Heroes of the Storm: Tychus Walkthrough [Guide]

Tychus Findlay is the Han Solo of the Starcraft franchise. Rugged, debonair, and with a very big gun, many tales have been told about Tychus, and separating fact from fiction is something that can spark fights and ruin friendships. Still, having Tychus in Heroes of the Storm is something that many players can agree with, as he brings into the fray some much needed firepower – and some badassery to boot. Here’s our guide on how to play and build Tychus, the Notorious Outlaw from Starcraft.

Introduction
Tychus Findlay belonged to the unit nicknamed as the Heaven’s Devils, and this where he served with friend Jim Raynor until an accident during a mission caused him to go into hiding. It was during this time that he and Jim became outlaws, amassing a whole new reputation and enjoying the finer things in life that go with their new sources of income.

This, however, would not last as Findlay would be captured and thrown into prison. Despite this, Tychus makes an appearance in Heroes of the Storm, which proves beyond a doubt that he is a survivor, and heaven help anyone who would stand in his way.

Items
Tychus. Primary weapon is a minigun, which he can use for close range damage. He also has access to other military armaments such as grenades which can deal a lot of damage if used accurately. Tychus can also pilot an Odin mech which can use cannons, missiles, and even a small nuclear device. Lastly, Tychus can drop a laser drill that can deal massive damage to a single target and can then be reactivated to target others once the current victim has been dispatched.

Build Guide
Tychus’ trait has a good side and bad side. The minigun is good as it has one of the fastest, if not the fastest, attack speeds out of all other heroes. However, its windup will take some time and might give enemies ample time to attack. Thus, Tychus is best played at a distance against other characters that will only rely on melee based attacks and abilities.

As for starting abilities, Tychus has Overkill, Frag Grenade, and Run and Gun in his repertoire. Overkill (75 mana cost, 15 seconds cooldown) deals additional damage to a single target and deals splash damage to other enemies nearby. This ability can be used even while moving. On the other hand, Frag Grenade (50 mana cost, 10 seconds cooldown) deals area damage and knocks enemies back. Lastly, Run and Gun (50 mana cost, 8 seconds cooldown) makes Tychus run quickly and wind his minigun instantly, allowing him to attack faster. These abilities, like most heroes, can be upgraded by choosing the appropriate talents.

Players can choose as to which heroic ability they would want at level 10. Commandeer Odin lets Tychus pilot the massive Odin mech will has a whole new set of statistics, attacks, and abilities for 23 seconds. Attacks when using the Odin mech are Annihilate (7 seconds cooldown), Ragnarok Missiles (7 seconds cooldown), and Nuclear Blast (10 seconds cooldown). The second heroic ability is the Drakken Laser Drill, which deals large sustained damage to a single target every second. This ability is activated for 22 seconds. Both Commandeer Odin and Drakken Laser Drill uses up 100 mana and requires a 100 second cooldown.

Tychus can be built to do some major damage, but players would need to balance this with his other talents as well in order to increase survivability. Here’s our guide on how to maximize Tychus’ attack potential.

Armor Piercing Rounds – the damage to Tychus’ Overkill ability’s target is increased by 20%

Focused Attack – basic attacks deal 50% additional damage every 10 secondss. Other basic attacks will further reduce cooldown period

Quraterback – increases Frag Grenade range by 50%

Commandeer Odin – provides increased damage and other abilities and will also provide Tychus with different and more powerful abilities

Giant Killer – basic attacks deal additional damage equal to .05% Tychus’ maximum health

Executioner – 40% increase on damage for basic attacks against slowed, stunned, or rooted enemies

Fury of the Storm or Big Red Button – Fury of the Storm provides bounce damage of up to 50% for basic attacks while Big Red Button makes Commandeer Odin last 50% longer

This build is great if you want to decimate opponents, although it leaves much to be desired especially if you don’t have strong support from your allies. Expect a short life if you are left on your own and if you are not able to maximize Tychus’ area based damage abilities or if you are not accurate with your attacks.

For a more balanced build that sacrifices a bit of damage potential for survivability, then the following build is recommended.

Path of the Warrior or Regeneration Master – Tychus gains 35 health for each level (Path of the Warrior) or permanent health gain per second upon collection of 3 regeneration globes, stackable (regeneration Master)

Vampiric Assault – 15% of damage dealt for basic attacks is returned to Tychus as health

First Aid – heals 35% of max health over 6 seconds

Commandeer Odin – same reason as above

Stim Pack – gains 20% attack speed and 20% movement speed for 3 seconds after using Run and Gun

Stoneskin or Concussion Grenade – Stoneskin provides players with shields equivalent to Tychus’ max health for 5 seconds

Bolt of the Storm or Big Red Button – Bolt of the Storm allows Tychus to teleport to a different location

The selection of talents based on the build above will depend on how aggressively you would like to play Tychus as. If you want to be up close and personal with enemies, then choose damage based abilities as well as those that will let you keep your health up. Otherwise, stick with those that will increase your movement or give you slight crowd control abilities so that you will not get overwhelmed by attackers.

For heroic abilities, Commandeer Odin seems to be superior as this will allow you to really decimate your opponents while keeping your character safe. The Drakken Laser Drill is also limited as it can only target one enemy at a time while Odin can be used for both specific and area based targets.

Strategy
Never assume that Tychus was built for survivability. Despite being a heavy damage dealer, Tychus can be picked apart by enemies especially when they are able to break the momentum of your attacks. With that, always maintain a respectable distance when attacking and move away when you are being targeted. Always make sure that you have space to move away and that you will have allies nearby to back you up as you recover.

Focus your talent builds on health or in opportunities that will keep your enemies away, either knocking them back or speeding you up. Having increased knockback or slow abilities, such as those provided by the Lead Rain and Concussion Grenade talents, respectively, will greatly help so that you will have some time to escape targeted assaults from enemies. Increasing your range when it comes to attacks will also be very beneficial, so don’t focus on just one area when improving your character.

Pros and Cons
Tychus is a ranged attacked. However, he is a short range attacker, and this might hurt players that use Tychus a sniper type character as he is certainly not, especially against other range based heroes. Enemies with longer range can eat Tychus up as he is slower than most heroes, so when choosing between having to fight up close or from afar, always choose the latter. Also, while Tychus has attacks that deal decent damage to single targets, Tychus is not that effective when it comes to one on one battles. He is, however, a monster when it comes to ripping at crowds that are grouped close together, so players must really take advantage of that.

While Tychus also has very short cooldowns for his abilities, he can’t afford to spam them due to his low energy regeneration. Thus, he would have to rely on accuracy and timing, something that would be very difficult to do if you are targeting a specific enemy rather than relying on chance to get you a kill within a close crowd of enemies.

Tips and Tricks
The trick when playing Tychus is to always have someone absorb enemy’s attacks while you attack them from a distance. Despite appearances, Tychus is not built as a tank character, which is why having someone that can group enemies together so that you can use your minigun on them is a must. Tychus is a perfect example of a damage dealer that cannot take as much as he gives, so always be on the lookup for support from teammates.

Should you want to get up close and personal, however, then make sure to build up your health based talents. Having increases range for your abilities would also be beneficial. Venturing out on your own, however, is certainly not recommended as skilled players can definitely take you apart even in a one on one affair.