Teach me Malthael

General Discussion
1

I tried out Malthael recently because he was on free rotation and I kinda always wanted to play him since I see so many Malthael’s just dominate, but I ran into trouble. I have some questions about him because I’ve never played him before. Any tips or advice is welcome, just be nice :slight_smile:

1. What builds are the best for Malthael currently? Am I choosing the wrong talents?
Level 1 Fear the Reaper, for mobility and escapes
Level 4 Black Harvest, for longer marks
Level 7 Soul Rip, for CC purposes
Level 10 Last Rites, to finish enemies
Level 13 Soul Siphon, more sustain
Level 16 Memento Mori, for more damage and synergy with Black Harvest (Sometimes I choose Soul Collector for longer range for my sustain.
Level 20 Final Curtain, to help my Black Harvest quest and Memento Mori.

Is there anything wrong with these talent choices? Any advice on what to change?

2. How is Malthael efficient and how do I utilize his abilities?
I struggle mainly in teamfights. I can’t seem to stay alive and deal good damage. What should I do to stay alive longer while dealing damage? With the speed increase its harder to hit my E on opponents meaning I have to go in to mark them or just be useless unless I hit my E. I’ve even tried to go for their backline but that usually ends horribly.

3. I know he pretty much needs a main tank and a healer to help him survive longer, but what should I try to do to help my team with when the the matchup isn’t good? (ex. no tank, no healer)
I’m mostly talking about QM because I don’t play draft with heroes I’m trying out.

Again, any advice would be appreciated. :grin:

2 Likes
2

Level 1 - Fear the Reaper is more teamfight focus and On a Pale Horse is more macro focused. Just gotta choose what you want to focus according to your comp, enemy comp and map.

Level 4 - Always Die Alone. This makes you a really good 1 v 1 hero, which is amazing against the enemy solo laner and even in teamfights (as long as you know how to micro your Qs to hit 1 target only). Trait used to be the pick when his trait did more % damage, but now it’s pretty bad and Die Alone is just a superior choice.

Level 7 - Cold hand most of the time, Touch of Death into some specific comps (double support, lucio, alexstraza…)

Level 10 - Last Rites most of the time, Tourmented Souls into really specific comps (and it pairs well with touch of death at 7 for easy procs of heal reduction).

Level 13 - 99% of the time you want Inevitable End. Two seconds of self cleanse on a 20 second cooldown is no joke and should be respected. Shroud of Wisdom into really specific comps like Kael Pyro.

Level 16 - Soul Collector always. Better range and faster Qs means more damage and better sustain/survivability.

Level 20 - No One Can Stop Death. This is just really really good. If you even trade your life to kill an enemy, use it. Now your team is 5 v 4 which most of the time means you won the game/objective.

There is another build that some people like where you go Massacre at 7, Tourmented souls at 10 and Mortality at 16 and just try to hit as many people as possible with your Ws (Tourmented resets W so more Ws), but I wouldn’t recommend this unless you are at least against 4 melee heroes (like tank + bruiser + rehgar + melee assassin + ranged for example), otherwise you might not get much value.

I know you didn’t ask that, but in the lane you want to AA the minions and Q. You don’t really need to use your E. That will also save you mana which means you can stay in the lane longer/use more Qs.

In fights you don’t want to engage before your tank. Malthael is not that kind of bruiser who just goes in and holds the entire enemy team like Blaze, Yrel, Arthas and others. He has a great sustain but he dies pretty hard if you get CCed (why self cleanse is good at 13). Mainly you poke with E and wait for an opportunity to AA + Q and press R when someone is about to die. Never engage with W. This is your main escape/dodge tool. You only really W in if your tank and healer are close enough to protect you, because once you go in with W you have no way of getting out really. Btw, using your E on their frontline and getting some Qs is a really good poke already (especially with Die Alone at 4).

QM is hard for Malthael because he really struggles against Ranged Assassins, which is the most played role in QM. In that situation just try to double soak as much as you can, camps and try to macro more. Soak wins games in QM because most people ignore that.

8 Likes
3

Following. It was a good read as I too want to know how to play him well :slight_smile:

1 Like
4

Try downloading the app “HotS Complete”

It will tell you info for every hero and all the win rates/popularity of each talent.

As far as playing Malth? I apologize but i dont have much experience with him.

1 Like
5

Oeh my dream topic <3
lvl 34 with a 61.1 winrate malth here and currently in a draft

2 Likes
6

So most everyone here has given you the solo lane malthael guide, which is fine. I myself play him differently and will give you my advice on how to play him differently.

With my group of friends, I don’t play Malthael as the solo laner, I play him as the roaming hyper carry and my build will reflect that. If you want to rack up some seriously deadly numbers like this:

https://imgur.com/GVQdXQL

Follow my guide. If you’re looking to play Malthael as a solo laner, follow Darak’s guide, which seems pretty on point.

So to start off, here is my standard build from which I NEVER deviate from. I take this almost 100% of the time:

1: Fear the Reaper
4: Black Harvest
7: Massacre (100% mandatory)
10: Last Rites (If they have protects and shields I always go tormented)
13: Depends on comp. Can’t go wrong with any choice here.
16: Memento Mori
20: No one can stop death

The most critical talent to this build is Massacre. Combining it with Fear the Reaper, my usual strategy is to teleport in when the enemy is clumped up, putting mark on everyone, pop fear the reaper and run away using soul rip as you go.

This combo is so lightning fast people rarely have enough time to react to it. The teleport is instant and the speed granted by fear the reaper is substantial. I’ve teleported into a group of 5 people and gotten out before they even knew what hit them.

Obviously, Massacre is FANTASTIC for completing Black Harvest. My average for completing this quest is around the 6 minute mark. This is due to me roaming with the tank and healer while the other two solo lane. I get maximum uptime on combat to get the quest done as soon as possible.

It should be noted that Massacre pairs perfectly with Black Harvest. Black Harvest increases the duration of Reaper’s Mark to 6 seconds which if you will note, is greater than the 5 second cooldown of Wraith Strike. This essentially allows you to refresh reapers mark on the entire enemy team before the first mark expires. This is not possible without Black Harvest. Naturally, this synergy means Memento Mori is the go-to choice because of it.

Your 13 and 20 are tossups depending on personal preference. At 20, I almost always go No One Can Stop Death because my build is very dangerous and relies on teleporting into the enemy team frequently which can get you killed. Its nice to have that extra life, especially late game when 1 death can mean a core push.

Lastly I want to talk about Tormented Souls (I.E. the ult you take when the enemy can easily counter your Last Rites like Medivh)

The addition of Wraith Strike resets gives rise to some very interesting strategies. So here is how I use my Tormented souls. First, I mark someone, then I teleport into their team. Once inside, I activate my defensives (including fear the reaper) and spam heals while inside their team. The strategy is to go right through their team in a straight line and out the other side like a bullet. When you do this, they will chase you. This is where the Wraith Strike reset comes in handy. Once finished, you teleport to the furthest target in the opposite direction and head back towards your team. This juke will often trip enemies up and you’ll escape without a scratch.

So let me go through that step by step:

1: Mark someone
2: Teleport into the enemy team
3: Pop Torment Souls along with Fear the Reaper and any other active abilities
4: Go straight through their team until you pierce through to their backline
5: Spam soul rip through the entire process
6: Teleport back to their front line and run back to your team

Malthael is used all too often as a solo laner. He definitely has hyper carry potential if you can find other people to soak lanes for you. All around he is a fantastic hero, capable of solo laning, hyper carrying, jungling, self-healing, mobility, and good kill setup and secure. You really can’t go wrong with this hero.

3 Likes
7

Well I find malthael most effective when split pushing.
General tip: Really try out touch of death. Its awesome!

Mindset: You are the grim reaper
Just know that last rites kills someone who is at 35% life.

How to get close to a enemy.
Do a W on a enemy , or minion. Your attack cleaves. Walk away. They naturally walk towards the wave and you teleport into the minion.
You can also cast E on a minion and W to it to escape

How to teamfight:
Let the tank engage first, put a mark on a target , go in. Put a E over their backline. W in again and hold Q, try to be anoying while you activate touch of death. Also focus down 1 target. If you focus more the target will escape.

Playstyle:
Bound to 1 lane:
Try to keep your Q on enemy’s. Fight in the minion wave for the best substain
If you have spare time because of your waveclear > Start a camp, try to get them all low at the same time (Except for the mage, focus that guy first) Or just gank a bit
Important to know: if the wave is there and the solo laner isnt attacking you, dont use q because you waste to much mana. The basic att cleave is enough

Multiple lanes:
Shift between lanes, clear them, go to the other lane. If you have some free time because the rotation of your team. Do a camp

You have a very slow attack speed, get familiar with it. Dont stand still when attacking. trow a basic att, move, basic att move. You can even retreat a tiny bit while doing this. Just make sure you wont lose much health.

Build

  1. Pale horse, you need the macro, clear a wave and run to the other one.
  1. Cold hands if you want some extra cc OR
    Touch of death < I pick this up 90% of the time
    the 50% health reduction , When you do in, or someone is healing himself. just use it. The cd is 25s so use it every teamfight or skirmish
    Trust me you use touch of death the enemy healer, the substain dps and the tank will all hate you. You will love it!

10: Last rites
Quick tip: Use touch of death and the last rites. You can use it around 40%
If you dont kill someone dont worry, you get the bonus 1,5s after the kill

13: Depends , all are good

16: Soul collector
Extra sustain dmg and range

20: No one can fear death
Just in case you die
(IMO a nice placed E does the same as final curtain)

3 Likes
8

For starters, I wouldn’t recommend Black Harvest, Die Alone makes your job easier, just try not to get too used to it.
At lvl 13, Soul Siphon is the worst especially if you don’t pick the Soul Collector.
So go for Soul Collector at lvl 16.
Lvl 20, if you went LR, pick the upgrade pls… :smiley:

Lot of kiting, and don’t go too deep.

No tank/healer games = pick TS, since your team has enough dmg already and need a “tank”, someone should act as the frontline, and TS Malthael can do that, but don’t take unnecessary dmg.

2 Likes
9

I loved the quote for the level 4 :sunglasses:

2 Likes
10

Same! You wrote it good

2 Likes
11

Can you explain this more? I’m not too familiar with some terminology. :grimacing:

I needed that. That’s my main issue 80% of the time. Also I struggle a bit in 1v1 fights.

That warms my heart a bit

I’ll let you know how this works out for me

Thanks to all who replied. I really appreciate the help. :grin:

2 Likes
12

Basically means: don’t stay melee against melee Heroes to trade dmg with eachother. You slow with your Qs and circle around them.

13

I had to chose Malth in a recent brawl,
first ever time i played that hero, loved him,

I went this (much of it would seem wrong to pros, but i had to choose talents after quickly reading abt them, and i had no clue abt anything abt malth tht time)

1 = death’s Reach (bcoz it let me jump n finish off, and well honestly, i liked this title the most out of the other 2 talents :smiley:)
4 = Black Harvest (i thought more longer reaper marks mean i can do more Q Q n heal, in brawl its all abt sustain i believe)
7 = Massacre (more reaper marks, more healing :smiley:)
10 = Last Rites (i read in forums tht TS is useless, even though i felt it would b better, but than i went with wht i had read in forums mostly)
13 = Soul Siphon (more healing :smiley:)
16 = Soul Collector (to spam Qs, but i started running out of mana really fast)
20 = Angel of Death ,

And i know its pathetic build, but i never imagined i will enjoy sooo much with this guy, even i knew nothing abt playing him,
but i giv it to my tank, he was gud,

I plan to play Malth too, im thinking to start some bruisers,
Already im trying out Artanis, thanks to HOKU who helped a lot to point out things tht i just overlooked.

But, heres wht i have in mind, Please feel free to criticize, im here to learn :slight_smile:
1 = Fear the Reaper (escape after initiation = OrangeJuice strategy)

2 =Black Harvest (Longer marks)
7 = Massacre (more reaper marks)

10 = Last Rites / Torment Souls
13 = Shroud wisdom (armour)
16 = IF TS than Mortality / If LR than Memento
20 = No one can Stop death

on 16th, I wanted some expert advise,
Im in bronze, people dont play tooo well, and Last rites (=take away half of missing health = 34% of hero health damage) … means anyone at 33% 34% is killed. tht would work in bronze n silver.

But, if theres lot of shields or protection on invulnerable (i think uther invulnerable will make LR immuned right?)
So, If I go tormented souls, and take mortality… = my Wraith strike does 8% hero-health damage,

Torment soul says = when torment soul is CAST and when it ENDS = reset wraith strike cooldown

Now tell me this
if i hav TS (which i think is better than last rites in my case) I go this =
1 = E (to add reaper marks)
2 = W (to some guy who is lowest health even if hes at 80% health) my W drops him to 72%
3 = intantly after W i hit my R (reseting my W, i W again = health dropped to 66%)
4 = i keep doing Q Q n pop up armour
5 = when the TS ends, again W up hit W again another 8% down.

means, i can do W 3 times in 4 seconds, W R W (when R ends W again) = 8x3=24% health damage, with constant Reaper mark damage of 1.75% per second 1.75% x 5 seconds (4 seconds of TS and lets say i put my E on him a second before, 1.75 x 5 = 8.75 +24 = 33% damage and, as the last wraith strike has hit and applied reaper mark to tht hero which gonna persist for 6 seconds
= 1.75 x 6 = 10.5% = total single target damage of 43% health of hero none of my autoattacks r counted in this yet,

Also, it will allow me to spam more Q , as TS cost 20 mana only,

But, its a theory on paper, n thts why i wait answers from u all :slight_smile:

This build can also work well in solo lane, as every 5 seconds u take away 8% health of your enemy solo laner with the W , u can put E, W on to him n then activate fear the reaper n come bak, just 8% damage done without major issue or threat to self.

Please comment

14

I really love Malthael’s design and everything, but I am sooo horrible with him.
30 games, about 33% winrate.

I want to get better with him, so I appreciate all the contributors to this thread! <3

4 Likes
15

This guide applies to Malthael and any other hero.

Open youtube, watch guides and or competitive games with the hero you want to get better at.

Check builds on hotslogs - masterleague

Don’t die, don’t chase, don’t fight over nothing, split soak when lower lever, look for team fight with level/talent advantage.

1 Like
16

Im going to give this a shot, looks like fun.

17

One thing I forgot to add. Like a good twinblades varian, know when to engage. Dont be an illidan

3 Likes
18

Thanks for that, I did that too much when I played lol

19

This is the best thing that was written. I was always going OOM now I’m never going OOM so stupid for not thinking of this

1 Like
20

Step 1: create time machine.
Step 2: go back to pre-rework maltheal
Step 3: ???
Step 4: profit