Mountain King (Warcraft III)

The Mountain Kings, or 'Thanes' as they are known in Khaz Modan, are the mightiest Dwarven warriors under the mountain. Wielding both enchanted warhammers and hand axes, these fierce fighters live to test themselves against worthy opponents. Unconcerned with their race's preoccupation with mechanical devices and mining precious minerals, Mountain Kings live only for battle. Dedicated to safeguarding the Alliance which saved their kingdom during the Second War, the Mountain Kings can be counted upon to rally behind any banner that stands between freedom and the ever looming shadow of evil.

Bor Stonebreaker, Munin Ironcliff, Thorgas Broadaxe, Kelv Sternhammer, Grim Thunderbrew, Buri Frostbeard, Huginn Ironcliff, Thordin Rockbeard, Bandis Forgefire, Gar Doomforge, Beazel Bludstone, Modi Stonesmith, Aggronor the Mighty.

The Mountain King is one of the top melee Heroes along with the Night Elf Demon Hunter, the Undead Dreadlord and the Orc Blademaster. Whereas the Demon Hunter and Blademaster take some additional time to invest, the Dreadlord gives their versatility, the Mountain King is good even at the start of the game, thanks to his powerful offensive skills. He is also similar to Undead Dreadlord in physical attributes. Both Heroes specialize in Strength and come with very high starting damage and stunning ability compared to other Heroes, thanks to both their raw damage and Strength increasing the hit points of the Hero.

Storm Bolt is easily his best ability, because of its massive versatility - it is a powerful Hero killing spell, can disrupt channeled abilities and deals a lot of damage to boot. There is almost no delay when the hammer is thrown, meaning experienced human players can hit and run against an unfortunate target as soon as it is cast.

Thunder Clap is a trickier spell to use because the Mountain King has to get up close in order to deal damage with it. It is still a useful spell because Thunder Clap can affect more units than Storm Bolt can - professional players will often get their Heroes away should they be targeted, and Thunder Clap ignores that. It is also good for harassing other human and orc players, as a single clap between their town hall and gold mine often hits all five workers at once.

Bash is fairly unpredictable but is a good side skill for a starting Mountain King to conserve mana for other spells. The faster the Mountain King can attack, the more he can activate it, making Bloodlust and Unholy Frenzy extremely beneficial for him.

Avatar makes the Mountain King even more bulkier, and also immune to almost every spell allowing him to wade into enemy units and do whatever he wishes.

A Mountain King will benefit greatly from Paladin and Archmage support - the Paladin can continually cast Holy Light on him to null any damage he takes, while an Archmage's Brilliance Aura allows him to regenerate mana faster. Blood Mages in team matches may also be useful, but note that the Blood Mage requires immense mana to operate properly.

When it comes to items, try to give the Mountain King durability and mana-boosting items so he can take more punishment and have enough mana to make the most out of his devastating spells. Boots of Speed can also be beneficial so he can catch up with fleeing troops - combined with an Endurance or Unholy Aura, he shouldn't have much trouble doing so.

As a melee hero, a Mountain King can be fairly hard to kill because of his immense bulk. However, this doesn't mean he is completely impossible to counter.

• Mountain King Counters

Use high-damage ranged units and Heroes with good hero killing capability against the Mountain King if he is not under his Avatar state. The faster he falls, the less likely he will bite back at your army.

Because his spells are especially deadly, it is highly recommended that you prevent the Mountain King from using them as much as possible. Either use the Demon Hunter's Mana Burn, Firelord's Soul Burn or Dark Ranger's Silence to prevent him from using his spells in battle. In most maps, the Mountain King won't have enough mana or mana-restoring items, so the faster his mana disappears, the less of a threat he becomes in battle.

Read Hero Killers.

• A magical hammer that is thrown at an enemy unit, causing damage and stunning the target.

Storm Bolt is an incredibly powerful spell by the Mountain King; he'll throw his hammer at the targeted unit. Experienced micro players can essentially cancel the throw animation by moving him immediately as soon as he launches the hammer, giving him additional breathing space if the enemy decides to pursue him. This also makes the hammer almost instantaneous and almost impossible to react to. It also works well against normal units.

It starts off with impressive damage and increases by 125 damage each level, making it a powerful finisher spell. Against the Undead, it can be combined with Holy Light for devastating killing potential, dealing up to 650 damage almost instantly when both Heroes' spells synchronize perfectly with each other.

Use Storm Bolt to interrupt spells that require spell channeling.

Don't forget Storm Bolt works on aerial units too.

• Slams the ground, damaging nearby enemy units. Units are also slowed for the duration listed below.

This spell will not work on air units.

It's a useful ability for dealing with numerous enemies surrounding the Mountain King, as struck units have a 50% attack speed and movement reduction for a short duration. Wade the Mountain King into a group of hostile units and use Thunder Clap. However, it's not a powerful Hero finisher and any Mountain King build leaning toward that side should opt for Storm Bolt instead.

• Gives a chance that the Mountain King's attack will do 25 bonus damage and stun his opponent for 2 seconds (1 second for Heroes).

Bash is free stun and damage while the Mountain King attacks normally. When the Mountain King triggers Bash, his hammer will slam with greater than usual force (indicated with a blue slam). Putting the Mountain King under the effects of Bloodlust, Unholy Frenzy and potential Gloves of Haste drops from creep camps can allow him to potentially stunlock enemies due to his increased attack speed, and the attack will deal great damage thanks to the bonus damage and the Mountain King's naturally high Strength stat.

Bash also works on aerial units; just make sure the Mountain King is equipped with an orb so he can attack them.

• Activate Avatar to temporarily give the Mountain King 5 bonus armor, 500 bonus hit points, 20 bonus damage and spell immunity.

Notes: Mountain King stats in Avatar Form:

Avatar is very useful. Be sure to use it whenever possible but don't waste it.

This ability is great when sieging an enemy base with large amounts of towers or taking part in an intense battle, as the bonus hitpoints and armor make the Mountain King an excellent meat shield and prevents him from being focused down as easily. Remember, you can still cast Holy Light on an Avatared Mountain King.

Run away until the Avatar wears off and then engage in battle.

• Avatar Counters

• Note: The first part of the description is very similar to the one from Battle.net but differs in some words.

The mountain kings, or 'Thanes' as they are known in Ironforge, are the mightiest dwarven warriors of Khaz Modan. Wielding both enchanted warhammers and battle-axes, these fierce fighters live to test themselves against worthy opponents.

• Warrior Hero, adept at offensive combat and disrupting enemy troops. Can learn Storm Bolt, Thunder Clap, Bash and Avatar.

• See Warcraft III Mountain King quotes