This guide was originally published in October of 2016. It has since been revised to fit the latest patch and current state of the game. Chromie has since then received numerous talent changes and number tweaks. This guide takes all of those into account and stresses the importance of the level 5 talent choices that remain the same.
Chromie's Choice
At level 5, Chromie players have to choose between 3 talents that are the most crucial to determining how the rest of the game will go for our resident Bronze Dragon Flight member. Certain enemy compositions require different choices, and Chromie gets punished hard whenever she chooses a wrong talent.
However, Chromies level 1 and 2 talents are pretty much set in stone. It is always a good idea to choose Timewalker's Pursuit followed by Bronze Talons. Until something changes again with Chromie, these two talents are just too powerful to give up.
Time Walker's Pursuit is arguably one of the strongest mana regeneration talents in the game. Not only does it grant Chromie ability power once the quest is completely, but she also gets a very short cooldown reveal that is imperative to her playstyle and team utility. Once you get used to having vision so often, Chromie feels gimped without it.
The same goes for Bronze Talons. This talent allows you to realistically deal with threats when you miss your skill shots and also offers Chromie the largest level 2 power spike in the game. Seriously, early in the game Bronze Talons is capable of some silly damage and can score kills and dominate in a 3 or 4 hero lane scenario.
So the real decision points comes at level 5:
- Mobius Loop reduces Dragon's Breath's cooldown and Mana cost by 50% but also lowers its damage by 25%.
- Dragon's Eye causes Dragon's Breath to deal 25% more damage to all targets standing in the center of its impact.
- Chrono Sickness reduces Time Trap's cooldown and Mana cost by 50%. It also causes affected enemies to have their movement speed slowed by 40% for 4 seconds.
All of these talents are viable and a skilled Chromie player will understand when it take one over the other.
3 types of Chromie
Depending on which talent you decide to choose at this critical junction will affect the rest of your build and playstyle. Here are the most popular builds associated with each of these talents"
- Allows Chromie to use Dragon's Breath must more liberally, increasing wave clear and chance to hit multiple enemies.
- More Dragon's Breath means more chances to stall objectives. Very effective on Towers of Doom or Warhead Junction.
- Can be more effective sustained damage against burst damage supports like Uther or Rehgar.
- If you aren't very good at landing Dragon's Breath, this talent is very forgiving. Makes missing less punishing
This talent isn't about one-shotting a single target, but instead controlling large amounts of space and hitting multiple heroes for sustained AoE damage. This talent is best paired with Slowing Sands, as it allows you to maximize the moments when a group of enemies is caught in it. This is a reliable build that allows Chromie to consistently deal damage and is ideal for new Chromie Players.
- More damage! This talent synergizes perfectly with Temporal Loop and threatens major damage to fragile heroes caught in the blast.
- With Heroes like Xul or Nazeebo on your team, Dragon's Eye gets immense value thanks to Zombie Wall or Bone Prison. Any form of telegraphed CC is where Dragon's Eye shines the most.
- Against sustain-style supports like Brightwing or Auriel, Dragon's Eye gives you the burst damage you need to 1-shot targets later in the game.
This is Chromies greedy damage option. This is the one-shot Chromie build that sacrifices almost all defensive talents. This talent and Shifting Sands allow Chromie to reach 40% extra ability damage, which makes a Dragon's Eye empowered Dragon Breath deal lethal damage. This is most Chromie players' preferred build (because it is so fun) but it can be risky. There is no safety net. If you miss your abilities, you will be useless.
- Mandatory talent if you are planning to choose Andorhal Anomaly at level 18. The amount of CC is insane.
- This is a defensive talent that excels against aggressive heroes and flanking heroes like Thrall, Illidan, The Butcher, or even a diving Greymane.
- The added slow dooms any Hero caught in a Time Trap during a team fight. The 4 seconds of movement speed slow and visual flair of Time Trap allows for easy focus firing.
- More Time Traps = a safer Chromie. Slowed down Heroes = easier targets for said safe Chromie.
- Consider this talent when your Chromie pick is threatened and subject to pressure.
Chrono Sickness is an often ignored talent at lower levels of play. It isn't very flashy and doesn't seem to add to Chromies primary goal of dealing damage. In reality, this is a vital talent for surviving with Chromie against skilled flankers who have managed to draft a dive composition in an attempt to specifically counter Chromie.
This talent is mandatory vs. the Greymanes and Tracers of the world. The shortened cooldown of time trap allows frequently repositions possible and a secure way to escape deadly enemy dives.
Closing
Chromie has never been in a stronger place in the current meta. If you are completely new to the Chromie cult, I suggest trying her on Towers of Doom. She is extremely effective on this battleground and there are multiple opportunities for her to interrupt channeling time and take advantage of natural choke points with Time Trap and Sands of Time.
The rest of her talents are, honestly, up for experimentation and personal preference. The level 11 defensive talents each have their uses, and are best chosen to specifically counter how the enemy is trying to kill you.
It's important keep in mind how important the level 5 talent tier is. Any of the three choices are powerful, but in order to get max value, your entire talent build should be built around them.
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