Heroes of the Storm Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Franchise-warcraft This is from the Warcraft universe.


Bow before me, mortals!

Damage (8/10) Utility (7/10) Survivability (8/10) Complexity (7/10)

Ragnaros is a Melee Assassin Hero from the Warcraft universe.

As the lord of Azeroth’s fire elementals, Ragnaros desires nothing more than to burn the world to ash. Banished to the Firelands eons ago, the Firelord now turns his rage toward the Nexus, intent on incinerating everything and everyone within it.

Ragnaros is a Bruiser that can nullify enemy pushes against his Forts and Keeps.

Background[]

The Firelord and his brethren once held sway over the entire world. As a servant of the Old Gods, he fought against the Titans for domination over the planet. The victorious Titans banished him and his brethren to the Elemental Plane — there to remain imprisoned until the end of time. It was then and there that the brothers turned on each other. For five millennia a battle was fought at the core of this world. It was during the Elemental Sundering that Ragnaros attacked Thunderaan, Prince of Air. Thunderaan was utterly defeated and the Firelord feasted upon his essence, but was unable to consume him entirely. Ragnaros divided what remained between his servants, Baron Geddon and Garr.[1]

Gameplay Summary[]

Ragnaros is an Assassin based on area of effect ability damage. He can harness the his volcanic wrath to call down flaming meteors, crush foes with the explosive might of Sulfuras, and summon lava waves that will incinerate an entire lane's worth of enemy minions. Ragnaros is unique as his trait, Molten Core, allows him to take over a Fort or Keep, becoming a towering inferno over the structure and gaining a second set of abilities that will help to engulf assailants in the fires of doom.

Overall, Ragnaros fits into most team compositions, as his set of abilities can single-handedly change the course of certain map objectives. He requires, however, proper positioning and a team capable of giving him opportunity to unleash his damage properly.

Strengths[]

  • High area of effect burst damage.
  • Excelent waveclear and lane bullying.
  • Very flexible and straightforward talent tree.
  • Empower Sulfuras gives him decent self-sustain and waveclear.
  • Living Meteor is very versatile for various tasks, such as waveclear, sieging and poking. Additionally, it has the highest damage potential of all his abilities.
  • Blast Wave bestows Ragnaros with decent utility, being a flexible ability useful either for engaging opponents or to flee from combat.
  • Sulfuras Smash has high range and deals massive damage, being extremely potent after opponents have been inflicted by some kind of crowd control.
  • Lava Wave is powerful defensive ability, and also very strong on minion-related map objectives, such as Tomb of the Spider Queen and Braxis Holdout.
  • Molten Core allows Ragnaros to take over structures and empower them, granting him a separate healthbar, as well a new set of basic abilities. While allied structures can be taken at any time, enemy structures can only be taken after being destroyed.
    • Empower Sulfuras becomes Molten Swing, granting a area of effect stun with high range.
    • Living Meteor becomes Meteor Shower, covering massive range and allowing Ragnaros to poke opponents from very high distances.
    • Blast Wave becomes Explosive Rune, which is very powerful when combo'ed with the other Molten Core abilities.

Weaknesses[]

  • Mana intensive during all phases of the game.
  • Poor survivability and mobility.
  • Limited utility beyond raw damage.
  • Cannot deal very well against long range pokes and kiting.
  • Vulnerable to crowd control effects, such as stuns and slows.
  • Most of his abilities are very easy to avoid.
  • Lava Wave is extremely telegraphed, as the wave is also shown as an icon in the minimap, giving opponents plenty of time to avoid.
  • Molten Core is put on cooldown when the match starts, to prevent Ragnaros from using a such powerful cooldown by the start of the match.

Abilities[]

IconEmpowerSulfuras
Empower Sulfuras (Q)
Mana: 25
Cooldown: 4 seconds

Your next Basic Attack is instant, deals 191 damage (+4% per level) in an area, and heals you for 20% of the damage dealt. This healing is doubled versus Heroes.

IconLivingMeteor
Living Meteor (W) [Vector Targeting]
Mana: 60
Cooldown: 12 seconds

Summon a meteor at the target point that deals 68 damage (+4% per level), then rolls in the target direction dealing 312 damage (+4% per level) over 1.75 seconds.

IconBlastWave
Blast Wave (E)
Mana: 50
Cooldown: 9 seconds

Ignite yourself or an ally, granting 25% Movement Speed for 1.5 seconds, then causing a fiery explosion that deals 108 (+4% per level) damage to nearby enemies.

Traits[]

IconMoltenCore
Molten Core (D) [Trait]
Cooldown: 120 seconds

Channel on an allied or destroyed Fort or Keep to replace it with Ragnaros's ultimate form, temporarily gaining new Abilities, having 4155.84 (+4% per level) Health that burns away over 18.72 (+4% per level) seconds.

Ragnaros returns to his normal form upon losing all Health in Molten Core.

While under the effects of Molten Core, Ragnaros's abilities change to the following:

IconMoltenSwing
Molten Swing (Q) [Cone]

Stun and damage nearby enemies for 161 (+4% per level) while under the effect of Molten Core.

IconMeteorShower
Meteor Shower (W) [Vector Targeting]

Summon a line of meteors dealing 151 (+4% per level) damage while under the effect of Molten Core.

IconRuneExplosion
Explosive Rune (E) [Area of Effect]

Cause a delayed explosion dealing 285 (+4% per level) damage in a large area while under the effect of Molten Core.

Heroic Abilities[]

IconSulfurasSmash
Sulfuras Smash (R)
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 75
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Hurl Sulfuras at the target area. It lands after 0.75 seconds, dealing 205 damage (+4% per level). Enemies in the center take an additional 617 damage (+4% per level) and are stunned for 0.5 seconds.

IconLavaWave
Lava Wave (R)
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 80
Cooldown: 120 seconds

Release a wave of lava from your Core that travels down the targeted lane, dealing 60 damage (+4% per level) per second to non-Structure enemies in its path and instantly killing enemy Minions. Damage increased by 100% versus Heroes.

Talents[]

Tier 1, Hero Level 1[]

IconEmpowerSulfuras
Sulfuras Hungers
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Every time you kill a Minion with Empower Sulfuras, its damage is increased by 1, up to 30.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After killing 30 Minions, increase its damage by an additional 90.

IconLivingMeteor
Shifting Meteor
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Each time an enemy is hit by the same Living Meteor, they take 3% increased damage from it.
IconQuestTalent Quest: Hit 75 Heroes with Living Meteor.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After hitting 75 Heroes with Living Meteor, its duration is increased to 2.25 seconds, and it can be reactivated to change its direction once per use.

IconBlastWave
Engulfing Flame
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Increase Blast Wave's damage by 75% and its radius by 15%.

Tier 2, Hero Level 4[]

IconLivingMeteor
Fire Ward
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

When Living Meteor hits an Enemy Hero, you gain a charge of Spell Block, reducing damage from the next enemy ability against you by 50%. Can hold up to 2 charges.

IconBlastWave
Slow Burn
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Blast Wave slows enemies hit by 40% for 2 seconds.

IconCatchingFire
Catching Fire
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)
Cooldown: 30 seconds

IconQuestTalent Quest: Gathering a Regeneration Globe increases your Health Regeneration by 1.25 per second, up to 18.75.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After gathering 15 Regeneration Globes, activate Catching Fire to gain 25 Armor for 3 seconds, reducing damage taken by 25%.

Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

IconEmpowerSulfuras
Hand of Ragnaros
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

If Empower Sulfuras hits at least 2 enemy Heroes, it restores 10 Mana and its cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds.

IconLivingMeteor
Molten Power
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Each enemy Hero hit by Living Meteor increases the damage of your next Living Meteor by 20%, up to a maximum of 80%.

IconGiantKiller
Blistering Attacks
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Every 10 seconds, Ragnaros's next Basic Attack against a Hero deals 60% bonus damage. Hitting enemies with Basic Abilities reduces this cooldown by 1 second.

Tier 4, Hero Level 10[]

IconSulfurasSmash
Sulfuras Smash (R)
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 75
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Hurl Sulfuras at the target area. It lands after 0.75 seconds, dealing 205 damage (+4% per level). Enemies in the center take an additional 617 damage (+4% per level) and are stunned for 0.5 seconds.

IconLavaWave
Lava Wave (R)
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 80
Cooldown: 120 seconds

Release a wave of lava from your Core that travels down the targeted lane, dealing 60 damage (+4% per level) per second to non-Structure enemies in its path and instantly killing enemy Minions. Damage increased by 100% versus Heroes.

Tier 5, Hero Level 13[]

IconEmpowerSulfuras
Cauterized Wounds
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Empower Sulfuras heals you for an additional 40% of the damage dealt to Heroes over 2 seconds.

IconBlastWave
Tempered Flame
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

When Blast Wave damages an enemy Hero, you gain a Shield equal to 100% of the damage dealt for 3 seconds.

IconResilientFlame
Resilient Flame
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Cooldown: 15 seconds

When Ragnaros is Stunned, he gains 40 Armor for 3 seconds, reducing damage taken by 50%.

This effect has a 15 second cooldown.

Tier 6, Hero Level 16[]

IconEmpowerSulfuras
Giant Scorcher
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Empower Sulfuras burns enemy Heroes for 6% of their maximum Health over 3 seconds. This additional damage does not heal you.

IconLivingMeteor
Meteor Bomb
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Living Meteor explodes at the end of its path, dealing 229 damage (+4% per level) to all nearby enemies.

IconBlastWave
Blast Echo
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

After Blast Wave explodes, cast another Blast Wave on yourself. Can only occur once per cast.

Tier 7, Hero Level 20[]

IconSulfurasSmash
Flames of Sulfuron
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Sulfuras Smash slows enemies by 50% for 2 seconds and enemies in the center are stunned for an additional 0.5 seconds.

IconLavaWave
Lava Surge
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Lava Wave gains an additional charge and its cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds.

IconMoltenCore
Heroic Difficulty
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Your Health and damage are increased by 25% while in Molten Core, and its cooldown is reduced by 50 seconds.

IconSubmerge
Submerge
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Cooldown: 90 seconds

Activate to place yourself in stasis and heal for 624 Health (+4% per level) over 3 seconds.

Talent Builds[]

  • Empower Sulfuras Build: focused on maximizing the damage of Empower Sulfuras, providing incredible amounts of sustained damage, as well improving Ragnaros self-sustain. In addition, Giant Scorcher also makes Ragnaros highly effective at fighting Warriors and other high-health opponents.
    • This build is recommended when fighting team compositions that features multiple melee Heroes, to hit as many opponents as possible with Empower Sulfuras and Sulfuras Smash, and low burst damage, since this build means Ragnaros must stay on the frontline as much as possible, which can be dangerous considering his low health.
  • Living Meteor Build: focused on maximizing the raw damage of Living Meteor, making it the Ragnaros strongest build, theorically. Shifting Meteor, once completed, allows Ragnaros to hit as many opponents as possible, specially if the player is proficient at hard-reads.
    • This build is recommended when the allied team has reliable means of crowd control and setups, due the telegraphed nature of Living Meteor.
    • Alternatively, if facing too many opponents with high spell damage, Fire Ward can be taken at level 4, instead of Slow Burn.
  • Blast Wave Build: focused on improving Blast Wave's damage and utility, granting Ragnaros a decent batch of survivability and endurance that makes him a more sturdier Bruiser.
    • This build is recommended when the enemy team doesn't have a focused gameplay style, featuring a more balanced composition.

Tips[]

  • Empower Sulfuras resets Ragnaros Basic Attack, therefore, if used correctly, he can cancel the ending lag of his Basic Attacks to improve his damage per second.
    • Additionally, try to hit as many opponents (Heroes and Minions) to maximize the damage and healing.
  • Aim Living Meteor at opponents running in a specific direction, and try to read their path to ensure it'll hit them as much as possible.
    • In addition, position Ragnaros properly when using it for sieging, to hit the structures in the most optimal way.
  • Save Blast Wave when needed to engage opponents, or to flee from dangerous situations. Make sure to also cast it on an ally to aid them in the same situations.
  • Ragnaros doesn't really have a rotation, however, under certain situations, Blast Wave > Living Meteor > Empower Sulfuras is an effective combo.
  • Molten Core can be used on a variety of situations, as either offensive or defensive.
    • It is very useful to force a push after taking down an enemy structure, specially on certain maps, such as Tomb of the Spider Queen and Braxis Holdout after summoning the spiders and zerg rush, respectively.
    • On the other hand, it can be an effective defensive cooldown to protect structures against map objectives that aim directly at structures, such as Blackheart's Bay and Sky Temple.
  • Try to time Sulfuras Smash with other crowd control skills to maximize its stunning effects and damage.

Matchups[]

Pairings[]

Aurielplate
Ragnaros is a powerhouse, being capable of dishing a lot of damage quickly. He is a notable candidate for Bestow Hope due the fact he can still be affected by it while using Molten Core; although he cannot be healed while under its effects, the energy he can provide to Auriel is remarkable, making the pair useful while defending structures.


ETCplate
Ragnaros works well with Heroes who can displace or group up the enemy team due to his large AoE damage. Heroes like ETC help set up Ragnaros for easy engagements onto enemy heroes with Powerslide and Mosh Pit.


Lost Vikingsplate
The Lost Vikings often force teams to hold 4v5 engagements with their enemies, where Ragnaros does exceptionally well. Both Lava Wave and Molten Core are powerful tools at defending against enemy pushes, and can buy time for the Lost Vikings to get value out of their ability to be in multiple places at once.


Tassadarplate
Ragnaros has a lot of self-healing with Empower Sulfuras, and Tassadar’s shields are a great way to ensure that he stays alive long enough for that healing to come through in extended fights.


Effective against[]

Effective foes[]

Lunaraplate
Ragnaros has no great way to engage on enemy heroes by himself, and can be easily kited. Heroes like Lunara that have great poke and can easily run away when he tries to engage give him a hard time.


Jainaplate
Similar to Lunara, Jaina can also control Ragnaros easily and exploit his lack of mobility. Her Chill effect can both keep her safe and help her to peel for allies that he tries to engage onto.


Muradinplate
Muradin brings pretty much everything to the table that Ragnaros doesn’t want in an opponent - a Movement Speed Slow, Attack Speed Slow, Stun, and potential huge knockback in Haymaker. Muradin has no problem making sure that Ragnaros doesn’t get to stick on the targets that he wants to kill, as well as enabling his team to get the jump on Ragnaros should he ever be even slightly out of position.


Skins[]

The Firelord (base)
Ragnaros - The Firelord Ragnaros - Molten Ragnaros - Scorching
The Firelord Molten Scorching
Sulfuron IconShard 100
Ragnaros is at his strongest within the smoldering halls of Sulfuron Keep. Adorned in the primal metals that comprise his seat of power, he now carries that strength with him at all times.
Ragnaros - Sulfuron Ragnaros - Sulfuron - Flame Ragnaros - Sulfuron - Infernal
Sulfuron Flame Infernal
Lil' Ragnaros IconShard 1600
YOU FOOL! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SUMMONING ME TOO SOON? I DESPISE BEING ADORABLE!
Features altered voice-over.
Lil' Ragnaros Lil' Ragnaros - Blazing Lil' Ragnaros - Amber
Lil' Ragnaros Blazing Amber

Development[]

Ragnaros was mentioned before as a potential hero for Heroes of the Storm. However, balance issues existed in regards to his possible implementation.[2] Data existed for him in the game's code.[3]

Patch changes[]

References[]

Advertisement