Hercules

How to play Hercules

Hercules is a melee warrior from the Roman pantheon who deals physical damage. Top players play Hercules in the Solo lane.

In your kit, Driving Strike (dash, pushing enemies) is your way in and out of fights. Earthbreaker (line, pulls enemies at end) is your main crowd control. Mitigate Wounds (heal, protect) adds damage and pressure. Your ultimate is Excavate (area knock-up, rolling boulder), on a long cooldown (about 90s at rank 1), so save it for fights that matter. Your passive is Apotheosis: hit abilities, become empowered.

Community guides level Earthbreaker, Driving Strike and Driving Strike first. Max Driving Strike first, then Mitigate Wounds, then Earthbreaker.

You are a front line fighter who deals damage and takes it. Walk into the fight first, start it with your crowd control, and stay on the enemy your team is focusing. Mitigate Wounds keeps you in the fight longer than they expect. In the solo lane you will often fight one on one, so attack when their key ability is on cooldown.

Start with Bumba's Hammer, then buy Shifter's Shield. Your core is Breastplate of Valor and Genji's Guard, and you finish with Freya's Tears, Kinetic Cuirass and Hussar's Wings. A good relic is Blink Rune. If the enemy team heals a lot or you keep dying, open the full tool and enter the enemy gods for the exact swaps.

If you own Aspect of Preservation, it reworks Apotheosis (hit abilities, become empowered) and Mitigate Wounds (heal allies). It changes what to build, so turn on Aspect in the tool when you play it.

Top players win most often against Cu Chulainn, Janus and Kuzenbo, and struggle against Ganesha, Izanami or Ishtar. Against those, play safer and consider a defensive item earlier.