Hello, friends. My name is Kith and I like videogames. I also happen to like Tychus and, while he’s probably my favorite character from the Blizzard universe, I feel like he could provide a lot better gameplay than he currently does.

Now, if you’re a patron of HeroesHearth, you may think you’ve seen this whole “Tychus Review And Rework” business before (and you’d be correct). My original article covered Tychus’s history in HOTS and why certain elements of his design were brought into being, but it didn’t really provide an in-depth look at his loadout or grading of his current status like I prefer to do nowadays. I’ve been itching to retread old ground and dig a little deeper ever since my style changed, so this post will be an expression of that.

The Review will cover Visual Design, Unit Stats, Abilities, Talents, Overall Gameplay Issues, and culminate in a Final Grade. After that, I will present the Rework aimed at solving whatever issues the Review reveals as the second post in the thread.

Visual Design This section’s grade is based on how well the character’s gameplay matches the expectations set by their visual design.

When I initially started work on this Review and I was using one of my friends as a sounding board for topics to cover, I mused that anyone unfamiliar with the mechanics of Tychus in HOTS probably wouldn’t be able to pick out his kit from a list of others. We argued about it for a while until I remembered that Google Survey existed, so I decided to skip out on the discussion and just put my theory to the test to settle the matter.

I created a survey portraying a silhouette of Tychus and his trademark minigun and then asked respondents to assign one of seven kits to the mystery man. The results of that survey were… telling. As of this time of writing, I have collected 335 responses, visualized here:

Interestingly, the most common cases of mistaken identity are Raynor, Zul’jin, and Sgt. Hammer:

When I questioned the respondents I knew personally on why they made the choices that they did, almost every one stated that the reason for choosing those skillsets in particular was due to their increased Weapon Range seeming appropriate for a minigun user. My best guess as to why is because in most media, miniguns are commonly portrayed as heavy gunner style weapons with medium to long range.

How commonly, you may ask?

Pictured: Team Fotress 2, Monday Night Combat, DOOM, Serious Sam, Warhammer 40k, Metro, Payday 2, Gears of War, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Fallout, Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto

Not Pictured: Many others

Pretty commonly.

Now, this is not to say that Tychus’s visual design is bad - his model, animations, and skill effects are all spot-on, and his kit does suit him in the context of his character and the necessary balance for HOTS. However, it is worth noting that nothing about his design implies that he has reduced range and that most people expect him to have either standard or increased range based on the weapon he uses.

Grade: B-

Unit Stats The grade assigned in this section is based on the character’s basic statistics as a unit. Passives are included and Summons that are part of the base kit are considered for durability against Non-Heroic targets, but Abilities are not otherwise not factored in. Out of 86 characters, Tychus is: 34th for Maximum Health

2nd for DPS

Ranged Basic Attack

High Attack Speed makes Stutter Stepping impossible

Reduced Basic Attack Range Grade: C-

Tychus is incredibly meaty for a Ranged Assassin, managing to out-health a fair portion of the Melee Assassins and completely out-healthing every Ranged Assassin except for Mephisto and Azmodan. And, appropriately for someone who wields a Minigun that’s as big as they are, Tychus’s Basic Attack DPS is one of the highest in the game. However, these benefits come at a pretty significant cost.

For starters, Tychus cannot stutter-step - his Attack Speed is simply too high. This puts him at a massive disadvantage in skilled play where the ability to mount a mobile offense to pursue wounded targets and the opportunity constantly reposition to avoid damaging skillshots are practically mandatory. A good example of what I mean can be found in some of Fan’s recent Raynor videos in Storm League: he’s constantly shifting after each attack for both offense and defense. Tychus, by his very nature, cannot do this.

Tychus’s inability to Stutter Step wouldn’t be so much of an issue if that was the only limitation he had - after all, his DPS is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Unfortunately, he has another drawback: his Basic Attack Range is 4.5, one unit shorter than the standard 5.5. This puts Tychus that much closer to the Crowd control that so many Tanks and Bruisers have, makes him even easier to hit with dangerous skillshots, and renders him unable to openly trade against other characters with Ranged Basic Attacks without practically guaranteeing that he’ll take damage in the process.

Now, I should mention that the limitations of a high Attack Speed or a reduced Basic Attack range are hardly crippling on their own - there are several characters with either (or in a few cases, both) that manage to perform just fine. However, in Tychus’s case, having both limitations while also being expected to provide a significant amount of damage from Basic Attacks (and Basic Attack-adjacent mechanics) is a major hindrance and results in his unit control being very clunky.

Abilities The grades assigned in this section are based on three factors: Effectiveness - How effective the ability is on its own

Usability - How easy it is to successfully use the ability

Synergy - How well the ability fits in with the rest of the kit

Minigun Cooldown: 12 Seconds

Activate to have Basic Attacks against Heroes deal bonus damage equal to 2.5% of their maximum Health. Lasts 3 seconds. it hurts so bad

oh my god, you guys

GUYS I’M SERIOUS THAT’S 30% OF YOUR MAX HEALTH IN ADDITION TO WHATEVER DPS HE’S DOING BY SHOOTING YOU IF YOU DON’T STOP HIM

IT HURTS SO BAD, GUYS

No Mana Cost

Reasonable Cooldown

Any Attack Speed increase (Stim Drone, Bloodlust, ect) significantly multiplies effectiveness

Requires Basic Attacking the target, which can be difficult due to Tychus’s Basic Attack mechanics

Due to Tychus’s extreme Attack Speed and Minigun’s short duration, any form of interrupt (target moving out of range, mini-stuns from knockback, Tychus using any of his abilities) drastically reduces value Grade: A+

I find it difficult to convey my thoughts on Minigun because I keep being afraid that I’m going to understate just how good it is. In essence, Minigun allows Tychus to engage on basically any target and the only way to prevent terrible, terrible damage is by doing anything in your power to stop him for as long as you can - even if it’s just for a half-second. For how much damage Minigun is capable of letting Tychus do, it’s basically a free Heroic.

Minigun’s Health Shred was added as a replacement for Tychus’s original wind-up Attack Speed mechanics, under the justification that they wanted to make Tychus into a Tank Buster (specifically, “targets that have a lot of Health”). However, as the developers later realized, Health Shred is effective against all targets because all targets have health. While the change to his range was successful in making it more difficult for Tychus to trade against other Ranged enemies, his damage output steadily increasing over time created a completely different problem: if Tychus gets the drop on you, you’re probably going to die - regardless of if you’re the intended “high Health” target that Minigun was designed for.

Overkill Mana Cost: 60

Cooldown: 12 Seconds

Deal 574 damage to the target and 287 damage to nearby targets over 4 seconds. Reactivate to select a new target. Can move and use Abilities while channeling. Good Damage

Good AOE

Good Range

Excellent tracking, can often follow hidden targets

Not restricted by Blind or blocked by Parry

Unlike Basic Attacks, is not interrupted by usage of Frag Grenade or Run and Gun

Can be canceled early via tapping Mount or Hearthstone

Channeled ability that can be interrupted

Deals less damage to the primary target than Basic Attacking

Does not apply Minigun

Does not pause Minigun while active, effectively wasting whatever Minigun duration remains when cast

Cannot be canceled natively Grade: B-

Overkill’s only genuine problem is that it cannot be canceled without mechanical abuse. If that was added (say, a Cancel ability that overwrites the Trait slot while Overkill is active), Overkill would be a solid B and perfectly fine in my book.

As an aside, not every negative I list is a problem that needs solving. For example, while Overkill being unaffected by Minigun is undeniably a drawback of Overkill, Tychus absolutely does not need the ability to circumvent the only limitations keeping Minigun’s insane strength in check.

Frag Grenade Mana Cost: 50

Cooldown: 10 Seconds

Lob a grenade that deals 256 damage, knocking enemies away. Good damage

Good AOE, effective waveclear

Good Range

Nearly instant

Knockback has many uses: interrupting enemy channels, defending against dive attacks, and knocking an enemy back into your range

Knockback can unintentionally save targets by knocking them out of your range or an ally’s skillshots

Despite a short cast time, still interrupts Basic Attacking and can cost up to half a second of Minigun value Grade: B

Like Overkill, Frag Grenade is in a pretty good position - not too strong, not too weak, has skill potential thanks to the knockback. Unlike Overkill, I wouldn’t want many changes made to it because it’s more or less fine as it is.

Run and Gun Mana Cost: 50

Cooldown: 10 Seconds

Dash a short distance. Provides much-needed Mobility

Doesn’t provide very much of it due to short range

Very costly for what it does Grade: C-

Run and Gun isn’t necessarily bad, but it bothers me that it has lost functionality twice over the years (losing the ability to spin up Tychus’s Attack Speed, both from his original trait and the first trait rework) and it still hasn’t gotten anything to compensate. By comparison, Vault was double-buffed with a lowered Mana Cost and a damage boosting component in the same patch. I can live with it not moving Tychus very far, but the fact that it’s maintained its cost without getting a buff to compensate is frustrating.

Commandeer Odin Mana Cost: 100

Cooldown: 100 Seconds

Call down an Odin to pilot. The Odin deals increased Damage, has 100% increased Basic Attack range, and uses different Abilities. The Odin has 25 Armor and lasts 23 seconds. Annihilate

Cooldown: 7 Seconds

Fire the Odin’s cannons in a straight line, dealing 196 damage to everything in the path. Ragnarok Missiles

Cooldown: 7 Seconds

Launches a volley of missiles at target area, dealing 132 damage and slowing enemy Movement Speed by 30% for 2 seconds. Thrusters

Cooldown: 8 Seconds

Dash in target direction. Amazing Basic Attack range

High Basic Attack DPS

25 Armor while active

Abilities have good AOE and Damage

Takes 2.5 seconds to fully activate

Completely does away with Tychus’s core kit

Inconsistently benefits from Talents

Prevents Mounting

Cannot be canceled early

Isn’t actually an Odin Grade: A-

Commandeer Odin is good, but it’s interesting to stop and think about just how much it does. A friend of mine once said that the Odin turns Tychus inside out, and they’re not too far off of the mark. For comparison:

Tychus has short range, cannot stutter-step to save his life, is primarily focused on burning down single targets, and (surprisingly) has a higher damage output at the cost of being riskier.

The Odin has (literally) twice as much Basic Attack and Ability range as Tychus does, can stutter-step easily, has massive amounts of AOE coverage, and can apply its damage from safe distances.

It’s not necessarily a problem with just how radically different the two are, but it’s a very stark difference. Odin is practically everything that Tychus is not, save for their relative durability (which Odin builds upon) and both having a short-range dash as a mobility option.

What is a problem, however, is how inconsistently Odin interacts with some Talents. Being that it completely replaces Tychus’s abilities while active, it naturally doesn’t benefit from any of the Talents that upgrade them. However, some Talents get exceptions:

Master Assassin functions normally, increasing the Odin’s Basic Attack DPS significantly when completed.

functions normally, increasing the Odin’s Basic Attack DPS significantly when completed. Relentless Soldier “works”, but due to the Armor Patch that changed Armor effects to no longer stack outside of specific circumstances, it merely overwrites the 25 Armor that the Odin grants with… 25 Armor, accomplishing nothing.

“works”, but due to the Armor Patch that changed Armor effects to no longer stack outside of specific circumstances, it merely overwrites the 25 Armor that the Odin grants with… 25 Armor, accomplishing nothing. Neosteel Coating can be activated normally.

can be activated normally. In the Rhythm and That’s The Stuff! have a strange synergy with the Odin. Because That’s The Stuff! was changed to give healing on expiration instead of on damage and because Odin disables Minigun while active (and therefore forcing it to expire), the Odin is the only way to cancel Minigun to access the stored healing. For the standard 3-second duration of Minigun that’s not so useful, but when In the Rhythm has extended Minigun’s duration to several seconds per cast, that can be the difference between living or dying.

have a strange synergy with the Odin. Because That’s The Stuff! was changed to give healing on expiration instead of on damage and because Odin disables Minigun while active (and therefore forcing it to expire), the Odin is the only way to cancel Minigun to access the stored healing. For the standard 3-second duration of Minigun that’s not so useful, but when In the Rhythm has extended Minigun’s duration to several seconds per cast, that can be the difference between living or dying. Sizzlin’ Attacks notably does not work on the Odin, despite a similar Talent/Ability interaction (Tassadar’s Focused Beam and Archon) functioning properly.

notably does not work on the Odin, despite a similar Talent/Ability interaction (Tassadar’s Focused Beam and Archon) functioning properly. Bob and Weave inconsistently interacts within itself. It applies the additional charges to Thrusters just fine, but Odin doesn’t take the passive 1.5 Basic Attack Range into account when transforming, leaving the Odin’s Basic Attack Range at 9 instead of 12.

Finally, and this is a pretty significant art mishap: Commandeer Odin doesn’t actually call down an Odin.

On the left is the actual Odin and on the right is a Blackhammer (also known as the Collector’s Edition skin for the Thor (a miniaturized version of the Odin design)).

My best guess as to why the Blackhammer model was used instead of the Odin was that, because it was already covered in various doodads and lights, it required the least amount of work to match HOTS’s aesthetic. However, it’s still wrong, and it still bothers me every time I see it. Even more frustrating is that the original Odin model recently got an update with the release of Tychus as a Co-Op Commander for Starcraft II, sporting a new paintjob with extra blue and the Heaven’s Devils logo in fun places (like the arm cannons):

I know it’s not a gameplay thing and I know that the Art Team is very different from the Balance Team, but I can still dream that one day it will be fixed.

Drakken Laser Drill Mana Cost: 100

Cooldown: 100 Seconds

Call down a Laser Drill to attack nearby enemies, dealing 142 damage every second. Reactivate to assign a new target. Lasts 22 seconds. Decent damage

Good range

Good duration

Very difficult to place

Has a 2 second wind-up time when summoned and can be targeted during this time

Has a 0.5 second delay when re-targeting

Surprisingly fragile Grade: C

Once upon a time when Tychus wasn’t so awkward and focusing your build on raw sustained damage was reliable, the Drakken Laser Drill was the go-to Heroic because it didn’t keep you from using Minigun like Commandeer Odin did. Unfortunately, the patch that cut down Tychus’s range and sustain made that playstyle severely suboptimal and several miscellaneous adjustments to the Laser Drill’s placement requirements has made it harder to use than ever before.

There’s very little reason to take the Laser Drill these days - it’s just too clunky. Turning all of Tychus’s weaknesses into strengths with Commandeer Odin is much more reliable and valuable.

Talents The grades assigned in this section are based on three factors: Effectiveness - How effective the talent is on its own

Synergy - How well the talent interacts with other abilities or talents

Viability - How the talent measures up compared to other talents at that tier

Press The Advantage Level 1 Talent Run and Gun increases Tychus’s Basic Attack Range by 1.5 for 3 seconds. Grade: C-

At first glance, Press the Advantage seems like an excellent Talent: increasing Tychus’s Basic Attack Range to slightly more than the standard 5.5 would allow him to trade a bit better against other Ranged characters. However, there are several glaring drawbacks:

The increased Basic Attack Range only lasts for 3 seconds.

The increased Basic Attack Range is tied to Tychus’s movement ability, meaning that using it offensively leaves Tychus vulnerable to getting bogged down and unable to quickly dodge for 10 seconds.

It doesn’t fit into Tychus’s typical tactics of Minigun > Overkill > Run and Gun > Frag Grenade.

Press the Advantage looks good, but it’s basically a trap talent. Its benefit doesn’t fit naturally into Tychus’s playstyle and trying to make use of it offensively puts the player at a distinct disadvantage. The only thing that saves Press the Advantage from a grade of D is the synergy it has in the extremely sub-optimal build that uses In the Rhythm and Bob and Weave.

Dash Level 1 Talent Quest: Run and Gun increases Tychus’s Movement Speed by 1% for each Regeneration Globe gathered, up to 25%. Lasts 2 seconds. Reward: Once 25 Regeneration Globes have been gathered, the range of Run and Gun is increased by 50%. Grade: A

I’m going to be honest with you here: I hate Regen Globe quests that don’t involve some kind of sustain as a reward, especially when they take so long to complete. However, I always take Dash for several reasons:

Dash’s completed Quest actually makes Run and Gun worth its Mana Cost.

Dash is the only Talent at Level 1 that provides Defensive value, something Tychus sorely needs.

Dash’s increased mobility can be used both Offensively and Defensively, making it much more flexible than the other options’ reliance on Offense.

Dash’s direct improvement to Run and Gun causes it to synergize with Overkill and Frag Grenade.

Dash is more flexible and effective than the other options at the tier, even when only partially completed. There is no reason to not take Dash.

Combat Tactician Level 1 Talent Basic Attacks reduce the cooldown of Run and Gun by 0.8 seconds. Grade: D

In theory, the ability to quickly refresh the cooldown of Run and Gun and stay on a target for a mobile offense is useful. However, Tychus already has Overkill, so picking up Combat Tactician is pretty pointless. Even if you were getting significant value out of Combat Tactician and casting Run and Gun regularly, it costs so much for what it does that you’d run out of Mana in short order.

In the Rhythm Level 4 Talent Quest: While Minigun is active, Basic Attacks against Heroes permanently increase future Minigun durations by .03 seconds. Grade: C+

Back in the day, In the Rhythm was my go-to pick and nobody on this green Earth could hope to pry me away from it. Nowadays, I wouldn’t get caught dead using it - Tychus just doesn’t have the range to sit and shoot like he used to, and the most excellent synergy with That’s the Stuff! was inverted into a counter-synergy. Anything at Level 4 is a better option for one reason or another, so there’s no reason to pick it.

The Bigger They Are… Level 4 Talent Lowers the cooldown of Minigun by 2 seconds and increase the damage bonus to 4% while enemy Heroes are above 35% Health, but Minigun no longer has any effect on targets below 35%. Grade: S

The Bigger They Are… is probably the most powerful Talent in Heroes of the Storm. It’s also the most misguided, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

We’ll start with how Tychus fares without it. Minigun’s normal effect adds 2.5% Health Shred to Tychus’s basic attacks for 3 seconds, up to 30% of a target’s Maximum Health plus the 600 damage from Tychus’s Basic Attacks. For most targets, this is a pretty substantial amount of damage:

The Average Warrior Health Pool is 2,562 . 30% of that is 768 and adding 600 DPS gives us 1368 damage over 3 seconds, roughly 53% of their Health Pool.

. 30% of that is 768 and adding 600 DPS gives us damage over 3 seconds, roughly of their Health Pool. The Average Assassin Health Pool is 1515. 30% of that is 454 and adding 600 DPS gives us 1054 damage over 3 seconds, roughly 69.5% of their Health Pool.

Granted, I’m fudging a lot of this - this isn’t taking into account things like Armor and averaging together all of the Warriors and Assassins leaves a lot of room for outliers - but the important part to take note of is how much damage is being dealt in context. While the Average Warrior takes more actual damage, the Average Assassin takes more proportional damage, being left at a noticeably lower amount of Health after the calculations are done.

The Bigger They Are… makes this disparity much, much worse.

The Bigger They Are… increases Minigun’s Health Shred per shot from 2.5% to 4%, a 60% increase in Health Shred per hit. With this increase, you can deal the same amount of Health Shred damage in a much shorter amount of time: you would only need 8 attacks to deal 32% Health Shred to the target rather than Minigun’s native 12 for 30%. It also caps itself, no longer applying Health Shred to targets below 35% of their Maximum Health, meaning that Minigun can no longer directly aid in finishing off a target.

At first glance, this seems reasonable: given that The Bigger They Are…'s 4% Health Shred per hit could only deal 48% of the target’s health, it seems unlikely that a target would lose 75% of their health from a single activation. However, what most folks forget is that this damage is riding on the back of Tychus’s Basic Attacks. Going back to our Average Heroes, we get the following:

The Average Warrior Health Pool is 2,562 . 48% of that is 1229 and adding 600 DPS gives us 1829 damage over 3 seconds, roughly 71% of their Health Pool.

. 48% of that is 1229 and adding 600 DPS gives us damage over 3 seconds, roughly of their Health Pool. The Average Assassin Health Pool is 1515. 48% of that is 727 and adding 600 DPS gives us 1327 damage over 3 seconds, roughly 87.5% of their Health Pool.

While The Bigger They Are… is technically true to phrase it’s named after because it definitely increases the amount of damage Minigun does to high-health targets, it also just so happens to make Minigun into one of the better tools in HOTS for deleting Assassins. While the cap ensures that Minigun cannot do the job alone, Overkill and Frag Grenade all but guarantee a kill.

Minigun is basically a Heroic and The Bigger They Are… is basically a Level 20 Talent. You get Minigun for free and The Bigger They Are… at Level 4.

Also it lowers Minigun’s cooldown by 2 seconds as if it wasn’t already one of the most significant power spikes in the game.

Master Assassin Level 4 Talent Quest: Hero Takedowns increase Tychus’s Attack Speed by 1%, up to 15%.

Reward: After getting 15 Takedowns, Tychus’s Attack Speed is increased by an additional 10%. Grade: B

Master Assassin is, in a word, okay. On one hand, increasing the Attack Speed of a character that has substantial DPS and heavily relies on a powerful On-Hit effect is pretty good. On the other hand, it doesn’t really make a notable difference until you get 15 Takedowns, all of which have to come after you pick it up.

Unless you’re specifically seeking to empower Odin as much as possible because there are too many counters to Tychus’s standard form, The Bigger They Are… is a better choice.

Quarterback Level 7 Talent Increases the range of Frag Grenade by 50%. Grade: A

Quarterback solves one of Tychus’s main issues: his distinct lack of range. With it, he can poke the enemy backline from a very safe distance and and finish off wounded targets more reliably.

Concussion Grenade Level 7 Talent Increases Frag Grenade’s radius by 25% and the knockback distance by 100%. Grade: B

Concussion Grenade is… alright. The increased knockback certainly has a lot of uses, from knocking enemies further back into your range to defending yourself better against dives by shoving away attackers. However, being a knockback effect also means that it’s possible to save enemies, so your mileage may vary.

Relentless Soldier Level 7 Talent Being Stunned or Rooted grants 25 Armor for 3 seconds, reducing damage taken by 25%. Grade: C

Relentless Soldier is only useful when you get stuck, and if you’re getting stuck you’re probably getting dogpiled and 25 Armor is unlikely to save you. Additionally, it’s not very versatile - it doesn’t provide any benefit for things like Slows, Knockbacks, Pulls, or even Stasis Damage effects like Gorge or Tyrant Maw. I could see it getting value against a very stun-heavy team, but at that point you’re better off just not getting hit.

Commandeer Odin Level 10 Heroic Ability Call down an Odin to pilot. The Odin deals increased Damage, has 100% increased Basic Attack range, and uses different Abilities. The Odin has 25 Armor and lasts 23 seconds. Grade: A-

Commandeer Odin is good for when you don’t need to be Tychus and remains useful even when you do.

Drakken Laser Drill Level 10 Heroic Ability

Call down a Laser Drill to attack nearby enemies, dealing 142 damage every second. Reactivate to assign a new target. Lasts 22 seconds. Grade: C

The Drakken Laser Drill was good when sustained damage a viable build. Nowadays Tychus’s burst build is objectively better, and unfortunately Drakken Laser Drill just doesn’t compare as a result.

That’s the Stuff! Level 13 Talent Minigun heals Tychus for 100% of the bonus damage dealt after it expires. Grade: B

What was once the only choice at Level 13 is now merely an option. In its original form, That’s the Stuff! healed for Minigun’s damage as it was dealt, providing much-needed sustain from the Minigun-centric playstyle provided by In the Rhythm and Drakken Laser Drill. However, since it was changed to healing on expiration, That’s the Stuff! is now counter-synergistic with In the Rhythm’s extended Minigun duration, leaving it only a viable option if you take The Bigger They Are… or Master Assassin (or using Odin’s Minigun disable to force the expiration and trigger the healing).

Neosteel Coating Level 13 Talent Activate to gain 75 Spell Armor for 3 seconds, reducing Ability Damage taken by 75%. Grade: B+

75 Spell Armor is no joke, so Neosteel Coating is an excellent choice. If you happen to be facing heavy Ability Damage (especially if you’re in a situation where you can’t get reliable Minigun value to heal from That’s the Stuff!), then Neosteel Coating is the way to go.

Spray ‘n’ Pray Level 13 Talent Increases Overkill’s range by 25%. Grade: D

Spray ‘n’ Pray is a Level 1 Talent in the wrong neighborhood.

Titan Grenade Level 16 Talent Frag Grenade deals bonus damage to Heroes equal to 5% of their maximum Health. Grade: B

Frag Grenade is Tychus’s primary tool for finishing off wounded enemies and securing kills, so adding a little extra oomph to the that is a pretty solid choice. However, I tend to not take it because I feel like 5% isn’t very useful when compared to Armor Piercing Rounds.

For example, Stitches has the largest base Health Pool in the game, clocking in at 3183. Titan Grenade’s 5% Health Shred tacks on 159 damage when used against Stitches, a 62% increase in effective damage. While substantially effective against meaty targets like Stitches, it falls off quickly against lighter enemies - anything smaller than Azmodan’s 2563 Health pool is going to see less than a 50% increase in effective damage, and the majority of the characters in HOTS have less than 2000 Health (lowering the effective damage increase to 40% or less).

It’s still good, certainly has its uses, and hits in an area, but I feel that Armor Piercing Rounds is the more reliable choice.

Lead Rain Level 16 Talent Overkill also slows enemy movement speed by 30%. Grade: D

Lead Rain isn’t bad in theory, but it’s definitely not a Level 16 talent and it’s definitely not comparable to Titan Grenade or Armor Piercing Rounds.

Armor Piercing Rounds Level 16 Talent Increases Overkill’s damage to the primary target by 50%. Grade: A-

Overkill is Tychus’s bread and butter when things aren’t going perfectly: maybe he got blinded and his Minigun is useless, maybe he needs to run away and discourage pursuit, maybe the initial ambush wasn’t enough and he needs to follow up to secure the kill. Armor Piercing Rounds empowers Overkill in such a way that it becomes better at pretty much all of these things and, unlike the Health Shred from Minigun or Titan Grenade, actually applies to non-Heroic targets. Additionally, the damage bonus doesn’t fall off in effectiveness against low-health targets like Titan Grenade does, so it’s substantially better for killing off fragile but dangerous enemies.

Big Red Button Level 20 Talent Odin lasts 50% longer and Ragnarok Missiles also launches a Nuclear Missile which lands 2.5 seconds later. Grade: A

Big Red Button just gives you more of what makes the Odin good and is practically the default choice as a result.

Focusing Diodes Level 20 Talent Increases the range of the Drakken Laser Drill by 50%. Deals increasing damage the longer it remains on a single target, up to 100% extra damage. Grade: B

The increased range is handy, but the placement range means that an immediate cast is likely going to be within the enemy’s reach and the damage ramp-up generally doesn’t happen fast enough to get any real value before the Laser Drill gets destroyed. The Laser Drill does have its uses and Focusing Diodes happens to make it better at those niche applications, but it’s not nearly enough to put it on the same level as Commandeer Odin and Big Red Button.

Sizzlin’ Attacks Level 20 Talent Basic Attacks deal bonus damage to Heroes equal to 1% of their maximum Health. Stacks with Minigun. Grade: B

Sizzlin’ Attacks has a very hard time competing with Big Red Button’s increased duration and Nuke, so it’s pretty much what you take when you don’t have the Odin available. It certainly gets lots of points for making Tychus’s DPS even more terrifying, but the reliably safe damage of Odin is more valuable pound for pound.

Bob and Weave Level 20 Talent Increase Tychus’s Basic Attack range by 1.5. Run and Gun and Odin’s Thrusters gain 2 additional charges and reduces Run and Gun’s Mana cost from 50 to 25. Grade: D+, B- with completed Dash

All told, Bob and Weave offers nothing better than the other options at this tier. Teamfights at Level 20 are over in seconds, so you want either the increased range and burst from Big Red Button or the increased DPS from Sizzlin’ Attacks to lower your exposure time to the absolute minimum. A fully completed Dash bumps up the grade (and you should really have Dash completed by this point), but that reliance on a Level 1 Quest isn’t a great look.

Overall Issues

Feels clunky and awkward compared to other Ranged Assassins, even ones with similarly reduced ranges.

While Minigun plays to Tychus’s strengths and Odin helps to overcome his weaknesses, overall effectiveness plummets without either (or both).

Talent selection has degraded over time due to patches and left clear winners at every tier except for 13 and 16, drastically reducing build variety.

The Bigger They Are… is seriously such a big deal that it deserves its own bullet point, just for how amazingly good it is at killing squishy targets.

THAT’S A BLACKHAMMER, NOT AN ODIN

Final Grade: C

Tychus suffers from what I like to call “Overbalance”: the state of a design being balanced in practice, but by virtue of having just as many massive disadvantages as it does massive advantages. The problem with Overbalance is that it often leads to polarizing experiences - sometimes the design performs admirably, being nearly unstoppable. Sometimes the design falls apart because a single leg gets kicked out from under it.

The core ideas of Tychus’s design aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination - once upon a time, Tychus’s gameplay felt fine. However, the details appended to the design over time have caused a lot of issues that could be solved with a more measured approach instead of such an extreme one.