“Mrgglglbrlg rmrmgllg mrggggm. Mrrglglgy, mgllglgl mgggrrmgll MRGGGLGLLM! Mrrggllgggllggll mrrglrlg mrrg mrrg mrrg!”
Crowding almost any coastal beach in Azeroth, the origins of the Murloc race have never been made clear to the many adventurers who have crossed paths with them on their journeys. Perhaps they are bastard cousins of the aquatic Naga race of fallen elves, or perhaps they have been twisted by the powers of the old gods. But one thing is clear, they are territorial and social creatures who have developed a yet to be deciphered spoken language for communication. They are no mere beach-side beast; no, they are a powerful and enigmatic race which hails its coming with the famous war cry: “Mrgglglbrlg rmrmgllg mrggggm!”
At first glance it would seem that Murky is a throwaway joke character spawning from the fans’ love of all things Murloc and used as an excuse to get that battlecry into Heroes, but he’s no pushover. Murky starts the game off slow as most of his abilities are weak, but they scale well with level and one of his ultimate abilities appears, at least for the time being, to be one of the more powerful in the game. It would appear that Murky is as close to a “carry” as any hero will get, and he is incredibly powerful in the late game for his diminutive size.
The basis of any strategy for Murky is proper placement of his Spawn Egg, which lets you place an egg anywhere you like that will act as your spawn point after your death. The egg has a special ability in that no matter how late into the game, Murky will always respawn after five seconds. This allows you to jump right back into the fight and make use of his abilities that will only be stronger in the later game. However, some care will be needed when hiding the egg as it can be destroyed by the enemy team, forcing you to wait the full respawn duration.
Despite having a surprisingly low-damage base attack, Murky is built around being up close and personal with enemy heroes and creeps. His Slime ability creates an area of effect (AOE) explosion of poisonous goo that reveals hidden enemies, slows target movement speed, and applies a reasonably strong six second damage-over-time (DOT) effect. At later levels, the poison damage will be able to deal a considerable amount of damage to most enemy heroes, and clear up waves of creep in seconds.
For an extra punch Murky can also throw out Pufferfish-like bombs which detonate after being thrown, but there is a four second timed delay. The fish is a physical object and much like the egg can be focus-fired down to prevent damage, but in chaotic team fights it is easily lost in the action. The AOE explosion is powerful, but requires proper timing to clear out creep waves. The bomb can also be used as a deterrent against the enemy team to slow down their movement to avoid damage. Plus it is great for taking down mercenary camps and map objectives.
Should you find yourself in a tight spot, Murky can always use his Safety Bubble to escape harm. The bubble is actually an invulnerable shield that last for two seconds while you scurry away from harm. You are unable to attack or use any abilities but it is a useful tradeoff as Murky does not have very much health compared to other heroes. With talents the shield will last a bit longer and provide you a boost to movement speed if you find that you are unable to escape to safety.
But the real showstoppers here are Murky’s ultimate abilities, and there is a cut and dry winner out of the two. First we have Octo-Grab, which summons an octopus underneath your target which stuns them for 4 seconds while it also does a negligible amount of damage – about one per second. But we’re really here to see Murky pull out his battle horn to summon the charge with the devastating March of the Murlocs ability. With March of the Murlocs, Murky summons forth a legion of Murlocs that marches forward and latches onto to the first hero or building they encounter. They can stack with multiple murlocs clinging to the same target for five seconds while they do heavy amounts of damage and reduce movement speed. March of the Murlocs can clean up during a team fight or completely destroy a wall of cannons, and is devastating in the late game if used properly.
Murky is a fun hero to play, but with his low base health and armor he’ll get focused fired down quickly if you aren’t careful. I would recommend picking up some survival talents if you find yourself constantly respawning from your egg. But once you make it to the late game you’ll be a force to be reckoned with, as your Murloc army destroys enemy fortifications and rival Heroes alike.
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Brian Kale
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