Gul'dan

Gul'dan
"I will not be denied!"
Basic Info
Title	Darkness Incarnate
Role	Ranged Assassin
Difficulty	Medium
Franchise	Warcraft
Price	625 / 7,000
Release Date	July 12, 2016
Base Stats
Attack Type	Ranged
Health	1700
Health Regen	3.543
Resource	500 Mana
Unit Radius	0.875
Attack Speed	1
Attack Range	5.5
Attack Damage	60
Data Page

Gul'dan, Darkness Incarnate, is a Ranged Assassin hero from the Warcraft franchise. Abandoning the ways of shamanism, Gul'dan entered a pact with the demon lord Kil'jaeden and betrayed his people in exchange for limitless power. With the orcish Horde under his master's thrall, both Draenor and Azeroth nearly fell into his grasp.

Gul'dan is a sustained damage mage who uses his health as fuel but can steal life from his enemies.

Background

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft universe.

Gul'dan was an orcish shaman from Draenor who became the first orcish warlock as well as the de facto founder of the Orcish Horde. Abandoning the ways of shamanism and betraying both his people and his mentor to the demon lord Kil'jaeden for personal power, Gul'dan was directly responsible for the orcs' fall to demonic enslavement as well as for the Horde's invasion of Azeroth. Tutored by the lord of the Burning Legion, he became the founder and master of the Shadow Council as well as the original creator of the necromantic terrors known as death knights. Gul'dan often referred to himself as "Darkness Incarnate" and the "Destroyer of Dreams", and he is considered to be one of the most powerful warlocks to have ever existed.

Gameplay

Gul'dan is a Ranged Assassin who is capable of dealing large amounts of close proximity AoE damage. Gul'dan does not regenerate Mana. Instead, he possesses the ability to replenish Mana using Life Tap at the cost of his own Health. This, paired with his ability to sap the health from his opponents to replenish his own allows Gul'dan to stay on the battlefield for longer, as opposed to other "mage" Heroes that constantly need to visit healing wells or hearth to the Hall of Storms to restore mana.

Strengths

• Incredible sustain by means of Life Tap and Drain Life
• Fel Flame provides good waveclear
• High AoE damage output

Weaknesses

• Health and Mana pools require constant monitoring due to their unique co-dependent relationship
• Incredibly vulnerable to crowd control
• Requires great positioning during skirmishes and teamfights

Abilities

D

Life Tap

Cooldown: 0.5 seconds

222 Life (+4% per level)
Gul'dan does not regenerate Mana. Activate to restore 25% mana.

• Cannot be used, if Gul'dan is at maximum Mana or if using Life Tap would be lethal.

Q

Fel Flame

75 Mana Cooldown: 1.5 seconds

Release a wave of flame, dealing 200 (+4.5% per level) damage to enemies.

W

Drain Life

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Drain the life from an enemy over 3 seconds, dealing 132 (+4% per level) damage per second and healing Gul'dan for 188 (+4% per level) Health per second.

• Stationary channel, can be cancelled by reactivating the Ability.
• Damage and Healing are dealt 4 ticks/second to a total of 12 ticks.
• Cannot be used on Structures.

E

Corruption

80 Mana Cooldown: 14 seconds

Call forth three bursts of shadow energy, dealing 204 (+4.5% per level) damage over 6 seconds. Corruption can stack up to 3 times on an enemy.

• Damage is dealt 1 tick per second, but individually for every burst hit.
• A Hero can't be hit with more than 3 bursts per cast. Further bursts don't refresh the duration or increase the damage.

R

Horrify

80 Mana Cooldown: 90 seconds

After 0.5 seconds deal 120 (+4% per level) damage to enemy Heroes in an area and Fear them for 2 seconds. While Feared, Heroes are Silenced and forced to run away from Horrify's center.

R

Rain of Destruction

90 Mana Cooldown: 100 seconds

After 1.5 seconds, summon a rain of meteors in an area for 7 seconds. Each meteor deals 165 (+4% per level) damage in a small area.

---

Type: Spell damage

Scaling: 4.00%

Affects: Enemies

Targeting: Point target

Properties: Channeled cast (stationary)

Cast time: 1.5(ch) seconds

Range: 10

---

• Interrupting the ability puts it on a 10-second cooldown. Gul'dan can interrupt the channel by issuing a "move" or "stop" command.
• Spawns total of 56 meteors in randomly chosen points in the AoE.

Talents

1

Pursuit of Flame

❢ Quest: Hit 30 enemy Heroes with Fel Flame.
❢ Reward: Fel Flame's radius is increased by 10%.

Chaotic Energy

Increases the cast range of Drain Life by 25%.
❢ Quest: The healing provided by Regen Globes is increased by 33%.
❢ Reward: After Gathering 15 Regen Globes your Basic Ability Mana costs are permanently reduced by 20.

Echoed Corruption

❢ Quest: Hit 40 enemy Heroes with Corruption.
❢ Reward: After the third strike, Corruption strikes 3 times in the opposite direction.

4

Health Funnel

Drain Life's cooldown recharges 100% faster, while it is channeling.
If an enemy dies while under the effect of Drain Life, the cooldown is instantly refreshed.

Improved Life Tap

Life Tap now restores 35% Mana.

Consume Soul

Cooldown: 30 seconds
Active: Instantly kill an enemy Minion and heal for 800 (380 + 4% per level) Health. Stores 2 charges.

7

Bound by Shadow

Each enemy Hero hit with Fel Flame reduces the cooldown of Corruption by 1.5 second.

Curse of Exhaustion

Drain Life deals 50% more damage and slows the target's movement speed by 50% if they are afflicted by Corruption.

Hunger for Power

Increases Ability Power by 15% but reduces healing received from allies by 25%.

• Healing from Fountains, Regeneration Globes and Biotic Emitters is also reduced.
• Healing from Gul'dan's Abilities and Talents is not reduced (actually his self-healing increases due to Spell Power buff).

10

Horrify

Cooldown: 80 seconds
After a short delay, deal 120 (+4% per level) damage and fear enemy Heroes in the area for 2 seconds.

Rain of Destruction

Cooldown: 100 seconds
After 1.5 seconds, summon a rain of meteors in an area for 7 seconds. Each meteor deals 165 (+4% per level) damage in a small area.

13

Fel Armor

Hitting an enemy Hero with Fel Flame grants 40 Spell Armor for 2.5 seconds, reducing Ability Damage taken by 40%.

Harvest Life

Drain Life heals for 75% more Health when used on Heroes.

Dark Bargain

Your maximum Health is permanently increased by 30% but your Death Respawn time is increased by 15 seconds.

Healthstone

Cooldown: 60 seconds
Active: Activate to heal for 25% of your maximum Health.

16

Rampant Hellfire

Fel Flame's damage is increased by 10% for 5 seconds when hitting an enemy Hero. This can stack up to 5 times.

Ruinous Affliction

Corruption deals an additional 78 (+4% per level) damage on impact. If the enemy is hit by all three strikes, the third strike deals 233 (+4% per level) damage.

Darkness Within

After using Life Tap, the damage and healing of Gul'dan's next Ability is increased by 30%.

---

• Darkness Within can empower every Basic Abililty, both Heroics, Consume Soul and Healthstone.

20

Haunt

Increases the duration of Horrify by 1 second, and while Feared, enemies lose 20 Armor, causing them to take 20% increased damage.

Deep Impact

Rain of Destruction slows enemies Movement Speed by 90% for 0.5 seconds.

Demonic Circle

Cooldown: 60 seconds
Active: Summon a Demonic Circle at your location. Activate to teleport to the Demonic Circle.

• Gives you two activatables: "Summon Demonic Circle" for setting up the circle and "Teleport To Demonic Circle" for teleporting to it.
• "Summon Demonic Circle" requires 1 second Channel and has 1 second cooldown.
• Teleporting is instant.

Skins

Gul'dan Skins
Darkness Incarnate
Backstory: Abandoning the ways of shamanism, Gul'dan entered a pact with the demon lord Kil'jaeden and betrayed his people in exchange for limitless power. With the orcish Horde under his master's thrall, both Draenor and Azeroth nearly fell into his grasp.
625 / 7,000 Darkness Incarnate	Free Legion	Free First War	120 / 75 Broodling	120 / 75 Shadowmoon
Balespider (tier 12 warlock set)
Backstory: The Balespider's Burning Vestments were woven from the cinderwebs of the Red Widow, Beth'tilac. Only by enduring the flames of the Firelands can a Warlock know its searing embrace.
Features: Themed abilities.
Notes: This skin theme is part of a shared theme of Warcraft tier sets skins.
350 / 400	350 / 400 Nerubian	350 / 400 Toxic	350 / 400 Heroic
Dark Nexus
Backstory: The avatars of the Dark Nexus are twisted reflections of heroes and villains. While they may wear familiar guises, they are, in truth, chaos and hatred incarnate... an ancient evil that can only be bargained with: never controlled.
Features: Altered voice-over, themed abilities, themed animations.
Notes: This skin theme is part of a shared theme of Dark Nexus skins.
350 / 400	350 / 400 Cataclysmic	350 / 400 Eldritch
Shadow Council
Backstory: With his deception complete, Gul'dan need no longer hide his face beneath a cowl. He is Darkness Incarnate, and all of the Nexus shall behold his true power in the war between shadow and light.
120 / 75	120 / 75 Mag'har	120 / 75 Chaos	120 / 75 Wretched

Portraits

Gul'dan Portraits
Canvas Gul'dan75 / 40	Carbot Gul'dan120 / 75	Gul'dan Hero	Gul'dan Mastery	Hearthstone Gul'dan75 / 40	Pachimari Gul'dan75 / 40	Revenant Gul'dan60
Skull of Ghoul'dan40	Stylized Shadow Council Gul'dan75 / 40	Toon Gul'dan75 / 40

Sprays

Gul'dan Sprays
Carbot Gul'dan120 / 75	Making It Rain250 / 300	Old Timey Gul'dan75 / 40	Pachimari Gul'dan75 / 40	Stylized Shadow Council Gul'dan40

Emojis

Gul'dan Pack 1			Gul'dan Pack 2
Emoji	Name	Shortcut	Emoji	Name	Shortcut
	Gul'dan Happy	:guldanhappy: :gulhappy:		Gul'dan Angry	:guldanangry: :gulangry:
	Gul'dan ROFL	:guldanlol: :guldanrofl: :gullol: :gulrofl:		Gul'dan Cool	:guldancool: :gulcool:
	Gul'dan Sad	:guldansad: :gulsad:		Gul'dan Embarrassed	:guldanoops: :guldanembarrassed: :guloops: :gulembarrassed:
	Gul'dan Silly	:guldansilly: :gulsilly:		Gul'dan in Love	:guldanlove: :guldaninlove: :gullove: :gulinlove:
	Gul'dan Speechless	:guldanmeh: :guldanspeechless: :gulmeh: :gulspeechless:		Gul'dan Surprised	:guldanwow: :guldansurprised: :gulwow: :gulsurprised:

Quotes

Main article: Gul'dan/Quotes

Trivia

• Gul'dan first appeared in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (December 1995).
  • His book appearence was six years later, in The Last Guardian (December 2001).
• Gul'dan is voiced by Paul Eiding in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and by Troy Baker in Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, and World of Warcraft: Legion.
  • In the Warcraft movie, Gul'dan is portrayed by Daniel Wu. Codes to unlock Gul'dan in Heroes of the Storm were included in select physical editions of the movie on Blu-ray and DVD.
• Gul'dan's model in Heroes of the Storm was based on his WarCraft II sprite merged with aspects of his Warlords of Draenor appearance. His colour scheme matches his sprite while his body shape and face are more like how he appears currently. His quotes make it clear that he's the one from the original world, but he also references some of new Gul'dan's lines (there's something of a running joke with him trying to get people to drink demon blood). Finally, the spikes on his back are made of bone like Draenor's Gul'dan due to the corruption, whereas in the original game they were part of his robes.
• Gul'dan was confirmed to be in the works at BlizzCon 2015.
• The design process behind Gul'dan's abilities was explained by Kent-Erik Hagman: "And we worked out, well, we don't want any more summoners in the game because Azmodan and Zagara have added enough health bars to the game, we don't want that UI clutter. So how can we get the warlock fantasy without doing summons? We knew we wanted to do Life Tap, it's basically our version of a trait or hero power is Life Tap. It's so perfect for warlock, it speaks to the mentality of "Give me power now, I'll deal with the consequences later." You know? That's so warlock fantasy. So we built around Life Tap, which lead to this whole queue which started out really complicated like "Oh, if you keep casting it, it gets stronger, it costs more mana," it was really complicated and after playing it for a while, and the toolset was like two paragraphs long, we thought "Wait, what if you just made it a really low cool down and a really high mana cost?" So we did that and it was like "Wow, it's the exact same gameplay with a fifth of the rules!" And from there it was like, well okay, if you're gonna have a low cooldown, spammable thing, obviously it's going to be insanely bursty, so you can kind of keep doing it all the time. And that's where he became the sustained damage mage. Just off of that interaction right there, the trait and the queue … the Drain Life, that's very warlocky, fed right into the trait as well."
• Legion Gul'dan resembles the version of the character featured in Warlords of Draenor and Legion.
• First War Gul'dan resembles Gul'dan as he appears in the Warcraft movie.
• One of Gul'dan's gag quotes references the book Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
• Unusually for Gul'dan, this version of the character lacks a staff, while portrayals of his movie, alternate, and even main universe versions have all included a staff at some point; often topped with a skull.

Gallery

General

• 

  Gul'dan's artwork

• 

  Gul'dan's artwork

• 

  Guldan's appearance in Medivh's trailer

Concept Art

• 

  Dark Nexus Gul'dan concept

Abilities

• 

  Q: Fel Flame

• 

  W: Drain Life

• 

  E: Corruption

• 

  R1: Horrify

• 

  R2: Rain of Destruction

External links

• In Development: Gul'dan, Auriel, Skins, and Mounts!
• Gul'dan Hero Week
• Gul'dan - Heroes of the Storm
• Gul'dan - World of Warcraft
• Gul'dan - Wowpedia
• Gul'dan Build Guide on Icy Veins
• Gul'dan Balance Changelog - Heroes Patch Notes
• Gul'dan Sound Files - Sounds of the Storm