Everyone knows that in MOBA’s like Heroes of The Storm, a metagame develops and if you want to win more often, picking according to that meta is generally the best idea. However, there are always heroes that stick out with very high win rates with very low play rates. That is where this series of articles is going to come in. I am going to be highlighting a few of these “Dark Horse” heroes and giving a few thoughts on how a small percentage players are maximizing the potential of the heroes.

These are not the normal meta picks that everyone already knows are extremely strong. The heroes in this article will be ones that are underplayed but have the potential to be really strong in the right hands. The first one I am going to look at today is Rexxar, Champion of the Horde.

Rexxar’s Role

Rexxar excels in solo lanes. His ability to continually heal up Misha makes it so that as long as he does not take the punishment from the enemy hero he can stay in lane as long as his mana will allow. His job in the early game should be to soak in the solo lane and do his best to out sustain the enemy solo laner in order to push them out of the lane for free structure damage. Rexxar has solid wave clear. Having two characters auto attacking the wave, a stun that can jump through the wave, and a straight line skill shot makes it so that he can clear waves much easier than most warriors. Rexxar transitions to the mid game as a hero that can be used in a couple ways. He is great at clearing mercenary camps, especially when he takes wildfire bear at level thirteen. He also functions as a pseudo-tank in fights, soaking damage with Misha and using her to stun the enemy team in order to set up or peel for your team. The best part about Rexxar is his damage potential from the warrior role. It takes good timing on using your heroics and also requires careful attention to positioning, but if you master the mechanics of controlling two characters you can be a strong force that the enemy team will have trouble dealing with.

When to Pick Rexxar

Rexxar is not a hero that works in every situation, or in every team composition. If he did, his win percentage would be much higher. So when are the best times to pick Rexxar? Generally, Rexxar generally pops up in a broken draft. If for some reason your team decided not to pick a strong solo healer he can be a good warrior to pick. His ability to stay at the back and heal Misha can make it so that your team has a tank soaking damage that can stay alive. Also, when your team decides they do not need a hero that can take mercenary camps he is a good choice for the warrior role. Many people think that mercenary camps are not important. I would not completely agree with that. Mercenary camps are less important than objectives, yes, less important than pushing and destroying structures, again yes, but there are certain scenarios when you need a hero that can solo mercenaries quickly before an objective so that it can pushing during the objective fight. The last scenario I would say to pick Rexxar is as an off tank when your team has no hard crowd control. By picking Rexxar and taking the Aspect of the Beast talent you can have a very short cooldown stun that has the potential to hit the entire enemy team. The best part of this stun is it can be used without putting yourself in danger. You can use it to interrupt abilities in situations that would normally be too dangerous to wade into. It is also extremely useful for peeling enemy heroes while retreating. Rexxar can continue to run away while leaving Misha behind to stun the enemy team off of his retreating allies.

Conclusion

Rexxar is not an every situation hero. Players that are highly experienced and skilled on the hero can make him work in most situations, but for the general player base, it is best to pick him in specific scenarios. Rexxar is a pseudo-tank. He is not tanky enough by himself to excel as a solo tank. Rexxar is a skill reliant hero. Microing Misha in fights feels awkward at first and will take an adjustment period to feel comfortable with it. Overall Rexxar is a strong hero. The almost fifty-three percent win percentage will back this up. It is up to you as an individual player to decide whether he is good for you and your playstyle. I would definitely recommend giving him a try because his playstyle is very different and interesting. Those are my thoughts on my first “Dark Horse” hero, but I want to know what you think about Rexxar. Is there a different build that you have tried that works really well? What type of hero combinations do you think best compliment Rexxar? Are there any changes you would like to see to the hero? Let me know your answers to these questions and any other questions or thoughts you have. I hope you give Rexxar a try and most of all I hope you come to enjoy the uniqueness of the hero and his playstyle.

– Caleb “PanDuhChuu” Jones

The Socials:

twitch.tv/panduhchuu

twitter.com/c3_jo

facebook.com/caleb.b.jones

instagram.com/c3_jo