Chen has always been an interesting fringe character in Heroes of the Storm in the same way that he was in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (a neutral hero hired at the Tavern) and had been in World of Warcraft until Mists of Pandaria. He's a jovial Pandaren who likes to drink a lot and wander the world while doing it, but he can be surprisingly menacing and powerful when there's a goal to be accomplished. Similarly, much of the HotS player base has stayed away from Chen because of his unusual mechanics, mostly centered around his trait, Fortifying Brew, and because said mechanics were easily countered by the basic stuns that ruled the meta for so long. Blizzard stated in the notes of the patch that reworked him that they'd spent a long time getting his talents right. That was mentioned months earlier by his initial designer in a post on Reddit because they wanted to find a way to give him more interesting choices without sacrificing his unique gameplay.
Looking at his current state on Hotslogs, even post-mild nerfs of another recent patch, you have to say: Mission accomplished. As a regular Chen player, I'm torn between several different options at multiple tiers, all of which are inherently dependent on map, team comp, opposing team comp, and my own playstyle. This, many people would say, is the ideal goal of talent design.
Tier 1: How to Survive
Tier 1 is all about trying to make Chen tougher, which probably seems crazy to QM players who've occasionally found Chen to be "unkillable". Accumulating Flame and Freshest Ingredients are both quest talents and, thus, long-term payoffs. Flame is really unusual in that it's a damage quest (making Breath of Fire do more damage) but with a protection payoff, since you get Resistant if you breathe on heroes after completing the quest. Both will rely on Chen moving around the map, engaging heroes and collecting globes, respectively, so they'll often work out better on maps that are smaller (Tomb of the Spider Queen) or which encourage teamfights in tight spaces (Towers of Doom, Dragon Shire.) Both are viable, but I've been mostly drawn to the other two on this tier.
The 5% buff to Grounding Brew has been enough to make it a go-to pick for me. Since Flying Kick makes Chen excel as a backline harasser, he also spends a lot of time absorbing the attacks from mages not wanting to get killed. Grounding makes it easier to shrug those off, since they'll rarely be able to get through the shields and their abilities will be on CD for 8 or 10 seconds and yours will be back much sooner. OTOH, if you're faced with opponents like Valla or Illidan (or, um, Samuro), Elusive Brawler often demands to be taken. It's an active ability, so you can't just sit back and let it do its work like Block. But it's also better than Block, because it's evasion. As in no damage. At all. Plus, it's not on a passive clock like Block. Your attacks lower the CD, so it requires not only a player who knows when to activate it, but also one that will survive long enough while on offense to activate it again. It's currently the most popular pick on Hotslogs, but even moreso in Master League, which may tell you that it's the best choice, but should also tell you that it's the best choice for people that know how to play Chen.
Tier 2: How to Kill
As I mentioned in my previous piece about the Machines of War patch, my initial choice was Deadly Strike, both because it removed the Brew cost, enabling me to do two successive Q-W-E combos on 100 Brew, but also because one combo would bring me to the all-important 50 Brew for Brewmaster's Balance at 7, rather than 40. Those reasons are still valid, especially if your opponents have a substantial backline that you can disrupt, and if you're definitely taking Balance at 7 (amazingly, not the auto-pick it's always been; we'll get to that.) In second place was Ring of Fire because I was comfortable playing Chen as the lane bully he'd always been, especially on big maps (Sky Temple, Warhead Junction) where you could conceivably handle one lane by yourself or be the 1 in a 4-1 split, such as on Dragon Shire, if you have another Warrior to protect your squishies. As you can tell, those reasons are also still perfectly valid.
Howevah, if you watch the amazing video of Rich above, you'll see that he's playing Keg Toss. Many regular Chen players complained about Toss on the PTR because it added a targeting element to an ability that had always been automatic and they lacked the accuracy to make it work properly. But Toss is the opening element in a build that makes Chen even more frustrating to deal with for your opponents, especially if they're in a dive comp that needs mobility to engage. The increased damage is kind of an afterthought, as it's never going to be a real addition to a poke comp, but the slows you can throw all over the map will be great setups for your own melee Assassins or better peels to save your mages.
Tier 3 : Flavor and balance
So, yes, Brewmaster's Balance is still there and still awesome. No one will ever question the pick and many will question you if you don't take it. Chen's new version of Amplified Healing, Refreshing Elixir, is also an option if you think surviviability will be a probem and if your team went double support (especially with Brightwing or Li Li) so you can be the tank who simply will not die.
But I'm starting to think that the best pick or perhaps pick 1a next to Balance is Bolder Flavor. The instant shield in this still-very-bursty meta is excellent and if you've managed to complete the Ingredients quest, you'll potentially walk around with a permanent shield for much of the game. Is that enough to pry people away from the speed and regen of Balance? I think it is, depending on your playstyle. Just like on Tier 1, the best talent may be Brawler, but it's also an activated ability which depends for maximum usefulness on Chen successfully landing enough attacks while surviving to use it again. Balance is similar in that it demands more intensive management of Chen's resource. Some people may not be comfortable with that (and may have avoided playing Chen because of Brew management), so Flavor is a great choice for those that want to pay more attention to other things.
Tier 4: Barrel or the Boys
I can't help it. I'm a Barrel boy (no, not one of those Barrel Boys; good luck, Mac and Co.) I love Wandering Keg because of its versatility. If I've attracted the majority of the enemy team and I need to get away, I can roll. If my team needs a peel from multiple opponents, I can roll. If I see someone who can be knocked back into my team to be erased or is low already and won't be able to resist the crushing might of the keg, I can roll. It's fun, useful, and is on a pretty low CD for a heroic ability.
That said, I certainly see the appeal of the redesigned Storm, Earth, Fire, as the Panda Pals can do excellent damage and also provide a survival tool similar to Keg. The area slow of Earth is significant and Storm can allow them to engage or flee even if the leap is on CD. Chen is one of the few heroes with two completely viable heroics in almost any situation. It's totally up to the playstyle of the player in question, which is a really positive thing.
Tier 5: Yes, I'm annoying
This tier is about disrupting your opponents, as any Chen player should be trying to do at all times. Pressure Point was the default pick before the rework and it remains the most popular one on Hotslogs. Adding a 40% slow to an already great ability is pretty appealing. If you were able to get a Keg Smash off beforehand, you've basically rooted them. However, if you took Toss at 4, then A Touch of Honey becomes the pick, since you'll be able to throw 40% slows that last for 3 seconds all over the battlefield. I've occasionally taken Touch even without Toss, if I'm facing a poke comp that will want to flee whenever I Kick to them.
But if you're dealing with a really bursty opposing team, Withering Flames is a real option. I've found that it works best if you're part of a dive comp. Once you lead the attack and set everyone alight, their response to Thrall or Alarak closing on them won't be as effective as before, which increases the chance that your dive will pay off. It works great in tight spaces like shrines and altars where you can potentially shave 25% off the majority of the enemy's damage for three seconds.
Tier 6: Many Paths
Most heroes have a significant power jump at 16 and it's often one of those late game defining moments based on which team gets there first. Chen is not one of those heroes. Instead, level 16 seems to solidify the different path that he chose earlier in his talent tree. Flying Leap is the harassment pick. You gain even more range on an already huge jump. Enough to Share is the tanking/support pick. When you drink, everyone drinks and your whole team's survivability benefits. Another Round is the multiple pick. No matter what path you've taken to get here, Round will make it easier to execute your plan and it's also amazing with Keg Toss, since you'll basically have no CDs for the rest of the game.
But the fact is that any of these choices can fit in with any role you've chosen to adopt with Chen for that game. Leap gets you out of bad situations that much easier (survivability.) Share lets your team focus more on offense and takes some pressure off your Support (harassment.) And Round just lets you keep doing more of what you're already doing well. Versatility is the mark of a good hero. Viable choices are the mark of a good talent tree. Tier 6 embodies both for Chen.
Tier 7: Storm, Stout, and Brew.
As much as I love the barrel, I don't often take Untapped Potential. I've found that I'm both fast and durable enough when I'm rolling that I'd rather take something that isn't restricted to a heroic use. In contrast, when I do take SEF, Elemental Conduit is actually pretty amazing. Having 3 Chens worth of health is kinda crazy and their damage output becomes pretty sick.
While I like the concept of Purifying Brew muting one of Chen's most notable weaknesses, I've found that the stun meta has died down to the point where there's not a lot of demand for it. Perhaps when heroes like Uther come back into fashion, it will see some play. But my favorite at level 20 has become Stormstout Secret Recipe. At level 20 and beyond, your abilities should always be hitting other heroes, which means you'll always be healing. If you did the Keg build and took Another Round, you'll almost always be using abilities when you're not drinking, which means you'll always be healing. It's not a default pick, because both of the heroic upgrades have their place, but I think it's the most universally applicable one, which just makes it easier to use Chen anywhere and anytime.
Chen is currently one of the most adaptable and flexible Warriors in the game. He can be a bruiser or a tank; a lane bully or an objective taker; a rescuer (and damage sponge) for his teammates and also put out a surprising amount of damage. That variety is mirrored in his talent tree, which has more choices than your average microbrewery. Spend a little time with Chen and I think he'll turn into one of your favorites. As he says: "It is important to master the brew!"
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