XP. Despite this, Meteor Ragnaros and Sulfuras Smash as a whole still features play to pay off wombo combo setup that many Heroes possess, be it through tiny CC or a ground breaking ultimate.

Games where Ragnaros is optimal involve a heavy presence of enemy frontliners, immobile enemy Heroes that force themselves to be stationary, and an allied team that can hold their own in the 4 man that scale positively into the late game. Ragnaros is primarily a reclusive offlaner, but can also see occasional play in complimenting the 4 man with his versatile builds in enabling the tank. Keep your mind open and feel free to experiment with his builds.

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Anyways, it's a pleasure to invite you all to read my guide on Ragnaros. My name is TheFreind, and I am a Masters player and the #1 Ragnaros in the world.

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To quote my introduction from my Jaina guide, as the exact same saying stays true:



Shout outs to player OTL if he is reading this! Love you much fam, I enjoyed talking Ragnaros theory with the #2 Ragnaros NA. Without further ado, let's begin.

Ragnaros	Statistics Overview
	2075 -Health Moderate --Mana Consumption 1.0 --Unit Radius 180 --Attack Damage 0.83 --Attack Speed 2.0 --Attack Range Variable --Mobility/Reach Low --CC/Disruption Extraordinary --Wave Clearing

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Trait -- Molten Core

120 CD |5.75 (Transform) Range +35 Range |Cast Time: 2 Channel on an allied or destroyedFort orKeep to replace it with Ragnaros's ultimate form, temporarily gaining newAbilities, having 3996 Health that burns away over 18seconds. Ragnaros returns to his normal form upon losing all Health in Molten Core. Ragnaros may exit Molten Core early by activating his Trait, putting it on cooldown.

Q -- Empower Sulfuras

25 Mana |4 CD |3.5 Radius |Cast Time: INSTANT Ragnaros's nextBasic Attack is instant, dealing 191Spell Damage in an area, andheals for 20% of the damage dealt. Healing doubled versus Heroes.

Molten Core Q -- Molten Swing

6 CD |12 Range +180° Radius |Cast Time: 1 Swing your hammer in a wide arc, dealing 161 damage andStunning enemies for 1 second. Damage increased by25% versusMinions andMercenaries.

W -- Living Meteor

60 Mana |12 CD |8.5 Range +1.25 Radius |Cast Time: INSTANT Summon a meteor at the target point that deals 68 damage, then rolls in the target direction dealing 272 damage per second for 1.75 seconds.

Molten Core W -- Meteor Shower

2.5 CD |35 Range +1.5 Radius |Cast Time: INSTANT Summon 3 meteors at the target point that fall in the target direction. Each meteor deals 151 damage andSlows enemies by 25% for 2 seconds. Damage increased by25% versusMinions andMercenaries.

E -- Blast Wave

50 Mana |9 CD |8.5 Range +3.75 Radius |Cast Time: INSTANT Ignite Ragnaros or an ally, granting 25%Movement Speed for 1.5 seconds before exploding, dealing 104 damage to nearby enemies.

Molten Core E -- Explosive Rune

4 CD |35 Range +3.5 Radius |Cast Time: INSTANT Create a rune that explodes after 1.5 seconds, dealing 285 damage to non-Structure enemies in a circular area. Damage increased by25% versusMinions andMercenaries.

Heroic -- Sulfuras Smash

70 Mana |60 CD |16 Range +1.5/3.75 Radius |Cast Time: 0.1875 Hurl Sulfuras at the target area, landing after 0.75 seconds, dealing 250 damage. Enemies in the center take594 damage instead and areStunned for 0.5 seconds.

Heroic -- Lava Wave

80 Mana |120 CD |Global Range |Cast Time: INSTANT Release a wave of lava from Ragnaros's Core that travels down the targeted lane, dealing 240 damage per second to non-Structure enemies in its path and instantly killing enemyMinions. Damage increased by 100% versus Heroes.

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	Level	1	4	7	10	13	16	20
	Primary
	Viable Alternatives

When to pick?

Highly recommended for beginner Ragnaros players. Squishy enemy team You need more speed to close the distance Flexible ultimate decision Versatile enough to be independent from your team comp

Power Spikes:

Blistering Attacks[7] | Sulfuras Smash[10] | Blast Echo[16]

Shifting Flame is the staple META Ragnaros build, and for good reason. It's an easy to use, swiss army knife that works well into every match. How so? Ragnaros acquires everything that he lacks through this build - CC from Slow Burn[4], killing power with Blistering Attacks[7], your choice of ultimate, speed and damage from Blast Echo[16], and solid durability from Tempered Flame[13]. You even get variety for your level 20s!
There's rarely a game that you'll look back on and wonder, "Wow. I would have done so much better had I not gone E build." For that reason, you should practice Ragnaros at his strongest with this build. Once you work out his kinks, then can you transition to his other builds.

Otherwise - this is the best build at encroaching onto squishy enemy Heroes since it has exceptional lockdown, burst damage, and speed. Try to get as close as you can to the enemy with your mount before you need to use your E on yourself. Run them over with a quick combo. Profit.

	Level	1	4	7	10	13	16	20
	Primary
	Viable Alternatives

When to pick?

Another Hero on your team prefers the offlane You have a reliable Tank Enemy team can kite Ragnaros to hell Fighting an overabundance of ranged assassins Team lacks range and poke Fun!

Power Spikes:

Completing Quest | Sulfuras Smash[10] | Meteor Bomb[16]

Reign of Fire transforms Ragnaros into an artillery mage. He obtains excellent poke and killing potential from afar, rounding out your team's damage projection or countering the enemy range. Due to Shifting Meteor's demanding 75 hits on Heroes, you MUST find time to participate in the 4 man squad in the early game, while balancing your duties as an offlaner. Use your W 24/7 to build stacks against the enemy team. This build is highly reliant on having a tank on your team. You can technically do without, but you'll find the CC they provide vital to hitting your intended targets with your W, E, and R. Coordinate with your tank and wait for their CC to connect before you unleash your howitzer barrage. Getting good with Meatball Ragnaros hinges on practicing your W. My tip is to use the redirection from your quest to help score A) Molten Power resets , and B) landing the Meteor Bomb.

Ragnaros loses all close range damage, so never step up closer to the enemy team unless it is absolutely safe. But you do have decent tools at protecting yourself if you get dove upon - utilize all auto attacks, self speed, slow from Slow Burn[4], and a backwards treading Meteor to screen your escape. Since this build puts all of his eggs in one ability basket, he needs the supplementary damage of Sulfuras Smash. Never pick Lava Wave.

	Level	1	4	7	10	13	16	20
	Primary
	Viable Alternatives

When to pick?

Heavy Enemy Frontline Team wants a durable frontliner %HP Damage Supreme Macro Stronger laning phase Samuro.

Power Spikes:

Completing Quest | Giant Scorcher[16]

Firewall Ragnaros is all about his Empower Sulfuras and scoring multi-Hero Q hits. This is a build that only ever works into triple frontline or more. Pick up every talent related to it. Ragnaros wants to be in the grit of battle, challenging the enemy frontliners with his strong healing and %HP damage. Another incentive is that melee Heroes are likelier to clump than Ranged Heroes, permitting a Q CDR reset. Being on the frontline is a double edged sword however; you will take a lot of damage. But you are also the bulwark for your team, acting as a barricade for your backline to do their thing safely. Bulk up with armor, healing, and a stasis to ensure you don't die immediately.

Firewall does great in big 5v5 battles, but very poorly in smaller 2v2 or 1v1 skirmishes because missing a Hand of Ragnaros reset neuters you extremely hard. Make every effort to hold onto your Q until you can score a reset, or let it rip on a tank for that giant slayer damage. Bide your time for the big teamfights by soaking XP and taking control of the map. Sulfuras Hungers[1] gives you a big boost in Mercenary capture efficiency and wave clearing speed. Lava Wave plays into this playstyle perfectly; you could Sulfuras Smash, but the build does not synergize with that ultimate.

	Level	1	4	7	10	13	16	20
	Primary
	Viable Alternatives

When to pick?

If you have a hard matchup in the offlane If you want to completely dominate the offlane %HP Damage Survivability is a non-concern Early game Knockouts

Power Spikes:

Completing Quest | Blistering Attacks[7] | Sulfuras Smash[10]

Rather than specializing in Q, W, or E builds, Ragnaros has access to a hybrid form that I call Infernal Tyrant. This build captures the highest damaging talents from each tier, giving you a remarkable leg up when fighting 1v1s. Your unbelievable sustain and damage from your Q quest[1] basically lets you overpower your lane opponent. Then, you pick up Slow Burn[4] and Blistering Attacks[7], which will further increase your burst damage and killing prowess dramatically. Ragnaros can bully around top-tier Bruisers with ease. Kill them. Double soak XP. Raze the forts they hide behind as you seize the advantage.
Intriguingly, you may choose to flex into Blast Echo[16] rather than Giant Scorcher[16] if you prefer the significant mobility advantage over the brute %HP damage of Giant's Scorcher. Blast Echo is phenomenal against nimbler opponents, and against those that tend to drag you off to the sidelines in short 1v1s.

All-in-all this hybrid build comes at a great opportunity cost. You deal incredible damage against everyone, but you're also insanely squishy. So watch your step! The build also tends to taper off in the late game as teamfights become more common than 1v1 skirmishes, leaving you wanting for more gas in the tank. Sulfuras Smash comes recommended due to Slow Burn[4], but more so that the hybrid build lacks the late game synergy of your other talent builds. Hence, Smash keeps you relevant by sheer virtue of killing power.

This is typically the segment that takes the most amount of work. In terms of visuals, presentation, and wording. So I left it last and will put it in a future update!

Ragnaros has several combos, all of which will accomplish the same goal of annihilating your enemy. It's up to you whether or not you want to deploy less damage in a flash, or maximum damage under a slow burn.

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Bread and Butter

Damage Duration Commitment Risk Low None None None

Simple combo. You will be using this sequence on everything throughout the match.

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Oh, waiter! More appetizers!

Damage Duration Commitment Risk Moderate 1.5 seconds Low Low

Self-cast Blast Wave with Alt E. Then, approach your target and hit them with right click into a Q Basic Attack reset. The timing of Blast Wave detonating must occur after you right click to reduce the cooldown of Blistering Attacks[7]. Keep right clicking after if you feel the trade is advantageous.

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A plate of Meatballs

Damage Duration Commitment Risk High 3 seconds Moderate Low

This is a deluxe combo you use when attempting a kill on an enemy Hero, utilizing Slow Burn[4] to supplement your Meteor for some high damage. The addition of Meteor is important as it acts as a "repeater" to continuously add small ticks of spell damage to refresh Blistering Attacks. This new tactic "primes" the aiming of your Meteor before you actually use it. In fact, you will execute the same combo I showed you before, but you will weave in a W between the key presses. To do so:

1) Right click your opponent. Let the game bring Ragnaros to your enemy to hit them automatically.
2) On approach, self-cast E. This does not interrupt your attack command.
3) Hover your mouse over your enemy. Hold down W, wishing the Meteor to roll through the enemy.
4) By now, Ragnaros should be swinging his Blistering Attack.
5) Blast Wave detonates, applying Slow Burn[4].
6) Release your W key. It's an instant cast, and should not interrupt your commands.
7) Immediately press Q after W release to reset your right click. If you're fast enough, it's seamless.
8) You probably have another Blistering Attack ready. Hit again!
9) Decide: Chase, or retreat?

Practice this combo! The more you do it, the faster you are at it. Because in the next step, you...

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Sprinkle in the Sulfuras Spice

Damage Duration Commitment Risk LETHAL 3 seconds High Moderate

Just like how you build upon the previous combos, you simply add the Sulfuras Smash right before you cancel the animation by pressing Q. The timing of Sulfuras is important due to the presence of Slow Burn, as that talent dramatically increases the reliability of landing your ultimate.

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Marinate and Slow Burn

Damage Duration Commitment Risk 4 seconds High High

I'm going to assume you know how the combo goes so let me condense the information down and focus on what's new. This time, you're casting Sulfuras Smash at the tail end of the combo, about 0.75 seconds before the Slow Burn expires. This maximizes the amount right clicks you can deliver, stretching the full CC duration between the slow and the mini-stun you are allotted. Plus, you still get an accuracy boost since you're utilizing the slow!

This combo occurs most often against bruisers and especially Azmodan. These Heroes do not have mobility tools and are subject to your CC, but they have a sheer amount of health that makes it challenging to kill in one blow. Remind them why you're an omega-chad Ragnaros player and picked Sulfuras.

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Gulp it down

Damage Duration Commitment Risk Extreme 0.5 seconds High Very High

Now, an advanced concept of Ragnaros is the elasticity, or the duration of a Sulfuras Smash combo. The faster you drop your full combo, the less time your opponent has to react. The audacity in conjunction with the speed is what allows you to kill survivable Heroes. Such confidence can outpace Genji's protection, Falstad's dash, Jaina's iceblock, etc. etc.

But remember - you trade speed for total damage, as well as a higher risk that it fails altogether. You must judge the healthbar of your target accordingly to the tools they have to survive.

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This Lava Cake is delicious!

Damage Duration Commitment Risk Extreme 2 + 1.5 seconds High Low

An important combo to always keep in mind is that Molten Core will setup your own Sulfuras Smash + other abilities. This combo is very reliable for 2 reasons: A) it's very likely you'll catch the enemy healer in your wide stun, which denies any counterplay from your intended target; and B) it just does obscene, unfailable damage. If you have Molten Core ready, and a fight is taking place under a Fort, you should always try to pull this combo off!

Upgrade the damage to LETHAL with Heroic Difficulty.

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Where's the Chef?

Damage Duration Commitment Risk High 1 second High High

An unorthodox combo, this is reliant on a weird rule that Molten Core has. When you cast abilities while swinging Molten Swing, you queue up other casts immediately after. And since all of Ragnaros's abilities in Molten Core are instant, you can spring the whole payload instantly. You have to be fast to press all your buttons before the Q ends! This can be done in melee range, but I strongly recommend it on a Hero that is stationary and channeling an objective, like that on Cursed Hollow, Towers of Doom, Alterac Pass, etc. It's lightning fast and can catch most mid-health people off guard.

Upgrade the damage to EXTREME with Heroic Difficulty.

Believe me, when I started playing Ragnaros - I sucked at him. I was trying so hard to make him work to frustrating avail. No CC, no killing power, I'm dying all the time - how does anyone play Ragnaros well?! I think in hindsight I was playing Q build... But after looking up some advice, I came to some key breakthroughs that vastly improved my gameplay. After figuring these out, I had a lot more impact in games and thus I could properly start my learning process of mastering Ragnaros. These are my most essential revelations:

• 1) Ragnaros has extremely strong auto attacks. Do not skip a single hit!
• 2) Slow Burn[4] is actually an insane talent; so is Blistering Attacks[7].
• 3) Lava Wave is cool, but you must learn Sulfuras Smash.
• 4) Molten Core's Q can combo into a guaranteed Sulfuras Smash and other abilities.
• 5) Ragnaros has mostly instant cast abilities and otherwise snappy quick cast time.

Obviously, there are a lot more smaller tips. But these 5 points completely changed the game for me and so you must learn them first. Let me break them down bit by bit before we get to the smaller tips.

● Auto-Attacking

Officially, Ragnaros has the 3rd strongest Basic Attack (187 at level 1) in the game, paired on a swift animation. Not only that, but Ragnaros has access to his Q right-click reset and Blistering Attacks[7]. If Ragnaros enters melee range of a Hero, he can immediately cleave off 40% of a Hero's health in the snap of a finger. You need to hit them with these hard hitting attacks. Also, due to Ragnaros's slower than average attackspeed, you'll find it very debilitating if you miss damage by hitting a secondary target or miss from evasion, blinds, etc. Stay on target and stay mindful of blocks.

Remember - Ragnaros is a burst damage hero. You'll deal all your damage at once and afterwards have trouble squeezing out more after that. Use that to your advantage! Don't let them hit you back with their attack speed. Deal your damage and back off just slightly and wait for your cooldowns (Q is 4 seconds CD, Blistering depends on if you're near a lot of enemies). Do not fight fair. Hit your opponent and orbit them ever so slightly out of melee range so that you can abuse your fast animation and minimize the slow attack speed you carry.

● Slow Burn and Blistering Attacks

Ragnaros has no CC, and as such he lacks a certain amount of lethality to secure kills on your opponents. Enter Slow Burn. After pouncing in range with E's movement speed, you apply an extremely debilitating 40% slow for 2 seconds. This talent permits a 3.5 second speed advantage over your enemy, which is enough time for you to lay down all of your damage and kill a target. Remember point 1? Keep right clicking and moving in-between each strike. You will outmaneuver an enemy and get ahead of them as you're dealing damage!

More importantly though - Slow Burn dramatically increases the likelihood that your W and Sulfuras Smash can damage an enemy. As soon as you slow the enemy, drop the Meteor on top of their heads and have it roll through them. If they don't step aside (which is hard when slowed!), they'll suffer ALL the damage. On a similar note, you can apply the same method to landing easy Sulfuras Smash bullseyes. Slow Burn is not only strong for execution purposes - it increases your total damage by introducing more hits from your other abilities or in buying time for a second round of abilities.

Blistering Attacks[7] is a crucial power spike for Ragnaros. It is the most important talent that boosts your 1v1 damage output, especially in the middle of minion waves. It fits in perfectly with our gameplan - make quick trades and back off for cooldowns, or pounce for a kill. Remember to fight in the minion wave (or multiple enemy Heroes), as each entity you damage with abilities will shave a second off the CD from Blistering Attacks. Doing this successfully can lead up to three quick Blistering Attacks in a single fight.

● Sulfuras Smash

Sure, Ragnaros hits hard, but you can't really threaten anyone from full health by yourself. To kill a squishy Assassin requires Blistering Attacks[7]. To kill a Bruiser, your primary opponent that you will make contact most often with, will require a full minute of back-and-forth sustain and poke damage until one side eventually breaks first. Sulfuras Smash skips the appetizer and goes straight for the jugular. As soon as Slow Burn[4] connects, you can land a very easy Sulfuras Smash. Only a mobility spell will spare your enemy from annihilation. 9 times out of 10 this combo will score a solo kill against your opponent, and then you leverage their absence into an abundance of XP in favor of your team.

Let's not gloss over the fact that Sulfuras Smash is an infinitely more useful tool when teamfighting compared to Lava Wave. You can pick off stragglers, capitalize on CC, blow up high priority targets, and bolster the lethality of Molten Core dramatically. Ragnaros changes very little without Lava Wave. Ragnaros has trouble functioning without Sulfuras Smash. This is why I favor that ultimate 85% of the time.

● Molten Core

Ragnaros can better utilize Molten Core when he has access to Sulfuras Smash. When an enemy chooses to meander a little too close to you, you can cast the wide Q stun and combo it into his other abilities. That's an Explosive Rune, likely two meteors, but most importantly - Sulfuras Smash. The stun duration from Q lines up perfectly with the delay, guaranteeing a huge chunk of damage.

This is essential to know. Molten Core can honestly be ignored in most circumstances. But the threat of Sulfuras Smash makes you a tangible threat to the enemy team. Furthermore, simply supersizing will also upgrade the range of Sulfuras Smash to a whopping 35, matching his other M.C. abilities. Keep an eye open if there are any forts near a fight so that you can take over and provide fire support.

● Weaving Abilities

Apparently, Ragnaros doesn't really ever need to stop what he's doing in order to cast his abilities. His Q, his W, his E, and his Lava Wave have instant cast times. Only Sulfuras Smash, and truth told Q as well, have a small channel time you must complete before they connect.

When striking someone with your right click, at any point you can press Q during the windup to convert your attack into a side-winding AoE hit of your Q. Your auto attack isn't even expended! You have it ready right after too which is neat. Though, I only recommend this trick when not fighting Heroes, such as clearing mercenary camps/minions. The physical component of your first attack will apply Blistering Attacks, and that must come first as to reduce its cooldown as much as possible.
Unless you're playing Q build with Hand of Ragnaros and Giant Scorcher! Then yes, this is a very potent tip because you prioritize Q first and foremost.

Casting Meteor is instant. It just interrupts your movement command - it does not stop your right clicking or casting animations. A very professional combo will have the Meteor fly in in the middle of your rightclick->Q combo. Just keep clicking to keep Ragnaros on the move.

Lastly, you must get in the habit of Alt-E'ing yourself. This self casts the Blast Wave for yourself so that you can keep your mouse cursor on target to rightclick->Q combo without a hitch. Your left hand is helping you kill, your right hand is helping to kill. Don't mix wires.

Molten Core follows the same trend. Bar the obvious wind up for Molten Swing and simply entering Molten Core, your Meteors and Explosive Rune are instant. And I dare say - anecdotally - Sulfuras Smash feels instant when in Molten Core form. Or maybe it's because Ragnaros is unstoppable during the form so you never see it cancel from CC or premature death?

Ragnaros's physical basic attack should always lead every combo due to the prevalence of Blistering Attacks. You want to spend it to deal damage, and have your subsequent abilities reduce its cooldown. It's a good habit to build, even if you didn't spec into that talent in a match.

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You better not forget to press Q after your right click!

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Your Q won't always hit all the mercenaries in a camp. Drag them together by running to the edge of their range, forcing them to chase you, and then you return so that your Q can hit all targets at once.

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Strike the Fort's gate with your Q to have the ability splash damage to both turrets.

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When assaulting a Fort, keep right clicking the Fort but have all of your abilities splash onto the minions. Eliminating those minions will make your own last longer, which makes you deal more total damage to the Fort.

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Do not forget that when your W lands, it hits its landing location three times before rolling out. Prioritize landing it on someone's head when they are stunned or slowed.

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Living Meteor can strike an enemy 5 times for Molten Power IF you drop it on their head, AND on the edge of their hitbox, rolling through the entirety of their hitbox diameter. This is important to maximize damage to Forts, as well.

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The exact same principle above can be used with Meteor Shower.

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Meteor is most effective in a chase so that an enemy runs alongside it. Bait enemies into chasing you and have it screen your escape, or scare an enemy into fleeing so that they take more damage.

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Give your Blast Wave to a dying ally to help them speed away. But be sure not to cast it on someone who is rooted or stunned, as they can't run now can they?

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Get as close as you can with your mount before you self-cast Blast Wave to close the distance between you and your enemy. When you take damage, you dismount. Therefore, use the mount as much as possible before E.

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Try to stretch Slow Burn's[4] slow for as long as possible before you send down Sulfuras Smash for a mini-stun and bullseye. Maximizing CC is a crucial tactic in securing kills.

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Sulfuras Smash is one of the best channeled-ability interrupters in the game. It is quick and has de-facto unlimited range to stop a channel. Blowing it might suck, but your team dying sucks more!

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Lava Wave should be cast at certain seconds on a map. Refer to my spreadsheet. Otherwise, cast at X:22 and X:52 minute mark.

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Since Lava Wave is exactly 2 minutes long in cooldown, casting it immediately off cooldown will kill the same spawning minions as what it once did 4 minion waves ago.

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Be cognizant of where you enter Molten Core from. When it ends, you will reappear in the same location you did the channel in.

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Drinking from the fountain before entering Molten Core will let its healing run the full effect before you size down.

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Ragnaros is unstoppable during Molten Core form. Encourage your team to fight near a Fort so that you can benefit from your Molten Swing, which is excellent at countering an engage.

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I'm the Juggernaut! All tanks synergize with Ragnaros in special ways, but he has a strong preference. Tanks frequently possess the best mobility tools in the game. However, there are others that trade speed for more durability and CC. Ragnaros strongly prefers the latter: a bigger body to absorb more resources away from you, and additional lockdown so that Ragnaros can deliver his damage in full. Not only that - he makes up for their slow initiation with a Blast Wave speedup! There are also a few tanks that can guarantee a Sulfuras Smash multi-hit, or simply immobilize a target for a reliable kill.

Secure. Contain. Protect. If you had a choice of healer, you want to draft heroes that provide a surplus of CC. These supports fit into the "blow up a target ASAP" gameplan, which is an extremely natural fit for Ragnaros. Lightning fast engages where you pick an unfair fight in your favor is what you want. Next on the list is providing Ragnaros with a decent amount of shock protection. He's quite vulnerable to being bursted down, so any form of cleansing/pulling/armor/burst healing is appreciated.

Damage Insurance Although Ragnaros possesses an immense amount of damage, he should not be the team's only damage source. His reach is limited and requires him to step up into danger. This is where you want a reliable damage dealer, preferably from a distance, so that your team doesn't get beaten at range. Ragnaros is excellent at sniping low health opponents or clipping enemies severely. Your other preference - you guessed it - is more CC. A variety of mages provide excellent basic ability CC that you can capitalize off of.

Violent Giftwrapping Most certainly NOT a requirement for Ragnaros, but definitely a fun one. Pick Heroes with any type of clumping/vacuum type ultimates to force them together and destroy them with Molten Core and Sulfuras Smash. Even in cases where your ultimates are not available, you'll have tools to bundle everyone up and hit them with your AoE abilities for maximum pain. Wombo combos are neat since no matter how far behind you are, if you land one good chain of abilities, you can comeback into the game, so keep your spirits up!

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Extra Special Synergies

Chen. Burst damage nullification. Shielding. Keg pick offs. Evasion. Spell amplification debilitation. Only form of hard CC to stop the drinking is tied to your heroic cooldown(s). Impossible to run away from. Chen is your nightmare; under no circumstance should you play Ragnaros in draft without banning him.

Higher in the food chain Ragnaros does not have the CC, health, or reliable sustain that truly top tier offlaners possess. Ragnaros is dependent on getting in close to the wave to clear it out. If the enemy is superior in stats then he'll be punished severely whenever he tries. These heroes also have great waveclear and can match Ragnaros's clear speed (bar Lava Wave), making it difficult for him to find an advantage. Later on in teamfights, their utility and CC can keep Ragnaros under control. Not to mention the carnage they can put down on his team.

Bullied in the yard Although not a strict counter and can be mitigated with proper play, let's just face the facts that Ragnaros is quite squishy. Especially when the CC comes quickly, unexpectedly and in non-stun forms. His best form of escape is a 1.5s duration 25% speedup. That's it. If he's been tossed knee-deep into the enemy team, he's basically dead. Enemy heroes with "catching" abilities can fish out easy Ragnaros kills, so you have to be very careful with your gameplay around these heroes.

Heavy Armor Bolstering the strongest burst of any bruiser, Ragnaros can just as easily be completely thwarted by a well-timed protection or strong armor buff. Ragnaros will struggle significantly against healthy targets when all of his abilities on cooldown with his meager sustain damage. Q build is a good solution, but often times the match isn't juicy enough for it to gain enough value.

Rung on a Kite When Ragnaros is in range of his target, he is happy. When he is disrupted or shoved back, he gets very angry very quickly. It's especially painful because if Ragnaros fails to engage on a target, he might turn around to run away while he is still under a movement speed slow. It's just an embarrassing death. Meteor is a good alternative, but one ability has a hard time competing against the full ability kit of a specialized poke hero.

Molten Core is a cornerstone of Ragnaros. It defines a lot of things about him and is a pretty fun ability. However! Many people use it incorrectly. Here are my pointers to make the most of them:

1. Activate Molten Core before the besiegers reach the Fort

The best way to stop a siege is to kill all the minions/mercs/objective units in a lane long before they reach the fort. All of your basic abilities in Molten Core form deal +25% damage to all minions and monsters, making this a rather trivial fact. Molten Core has an ungodly amount of range - use it as soon as possible so you can preserve your outer layer of towers and gates.

If you use Molten Core as a "shield" against damage for the fort, it will dissipate extremely quickly. Sure, you saved some health on it -- maybe that's all you want. But if you didn't kill off all the attacking entities, the fort may still suffer a large amount of damage or destruction in spite of your efforts. Using Molten Core earlier to kill off the threat is better than tanking the hits!

2. Utilize your CC in Molten Core

Your Molten Core damage is pretty damn good. However, landing all those skillshots is not an easy task, especially against experienced opponents. There are two things to know: your Rain of Fire applies a 25% slow. After landing one hit to apply slow, target Explosive rune right at their feet. They cannot run out of it. The slow also makes landing Sulfuras Smash a little bit easier.

Another extremely important component is the Molten Swing that stuns in a massive arc. That short stun is all you need to land every other ability you can cast! Most importantly, the stun duration is just perfect to guarantee a Sulfuras Smash hit. Chain all of this together, and your combo looks like Q > R > E > W.

One note: You can hit an enemy with Rain of Fire multiple times by starting the rain at the edge of a Hero's hitbox. This is easier to hit on an immobilized target.

Also, one last note: When swinging your huge Q, casting your other abilities will automatically queue them. The very second the Q channel is over, your next abilities will be cast. And since most of them have 0 cast time, they come out immediately. You can hit two different heroes simultaneously, or drop your full combo ASAP.

3. To Core, or not to Core

Molten Core requires some nuance before you use it in a fight. Sometimes removing yourself from a fight and influencing it from afar will not produce the same results as playing the fight straight. I will definitely choose to Molten Core under these circumstances:

• I have Heroic Difficulty unlocked.
• I just want to stall the objective and buy time (Cursed Hollow, Garden of Terror, Towers of doom).
• I am low on health and cannot contribute to the fight in-person, especially as I am drinking from the fountain.
• I used up all of my abilities and they're on cooldown.
• I'm out of mana, but still want to help.
• The fight is taking place close range of Molten Swing.
• Sulfuras Smash is available.

If none of that is true, then the Molten Core is likely to be a poor use. Consider if it's better to have a body on the frontline to shield your backline.

4. Maintain vision of your target!

Just like real artillery, it turns out that you need a constant influx of enemy coordinates to maintain accurate fire. Otherwise, you're pounding dirt. That can be a problem when you waste a Molten Core with no kill in tow.

All of your Molten Core abilities will provide vision on where they land. If you want 100% accurate fire, it's best to use Molten Core when both teams commit to a fight. A tiny insect that's trying to run is hard to get vision of unless you guess where they are.

Otherwise, the next best step is to space out your abilities so that you can see where the enemy is running off to before sending in the next ability. If you fire everything right away, you'll immediately lose sight of your enemy. Allied Heroes such as Tyrande, Chromie, and Lunara can provide vision on your opponents, which is a boon.

5. Not utilizing Molten Core enough

Yes, Molten Core has a 2 minute cooldown. Yes, it's a defensive tool and you might need it for a rainy day. But that does not mean you should play the whole match without utilizing it. If the opportunity presents itself as a worthwhile Molten Core usage (even if it means simply decimating a mercenary camp wave), you should not hesitate to size up. It's a good ability, but it's not game-winningly good.

Of course, this is assuming you won't need Molten Core for the outcome of the upcoming objective. You can usually foresee most events that will occur in the next minute. If you feel disadvantaged and will likely lose objective, hold onto it for that instead.

6. Try to blast as many minions as possible!

I see no other Ragnaros prioritize minions as much as I do in Molten Core form. If someone activates Molten Core in range of enemy Heroes, they will try to use all 100% abilities on enemy Heroes. This is usually what you need to do, but I don't find it worthwhile.

Truthfully, Molten Core has low kill potential. You need the battle to include your allies for it to matter in securing a kill. Otherwise, popping down meteors here and there is not going to kill an unthreatened Hero. If you do not have Sulfuras Smash, or it's on cooldown; or you don't have Heroic Difficulty; and there are no 10% HP enemy Heroes around; then you are unlikely to kill an enemy Hero in Molten Core.

Instead, as soon as you determine that the Molten Core is no longer useful combat-wise, try casting your last abilities on minions. They all do +25% damage, and two abilities will kill an entire minion wave for free at a low cooldown. In fact, Molten Core has so much range on some maps that I try to strike the minions in another lane! Every time you do this, you generate XP from the Molten Core, and apply pressure on multiple lanes at once. It's very useful.

This tactic is EXTREMELY important when you Molten Core in the enemy base. All the enemy minion waves will spawn in at once near the Core, allowing you to take them out before they reach their respective lanes. You also clear a path for your catapults to advance onto the enemy Core.

Pray be, the Spreadsheet!

BEHOLD!

What the hell is this? You ask. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh beats me, brother. I like watching number go up.
Seriously, this is a spreadsheet I have compiled to calculate the exact damage a full Molten Core combo can do (with Heroic Difficulty enabled). Note that Meteor Shower will instance 2 ticks of damage (hitbox to hitbox tip), since it's not reliable, nor possible, to hit a stationary target with the 3rd meteor.

There are also other factors that can be input to amplify the numbers here. Does the target have armor? What about negative armor? What health percentage are they at? How does a level lead's 4% scaling translate in direct numbers? Click here to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the guide to see a link to download it.

Either way, the important number to know is... If you Molten Core in the face of the enemy team, with Heroic Difficulty, you can annihilate a 3000 health target (or lower) with a full combo.

Lava Wave is the galaxy's most convenient XP gathering tool. To maximize its effect, you want to have a lane to send it down in mind about 30 seconds before you actually cast it. There's no point using it on the lane you're already in - you're killing the minions yourself, aren't you? Therefore, you want to think ahead on how you would like to spend your free time - maybe you roam to a different lane, or start a mercenary camp, or are joining the team in battle. Now you get to cast the Lava Wave on a lane for maximum effect.

When do we send the Wave?

Please refer to the excellent Lava Wave timings on IcyVeins.com. I have compiled the timings into an easy-to-refer spreadsheet.

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So, how do you read this sheet? You want to cast your Lava Wave in the chosen lane AT/AFTER that second on the game clock. What minute you send it down is irrelevant; you only care about the seconds. For example, on Alterac Pass you want to send a Lava Wave toplane and it's 8 minutes into the game. You should cast it at 8:14 seconds. What about midlane? Cast it at 8:18 seconds instead.

But why? To kill the spawning minions! You see, Lava Wave travels from your Core, all the way down the lane, to the enemy Core. Obviously it will obliterate all the minions in the middle of the map. What you should also know is that every 30 seconds the minion waves spawn at the Core. If you time it just right, you can melt the wave just as it spawns. Do it too early, and the Lava Wave will time out just before and does nothing. This optimization means you kill one more wave each time you cast it. That's incredibly important.

• You're earning +33%/+50% more XP every cast.
• Your minions slam into the enemy fort without resistance, leading to more fort damage.
• And when they do, they crash into the fort as quickly as possible and will likely deny the enemy team their XP if they don't respond right away.
• This is one of the few abilities in the game that bring the minion wave back to "true equilibrium," which is in the middle of the map with no bias. This state is in favor of whoever gets more catapults from destroyed forts in that lane.
• Lastly, simple map control. Incinerating all of the minions and having yours pushed up drastically reduces the movement of the enemy team in that region of the map. Or, if they do anyway, you'll know it and they'll be dismounted.

Don't stress all too much about the timings. All that should matter is that you cast it after the minion wave would spawn. If it's late, no biggie. But you cannot be early. If remembering the timings is too much, just send down a Lava Wave on any lane on any map at the 20 and 50 second mark of a minute.

Where do we send the Lava Wave?

● 1) Flatten a huge minion wave

The highest priority is always to a faraway lane from all teammates, with a large amount of enemy minions. Especially if a splitpusher is crawling up that lane. This maximizes XP, the global presence, and saves your fort.

● 2) Defend your far-away Fort

A fort is about to be besieged by a huge enemy force and you're not there. Picture mercenaries, multiple Heroes, a large enough minion wave, etc. Molten Core is a lot more certain in stopping the push, but Ragnaros will not always be close enough to enter Molten Core at the lane in question. He can be off doing a myriad of things elsewhere. That's when sending down the wave to slow down the siege while you apply pressure elsewhere on the map is a good idea.
Still, try to Molten Core in the besieged lane, and then send a Lava Wave down any lane that they chose to vacate to support in the push. This way Molten Core is used to defend fully, and Lava Wave counter-pressures the enemy team.

● 3) Delegate the Lava Wave to soak for you

Go do a Mercenary Camp. Since you, the Ragnaros player, know when the Wave will come off cooldown, you can plan around this. So you can stop laning and go do Mercenary camps and let the Wave do the pushing before you join up with your team elsewhere. This forces an enemy Hero to answer the splitpushing minions and Mercenaries, and you can hopefully assist your team in destroying a fort on another lane with your numbers advantage.

● 4) Insta-cast, then hold

Lava Wave will usually result in Ragnaros's team having the XP lead. In the early game, for the first two or so Lava Waves, feel free to cast it off-cooldown to jumpstart an XP advantage. This way your team can hit XP timings sooner to win upcoming teamfights, fort captures, or objectives. After your first or 2nd Wave, reserve it for when you need to address a big minion wave in an unoccupied lane.

● 5) Don't self-Lava Wave

You should never Lava Wave into the lane you're already in. Ragnaros's mere presence is like a Lava Wave. He just incinerates full sized waves very easily with his baseline kit. Unless.....

● 6) Enemy Hero Lava Wave

Lava Wave to kill Heroes! This is very impractical as no one with a pair of eyes or ears should get hit by a GIGANTIC WAVE OF LAVA that's barreling down on them. But if a huge late game teamfight is going on, they might not notice because they're too focused on the fight. Suddenly, the Wave might catch them right in the middle and could result in a kill.
A) An enemy team assaulting your Keep or Core will have significantly less time to react to a Lava Wave than anywhere else. The Wave spawns at the core, surging quickly, and is much likelier to harm enemy Heroes in defensive situations.
B) Entering Molten Core is a good idea when a Lava Wave is coming down the lane. You can use your Molten Swing's stun to keep enemy Heroes in place as they get hit by the Lava Wave. Toasty!
C) Utilize displacements such as Falstad Gust, Garrosh toss, or other such abilities to force an enemy into the Lava.

● 7) Braxis Holdout Zerg Wave

I implore you, please do not Lava Wave the Zerg wave on Braxis Holdout. It does hardly anything. Using Molten Core to kill the Banelings and Guardians is a significantly better use of your abilities. Use the Lava Wave alongside your Zerg Wave in order to clear a path and force enemy Heroes out of the way, while gathering XP. The one exception is the oncoming Zerg Wave is big enough to destroy your Core - then all hands on deck!

Old Changes

There was a time that Lava Wave would gather XP exactly like how a Hero or an Abathur symbiote would. So Lava Wave could not only kill all the minions - it will pick up whatever was on the ground as it arrived. This is no longer the case as it is removed from the game in a "Bug fix" patch (Nov 16th, 2023). On principle, it does what it says with no weird unmentioned interactions. In reality, this is a hidden nerf.

Before, for all of HotS history, minion waves would spawn one second later every 4 minutes. So in a 20 minute game, minions would spawn at :05 and :35 respectively. This complicates the Lava Wave timing dramatically. Fortunately, this is fixed. Minion wave will always spawn at :00 and the :30 second mark, due to a recent patch note (Sep 30th, 2025).

Winning the Lane

Winning the laning phase is a crucial step to having a strong mid-game.

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Join your team for the opening teamfight. Kill the first minion wave and immediately rotate to the offlane afterwards (preferably the lane nearer the Bruiser Merc Camp). Do not be greedy for Hero kills, remember that Ragnaros is better at killing non-Heroes. Subscribe to this mantra. If given a choice between PvP and PvE, you should always choose PvE unless there's something important going on.

Anyways, you get to lane, what now? As Ragnaros, you can kill a whole minion wave at level 1 with all of your abilities. No other Hero can do this as early as him. You should blast the whole minion wave, shoving yours into your opponents fort non-stop. With all that spare time that you have, it is recommended to rotate to the mid lane to soak XP from there as well. I do not advise picking fights at level 1 - Ragnaros is at his weakest at this point of time.

Level 4 is when you want to get a lot more aggressive and interested in killing your opponent. Use Slow Burn[4] to slow your enemy and get in a Meteor and as many basic attacks before it wears off. You should come out on top in the trade. If someone is woefully out of position away from his gate you might even be able to score a kill with a perfect combo, even if they're at full health.

Trading patterns with Ragnaros should look a lot like this:

• Poking with Q. Hit a minion near your opponent instead to splash the full damage and bonus healing on them. It's cheap, frequent, and can add up quickly at no risk to you.
• Pumping in right clicks every opportunity they walk up to you. Clicking minions is fine, but if an enemy Hero is in AA range then you should always give them a love tap to force them away from you. Your attacks hit very hard on a low attack speed, so some Heroes might outtrade you by looking for openings between your attacks.
• Try to fight in the middle of a minion wave as much as possible (to the extent that you deny your opponent from fighting in your wave, such as Sonya and Malthael). You get more Q healing and Blistering Attack cooldown refreshing, plus you kill the minion wave.
• Utilize your talents, let nothing go to waste. Any talent that you pick up will augment an ability, so use that particular ability more often.

Do not overcommit in trades. You go in, you use your abilities, get some cheeky right clicks in, and then you back off to heal with Q. If you slice off 30% of the opponent's health for your 15%, that's a win. If your opponent does not have sustain and you take off an equal amount of health, that's also a win. Just don't lose too much health - Ragnaros does not have on-command healing like S tier Bruisers do. He needs to be able to reach the minions to leech health off of them. Should you drop too low, you might get bursted down next time you walk up, or zoned out of lane entirely.

I am recommending that you take short, meaningful, unfair trades as Ragnaros to slowly build up a small advantage. Because when an opponent is at 50% health, Ragnaros can easily kill them with access to Slow Burn[4] and more importantly Blistering Attacks[7]. As soon as you hit level 7, turn all of the safety overrides off. You're on kill-mode. Hit your opponent with right clicks whenever possible, and then chain some abilities onto the minion wave to keep repeating the Blistering Attacks. This will overpower every Hero in the game by far, and can kill people from full health. You're extremely dangerous.

Should you choose Sulfuras Smash at level 10, you get yet another weapon to your arsenal to obliterate your opponent. Kill them on cooldown. If not, feel free to join your team for objective with access to a Smash.

Art of the Double Soak

The most optimal method of gathering as much XP as possible.

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Your first line of thinking comes from, "how do I gain more XP than the opposing offlaner?" Both of you are on an island, and operate independently of what goes on on the other side of the map. Getting more XP is how you positively contribute to the whole team. Therefore, you must greed for as much XP as you can. Ragnaros has the unique power of flattening a whole minion wave in one second. No questions asked, it just is. You'll even be twiddling your thumbs waiting for your mount to come off cooldown.

So when you kill one minion wave, rotate to the nearest lane to kill that one too and gather all of its XP. Repeat, repeat, repeat. You'll be doing this a lot - especially on Ragnaros of all heroes, as he does it better for a number of reasons. This strategy is called Double Soaking.
A) Ragnaros does not need to fight Heroes (risky for him) and instead fights as many minions as possible (effortless, always rewarded with reliable XP).
B) If your opponent gets in the way, just kill the wave regardless. All of Ragnaros's abilities will splash onto your enemy, dealing a good chunk of damage. This may not be a great idea versus certain heroes so be judicial.
C) Ragnaros's superior clear speed will let him reach the next lane faster than his opponent, which lets him clear that wave sooner, and then bounce back to lane, etc. etc. until your opponent starts to lose XP from minions dying too quickly.

Once you enter this flow, Ragnaros is really happy. If you get bullied into staying in one lane or threatened to be killed should you rotate to a lane, then you're behind.

Either way, double soaking is your ticket to a fast Sulfuras Hungers[1], level 4, and level 7. Once you reach these levels you have more firepower and unlock decisions on how to interact with your opponent. There's four lines of thought:

Kill (your opponent)

If your opponent is squishy, without mobility tools, or is Ragnaros favored, you can just Kill your opponent when you see them make a mistake. You'll be rewarded with a kill bounty + decommission your opponent from gathering XP for 20 seconds. It also usually leads to you taking down a Fort's gate, which leaves it open for siege later on.

This is the riskiest of strategies as it may not work against all heroes. Could backfire and get you killed, or ganked. It usually costs you significant health and mana as well. Often times, most bruisers are stronger than you until you reach your mid-game levels, so the Kill strategy is often employed last and sparingly.

Deny (them of XP)

When you're faster than your opponent and clear out your current wave, you can enter the jungle and intercept your opponent half-way. You already gathered your share of XP, so you are not missing out. But your opponent did not! They still need to reach your lane before it crashes into the gate and gather the decaying XP. Since full XP globes last for 6 seconds before timing out, any delay you put to your opponent is a serious blow. Dismounting them with Meteor, wasting their time with a little fight, or even simply standing in the hallway could force them to go around a longer path. This is how you Deny them of the XP they would rightfully earn.

Another strategy is to freeze your minion lane (by not damaging it whatsoever) and only attacking your opponent when they get near. If you zone out your opponent, you prevent them from stepping up to gather XP, Denying it if they don't pick it up in 6 seconds. Furthermore, whoever has lane control gets priority in securing both regeneration globes, which is crucial in winning the sustain war.

Also, do not be sad if you attempt a kill on an opponent but do not execute them. Slicing off 80% of someone's health is very likely to force them to recall home. You decommission them for 15 seconds, which loses them one wave of XP + you have a headstart on a 2nd wave when you are Double Soaking. Executing a strong trade in your favor, or bringing someone to near death, is almost like a kill in value.

Suffocate (with too many minions)

Some enemy offlaners have pathetic clear speed. Think Imperius, Thrall, and Fenix. Double soaking ad-nauseum will force them to deal with countless minion waves that they cannot quickly kill, bogging them down from double soaking. This Suffocates their time and causes a lot of damage to their gates.

On principal, Ragnaros excels over every other Hero in the game at sheer clear speed and efficiency (with the exception of maybe Xul). So you can theoretically employ this strategy against anyone. Superior bruisers like Yrel, Dehaka, and Hogger will simply outmuscle you by health, damage, and CC. But they don't kill minion waves as quickly as you, do they now? You'll be first to the wave to kill it, and first to meet them in the jungle to Deny them of XP.

When you are Suffocating your opponent with plenty of minions, you earn spare time that you can spend to capture a relevant Mercenary Camp before the objective spawns and you join your team. Not only did your opponent lose out on XP by not being as fast as you, but now they must stay in their lane to address an upcoming Mercenary, or leave it unattended to help out in the 5v5.

Remember. Ragnaros is a below-average bruiser. So spend every ounce of effort in gathering more XP so that hopefully, your other 4 Heroes on your team + Ragnaros + Experience lead can beat out the enemy team's 4 Heroes + Stronger Bruiser. Even better if you occupy the time of a superior bruiser with your unrelenting pressure on their lanes and buildings. You need to leverage your unique abilities to scrape out advantages in your favor.

Rotate to your team (and win a 5v4)

Every time that you rotate to a new lane, think about whether or not you want to join your team before you go back to the other lane. And you usually do this to secure something tangible, like invading the enemy mercenary camp at a temporary 5v4 man advantage, or to surprise the enemy team trying to invade YOUR mercenary camp at 4v4 into a nasty cleanup. Or to help out at objective.

On most maps, this decision arises after you rotate from toplane to midlane, and the majority of both teams are saturated in the bot lane. Speed is the name of the game here. If you kill the enemy midlane's minions before your opposing offlaner arrives, they are forced to stay in lane and soak the minions before they break off and chase after you into the 5v4 scenario. That could bog them down 8 seconds.
Alternatively, they stay mounted and rush past the wave to make up the distance to you and join ASAP. But even in this scenario you still got to the fight sooner than them, and you got your XP and he did not.
This is the advantage that global heroes like Dehaka and Falstad have over their opponents, but Ragnaros can often do this as well because his clear speed is just so fast, AND he has Lava Wave to clean up an unattended lane.

Other Macro Priorities

Your job as an offlaner is to make the map state favorable. Sometimes other things get in the way.

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The cool part about Ragnaros is he gets to break the rule a bit by acting as a reverse-global hero. You are at the fight, and can influence the lanes utilizing Lava Wave. You can intentionally go out of your way to help your team, answer enemy mercenaries, or capture your own mercenaries and have Lava Wave take care of some XP soaking.

As a bruiser, especially as one so gifted as Ragnaros, you must ensure your team never has to worry about "fixing lanes" or "doing responsibilities". Your team has only three responsibilities: 1) Winning the 4 man lane, 2) capturing objectives, and 3) help out with capturing inconvenient Mercenary camps relative to your position. Everything else is up to you. Such examples can include:

• Enemy minion wave crashing into your gate? Ragnaros should be soaking that.
• Big minion wave out and about? That's for Ragnaros to flatten.
• Enemy mercenaries crawling up a lane? Let a Molten Core rip and extinguish it at no cost to you.
• Someone is gathering XP in your absence in the offlane? Politely thank him in chat for the XP and tell him to go somewhere else; you'll take over from here.
• Whole team is soaking all lanes? Go capture a mercenary camp.

You should never be tempted to join your team for any modest reason. You are busy! You got lanes to soak and mercenaries to capture. You really don't have time to skirmish and fumble around for 50/50 coinflip fights. You should only come in for a decisive and clear objective; like fighting over Boss, ganking an out of position Hero (which will lead into a future objective, not just a momentary kill), securing an objective, or defending a fort from a huge siege attempt with Molten Core. Those examples have clear outcomes and parameters: you put in a certain amount of effort, and are rewarded by denying the enemy team or securing something for your team. Any amount of "vagueness" in the equation must be minimized for your action to be justifiable. If you have a gut feeling that you're not sure how the outcome is going to go when doing something, take a step back and do something more reliable. Because often times the slow and steady will accumulate more advantages and wins over the long run.

Speaking of which, after winning the objective, I find it preferable that Ragnaros and other short-ranged bruisers should step aside into a side lane, gather XP, and put pressure on the enemy fort. While the rest of your team supports the objective marching down a sidelane, you can comfortably wedge a bigger lead for your team by gathering the XP. Your team has the advantage and space to commit to a 4v4 or 4v5 fight. And the objective forces the enemy team in place to deal with it, giving your team the option to NOT commit to that fight if they don't like the variables.
Reason being is simple. You don't have long range to interact with the enemy team. You kind of twiddle your thumbs, standing still infront of the enemy team. That's not a productive use of time. However - the bruiser can absolutely lay waste to a minion wave and crush an unattended Fort. Plus, you're gathering XP which will sling shot into a having a talent lead in the future for the next objective.

Winning the Long Game

Winning the war takes a very different approach from winning a battle.

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Honestly, HotS is immensely complicated. It's very difficult to give advice on what decision you must make at any given time. Combat advice is easy - you do something, you get immediate feedback. You make a mistake, you die right away. You outplay your opponent, you kill him in return. But macro decisions are far more nebulous because the consequences are not immediate. "Should I take out this minion wave and then join the teamfight, or go rush to it right away?"

Sometimes the right call is to lose objective but splitpush and secure a fort. Sometimes you lose two heroes in a teamfight for one Hero back, but you got the rest of the lanes pushed to the enemy base so they can't push and end. Sometimes winning objective but losing your fort in a sidelane to mercenaries is ultimately a loss. Sometimes the opposing offlaner joins the enemy team and wins a 4v5 teamfight over objective, but you got a fort and a lot of XP. But guess what? Your team's morale is in the trash and that is more valuable than any material gain.

Ultimately, I understand the game this way - the objective is to destroy as many buildings as possible before you can reliably assault the Core. Objectives are the most sure-fire way to brute force down a Fort - this is true for almost all maps. Punishers, Immortals, Cavalry, Spider Queens, Garden Terrors, Raven Curse, Sky Temple, Blackheart - you fight over an objective, you are rewarded with taking out buildings.

The usual outcome of winning an objective is destroying One Fort. If you win the objective AND kill the whole enemy team, you will destroy multiple forts. However, if the enemy team forfeits an objective and decide to defend with full strength and resources, then you may destroy Zero Forts. You might deal good structure damage, which is still a win, but it's not a preferred outcome. The harder one team fights over the objective, the less they have to support with or defend against the objective. The best case scenario is to have all hands on deck, ready to defend, and ready to sacrifice one fort if it means the rest still stand. You may concede the objective, but do not concede your lives as that compounds into a harder spiral. Losing the objective is whatever, falling behind from the XP is unacceptable.

Ragnaros is unique in such a regard that Molten Core acts as a strong damage control against objectives. You decimate the minion wave automatically, you put pressure on the enemy Heroes, you are damaging the objective all the while, you prevent enemy Heroes from advancing too quickly due to Molten Swing stun, and you soak up damage that would've gone to your fort with supersized Ragnaros. Maybe a Lava Wave is going down a side lane, gathering XP in a 5v5 scenario. Even if you lose objective, Ragnaros is one of the best heroes at nullifying that kind of loss. So falling back on your heels, playing "Damage Control" on Ragnaros is a very solid move.

Early Game

Play to your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, complete your milestones.

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Q / Hybrid Build

• Highest priority is to complete Sulfuras Hungers[1] ASAP. Nothing else matters, play safe in lane. Double soak lanes to find more minions to complete it faster.
• After completing Sulfuras Hungers: Immense power up. Your healing and damage is significantly stronger. Become dominant and lane and force yourself into brash trades. Clear out mercenary camps solo ~30 seconds before an objective spawns. Use your power to deal heavy damage to the enemy gate and Fort.
• Blistering Attacks[7] for Hybrid build is overwhelmingly powerful. Start killing your opposing laner.
• Q Build prioritizes XP soaking, mercenaries, and map control. Hybrid build prioritizes dueling, killing, and shoving into the fort.

W Build

• Ideally, this build works when another Hero on your team can take the offlane. Stay with your team and fight the enemy cluster of Heroes. You need a Hero-rich environment to stack up Shifting Meteor[1] quickly. Complete it ASAP.
• Look to capitalize on friendly CC to deal heavy damage with your W.
• If YOU are the offlaner, then W build is the weakest of the builds in lane. Play safe. Lure enemies into "chasing you" and drop a Meteor on them to roll after you for big stacks. It always works for me!
• Every time W is ready to be used, try to use Slow Burn[4] to inflict a slow on the enemy Hero. Use your W on them after to stack your quest.

E Build

• Standard Ragnaros gameplay. Go to the offlane and kill minions. Make sure your E is splashed onto the enemy Hero when you cast it in the minion wave. You are still at your weakest at level 1, so don't get too crazy.
• Gather as much XP as possible to reach level 4 and 7 for your powerspikes. Slow Burn[4] gives you easy attacks and a free Meteor onto your enemy. Blistering Attacks is very powerful, abuse it as much as possible against your enemy laner.

Mid Game

Seize your moment! Make the most of your 5 minutes under the Sun.

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Q / Hybrid Build

• Show up for all objectives.
• Q build demands you hit multiple enemy Heroes. Reserve your Q until you tag multiples, unless you're guaranteeing a kill. Pop your Armor if you sense incoming focus fire. You want to act as a frontliner so that your backliner can lay safe damage, so always pay attention to where they are at.
• Hybrid build plays to snipe a target quickly. Play with your tank and any CC to squash an enemy with Sulfuras Smash ASAP. Duel opponents in 1v1 scenarios, as you are very squishy and can get targeted if amidst multiple enemy Heroes.
• Lava Wave is to be used to control lanes and splitpushers. If you can't reach the lane to Molten Core, then use the Lava Wave to dissipate a push.
• Q Build continues to de-prioritize skirmishes and prioritizes minions and big teamfights.

W Build

• Did you complete Shifting Meteor? If no, you MUST double time to get it ready before level 16. Death timers are long and you'll lose out on quest progress if you delay.
• Prioritize netting Molten Power cooldown reduction. You need to make sure your strongest ability does not get put on a 12 second cooldown. Utilize Shifting Meteor's redirection to score the 5 hits.
• Sulfuras Smash is an important component. Follow up on CC and focus fire on enemy stragglers.
• The enemy team is not dangerous enough for you to die when you step in melee range. You deal good damage up close with Slow Burn[4].
• Utilize Molten Core as much as possible, especially after blowing your Meteor.

E Build

• Flex between teamfighting and soaking XP whenever convenient. Pick whichever ultimate at level 10 will facilitate the real win-condition of the game.
• If no Sulfuras Smash, E build is vulnerable to getting bursted when Ragnaros steps up. Play a little back and use your tank as a screen before you get in range. Unless you flank the whole enemy backline, then tear them up!
• Blistering Attacks is the core of your damage. Hit as many tiny things and Heroes to refresh the cooldown.

Late Game

Simmer down and play for your team's win condition.

---

Q / Hybrid Build

• Giant Scorcher is a huge source of damage. Apply pressure on the enemy frontline and tank by slapping them continuously with Q.
• Be careful being on the frontlines when the enemy team have abilities. Ragnaros blows up easily. Act as a sideguard and approach when some abilities have been blown.
• Hand of Ragnaros is key to the output of this build. Keep looking for clumping enemy Heroes.
• Use Submerge after Qing to fully stretch out all the healing.

W Build

• Heroic difficulty is a big pickup, and you should advise your team to fight near forts/keeps/objectives in range of Molten Core. Be opportunistic and drop Sulfuras Smash on any stunned opponent.
• Meteor Bomb is a massive damage spike. Ensure first that you earn Molten Power, and then use the tail end of your Shifting Meteor's duration to quickly redirect your W to hit the target you want with the explosion.
• Always stay in the backline and drop your Meteors on enemies. Do not step up for any circumstance.
• Provide your E onto your tank to help them engage, or on any fleeing ally to help them reposition.

E Build

• E Build shines best in the late game when you can slice through the enemy lines and damage all Heroes at once. This gives you a huge shield, applies a big slow, and damages everyone substantially.
• Your cooldowns are relatively low, so feel free to deal sustained damage onto any target you have free access to. So long as you are not being pummeled!
• Don't feel obligated that you need to be knee-deep into the enemy team 24/7. Playing side-guard and killing an enemy assassin that's diving your backline is often the best decision you can make.

MindHawk

The incredible MindHawk is the inspiration for me to create this guide. I cannot recommend his "CCS Development Days: Ragnaros Theory" video any more than I recommend my own. Much of my talking points will align with what he has to say, so I recommend keeping it on listen as a podcast.
Play Video

NotParadox

A pillar of the community, NotParadox is an excellent teacher of HotS fundamentals. You'll find a trove of information within his channel. This simple video of Ragnaros tricks was important in teaching me how to get better at Ragnaros, so I will pay back my dues.
Play Video

Talents, Overexplained

This recording is absolute **** and I am very ashamed of it. The second of my overexplained series, I was not yet in the groove of how to properly record them. I will remake this one day, hopefully with a certain co-caster...
Still. It's a video, and you should listen to it on podcast.
Play Video

Meatball Build

Coming soon. I have two excellent replays for teaching.

E build

Coming soon. Lots of example games. Not very motivated to sort through and find them.

Q Build

NOT coming soon. I dislike the build and it is exceptionally rare. I might have one example to use...

As always, it is an incredible honor that you have come down to read what I have written. Please, if there is anything you disagree with, or want to point out, leave it in the comments section below. It's a dead site, but my guides are very much alive. I will read them and respond to them.

If you wish to ask detailed questions, please get a hold of my Battlenet handle -- #2950 TheFreind, or Discord at #4115 TheFreind. That's all for me for now, see you next time!


Oh, and did you want that Excel spreadsheet of Ragnaros numbers?
Here's the link.

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