Welcome to the first guide of what I hope to be many. There are a lot of Hero guides to be found, so in this series I want to do something a little different. While these guides will feature powerful talent builds and how to best utilize them, I want to avoid the hype “highlight reel” style of guide that seems prevalent nowadays.
Not to say I can’t get down with hype every now and then. I watched Azmodan, lord of the Court just like everyone else and I loved it. However, I did have the sense to realize this was a carefully crafted highlight reel, and in no way a realistic depiction of the Heroes strength. When writing a hero guide I understand the temptation to feature strengths in this highlight reel fashion. However, the few times it helps to be a sobering buzzkill is when writing video game strategy. This is one of those times.
The goal of these guides is to offer the full picture of what the hero has to offer and the best way to utilize the realistic (sometimes hype) strengths said hero can bring. With all of this said, I can’t help think of a more fitting hero to open the series than Gazlowe.
The very existence of Gazlowe (similar to Murky) divides two different types of players in HotS. The one group refuses to acknowledge the strengths and strategic value he brings to a composition and the other group that defends him, citing the power of split pushing, objective control, and Grav-o-bomb wombo-combos.
The reality of course, is somewhere in-between. Gazlowe has plenty of weaknesses and when they are exploited, he can feel very useless. In this same regard, Gazlowe is responsible for some highlight worthy insane plays. With that in mind, here are the things you need to know to create some highlight reels of your own.
The Mindset
Gazlowe is a niche hero with powerful spikes in effectiveness when placed in favorable situations. In this same way, Gazlowe suffers from incredibly low levels of uselessness when placed in anything but the most advantageous scenarios. Keeping this in mind, a successful Gazlowe game should be based around tactful choices on when your presence is needed, and when it is not.
Showing up to objectives early and placing down a defensive matrix of turrets is the optimal scenario for Gazlowe to help in a team fight.
By showing up to late to team fights, you are being useless. You will rarely be able to clean up low HP heroes, and when the fight has turned mobile, with either side retreating, none of your strengths can be properly utilized. Chasing low HP heroes with Gazlowe is pretty much always a horrible idea.
By pushing a lane or taking a Mercenary camp when a team fight was inevitable and predictable, you are being useless. Showing up to objectives early and placing down a defensive matrix of turrets is the optimal scenario for Gazlowe to help in a team fight. Grav-o-bomb is also best utilized near the very start of a fight as enemy heroes are most likely to be clumped together. Grav-o-bomb in response to an enemies teams successful initiation results in huge momentum swings, but only if you were there early enough to cast it.
When a Gazlowe players understands how easy it is to be useless, the sooner they become extremely useful.
Why you will die
The most common way to die as Gazlowe involves split pushing, unsafe mercenary camp'ing, and showing up to team fights late. Gazlowe can actually accomplish a lot on his own, so there is an added incentive on staying alive as long as you can.
Don't get greedy. When you see multiple enemies missing from the mini-map, it's time to retreat back to the safety of your towers.
When split pushing, pay close attention to the map and enemy hero positions. The entire purpose of split pushing is to force the enemy team split up their heroes and allocate their time at opposing sides of the map. Split pushing is effective when you create a push so large multiple enemy heroes have to come and stop it.
All of this is negated when you get killed, as it suddenly makes the enemies rotation to stop your split push effective and worthwhile. Don't get greedy, and when you see multiple enemies missing from the mini-map, it's time to retreat back to the safety of your towers. You can always go back and push once they leave.
This same rule applies to taking mercenary camps. The mini-map will tell you everything you need to know on whether or not it is safe to separate from your team and take a camp. For example, if the entire map is taken except for one solitary mercenary camp, don't try and take it solo. The entire opposing team can pretty easily guess where the enemy Gazlowe might be and you risk not only feeding them a kill but giving them the camp for free. It is a powerful play when Gazlowe solos a Boss camp, but you have to make sure it is safe to do so first.
Lastly, you will die if you show up to team fights late. Ever single one of Gazlowe's abilities require set up to be effective, and it impossible for this to happen when you are chasing heroes down or already on the defensive. Get to team fights early, predict what objectives will be fought over and get there earlier than anyone else. Time is money friend, and when you show up late to team fights, your out of both.
Conclusion
Gazlowe play a specific defensive role as a space controller. At his best, he fortifies already positive situations by creating a safe matrix of turrets for his allies to retreat to. In order to accomplish this, all of his abilities must be used preemptively, as none of his abilities are effective against a mobile enemy. In a team fight, his largest contribution is Grav-o-Bomb, a tool that punishes the enemy greatly for initiating a dense team fight.
Gazlowe is a fun and rewarding hero to play. Where as Valla can simply show up and be useful in almost any situation, Gazlowe has to pick and choose his battles much more carefully. Pick defensive talents if the enemy line up is aggressive and remember, E before R always!
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