Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, has been serving as nightmare fuel for the denizens of Sanctuary since the year 2000. The Nexus will now serve as Mephisto’s haunting ground as he becomes the newest ranged Assassin. To get a better idea how the Hero feels, we spoke with HeroesHearth Esports’ Assassin player Khalif “Khroen” Hashim for his first impressions of Mephisto.

Trait Talk: Lord of Hatred

Lord of Hatred reduces all basic ability cooldowns for every enemy Hero hit by his basic abilities. Each enemy Hero hit with Skull Missile and Shade of Mephisto grants 1.5 seconds of cooldown reduction, while Lightning Nova ticks off 0.3 seconds for every Hero hit per pulse.

“Lord of Hatred is a trait that rewards skillful players for successfully landing Mephisto’s abilities, reducing his cooldowns to keep putting out even more damage,” Khroen explained. “If you blink in and miss abilities, you have nothing and might die for it. If you land your spells, it allows you to do more and even self-sustain with the help of some talents.”

Level 1: Harboring Malicious Intent

At level 1, Khroen opts for Malicious Intent. This talent grants 20% Spell Power while Shade of Mephisto is active and for 2.5 seconds after it ends. This gives the Assassin a boost in Spell Power for a lengthy 5 seconds.

“With this 20% increase in Spell Power, it allows you to be a more powerful threat and—assuming you’re landing your abilities—it will be much easier to take down enemies,” Khroen said.

Consistency is key for Khroen, and he sees Malicious Intent giving players the most value of the level 1 talents. “Other talents do not reward Mephisto nearly as much. The only other talent I would consider is Anger, but even then, only in the scenarios where you will be able to safely and consistently auto attack the targets in between your spells.”

Level 4: Building up a Static Barrier

At level 4, Khroen grabs Static Barrier, giving Mephisto a shield for half of the damage that Lightning Nova does to enemy Heroes.

“I choose this talent because I believe it to be the most consistent benefit, “Khroen said. “Having a shield that lasts for 7 seconds can be strong, especially mid team fight when you pull off a massive Lightning Nova, and therefore have a sizable shield for when you go in again for a second Lightning Nova, and so on.”

Level 7: Obtain Trickery

Each level 7 talent augments your Shade of Mephisto ability, and Khroen leans toward Trickery at this point. This talent gives you 20% additional movement speed while Shade of Mephisto is active, and for 2.5 seconds after it expires. Furthermore, all roots and slows are removed from Mephisto when the Shade vanishes.

“It’s largely situational but I would personally default to Trickery,” Khroen explained. “I enjoy the move speed to close gaps or dodge skill shots while outputting damage.”

Regarding those other situations, he added: “If the threat is guaranteed—as in they have massive point and click damage—and the mobility of 20% movement speed doesn’t stop that, I would consider taking Ghastly Armor,” Khroen said. This talent grants 20 Armor instead of movement speed.

Level 10: Consume Enemy Souls

For Mephisto’s Heroic ability, Khroen takes Consume Souls, which channels for 2.5 seconds and reveals all enemy Heroes. After the channel finishes, all enemy Heroes take damage and are slowed for 2.5 seconds.

“Consume Souls is consistent and you always know it will get value,” according to Khroen. “Having guaranteed global pressure and the utility of a slow is something that is extremely valuable, making up for its long cooldown.”

Level 13: Boosting Spell Power

Khroen chooses Abhorred Skull at level 13 to synergize with the Spell Power gained at level 1. Abhorred Skull grants additional Spell Power for 6 seconds whenever Mephisto hits an enemy Hero with Skull Missile.

“Assuming you’re landing your abilities, it’s a huge power spike with another 20% Spell Power to threaten the enemies with,” according to Khroen. “Hysteria is another fine option at this talent tier to allow for more Heroic uses, but personally I think the potential for more damage output is very appealing.”

Level 16: Causing a Lightning Reaction

Khroen’s pick at level 16 relies on careful timing for a boost in damage. Lightning Reaction causes Mephisto’s Skull Missile to explode when it comes into contact with Lightning Nova.

“I take Lightning Reaction for the burst damage it provides,” Khoen said. “It has synergy with the level 13 talent Abhorred Skull, and with your 40% increased Spell Power it makes for a huge amount of damage. It’s a little tricky at first to get consistent value from, but well worth it if it lands.”

Another option: “I would also consider taking Static field versus tanky frontline Heroes that are immobile such as Stitches or perhaps Diablo to counter engage on once he engages and has nothing left.”

Level 20: A Tough Choice

To round out Mephisto’s build, Khroen faces a bit of a dilemma: “I would default to taking Consumed by Hatred, as it’s the more consistent talent.” This talent gives Consume Souls bonus damage in the form of 10% of the enemy Hero’s missing health. On top of that, if Consume Souls kills a Hero, it gets repeated with another cast.

“Consumed by Hatred almost guarantees that you’ll kill a lower health target, and then if it is able to secure one kill, the team fight will most likely be won from getting two casts of it,” according to Khroen.

Here’s Khroen’s dilemma: “If you want to potentially make huge plays, consider taking Shade Lord.” This talent allows you to swap locations with Shade of Mephisto along with refreshing its duration. Additionally, Shade of Mephisto passively gains the benefits of all three of the Hero’s level 7 talents.

“Shade Lord is an amazing mobility tool that skilled players might be able to use with very high effectiveness,” Khroen adds. “It reminds me of a similar style of mobility that Zeratul might have. It allows for amazing plays and escapes, as well as the additional utility of getting both of the other level 7 talents for free.”

Final Thoughts

Khroen’s first impression of Mephisto is that he’s a niche Assassin when it comes to the competitive meta. “I’m not sure If I see Mephisto filling the slot of a traditional ranged Assassin,” he said. “Rather, a playstyle similar to that of Zeratul or Tracer: being mobile and able to trade a lot of damage and then port back to safety.”

Players looking to combo with or counter Mephisto can actually look in the same place. “I believe that dive heroes such as Genji, Maiev, Diablo, and Anub’arak do well against Mephisto,” Khroen explained. “I also believe that Mephisto synergizes with the same type of dive Heroes. He can safely dive for 2.5 seconds and output a lot of damage, and then when he ports back can safely channel Consume Souls.”

Mephisto fans will have to wait no longer as he joins the ranks of Assassins in the Nexus!