Heroes of the Storm at BlizzCon: Cho'gall Abilities and Gameplay

The hype is real! The moment we have been waiting for is right here! 2 players controlling 1 hero! Talk about innovation, uniqueness and genre changing mechanic. I am using the word "change" because from what I have read from the community reactions during Cho'gall announcement, none of the well known MOBAs like League of Legends, DoTA, Smite etc has such a concept. This is the very first time that a hero controlled by 2 players is being introduced to the genre and of course as always it is Blizzard again with its endless creativity!

Ok I'll end my illegible blabber (I blame my over-hyped state) and start talking about this groundbreaking hero. Cho'gall is a two headed ogre warlock who can do some horrific things when the two heads stop arguing and instead decide to work in harmony. If you have played World of Warcraft, you'll be quite familiar with him.

Cho'gall will allow two players to take control of his heads. Each head has his own unique abilities AND talents that will complement the other head's abilities and talents. The player who is controlling Cho will be able to control the hero movements while Gall is more of an overseer Abathur in ranged assassin form, moving wherever Cho takes him.

There is a reason why Blizzard calls Heroes of the Storm a "Team Brawler" rather than a MOBA. They want their players to work in unison and win matches with a strategic teamwork rather than having one high skilled player carry the whole team as this was never Blizzard's intention. Of course individual skill goes a long way in this game but if a team of weak players work as a team better than a team of highly skilled players who can't work together, the former team will almost always have a higher chance of winning in Heroes of the Storm.

Cho'gall is a hero that will really complement the teamwork I mentioned above because if two heads can't work together, Cho'gall will be a huge liability to his team. Let's take a look at Cho'gall abilities so we can see why teamwork and communication are key factors when playing Cho'gall.

CHO ABILITIES (WARRIOR)

Basic Abilities

Surging Fist (Q) - Cooldown: 13 Seconds / Wind up for 1 second, then reactive to charge in a direction. Enemies in your path are knocked aside and take 46 damage.

Consuming Blaze (W) - Cooldown: 12 Seconds / Ignite nearby enemies, dealing 134 damage over 4 seconds. If this hits an enemy, gain 272 Health over 4 seconds.

Rune Bomb (E) - Cooldown: 8 Seconds / Roll a bomb dealing 91 damage to enemies in its path. Gall can use Runic Blast to detonate it to deal 274 damage in an area.

Two-Headed (Trait) - Gall is permanently attached to you, going where you go.

Heroics

Hammer of Twilight (R1) - Passively increases Basic Attack damage by 25%. Activate to swing the Hammer to deal 156 damage, push enemies away, and stun for 0.75 seconds. [15 Second Cooldown]

Upheaval (R2) - Cooldown: 60 Seconds / After 1 second pull enemies towards you, slowing them by 25% for 3 seconds and dealing 50 damage.

GALL ABILITIES (RANGED ASSASSIN)

Basic Abilities

Shadowflame (Q) - Cooldown: 3 Seconds / Deal 197 damage to enemies in the area.

Dread Orb (W) - Cooldown: 6 Seconds / Throw a bomb that will bounce three times, dealing 155 damage to enemies.

Runic Blast (E) - Detonate Cho’s Rune Bomb dealing 285 damage around it.

Two-Headed (Trait): Permanently attached to Cho, going where he goes. You are immune to Stun and Silence effects.

Hurry Up, Oof! (Z) - Cooldown: 45 Seconds / Increases your Movement Speed by 60%, and allows you to pass through other units. This effect decays over 3 seconds.

Heroics

Twisting Nether (R1) - Cooldown: 100 Seconds / After 1 second, nearby enemies are slowed by 40% while you channel, up to 6 seconds. Activate to deal 506 damage.

Shadow Bolt Volley (R2) - Cooldown: 60 Seconds / Unleash 20 Shadow Bolts over 4 seconds, each dealing 153 damage to the first target hit. The bolts fire towards your mouse.

First and foremost Gall is dependent on Cho's movements. Gall's ability Dread Orb will never reach its full potential if Cho's positioning isn't ideal. Another key moment when Cho's movements are vital is when Gall uses his Shadow Bolt Volley heroic. The volleys in this heroic move very slow so when a situation calls for this heroic to be used, Cho will have to position himself to allow Gall to deal maximum damage to fleeing enemies because this heroic will be completely useless in close combat as it is extremely easy to avoid and it won't have the speed the catch up with the fleeing enemy player.

This does put too much pressure on the one shoulder of Cho but Gall has a lot of responsibilities too! Cho's Rune Bomb is basically useless if Gall can't detonate it on time to deal a massive damage or even worse misses this ability being used entirely which is why Gall will require some excellent map awareness from his player. I must admit that as an Abathur main, I already feel confident in my ability to play Gall even before getting my "slimy" tentacles on him! :P

There are also certain talents on each head that will give them a chance to improve the other head. For example if Gall desires, he can pick Shave talent at level 16 which will allow him to nudge Cho a small distance in a desired direction giving him some kind of an ability to dictate Cho's movements. This could give Gall a chance to point out a direction he wants Cho to go or help him escape from a tough situation. To provide another example; Cho can pick Will of Gall talent at level 20, giving Gall the ability to make him unstoppable for 2 seconds!

You can check Cho and Gall talents here.

In short, Cho'gall is a hero that will require extreme teamwork otherwise he could be the most troll hero you can imagine that would provide intense stress to his players. Cho'gall is not the type of hero you can play with a bunch of strangers or friends you don't really trust :P Cho'gall has the potential to provide great entertainment but make sure to pick your most trusted friend!! :)

How will we be able to unlock Cho'gall though? Due to his unique mechanic, Cho'gall will require the player to fulfill a specific criteria in order to unlock him.

In order to get Cho'gall during the Cho'gall Buddy Brawl event, taking place between November 17 and January 1, you'll need one of 3 things: A BlizzCon loot code given to players who purchased Virtual Ticket or who attended BlizzCon. Random seeding at the start of the event which is just a coin toss, you'll either get it or not :P And last but not least, a friend who has Cho'gall in order to complete the quest to unlock Cho'gall for yourself. In order to unlock Cho'gall with a quest, you must win 2 games as one of Cho'galls heads with someone who already owns him. Once you complete the quest, you can help others who doesn't own Cho'gall win 4 games as one of his heads to receive a whopping 2200 gold reward for yourself! This is a great event to motivate people to help each other unlock Cho'gall!

After Cho'gall Buddy Brawl event ends, Cho'gall will be able to be purchased normally from the in-game store. However, as Cho'gall counts as 2 heroes, I predict that his price will also be higher than any other hero. So find someone who owns Cho'gall during this event if you want to save your hard-earned golds! :P

Cho'gall Skins

Cho'gall Twilight's Hammer Chieftain Skin