The Swarm Hungers by isthatVisceraL

The Swarm Hungers

By: isthatVisceraL
Last Updated: May 3, 2015
0 Votes
Rating Pending
Build 1 of 1

Zagara

Build: Creepin' Around

Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 10
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20

Threats to Zagara with this build

Threat
Low
High
Show all
Threat Hero Notes
1
  No Threat
2
Sonya If Sonya gets rolling with a level advantage she will destroy you and everything you love. But lets be realistic, she won't. :D
2
Rehgar No real threat to you.
2
Malfurion No real threat again to you. Will negate a bit of damage to what you're focusing.
2
Gazlowe Just dont get caught in the Black Hole and you should be fine....
3
Sgt. Hammer Hammer is a joke to pick against Zagara. Hydra will shred her, and Maw will break her positioning.
3
Raynor Similar to Hammer. Hydra will shred, and Maw will break his positioning.
4
Nazeebo Nazeebo ins't much of a challenge. Hydra him and he cant do a single thing to you.
4
Li Li Powerful early game, will negate a bunch of your damage early via blind. But very maw-able at level 10.
4
Arthas Dodge root, and hes dead. That simple.
5
Thrall Thrall is still in a bad place. Your supports and fellow dps should destroy him soundly.
5
Brightwing Again, no real threat to you, but Emerald Wind is a pain to play against.
6
Jaina Now, Jaina WILL kill you if you let her. A full combo at level 16 will essentially end your life. However, Double Hydra and Banelings will zone most Jaina players you meet to the point where you could escape. Just keep a... cool head... and play smart.
6
Tyrael Instant initiation is always a problem for Zagara players. However, it often puts Tyreal at a huge disadvantage in the fight if your support is quick to protect you.
6
Illidan Illidan is a nuisance, but one that lives by a feast or famine playstyle. You're often going to want to capitalize on his weak 1-9 early game, and look to take early exp leads.
6
Valla Valla, like Jaina, WILL kill you if you let her. However, a single hydra + AA's and some banelings will often make short work of any Valla players aggression.
6
Tassadar Tassadar will perhaps be the most annoying Hero you will have the displeasure of playing against. He can drop hydra aggro with his E ability, and can easily solo you at later levels. You're going to have to trust your support on this one. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SHRINK-RAY THE ARCHON!
6
Tychus Tychus is fairly simple to deal with, he has a strong early game that you have to respect however. You eventually scale to meet him along the same power level.
6
Tyrande Tyrande will do a number on you if you get combo'd by something else on your team. i.e Diablo, Stitches.
6
Uther Similar to Tyrande, has to find a combo to play off of.
7
E.T.C. You're going to have to respect ETC as much as you can in the earlier phases of the game. But he becomes much easier to manage once he gets his Heroic abilities. Predictable movements will be countered by creep vision, and his disruption will be destroyed by the power of hydras.
7
Sylvanas Sylvanas' threat to Zagara is very conditional upon the usage of Wailing Arrow's Silence effect, and the general health pool of the Zagara player. You're going to want to stay healthy against Sylv, as she can finish anyone off quickly given the element of surprise.
7
Nova After her initial burst, you can most likely kill her. Just stay calm and play safe.
7
Abathur Abby is super annoying, but with the recent bug fix.. heh... you should be able to beat a team with him no problem.
8
The Lost Vikings Vikings are the bane of nearly any Ranged DPS with no direct escape mechanic. They soak damage well, disrupt positioning, and WILL kill you if left unchecked. Be wary of these dudes.
8
Kerrigan The Queen of Blades will be the bane of all Zagara players if they don't utilize the vision from their creep tumors early. Often the best way to beat a Kerrigan is to attempt to negate her early power spikes and roaming movements with vision.
8
Falstad Falstad will actually just kill you if you let him. His W + Q on top of his AA's and shield on E will be too much for you to typically take on.
8
Azmodan O GOD IF HE GETS STACKS YOUR SO DEAD. LOL.
9
Diablo Diablo will always be a threat to any squishy back-liner with little to no escapes. You have to work a lot of angles when playing against the big red dude. Just watch your positioning, and you should be fine.
9
Muradin Muradin functions in relatively the same way as Diablo. He WILL get in your face. He WILL disrupt your DPS and positioning. Once again, work angles and try to stay as safe as you can be.
9
Zeratul If Zeratul gets rolling he becomes a pain to deal with. He will chunk you out, and disappear again into the void.
9
Chen If he gets a good barrel on you, you're pretty much dead. Positioning is key against Chen.
9
Anub'arak Web-rap is actually really powerful. He will CC' the support and look for an engagement.
10
Stitches Fishing Hook is a balanced mechanic.
10
Murky Octograb is life. And it will be the end of yours.

Introduction Top

Hey guys, VisceraL here. I'm coming at you with my first dank guide on one of my favorite heroes, Zagara. This is mainly going to be a trial run, testing my hand at explaining theory, map awareness, and most importantly: How I play .

So sit back, put on your reading glasses, and lets do some learning. :D

Pros and Cons. Top

So for some reason, people think its important to outline the pros and cons of playing "X" hero. For the sake of this guide, I'm not going to. I think that over-categorizing leads to a sort of hive-mind mentality. I don't like tier lists for this same reason. It removes creativity to a certain degree.



I will say this, however, Possesses every tool you will need to be successful in Heroes of the Storm. How you use those tools, will determine both your worth as a player, and the characters intrinsic value to you, personally.

Lesson, The First: Learning the Build Top

Ill preface my explanation of my build with a small disclaimer: This is simply the way I feel Zagara should be played in the most current "meta". Any ideas or thoughts are biased and opinionated towards my own experiences in HL and Scrims while playing Zagara.

LEVEL 1:

The idea behind this talent is fairly simple. More Health Regeneration gives you more opportunities to stay in your lane and soak as much experience as you can. This is mostly a talent to give you a relatively stable early game and it just happens to scale well into the later stages of the game as well.


LEVEL 4:

Envenomed Spines is one of my favorite talents in the entire game. At level 4 you get an entire unit increase to your attack range (which brings you up to 6). This allows you to do more damage, in a much more safe environment, as you can feel the spacial difference between you and a front-liner much more easily.


LEVEL 7:

This is going to be the most contested talent in this build I feel. Most players attempt to make a case for over anything else in the tier. From a certain standpoint I can honestly understand where they are coming from. However, Endless Creep allows you to gain more vision, which equates to more information, which equates, again, to more opportunities for your team to excel. I find that with some mana management, and generous usage of Healing Fountains, Rapid Incubation doesn't really make much sense to take over the alternatives.

LEVEL 10:

Take maw. Use it on the enemy teams back-line. Kill them. Literally that simple.

LEVEL 13 & 16: AND

Fairly simple talents, with the bug fix on the Mutalisk Talent there really doesn't exist a reason to ever take that talent again. Grooved Spines provide range and damage to one of the best abilities in the game. And Brood Expansion allows you to use it twice. Sounds pretty good to me.

LEVEL 20:

Another talent that is sort of decided for you. You can Bolt to find aggressive Maws, Bolt to get away from bad situations, or just to scare your opponents. Super good talent, there isn't really much of an alternative for it.

Lesson, The Second: Understanding Your Trait. Top

The first step to becoming a great Zagara player is understanding how your trait works.

Firstly (and perhaps most obviously) Creep Tumor allows you to litter the map with, what are essentially, wards that grant vision of the immediate area they are placed in. This not only allows you and your team the capability of identifying a gank/roam that is incoming to a given lane. It also allows your team to potentially capitalize on your opponents movement for a gank of your own.

What does for your team in the long run in the early game is an idea that most newer players will often overlook: The application of, and subsequent directed shifts in Pressure. Pressure will come in many forms in HotS, from directly engaging and harming your opponents with your character (aka: Man-to-Man Pressure), to roaming around your opponents as a 5-stack, and forcing your opponents to rotate in response. Any sort of movement, action, or threat that you consciously make against the opposing team, can be categorized under this idea of Pressure.

Now, where does Zagara's Trait come into this idea? Its very simple, acts as a facilitator for your teams Pressure. Any amount of vision that you have, where you don't actually see your opponents is where the enemy IS NOT. By, again, consciously recognizing where your opponents ARE NOT, you have an approximation of where your opponents SHOULD BE. This allows you and your team to move in assertive and aggressive fashions that will give you a chance to dictate the pace of the game.

With this general concept in mind, I have taken the time to outline where you should be laying creep and what you should expect from the vision you have.

Sub Lesson 1: Creep Spots Top

Lesson, The Third: Zoning and Pushing with Non-Heroic Abilities. Top

This concept is extremely simple. You use your on a squishy target and they will have to disengage off of you. i.e , , or

This is, of course, a generalization but its important to understand the power that your Hydras have. Never be afraid of brawling with someone that is face-tanking a Hunter Killer. Because, typically, you will win handily.

There are certain abilities that will drop the aggro of the hydra, and cause it to expire. The two most notable are: Illidan's and Tassadar's . It is frustrating to play against these opponents as Zagara, however, trust in your team mates, especially your support to help you out in a team fight.



As for the other two abilities you have AND USE THEM TO PUSH! Zagara has one of the best kits in the game for actually just killing a wave of minions. Its always important to try and keep your lane pushed, as you drain ammo and chip away at tower HP by doing so. It ends up being a gradual advantage, but its one that once you grab a hold of, you could push to the limits.

Lesson, The Fourth: The Maw. Top

Alright, now we get to talk about the fun ability.

Maw is perhaps the most satisfying ultimate to use in the entire game if you hit multiple heroes with it. You can set up huge Wombo Combos with this ability. Make sure you communicate your intent with Maw once you learn it. Every game is different, sometimes you want to kill a front liner before you move on to the squishy heroes. If you don't know, ask your team for input or help.



REMEMBER: IF YOU TOOK MAW, ITS YOUR JOB TO SET UP FOR THE TEAM OR TO CC A CERTAIN HERO. ILL SAY THIS ONE MORE TIME; EVERY GAME IS DIFFERENT. TREAT THEM THAT WAY.

Lesson, The Final: PMA. Top

Now, I know what you're probably saying: VisceraL, what the hell is PMA? Well my friend, its a lovely little conceptualization I like to live by.


PMA stands for Positive Mental Attitude. Its an idea that was popularized in the 70's and 80's by mostly D.C. punk and hardcore bands. Most notably among those and one of my favorite groups: Bad Brains. The idea is simple: No matter what is going on around you, what you are doing, or what people are doing to you, keep your chin up.


Most teams that lose in HotS lose because of a singular reason; Someone, or multiple people are on tilt. Tilting is a natural occurrence. You could be ****ing up your job in team fights, getting caught out and dying, or getting ridiculed by your own team mates. Its important to realize in these situations, that nothing you're doing really matters. The Will to win or lose, or to even have fun doing it, all comes from how you approach the game mentally.

Zagara is frustrating as BALLS to play for the first few games you bang out on her. She feels weak, she doesn't have the impact that Jaina or Sylvanas has, and when you're losing, shes extremely underwhelming. The only advice I can give you to remedy this, is that Start to the game smiling, and end the game smiling. If you're not, Take a Break. This is JUST a game. You could uninstall it and you would still be breathing. Its that Simple.

Quick Comment () View Comments

You need to log in before commenting.

0 Votes
New Guide

Quick Comment () View Comments

You need to log in before commenting.

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