How to Play Heroes of the Storm – Azmodan Tips

Azmodan hails from the world of Diablo and takes on the role of a Ranged Specialist in Heroes of the Storm. He can be built to deal decent damage to opposing heroes, but Azmodan is a siege monster that should be played accordingly. If you like taking on other heroes, Azmodan probably isn’t the character for you. Playing Azmodan generally means taking out the opposing team’s fortifications first and foremost. You’ll still need to participate in team battles to make sure your team isn’t outnumbered, but more often than not you should stick to your lane and push closer to the enemy’s core.

Globe of Annihilation

This is Azmodan’s primary ranged attack. It creates a moderately large area of attack that inflicts decent damage. While it can certainly be used against other heroes, it works best when attacking lane minions as you push closer to the opposing team’s core. When you reach a fortification you can drop this attack to damage a number of structures and any minions surrounding them all at once, and from a safe distance. The range of the attack is good, and you should get accustomed to using it from maximum range.

Summon Demon Warrior

Use these as often as possible, but don’t expect a lot from them unless you’re focused on clearing out lanes and inflicting siege damage. They work well when taking out minions and soaking up damage from turrets, but they don’ inflict much damage on opposing heroes or even mercenary camps. Still, you should have as many out as you can any time you’re attacking a structure, minions or another hero. You won’t get a lot of damage out of them, but some damage is better than no damage.

All Shall Burn

This is basically Azmodan’s kill move. It shoots a continuous beam attack at a target until they’re dead, Azmodan runs out of mana or the target moves out of range. Most opposing heroes will try to move out of Azmodan’s range if they get targeted with this attack. Because of this it works well in team battles when you can get in a bit closer and not worry too much about having to make a quick escape. This allows you to target an enemy and inflict a considerable amount of damage in a situation in which it will be difficult for them to escape. This attack also works extremely well to take down fortifications. They can’t move to get away from the attack, which means Azmodan will clear the structure so long as he isn’t interrupted by an opposing hero.

General of Hell

General of Hell offers a great way to push lanes that you’re not currently in. It has unlimited range and summons a General of Hell to fight alongside any minion or mercenary while increasing the attack power and health of all surrounding minions. With the unlimited range you can target any lane no matter how far away Azmodan may be. You can use it to bolster your current lane, or help another lane that may need to be pushed.

Siege Build

Level 1 – Sieging Wrath or Bribe
Level 4 – Burn the Weak or Gluttony
Level 7 – Infernal Globe or Master of Destruction
Level 10 – Black Pool or Demonic Invasion
Level 13 – March of Sin
Level 16 – Battleborn or Demonic Smite
Level 20 – Resurgence of the Storm or Perishing Flame

Start off by selecting Sieging Wrath or Bribe at level one. Sieging Wrath increases the damage of Globe of Annihilation based on the distance from your target. The farther away, the more damage it inflicts (up to 50 percent). You should already attack from maximum range with Globe of Annihilation, so you should almost always get the full damage buff. Select Bribe if you plan to take mercenary camps as often as possible. This can be effective since you should already take down as many enemy minions as you can, but you need to make sure you’re reaching camps when they spawn to take full advantage of the ability.

At level four pick up Burn the Weak or Gluttony. Burn the Weak gives your minions and mercenaries a structure damage bonus, as well as a general structure damage increase of 50 percent. Once again, this ability is geared toward taking down enemy structures as quickly as possible. Gluttony is good if you don’t have a lot of support on your team and you’re taking lanes alone. It heals Azmodan, but Burn the Weak should take priority unless you’re really having trouble staying alive.

When you reach level seven, pick up Infernal Globe or Master of Destruction. Infernal Globe increases the speed of Globe of Annihilation and reduces the cast time to make this attack initiate much faster. Meanwhile, Master of Destruction reduces the mana cost of All Shall Burn. Select the ability that corresponds with the whichever technique you favor the most between Globe of Annihilation and All Shall Burn.

Level 10 gives you access to one of two Heroic abilities. Both work well, so your choice will depend on how you plan to play Azmodan. Pick up Black Pool if you’re dealing a lot of stationary siege damage. The one downfall of Black Pool is that Azmodan and anyone buffed by the ability must remain in the area of the Black Pool. It gives a very good damage buff, but essentially reduces your mobility to nothing. Demonic Invasion works well against structures but doesn’t work as well against opposing heroes. Overall, Black Pool is more versatile because it functions better against heroes, but both attacks are geared more toward siege damage than anything else.

March of Sin should be your ability of choice when you reach level 13. It allows Azmodan to move while using his All Shall Burn attack. This is a huge benefit, as enemies have a much harder time moving out of the cast range of the attack. Azmodan can still be stunned out of it, and he only moves at 75 percent speed during the attack, but this buff can mean the difference between killing an enemy and letting them escape.

You have a few different options at level 16. Battleborn or Demonic Smite should be your priority, but Blood for Blood has a use as well. Battleborn summons a Demon Warrior every time Globe of Annihilation hits an enemy. This works well when attacking minions because the Demon Warrior will finish off any minions that didn’t die when the Globe of Annihilation hit. Demonic Smite causes your General of Hell summon to hit enemy minions for 500 damage. It’s not quite as effective as Battleborn, but if you’re using General of Hell often it can help to quickly clear a lane. Finally, Blood for Blood works well if you find yourself having to deal with one-on-one situations against opposing heroes. That shouldn’t be the case with proper team work, but if you’re having problems this ability will help you win those one-on-one encounters.

When you reach level 20 you should select Resurgence of the Storm or Perishing Flame. If you picked up Demonic Invasion at level 10, then Perishing Flame should be your selection of choice. The summons that Demonic Invasion call forth will explode, inflicting a decent amount of damage when all is said and done. If you didn’t go with Demonic Invasion at level 10, then Resurgence of the Storm should be your selection. It gives Azmodan the ability to respawn extremely fast after a death. This ability only works once every 180 seconds, but if you’re dying more than that you have other problems to worry about.

Prima Games will continue to offer coverage of Heroes of the Storm over the coming weeks and months. Be sure to check out the rest of our Heroes of the Storm content for more guides on Heroes and basic gameplay mechanics.