in game, Alarak is a powerful ganker or solo laner, capable of displacing an opponent from their position and dealing high damage. at level 20, he has the option of acquiring his second ultimate, assigned to the D key, making him particularly dangerous.
this is the official alarak video!
in this guide, you will find a fully comprehensive talent build, a description on abilities, tips and tricks, and playstyle.
Alarak's trait, sadism, increases ability damage and self healing against heroes by %100. he gains %3 sadism everytime he kills or assists on a hero takedown. Alarak does moderate damage against anything but heroes and does not have very good waveclear, but he makes up for it with his hero damage. some talents, like extended lightning, (lvl 1) reduce sadism to increase ability utility or gain other desired effects, and therefore he has many different builds and playstyles.
Alarak's Q is discord strike. when cast, he channels for 0.5 seconds before releasing a triangle shaped shockwave that deals good damage and silences for 1.5 seconds. this is Alarak's main source of ability damage and crowd control, and takes practice to land. it can hit many enemies at once, and cancel an enemy team if used correctly. notice enemies bad positioning and silence many at once to get the most from this ability. COOLDOWN: 8 SECONDS.
Alarak's W is telekinesis, his main source of displacement and mobility. it uses vector targeting and creates a force that pushes Alarak and all enemies the direction you chose, and also dealing small amounts of damage. this ability can be used in a multitude of ways, like dodging abilities, pushing a opponent into a discord strike, into friendly AoE effects, or to prevent an opponents escape. COOLDOWN: 12 SECONDS.
Alarak's E is Lightning surge. Alarak fires a lightning bolt at a enemy in a large radius, and deals small damage to the target and moderate damage to enemies in between. this is Alarak's main source of poke, and can be used to finsh off an enemy, capitalize on bad positioning, or finish off a fleeing enemy. COOLDOWN: 6 SECONDS.
Alarak's first R option is counterstrike, in which he channels for 1 second, becoming unstoppable and protected. if an enemy hero damages him during this time, at the end of the channel, he unleashes a shockwave dealing heavy damage. it has a relatively short cooldown, so use it to protect against high damage abilities, such as Kael'Thas's fireball, or Kel'Thuzad's shadow fissure. this ultimate has a ton of uses, and can provide some self sustain with some damage. all in all, this is an amazing ultimate, and should be considered. COOLDOWN: 30 SECONDS.
Alarak's second R option is deadly charge. when cast, Alarak channels for up to 1.5 seconds as a targeting line grows. At any time, he can activate the R button to send him flying along the path, dealing extreme damage to enemies in his path. note that the damage stays the same during all parts of the channel, so you can release immediately to charge a tiny distance, but dealing massive damage. this ultimate also has a low-ish cooldown, so Alarak can use it without too much worry. taking damage cancels the channel, and puts the ability on a short cooldown, and he can cancel the channel if wanted. this ultimate can be used to chase down a running enemy, open with a high damage dive, or escape from opponents if possible. this is also an ultimate worth taking into account. COOLDOWN: 45 SECONDS
use W, into Q, then E backline to do nice burst combo, then use R (it doesnt matter which) to finish them.
generally, you can use telekinesis to line up a lightning surge and discord strike.
if you coordinate with your team, then use their CC to combo enemy.
Alarak is at his best when facing clumped up opponents. again, CC is your friend.
Alarak can totally destroy an enemy team, just remember it is easy to destroy him as well.
at level 1, take extended lightning for the utility it gives
At level 4, chaos reigns for the damage increases. if you prefer lightning surge as your main damage tool, take negatively charged.
at level 7, take applied force for the utility.
at level 10, both are good, take counterstrike for self sustain, take deadly charge for mobility.
at level 13, take blade of the highlord for the sadism increases.
at level 16, take mocking strike for the cooldown reduction and combo potential.
at level 20, take your other ultimate because it provides total domination