Hulkbuster

Portrait
Featured

Base Attributes

Release Date

May 21st, 2015^[1]

Origin

Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Iron Man #304 (1994)

Victory Animation

Hulkbuster backs up and raises its gauntlets.

Abilities

Signature Ability

Veronica Mk II

Availability

No

Yes

Template

"Hey genius-- you see this armor? That's right-- this hot rod defeated the Hulk himself. Which means you don't stand a chance!"

—Hulkbuster^[src]

Hulkbuster is a Tech Champion. Being a Tech Champion, he has a Class Bonus against Mutant Champions, but is weak to Cosmic Champions.

Bio[]

Tony Stark, man of means and intelligence, knows what to do when it's time to battle a raging Hulk — build a Hulkbuster exo-frame to bolster your armor. Loaded for maximum strength and power with loads of heavy weaponry, this is a must have for anyone looking to SMASH!

Mechanics[]

Hulkbuster is a ramping damage and power control Champion. Hulkbuster has received new mechanics based around breaking the opponent’s Block with Unblockable Special Attacks to gain bonus effects on each Special Attack.

He also brings new mechanics with slightly different abilities based on him being an Attacker or Defender. Gain more damage and aggressive power as an Attacker, and more health regeneration and tanky stats as a Defender. Watch out for Armor Breaks though, as they will strip him of a lot of his power.

Stats[]

Max Rating	Max Health	Max Attack
527	2464	185
-	-	-
1395	6548	490
-	-	-
3505	16420	1227
-	-	-
7063	32922	2459
-	-	-
12050	56176	4196
-	-	-

Abilities[]

When Fighting as an Attacker

Enter Giant-Buster Mode, granting the following:
Up to +X Attack Rating based on how large the opponent is.

Tier	Attack Rating
	46.25
	122.5
	306.75
	614.75
	1049

+X Attack rating for each Shock effect on the opponent.

Tier	Attack Rating
	51.8
	137.2
	343.56
	688.52
	1174.88

Dev Notes: Stacking lots of Hulkbuster’s Shocks on the opponent will result in some massive increases in his damage output!

When Fighting as an Attacker

Enter Iron Wall Mode, enhancing Hulkbuster’s defensive abilities.

Start of Fight & Every 15 Seconds

Gain an indefinite Armor Up, granting +X Armor rating.

Tier	Armor Rating
	300
	326.47
	352.94
	370.59
	397.06

Max Stacks in Giant-Buster: 2.
Max Stacks in Iron Wall: 4.

Brought Below 15% Health – Once Per Fight

Gain an indefinite Armor Up, granting +X Armor rating.

Tier	Armor Rating
	300
	326.47
	352.94
	370.59
	397.06

If in Iron Wall, gain a second Armor Up Buff.

Fighting Non-Cosmic Champions

For each Armor Up Buff Hulkbuster gains the following benefits:
+X Energy Resistance.

Tier	Energy Resistance
	728.57
	792.86
	857.14
	900
	964.29

+X Critical Damage Rating.

Tier	Critical Damage Rating
	70.83
	77.08
	83.33
	87.5
	93.75

Incoming Bleed & Poison Debuffs suffer -25% Potency.
Enemy attacks suffer -20% Offensive Ability Accuracy.
Enemy attacks suffer -X Critical Damage Rating.

Tier	Critical Damage Rating
	-111.22
	-121.03
	-130.84
	-137.38
	-147.2

Dev Notes: This stacks for each Armor Up buff on Hulkbuster, try and see how many you can get on him!

When Struck by Critical Hits

60% chance to consume 1 Armor Up Buff to inflict a Shock Debuff, dealing X Energy Damage over 10 seconds.

Tier	Shock Damage
	83.25
	220.5
	797.55
	1598.35
	2727.4

Heavy Attacks

100% chance to inflict a Shock Debuff, dealing X Energy Damage over 10 seconds.

Tier	Shock Damage
	101.75
	269.5
	674.85
	1352.45
	2307.8

Dev Notes: Stack as many of these as you can as an attacker to gain some massive damage via the bonus attack granted for each!

Signature Ability[]

Iron Rage - Brought Below 15% Health - Once Per Fight

100% chance to activate a Self-Repair Buff lasting 12 seconds and recovering X Health. This Buff is lost if Hulkbuster is Stunned.

Tier	Health
	349.89 - 985.76
	929.82 - 2619.64
	2331.64 - 6569.09
	5267.52 - 14814.94
	8988.16 - 25279.28

Giant-Buster: +X Attack rating while Self-Repair is active.

Tier	Attack Rating
	37 - 185.09
	98 - 490.23
	245.4 - 1227.58
	614.75 - 2827.84
	1049 - 4825.38

Iron Wall: +X% Self-Repair Potency.

Tier	Self-Repair Potency %
	10 - 40.01%
	10 - 40.01%
	10 - 40.01%
	14 - 45%
	14 - 45%

Special Attacks[]

100% chance to inflict an Armor Break Debuff, removing 1 Armor Up Buff and reducing Armor Rating by X for 20 seconds.

Tier	Armor Rating
	2550
	2775
	3000
	3150
	3375

100% chance to gain an Unblockable Buff, lasting 1 seconds.

Special 1 - Hulk-Smasher
A rocket-aided shoulder tackle smashes the armored suit through whatever, or whoever, happens to be in front of it.

100% chance to Stun for 1.5 seconds.
If the opponent’s Block is broken by the attack, all of Hulkbuster’s Armor up Buffs are consumed to add +1.25 second(s) duration to the Stun Debuff for each Armor Up consumed this way.

Dev Notes: Getting the massive stun from breaking an opponent’s Block with this attack gives you a great chance to throw in lots of heavy attacks and stack on the Shocks.

Special 2 - Hulk-Blaster
An uppercut stuns the enemy, setting them up for a powerful Repulsor Ray blast.

If the opponent’s Block is broken by this attack, all Beam attacks have a 100% chance to inflict Power Burn, draining 1 Bar(s) of Power per hit and inflicting direct damage proportional to the Power drained.
100% Chance to Power Lock, severing the target’s flow of power for 3 seconds.

Special 3 - Hulk-Buster
The ultimate in Hulk-Busting technology showcases exactly what it can do.

This Attack Drains 50% of the Opponent’s current Power.
Inflicts up to 3 Shock Debuffs, with each having a 80% chance to activate, dealing X Energy Damage over 20 seconds.

Tier	Shock Damage
	101.75
	269.5
	674.85
	1352.45
	2307.8

Unblockable Buffs triggered during this attack gain +4.5 seconds duration.

Synergy Bonuses[]

Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
Technological Competition		Hulkbuster: Launching a Special Attack converts 1 Armor Up Buff into a Fury Buff, lasting 15 Seconds and granting 30% Attack. Yellowjacket: Power Sting gains +65% Potency. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Don't Mention Puny Banner!		Hulkbuster: Up to +1000 Armor Rating based on how low Hulkbuster’s current Health is. Hulk: Immunity to Nullify, Fate Seal and Stagger. Hulk (Ragnarok): Gains up to +1000 Physical Resistance based on how high the Crowd Meter is. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Engineering Experts		Hulkbuster: Each Shock Debuff reduces the opponent’s Offensive Ability Accuracy during Special Attacks by 15%. Mister Fantastic: +1000 Physical Resistance. Black Panther: +25% Bleed Debuff Duration. Black Panther (Civil War): +40% Armor Up Ability Accuracy and Potency. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Enemies - Level 3		All Champions: +155 Critical Rating.
Family - Level 3		All Champions: +6% Health.
Family - Level 3		All Champions: +6% Health.
Rivals - Level 3		All Champions: +115 Critical Damage Rating.
Incoming Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
Avengers - Level 3		All Champions: +25% chance to Stun with each Special Attack.
Rivals - Level 3		All Champions: +115 Critical Damage Rating.
Heroes Never Learn		Cull Obsidian: Launching a Special Attack grants a Fury Buff for 4 seconds, increasing attack by 50%. This Buff gains +150% duration while fighting Hero Champions. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Extreme Measures		Hulk (Immortal): Personal Stun Effects have +10% increased duration. Hulkbuster: Opponents suffer -10% Ability Accuracy while Stunned. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
A.I. Upgrade		All Champions: Recover from Armor Break up to 10% faster.
Self-Repairing Sufficiency		Nebula: Start the fight with 1 additional Self-Repair Charge. Self-Repair Recharges 25% faster when Charges run out. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Common History		Sasquatch: Each stack of Rage increases Wrath of Tanaraq by an additional 0.3 seconds. Hulkbuster: Start the fight with an indefinite Armor Up Buff, granting +15% Armor Rating. This can stack above Hulkbusters Armor Up cap. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
House of Iron		Synergy Champions: Armor Break Debuffs inflicted on the Opponent have 30% increased Potency. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Knowledge Share		Spider-Man (Stark Enhanced): A.I. Reboots 30% faster. Hulkbuster: +30% Special Damage. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
My Beautiful Meteor		Ultron: Function (Cauterize) now lingers for an additional 7 seconds after the Special Attack is over. Additionally, While Function (Cauterize) is active, the opponent is Passively Heal Blocked. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Fortify Enhancement		War Machine: +25% Block Proficiency while Blocking Special Attacks. Hulkbuster: +25% Armor Up Buff Duration, Potency and Ability Accuracy. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Friends - Level 3		All Champions: +130 Armor Rating.
Idol - Level 3		All Champions: +4% Health & Attack rating.

Strengths and Weaknesses[]

Strengths[]

Power Control
- Hulkbuster has both Power Drain as well as Power Lock giving him a ton of control over the opponent’s power bar and making fights fairly safe! Master hitting the opponent’s Block with your Special 2, and your opponent’s Special Attacks will be a worry of the past.
Ramping Damage
- Hulkbuster continuously increases his attack based on how many Shocks the opponent has active on them. Slide in your Heavy Attack or Special 3 to apply Shocks to the opponent and watch your damage go sky high.
Unblockable
- All of Hulkbuster’s Special Attacks will start with an Unblockable buff being applied as soon as they begin. Use this to deal with Auto-Block, or pesky defensive opponents. Just make sure you watch out for it when you come across a wandering Hulkbuster.

Weaknesses[]

Armor Break
- If you break Hulkbuster’s Armor then he will lose a lot of his defensive abilities, so make sure you’re bringing in an Armor Break character to deal with him. Cosmic Ghost Rider, Corvus Glaive, Vision (Aarkus) and Venom are great options when fighting Hulkbuster
Shock Immunity
- Hulkbuster relies on applying Shocks to the opponent. Make sure you aren’t taking him into a fight where he can’t do that, otherwise he cannot ramp up his damage.
Block Unblockable
- Certain champions like Scorpion, Shuri, Mr Sinister, and Mordo can block Unblockable specials.

Recommended Masteries[]

Despair
- Hulkbuster stacks a ton of debuffs on the opponent, bringing in despair is going to help you control the opponents Regeneration abilities with ease.
Recovery
- Hulkbuster’s Signature Ability gives him a massive regen, Squeezing out some extra Health via the Recovery mastery is a huge win.
Coagulate
- Hulkbuster has some Bleed resists from having armor ups, doubling down on some extra bleed resist will help you mitigate all that bleed damage.

Trivia[]

Hulkbuster is the only Champion in the game that has Armor twice, since Hulkbuster is technically an Iron Man suit inside another Iron Man suit.^[2]
At least one more version of Hulkbuster is coming into the game at some point in the future. This was confirmed during an interview with Game Art Director Gabriel Frizzera.^[2]