🧬 Who is Mei?
Mei-Ling Zhou, a brilliant climatologist from Overwatch, brings her cryo-tech and survival instincts to the Nexus. After years of battling climate disasters, she’s now a frontline specialist, using her environmental gadgets to freeze, slow, and outmaneuver her enemies.
In Heroes of the Storm, Mei shines as a Tank with a unique focus on crowd control, zoning, and disruption. She might not hit like a hammer, but she controls the battlefield like a chess master — one icy move at a time.
Main Roles:
🛡️ Tank | ❄️ Crowd Control | 🌪️ Zone Control
🥶 Abilities (Quick Look)
- Cryo-Freeze (Trait – D): Become Unstoppable and heal for 35% of max HP over 3s.
- Snow Blind (Q): Throw a snowball, blinding and slowing enemies in an area.
- Blizzard (W): Summon a blizzard that deals damage, then stuns after 2s.
- Icing (E): Slide quickly and burst AOE slow on arrival.
- Avalanche (R1): Massive snowball that swallows enemies and stuns them.
- Ice Wall (R2): 2.5s impassable wall — perfect for splitting teams and denying objectives.
🎮 Gameplay Guide
Mei’s real power is in dictating the flow of battle. She excels at locking down zones, protecting teammates, and splitting enemies in crucial moments.
✅ Early Game
- Rotate between lanes using Icing.
- Drop Blizzard on minions and camps for easy clear.
- Use Snow Blind to neutralize enemy auto-attackers or zone them off points.
- Scout bushes and tight spots — Mei thrives in confined areas.
✅ Teamfights
- Engage with Icing into Blizzard for a fast CC chain.
- Keep Cryo-Freeze for moments when you’re about to get CC’d or burst.
- Combo Blizzard + Snow Blind on enemy clumps for brutal slows and stuns.
- Ice Wall is game-changing:
→ Split healers from their frontline
→ Block retreat paths
→ Deny objectives or channeling - Avalanche is a fight reset tool. Swallow enemy assassins or peel divers off your backline.
✅ Objective Control
- Use Blizzard to deny capture points or force enemies out.
- Ice Wall can cancel boss turn-ins, tributes, altars, and even block Nova’s snipe lines.
- Mei’s CC chain can lock down priority targets like Valla, Hanzo, or Jaina in seconds.
✅ Pro Tips
🎮 Icing + Blizzard behind fleeing enemies for surprise pick-offs.
🎮
Time Cryo-Freeze to dodge big ults (Ancestral, Pyroblast, etc.).
🎮
Avalanche can interrupt Mosh Pit, Deathwing’s Cataclysm pathing, and
much more.
🛠️ Builds
🧊 Frost Control Build (Best for zoning and team CC)
- 1: Ice Storm
- 4: Cold Front
- 7: Induce Hibernation
- 10: Ice Wall
- 13: Polar Vortex
- 16: Acclimation
- 20: Shatter
Focus: Area Denial, Team Fight Chaos, Setting Up Plays
The Lowdown: This build turns Mei into the ultimate battlefield controller. You’re not necessarily looking for flashy solo kills (though they can happen!). Your job is to make the enemy team miserable. You dictate where fights happen, split their team, slow ’em down, and set up wombo combos for your buddies. Think of yourself as the icy puppet master.
The Core Loop & Synergy:
- Zone ’em out: Use Ice Storm (1) to make your Blizzard (W) a massive “nope” zone. Bigger area means more slowing and damage potential. Drop it in chokepoints or on objectives to force the enemy to reposition or eat damage.
- Trap and Disrupt:Ice Wall (10) is your bread and
butter. Use it to:
- Trap enemies inside your Polar Vortex (13) enhanced Blizzard (W) – the Blind effect is huge.
- Split the enemy team, isolating their tank or healer.
- Block escapes for fleeing enemies.
- Peel for your squishy allies by walling off divers.
- CC Machine: Induce Hibernation (7) adds a sleep to your Cryo-Freeze (Q). This isn’t just for saving yourself anymore! Use it to interrupt important enemy channels (like Mosh Pit or Drain Hope) or to put a key target on ice for your team to follow up on. Be careful not to break the sleep too early!
- Survival & Follow-up: Cold Front (4) gives you a shield when you use Icing (E), letting you engage or disengage more safely. Acclimation (16) makes you tankier if the enemy tries to focus you down with CC. At level 20, Shatter (20) lets you detonate your Ice Wall for a final burst of damage and slow – perfect for finishing off trapped enemies or adding more AOE chaos.
Key Tactics & Pro Tips:
- Positioning is Key: You want to be close enough to land your abilities but safe enough not to get blown up. Use Icing (E) smart.
- Wall Discipline: Don’t just throw walls randomly. Look for opportunities to split, trap, or peel. Sometimes a well-placed wall is better than landing damage. Communicate wall usage if possible (“Walling off healer!”).
- Blizzard Placement: Aim Blizzards where the enemy will be, not just where they are. Think chokepoints, escape routes, or objectives.
- Q Usage: Use Cryo-Freeze (Q) strategically for the sleep, to dodge big damage, or to cleanse DoTs. Remember you’re vulnerable right after it ends.
In short: You’re the ultimate troll, making the battlefield a frozen hell for the enemy team. Control space, apply CC, and enable your team’s damage dealers.
❄️ Avalanche Isolation Build (Best for picks and combos)
- 1: Heavy Pack
- 4: Cold Front
- 7: Skating Away
- 10: Avalanche
- 13: Flurry
- 16: Black Ice
- 20: Cascade
Focus: Single Target Lockdown, Pick Potential, Combo Burst
The Lowdown: Forget playing nice. This build turns Mei into a predator. Your goal is to find an overextended or high-value enemy target, lock them down with Avalanche (10), and help your team blow them up instantly. You’re all about creating man-advantage situations through decisive picks.
The Core Loop & Synergy:
- The Hunt: Identify your target – usually a squishy damage dealer or healer slightly out of position.
- Engage & Isolate: Use Skating Away (7) enhanced Icing (E) for that speed boost and Unstoppable frame to close the gap safely. Immediately follow up with Avalanche (10). Aim it to stun the target and pull them towards your team (or at least away from theirs).
- The Combo: As soon as Avalanche hits, drop Blizzard (W) on them and start hitting them with basic attacks. Flurry (13) makes your basic attacks reduce Blizzard’s cooldown, so you can keep the pressure and slow up. The Black Ice (16) left behind by your Icing (E) adds extra damage and slow to the kill zone.
- Sustain & Escape: Heavy Pack (1) gives your Cryo-Freeze (Q) more healing and mana return, letting you sustain through poke or recover after a dive. Cold Front (4) adds that extra shield buffer. Skating Away (7) is also your escape tool if things go south.
- Double Trouble: At level 20, Cascade (20) gives you a second Avalanche charge (though weaker). This is insane! Use it to secure a kill if the first stun wasn’t enough, lock down a second target, or even use one charge defensively and keep one for picks.
Key Tactics & Pro Tips:
- Target Priority: Know who to go for. Blowing Avalanche on a full-health tank usually isn’t worth it unless they’re way out of position and your whole team can follow up. Aim for the squishies!
- Flank Angles: Approach from the side or behind to catch enemies off guard. Use bushes and vision blocks.
- Avalanche Aim: Practice landing Avalanches. Remember it has a short delay. Lead your target slightly. The displacement aspect is just as important as the stun.
- Know Your Limits: You have burst potential, but you’re not invincible. If you dive in and miss Avalanche, get out using Icing (E) and wait for your cooldowns. Don’t feed!
- Communicate: Ping your target before you go in! Let your team know who you’re Avalanching so they can follow up immediately.
In short: You’re the setup crew for picks. Find a target, hit the R button, and watch them disappear thanks to your lockdown and your team’s follow-up. Be aggressive, be decisive, and snowball the game through picks.
📊 Final Thoughts
Mei is a master of control. She’s not here to top the damage charts — she’s here to make sure the enemy can’t position, move, or act when it matters most. With perfect ability timings, smart positioning, and map awareness, Mei can be one of the most infuriating tanks to play against.
Control the fight, control the Nexus. Stay frosty, hero. 🧊🔥