Heroes of the Storm – What to Expect from Rexxar

Blizzard was quite busy at Gamescom last week. The company that WoW built had a number of announcements for several of its games, but it was Heroes of the Storm that had the most surprising announcements. In addition to the new battlefield and more information on Kharazim, we learned that three more heroes will be entering the Nexus over the next few weeks and months. Of those, Rexxar looks to be the first released after Kharazim next week.

While we don’t yet have complete details on Rexxar, we do know what he abilities are and we know that he’s going to be a ranged Warrior class hero. Rexxar is unique because he fights alongside his trusty bear, Misha. You don’t control Misha separately like you would with The Lost Vikings. Instead you can issue various commands to Misha and she’s an integral part of Rexxar’s play style. If Misha goes down, you can summon her again after a few seconds, but Rexxar is far less powerful without her.

Spirit Swoop (Q)

As a ranged skill shot, the Spirit Swoop summons a hawk to attack the enemy, and is primarily used to stop opponents from running away. It slows opponents and allows Rexxar and his teammates to close in and finish the job. It’s a skill shot, so you’ll have to aim it to make sure it hits, but with some of Rexxar’s other ranged attacks, once the enemy is slowed it shouldn’t take much to finish them off.

Misha, Charge! (W)

Rexxar commands Misha to charge in the specified direction, stunning enemies along the way. If Misha is close enough to an enemy when the command is used, she goes through the enemy and stop on the far side. This comes in handy to body block an enemy in narrow areas, leaving them no way to escape. Of course it can also be used like any other stun in the game, to stop opposing heroes from utilizing some of their best attacks. As a Warrior class it’s important to be able to read the situation and stun certain heroes as soon as they unleash their attacks (such as Li Li’s Jug of 1,000 Cups).

Mend Pet (E)

As mentioned previously, it’s important to keep Misha alive because she’s a big part of Rexxar’s play style. Once she goes down, Rexxar is far less powerful until he can summon her again. Mend Pet allows Rexxar to heal Misha for a decent amount. In addition, if Misha is close enough to Rexxar when Mend Pet is used, it will also heal Rexxar. While it’s generally frowned upon to focus tanks during tram battles, this is a great tool to use when soaking lanes or even in a team battle when the opposing team shifts their focus to you. It can keep you alive long enough to use Misha, Charge or some other technique to turn the tide of battle or make an escape.

Unleash the Boars (Heroic)

Rexxar’s first Heroic ability sends out three boars to hunt down enemies within a certain range. Any enemies that are hit will be slowed considerably for a limited time. While Bestial Wrath will likely be the Heroic ability of choice, Unleash the Boars is good because it tracks down cloaked heroes such as Nova or Zeratul. If you know a cloaked enemy is in the area and you’ve got the means to take them down, this Heroic can be very useful.

Bestial Wrath (Heroic)

Bestial Wrath gives Misha a significant boost to both damage and health. This will likely be the main Heroic ability for Rexxar players as Misha is a key part of Rexxar’s play style and making her more powerful is a huge boost. Any time there’s a team fight or you simply need to take out an enemy quickly, Bestial Wrath will be very useful.

With Kharazim scheduled to release on Tuesday, keep a close eye on Prima Games. We’ll have a full breakdown of the Monk’s best builds next week!