Intro:
This is PART 1 of the complete guide to all the Control Heroes in the game. As the “Control” category would suggest, these characters specialize in influencing the flow of combat through disruption and causing chaos. Each of them has a place in the game, so this guide will provide insight to each Control hero’s value.
Disclaimer: This Guide will always be under construction, either through updating information or adding more content as more new heroes are released in the game. I will be doing updates accordingly for as long as I continue to play the game.
Captain Hook
Overview
Strengths:
+Extremely powerful White Skill
+Has Evasion
+Fantastic utilities
+Amazing synergy
+High damage potential
Weaknesses:
-Low Reality stat
-Weak to most CC
-No spatial control
Gameplay:
Captain Hook more or less revolutionized the notions of what it means to be a Control hero. He was a pioneering hero since his introduction; he was the first Control hero to take the frontline position and was also the first hero in general to make use of the Sap debuff. History aside, Hook has remained relevant due to his nearly unstoppable defensive presence. “Cold Steel” is his signature skill, and is it one of the absolute best skills in the game in general. It is a “channeling” type skill that slowly depletes Hook’s energy when he uses his active skill. As soon as he starts flailing that sword, Hook is completely, utterly, unflinchingly invulnerable. As long as he continues to channel Cold Steel, no harm will come to him and and nothing can stop him until he is out of energy. As he channels, Hook will do substantial Normal damage in every instance he parries incoming attacks. The more attacks he nullifies, the faster he will apply damage. Aside from the devastation he causes with Cold Steel, another key aspect of Hook’s kit is his ability to Sap enemies with “Hooked”. When Hook slashes at his enemies, the Sap debuff is applied to them. This cuts Energy gain by 50%, which is much more severe than it actually sounds. Enemies that are sapped are much easier to KO because they won’t be able to gain Energy fast enough to retaliate with an Active Skill that can potentially turn the tide of battle. Hook’s uncanny ability to dictate the flow of combat demands fear and respect. He is a near-perfect model for competitive formats and is invaluable in City Watch too. He is not great at handling Mama Bots however, since his Cold Steel has diminished value against the infrequent attack pattern of Bots.
Pirate Parry:
Hook’s Red Skill gives him slightly more opportunities to Sap enemies. It allows him to apply Sap on nearby enemies when he uses Hooked. Even when Hooked will only do damage to one enemy, he can now Sap multiple enemies within a certain range. Additionally, enemies that are sapped will lose a relatively small small amount of Armor and Basic Damage. This also counts for any teammates that can use Sap as well. Unfortunately, the improved Sapping effects of Hooked will fail when the Skill is not fully developed. But at the very least, the Red Skill grants a modest boost to Basic Damage and Armor, and a minor boost to HP.
Friendship Disks:
Hook’s Friendship Disks are both easy to use and generously enhances his combat performance. Peter Pan’s disk further improves Hook’s defensive prowess. He will apply shields to his allies when he starts channeling Cold Steel while also preventing projectile attacks from flying past him. The shields can be quite substantial when properly leveled and they make it easier for Hook to protect his allies from AOE damage a little more easily. On the other hand, Barbossa’s disk applies the Sap debuff right at the beginning of every fight. When maxed, this disk allows Hook to Sap enemies for 5 seconds at most. While this may sound negligible, it’s not. This is long enough to severely cripple an enemy team’s momentum and they will be unable to use Active Skills soon enough to make an impact. Barbossa’s disk is quite weak at low stars, so investing in this disk is a top priority. At the very least, Hook will have increased Basic Damage and he and his allies will also have increased Skill Power.
Team Options:
Thanks to the nature of his skillset, Hook is very easy to team up with just about anyone. He can make very fun teams with fellow villains like Maleficent and Ursula, who help him put entire enemy teams’ Energy gain into a crawl. Hades is one of his favorite villains though. Hades’ presence relieves pressure off of Hook and increases his overall survivability. Donald is also a key partner for Hook. Together, they form a powerful hazard-control defensive core. Donald’s presence makes Hook less susceptible to CC, like being stunned early by Launchpad’s Fiery Crash for example.
Counters:
Despite his somewhat high Evasion growth, Hook can be quite susceptible to being interrupted by CC. In particular, Olaf and Elsa can freeze him and keep him immobile long enough for a KO before having the chance to use Cold Steel. Donald is also a fairly consistent counter because he can absorb and redirect the Sap from Barbossa’s disk. Surprinsingly, Flynn Rider (Eugene) is particularly good at beating Hook in close combat. Flynn’s Energy steal on top of also being able to sap Hook means he can more consistently burst Hook down and easily deny him from using Cold Steel in the first place. WALL-E can also be a decent counter to Hook as he can now block the team-wide sap from Barbossa’s disk. However, he won’t be able to block Hook’s subsequent attempts to sap after that. While they’re not directly a counter, Timon & Pumbaa can be used as soft checks for Hook. The effects of Hakuna Matata outlast the effects of Sap from Barbossa’s disk. Hakuna Matata also fortifies defenses long enough for a team to survive and eventually retaliate with game-winning Active Skills. To a lesser extent, Kevin and Rapunzel can remove the Sap debuffs, but they otherwise can’t stop Hook from eventually using Cold Steel.
Colette
Overview
COMING SOON
Donald Duck
Overview
Strengths:
+High damage potential
+Excellent anti-CC
+Wonderful synergy
+Useful Friendship Disks
+Has Tenacity
Weaknesses:
-Vulnerable positioning
-High aggro
-Less effective without negative status effects
Gameplay:
Donald is one of the most technically unique characters in the game even among his peers. Donald actually made is debut in the game as a Damage-type Hero, but he has since been re-categorized as a Control Hero to better reflect his overall function. This bit of trivial fact also makes Donald historically the first Hero to be re-categorized between roles. As a Control Hero, Donald is yet another character that disables his enemies by Blinding them with “Hopping Mad”. However, the real meat of his skillset comes from his most important Skill, “Short Tempered”. With it, Donald is guaranteed to absorb up to 3 negative status effects every 5 seconds. After 5 seconds, Donald may absorb 3 more status effects. Now, this skill absorbs everything. Disables (blinds, stuns, freeze, etc), debuffs (slows, scares, study), even the debatable skills (Hex, squirrel/frog transformations, poison/burns), Donald CAN absorb it! Most importantly, Donald combos all the status effects with “Fly into a Rage”. The White Skill itself is not actually very impressive nor is it particularly damaging. But thanks to the mechanics of his absorption skill, Donald (randomly) redirects the status skills he previously absorbed and reapplies it to his enemies! To be perfectly clear, Donald can only do damage to one target when he uses “Fly into a Rage”, but the status effects can affect multiple targets. When he applies these status effects, he does not apply the damage associated with them (example: Donald can freeze enemies after absorbing Elsa’s Icy Blast, but only the 5 second freeze will apply–not the damage this move would have done). To further add to his strength and dependability, Donald also has an emergency comeback mechanic called “Ruffled Feathers”. When he hits below 50% of his HP, Donald will begin to heal himself while also gaining Energy over the course of 12 seconds. All of these qualities make Donald a powerful defensive force, but he’s definitely not perfect. There are gaps between the cooldowns of his absorption where he won’t be able to defend against incoming status effects. His skillset also means he will end up having far less utilities if he faces against teams that don’t heavily rely on status effects in order to be effective. Donald’s volatile nature makes him an excellent contender in all competitive environments. He is strong in City Watch and Invasion Breaker Quests, but he is often outclassed by the likes of Peter Pan when it comes to Bot-slaying.
Aw, Phooey:
Donald’s Red Skill further enhances his defensive prowess, making him more of an off-support type of Hero. The Skill bestows a small boost in HP, and very generous boosts to his Basic Damage and the damage he can do with Hopping Mad. Donald will also be one of those characters who gains bursts of Energy when certain conditions are met. In his case, he will gain 75 Energy every time he successfully absorbs a negative status effect. Since he is guaranteed to absorb up to 3 status effects before activating the cooldown, Donald can potentially gain up to 225 Energy in a single instance every 5 seconds. Assuming that the Skill is maxed, this allows Donald to use Fly into a Rage more frequently, applying status effects more quickly and efficiently in the process. Obviously, if the Skill is under-leveled, he won’t be able to gain Energy as quickly. Still, every bit of Energy helps, and activating it sooner means he won’t have as many gaps left in his defenses to be exploited. This Skill also turns Donald into a supplementary healer; whenever Donald is unable to absorb status effects, he will be able to heal himself and/or his allies during those instances. The healing properties of this Skill is a wonderful addition to his kit, and will always remain fully available regardless of skill levels.
Friendship Disks:
Donald’s Friendship Disks will improve either his defensive or offensive capabilities. Anger’s disk allows Donald to also apply True Damage to his regular attacks in more dire circumstances. When you see him enraged under the effects of Ruffled Feathers, that is when Donald will be able to use True Damage. He also gains increased Basic Damage, which is surprisingly where most of his damage tends to come from anyway. Scrooge’s disk gives Donald a very brief moment of invincibility when he is hit. Of course, it also comes with a 7 second cooldown that follows right after the invincibility wears off. This disk also increases Donald’s Basic Damage though not quite as much. Both disks are very useful. Technically speaking, Scrooge’s disk is easier to apply in the long run. Anger’s disk is notably the weaker choice when facing enemies that have invincibility mechanics, allowing them to nullify True Damage.
Team Options:
Because of the nature of his kit, Donald is very easy to fit into most teams. In particular, he makes for an excellent balanced core with Mickey and Goofy. The iconic trio combines a devastatingly effective blend of speed (Goofy), power (Mickey), and resilience (Donald) that synergizes extremely well with any combination of Heroes. While it’s true that he plays well with his best buddies, he also blends very well with fellow DuckTales cast mates. Huey, Dewey, & Louie as well as Scrooge can use skills that knock back enemies, providing spatial control that Donald otherwise lacks. Launchpad also provides excellent support with bursts of healing and Energy. Speaking of support, Donald can be teamed with Kevin, Tron, or Rapunzel to help minimize disruptions caused by hostile CC. Kevin is arguably the best for this, but even having at least one of these heroes for backup helps maximize the effectiveness of Donald’s defensive function.
Counters:
Heroes that don’t heavily rely on negative status effects are good at dealing with Donald. Beast, Hercules, Bo Peep, and Duke will have no problem eventually reaching Donald and overwhelm him with raw damage. Similarly, a ranged hero like Anger won’t ever have to worry about Donald’s shenanigans. While Aladdin can’t do as much damage himself, he can dive on Donald and occasionally steal Energy to slow down his momentum. Moana may also do a similar job as Aladdin but with more power and less utility. While brute force can be a solution to fight against Donald, defensively focused characters are also highly effective against Donald. Mickey, Animal, Kevin, and even Baymax do not depend at all on negative status effects to be viable. Teams that have them–teams that rely more so on enhancements rather than disruptions–effectively lessens Donald’s inherent value, since he won’t have too many opportunities to make good use of negative status effects.
Dr. Facilier
Overview
COMING SOON
More in part 2 (CLICK HERE)
