Chen Offlane Matchups
Welcome to our Matchups page for Chen. Here, we give you an overview of how difficult each of Chen's matchups are, alongside information about how the matchup should be played from your side, in order to make the laning phase easier.
Chen's Offlane Strategy
Due to his lack of waveclear, Chen needs to find alternative ways to do well in the offlane. His strong self-sustain and dueling capabilities can be used to freeze the lane and deny Experience to opponents who have a waveclear advantage. This playstyle is particularly good on Maps where point control is important (notably Braxis Holdout and Dragon Shire).
Chen's Offlane Matchups
Here you can find tips and tricks for playing Chen in the offlane against specific Heroes. Click on any Hero in the overview table below to easily navigate within this page and quickly find information about a given matchup.
Chen vs Artanis
Chen is unfavored against Artanis.
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- Prefer dueling when you have all your resources available.
- Be decisive on which
Shield Overload you want to break through.
- Back off right after a new
Shield Overload has been triggered.
- To preserve Health, use
Fortifying Brew before trades and
Stagger when retreating.
Chen vs Arthas
Chen is favored against Arthas.
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- To avoid being Slowed,
use
Flying Kick on distant enemy Minions.
- To preserve Health, use
Fortifying Brew before trades and
Stagger when retreating.
- Prefer dueling.
Chen vs Blaze
Chen is favored against Blaze.
Chen vs The Butcher
Chen is favored against The Butcher.
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- Prefer dueling when
Stagger is available.
- To play around
Ruthless Onslaught, avoid using
Flying Kick to engage.
- Use
Stagger to counter
Butcher's Brand.
Chen vs D.Va
Chen is favored against D.Va.
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- Prefer taking short trades when your Abilities are ready.
- Avoid standing among allied Minions.
Chen vs Deathwing
Chen is favored against Deathwing.
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- Prefer dueling.
- To preserve Health, use
Fortifying Brew before trades and
Stagger when retreating.
Chen vs Dehaka
Chen is favored against Dehaka.
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- Prefer dueling, but not among allied Minions.
- To play around
Drag, do not get too close to enemy Towers.
- Be wary of getting
Fortifying Brew interrupted with
Drag.
Chen vs E.T.C.
Chen is unfavored against E.T.C..
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- To play around
Guitar Hero, avoid getting attacked when
Guitar Solo is active.
- Use the Slow from
Keg Smash and your body to steal Regeneration Globes.
- Focus on clearing enemy Minions.
- To avoid being interrupted, prefer
using
Fortifying Brew out of vision.
Chen vs Gazlowe
Chen is favored against Gazlowe.
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- Use
Stagger to deny Gazlowe's self-healing.
- Move around a lot to avoid getting Stunned
by
Xplodium Charge.
- Pay attention to Scraps to predict Gazlowe's movements.
- Prefer dueling.
Chen vs Hogger
Chen is unfavored against Hogger.
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- Avoid using
Breath of Fire on Hogger when his Rage is low.
- Prefer dueling when Hogger's Rage is low.
- Use
Stagger as you retreat from a duel.
- Heavily prioritize Regeneration Globes.
Chen vs Imperius
Chen is favored against Imperius.
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- Try to have Shields from
Fortifying Brew up when in
Celestial Charge's range
- Use
Stagger to deny Imperius's self-healing when he uses
Molten Armor.
- Prefer dueling when enemy Abilities are on cooldown.
Chen vs Leoric
Chen is even against Leoric.
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Flying Kick allows you to break
Drain Hope by jumping on enemy Minions or to dodge it by jumping on Leoric at the right time.
- Use the Slow from
Keg Smash and your body to steal Regeneration Globes.
Withering Flames can be picked to deny Leoric's self-sustain.
- Prefer dueling, but not among allied Minions.
Leoric wins if he consistently hits Drain Hope,
with the help of
Ghastly Swing.
Chen vs The Lost Vikings
Chen is even against The Lost Vikings.
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- Try chasing down Baleog or Erik if they attack you.
- If possible, ignore Olaf.
- Use
Deadly Strike to ambush unattended Lost Vikings.
A truly great The Lost Vikings' player is heavily favored.
Chen vs Malthael
Chen is even against Malthael.
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- Prefer dueling with Shields
from
Fortifying Brew and
Stagger.
- Try to deny Experience and Regeneration Globes by freezing the lane.
- Constantly change
Breath of Fire's timing so it does not get dodged with
Wraith Strike.
Take short trades if you picked Deadly Strike
or long ones if you picked
Withering Flames.
Chen vs Murky
Chen is favored against Murky.
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- Prioritize destroying his
Pufferfish with
Flying Kick and Basic Attacks.
- Use
Keg Smash on Minions unless Murky just used
Safety Bubble.
Chen vs Qhira
Chen is even against Qhira.
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- Drink with
Fortifying Brew outside of Qhira's range to reset
Blood Rage's stacks, lasting 4 seconds.
- Use
Stagger when retreating.
- Prefer dueling when Qhira has recently used her Abilities.
Chen vs Ragnaros
Chen is favored against Ragnaros.
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- Use
Flying Kick to avoid fighting among allied Minions.
- Use
Stagger to deny Ragnaros's self-healing.
- If Ragnaros clears Minions, freeze the lane.
- If Ragnaros steps out far on lane, use your chase and kill potential to punish him.
Chen vs Rexxar
Chen is even against Rexxar.
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- Run away from Misha if you have neither Shields
from
Fortifying Brew nor
Stagger.
- Play around Regeneration Globes to not let Rexxar gain Mana.
- Duel for longer if Misha is not in range
to Stun you with
Misha, Charge!.
Prioritize hitting Rexxar if you picked Deadly Strike
or Misha if you picked
Accumulating Flame.
Chen vs Samuro
Chen is unfavored against Samuro.
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- Prioritize clearing Minions before dueling Samuro.
- Spot the real Samuro by noticing his higher Health percentage
after hitting them with
Keg Smash and
Breath of Fire.
- Prefer even unfavorable duels after
Samuro uses
Image Transmission to remove your Brew from himself.
- Bait healthy Mirror Images to hit your Minions or move under your Structures.
If winning a Capture Point matters to you,
take Stormstout Secret Recipe.
Chen vs Sonya
Chen is even against Sonya.
If Sonya picks Hurricane,
consider picking
Withering Flames.
Chen vs Thrall
Chen is even against Thrall.
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- Use
Flying Kick unpredictably to avoid getting Rooted by
Feral Spirit.
- Save
Stagger for
Windfury.
- Prefer dueling, but only when your Abilities are ready.
Chen vs Varian
Chen is favored against Varian.
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- Prefer dueling.
- Try to mitigate the value of whichever Level 1 Talent gets picked by Varian.
Chen vs Xul
Chen is favored against Xul.
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- Use your Shield from
Fortifying Brew to tank Skeletal Warriors before they reach your Structures.
- Prefer dueling when allied Minions are alive.
- Avoid standing among allied Minions.
Chen vs Yrel
Chen is unfavored against Yrel.
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- Prefer dueling.
- Drink
Fortifying Brew outside of Yrel's range, so that you cannot be interrupted by
Righteous Hammer.
- Try to keep Yrel's Mana low.
Chen vs Zeratul
Chen is favored against Zeratul.
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- Do not spam
Keg Smash and
Breath of Fire because they are your only way to break Zeratul's Stealth.
- Reveal and damage Zeratul if he tries to soak Experience, grab Regeneration Globes, or contest a Capture Point.
Changelog
- 13 Dec. 2024: Guide reviewed.
- 28 Apr. 2023: Page created.
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Elitesparkle is a multiple times Master player in Europe who plays Heroes of the Storm since its release. He is an active member of the community who likes to teach new and veteran players all he knows about his favorite game.
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