HOTS Melee Support Alexei Stukov is a July Release Hero

A melee support hero, called Infested Admiral Stukov, is the next in line in Heroes of the Storm. This is a character that has its roots in StarCraft, dating from November 1998. In Heroes of the Storm, Stukov is a master at spreading and manipulating viruses created by his abilities. Although the release date of Stukov hasn’t been announced, we can say with confidence it will be close to mid-July, considering the tempo of releasing new heroes.

Stukov Abilities – Heroes of the Storm

After the Lt.Morales and Tassadar, Stukov is the third StarCraft support hero in the game, and the first zerg one. As always, you can track the information about new heroes on the official page, and view the its spotlight on their YouTube channel.

• Primary Abilities
  • (Q) Healing Pathogen – Infest an allied Hero with a Healing Pathogen that heals the target for 240 Health over 4.5 seconds. Healing Pathogens can spread to a nearby allied Hero every 0.75 seconds, and a single Healing Pathogen can spread to each allied Hero 1 time.
  • (W) Weighted Pustule – Hurl a pustule that impacts all enemy Heroes in its path, dealing 20 damage and Slowing by 5%, increasing to 50% over 3 seconds. Deals an additional 80 damage upon expiring or being removed.
  • (E) Lurking Arm – Channel at a target location, creating an area that Silences enemies inside and deals 144 damage per second to them. Deals 50% reduced damage to non-Heroes. Does not cost Mana while Channeling, and lasts until canceled or interrupted.
• Heroic Abilities
  • (R1) Flailing Swipe – Swipe 3 times in front of Stukov over 1.75 seconds, dealing 50 damage to enemies hit and knocking them away. Each swipe is larger than the previous.
  • (R2) Massive Shove – Extend Stukov’s arm. If it hits an enemy Hero, they are rapidly shoved until they collide with terrain, taking 200 damage. Stukov gains 50 Armor while shoving an enemy.
• Trait
  • Bio-Kill Switch – Activate to detonate all of Stukov’s Viruses. Each Healing Pathogen heals its target for 500 health, and each Weighted Pustule does 100 damage and Slows its target by 70% for 2 seconds. Can be cast while channeling Lurking Arm.

Probably the most ridiculous skill ever seen in HOTS is Stukov’s heroic ability Massive Shove. It can even toss the enemy player all the way to the starting area, as it is only limited to terrain collisions, and not by the length of travelling.

Stukov Skins – Heroes of the Storm

There are two Stukov’s hero skins at the moment. The default one is Infested Admiral. This is the exact copy of his appearance in StarCraft. The second skin, that looks even more impressive, is called Admiral Krakenov. Both of these skins have their own description.

Infested Admiral – Alexei Stukov had a hard life, and an even harder death. He has been betrayed, shot into space, resurrected and infested, almost cured, and then experimented upon as the infestation returned. Now, his infestation spreads within the Nexus…

Admiral Krakenov – Decades ago, a mutiny forced the Admiral of the Three Anchors to walk the plank. On moonless nights, his form haunts Blackheart’s Bay, calling itself “Krakenov” and demanding a lot of fish.

Stukov’s appearance in Heroes of the Storm might not be a surprise, considering that the remastered version of StarCraft is set to launch on August 14th. This is a $15 version, but there is also a completely free one, obtained from the official site. Everything new in this free version is listed under the 1.18 patch notes, where you can also find the link to the download page.