Heroes of the Storm: Stitches Walkthrough [Guide]

Stitches is as dangerous as he is fearsome looking. The Terror of Darkshire from the Warcraft universe has some unique weapons that can inflict pain, and most of them would give normal people nightmares.  This warrior hero is capable of hurting you in a variety of ways, which is why you should definitely avoid getting near him in the battlefield. Under your control, however, Stitches can be a very powerful character to play, and here’s our guide on how to make the best out of him in Heroes of the Storm.

Introduction
Living in the trails known as Duskwood, there’s a creature lurking within the shadows known as Stitches. Created by Abercrombie the Embalmer, Stitches hungers for the flesh of victims unfortunate enough to become his prey. The Terror of Darkshire is something to be feared, and there’s a lot of reasons as to why you should take heed once he has set you in his sights. Running away from this living nightmare is futile, and very seldom are lucky enough to be able to live to tell the tale of an encounter with this dark creature.

Items
Stitches uses a variety of weapons in order to deal with enemies. Aside from a hook which he uses to pull enemies towards him, Stitches can also bite or literally eat up enemies, dealing huge damage and even rendering them immaterial in a fight for some time. Stitches can also exude gas and bile from his body, punishing those unlucky enough to be near him when it happens.

Build
Stitches’ trait, Vile Gas, allows him to deal damage to nearby enemies when damaged. This gas persists for 3 seconds, and those within the area are dealt damage over three seconds. This makes Stitches a bad target to hit up close, as you will surely get harmed unless you have shields up.

For starting abilities, Stitches has three to call upon. Hook (75 mana cost, 14 seconds cooldown) is a skillshot where in the first enemy hit will be pulled towards Stitches, dealing damage to the particular enemy. Secondly, Slam (55 mana cost, 8 seconds cooldown)  deals damage to enemies within a cone of effect. Lastly, Devour (75 mana cost, 30 seconds cooldown) damages minions for a fixed amount while dealing progressively larger damage to hero targets as Stitches levels up. Stitches will also gain about 20% health if this ability is used.

Stitches also has two heroic abilities to speak of, these are Putrid Bile and Gorge. Putrid Bile (75 mana cost, 60 seconds cooldown) lets Stitches emit a bile like substance that he can coat the ground that he walks in with. Enemies that get within the bile will be damaged and slowed. Bile can be spread and will last for 8 seconds. Gorge (80 mana cost, 80 seconds cooldown) on the other hand, consumes a target hero, trapping them within you and damaging them. Consumed enemies can be carried around and will not be affected in battle. This ability, however, does not work for larger heroes.

The best build for Stitches is one that maximizes his ability to do damage, although he can also built to be more tank like, allowing him to absorb more damage while giving some in return through his Vile Gas trait.

The first build discussed will focus more on his capability to punish enemies, whether initiated by Stitches or caused by their own attacks and decisions:

Heavy Slam – Slam damage is increased by 50%

Vile Cleaver or Putrid Ground – Vile Cleaver lets Stitches create Vile Gas when using basic attacks while Putrid Ground infects enemies hit by Slam with Vile Gas

Tenderizer, Last Bite, or Toxic Gas – Tenderizer slows enemies hit by basic attacks by 25% for 1.5 seconds. Last Bite reduces the cooldown of Devour by 15 seconds if it kills and enemy. Lastly, Toxic Gas increases the range of Vile Gas and increases its effects by 2 seconds

Gorge or Putrid Bile – Gorge consumes a hero, taking them away from battle and dealing damage to them. Putrid Bile lets Stitches place bile on the ground, damaging enemies and slowing them

Mega Smash or Helping Hand – Mega Smash increases the range of Slam by 25% while Helping Hand lets you pull allies with your Hook ability, but does not damage them.

Any – Imposing Presence slows the attack speed of enemies that attack you by 30% while Fishing Hook increases the range of Hook by 50%. Shish Kabob, on the other hand, lets Stitches pull two enemies at once with the Hook ability while Pulverize adds damage to Slam by 50% and stuns them by 0.5 seconds.

Regenerative Bile or Hungry Hungry Stitches – Regenerative Bile makes Putrid Bile last 2 seconds longer and returns 50% of damage dealt as health while Hungry Hungry Stitches lets Stitches use Gorge on multiple enemies while the first enemy is still within him. The ability also lasts 1 second longer.

The above build is amazing as it maximizes Stitches’ damage potential. It also provides for some great crowd control effects for both single and multiple targets which would be discussed later on.

This next build focuses on Stitches’ ability to sustain damage. With higher survivability, this means that he can get up close and personal with enemy crowds more often. This also means that his Vile Gas trait will be utilized to its full potential especially against enemies that must be close to you in order to deal damage:

Chew Your Food – heals above 10% of health over 3 seconds when Devour is used

Amplified Healing or Superiority – Amplified Healing increases health received by 30% while Superiority decreases the damage received from non-heroic enemies by 50%

Last Bite or Tenderizer – same reasons as above

Putrid Bile – same reason as above

Relentless – reduces crowd control effects dealt to Stitches by 50%

Any – same reasons as above

Bolt of the Storm or Regenerative Bile – Bolt of the Storm allows Stitches to teleport to a nearby location

This build will allow Stitches to survive more damage, and it also gives him a bigger window to escape from battles that he otherwise would not be able to get out of.

Strategy
When playing as Stitches, it is important to be okay with getting hurt. This will activate your Vile Gas ability which can hurt all enemies around you. Just make sure that you are able to survive attacks, and combine your passive trait with area of effect abilities such as Slam. If available, you can also use Putrid Bile to control the field, keeping enemies near you and giving your faster and ranged allies to take advantage of their controlled movements.

Stitches also has some great crowd control abilities that will allow him to control the field depending on his preferences. His Hook ability can single out enemies and allow his allies to gang up on the victim, while his AoE abilities will force enemies to spread out, giving teammates the chance to pick off enemies that they want to get rid off. Even Gorge is a good ability as you can take the consumed enemy anywhere you want, preferably towards an area where you can easily finish them off.

Pros and Cons
As with most warriors, Stitches is a bit slow and has short range. This allows enemies that can attack from a range to attack. However, his Hook ability can very easily negate that. Furthermore, this ability can also be enhanced with the Helping Hand talent so that it can pull an ally away from danger. Stitches has a rich set of talents and abilities that can help out either himself or teammates as a whole while being able to provide tons of damage either actively or passively.

Proper management of abilities is important in order to be able to utilize them effectively. Stitches has a disadvantage of having high mana requirements, but the uses of his abilities more than make up for it. As compensation, Stitches has high enough health and can sustain himself in a solo fight. This allows him to keep close to enemies until such time that he can activate his skills in order to deal damage and control the pace of the game.

Tips and Tricks
Use Stitches’ Hook ability to pull enemies away from a crowd. This will allow you to wail on him until the target dies. You can also cut enemies’ path of escape by using Putrid Bile. As an alternative, it can also be used as a means to escape. Lastly, his Gorge ability may be chosen as a more direct way of singling out enemies as it allows him to basically take enemies out of the equation for a limited time.

Make sure to add some health regeneration talents to your build in order to ensure that you will have higher survivability. Players can also buff the Vile Gas trait so that, for as long as enemies are within the range of Stitches, he will ensure that he can take down enemies with him even as he dies. If you should want to escape from within the enemy crowd, however, then use Slam or Putrid Bile and find the best escape path while your other allies give you supporting fire.