Heroes of the Storm Chen

[Vlad 411]

This thread is for comments about our Chen build guide for Heroes of the Storm.

[Guest Guest]

The quick reference guide shows Combat Stance instead of Brewmaster's Balance, despite the former not being recommended at all.

[KendricSwissh 66]

Thanks! Should be fixed soon! 

The talent we recommend for the reference guides is Brewmaster's Balance, not Combat Stance. 

[Haven 0]

I have to disagree with your view on Wandering Keg. It's true that in terms of damage Storm, Earth, Fire is superior, but what Wandering Keg offer is so potential it shouldn't be taken out of the picture.

 

One of the main advantage of this heroic is that it makes you Unstoppable, meaning once you go rampage, nothing can stop you. It's instant cast and instant transform, so it has great synergy with Flying Kick. There are actually a variety of ways to execute it. For example, Flying Kick on the closest foe and immediately activate Wandering Keg. Because FK puts you behind the target, you are standing between the target and the rest of their pack, WK will knock him toward your team and knock his team away.

 

In dire situations, this heroic can be used as escape mechanism. Note that the tooltip doesn't mention you roll VERY FAST while in the keg, for 5 freakin seconds, on a relatively short cooldown. Unless they have noobrale or illidumb, you can give them the finger while rolling away. So ROLL ON, BABE!

[Guest Kroshak]

I have to disagree with your view on Wandering Keg. It's true that in terms of damage Storm, Earth, Fire is superior, but what Wandering Keg offer is so potential it shouldn't be taken out of the picture.

 

One of the main advantage of this heroic is that it makes you Unstoppable, meaning once you go rampage, nothing can stop you. It's instant cast and instant transform, so it has great synergy with Flying Kick. There are actually a variety of ways to execute it. For example, Flying Kick on the closest foe and immediately activate Wandering Keg. Because FK puts you behind the target, you are standing between the target and the rest of their pack, WK will knock him toward your team and knock his team away.

 

In dire situations, this heroic can be used as escape mechanism. Note that the tooltip doesn't mention you roll VERY FAST while in the keg, for 5 freakin seconds, on a relatively short cooldown. Unless they have noobrale or illidumb, you can give them the finger while rolling away. So ROLL ON, BABE!

i kinda disagree tbh, wandering keg, yes it does offer some potential and yes it combos with some heroes, (the washing machine combo for example) but tbh its not that strong. Yes it makes you unstoppable but the fact that you can get another life (well 3 ) bar is way too strong, its not just for damage, dont you remember why tychus was really strong back in the day? the fact that Odin was his second health bar was awesome and made him absurd (before his nerf and also valla when blizz removed battle momentum from her)

 

The idea of the FK with the WK is WAY too old and predictable, and i mean it (its from the time stitches was the top tank, well only tank, and a must pick and other teams were experimenting with something kinda equal), its not bad but the fact that you take damage makes it a little bit less appealing, yes you are unstoppable but right now with the popular heroes (take in mind this guide works a LOT better and is intended to be somewhat strong in the current meta) burst damage that can put you to half life is a common thing, a.k.a KT, Jaina, etc

 

Now with the argument that its and escape mechanic yes it is but lets be honest, if you use it just as an escape mechanic then your pretty much doing something wrong ( meaning over extending, pushing a lane alone without map awareness, face checking etc) The keg main use is the MASS disrupt it can produce, yes, but means that either your team can follow up OR you're healers are dedicated to you so you can live, something that you can see with ETC but his ult is way to more dangerous than this one from chen

 

So, well for consistency and more tanky/damage, the storm, earth and fire is way better, for funky, gimmicky and fun the wandering keg

[Haven 0]

 

I have to disagree with your view on Wandering Keg. It's true that in terms of damage Storm, Earth, Fire is superior, but what Wandering Keg offer is so potential it shouldn't be taken out of the picture.

 

One of the main advantage of this heroic is that it makes you Unstoppable, meaning once you go rampage, nothing can stop you. It's instant cast and instant transform, so it has great synergy with Flying Kick. There are actually a variety of ways to execute it. For example, Flying Kick on the closest foe and immediately activate Wandering Keg. Because FK puts you behind the target, you are standing between the target and the rest of their pack, WK will knock him toward your team and knock his team away.

 

In dire situations, this heroic can be used as escape mechanism. Note that the tooltip doesn't mention you roll VERY FAST while in the keg, for 5 freakin seconds, on a relatively short cooldown. Unless they have noobrale or illidumb, you can give them the finger while rolling away. So ROLL ON, BABE!

i kinda disagree tbh, wandering keg, yes it does offer some potential and yes it combos with some heroes, (the washing machine combo for example) but tbh its not that strong. Yes it makes you unstoppable but the fact that you can get another life (well 3 ) bar is way too strong, its not just for damage, dont you remember why tychus was really strong back in the day? the fact that Odin was his second health bar was awesome and made him absurd (before his nerf and also valla when blizz removed battle momentum from her)

 

The idea of the FK with the WK is WAY too old and predictable, and i mean it (its from the time stitches was the top tank, well only tank, and a must pick and other teams were experimenting with something kinda equal), its not bad but the fact that you take damage makes it a little bit less appealing, yes you are unstoppable but right now with the popular heroes (take in mind this guide works a LOT better and is intended to be somewhat strong in the current meta) burst damage that can put you to half life is a common thing, a.k.a KT, Jaina, etc

 

Now with the argument that its and escape mechanic yes it is but lets be honest, if you use it just as an escape mechanic then your pretty much doing something wrong ( meaning over extending, pushing a lane alone without map awareness, face checking etc) The keg main use is the MASS disrupt it can produce, yes, but means that either your team can follow up OR you're healers are dedicated to you so you can live, something that you can see with ETC but his ult is way to more dangerous than this one from chen

 

So, well for consistency and more tanky/damage, the storm, earth and fire is way better, for funky, gimmicky and fun the wandering keg

 

I totally forgot the 'two health bar' aspect of SEF, thanks for clearing that up :). The washing machine combo is fun though.

[Guest Wrexsoul]

In regards to Wandering Keg, something I've been experimenting with in Hero League lately is picking it to counter Morales (since she's everywhere nowadays it seems). Not only can you fish her out from the backline for a quick kill, it might also shut down her healing (unsure, haven't tested it - does she heal through knockback?). 

 

This might not work well at the very high end (I'm no tournament player, I wouldn't know), but it sure is nice in HL. 

[Guest xXAgentGreenXx]

I'm just gonna say this, I play Chen and to this point almost exclusively. If your a Chen player or are interested in playing him I highly recommend going with Wandering Keg. Conventionally people will say the EW&F are better because of body blocks or in essence is another life. Well check this out, with WK you can completely and utterly disrupt everything the other team is doing in every regard, complete displacement and another added bonus is the 70 sec cooldown rather than EW&Fs' 100 sec cooldown.

 

@ Guest_Kroshak; Going into WK the team rarely will focus you, they're too busy being attacked by your team and to just stop as get you, thats seems unlikely. Secondly after WK is over you start chugging and Jaina can't affect you and for KT not really either. You're probably a bad Chen to lose to a KT. He can stun you and use his combo, but in my experience its always been use to escape from me not burst me down. Lastly, just because you use WK as an escape doesn't necessarily mean you were doing something wrong, consequently the same thing could be said for EW&F. 

 

In response to the question above, yes it will absolutely stop her healing.

 

Just to top this off, WK is not a gimmick. Will you need a little practice, sure, but should Icy Veins be so quick to write it off, no. Its a situational talent at the minimum. The red X should be removed and instead have a "?". I used WK for practically every game as Chen and never has it not worked in favor of my team. GL HF out there and good luck!

 

[Guest HappyPuppy]

I agree with a lot of comments. I presume people who need guides would not understand the nuances of the game being discussed here. I like to read the guides to see other people's thoughts on some talent choices.

 

With current fixes on flying kick, I was experimenting with the kick build. Extra damage on kick as well as 100% more damage on an attack makes Chen very dangerous backline dive hero. At level 20 the kick hits for 600 & the basic attack  following that hits for 400. If one specks into it, the kick can be used extremely often. I was surprised with the amount of damage it did. A single combo takes a squishy to 1/2 health To add, this build still retains regen master and brewmasters balance, allowing for a very respectable health regeneration.

 

Speaking of wondering keg - I love it's use in denying capture points. It is also very useful in peeling melee assasins off of your squishes.

[Guest HappyPuppy]

I was wrong about my damage number. Upgraded kick at level 20 does around 380 damage. Nonetheless, on a 4 sec cooldown, it is a good source of damage to consider.

[Guest Fayte]

"A Touch of Honey increases Keg Smash Icon Keg Smash's slow amount by 40%" This should say to increase slow amount TO 40% not by 40%.  

[Guest Grumsh]

Thx for the great guide, one quick note. I think you might have to update the part about avoiding Muradin's basic attack in Avatar state (they don't stun any more).

[Voltorocks 40]

I think bolder flavor deserves a recommend. While brewmasters balance is certainly very strong, the utility offered by the instant shield is extremely high. Especially coupled with grounding brew, you can completely negate the damage from a number of skill shots by simply tapping d as they're cast.

 

add to that the significant improvement to your shield's functionality in terms of how long you need to stand still, and in my experience this is often Chen's biggest power spike, up there with his heroic.

[FeelinFine 0]

Sky Temple should be, imo, one of Chen's better maps. He can solo temples, so while your team contests the enemy at one shrine, you're guaranteed the other with Chen soaking damage by chugging his brew.  If the enemy splits and contests both temples, Chen can bully one or two enemies until the rest of your team arrives.

[Guest Dan]

I disagree with the enough to share opinion. First of all... you don't go to a party with a keg and then not share. It's rude... and you'll either waste alot of perfectly good beer or die from alcohol poisoning. Secondly the shield regenerates... imo it pwns. Also, I wonder if freshest ingredients stacks with it... I don't know cause I never take that crappy skill but it would be interesting. Finally I would like to point out that barrel roll is just so good for picks on characters that need to stay back... I mean it ruins morales's day so hard... pwns mosh pit too... AND if you don't take it the amount of pandamonium that you are able to bring is dangerously diminished.

[Guest Dan]

PS... I know that I basically just said what the guide said about barrel roll but I needed a transition into my pandamonium joke.

[Valks 2,375]

On 1/6/2017 at 0:47 PM, Guest Dan said:

PS... I know that I basically just said what the guide said about barrel roll but I needed a transition into my pandamonium joke.

I'll allow it. :P

[Guest SirNeshorn]

May I suggest putting Alarak as a counter to Chen? He is easily one of the worst enemies Chen can encounter in lane since both his Q and W can interrupt Chen's drinking, he can sustain himself and poke with E, and his Charge ulti can also disrupt drinking.

It's really difficult beating a skilled Alarak in the laning phase when you're playing as Chen, at least until you hit level 7 and you can sustain yourself after taking heavy damage.

[positiv2 953]

1 hour ago, Guest SirNeshorn said:

May I suggest putting Alarak as a counter to Chen? He is easily one of the worst enemies Chen can encounter in lane since both his Q and W can interrupt Chen's drinking, he can sustain himself and poke with E, and his Charge ulti can also disrupt drinking.

It's really difficult beating a skilled Alarak in the laning phase when you're playing as Chen, at least until you hit level 7 and you can sustain yourself after taking heavy damage.

If the Alarak player is unskilled or inexperienced with Alarak, you should be able to win a 1v1 if you dodge his Qs. You will wear him out and out damage him. If the Alarak player is skilled and experience, you do get beaten up badly as Chen, from experience. Because of the high skill ceiling (but also skill floor) it's hard to say whether he is a counter or not. 
I will let Kendric know and let him decide. Thanks for pointing it out!

[Guest n4zarh]

This is seriously outdated. Please read it once again and make changes.

[positiv2 953]

6 hours ago, Guest n4zarh said:

This is seriously outdated. Please read it once again and make changes.

Yes, it is. Kendric is currently behind on updates (has longer to-do list than the rest of writers, sadly), but we are slowly getting there, and this guide will certainly be updated as well. We are sorry to keep you waiting. In the meantime, I would recommend using Srey's build.

[VitaminC 12]

On 26.06.2017 at 9:18 PM, positiv2 said:

Yes, it is. Kendric is currently behind on updates (has longer to-do list than the rest of writers, sadly), but we are slowly getting there, and this guide will certainly be updated as well. We are sorry to keep you waiting. In the meantime, I would recommend using Srey's build.

Yep, I really like the points Srey made in his Chen video with this build a while ago. Grounding Brew can be a pretty good option versus heavy spell damage-based teams, but Elusive Brawler generally has more uses, especially when doing PvE or when soaking the shots from buildings. However, I don't seem to be getting much value out of Another Round, since you can't really wait 2 crucial seconds to get the ability with the reduced cooldown, kinda need to drink right after the basic combo. So I swapped it for Enough to Share for more team sustain and a soft form of peel.

[KendricSwissh 66]

Hey guys! 

I'm currently working on converting Chen into the new format, updating the guide at the same time. It should go live by Tuesday or Wednesday! 

Thanks for your patience! 

-Kendric

[KendricSwissh 66]

Hey guys, 

Happy to inform you that the Chen guide is now up to date! :)

[Guest Eastwall]

l just would like to provide some input. So, the level 1 regen globe talent seems to have bug that makes this talent worth picking. When l pick up one regen globe, it gives 2 or 3 stacks  of quest. So, you only really need to get like 12 - 14 globes to complete the quest. Also, this talent seems to increase the healing received. l know the description did not say it, but when l had 1/4 health, and l drink from healing fountain, almost all of my health bar turn light green. And l pick grounding brew in next match, and healing fountain can only fill half of my health bar. 

Also , the purifying brew also seems buggy. l am not sure if it was because l was really tired( was playing him at like 1am). lt actually only have 10 second cooldown instead of 45. That's what was displayed when l was stunned  last night, but (this is the part l am unsure about) it some times procs stun duration reduction but not resetting CD of brew. 

l just would like to say that even if this function properly, l  would not recommend this talent if the cooldown really is 45 seconds considering how many interrupts are out there this day. l feel chen is only suit to be an off tank you use to take out chromie or something like that if you are not good  with thing like genji or tracer. (l got reported  for feeding when l pick genji after l saw the other team's chromie pick)