Hail, Mighty Keyboard Warrior!

Introduction

The Lost Vikings, a name that many will find nostalgic. One of the first blizzard games to achieve widespread popularity, the titular characters were not originally a high priority for heroes of the storm. That is until at 2014 blizzcon, when the idea of adding them received mass acclaim. So it is, that a year later, we have the ability to play as Erik, Baleog and Olaf. No, not as three separate characters, but as a single unit, as befits them.

So, now you’re in charge of three heroes. No problem. Its not like there’s ever a challenge to controlling one hero. Let's break down what each Viking can do.

Olaf: The fat blue one! The tanky one. His HP growth is the strongest of the three. He has the ability to regenerate quickly after not taking damage for four seconds. He also possesses a mini-charge that he uses to get into combat and that slows his enemies slightly, it has a cooldown of 8 seconds.

Baleog: The medium green one! A short range (but not melee) fighter that deals 50% of his direct target damage as AOE damage in a cone shape behind his target, . He is less tanky than Olaf and tankier than Erik. His range is slightly shorter than Tychus’.

Erik: The small red one! The longest ranged fighter, this is by necessity, as his HP pool means that stiff breezes are a serious threat to his health. He has the same range as raynor, which means that with clever positioning he should be safe. He is the fastest moving hero in the game, which makes him incredibly slippery.

This is perhaps a little overwhelming, but one positive is that they have no active abilities unless you pick them up via talents. Their trait causes them to respawn 25% more quickly, which is nice, because you’re going to take some losses due to “WHAT IS ERIK DOING ATTACKING A TOWER?”. It bears mentioning that all three heroes have independent respawn timers, and that one of them dying does not affect the others. For the purpose of map objectives (dragon shrines, skulls), they are each an individual hero.

They also don’t have a mount, instead having the “Go Go Go!” ability, which works like Sgt. Hammer’s thrusters, but slightly less powerful. It gives a speed boost of 40% (instead of Sgt. Hammers’ 60%) for 4 seconds, with a 30 second cooldown. Activating this ability, like all other Viking abilities, activates it on every Viking.

General Playstyle

Viking’s greatest strength is the ability to control and push multiple lanes. If you have a cooperative team, its relatively easy to send your team to push down a lane with four heroes while your Vikings gather experience from the remaining lanes. If your team is not very cooperative, then you can run all three Vikings in one lane and hold your own decently well.

You’re going to be trying to race the opponent to level 10, so eek out every possible edge, the longboat in teamfights is very strong, and if you can force the opponent to fight at a level disadvantage, your team will get even more ahead.

In general, your goal is going to be to split push with as many Vikings as possible to get lane experience while your team worries about objectives, and then gather for teamfights so you can crush your opponents with that advantage.

Recommended Talent Build:

Alright, so a disclaimer right off the bat, this is the build we’ve found to be most effective, but its a little overwhelming, as it takes pretty much every active talent. It really puts the onus on the viking player to be active with all three heroes and get as much done as possible. This means split pushing, sneaking objectives and storming teamfights. Its going to take practice. In general, taking active abilities improves all your heroes, while picking talents that focus on only one Viking only serve to improve one third of your force, and leave you sad and powerless when he inevitably dies.

Level 1: Olaf the Stout



At level 1 we prefer to pick "Olaf the Stout". Compared to Regeneration Master and Spy Games, adding tankiness to Olaf is much more versatile, especially in teamfight situations. While there’s an argument to be made for Spy Games being useful as a scouting tool, you’re going to find yourself needing to teamfight and split push much more than scout. Regeneration master arguably has potential, as you could farm three lanes of regeneration orbs, but it requires a lot of micro and control. Some pro-players have had much success with it, so its worth considering at the very least.

Level 4: Spin to Win!



The first of the active abilities we’ll pick up, its our one and only real source of damage. Activating it causes all three Vikings to spin, which makes getting the most damage out of it require clever positioning. The ability has only a 12 second cooldown, so if you use it at the beginning of a teamfight, you could conceivably use it again before the teamfight ends. It is also useful to allow you to push all three lanes more quickly. The damage from all three spins stacks, even though it won't display the numbers for it. This means that hitting the same hero with three spins is a good way to nuke them down.

Level 7: Jump!



"Jump!" is your panic button. Its the button you press when Zeratul and Nova are both unleashing every ability ever at some poor fragile Viking, or when the teamfight goes south and you need to get out. With proper timing you can really hinder certain ultimates, and in general make a nuisance of yourself. Its a good ability to have, as it gives you 1.5 full seconds to figure out what to do with Erik who you’ve been ignoring and is now being ganked.

Level 10: Longboat Raid!



This is, without question, the better of the two heroic abilities. It puts out a pretty steady amount of damage and scales according to level. It serves as a damage sponge on top of putting out a lot of damage. It is difficult to use properly as the goal is to activate the boat and use it to absorb as much damage as possible, without the boat actually dying. Good times to use it are after a teamfight has engaged, and as a turnaround tool when you and your team are on low HP. The boat does not have a boatload of HP, so its difficult to properly gauge how much it can absorb. Remember, the HP of the boat depends on how many Vikings its carrying, and can only be activated if all live Vikings are in the same location, so bring as many Vikings as possible, and sack and plunder your way through the teamfight.

Level 13: Impatience Is a Virtue



It's obvious at this point that we’re focusing on active talents. "Impatience is a Virtue" makes your cooldown shorter, especially if you’re fighting. Having Longboat ready for every teamfight is rather useful. Its pretty much a no-brainer. Although there is an argument to be made for Speedrun, if the game is going in such a way that your team is unable to teamfight, it makes escaping from ganks as you try to split push every lane a little less suicidal, and might give you a way back into the game.

Level 16: Norse Force!



Another easy choice, an active shield increases your survivability immensely, and when you have HP challenged heroes like Erik running around, survivability matters. This is especially key in teamfights, where proper activation of this ability can determine if you leave with three Vikings, or one. It comes in by the time most pubs will be learning that, hey, those ranged Vikings hurt, and die quickly, focus on them! So its a good pickup. Proper timing is key. It only lasts four seconds and has a relatively long cooldown, so make sure to make the best of it.

Level 20: Ragnarok “n” Roll!



This essentially doubles the damage that the longboat deals, by allowing it to target two heroes at the same time. In teamfights, this is critical, as it makes the boat an even bigger target, one that cannot be ignored. At around level 16-19 the longboat damage seems to fall off a little, due to the preponderance of defensive talents, and general rising HP pools, this talent makes it so that the boat’s power doesn’t drop off.

General Tips and Tricks