First appearing in Act III of Diablo III, Azmodan commands the armies of Hell. Depending on what you want to do with him, you can kinda do the same thing in Heroes of the Storm. Many people see Azmodan as a pure lane pusher. A hero that can push lanes real hard, but is basically useless in a team fight, A hero that can demolish fortifications, but get squished by almost anyone. Well there is a reason that he is currently sitting at a comfortable 50% win rate and believe it or not, it is not thanks to his builds that allow you to spawn many demons of Hell to the battlefield. I'll get back to that build in a bit though.
When I was first introduced to Azmodan back when I first got into Alpha for Heroes I was impressed. I loved the idea of spawning a bunch of minions from Hell and literally plowing down lanes unopposed. I noticed me doing that though led to a lot of teamfights where I felt like I was basically useless. I'd use Azmodan's E ability (All Shall Burn) which is basically a lazer that burns things down, only for an opponent to simply walk out or stun me and well I felt like I was pretty much useless. I feel like while Azmodan has tremendous pushing power when talented into it, his missing of other talents hurts him in fights than a lot of other heroes.
That was the first few times I played Azmodan. It was fun to play that way, but my real fun began recently from watching several streamers and pros play Azmodan and that is what I want to focus on here. That fun is in what a lot of people call his Dunk Build. Basically you play basketball and the enemy is the basket... Sort to speak...
The basis of this dunk build rests in Azmodan's Q ability (Globe of Annihilation). The level 1 Quest Talent states that any enemies killed within 1.5 seconds oh taking damage from Globe of Annihilation increases it's damage by 2, up to 500. At first it sounded like a big task with the stacks becoming meaningful late in the game until I really saw how it was supposed to be done.
Seeing Johanna and Kaelthas in particular pair up with an Azmodan early game was eye opening as to how quickly Azmo can gather stacks. With enough stacks, Azmodan is free to clear minion waves in a single shot, powering up the ability even more. I've watched Azmodans roam across all three lanes getting set up to deliver a shot to clear a wave and gain stacks. By the time the level 16 talents come into play, Azmodan can really through out some sizable numbers with his globe, especially when combined with his Black Pool heroic.By the time the game ends, that Hero who is terrible in team fights is winning them for the team with one well placed dunk that can take out multiple enemies at a time.
Azmodan's current state I think is a lot of fun. He's fun to play and it does take some teamwork to get his true potential to shine. So here is my favorite Azmodan build. It's pretty standard in terms of what a lot of people do with Azmodan. I'll also include my alternate build which again is fairly standard.
Level 1: Taste for Blood
This talent is the meat and potatoes of the build. It is the quest talent that I made mention of before that increases the damage of Globe of Annihilation (Q). With or without a partner, it is not overly hard to collect stacks quickly and really beef up Azmodan's damage. If it doesn't look like a game where I'm going to be able to stack as I want I'll sometimes trade this talent out in favor Master of Destruction which increases All Shall Burn's (E) damage to structures by 25% and reduces it's mana cost as well.
Level 4: Army of Hell
Army of Hell increases Summon Demon Warriors (W) Demon Warrior damage by 20% and reduces it's mana cost by 20 as well. Early game I like Army of Hell a lot. It does a good job at helping to clear waves and get stacks for Globe of Annihilation. The increase damage is nice, but the mana cost reduction really makes the talent usable as early game Azmodan can run into mana problems if using all three abilities due to their costs. My alternate to this talent is usually Gluttony which allows All Shall Burn (E) to heal you for 15% of the damage dealt.
Level 7: Infernal Globe
Infernal Globe causes Globe of Annihilation's (Q) cast time and traveling speed to increase by 40% in addition it causes enemies hit to burn for 4 seconds, taking damage over that time. This talent is awesome. Without this talent, the globe travels pretty slow and takes a while to cast, so the increased speed ramps up it's effectiveness. The key is to master both speeds to be able to deal with the early game casting speed and then the faster version at lvl 7. Level 7 is one of the more interesting levels for Azmodan as there are a few talents I think are worth picking here. While Infernal Globe is my go to, if I'm not dunking, I'm looking at Bound Minion or Infused Power. Really the choice is based on how the game is going. If I feel like there are a lot of fights with little to no stuns I'll take Infused Power which increases All Shall Burn (E) damage to 150% after channeling for 4 seconds. If there's a lot of stun (such as Muradin, Tyrande, Uther for example) I'll often pick Bound Minion which allows a minion Azmodan casts General of Hell (D) on to take 75% less damage from non heroes and deal 75% increased damage to non heroes (including structures).
Level 10: Black Pool
Black Pool (R) is a pretty unique Heroic ability. It creates a pool for 5 seconds at a location of your choice (hopefully under Azmodan). For those 5 seconds all damage Azmodan or any of his minions does while in the pool increases by 75%. What that really does is turn Globe of Annihilation (Q) into a powerhouse. With Black Pool (R) you should be able to clear minion waves on your own mid game leading to fast accumulating stacks. There is little need to worry about a cooldown on this ability as it holds 2 charges and it only takes 20 seconds for a charge to become available again. The combo of pool and globe is what makes Azmodan so dangerous, especially late game where you can do just a ton of damage to enemy heroes. At this point I'll only use the other heroic, Demonic Invasion (R), if I'm just going for an all out push build and am not worried about team fights at all.
Level 13: Hedonism
This is probably the one talent I prefer that many people opt out of. Hedonism simply reduces Globe of Annihilation's (Q) mana cost by 30. While it seems kinda lackluster by looking at it, I've found that the mana reduction further allows me to spam Summon Demon Warrior (W) more often and make more plays before needing to hit a fountain for mana. In general though, this is not the favorite of most people and I admit that Hedonism is probably not the best talent out of the options that there are, but it really works for me. The most popular one is my alternate one called March of Sin. This ability allows Azmodan to move at 75% speed while channeling All Shall Burn (E). This talent is really good and allows Azmodan to keep pressure on enemy heroes by slowly chasing while damaging or maneuvering around mercs or structures. The pick rate for me is really close prolly like 48%-51% in favor of Hedonism for me lately. Both are good, March of Sin has more impact while Hedonism gives you a bit more freedom.
Level 16: Battleborn
Not going to lie here. I think all of Azmodan's level 16 talents have some form of use. The two most useful I find though is Battleborn, which causes Globe of Annihilation (Q) to spawn a demon warrior on impact. This basically turns the globe into a 2 for 1 which there is nothing wrong with at all. This talent really wraps up the whole dunk build. By the time level 16 hits you should have enough stacks to be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield between your globe talents and the effects of Black Pool (R). The other ability that I'll pick is Demonic Smite. This talent allows your demon lieutenant spawned by General of Hell (D) to blast non heroic units with strong demonic energy. This turns the lieutenant into a mini hero, allowing him to quickly break through waves, allowing minions to eat up the ammo on turrets and forts. If you're looking for more global presence, Demonic Smite is the way to go.
Level 20: Fifth Circle
Azmodan has a few pretty good level 20 talent choices. My favorite is Fifth Circle. This talent powers up Black Pool (R) in that Azmodan's basic attacks and abilities while he's in the pool cause enemies to be slowed and reduces their attack speed by 40% for 3 seconds. This gives Azmodan some really nice crowd control and allows his allies to get a big upper hand if a well placed dunk can hit multiple heroes. If you take the level 16 talent, imposing presence, it's possible to reduce the opponent's attack speed by a great deal. There are a couple other really good choices here. Bolt of the Storm (number) is a great get out of jail free card as Azmodan doesn't have another quick escape. It can also be used offensively as well. Overall I feel that Fifth Circle provides a similar effect in many situations, though Bolt is certainly the better escape option. Forced Recruitment adds a ton of global pressure by reducing the cooldown of General of Hell (D) by 10 seconds and giving it a second charge. When used with Demonic Smite it can be really, really strong.
So there you have my Azmodan build. Like I said before it's pretty standard. Despite that though it is a lot of fun and if you have Azmodan, give it a try if you haven't tried something like this yet and if you haven't played Azmodan, then give it a try on a free rotation week! He's certainly not going to be for everyone, but personally I think Azmodan is one of the more fun heroes in the game.
Azmodan's current state I think is a lot of fun. He's fun to play and it does take some teamwork to get his true potential to shine. So here is my favorite Azmodan build. It's pretty standard in terms of what a lot of people do with Azmodan. I'll also include my alternate build which again is fairly standard.
Level 1: Taste for Blood
This talent is the meat and potatoes of the build. It is the quest talent that I made mention of before that increases the damage of Globe of Annihilation (Q). With or without a partner, it is not overly hard to collect stacks quickly and really beef up Azmodan's damage. If it doesn't look like a game where I'm going to be able to stack as I want I'll sometimes trade this talent out in favor Master of Destruction which increases All Shall Burn's (E) damage to structures by 25% and reduces it's mana cost as well.
Level 4: Army of Hell
Army of Hell increases Summon Demon Warriors (W) Demon Warrior damage by 20% and reduces it's mana cost by 20 as well. Early game I like Army of Hell a lot. It does a good job at helping to clear waves and get stacks for Globe of Annihilation. The increase damage is nice, but the mana cost reduction really makes the talent usable as early game Azmodan can run into mana problems if using all three abilities due to their costs. My alternate to this talent is usually Gluttony which allows All Shall Burn (E) to heal you for 15% of the damage dealt.
Level 7: Infernal Globe
Infernal Globe causes Globe of Annihilation's (Q) cast time and traveling speed to increase by 40% in addition it causes enemies hit to burn for 4 seconds, taking damage over that time. This talent is awesome. Without this talent, the globe travels pretty slow and takes a while to cast, so the increased speed ramps up it's effectiveness. The key is to master both speeds to be able to deal with the early game casting speed and then the faster version at lvl 7. Level 7 is one of the more interesting levels for Azmodan as there are a few talents I think are worth picking here. While Infernal Globe is my go to, if I'm not dunking, I'm looking at Bound Minion or Infused Power. Really the choice is based on how the game is going. If I feel like there are a lot of fights with little to no stuns I'll take Infused Power which increases All Shall Burn (E) damage to 150% after channeling for 4 seconds. If there's a lot of stun (such as Muradin, Tyrande, Uther for example) I'll often pick Bound Minion which allows a minion Azmodan casts General of Hell (D) on to take 75% less damage from non heroes and deal 75% increased damage to non heroes (including structures).
Level 10: Black Pool
Black Pool (R) is a pretty unique Heroic ability. It creates a pool for 5 seconds at a location of your choice (hopefully under Azmodan). For those 5 seconds all damage Azmodan or any of his minions does while in the pool increases by 75%. What that really does is turn Globe of Annihilation (Q) into a powerhouse. With Black Pool (R) you should be able to clear minion waves on your own mid game leading to fast accumulating stacks. There is little need to worry about a cooldown on this ability as it holds 2 charges and it only takes 20 seconds for a charge to become available again. The combo of pool and globe is what makes Azmodan so dangerous, especially late game where you can do just a ton of damage to enemy heroes. At this point I'll only use the other heroic, Demonic Invasion (R), if I'm just going for an all out push build and am not worried about team fights at all.
Level 13: Hedonism
This is probably the one talent I prefer that many people opt out of. Hedonism simply reduces Globe of Annihilation's (Q) mana cost by 30. While it seems kinda lackluster by looking at it, I've found that the mana reduction further allows me to spam Summon Demon Warrior (W) more often and make more plays before needing to hit a fountain for mana. In general though, this is not the favorite of most people and I admit that Hedonism is probably not the best talent out of the options that there are, but it really works for me. The most popular one is my alternate one called March of Sin. This ability allows Azmodan to move at 75% speed while channeling All Shall Burn (E). This talent is really good and allows Azmodan to keep pressure on enemy heroes by slowly chasing while damaging or maneuvering around mercs or structures. The pick rate for me is really close prolly like 48%-51% in favor of Hedonism for me lately. Both are good, March of Sin has more impact while Hedonism gives you a bit more freedom.
Level 16: Battleborn
Not going to lie here. I think all of Azmodan's level 16 talents have some form of use. The two most useful I find though is Battleborn, which causes Globe of Annihilation (Q) to spawn a demon warrior on impact. This basically turns the globe into a 2 for 1 which there is nothing wrong with at all. This talent really wraps up the whole dunk build. By the time level 16 hits you should have enough stacks to be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield between your globe talents and the effects of Black Pool (R). The other ability that I'll pick is Demonic Smite. This talent allows your demon lieutenant spawned by General of Hell (D) to blast non heroic units with strong demonic energy. This turns the lieutenant into a mini hero, allowing him to quickly break through waves, allowing minions to eat up the ammo on turrets and forts. If you're looking for more global presence, Demonic Smite is the way to go.
Level 20: Fifth Circle
Azmodan has a few pretty good level 20 talent choices. My favorite is Fifth Circle. This talent powers up Black Pool (R) in that Azmodan's basic attacks and abilities while he's in the pool cause enemies to be slowed and reduces their attack speed by 40% for 3 seconds. This gives Azmodan some really nice crowd control and allows his allies to get a big upper hand if a well placed dunk can hit multiple heroes. If you take the level 16 talent, imposing presence, it's possible to reduce the opponent's attack speed by a great deal. There are a couple other really good choices here. Bolt of the Storm (number) is a great get out of jail free card as Azmodan doesn't have another quick escape. It can also be used offensively as well. Overall I feel that Fifth Circle provides a similar effect in many situations, though Bolt is certainly the better escape option. Forced Recruitment adds a ton of global pressure by reducing the cooldown of General of Hell (D) by 10 seconds and giving it a second charge. When used with Demonic Smite it can be really, really strong.
So there you have my Azmodan build. Like I said before it's pretty standard. Despite that though it is a lot of fun and if you have Azmodan, give it a try if you haven't tried something like this yet and if you haven't played Azmodan, then give it a try on a free rotation week! He's certainly not going to be for everyone, but personally I think Azmodan is one of the more fun heroes in the game.
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