Why are bosses the most overzealously sought after mercs this side of the Nexus? Dreadnaught has the math behind it all.
Wade "Dreadnaught" Penfold is known for posting awesome video guides that are an absolute must watch for players wanting to become competitive. In his most recent video, Dreadnaught draws some awareness to the science behind Bosses. Without imposing his opinion on the value behind taking a boss, he objectively shows what bosses are capable of doing, when uncontested, and at varying times in the game. Here are some of the key topics discussed in his video.
Time Scaling
- The most punctuated moments of power scaling occur at 5 minute increments, beginning at 6:00, then 11:00, then 16:00, and finally at 21:00.
- There has to be finesse to delaying capture of a merc camp. Once a camp has been engaged, the time/power level when engaged upon is the power level it will be when captured. For example, if you engage a boss at 4:00, kill it at 5:00, and then wait until 6:00 to cap it, you will have a 4:00 boss.
Uncontested Boss Results
- The amount of push a Boss will accomplish when uncontested is somewhat underwhelming. Any boss will clear through a single Fort, but will generally fall short of destroying the subsequent Keep front wall.
- The amount of impact that minions have on a Boss' push power is surprising, with the capturing team's minions assisting markedly in damage to fortifications. More notably, the defending team's minions will cause detrimental Boss mechanics to proc, such as its slam, which actually reduces the overall amount of damage it will inflict on structures.
Capturing the Enemy Boss
- Capturing the enemy's Boss on a map such as Cursed Hollow, where Boss locations are polar and not neutral, can have massive implications.
- The Boss's pathing into the enemy Fort (if it exists at that point), will prevent it from taking combined front wall turret damage, and so the base will deal much less cumulative damage to the merc. This allows for the difference in scaling at one of the five minute increments to have much greater effect on the Boss' push.
Dreadnaught caps his breakdown pointing out that while Bosses do provide some significant push, they are nowhere near as important to winning the game as many players give them credit for. Additionally, this level of mastery regarding the utilization of boss mechanics is something that can be observed by watching competitive HoTS. If you haven't taken advantage of Dreadnaught's mastery in HOTS yet, this breakdown should give you a good idea on what you've been missing out on. It may help you the next time you see your teammates wasting time with a Boss capture, but then again, good luck getting them to listen to you.
For more great content by Dreadnaught check out his Dreadnaught_heroes channel on YouTub and Dreadnaught_Heroes stream on Twitch.
Follow us on twitter @GosuGamersHots for more Heroes of the Storm eSports news.
