Anub'arak · Tank
Anub'arak Early Game Guide
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
Early, soak experience in a lane with your team's weaker laner, rotate to the first objective and ward with your presence: where you stand is where the enemy can't. Early, be the first at map objectives and mercenary camps and help your team win the first level race.
Strengths
- Has escape tools, according to Blizzard's own hero tags.
- Strong gank potential around the map.
- Crowd control: Impale applies a stun.
Weaknesses
- Mana-hungry: Blizzard flags its energy as important, so manage it early.
- Low damage by itself: it needs its team to finish kills.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Early game talentsBalancedRecommendedLevels 1 to 7 lean on survivability to win the early soak and the first objective; from level 10 it follows the balanced plan.
- Balanced talentsBalancedAdvancedAt each level, the talent that serves more than one plan. A safe default when you don't know the enemy team yet. Built by reading the talent texts; Blizzard publishes no pick rates.
Builds
Early game talents
When to use it
Levels 1 to 7 lean on survivability to win the early soak and the first objective; from level 10 it follows the balanced plan.
Map job
Battlegrounds change every match, so this is its job on any of them.
- Solo laneHolds a lane alone and wins it.
- Double soakSoaks experience in two lanes at once.
- RotatePriority 2Rotates between lanes to create kills and pressure.
- Mercenary campsTakes mercenary camps when it is safe.
With the teamMainStays with the team: it wins fights, not lanes.
Talents by level
Nerubian ArmorIncrease Harden Carapace's Spell Armor by 25.W
Legion of BeetlesBeetles have 30 Spell Armor. Automatically spawn a Beetle every 12 seconds. Can be toggled on and off.Trait
Regeneration MasterQuest: Gathering a Regeneration Globe increases your Health Regeneration by 1 per second, up to 30. Reward: After gathering 25 Regeneration Globes, you also gain 500 Health.PassiveQuest
- 1Quest talent: it only pays off if you complete it early, so commit to it.
- 4Upgrades Impale for more damage.
- 7Upgrades Burrow Charge for more survivability.
- 10Fits more than one plan at level 10: damage and survivability.
- 13Fits more than one plan at level 13: utility and damage.
- 16Upgrades Impale for more damage.
- 20The most survivability-focused option at level 20.
Balanced talents
When to use it
At each level, the talent that serves more than one plan. A safe default when you don't know the enemy team yet. Built by reading the talent texts; Blizzard publishes no pick rates.
Map job
Battlegrounds change every match, so this is its job on any of them.
- Solo laneHolds a lane alone and wins it.
- Double soakSoaks experience in two lanes at once.
- RotatePriority 2Rotates between lanes to create kills and pressure.
- Mercenary campsTakes mercenary camps when it is safe.
- With the teamMainStays with the team: it wins fights, not lanes.
Talents by level
- Nerubian ArmorIncrease Harden Carapace's Spell Armor by 25.W
- Legion of BeetlesBeetles have 30 Spell Armor. Automatically spawn a Beetle every 12 seconds. Can be toggled on and off.Trait
- Regeneration MasterQuest: Gathering a Regeneration Globe increases your Health Regeneration by 1 per second, up to 30. Reward: After gathering 25 Regeneration Globes, you also gain 500 Health.PassiveQuest
- 1The most survivability-focused option at level 1.
- 4Fits more than one plan at level 4: damage and utility.
- 7The most damage-focused option at level 7.
- 10Fits more than one plan at level 10: damage and survivability.
- 13Fits more than one plan at level 13: utility and damage.
- 16Upgrades Impale for more damage.
- 20The most survivability-focused option at level 20.
Abilities
QImpale12s65 mpDeals 90 (+4% per level) damage. Stuns for 1 second.- WHarden Carapace7s25 mpGain a Shield that grants 40 Spell Armor and absorbs 340 (+4% per level) damage over 3 seconds.
EBurrow Charge14s65 mpBurrow to the target location, dealing 91 (+4% per level) damage and briefly stunning enemies in a small area upon surfacing, slowing them by 25% for 2.5 seconds. Burrow Charge can be reactivated to surface early.
RLocust SwarmHeroic100s75 mpDeal 68 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies. Each enemy damaged restores 24 (+4% per level) Health. Lasts 6 seconds.Heroic — heals and hits an area. Time it for the enemy's burst, not for chip damage.
RCocoonHeroic70s70 mpWraps target enemy Hero in a cocoon, rendering them unable to act or be targeted for 7 seconds. Allies of the Hero can attack the cocoon to break it and free them early.Heroic — applies a disable. Use it on the target your team can kill.- DScarab HostTrait8sUsing an Ability spawns a Beetle which lasts for 8 seconds, attacking nearby enemies for 20 (+4% per level) damage.
Strategy
1Early talents
The first three talent tiers (levels 1, 4 and 7) set up how you soak and trade. The early build below leans on survivability to win that phase.
- Picks: Legion of Beetles and Bed of Barbs.
2Trading
Trade only when your healer is close: your health is the team's health bar. The kit brings crowd control (stun) with Impale, mobility with Burrow Charge and sustain with Locust Swarm.
3Soaking and rotations
Soaking is the laning phase: stay in range of your minion waves, rotate between lanes so none is left empty and group before each objective spawns.
4Early objectives
Early, be the first at map objectives and mercenary camps and help your team win the first level race. Your big moments are level 10, when you pick Locust Swarm or Cocoon, and level 20, when the heroic gets its upgrade.
Tips
- Trade only when your healer is close: your health is the team's health bar.
- Legion of Beetles is your first purchase that changes the lane: get it early.
- Use Impale in lane only when your partner or jungler can follow.
- Keep Burrow Charge ready when the enemy's gankers are missing.
- Early, be the first at map objectives and mercenary camps and help your team win the first level race.
Matchups
Strong against
Blizzard classifies Lunara as a Ranged Assassin: once Anub'arak is on top of them, that distance stops mattering.
Blizzard classifies Mephisto as a Ranged Assassin: once Anub'arak is on top of them, that distance stops mattering.
Blizzard classifies Nazeebo as a Ranged Assassin: once Anub'arak is on top of them, that distance stops mattering.
Weak against
Anub'arak has to walk up to start a fight, and Howling Blast (root) stops that engage before it lands.
Anub'arak has to walk up to start a fight, and Shadow Charge (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Anub'arak has to walk up to start a fight, and Jet Propulsion (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Changelog
- Updated for patch 2.57.0.98304.
- Updated for patch 2.57.0.98297.
- Updated for patch 2.57.0.98285.
- Guide created for patch 2.55.17.98025.
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