Which Ragnaros build to use / when?

General Discussion
1

Hey I ask for advice from a good ragnaros player in the higher ranks of the game.

Can you tell me when you choose Q and when W build or whether 1 build is substantially superior.

I personally think that the Q build makes him a strong frontliner after 16 while before 16 the W build seems a lot stronger when u complete the quest fast.

Should you only get Q build when you can get “Hand of Ragnaros” from 7 value vs multiple frontliners or is it still superior to the W build even just taking blistering attacks there?

Anyway thanks to all who share their knowledge.

3 Likes
2

I’m by no means a master, so take this with a grain of salt, but I always go Q build when there’s at least 2-3 opponents who I believe will consistently clump together. If you are going against a bunch of ranged heroes that do not group up, you won’t be gaining value out of your talents that require at least 2 people to be hit.

Also of note, W build works nicely (in my own experience) against Sgt Hammer or Chromie if you time it properly. As soon as sgt. Hammer sieges up, or when Chromie starts to cast - when they are both locked in place - cast it on them so they can’t easily avoid the damage.

I feel like W build would work well in lower leagues where people don’t understand how to dodge it, or perhaps if your team has good CC, or if you want to put pressure on their strong backline. Otherwise, Q build seems to be superior against a frontline (even after all the nerfs it’s had over his release).

So, in summation:
Strong Backline (that you can’t reach) = W build
Strong Frontline (that you can easily reach) = Q build

2 Likes
3

it always depend on the teams comps,

if you feel you’re gonna be in melee often during tfs and kind of “safely” you go q build

if they have lots of range/poke/mages, you go w build

if it’s mixed up go e build

they’re all good and efficient

4

I feel like Q and E kinda overlap in the “pick if there’s a lot of melee heroes clumped”.

Q is more of a duelist build in maps like warhead junction or towers of doom where there are small skirmishes.

E is more of a teamfight build imo. Slows and shields for days.

W is multipurpose but it’s easy to be useless if you only dedicate yourself to poking with W. Kinda like junkrats that only spam Q.

2 Likes
5

Q is for true brusier fashion.

W is for being a better assassin than a jaina.

E is for all round, by far most fun.

R1 - Lava wave just removes your ult from actual teamfights but it gives you good exp

R2 - Sulfuron Smash is great but it needs good hands to use it correctly.

Molten Core - he attac, he protec, but most importantly, he protec

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Nova build if you can melee. Otherwise meteor build if you need to poke from a range.

His empowered build only works if your team has a very good front line with lots of slow or heroes like Lucio. Nova is otherwise superior as it delivers damage, slow and movement speed while not requiring one to spend all early game questing.

7

Is that so? You mean it yields the highest hero dmg of the builds?

1 Like
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FRESH INSECT

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More importantly, which Ragnaros skin should you use and when?

The yellow one or the yellow one?

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TfH0ADjILX7Fq71464GW9j8bvC-b8AW0_qs9DcjYzVY/edit#heading=h.q7lpmokboepg <- Google Document by a guy named Daniel who is the best Ragnaros in NA. He can teach you a lot about how to play Ragnaros.

If you want the tl;dr version though: Always go E build. It’s the best. Nothing beats pure E build.

1 Like
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I’m pretty sure he’s going for the blazing red one.

Personally I’d go for the spicy red one. Yellow is too mellow.

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I personally only use base skin Ragnaros because for some reason, all the other variants of him (lil and master + all their tints) make his magma look like playdoh.

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I prefer E above Q build actually. I pick it when there is a lot of meele enemies. Slow, bonus MS, shield, procs twice.
And I often cast it on other teammates. You can save them or give them the movement to catch someone.

I’m not a fan of W build actually. Good enemies always evade it and I think it doesn’t have the value like Q or E build.

14

Thank you a lot for sharing this. You said he is the best in NA but he says he is Master. Does that mean no one above master plays Rag at all? I mean I know he isnt competetive enough for pro play but I’d wager that in GM he can be used as a bruiser that rotates lanes and with setup for sulfuras smash.

1 Like
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Speaking as a Diamond exp. player and a good amount of Rag games (150 area), the problem is that there’s just better picks for the job.

If you want backline damage capability, tank melting, lane clear, and a powerful defending presence, many other damage characters fill those roles well, with far more mobility or survivability available to them.

Fenix, Illidan, Zeratul, Xul all feature at least 2/4 of these aspects, and have better defensive or movement easily available to them, if not already baseline.

I love Rag, I love Q-build vs 2 high HP tank/bruiser comps, I love hitting wave and maxing the use to defend against what should be lost games, but the sole thing Rag has to offer that other characters don’t is wave clear.

And unfortunately, almost every damage character can do that just fine, maybe not all at once like wave can, but at high-level play and with people knowing map awareness/pacing, it’s not the sort of thing you need to lose an ult for.

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Bumping this topic - I also want to study how to Raggo.

:slight_smile:

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He was used as a combo piece to kill targets after they get isolated by Stitches and Medhiv. But that was the only time I saw him played at Division S level.

You can see the play here:

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Phaseshifter… here, i thought you were a good forumeer.

But now i know you study the black magics of necromancy. :triumph:

19

?
20 interrogations.

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I’m now playing on a smurf account, I’m going out of bronze and checking how far I’ll go myself. Ragnaros is a god on silver. If someone wants to get out of low rank, I heartily recommend it.
What build? Only Q build. Both ulti are good, of course the wave is better on a low rank.