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Franchise-diablo This is from the Diablo universe.


You may find Death a stern teacher.

Damage (7/10) Utility (4/10) Survivability (6/10) Complexity (6/10)

Malthael is a Melee Assassin Hero from the Diablo universe.

Once the Aspect of Wisdom, Malthael abandoned heaven after the Worldstone's destruction in seach of meaning of life. In secret, he had resolved to end the Eternal Conflict by becoming a Reaper of Souls and eliminating everything affected by demonic corruption, including humanity.

Background[]

Malthael discovered a whirling vortex of human souls within the heart of Pendemonium Fortress, where the great Worldstone once rested. He transformed this into a Soul Prison and harnessed the spirits' energy to become the Archangel Angel and Aspect of Death. With the Lords of Hell defeated, he reasoned that humanity was the most powerful "demonic" force left now, as per their ancient nephalem heritage. With humanity's eradication, Heaven would stand alone, victorious in the Great Conflict.[1]

Gameplay Summary[]

Malthael is an Assassin with innate high sustain, who can deal high health percentage damage to his enemies, thanks to his trait, Reaper's Mark; this makes him a potent "tank-buster", since Warriors will take increased damage due their larger healthpool. However, he can still deal respectable damage even to Heroes with lower health.

Overall, Malthael excels against comps featuring Double Warriors and/or other Heroes with high healthpool (such as Nazeebo and Azmodan). He can deal absurds amounts of damage under the right circumstances.

Strengths[]

  • Unrivaled self-sustain with Soul Rip.
  • Incredibly high sustained damage against Heroes.
  • Powerful PvE damage, making him great at taking down bosses.
  • Strong duelist, capable of easily winning 1v1 and even 2v1 situations.
  • Can stick to enemies at ease, especially against those with poor mobility.
  • Death Shroud is great for checking bushes and covering tight areas.
  • Tormented Souls can change the tide of a team fight under the right circumstances.
  • Last Rites is great at executing key-targets. It also naturally has a repeatable quest that allows to reduce its cooldown permanently.

Weaknesses[]

  • Limited escape tools.
  • Easy to kite and avoid.
  • Very limited burst damage.
  • Poor sieging.
  • Soul Rip and Wraith Strike cannot be used unless there are enemies affected by Reaper's Mark.
  • Death Shroud moves very slowly, being predictable and easy to avoid.
  • Doesn't offer much utility aside from raw damage, requiring the team to draft more versatile Heroes to cover other areas.

Abilities[]

Icon Soul Rip
Soul Rip (Q)
Mana: 25
Cooldown: 2 seconds

Extract the souls of nearby enemies afflicted by Reaper's Mark, dealing 100 (+4% per level) damage and healing Malthael for 25 (+4% per level) per target hit. Heroic targets heal Malthael for an additional 4% of the Hero's maximum Health.

Icon Wraith Strike
Wraith Strike (W)
Mana: 30
Cooldown: 5 seconds

Instantly teleport through an enemy afflicted by Reaper's Mark, dealing 59 (+4% per level) damage and refreshing Reaper's Mark.

Icon Death Shroud
Death Shroud (E) [Skillshot]
Mana: 50
Cooldown: 8 seconds

After 0.25 seconds, unleash a wave of dark mist that applies Reaper's Mark to enemies it hits.

Traits[]

Icon Reaper's Mark
Reaper's Mark

Basic Attacks afflict non-Structure targets with Reaper's Mark for 4 seconds. Marked enemies are revealed and take damage equal to 1.75% of their maximum Health every 1 second.

Heroic Abilities[]

Icon Tormented Souls
Tormented Souls (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Unleash a torrent of souls, continually applying Reaper's Mark to nearby enemies for 4 seconds.

Icon Last Rites
Last Rites (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 65 seconds

Apply a death sentence to an enemy Hero that, after 2 seconds, deals damage equal to 50% of their missing Health.

IconQuestTalent Quest: Enemies killed between the application of Last Rites and within 1.5 seconds of it dealing damage permanently reduce its cooldown by 5 seconds, to a minimum of 15 seconds.

Talents[]

Tier 1, Hero Level 1[]

Icon Wraith Strike
Death's Reach
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Increase Wraith Strike's range by 35%.

Icon On a Pale Horse
On a Pale Horse
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Gain an additional 20% Movement Speed while mounted.

Icon Fear the Reaper
Fear the Reaper
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)
Cooldown: 25 seconds

Activate to increase Movement Speed by 25% and pass through other units for 4 seconds.

Tier 2, Hero Level 4[]

Icon Soul Rip
Die Alone
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Soul Rip deals 50% more damage if it hits only one Hero.

Icon Death Shroud
Throwing Shade
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Hit 15 Heroes with Death Shroud.
IconQuestTalent Reward: Permanently increase Death Shroud's range by 33%, reduce its cooldown by 4 seconds, and reduce its Mana cost from 50 to 25.

Icon Reaper's Mark
Black Harvest
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Apply Reaper's Mark to Heroes for a total of 180 seconds.
IconQuestTalent Reward: Permanently increase Reaper's Mark's duration by 2 seconds.

Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

Icon Soul Rip
Cold Hand
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Soul Rip Slows enemies by 20% for 2.5 seconds.

Icon Wraith Strike
Massacre
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Wraith Strike now damages and applies Reaper's Mark to enemies around its target.

Icon Touch of Death
Touch of Death
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)
Cooldown: 25 seconds

Activate to reduce healing received by Heroes afflicted by Reaper's Mark by 50% for 4 seconds.

Tier 4, Hero Level 10[]

Icon Tormented Souls
Tormented Souls (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Unleash a torrent of souls, continually applying Reaper's Mark to nearby enemies for 4 seconds.

Icon Last Rites
Last Rites (R) [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 65 seconds

Apply a death sentence to an enemy Hero that, after 2 seconds, deals damage equal to 50% of their missing Health.

IconQuestTalent Quest: Enemies killed between the application of Last Rites and within 1.5 seconds of it dealing damage permanently reduce its cooldown by 5 seconds, to a minimum of 15 seconds.

Tier 5, Hero Level 13[]

Icon Soul Rip
Soul Siphon
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Increase Soul Rip's bonus healing from Heroes to 3.75% of the Hero's maximum Health.

Icon Reaper's Mark
Ethereal Existence
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Gain 10 Physical Armor per enemy Hero afflicted by Reaper's Mark, up to a maximum of 30.

Icon Inevitable End
Inevitable End
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Cooldown: 20 seconds

Activate to become Unstoppable for 2 seconds, but remove all active Reaper's Marks.

Icon Shroud of Wisdom
Shroud of Wisdom
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Cooldown: 30 seconds

After 2 seconds, gain 50 Spell Armor for 4 seconds.

Tier 6, Hero Level 16[]

Icon Soul Rip
Soul Collector
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Reduce Soul Rip's cooldown by 0.5 seconds and increase its range by 25%.

Icon Wraith Strike
Mortality
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

When damaging a Hero, Wraith Strike deals bonus damage equal to 6% of the Hero's maximum Health.

Icon Reaper's Mark
Memento Mori
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Reaper's Mark deals 80% increased damage after afflicting an enemy for more than 4 seconds.

Tier 7, Hero Level 20[]

Icon Tormented Souls
Reaper of Souls
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Increase Tormented Souls' duration by 2 second. While Tormented Souls is active, Hero Takedowns reset its duration.

Icon Last Rites
Angel of Death
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Last Rites heals for 100% of the damage dealt, and its current and future cooldown reduction bonuses are doubled.

Icon Death Shroud
Final Curtain
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Death Shroud leaves a trail in its wake for 4 seconds, applying Reaper's Mark to enemies in its area.

Icon No One Can Stop Death
No One Can Stop Death
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)
Cooldown: 180 seconds

Activate while dead to immediately respawn at the Altar but increase Malthael's next respawn time by 25%.

Talent Builds[]

Tips[]

Matchups[]

Pairings[]

Anaplate
Malthael's already high self-sustain through Soul Rip, combined with increased healing from Ana's Biotic Grenade (especially if she goes with the Biotic Build) can make him even harder to take down. Furthermore, his damage and sustain can become achieve insane amounts if he is under the effects Nano Boost and its upgrade, Nano Infusion, when using Tormented Souls.


Arthasplate
Having an ally who can make it easier to get close to enemies and apply Reaper’s Mark is a huge benefit for Malthael, and few do this better than Arthas. In addition to powerful slow and root effects that keep enemies from escaping, Arthas’ ability to self-heal and stay in the fight is a great match for Malthael.


Aurielplate
Malthael is a great candidate for Bestow Hope, as he can easily apply his Reaper's Mark to many enemies at once, which in turn generate constant energy for Auriel. He can be more effective than Lunara in this regard, specially when fighting against opponents with high health, such as Warriors.


ETCplate
With a strong initiation, effective crowd control and great peeling potential, E.T.C.'s team fight presence opens various windows of opportunity for Malthael to pick off opponents out of position.


Johannaplate
Johanna is very effective at peeling and crowd control, which is great to protect Malthael while allowing him to spread his Reaper's Mark. Condemn can effectively pull enemies together so Malthael can hit as many as possible with Tormented Souls.


Lunaraplate
Lunara's Nature's Toxin combined with Reaper's Mark is perfect to slowly execute Heroes as they try to escape. Since damage-over-time effects stack, this results in an outstanding sustained damage that slowly cripples opponents.


Tassadarplate
Malthael's already strong self-sustain makes him better paired with allies that can mitigate or prevent damage rather raw healing. Tassadar offers great utility, with Force Wall being both useful to trap victims of Reaper's Mark, as well prevent divers from attacking Malthael.


Utherplate
The bonus Armor and Invulnerability effects provided by Uther can serve to amplify the value of Malthael’s self-healing, allowing him to stay in the fight and continue draining the life from his enemies. Uther’s powerful Stun and Cleanse effects also have great synergy with Malthael: keeping him free to move around, making enemies easier to reach, and making it harder for them to burst Malthael down.


Varianplate
Malthael is very difficult to kill when enemies aren’t able to focus him, and Varian’s Taunt heroic provides a reliable way to ensure that they can’t. The Armor and amplified Healing bonuses Varian’s Banner can provide also have tremendous synergy with Malthael’s powerful self-healing.


Effective against[]

Azmodanplate
Having a unusual high health for a non-Warrior, Azmodan's limited movement and lack of crowd control allows Malthael to stick on him. Additionally, Azmodan's ability to summon minions means Malthael can get extra health from Soul Rip.


Cho'gallplate
Boasting from the highest healthpool in the game, Cho'gall takes severe damage from Reaper's Mark. In addition, their large size makes them an easy target for Death Shroud.


Rexxarplate
Rexxar is an easy target because of Misha. Since she counts as a Hero too, Malthael can easily exploit her AI and feed on her, plus getting the bonus heal from Soul Rip; he can also quickly farm Misha to complete his quest talents.


Samuroplate
Samuro's clones are also easy targets to Soul Rip, which allows Malthael to exploit their AI and feed on them. Similarly to Misha, they can also be used as farm material for Quest Talents.


Xulplate
In a similar fashion to Azmodan, Xul's ability to summon minions results in Malthael having extra sources of heal through Soul Rip. Since Malthael's damage relies more on his trait than basic attacks, he can stay from a safe distance, avoiding Xul's gap closers (Cursed Strikes and Bone Prison).


Zaryaplate
Malthael truly shines when fighting opponents with high health, namely Warriors. Since Zarya has poor movement speed and lacks any form of crowd control outside of her Heroic Abilities, she is an easy target for Reaper's Mark.


Effective foes[]

Aurielplate
Stuns and Knockbacks make it much harder for Malthael to apply Reaper’s Mark to enemies and heal himself with Soul Rip, and Auriel brings both with her Detainment Strike ability. She can also use her Crystal Aegis heroic to counter Malthael’s Last Rites.


Falstadplate
In a similar fashion to Lunara, Falstad can effectively kite Malthael and outdamage him in a duel. Mighty Gust can easily put Malthael out of position and prevent him from spreading Reaper's Mark.


Jainaplate
Heroes with powerful burst damage can blow up Malthael before he has the chance to get much healing from Soul Rip. Jaina takes this a step further by also slowing Malthael from range, making it difficult for him to get close enough to apply Reaper’s Mark.


Lunaraplate
Despite his outstanding self-sustain, Lunara can dish out damage faster than Malthael can heal. Her natural increased speed allows her to easily avoid and kite Maltahel, preventing him to inflict her with Reaper's Mark, thus negating his only form of gap closer, Wraith Strike.


Tracerplate
Ranged auto-attackers can deal consistent damage to Malthael while staying far enough away to avoid Reaper’s Mark. As such, Tracer is exceptionally difficult to pin down, making it tough for Malthael to have much effect against her.


Vallaplate
Valla's aggressive playstyle and high burst can cripple Malthael before he has any time to react, capitalizing on his poor movement options and lack of crowd control abilities. Should Valla pick Rain of Vengeance, it will make her even deadlier.


Skins[]

Aspect of Death (base)
Aspect of Death Malthael - Tarnished Malthael - Toxic Malthael - Spectral
Aspect of Death Tarnished Toxic Spectral IconShard 100
Malthael - Platinum
Platinum IconShard 100
Grave Warden IconShard 100
With every corpse interred in his mausoleum, the Grave Warden gains power and influence. His unholy alliance with the Grave Keeper ensures that his collection of souls will continue to grow.
This skin is related to the Raven Court themed-skins.
Malthael - Grave Warden Malthael - Grave Warden - Crimson Malthael - Grave Warden - Timelost Malthael - Grave Warden - Angelic
Grave Warden Crimson Timelost Angelic
Malthael - Grave Warden - Sinuous Malthael - Grave Warden - Frozen
Sinuous Frozen IconShard 400
Season's Reapings IconShard 150
Also known as the Ghost of Winter Veil Yet-to-Come, Malthael offers those he visits in the cold dark night a glimpse of their future. Unsurprisingly, their "future" is always death.
This skin is related to the Winter Veil themed-skins.
Malthael - Season's Reapings Malthael - Season's Reapings - Chilling Malthael - Season's Reapings - Coal
Season's Reapings Chilling Coal
Malthael - Season's Reapings - Hallowed Malthael - Season's Reapings - Plum
Hallowed Plum

Patch changes[]

References[]

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