Hi all! I’ve been wanting to play Malthael, but i don’t know how i should play him. I love the character and I like his concept, but I would appreciate some tips on how to win games with him. Anything can help : gameplay, strategy, talent builds, synergies, counters, etc. Note that i mostly play quick match and unranked draft. Thank you in advance!
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Maltheal is a bad choice for solo QM because he’s an assassin so you will end up most likely in a 5 assassin vs 5 assassin match. Maltheal isn’t that good against many high dps assassins… He’s really strong against tanks/bruisers so bring a friend who plays a tank and queue up with him.
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As cliche of an answer this will be , the key word to keep in mind is patience.
What i mean by this is , its not because you can jump in a team fight that you should do so immidiately .
Malthael is more of an opportunistic assasin than an initiator . very rarely will a malthael initiate a fight while being the front line and walk away alive. That by no mean you should let you tank get all the heat . its all about judgement and analysing the flow of a fight but typically its best to dive second after the main spell has been casted ny the enemy and they are on cool down.
On the more technical side …
learn to dance .
I just call it dancing for fun but what it essentially is is keeping the enemy CD ib mind and as soon their animation start for that attack you cast your wraith strike and dodge any projectile that would had been coming your way since you are now in their back.
Due to its low CD and how malthael kinda rotates around a target before getting behind them and how spamable it can be , thats why i always reffered to it as dancing 
Last rite : if you pick it , always wait for the last momment so their escapes and damage prevention has already been used 
. if they have none , cast it when they are around 40%-45% so you can shred away that few life % and by the time rite hits , its going to hit at the exact moment you get them to the magical 33%
Anyway , i hope it helps !
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I think he’s technically a bruiser these days, but this is still very true. Malthael is not a good (solo) QM Hero. His main strength is his ability to eat through tanks and (melee) clumps, and one of his weaknesses is (efficiently) dealing with ranged and/or squishy targets. Given how QM comps are random and might not even have tanks, it’s pretty much a coin toss if you will get any favorable targets to be effective.
This is some great advice and i will certainly use it during my practice. But you talked about the last rite ultimate, but in what situations is tormented souls the better choice, and how should i use it?
Is there a way to make Malthael work in a no-tank setting?
Thank you for the advice!
Soak/camp your pants off is how you beat… everyone, and especially comps you can’t fight very well like QM assassin comps
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Since %-based dmg kills everything at the same speed, he actually kills squishies quicker and easier, since his non -
%-based dmg deals higher “percentage” of a squish’s hp than it does to high hp Heroes (only his heals are worse but not bad).
But ranged Heroes can kite and kiting is a big counter to him. Tho if ppl play smart and pick TS (why pick LR -more dmg- when everyone is an Assassin and your team does not need a finisher), they can decrease their disadvantage.
I played a ton of Malthael in solo q QM, it’s relaxing for me tbh.
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Everything works if you are more skilled than your opponents.
Everything works in bronze league 
Maltheal can clear waves and camps fast - so you should just create a lot of map pressure.
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True, if you only look at ‘How fast can you kill them’ as a metric, squishies are indeed easier to kill than tanks, even as Malthael. That somewhat ignores the enemy’s capabilities though, and the question of ‘How fast can they kill you’ is also rather pertinent when it comes to picking fights. Most squishies also find it a lot easier to kill Malthael than tanks would. And I’d argue that in the matchup against him, the increased lethality on the squishy’s part is usually a lot more relevant than their reduced health pool.
Imagine (numbers made up) a tank that needs 8s to kill you, while you kill him in 7s. You win in that case. Now imagine a squishy that you can kill in 5s, but that squishy can also kill you in 4s. You can indeed kill them easier than the tank, but it’s still not really a fight you’d want.
I’m not saying it’s impossible for Malthael to beat squishies, but he’s usually a lot more effective against bigger targets.
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You are right, but most squishies are actually unable to kill you before you can them. Exceptions:
- Zuljin
- Murky
- Lunara (not with every build and eadily a draw)
So Heroes with strong AA (or melee) based sustain dmg.
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For what works is i use it as a gap closer.
If i notice i have a hard time reaching my target , use fear the reaper for the speed boost , inevitable end for the unstopabale and for tormented souls.
Also the few times i will use tormented souls i primarly use it for the W build because of how it resets it .if you time everythibg right you can actually take a very large chunk of an enemy life when engaging them.
Last thing , dont use soul rip on minnions . just cleave them and let your trait work it.
Malthael chungs mana like a mad angel.
Also B often its best you B then not B end finish being death because you ran out of mana . 
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I dont play him but I got tips from malth players (I tried)
Instead of spamming W. Use it to dodge or to be aggressive.
You can use E on minions then W to escape. A bit simular like butcher.
If you pick touch of death. Use it before putting on last rites
Never stand still. Do your aa and move
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Basicly what everyone says. Im not going into discussion to avoid confusion. Just know your strenghts.
Malth is a perfect split pusher. Just be warry about ganks. You are not strong in siege but. Your super vs minions. Use the momenten to get a camp or pressure a other. Lane over fort dmg
Always wonder what your team needs.
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He does a great dmg to squichys. You just need to catch them off guard. Dont be a tank. Be a spooky ghost, his Q has a decent range, you can get him low by a distance or go in hard and kill someone. Just rememeber if you cast W aggressive to body block
Also try to learn how to deny xp
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theres a youtube video by notparadox called “why the pros play malthael” which does a good job of explaining what makes malth special and unique.
Theres more depth to this hero than just “melee assassin tank killer”
mal is also a strong solo laner with Die Alone and has a really good macro game as he can do heaps of constant aoe dmg to minions. With On a Pale Horse he can rotate around maps quickly and double soak. With his decent self sustain he can also jungle and solo camps for constant lane pressure.
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Thank you all a lot for the help! I appreciate it! Time to unleash the Reaper!
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even though for some reason blizzard says he is a bruiser which he is not! at all, don’t play him like a bruiser at all or you will just get melted down. timing for this hero is everything.
honestly i don’t find him fun to play he isn’t a fun hero to play at all one of the only few heroes in this game that eats mana up while everyone else donest have to worry about it is already unfair, alot of waiting around doing nothing for your team and nothing but spamming same abilities in combat extremely boring.
best to watch youtube vidoes on him if you want to really learn him, but i promise you will get bored of him fast he literally has rules placed on him on what he can and can’t do.
Pretty much everything in this post is bad advice…
Malthael is a great bruiser who scales well, can do camps, double soak, and had strong team fight potential. He also wins 1v1 against most of the roster.
I think I have an 80% win rate with him in ranked on KR. He is basically a free win on Towers of Doom based on how the map works.
You were doing fine up till this part.
Malthael isn’t all that great in teamfights without his ult, especially if the enemy team has a decent amount of focused damage output. His sustain is pretty poor even in teamfights, his damage mitigation is limited, and his damage doesn’t occur fast enough to be all that impactful. His job is basically just to poke around the edges and annoy the healer, then dive in to secure kills with his ult on low health targets.
Additionally, Malthael struggles against the majority of heroes with any notable dueling potential in 1v1s who are controlled by heroes of roughly equal skill.
Almost all Rangers can consistently out-trade him, either through their mobility and range or decent self-sustain.
Same with the Bruisers, there are only 2 I know of who tend to have trouble with him.
Over half the Tanks can fairly consistently beat him, or at least stall him almost indefinitely, in duels if they build for it.
A small handful of Mages and Healers can do it, though most of them only can if they build for it.