Hall Of Heroes: Bax

Scenarios

Depending on your team make-up, the Arena can prove to be an apt killing ground for Bax. As long as there is a consistent mix of melee/ranged fighters, you won’t be on the receiving end of every incoming attack.

Not only that, Bax’s sprint ability allows him to break away from the centre of combat to patch himself up or to hunt down stragglers. It’s not much but Bax will also receive an extra 50 hit points to his 1250 total for every greenskin. With Glowgob (the Night Goblin Shaman) being a must-have proponent for most teams, you’ll like get this buff during the majority of scenarios.

When playing Mourkain Temple, time is perhaps one of the biggest deciding factors when it comes to victory. If you’re going head-to-head with teams who are at least Tier 1 (think Prestige in Call of Duty) it’s likely the battle will play out until the clock stops; it’s an important point to remember when playing as Bax.

Due to his survivability rating, Bax is not only great for capturing flags, but preventing enemy teams from capturing them too. Though flag-capping is a task usually reserved for more nimble solo-runners such as Ikkrik, such characters often lack the ability to hold down their position until the flag full converts. Bax, especially if fully-stacked, will have no such problems, at least when pitted against one or two incoming attackers. However, even if there are more, using his damage debuff, knockdown and health replen, Bax can at least ward them off, hence buying some time.

As a sprinter, it’s easy to assume that Bax makes a decent choice when it comes to either Black Fire Pass or the Pyramid of Settra. In truth, with his capabilities as a long-haul fighter, he can sometimes outrun entire groups of pursuing players single-handedly though, without root/snare resistance, he can just as easily get swamped. Unless you have a healer constantly tied to your wing, pitting Bax as a support hero is perhaps the best direction to go in. As team-mates try to make a getaway with objectives, Bax is one of the best-suited characters to debuff or even disable pursuers before diving back in and aiding another ally.

Ability Combos

Where You Goin? > Down Goes Everyone! > Yer’ All Nothin’

[drop2]Available only to those who have the appropriate masteries equipped (see above), this combo is a vicious onslaught used to incapacitate entire groups of enemies for a short time. Bax simply rushes a mob before knocking them all down, allowing his team to bring up the rear and offer support. Once back on their feet, Bax delivers the finish blow with Yer’ All Nothin’, decreasing the targets’ damage output and giving allied players the upper hand. Can also be used as an effective “smash n’ grab” technique for snatching runes/relics during objective-based scenarios though needs to be timed properly.

Yer’ Nothin > Clobber > Clobber

This is a combo that should come naturally. As Bax, your initial goal is to pile ten stacks of Clobberin’ before wading into battle therefore latching onto a single target and spamming them with low-cooldown attacks works most effectively. Though we’ve listed Yer’ Nothin as the trigger move in this combo, ideally it should only be used when your opponent fights back. If you’re in the thick of battle and your target doesn’t respond, it’s best to keep using Clobber; Yer’ Nothin can always be saved for when you see an ally in trouble.

Down Ya Go! > I’m Da Biggest

Another combo that doesn’t take too much thought. Bax’s 4th and 5th abilities are the most powerful in his repertoire and, when combined, dish out an incredible amount of damage (we’re talking at least 500). Great against low-health stragglers or healers, Down Ya Go! incapacitates them disabling any healing/block/absorb powers that would save them from the second, fatal blow.

Mastery Combos

Responsiveness > Restorative Burst > I’m Da Toughest!

This conservative loadout may not enhance Bax’s damage output, but it greatly increases his survivability. Each of the chosen masteries grant Bax constant health replenishment, whether he be dishing out damage, clinging to an allied healer or simply struck by enemy attacks. Whenever coming toe-to-toe with the fiery Black Orc you know straight away that this encounter will last for quite some time; with these masteries equipped and with a healer in tow, Bax can outlast just about any opponent.

Cripple > An’ On An’ On > Grim Pragmatism

Despite a high armour count and his propensity to soak up tons of damage, Bax doesn’t always have to fill out the tank role in a group. With this loadout equipped, he can employ his sprint ability to catch up with fleeing targets before knocking them down (or snaring them Cripple), Grim Pragmatism offering a healthy damage boost when attacking opponents under 35% health.

Counterblast > An’ On An’ On > Massive Smash

With no particular theme in mind, this loadout is inspired by typical combat scenarios. Like it or not, Bax is a damage magnet; it doesn’t matter how high his armour count is or the efficiency of surrounding healers, he’s still going to come under a constant barrage of attacks from all sides. Bearing this in mind, Counterblast seems like the perfect mastery to equip, giving Bax a 15% chance of dealing 51 damage to all surrounding enemies with each incoming blow.

Due to the fact he isn’t damage-focused, Bax will sometimes find it hard to deliver the finishing strike on his targets. There’s no shame in settling for assists, especially with Massive Smash equipped. Perhaps the easiest perk/killstreak to acquire in the game, this ability requires a five assist-streak, dropping a huge crystal onto opponents that deals 172 whilst knocking them away in scattered directions.