Jae-Won ‘Rich’ Lee is probably the best Greymane player in the world—and, depending on the day of the week, likely the best Heroes of the Storm player in the world. His team KSV Black took home the HGC Finals trophy at BlizzCon last November, and a month later, performed an encore at the Gold Club World Championship in Beijing. KSV Black and Rich seemingly cannot be stopped. Here in Taiwan, at the Eastern Clash, we sat down together to hash out his favorite build for the Lord of the Worgen. 

Conviction is the Weapon of Kings

Greymane is one of the most versatile Heroes in the Nexus, which is why he’s been so popular at the professional level since his release. “The team that has a Greymane can choose how they want to play the map,” said Rich, while spinning in his computer chair at Blizzard Arena Taipei. “They can push out the lane, take the objective, or siege very easily. My build is the typical build—the other players, they play this style as well. In this current meta, this build is very good to counter-dive heroes such as Genji and Tracer, which is one of the many reasons he’s picked at the moment.”

Rich’s build focuses on maintaining the uptime of Inner Beast (W) for as long as possible. Inner Beast increases Greymane’s attack speed by 50% for 3 seconds, which increases to 4 seconds with Rich’s level 1 choice Viciousness. At level 4 he specs further into Inner Beast by taking Insatiable, which grants Greymane 10 mana with every basic attack. At level 4, after five basic attacks, the cost of Inner Beast will be fully refunded. “You can always be at full mana with this talent.” Rich added.

At level 7, the direction of the build can be a bit situational, but his go-to is usually Quicksilver Bullets, which increases Greymane’s Basic Attack range by 20%. “In this current meta, there are usually conditions where I have to trade damage with a Genji or a Tracer. This talent allows me to land basic attacks on high-mobility heroes like that more often. I will, however, take Wizened Duelist against Heroes such as Blaze and Leoric, where I know I’m going to be able to land a lot of Basic Attacks in order to get the maximum value out of the quest.” 

Wizened Duelist is a very unique talent and, according to Rich, it requires a specific circumstance to be worth sacrificing the Basic Attack range of Quicksilver Bullets, such as an in-your-face enemy frontline that will provide easy stacks. Wizened Duelist increases Greymane’s Basic Attack damage by 1% for every six Basic Attacks he lands on enemy heroes, up to 30%. There is no bonus for completing the quest, and it’s somewhat a double-edged sword, as dying will halve the stacks you’ve gained.

The Future Belongs to Those Who Take It

At level 10, Greymane’s playstyle changes with Go for the Throat, Rich’s Heroic of choice. Instead of pouncing on a hero with Darkflight (E), he will whittle away at Heroes health bars first with Basic Attacks in Human form until it’s time to lunge at an enemy Hero with Go for the Throat, dealing massive damage. If Go for the Throat secures a kill, a second use is granted for free for the next 10 seconds. “The majority of the time when I’m playing Greymane, I will be in Human form. When I can kill a Hero one hundred percent is when I'll jump into Worgen form, usually with Go for the Throat first.”

“I know Western teams take Cursed Bullet often,” Rich said. “I understand that because the meta is different between Asia and the West. In the Asia meta, we prefer to burst the carry Hero (Tracer, Genji) first. In Western meta, they prefer to kill the tank. Cursed Bullet is better for that.” 

Only a Fool Challenges an Alpha Wolf

At level 13, Rich takes On the Prowl, which grants Greymane 30% increased movement speed after Inner Beast has been active for 3 seconds. In other words—so long as Inner Beast is maintained after 3 seconds, Greymane will continue to move 30% faster. “With this talent, you’ll be able to chase better, kite better, and secure more kills,” Rich said.

The build calls for Executioner at level 16, which increases Greymane’s Basic Attack damage by 30% for 3 seconds when attacking Slowed, Rooted, or Stunned targets. What many people don’t realize is that the increased damage from Executioner also applies to the splash damage granted from his level 20 Storm Tier Talent, Hunter’s Blunderbuss, which causes Human-form Basic Attacks to splash for 100% damage behind Greymane’s target. 

“I always choose Hunter’s Blunderbuss because it's great synergy with Executioner. When you attack a CC'd Hero, the other Heroes behind it are going to get the same damage. When you attack in Human form, it's almost the same damage as Worgen form with this Talent.” Rich said.

Anyone getting Stunned, Slowed, or Rooted at level 20 (along with anyone standing behind them) will be eating a significant amount of Basic Attack damage, dished out at an increases rate thanks to Inner Beast. This, coupled with his ability to pounce on enemy Heroes for big damage, is what makes Greymane such a deadly factor in the late game.

May the Great Wolf Spirit Guide You

If you’ve played Greymane, you likely know one thing: he does a lot of burst damage. Before you get distracted chasing kills, Rich has a few words of wisdom. “If you're going to start playing Greymane, my advice would be the focus more on clearing waves and doing camps,” Rich said. “I know Greymane is very good at securing kills, but it's more important to win the macro game.”

Thanks to his high damage output, Greymane is perfect for soloing camps and clearing waves fast. In fact, many professional teams rely on his Basic Attack damage to siege enemy structures over specialist Heroes that are built for pushing—such as Azmodan or Sylvanas—because he has such a reliable means of escape with Disengage (E). 

"Usually I'd prefer to have Greymane with Tyrael. Tyrael can grant Greymane movement speed with his Smite ability, and protection with his Sanctification Heroic at level 10."

When it comes to Battlegrounds, Rich points to Infernal Shrines as one of the Assassin’s strongest. “Greymane is great on Infernal Shrines because there are a lot of Mercenary camps which he can take quickly on his own. He’s is also very good at clearing waves, forcing down structures, and taking the objective on this map.”

While he may sound like the perfect finisher, Greymane is not first pick or first ban priority in the current meta. Professional teams know now how to play around his aggression by counting his cooldowns and predicting his rather telegraphed movements. There are also a healthy number of counters to stave off this bloodthirsty Worgen as well. “Hanzo is a great counter to Greymane because of his basic attack range. He can deal damage to Greymane safely from a distance,” Rich explains. “Arthas is another counter because his Frozen Tempest is going to decrease the Greymane's attack speed. Another would be Johanna, because she's going to disrupt his ability to secure kills with the blinds from her Shield Glare.”