Nazeebo is the Witch Doctor character from Diablo that happens to be a Specialist type in Heroes of the Storm. While he may not have the steepest learning curve in the game, he is not easy to play as if you’re trying to maximize his abilities, especially if you’re new to MOBA games in general. He has a few options that are easier to use than others, but if you’re going with the easier options you’ll likely lose damage or utility in the process.
Corpse Spiders
As a Ranged Specialist, Nazeebo has plenty of ranged attacks. Corpse Spiders is his primary ranged attack aside from his basic attack. Nazeebo throws a jar of spiders at the targeted location. Damage is inflicted when the jar hits the ground, and as the spiders inside the jar attack surrounding enemies. This isn’t going to inflict a ton of damage, as the spiders only stick around for four seconds, but it adds up when combined with Nazeebo’s other abilities.
Zombie Wall
This is Nazeebo’s primary crowd control ability. It creates a ring of zombies that will ensnare a target, locking them in place for a short time. Once cast, there’s a delay before the zombies appear and stop the enemy’s movement. Because of this you need to figure out where the enemy will be after the delay. Usually that means leading the enemy so you place Zombie Wall ahead of them, or simply put it in a large crowd during a team fight. This can also save Nazeebo if you cast it on or just in front of him while trying to escape a pursuing enemy. Once an enemy is stuck inside the Zombie Wall, use Corpse Spiders and Plague of Toads to maximize damage.
Plague of Toads
Nazeebo summons five small toads that leap forward in a cone shape. Any enemy that comes in contact with a toad will be damaged. This is a good attack for structures and minions, but the toads move rather slow and are easy for enemy heroes to avoid. If you’re trying to use it on an enemy hero, it’s best to hold them in place with Zombie Wall first, or use it at close range where it’s more difficult to avoid. Unfortunately, you don’t really want to attack from close range, so try to use this on a crowd of enemies or after Zombie Wall.
Voodoo Ritual
Anytime an enemy is damaged by Nazeebo, it poisons them for four seconds thanks to this passive trait. If a poisoned enemy dies, Nazeebo regains one percent of his mana and just shy of two percent of his health. This is how Nazeebo can solo a lane and really make things difficult for an enemy. If you’re constantly attacking an enemy (which you should be) it stands to reason that you should constantly get this buff because the poison will continue to reapply.
Standard Build
Level 1 – Death Ritual
Level 4 – Gathering Power or Envenom
Level 7 – Gidbinn or Mule
Level 10 – Ravenous Spirit
Level 13 – Sprint or Rewind
Level 16 – Specialized Toxin or Leaping Spiders
Level 20 – Annihilating Spirit or Bolt of the Storm
There are a few different ways you can play Nazeebo, but for the purposes of this guide we’re going to break down the best build for beginners, and what you should adjust as you get more experienced with the character. At level one you should always go for Death Ritual. With this, every time you kill an enemy minion you gain five addition health and three additional mana. The boost is permanent, which stacks quite a bit as the game progresses. Just make sure to attack as many minions as you can, especially during the early game.
When you reach level 4 you have a couple of options. As a new player or someone new to Nazeebo you should go with Envenom. It allows you to directly poison an enemy for decent damage (especially in the early game). It can score you a few early kills and quickly destroy an enemy during one-on-one encounters. However, once you have a bit more experience, switch to Gathering Power in order to give Nazeebo a damage boost. You can add to this damage boost with every enemy hero you kill, but that additional buff resets if your die (which is why this isn’t recommended for newer players).
At level seven you should select Gidbinn or Mule. Gidbinn should be your go-to ability here as it increases Nazeebo’s damage all around, as well as extending the duration of Voodoo Ritual. However, if you’re going for a more specialized build there’s room for Mule. Mule repairs the forts in your base, which can be extremely useful when used correctly, but it’s definitely not something for beginner players.
Level 10 brings Nazeebo’s Heroic attack, which is Ravenous Spirit. For beginner players you should opt for Gargantuan instead because it’s much easier to use. Nazeebo summons a large creature that attacks nearby enemies. However, Ravenous Spirit summons a spirit creature that hangs around for eight seconds dealing damage. You can control the spirit, which makes it a better attack compared to Gargantuan, but the fact that it only hangs around for eight seconds means you need to know exactly how you want to use it to get the most out of the damage.
When you hit level 13, pick up Sprint to give Nazeebo better movement speed. By default he moves slower than most characters, which makes it difficult to escape some situations. With Sprint you can make up for that issue. Once you’re more skilled, pick up Rewind to refresh all of your cooldowns. When used correctly Nazeebo can dish out significant damage by essentially using all of his techniques back-to-back in rapid succession.
At level 16 you should use Specialized Toxin or Leaping Spiders. Your play style will dictate which should be used, with Specialized Toxin giving your Voodoo Ritual a damage boost of 200 percent and Leaping Spiders making Corpse Spiders deal more damage. If you use Corpse Spiders often and find it works well for you, then Leaping Spiders is your choice. Otherwise, go with Specialized Toxin.
Finally, at level 20 you can opt for Annihilating Spirit or Bolt of the Storm. If you selected Ravenous Spirit at level 10, then Annihilating Spirit makes it better by increasing the range and speed of the attack. If you opted for Gargantuan instead, pick up Bolt of the Storm to help Nazeebo escape from bad situations.
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