Well, well, who do we have here? An eccentric scientist, somewhat neurotic, is one of Piltover’s most deserving innovators when it comes to new ideas and inventions. Precisely because of his unpredictability and intelligence, you should always be careful when you are near him. I present to you Professor Cecil B. Heimerdinger, you can call him crazy but do not say that I did not warn you.
“Impossible, you say? Nonsense. Just wait till you see my calculations!”
First of all, it is time to present the Professor’s abilities:
- Passive: Hextech Affinity – When he is in the range of 300 from turrets he has set up, or turrets from his teammates; Heimerdinger gets 20% movement speed.
- H-28G Evolution Turret (Q) – His Q ability is an annoying threat to all his opponents. Heimerdinger creates mini turrets in the desired locations and can have as many as three spare ones. Turrets independently shoot opposing champions who deal 6/9/12/15/18 (+ 35% of ability power) magic damage and a long-ranged laser beam which deals 40/60/80/100/120 (+ 55% of ability power) magic damage. If the Heimerdinger is more than 1000 units away, the turrets disappear. There can be three active turrets on the map at the same time.
- Hextech Micro-Rockets (W) – His W fires five powerful and fast missiles fired at target deals 60/90/120/150/180 (+ 45% of ability power) magic damage to the first enemy it hits. If an enemy champion is hit with multiple missiles, he does 20% magic damage for each missile that hits him.
- CH-2 Electron Storm Grenade (E) – As its name suggests, Lightning Grenade is a grenade that is activated three times, making 150/250/350 (+ 75% of ability power) magic damage and exploding in a larger area each time. Opposing champions who hit the grenades will be slowed by 80%.
- UPGRADE!!! ® – The Professor’s ult is actually an upgrade of his already existing abilities. By choosing R and one of his basic abilities, he actually strengthens it. He can damage the opposing team and often kill all low-health enemy champions.
Also read: How to Counter Ranged Top Laners?
How to Play Against Heimerdinger?
Playing against Heimerdinger can be a significant pain in the ass, that’s for sure. You need to avoid his turrets, then be careful not to get hit by grenades and try to escape as far as possible if you suspect he will use his ult. All in all, not an easy mission. But as Heimerdinger himself would say, nothing is impossible!
Heimerdinger usually plays mid-lane, so it is necessary to choose an excellent mid-lane champion who will be able to oppose him. For example, champions who can farm from a distance and thus avoid attacks by his mini turrets. It could be Ziggs or even Syndra.
Apart from them, Fizz can be a good choice because Fizz can quickly jump and kill Heimerdinger and escape from his proximity just as quickly, thus avoiding the damage that some of his abilities would do to him.
In addition to mid-lane, Heimerdinger is also suitable for the top lane or support in the bot lane. As support, he is ideal because he is a poke champion, and paired with a quality ADC, this can be an unbeatable combination. It is also important to know Heimerdinger’s build, these items are key to its strength: Horizon Focus, Morellonomicon, Rabadon’s Deathcap, and Luden’s Tempest.
So, how to successfully gank Heimerdinger?
First and foremost, don’t even try to gank Heimerdinger while he’s surrounded by his mini turrets. It is necessary to choose a champion who is capable of destroying his turrets, also smite the turrets too.
The champions who are relatively successful in ganking Heimerdigner are Zion, as he can push Heimerdinger’s turret straight into him, Karthus, because he doesn’t have to get close to gank him, Morderkaiser with his ult, Twisted Fate or Shyvanna. Of course, you can try with other champions, but it would be desirable that they are tank champions because Heimerdinger’s turrets take a lot of health, so tanky champions would be an ideal choice.
Heimerdinger’s biggest weakness is his immobility, and he’s a little squishy and prone to ganking. That is why it is essential to play the right attack on him, that is, on his turrets, which is the first and most important piece of advice – destroy those turrets!
Also read: Best Support Champions That Counter Corki
A Few More Tips…
Let the minions do the job – your minions are also capable of destroying turrets; this will help you as you will be able to get closer to Heimerdinger more easily when left without turrets.
Choose high-range champion – Heimerdinger is weak against high-range champions, such as Jinx, Varus, Tristana, or Twitch. If you choose melee champion, you can have a hard time with Heimerdinger because of his turrets and their serious damage against melee champions.
Smite those turrets! – His ult and his turrets can be smitten; use this opportunity to kill him while he is left alone.
Focus on the early game – Heimerdinger’s turrets are his biggest weapon in winning the lane. If you play against him, you need to get in the lane right at the beginning and attack him before he even gets a chance to set up his three turrets and thus take control of the lane.
Stick to these tips, and you can further do your own research on how to play against Heimerdinger and come up with your own strategy to eliminate this crazy but dangerous scientist quickly.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned above, Heimerdinger is a highly annoying opponent. He is not so difficult champion to play, and he mainly relies on his turrets, grenades, and ult, which empowers his basic abilities. The problem arises when you find yourself against him within the same lane. How to beat him?
First, choose a high-range champion. Champions who don’t have to approach him but can shoot him with their spells from a distance are more likely to avoid his attacks and the attacks of his innovative turrets.
Choose a champion who will be able to damage him and kill him in a few jumps—for example, Fizz. Fizz can jump directly on him, damage him and maybe kill him, and at the same time, due to his excellent mobility, he can escape before the evil turrets manage to finish him off.
Speaking of turrets, don’t try to gank Heimerdinger before you destroy the turrets. At the same time, there may be three active turrets in the lane that disappears when Heimerdinger moves away more than 1000 units away.
Also, if in the early game you harras him fast enough, you will be able to upgrade your abilities faster and collect enough gold for items that can knock Heimerdinger down as his advantage is also in the early game as soon as he sets his three turrets. You can also push the lane and let the minions destroy the turrets, which will make it easier for you to attack Heimerdinger, who is weak without turrets because he is immobile.
Don’t forget, Heimerdinger is an intelligent scientist, don’t let him provoke you to the point that you try to kill him aggressively every time his turrets kill you. Play carefully, with a good champion, strategy, runes, and build, and you are on the right path to beat him.
