Leoric

This is from the Diablo universe.

“

Kneel, peasants!

”

(6/10) (3/10) (7/10) (6/10)

Leoric is a Melee Warrior Hero from the Diablo universe.

Madness. Betrayal. Death. These are the legacy of the Black King Leoric's reign. Driven to madness by the spirit of Diablo, Leoric brought untold suffering on his people. Even in death there was no release for the Skeleton King.

He is a slow-moving front-line warrior that never truly dies, haunting the battlefield as a ghost before reforming on the field.

Background[]

Unknown to Leoric, his seat of power in Tristram was the resting place of Diablo, imprisoned in the catacombs beneath the cathedral by the Horadrim long ago. Requiring an anchor to the world, Diablo chose the strongest soul available to him to be his host—Leoric himself.

For many months, Leoric secretly fought against Diablo's will. Sensing that he had been possessed by some unknown evil, Leoric kept his condition a secret from those close to him, believing that his piety would be enough to exorcise the demon's corruption. In this he was sorely mistaken, and Diablo stripped away the core of Leoric's being, burning all honor and virtue from his soul.

Gameplay Summary[]

Strengths[]

Strong waveclear
Resistant to crowd control
Deals high damage and has strong sustain against high health heroes
Flexible field presence due to Undying trait and Wraith Walk
Strong sustain in general due to Tier 1 talents

Weaknesses[]

Has difficulty against targets that kite effectively
Very reliant on proper positioning
When ganked, has high chance of death due to little innate armor and his Undying trait causes his effectiveness when alive to be reduced
Dependent on the performance of companion heroes, and can miss many chances unless enemy heroes are controlled

Abilities[]

Traits[]

While in the Undying form, Leoric's abilities change to the following:

Heroic Abilities[]

Talents[]

Tier 1, Hero Level 1[]

Tier 2, Hero Level 4[]

Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

Tier 4, Hero Level 10[]

Tier 5, Hero Level 13[]

Tier 6, Hero Level 16[]

Tier 7, Hero Level 20[]

Talent Builds[]

Tips[]

Matchups[]

Pairings[]

Keeping enemies inside Lurking Arm is paramount, and Leoric's large area slow and Entomb heroic greatly assist that. His large health pool and Drain Hope ability also work well with Stukov’s heal over time style of support.

Effective against[]

Leoric excels against heroes with high healthpools, and Diablo's trait Black Soulstone will allow Drain Hope will allow Leoric to cause high chunks of damage against Diablo. Wraithwalk also nullifies the crowd control effects of Shadow Charge and Overpower, which can mess up Diablo's rotation if used without the proper talents.

Effective foes[]

Skins[]

Skeleton King (base)


The Skeleton King	Ivory	Copper

Vrykul 100: Leoric held the Winterskorn Chieftain's skull aloft for the gathering crowd to see. "Who else among you wishes to challenge me?" The silence was deafening.; _{This skin is related to the Warcraft themed-skins.}


Vrykul	Kvaldir	Ymirjar

Zakarum 100: These ornamental warplates were once a symbol of the holy Zakarum faith. Now, they serve only as a stark reminder of its demonic corruption.


Zakarum	Pure	Entombed

God King 100: King Leoric used his legendary might to strike down every jarl who challenged his ascent to the throne. But not even uncontested rule is enough to slake his thirst for power.; _{This skin is related to the Warcraft themed-skins.}


God-King	Vrykul King

Space Lord 1600: The Space Lord has brought countless worlds to heel in the name of the Eternal Empire. Soon, even the Earth's troublesome Star Princess will fall to the power of the darkness.; _{This skin is related to the Eternal Empire themed-skins. Features replaced voice-over and themed abilities.}


Space Lord	Neutron	Hunter	Immortal 2400

Development[]

Leoric was under consideration for inclusion as early as 2011.^[1] The idea of having a character that didn’t die was one the team looked at - Malthael was considered, but they ultimately settled on Leoric.^[2]

The idea for Leoric's janitor skin came from an art contest in 2016. The skin was chosen for reveal at BlizzCon 2018 due to its long history of being requested by the fanbase.^[3]

Trivia[]

Leoric's dance is a small portion of "Thriller" by Michael Jackson.
The "Space Lord" skin is a satire to Darth Vader from Star Wars. This is evident with the different voice lines that makes analogy to the series.
- In addition, the third color scheme, "Hunter", is a reference to Boba Fett, a bounty hunter from the Star Wars franchise.

Patch changes[]

(Patch December 12, 2017) Note: Immortal Space Lord Leoric added.
(Patch October 17, 2017) Note: Fixed an issue preventing Leoric’s Basic Attack cleave animation from playing when using certain skins.
(Patch September 20, 2017) Note: Fixed an issue that could cause Leoric to become invisible after exiting Zagara’s Devouring Maw.
(Patch September 5, 2017) Note: Received updated art to coincide with Talent changes.; Basic Attack Damage reduced from 150 to 105.
(Patch April 25, 2017) Note: Leoric will no longer fail to respawn properly after being killed via damage dealt by a nearby spawning Grave Golem.
(Patch March 28, 2017) Note: Basic Attack damage increased from 138 to 150.
(Patch November 15, 2016) Note: Leoric’s prices reduced to $8.49 USD and 7,000 Gold.
(Patch May 17, 2016) Note: Health increased from 2373 (+4% per level) to 2468 (+4% per level).; Health Regeneration increased from approximately 4.95 (+4% per level) to 5.14 (+4% per level).
(Patch February 2, 2016) Note: Murky and Leoric have received unique death sound effects.