Imperius Abilities and Strategy
Welcome to our Abilities page for Imperius. Here, we give you an overview of every ability in Imperius's kit. For each of them, we explain what it does, how to best use it, and how it works in combination with Imperius's other abilities. We also give you strategy tips to play Imperius efficiently.
Imperius's Tips and Tricks
Molten Armor is very strong in a 1-versus-1 situation, as it focuses all of its damage on the same target.
Angelic Armaments can be used to take down enemy Heroes, so do not hesitate to use the activatable component if you do not have to worry about getting damaged.
Celestial Charge can be used to impale and Stun several enemies at once, however, keep in mind that Imperius cannot move during the animation.
Molten Armor can be activated while Imperius is impaling enemies with
Celestial Charge to maximize his damage output.
- Stutter-stepping is crucial when playing Imperius in order to maximize
Valorous Brand's damage output.
- To improve Imperius's waveclear, use
Solarion's Fire when the enemy Minion wave is lined up in a straight line.
- The closer your target is from you, the easier it is to hit
Celestial Charge. If you aim Celestial charge very close to Imperius, it will hit enemies much sooner, because there will be no time spent moving towards the enemy.
Celestial Charge
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- Mana: 40
- Cooldown: 10 seconds
Lunge towards a targeted direction and stab, dealing 35 (+4% per level) damage. If an enemy Hero is hit, Channel to Stun for 1 second and deal 80 (+4% per level) additional damage when it fully finishes.
Celestial Charge is Imperius's main gap closer, allowing him
to catch up to fleeing enemy Heroes and impaling them on his spear.
It is absolutely mandatory to aim this ability with diligence,
as its hitbox is relatively small.
Celestial Charge can be used both offensively and defensively. It can be a great offensive tool to dive for enemy Heroes, locking them down, and allowing your allies to finish them off. By the same token, however, it can also be used defensively on engaging enemy Warriors or Assassins to peel for allies in trouble.
Solarion's Fire
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- Mana: 50
- Cooldown: 8 seconds
Release a fiery wave that deals 110 (+4% per level) damage. Enemies hit by the center take 50% bonus damage and are Slowed by 40% for 3 seconds.
Solarion's Fire provides Imperius with
much needed waveclear, especially in the
solo-lane. It can be used against Minion waves or enemy Heroes
to poke them from a safe distance. Make sure to hit as many enemies as possible
with the center of Solarion Fire's projectile to maximize its damage output.
Molten Armor
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- Mana: 75
- Cooldown: 12 seconds
Shroud Imperius in flames for 3 seconds, striking a nearby enemy for 19 (+4% per level) damage every 0.25 seconds. Imperius heals for 50% of the damage dealt, increased to 100% against Heroes.
Molten Armor is an important self-heal source
and should be used during team fights to keep Imperius alive for
as long as possible. This ability also turns Imperius into one of
the strongest duelist in the game due to the fact that
all of its damage gets focused on the singular target Imperius is dueling.
If used with Basic Attacks in between to consume
Valorous Brand's marks, Molten Armor will provide an
incredible amount of healing on Imperius, allowing him to march forward towards
the enemy team. The only major downside of this ability, however, is its
relatively long cooldown. Furthermore, its healing output is somewhat
underwhelming if used only against non-Heroic targets and should thus be
mainly used against Heroic enemies if possible.
Angelic Armaments
In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.
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- Heroic
- Mana: 70
- Cooldown: 70 seconds
Summon a ring of blazing swords that grants 850 (+4% per level) Shield for 3 seconds.
If the Shield lasts the full duration, this ability can be reactivated within 5 seconds to launch 6 swords toward an area, each dealing 140 (+4% per level) damage to the first enemy hit.
Angelic Armaments can be used in two ways
to empower Imperius's combat performance during team fights.
Firstly, it can be used as a so-called panic-button to provide strong self
protection during team fights thanks to the massive Shield
it grants. Combined with the strong self-sustain deriving
from consuming Valorous Brand's marks and
using
Molten Armor, Angelic Armament's shield
can buy enough time for the self-heal to bring back enough
health for Imperius to continue fighting.
Secondly, it can be used to damage and potentially execute damaged enemy
Heroes by shooting Angelic Armament's swords towards the target's location.
Firing the swords follows similar mechanics as
Li-Ming's
Magic Missiles, requiring you to aim at the desired
location with all swords launching towards it at once. If aimed properly, this
Heroic Ability can deal a terrifying amount of damage.
Wrath of the Angiris
In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.
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- Heroic
- Mana: 80
- Cooldown: 80 seconds
After 0.75 seconds, charge in the target direction, lifting the first enemy Hero hit into the Heavens. While in the air, Imperius can steer the landing location by moving.
After 2 seconds, slam the target into the ground, dealing 250 (+4% per level) damage to them, increased by 20% for each Valorous Brand on the target when landing, and Stunning them for 1 second.
Wrath of the Angiris enables Imperius to dash
to effectively remove one enemy Hero from combat for a short period of time.
Combined with the re-location upon landing, this can be very impactful
and allow your team to finish off an enemy Hero with great ease.
However, this Heroic Ability requires precise timing and execution,
as it comes with a short channeled activation timer. Thus, if used too early or too late,
Wrath of the Angiris can get interrupted by enemy Heroes,
or miss completely if no enemy Hero is hit.
Upon landing, the enemy Hero who got caught by Wrath of the Angiris
will take some damage, increased by 20% for each
Valorous Brand's mark
on them. The duration of
Valorous Brand's marks is not paused
while Imperius is in the air, so they could expire before landing, resulting in less damage done.
Valorous Brand
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- Passive
- Cooldown: 25 seconds
Each Basic Ability marks enemy Heroes hit for 10 seconds. Basic Attacks consume the target's marks, dealing 20% bonus damage per mark and healing for 75 (+4% per level) per mark.
Imperius's Trait provides him with a powerful combination of self-sustain and bonus damage.
The important requirement to get maximum value from this Trait is smart timing and positioning to get
as many Basic Attacks in as possible. Due to the 10-second time window
that Valorous Brand's marks
stay active on enemy Heroes, Imperius can use his abilities to spread the brands on multiple targets,
enabling him to consecutively deal bonus damage throughout a team fight.
Changelog
- 13 Dec. 2024: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 07 Dec. 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Major Patch.
- 19 Jun. 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 20 Jan. 2021: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 01 Dec. 2020: Guide reviewed for the latest Patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020: Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 19 Jun. 2020: Reviewed and updated the Abilities section.
- 12 Jul. 2019: Updated Imperius's Abilities in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
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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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