EPT
Stukov
First Thoughts
and Analysis
“Alexei Stukov had a hard life, and an even harder death. He has been betrayed, shot into space, resurrected and infested, almost cured, and then experimented upon as the infestation returned. Now, his infestation spreads within the Nexus...”
Table of Contents
Expected for a while now, Stukov has finally made his appearance in the Nexus as a playmaking support hero with a unique baseline kit that grants either a heal over time or a burst heal. Coupled with an AoE channeled silence on an 8-second cooldown and high auto-attack damage, he's a game changing hero from the StarCraft universe.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
- Potential high burst healing
- Area of Effect Silence
- Strong auto attack, particularly for a support
Weaknesses
- Poor mobility
- No Cleanse
- Relatively low healing in the early game
Abilities
Trait
Basic Abilities
Heroic Abilities
- Bio-Kill Switch
- Activate to detonate all of Stukov's Viruses. Each Healing Pathogen heals its target for 500 health, and each Weighted Pustule does 100 damage and Slows its target by 70% for 2 seconds. 16 second cooldown.
- Can be cast while channeling Lurking Arm.
- Activate to detonate all of Stukov's Viruses. Each Healing Pathogen heals its target for 500 health, and each Weighted Pustule does 100 damage and Slows its target by 70% for 2 seconds. 16 second cooldown.
Basic Abilities
- Healing Pathogen (Q)
- Infest an allied Hero with a Healing Pathogen that heals the target for 240 Health over 4.5 seconds. Healing Pathogens can spread to a nearby allied Hero every 0.75 seconds, and a single Healing Pathogen can spread to each allied Hero 1 time. 10 second cooldown.
- Can cast it on self, and spread to self.
- Cannot spread to targets to whom it has already spread.
- Infest an allied Hero with a Healing Pathogen that heals the target for 240 Health over 4.5 seconds. Healing Pathogens can spread to a nearby allied Hero every 0.75 seconds, and a single Healing Pathogen can spread to each allied Hero 1 time. 10 second cooldown.
- Weighted Pustule (W)
- Hurl a pustule that impacts all enemy Heroes in its path, dealing 20 damage and Slowing by 5%, increasing to 50% over 3 seconds. Deals an additional 80 damage upon expiring or being removed. 10 second cooldown.
- Lurking Arm (E)
- Channel at a target location, creating an area that Silences enemies inside and deals 144 damage per second to them. Deals 50% reduced damage to non-Heroes. Does not cost Mana while Channeling, and lasts until canceled or interrupted. 8 second cooldown.
Heroic Abilities
- Massive Shove (R)
- Extend Stukov's arm. If it hits an enemy Hero, they are rapidly shoved until they collide with terrain, taking 200 damage. 20 second cooldown.
- Stukov gains 50 Armor while shoving an enemy.
- Extend Stukov's arm. If it hits an enemy Hero, they are rapidly shoved until they collide with terrain, taking 200 damage. 20 second cooldown.
- Flailing Swipe (R)
- Swipe 3 times in front of Stukov over 1.75 seconds, dealing 50 damage to enemies hit and knocking them away. Each swipe is larger than the previous. 80 second cooldown.
Stukov has a varied kit that combines strong utility with solid sustain healing. Being able to pump out both damage and healing, he's a formidable threat in any composition. He can use Lurking Arm as a zoning tool, to deny critical abilities, or set up a possible wombo. In addition, Weighted Pustule also grants the team some soft CC which can be especially beneficial against melee heavy compositions.
Healing Pathogen and Weighted Pustule are both sides of the same coin: a virus that spreads and either heals or does damage. The addition of Bio-Kill Switch provides an extra layer of decision making, and a well-timed detonation can make or break a teamfight. Stukov is also unique in that he is one of the few heroes in the game with a Silence in his base kit. Enemies that rely on channeled abilities to sustain themselves such as Gul'dan or Sonya will have a hard time against the Infested Admiral, and a good Lurking Arm can wombo well with other CC effects such as Malfurion's roots to lock enemies in place for a long time.
His Heroics provide even more teamfight disruption by allowing him to either shove one enemy hero far away from the fight or interrupt the entire team. Massive Shove is currently the go-to due to its short duration and potentially high value. Though Stukov stuns himself while pushing players away, the ability to completely remove an enemy hero from the fight or disrupt enemy positioning is invaluable.
Talents
Stukov has the potential for much talent diversity. Most high-level players either focus on Healing Pathogen and Bio-Kill Switch to increase his healing potential or Lurking Arm talents to increase the size, duration, and effectiveness of his AoE—but there are a lot of ways to play him.
The most common build in high-level play focuses on increasing the effectiveness of Lurking Arm while still picking up critical heal talents at Levels 4 and 16 (Vigorous Reuptake and Pox Populi). These two talents increase Bio-Kill Switch's healing effectiveness by 50% and refresh all active Healing Pathogens, granting their hosts and additional 4.5 seconds of healing. Team Dignitas Support player Bakery has a unique build that focuses on constant up-time on Bio-Kill Switch with Targeted Excision and Universal Carrier to maximize healing. With proper timing, Bio-Kill Switch can be activated while Healing Pathogens is still in midair to avoid consuming it and maintain 100% up-time.
For the Lurking Arm build, the most appealing talents are Growing Infestation at Level 1, Within My Reach at Level 7, and Lingering Spines at Level 13. The result is a bigger area of effect, longer cast range, and extra utility, and together they make Stukov a monster when paired with additional AoE crowd control. Even if Stukov doesn't have extra CC on his team, he can be a one-man CC monster with Virulent Reaction at Level 13 instead.
Both Heroic options are decent, but the cooldown on Flailing Swipe is simply too long in most cases. Massive Shove, however, can eliminate one target from a teamfight relatively effectively on a much lower cooldown, and the Storm Talent upgrade at Level 20 can potentially reduce its cooldown by 15 seconds.
Metagame Analysis
"I'd be more nihilistic if I wasn't so fatalistic."
It's hard to say where Stukov fits into the current meta of double warrior and double support compositions. The lack of a get-out-jail-free card like Divine Shield or Crystal Aegis doesn't lend him toward solo supporting hyper-carries, and his weaker early game points to an inability to become a staple solo support. However, the high damage, decent healing, and CC he brings to the table make him a solid utility support in double support compositions.
Expect to see the Infected Admiral being primarily be used with and against melee heavy teams. His Weighted Pustule and Lurking Arm both gain incredible value against clumped opponents, while his healing encourages a "dogpile" type of composition. Furthermore, both of his Heroics gain value against melee heroes by knocking them away as they try to engage.
Pro/Streamer Opinions
KilluZiioN, Team Freedom
I think Stukov is a great hero, and his kit is super unique. The entire hero and all of his power comes from Bio-Kill Switch. If you use it too early or too late in a fight, it can cost you the fight/game. Also, his heals spread through allied heroes, so if your team is not on point, he won't be good at all.
So far it looks like two builds are emerging from Hero League: the Heal Build and the "E" build. I personally prefer the healing build—it seems just straight up better even if it's harder to pull off.
I think Stukov can definitely fit in the current meta, but he will be situational...kind of like Auriel/Medic/Lucio, where they are not picked that often, but in the correct draft they are really good. I am a little scared of the impact Stukov can bring to the double-support meta though. He is definitely strong in that aspect, and that is not a meta I am a fan of.
Wolf, Caster, HGC Korea
In my games played with or against him, his lurking arm silence is incredibly powerful. It can ruin enemy team combo setups, force teams to fight silenced in choke points, and it's actually solid wave clear for a support, which is important. His healing output is varied, but the burst heals can, if given enough time to spread, make him an insane sustainer. He also does quite a bit of damage with his auto attacks. I don't THINK we'll really see any Massive Shove play, since its utility is really limited and is position-dependent. Flailing Swipe, however, can really force teams into bad positioning, and is decent at controlling boss capture. I think Stukov is a high utility support and I'm excited to see what pros will do with him!
GranPkt, Zealots
I think Stukov has a very interesting toolkit with his spread on the healing, the AoE silence, and especially his arm ultimate that pushes an enemy far from the fight. I'm not sure how he will fit into the competitive scene, but it feels like he will be excellent in double support comps and also good vs low CC/low burst comps as a solo healer. I'm super hyped to watch the Clashes and see where he stands!
FerociouslySteph, Streamer
Stukov is potentially the most powerful support if played optimally. The use of his level 7 talent 'Targeted Excision' will separate the good from the best, and proper placement of Lurking Arm as a followup to CC is killer. Expect him to be an entirely different powerhouse in the hands of a strong player and a coordinated team.
