
“ | Everything about what I've become disgusts me. But I do not intend to stop fighting.
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” |
Stukov is a Melee Support Hero from the StarCraft universe.
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...
Background[]
In the 25th century of Earth’s History, the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet was dispatched to reign in the Terran Colonies of the Koprulu Sector. The fleet arrived with the aim to subjugate the Terran colonies, enslave the new Zerg Overmind, and use their controlled Zerg broods to pacify the Protoss. Of the formidable commanders tasked with this imperative endeavor, Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov was second in command.
During the violent campaign in that system, developments ensued that would eventually cast Stukov in a traitorous light to his superiors. Having been found to be in violation of a direct order to destroy the powerful Psi Disrupter, Stukov was subsequently executed for his disobedience. Unbeknownst to the UED at the time, their ranks had been infiltrated by a powerful shape-shifting alien entity that sought to sow confusion about the importance of Stukov’s mission. After his death, Stukov’s corpse was later recovered by a renegade faction of the surviving Zerg cerebrates, who sought to infest human leaders and mutate them into leaders of their own colonies. As the first of their attempts to blend their genetics with that of humanity’s, the once lifeless husk of Stukov was reanimated into something at once both more and less than human.
Gameplay Summary[]
Stukov is Melee Support with a aggressive kit compared to most Supports (akin to Kharazim and Rehgar), who is capable of spreading healing-over-time to his allies, and damage-over-time to his enemies. His trait, Bio-Kill Switch, allows him to detonate both damage and heal over-time to simultaneously spike damage/heal all those affected. Despite being a melee character, he fulfills most of his duties from the backline, having high utility by being capable of slowing and silence his opponents.
Overall, Stukov performs wells on defensive-oriented teams that can zone opponents and peel allies. He is best paired with Heroes capable of defending the backline, which allows for Healing Pathogen to spread reliably. While he can solo heal very well under these conditions, he performs even better with a suplementary off-healer.
Strengths[]
- Good variety of talents to suit different builds.
- Low mana usage.
- Can further increase his mana efficiency with talents like One Good Spread... and It Hungers.
- Abnormally high Basic Attack Damage; highest of all Supports, even surpassing most Assassins and bruisers.
- Bio-Kill Switch is a cooldown with global range, affecting all allies and enemies, no matter where they are.
- This ability gives a surprisingly high amount of burst damage/healing.
- High sustained multi-target healing with Healing Pathogen and Bio-Kill Switch. If Universal Carrier is chosen, Stukov's already high healing is increased exponentionally.
- In addition, Healing Pathogen has a surprisingly high spreading range.
- Weighted Pustule deals good amount of damage on its own, as well gradually slowling opponents.
- Talents like Poppin' Pustules and Eye Infection further increase its utility.
- It is a flexible ability that can be used to either help chasing opponents or to flee from them.
- Lurking Arm can silence enemies indefinitely (as long they're inside it), allowing to easily shutdown focused opponents that are under other forms of crowd control (such as slow and roots).
- In addition, channeling it costs no mana; only the initial cast.
- Flailing Swipe is a very versatile tool, useful for defending objectives or setting opponents for kills.
- Massive Shove can isolate key members of the enemy team if well timed, or stun them for kill setups.
Weaknesses[]
- High learning curve, being difficult to master.
- Not enough tools to make entering melee range a viable option.
- In addition, he has very slow attack speed, slower than Leoric.
- Limited healing and damage potential when Bio-Kill Switch is on cooldown. (Universal carrier can compensate for the lack of burst healing).
- In addition, it has a long cooldown.
- Very poor mobility.
- Very vulnerable to crowd control and focus fire until getting his Heroic Abilities.
- Lurking Arm is easy to avoid without pre-crowd control, and Stukov is vulnerable while the channeling, becoming immobile.
- Massive Shove is hard to use, easy to avoid, and requires proper timing.
Abilities[]

Mana: 40
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Infest an allied Hero with a Healing Pathogen that heals the target for 157.5 (+4% per level) 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.

Mana: 50
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Hurl a pustule that impacts all enemy Heroes in its path, dealing 20 (+4% per level) damage and Slowing by 5%, increasing to 50% over 3 seconds. Deals an additional 80 (+4% per level) damage upon expiring or being removed.

Mana: 60
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Channel at a target location, creating an area that Silences enemies inside and deals 136 (+4% per level) damage per second to them. Deals 50% reduced damage to non-Heroes.
Does not cost Mana while Channeling, and lasts until canceled or interrupted.
Traits[]

Cooldown: 16 seconds
Activate to detonate all of Stukov's Viruses. Each Healing Pathogen heals its target for 435 (+4% per level) Health, and each Weighted Pustule deals 100 (+4% per level) damage and Slows its target by 70% for 2 seconds.
Can be cast while Channeling Lurking Arm.
Heroic Abilities[]

Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 80 seconds
Swipe 3 times in front of Stukov over 1.75 seconds, dealing 48 (+4% per level) damage to enemies hit and knocking them away. Each swipe is larger than the previous.

Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 50
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Extend Stukov's arm. If it hits an enemy Hero, they are rapidly shoved until they collide with terrain, taking 190 (+4% per level) damage. Stukov gains 50 Armor while shoving an enemy.
Talents[]
Tier 1, Hero Level 1[]

Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)
Basic Attacks become ranged and Slow enemies by 20% for 1.5 second, but deal 40% less damage.

Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)
Quest: Hit Heroes with Weighted Pustule.
Reward: After hitting 15 Heroes, reduce the cooldown of Weighted Pustule by 2.5 seconds.
Reward: After hitting 30 Heroes, reduce the cooldown of Weighted Pustule by an additional 2.5 seconds and remove its Mana cost.

Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)
Lurking Arm's area expands by 50% over 2.5 seconds but its cooldown is increased by 5 seconds.

Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)
Increases the final damage of Weighted Pustule by 50%. Quest: Detonate 10 Weighted Pustules without dying.
Reward: Detonating a Weighted Pustule now applies its damage and Slow in an area.
Tier 2, Hero Level 4[]

Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)
After a Healing Pathogen infests 3 targets, restore 10 Mana and reduce the cooldown of Healing Pathogen by 2 seconds.

Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)
Healing Pathogen's heal over time on its initial target is increased by 50% while they are above 60% Health.

Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)
Healing Pathogen grants 50 Physical Armor to its initial target while active on them.

Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)
Quest: Detonate 50 Healing Pathogens with Bio-Kill Switch.
Reward: Increase Bio-Kill Switch's healing by 40%.
Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)
Each time an enemy Hero is hit by Lurking Arm, reduce its cooldown by 0.5 seconds, up to 6.5 seconds, and restores 10 Mana.

Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)
Detonating exactly 1 Weighted Pustule (but any number of Healing Pathogens) with Bio-Kill Switch reduces the cooldown of Bio-Kill Switch to 5 seconds.
Tier 4, Hero Level 10[]

Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 80 seconds
Swipe 3 times in front of Stukov over 1.75 seconds, dealing 48 (+4% per level) damage to enemies hit and knocking them away. Each swipe is larger than the previous.

Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 50
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Extend Stukov's arm. If it hits an enemy Hero, they are rapidly shoved until they collide with terrain, taking 190 (+4% per level) damage. Stukov gains 50 Armor while shoving an enemy.
Tier 5, Hero Level 13[]

Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
When taking damage below 50% Health, instantly spread a Weighted Pustule to all nearby enemy Heroes and reset the cooldown of Bio-Kill Switch.
This effect has a 10 second cooldown.

Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Detonating a Weighted Pustule on an enemy who is inside of Lurking Arm Roots them for 2 seconds.
Tier 6, Hero Level 16[]

Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)
Whenever an ally with Healing Pathogen is Stunned or Rooted, they are instantly healed for 250 (+4% per level) Health.

Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)
Healing Pathogen can continually spread through Stukov, but its healing is reduced by 50%.

Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)
Bio-Kill Switch no longer removes Healing Pathogen but instead sets its duration to 3 seconds.
Tier 7, Hero Level 20[]

Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)
Flailing Swipe gains 2 additional charges, but each use only swings 1 time, at maximum range. Additionally, its cooldown is decreased to 30 seconds, and its Mana cost is reduced from 100 to 50.

Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)
Massive Shove travels 25% faster. If Massive Shove pushes a target for more than 1.25 seconds, its cooldown is reduced by 15 seconds.

Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)
Bio-Kill Switch now also detonates Lurking Arm, applying a Weighted Pustule to enemy Heroes inside and Silencing them for 2 seconds.
Talent Builds[]
- Weighted Pustule Build: focused on improving Weighted Pustule, allowing Stukov to pressure and harass opponents from great distances, mass slow opponents when taking damage below 50%, all while being able to provided decent healing. This build is recommended when paired with Heroes that can already apply some kind of crowd control to their enemies.
- Lurking Arm Build: focused on improving Lurking Arm, allowing Stukov to cover a larger radius as well longer range. This build is best used in maps with tight corridors and choke points, allowing to get the maximum of this ability.
- Bio-Kill Switch Build: focused on maximizing the effect of Bio-Kill Switch, increasing both healing and damage potential. In addition, Spine Launcher sacrifices Stukov high Basic Attack Damage by turning it into long-range with a slow effect.
Tips[]
- Use Bio-Kill Switch sparingly since it has a long cooldown; save to use in key moments.
- Use it primarily to burst heal allies rather than damaging opponents.
- Prioritize casting Healing Pathogen on the frontlines, as it will always spread from the first host, meaning it will be easier for it go spread back to the team.
- Positioning is key. Make sure that your allies are within range to spread Healing Pathogen to each other; or move into their position to spread it yourself.
- Cast Healing Pathogen preemptively when you expect a team member to be attacked; this will guarantee that it will spread to the rest of the team faster.
- Weighted Pustule is great for both offense and defense; use it to secure kills or when you need to disengage from chasing enemies.
- Lurking Arm is great to defend forts against melee siegers (such as Xul), as well attacking forts when there is enough backup.
- Do not use Flailing Swipe as an offensive cooldown; the damage is not significant enough. Instead, use only to defend objetives, peel opponents and protect allies.
- Use Massive Shove constantly as it has low cooldown; however, be mindful of positioning to get the most of it. Just be careful to not shove away focused opponents and ruin kill setups.
- If well positioned, it can be used to push opponents towards allied structures to put them in vulnerable situations.
Matchups[]
Pairings[]
Stukov is best paired with Heroes that are at their best when fighting together, as opposed to divers that will be out of the range of Healing Pathogen. Stukov is also very powerful strong with Heroes that have access to Executioner or similar, thanks to his slow effects (especially if Spine Launcher is taken).
Effective against[]
Stukov is highly efficient against Heroes that relies too much on cooldowns, as his Lurking Arm can be held indefinitely if he doesn't take the Growing Infestation talent at level 7. Because of this, he excels at shutting down Heroes that rely on channeled abilities and spell-damage Heroes with low mobility. His Basic Attacks are also strong enough to retaliate when given the chance.
Effective foes[]
High mobility Heroes can easily avoid Stukov's zone control. Also, Heroes with multiple crowd control abilities can capitalize on Stukov's poor mobility. Since Stukov lacks burst healing when Bio-Kill Switch is on cooldown, Heroes with high spike damage and/or ganking capabilities can put him in tight situations.
Skins[]
- Infested Admiral
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Infested Admiral | UED | Dictator | Zerus ![]() |
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Kaldir ![]() |
- Admiral Krakenov
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- 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.
- This skin is related to Mistharbour themed-skins. Features altered voice-over and themed abilities.
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Admiral Krakenov | Reef | Ghost | Vice |
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Tideswept |
Trivia[]
- The "Dictator" skin is likely inspired on M. Bison from the Street Fighter series, more specifically his design in Street Fighter II.
- The "UED" skin is likely inspired on Shin-Bison from the Street Fighter EX3.
- The "Admiral Krakenov" skin is most likely inspired on Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean series, due they sharing the concept of a "Octopus Pirate".
- The "Ghost" variation bears a resemblance to LeChuck from the Monkey Island series, particularly his incarnations in Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge and The Curse of Monkey Island.
- The "Tideswept" variation bears has a similar color scheme to Octodad, a character from the game of the same name, more specifically his design in the sequel Octodad: Dadliest Catch.
Patch changes[]
(Patch November 1, 2017) Note: Base Maximum Health increased from 1590 to 1682; Health regen increased from 3.31 to 3.5.
(Patch October 11, 2017) Note: Health reduced from 1682 to 1590; Health regen reduced from 3.5 to 3.31.
(Patch July 11, 2017) Note: Added.