Malfurion is a Druid from the Warcraft series that made his way into Heroes of the Storm. If you’re looking for a Support class who can dish out some crowd control and moderate damage when needed, Malfurion is probably right up your alley. His primary role is that of a healer, but he can also be played offensively to an extent, and even offer a mixture of the two play styles depending on how the game you’re currently playing evolves.
While there are a variety of builds for Malfurion, you should focus on either a healing build or an offensive build. Crowd control is built into both builds, and you can even use a mixture of the two builds if that fits your play style better. However, keep in mind that Malfurion is a healer first and foremost, with other abilities being secondary.
Regrowth
This is Malfurion’s primary healing spell. Unlike many other healing spells and abilities in Heroes of the Storm, Regrowth is a heal over time spell. That means it heals for a small amount immediately, then continues to heal the target for a short time. This gives Malfurion’s heals more potency compared to many other healers in the game, but it takes time for the full heal to complete.
You should use Regrowth when your target still has roughly 70-80 percent of their health. If you wait until your target is almost dead, they’ll be dead before the healing over time process is complete. Once you reach level seven you can obtain the Enduring Growth ability to give Regrowth more potency.
Moonfire
Moonfire is the primary way Malfurion inflicts damage. This ranged attack is great to use when an opposing character tries to make a run for it when their health is low. The targeting circle for Moonfire represents the width of the cast. Any enemy characters or minions within the circle when the spell is cast will be damaged. You can even increase the damage output and the size of the targeting area with Moonburn (level 1), Full Moonfire (level 13), Lunar Shower (level 16) or Hindering Moonfire (level 16).
One of the best features of Moonfire is the ability to reveal cloaked enemies. Many characters in the game have the ability to turn invisible. If you can predict where they’ll be, you can use Moonfire to make them visible again so your team can continue attacking.
Entangling Roots
Malfurion’s primary tool for crowd control is Entangling Roots. This attack creates roots on the ground in a fairly large circle. Any enemies caught in the roots will be frozen in place for a short time and take some damage as well. Entangling Roots is a great way to save your life or the life of a teammate. If you need to flee the area because your health is low, cast this spell to stop the opposing heroes in their tracks and give yourself time to escape.
One important note about Entangling Roots is that it’s not an instant cast. You have to be predictive when you cast it so that your target is in the casting circle when the root effect becomes active. Generally speaking you should cast the spell right on top of the fleeing character, or just ahead of the fleeing character. This usually makes the rooting effect happen right as the opposing team hits the casting circle.
Innervate
Innervate if a fairly straightforward ability. It gives the target 100 mana over a period of 10 seconds. Using it does not cost Malfurion any mana at all, but the ability cannot be cast on yourself, only a teammate. You should use this whenever the cool down is up and a teammate needs mana.
Healing Build
Level 1 – Conjurer’s Pursuit
Level 4 – Protective Shield
Level 7 – Enduring Growth
Level 10 – Tranquility
Level 13 – Life Seed or Shrink Ray
Level 16 – Hardened Focus or Tenacious Roots
Level 20 – Serenity or Storm Shield
A healing build for Malfurion generally starts with the Conjurer’s Pursuit ability. This makes it important to kill minions and acquire healing orbs so your mana replenishes faster. Protective Shield should be your level four upgrade. It casts a shield on a teammate that gives the target additional protection for five seconds. Enduring Growth should be your next ability at level seven to empower your Regrowth ability. At level 10 pickup Tranquility in order to heal your entire team during a large assault when most of your team is present and injured.
After level 10 you have some variance in the abilities you obtain. If you want to maintain a strictly healing build, go with Life Seed at level 13. When you cast Regrowth, the teammate with the lowest health in close proximity will also get the healing over time effect of the cast, in addition to your primary target. However, Shrink Ray is generally more recommended at level 13 because it lowers the damage and movement speed of the target, making them easier to kill.
At level 16 you can go with Hardened Focus if you’ve maintain high health for most of the game, or Tenacious Roots if you need better crowd control options. Finally, at level 20 you can use Serenity to complete your healing build, or opt for Storm Shield if you’re engaging in a number of large team battles and you want to give your team a bit of extra protection.
Offensive Build
Level 1 – Conjurer’s Pursuit or Moonburn
Level 4 – Vengeful Roots
Level 7 – Strangling Vines
Level 10 – Twilight Dream
Level 13 – Full Moonfire
Level 16 – Lunar Shower or Hindering Moonfire
Level 20 – Bolt of the Storm or Nightmare
You probably won’t want to use an offensive Malfurion unless you have another Support class on your team, or your team just lacks the offensive power you need to win. You can start with Moonburn at level one to inflict more damage to minions, but Conjurer’s Pursuit is also a decent choice because you’ll need mana no matter which build you’re using. Both require you to attack minions, but Conjurer’s Pursuit is the recommended choice.
At level four pick up Vengeful Roots to add a bit of damage to your Entangling Roots cast in the form of a Treant. Go with Strangling Vines at level seven to double the damage of Entangling Roots, but make sure you’re good at predicting where the target will be when the spell becomes active, otherwise this is a bit of a waste.
When you reach level 10 pick up the Twilight Dream ability to silence and damage all enemies in a moderate area around Malfurion. This is very helpful to stop enemy targets from casting spells that will aid their team. Full Moonfire should be your selection at level 13 to increase the targeting area and lower the mana cost of Moonfire, then Lunar Shower or Hindering Moonfire at level 16. Lunar Shower increases damage and lowers the cool down of Moonfire with consecutive casts, while Hindering Moonfire slows the target’s movement speed, allowing you to catch them and deliver a fatal blow.
Finally, when you hit level 20 select Bolt of the Storm or Nightmare. Generally speaking, Bolt of the Storm should be your go-to option here. It gives you the ability to teleport, which can be very effective when combined with Twilight Dream. Teleport behind a group of enemies, hit them with Twilight Dream to silence their casters and run away. Nightmare increases the silence time of Twilight Dream and slows enemies. This can be useful in some situations, but you’ll likely get more utility out of Bolt of the Storm.
Stay tuned to Prima Games as we offer more Heroes of the Storm strategic content over the next few weeks.
