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Basic Attacks (also called AA - Auto Attack) are the attacks that a Hero, Minion, Mercenary, Monster, Summon or Structure will perform automatically, if they are capable of hitting the target. Players can cause the units they are controlling to perform a Basic Attack by pressing the Right Mouse Button or by issuing an Attack-command (default 'A') on an enemy unit. Most units' Basic Attacks deal Physical Damage exclusively, except when modified by specific Talents. As an exception, Non-heroic Summons' Basic Attacks deal Spell Damage. Floating damage text displays the damage dealt by physical attacks as orange numbers above the target's head. Physical Damage from Basic Attacks can be reduced by applying Armor or Physical Armor on the target, or any physical or total damage debuffs to the attacker. Blind is a debuff that causes the affected units to miss their Basic Attacks for a set period of time, and Heroes with Evasion or Parry active cannot be hit by Basic Attacks.

Some Heroes are designed around their ability to do damage through Basic Attacks and so have higher Basic Attack damage or Attack Speed. Heroes like Raynor or Sgt Hammer utilize their Basic Attacks for the majority of their damage, and Heroes like Illidan or The Butcher require their Basic Attacks hitting to survive due to their heavy reliance on attack Lifesteal. Other Heroes (such as mages or Healers) usually do less Basic Attack damage because their kit may provide utility elsewhere, or their damage might simply be based on their Abilities instead.

Basic properties[ | ]

Attack Damage[ | ]

The Base damage statistic determines the damage a unit does when they attack an enemy with their Basic Attack. All heroes start with a Base attack damage value that increases with Scaling, and certain abilities or talents (such as Follow Through) can also increase attack damage under certain circumstances. A few Heroes, such as, Li-Ming, Kel'thuzad, and Kael'thas, can make their Basic Attacks deal Spell Damage instead through certain Talent selections.

List of Heroes by Basic Attack damage[ | ]

Name Role Franchise Basic Attack damage
Stukov Stukov Healer StarCraft StarCraft 261
Hanzo Hanzo Ranged Assassin Overwatch Overwatch 198
Ragnaros Ragnaros Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 180
Thrall Thrall Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 173
Deathwing Deathwing Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 155
Yrel Yrel Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 155
Alarak Alarak Melee Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 150
Hogger Hogger Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 150
Greymane Greymane Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 148
Maiev Maiev Melee Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 145
Sgt Sgt. Hammer Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 140
Garrosh Garrosh Tank Warcraft Warcraft 137
Rexxar Rexxar Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 134
Cho Cho Tank Warcraft Warcraft 130
Cho'gall Cho'gall Warcraft Warcraft 130
The Butcher The Butcher Melee Assassin Diablo (franchise) Diablo 130
Imperius Imperius Bruiser Diablo (franchise) Diablo 126
Zeratul Zeratul Melee Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 126
Cassia Cassia Ranged Assassin Diablo (franchise) Diablo 122
Junkrat Junkrat Ranged Assassin Overwatch Overwatch 120
Kerrigan Kerrigan Melee Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 115
Leoric Leoric Bruiser Diablo (franchise) Diablo 115
Rehgar Rehgar Healer Warcraft Warcraft 115
Artanis Artanis Bruiser StarCraft StarCraft 111
Diablo Diablo Tank Diablo (franchise) Diablo 105
Nova Nova Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 105
Falstad Falstad Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 104
Samuro Samuro Melee Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 102
Gazlowe Gazlowe Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 100
Qhira Qhira Melee Assassin Heroes of the Storm Heroes of the Storm 100
E.T.C. E.T.C. Tank Warcraft Warcraft 99
Johanna Johanna Tank Diablo (franchise) Diablo 99
Raynor Raynor Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 98
Mal'Ganis Mal'Ganis Tank Warcraft Warcraft 96
Arthas Arthas Tank Warcraft Warcraft 95
Dehaka Dehaka Bruiser StarCraft StarCraft 95
Xul Xul Bruiser Diablo (franchise) Diablo 95
Zul'jin Zul'jin Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 94
Chen Chen Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 90
Lunara Lunara Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 90
Muradin Muradin Tank Warcraft Warcraft 88
Nazeebo Nazeebo Ranged Assassin Diablo (franchise) Diablo 88
Orphea Orphea Ranged Assassin Heroes of the Storm Heroes of the Storm 88
Anduin Anduin Healer Warcraft Warcraft 85
Azmodan Azmodan Ranged Assassin Diablo (franchise) Diablo 85
Sonya Sonya Bruiser Diablo (franchise) Diablo 84
Fenix Fenix Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 83
Lt Lt. Morales Healer StarCraft StarCraft 83
Zagara Zagara Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 83
Chromie Chromie Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 82
Malthael Malthael Bruiser Diablo (franchise) Diablo 82
Anub'arak Anub'arak Tank Warcraft Warcraft 81
Brightwing Brightwing Healer Warcraft Warcraft 81
Sylvanas Sylvanas Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 81
Medivh Medivh Support Warcraft Warcraft 80
Valeera Valeera Melee Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 79
Illidan Illidan Melee Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 78
Mei Mei Tank Overwatch Overwatch 78
Tyrael Tyrael Tank Diablo (franchise) Diablo 78
Uther Uther Healer Warcraft Warcraft 75
Varian Varian Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 74
Alexstrasza Alexstrasza Healer Warcraft Warcraft 73
Baleog Baleog Support The Lost Vikings (franchise) The Lost Vikings 73
Kel'Thuzad Kel'Thuzad Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 72
Stitches Stitches Tank Warcraft Warcraft 71
Valla Valla Ranged Assassin Diablo (franchise) Diablo 70
Mephisto Mephisto Ranged Assassin Diablo (franchise) Diablo 66
Kael'thas Kael'thas Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 65
Auriel Auriel Healer Diablo (franchise) Diablo 64
Kharazim Kharazim Healer Diablo (franchise) Diablo 64
Deckard Deckard Healer Diablo (franchise) Diablo 63
Li-Ming Li-Ming Ranged Assassin Diablo (franchise) Diablo 63
Whitemane Whitemane Healer Warcraft Warcraft 62
Erik Erik Support The Lost Vikings (franchise) The Lost Vikings 60
Gul'dan Gul'dan Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 60
Jaina Jaina Ranged Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 60
Li Li Li Li Healer Warcraft Warcraft 60
Malfurion Malfurion Healer Warcraft Warcraft 60
Murky Murky Melee Assassin Warcraft Warcraft 60
Blaze Blaze Tank StarCraft StarCraft 55
Tyrande Tyrande Healer Warcraft Warcraft 55
Olaf Olaf Support The Lost Vikings (franchise) The Lost Vikings 52
Misha Bruiser Warcraft Warcraft 50
Tychus Tychus Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 50
Genji Genji Ranged Assassin Overwatch Overwatch 44
Probius Probius Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 33
Ana Ana Healer Overwatch Overwatch 30
Abathur Abathur Support StarCraft StarCraft 26
Lúcio Lúcio Healer Overwatch Overwatch 23
Tracer Tracer Ranged Assassin Overwatch Overwatch 23
D D.Va Bruiser Overwatch Overwatch 22
Zarya Zarya Support Overwatch Overwatch 20
Tassadar Tassadar Ranged Assassin StarCraft StarCraft 14

Attack Speed[ | ]

Main article: Attack Speed

Attack Speed (not to be confused with the speed of the attack projectile) is the rate at which a unit can use their Basic Attack. Attack Speed is measured in attacks per second, so higher Attack Speed values mean more attacks per second and lower Attack Speed values mean the opposite. The combination of Attack Speed and Attack damage multiply together to show a Hero's damage per second (dps), and many Basic Attack focused Heroes utilize having a high dps to kill their enemies. Some Talents and Abilities can increase Attack Speed, while other talents like Imposing Presence can greatly reduce it.

Attack Range[ | ]

Main article: Range

Each unit has a certain range that targets must be within to be able to attack them, measured from the edge of the attacking unit's hitbox to the edge of the target's hitbox. If a Hero wishes to attack someone outside of their range they will first have to move closer to be able to target them. The attack range of a hero also determines whether they are melee or ranged, with ranged Heroes having longer range but generally utilizing projectiles, and melee Heroes having short range but their hits landing instantly.

Stutter-stepping[ | ]

Stutter-stepping is a vital technique for Basic Attack driven Heroes that involves rapidly moving between each Basic Attack's "cooldown" to maximize mobility without losing overall damage per second. Stutter-stepping can be used to cover distance while chasing the target to prevent target getting out of your Range, or to make your Hero a moving target to make it harder to aim skillshots at it. The effectiveness of stutter-stepping is very reliant of the Hero's Attack Speed. Heroes with high Attack Speed, like Zarya and Tychus, have only a little time between attacks to move, causing them to lose dps by trying to stutter-step, so they are usually required to stop attacking completely and reposition. However, this is a non-issue for Heroes who can attack while moving, like Tracer, Lucio or D.Va, or Heroes with slow Attack Speed, like Leoric, that can cover more ground between the attacks and are less likely to lose dps because of it.

Trivia[ | ]

Blizzard tried multiple times (with Probius and Junkrat) to create a Hero without Basic Attacks:

"We've tried doing Heroes with no BA a couple of times now, and it always ends up feeling awkward. You can't kill Scouting Drones, Blackheart's treasure chests become exceptionally difficult to open... But most importantly, it feels bad when you need to do that last little bit of damage (ex: Minion with a sliver of HP) to something and have to waste an ability CD/resource to do it. This holds true even for Heroes with relatively short CDs and few or no resource constraints.
For Junkrat, we stuck with the Melee BA for a while, but the rate at which we had to let him spam his Q in order for that to feel OK made him exhausting to play against - Grenade dodging fatigue was a real thing when he could shoot them almost constantly. His Q being so spammy also took away most of the decision making from using it. Increasing the CD on Q charges and filling the gap with a Ranged BA made him more engaging to play both as and against."
— Lead Hero Designer, Matt Villers, on removing Junkrat's Basic Attacks [1]

References[ | ]

Statistics
 
Attack_ Attack damage icon Basic Attack (Attack range icon Attack RangeAttack speed icon Attack Speed) • Ability (Resource (Unitstatus icon mana Mana) Spell power icon Spell PowerCooldown)
Defense_ Unitstatus icon health HealthHealth RegenerationHealing (Healing modifierLifesteal) • ShieldPhysical armor icon Armor
Utility_ Move speed icon Movement speed
Buffs_ Absorbing icon AbsorbingEvade (Parry) • HealingInvulnerable icon InvulnerableProtected icon ProtectedStasis icon StasisStealthShieldsUnkillable icon UnkillableUnstoppable icon UnstoppableUntargetable
Debuffs_ Attack SlowBlinded icon BlindCrowd controlDamage over TimeKnockbackRevealed Icon RevealedRooted icon RootSilenced icon Silence (Feared icon FearMindcontrol icon Mind ControlPolymorphed icon PolymorphTaunted icon Taunt) • SlowStunned icon Stun (Sleep icon Sleep) • Stopped icon Time Stopped
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