Rehgar has seen his share of combat, both as a gladiator, and a master of his own team of fighters. Now, having put that life aside, he serves as a simple shaman of the Earthen Ring, earning his redemption by healing the broken lands of Azeroth.
Originally a slave gladiator who rose up to become his own master and owner of Varian Wrynn, the lost king of Stormwind, Rehgar has since been reformed by the spirits and now serves on the New Counsel of Tristfal. During his reformation and training with Thrall he was appointed to his inner circle of advisers that lead to the creation of Orgimmar. He stood directly opposed to Garrosh and his warmongering ideals in the initial lead up to the Pandarian military campaign, but his words fell on deaf ears.
Blizzard pulled the old bait and switch with Rehgar as his wire-frame model, skill set, and development was initially planned for Thrall who is easily the most famous shaman in Warcraft lore. However, developers realized that the character’s skills were better suited for a support hero, and with Thrall being one of the more famous heroes the decision was made to make Rehgar instead. That being said, Rehgar is an incredibly fun hero to play as, and he’s not a passive support hero who sits back and heals. No, he’s an in your face fighter that provides support while being able to handle himself in a fight.
But when playing any hero it is important to remember to play into their strengths, and Rehgar is a supplemental character that heals, buffs, and slows to aid his team. He does have a reasonably high base attack, and when he transforms into his Ghost Wolf form his first attack will do double damage. But he’s here to heal and buff, and thankfully his Chain Heal ability is quite powerful. The heal gets weaker as it bounces between targets, but with the right talents it can mitigate the drop off.
Rehgar can apply a Lightning Shield to any target that damages enemies around them, but without the proper talents the shield is weak on its own. Earth Shield adds damage absorption to the shield, and Lightning Bond will cast the shield on you when cast on others, and Chain Reaction increases healing done to those with the shield.
Then there are the totems, and Rehgar starts off with the Earthbind Totem that reduces the movement speed of enemies around it. It is good in a team fight and helps keep the opponents lanes back, but it’s not a game changing ability. But there is also the Healing Totem that is acquired through the new “elite” talents obtained through character profile levels. The healing totem does what you would expect and heals in a wide area over ten seconds, but it is good to pick up and compliments to your chain heal.
Staying true to his support class roots, Rehgar’s ultimate abilities are Bloodlust and Ancestral Healing. Bloodlust is the shamanic ability to grant their allies a speed attack and movement boost, and has been a stable of any boss battle strategy in World of Warcraft for over ten years now. Then there is the less flashy Ancestral Healing that will fully heal your target after a few second delay. The heal is great if your team is organized, but in a random group it may be better to pick up Bloodlust.
Rehgar is the first support hero I’ve previewed, and for what it’s worth I really enjoyed his talents and play style. The real problems come with people trying to play him like something he’s not; he has no offensive abilities outside of the shield and basic attack. And I’ve seen many on the ladder ignoring his healing, totems, and the like as they aggressively run in to attack. He is the perfect expel of players needing to know their role, because when he’s played right he can push a team over the edge. Only, it won’t be that flashy to watch.
Brian Kale
@brianwkale
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