Anub'arak Talents

Level	Choices
1	? ✓ ?
4	✓ ? ?
7	? ? ✓
10	? ✓
13	? ✓ ✘︎
16	? ? ✓
20	? ? ? ✓

Scarab Host Build

Recommended

Level 1

Level 4 ? ?

Level 7

Level 10 ?

Level 13

Level 16 ?

Level 20 ?

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Anub'arak's Scarab Host Build increases his sustain damage, survivability during prolonged team fights, and gives a lot of waveclear from the mid game onwards. Beetles can be used to tank the shots of enemy Structures while pushing with your team.

The increased damage comes from Burning Beetles at Level 13 while the survivability comes from Leeching Scarabs at Level 7. Legion of Beetles at Level 1 and Beetle, Juiced at Level 16 spawn additional Beetles and make them harder to kill, allowing you to get more value from the rest of the Build.

Burrow Charge Build

Advanced

Level 1 ? ?

Level 4 ?

Level 7

Level 10 ?

Level 13

Level 16

Level 20 ?

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Anub'arak's Burrow Charge Build increases his burst damage and survivability while using Burrow Charge aggressively (usually immediately after using Impale).

The survivability mostly comes from Subterranean Shield at Level 7 and the damage comes from Urticating Spines at Level 13, which is the best option when it comes to burst damage.

Harden Carapace Build

Situational

Level 1

Level 4

Level 7

Level 10 ?

Level 13

Level 16 ?

Level 20 ?

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Anub'arak's Harden Carapace Build increases his mobility, survivability against Spell Damage, and burst damage.

Consider going for this Build when playing against Heroes who can deal damage over time because it will trigger Chitinous Plating at Level 7 and thus allow you to get more value from Urticating Spines at Level 13 as well as any other Harden Carapace-related Talent.

ARAM Build

ARAM

Level 1

Level 4 ? ?

Level 7

Level 10 ?

Level 13

Level 16 ?

Level 20 ? ?

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Anub'arak's ARAM Build increases his sustain damage and survivability during prolonged team fights or when sieging.

The increased damage comes from Burning Beetles at Level 13 while the survivability comes from Leeching Scarabs at Level 7. Legion of Beetles at Level 1 and Beetle, Juiced at Level 16 spawn additional Beetles and make them harder to kill, allowing you to get more value from the rest of the Build.

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Nerubian Armor (Level 1) Anub'arak

Increase Hardened Carapace's Spell Armor by 25.

Nerubian Armor is a good Talent that increases the Spell Armor coming from Harden Carapace, making Anub'arak extremely hard to kill with Abilities.

Even against Heroes that do not rely on Abilities as their main damage source, Nerubian Armor will still give a good amount of value, especially in the early game.

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Legion of Beetles (Level 1) Anub'arak

Beetles have 30 Spell Armor. Automatically spawn a Beetle every 12 seconds. Can be toggled on and off.

Legion of Beetles is a good Talent that improves your ability to intercept enemy skillshot directed towards you or allied Heroes by making Beetles harder to kill. You also get an additional Beetle, slightly increasing your damage output.

Ideally, when playing this Talent, you should toggle it off when mounted, so that you do not end up wasting its effect when randomly being dismounted. This is important when you want to have it ready for checking bushes.

You can further increase the damage provided by this Talent by combining it with Leeching Scarabs at Level 7, Burning Beetles at Level 13, and/or Beetle, Juiced at Level 16.

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Regeneration Master (Level 1) Anub'arak

Quest: Gathering a Regeneration Globe increases your Health Regeneration by 1 per second, up to 30.

Reward: After gathering 30 Regeneration Globes, you also gain 500 Health.

Regeneration Master is a decent Talent that increases your Health Regeneration and, after completing its Quest in the late game, your maximum Health.

While it works against any type of damage, this Talent gives no value during the early game and low value during the mid game because the Health Regeneration provided barely matters and the maximum Health bonus requires a high amount of Regeneration Globes.

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Bed of Barbs (Level 4) Anub'arak

Create a bed of spikes along Impale's path that slows enemies by 25% and deals 21 (+4% per level) damage per second. Spikes persist for 3.5 seconds.

Bed of Barbs is a good Talent that improves Impale by adding a respectable area of effect Slow to it.

Beetles, generated via Scarab Host, move at 4 units per second. Heroes are a bit faster, so the Slow you get from this Talent can sometimes help them stick on enemy Heroes for slightly longer.

In case you need more waveclear sometimes, this Talent helps a bit. That said, Impale should not be wasted to damage Minions if there are enemy Heroes around, as it is a key Ability for Anub'arak.

For higher level of play, it is useful to know that the damage component of this Talent provides vision while happening. Because of this, you can use Impale in a bush and have vision there for about 4 seconds, rather than losing it almost instantly.

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Shed Exoskeleton (Level 4) Anub'arak

Harden Carapace grants 30% increased Movement Speed for 3 seconds.

Shed Exoskeleton is a strong Talent that provides Anub'arak with a strong and reliable Movement Speed increase effect that makes up for the lack of mobility right after using Burrow Charge. Being based on Harden Carapace, this Talent has synergy with Chitinous Plating at Level 7 which provides cooldown reduction for it.

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Underking (Level 4) Anub'arak

Increases Burrow Charge range by 20% and damage by 100%.

Underking is a strong Talent that increases both range and damage of Burrow Charge.

The range increase is great when you want to dive the enemy backline or when you want to escape.

The extra damage is always welcome, especially if your team wants to burst down enemy Heroes as fast as possible.

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Chitinous Plating (Level 7) Anub'arak

While Harden Carapace is active, taking damage from enemy Abilities reduces its cooldown by 1 second, up to 3 seconds.

Chitinous Plating is a good Talent that has the potential of nearly halving the cooldown of Harden Carapace. This translates into more survivability, more Beetles, and, later on, more damage, through Urticating Spines at Level 13.

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Subterranean Shield (Level 7) Anub'arak

Burrow Charge also grants a 400 (+4% per level) point Shield for 5 seconds.

Subterranean Shield is a strong Talent that provides Anub'arak with a substantial survivability increase that is conveniently located on his main initiation tool. Subterranean Shield becomes particularly potent when combined with Epicenter at Level 16.

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Leeching Scarabs (Level 7) Anub'arak

Beetles gain 30% bonus attack damage and they heal Anub'arak for 50% of their damage with each attack if he is nearby.

Leeching Scarabs is a good Talent that offers a nice amount of self-sustain and a bit more damage, however, it requires Legion of Beetles at Level 1 and gets better when combined with Beetle, Juiced at Level 16.

In this section we discuss when and why to pick a given Heroic Ability. If you want to read how they work in detail and/or you are looking for some tips on how to use them, check them out on the Abilities and Strategy page.

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Locust Swarm (Level 10) Anub'arak

• Mana: 75
• Cooldown: 100 seconds

Deal 68 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies. Each enemy damaged restores 24 (+4% per level) Health. Lasts 6 seconds.

Locust Swarm is a good Heroic Ability that makes Anub'arak extremely difficult to take out for its duration, on top of making him impossible to ignore due to the Ability's sheer area of effect damage output.

You should pick this Heroic Ability only if you expect to not get any value from Cocoon, such as when the enemy team has multiple tools to blow it up immediately and you cannot block them in the way explained below.

For beginners, we recommend selecting Locust Swarm as Heroic Ability because it increases your survivability and damage output. If you are confident with using Cocoon, then go for it.

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Cocoon (Level 10) Anub'arak

• Mana: 70
• Cooldown: 70 seconds

Wraps target enemy Hero in a cocoon, rendering them unable to act or be targeted for 7 seconds. Allies of the Hero can attack the cocoon to break it and free them early.

Cocoon is a strong Heroic Ability that can be used to get numerical advantage for a few seconds, usually enough to secure a kill.

Keep in mind that enemy Heroes who are Unstoppable are invalid targets. If the projectile is already flying towards them while they become Unstoppable, then Cocoon will be wasted and go on full cooldown.

Use Cocoon on Heroes who possess tools to destroy it in less than 2-3 seconds. Alternatively, engage them so that they cannot break it immediately due to being unable to act. If these tips cannot be applied to the game you are playing, then consider picking Locust Swarm instead.

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Urticating Spines (Level 13) Anub'arak

Casting Harden Carapace will also deal 90 (+4% per level) damage to nearby enemies. Deals double damage against Heroes.

Urticating Spines is a good Talent that deals a high amount of burst damage to enemy Heroes near Anub'arak when Harden Carapace gets used. The damage done via this Talent counts as Spell Damage.

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Burning Beetles (Level 13) Anub'arak

Deal 21 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies. Beetles deal 6 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies.

Burning Beetles is a strong Talent that provides a lot of sustain damage when combined with some Scarab Host-related Talents: Legion of Beetles at Level 1 and Beetle, Juiced at Level 16. The damage done via this Talent counts as Spell Damage.

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Acid Drenched Mandibles (Level 13) Anub'arak

Attacking a Hero that is slowed, rooted, or stunned increases Anub'arak's Basic Attack damage by 80% for 4 seconds.

Acid Drenched Mandibles is a weak Talent that provides a good amount of sustain damage, in the form of Physical Damage, against enemy Heroes recently affected by specific crowd control effects: Slow, Root, and Stun.

We do not recommend this Talent because its damage is too low compared to the alternatives in the same Tier: Urticating Spines when you need burst damage and Burning Beetles when you need sustain damage.

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Epicenter (Level 16) Anub'arak

Increases Burrow Charge impact area by 60% and lowers the cooldown by 1 second for each Hero hit.

Epicenter is a good Talent that primarily helps you land Burrow Charge on enemy Heroes while also reducing its cooldown when it successfully hits them.

Being tied to your only escape, this Talent should not be picked when you definitely cannot afford to use Burrow Charge aggressively (for example against Garrosh), unless other allied Heroes can dive with you and punish the enemy backline.

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Debilitation (Level 16) Anub'arak

Enemy Heroes hit by Burrow Charge or Impale have their Spell Power reduced by 50% for 4 seconds.

Debilitation is a good Talent that reduces the Spell Power of enemy Heroes recently hit with Impale or Burrow Charge, halving all the damage and healing they deal with their Abilities.

You can use this Talent to deal with powerful Healers (such as Whitemane) and/or to reduce the self-healing of certain Heroes (for example W Build Diablo), so that they cannot get value from their Abilities when your Stuns end and they are not dead yet.

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Beetle, Juiced (Level 16) Anub'arak

Passive: Beetles gain 30% increased health.

Every 4th Basic Attack spawns a Beetle.

Beetle, Juiced is a good Talent that increases the survivability of your Beetles and makes Scarab Host spawn a Beetle once every 4 Basic Attacks. The spawning effect works when attacking non-Heroes too, so it can be used to tank additional shots of enemy Structures while pushing with your team.

Since it occasionally spawns addtional Beetles and makes them harder to kill, this Talent has synergy with any Scarab Host-related Talent: Legion of Beetles at Level 1, Leeching Scarabs at Level 7, and Burning Beetles at Level 13. Do not pick this Talent without other Beetle-based Talents.

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Hive Master (Level 20) Anub'arak

Gain a permanent Vampire Locust that attacks a nearby enemy every 3 seconds. The Vampire Locust deals 165 (+4% per level) damage and returns to heal Anub'arak for 80 (+4% per level) health.

Hive Master is a decent Talent that gives you a permanent Vampire Locust which deals damage to a single nearby enemy once every 3 seconds and heals Anub'arak for about half of that amount.

The self-sustain and sustain damage provided by this Talent are designed for long team fights. Unless in ARAM, we do not recommend this Talent because Rewind offers more playmaking potential together with additional survivability and more damage.

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Cryptweave (Level 20) Anub'arak

Staying near the Cocoon allows Anub'arak to extend the duration by up to 6 seconds per Cocoon. Upon exiting the Cocoon, enemies take 60 (+4% per level) damage over 4 seconds. This damage is increased by 100% for each second that they were inside.

Cryptweave is a situational Talent that can extend the duration of Cocoon, but only if Anub'arak stays within 4.5 range. In addition to that, the targeted Hero will take damage based on how long it lasted.

You can occasionally use this Talent against scary enemy Heroes (notably Cho) to keep them blocked while fighting the rest of their team and at the same time dealing a moderate amount of damage to them.

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The Traitor King (Level 20) Anub'arak

• Cooldown: 60 seconds

Gain 10% bonus maximum Health and 20 Spell Armor.

Activate to gain 75 Armor for 4 seconds.

The Traitor King is a situational Talent that passively gives Anub'arak 10% additional maximum Health and 20 Spell Armor, and it can also be activated once every 60 seconds to gain 75 Armor for a few seconds.

The huge amount of survivability provided by this Talent makes Anub'arak way harder to kill with burst damage. That said, you will rarely need this Talent instead of Rewind.

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Rewind (Level 20) Anub'arak

• Cooldown: 60 seconds

Activate to reset the cooldowns of your Basic Abilities.

Rewind is a strong Talent that allows Anub'arak to instantly reset the cooldown of all his Basic Abilities once every 60 seconds.

The effect provided is outstanding and versatile, allowing you to double your burst damage, survivability, and crowd control on demand.

Being able to cast Impale and Burrow Charge twice in a row can lead to some of the game's longest crowd control chains.

Thanks to Scarab Host, you will be also summoning 3 additional Beetles to assist you, effectively increasing your damage output.

Make sure that you have used most if not all your Basic Abilities before using Rewind, else you will waste part or all of its effect.