Februus: The Plague Doctor Who Arrived a Little Late to the Party

Overview

Februus entered the arena as part of the Carnival of Gods event (Masquerade family), sporting one of the coolest visual designs in the game—a full-on Plague Doctor aesthetic that screams "I have the cure, but it might hurt." He is a Slow speed Nature (Green) hero who functions as a Swiss Army Knife of support: healing, cleansing, destroying fiends, and poisoning enemies.

Released back in late 2023, he was designed as a heavy-duty support hero who rewards patience with undispellable effects. However, in the current high-octane meta, "patience" is often a synonym for "defeat." This review looks at the base version of Februus, as no costume currently exists for him.

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Hero Art & Visuals

Let's just take a moment to appreciate the art. The beak mask, the dark robes, the vials of questionable fluids—Februus looks absolutely fantastic. He embodies the "Carnival" theme perfectly, looking like someone who wandered out of a Venetian masquerade that took a very dark turn. It's moody, atmospheric, and easily one of the best character designs from that era. If style points won battles, he'd be top-tier.

General Info

Hero Stats

Stat Analysis: Here is where we need to have a serious talk. With a base power of 952, Februus is showing his age. Modern heroes from late 2025 are pushing 1260+ power, with attack and defense stats soaring over 1300.

• Attack (885): Significantly lower than modern attackers, which limits his poison damage output since it scales off attack.
• Defense (912) & HP (1876): While respectable for 2023, these bulk stats are now merely "average" for a 5-star hero. Without Limit Breaks, he will struggle to survive long enough to charge his Slow mana against modern snipers who hit for 600%+.

Special Skill: Remedies and Diseases

Skill Analysis: "Remedies and Diseases" is a skill that tries to do everything, and honestly, the effects are fantastic—if you can fire them.

• Fiend Destruction: Removing all fiends from all allies is a premium counter-skill. It completely negates heroes like Arco or early fiend summoners.
• Cleanse: A full cleanse is always valuable, especially since it happens before the healing.
• Undispellable Regen: The 1190 HP over 5 turns is substantial (roughly 238 HP/turn). The fact that it cannot be dispelled ensures your team keeps healing even if an enemy dispeller fires.
• Uncleansable Poison: The poison damage (815 over 5 turns) acts as inevitable damage. It won't one-shot anyone, but it adds up, especially in long fights.

The elephant in the room is the Slow speed. Waiting 12 tiles (or slightly less with troops) for this set of effects is a huge ask in standard play.

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed: Slow. Requires 12 tiles to charge.
  • With a Level 23+ Mana Troop (or equivalent bonuses), you can drop this to 10 tiles (Very Fast equivalent in Rush Attack). This is where he shines.
• Healing Output: 1190 HP total / 5 turns = 238 HP per turn.
  • Note: This is "Regeneration," not "Boosted Health." It stops at 100% HP, unlike many modern healers.
• Damage Output: 815 Poison / 5 turns = 163 damage per turn (Base).
  • This scales with his Attack stat. If you Limit Break him and emblem for Attack, this number goes higher, but it's still a slow burn.
• Net Turn Swing: Between the healing and the damage, he creates a roughly 400 HP differential per turn between your team and the enemy.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

The Masquerade family offers excellent survivability mechanics that help mitigate his slow speed.

Family Bonus

Analysis: Spawning a minion at the start of battle is a great buffer. It effectively gives him a small HP shield immediately. If you pair him with other Masked Gods (like Jove or Fortuna), the family bonus becomes significantly stronger, adding attack and eventually immunity to ailments.

Passives

Analysis:

1. Cleanse on Minion Death: This is a hidden gem. If an enemy destroys his mask minion, he cleanses himself. This makes him surprisingly slippery against ailment-heavy teams.
2. Resist Defense Ailments: He is immune to Defense Down and Elemental Defense Down. This is huge for a tank or flank, as it prevents the standard "Defense Down + Sniper" combo from instantly deleting him.

Aether Power

Analysis: Regen. It fits his theme of sustainability, but frankly, for a Slow hero, you might have preferred "Defense Up" or "Damage Reduction" to help him survive the initial onslaught.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Upon release, Februus was seen as a "balanced" hero—good effects, fair speed penalty. He wasn't game-breaking like Jove, but he was a solid answer to the fiend meta.
• Power Creep Analysis: Power creep has been unkind to Slow heroes without game-ending skills (like Alfrike). While his effects are "Undispellable," 1190 HP over 5 turns is simply too slow when modern heroes deal 1500+ damage in a single turn. His stats leave him vulnerable to being wiped out before he ever casts a spell.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Niche / Bench. In standard Diamond Arena raids or Wars, he is too slow and his stats are too low. He has virtually no place in a competitive defense team outside of Rush Attack wars/tournaments. In PvE, he is still a very safe and reliable healer.

Emblem Path Analysis

Since Februus is a support hero whose main job is to survive long enough to fire, there is really only one viable path.

The Survivor (Recommended)

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Maximizes his bulk (Defense/HP), taking advantage of his passive immunity to Defense Down. This gives him the best chance to survive 12 tiles of gameplay.
• Cons: His poison damage will be slightly lower, but a dead hero deals zero poison damage.

Final Recommendation

Go full Defense/Health. His poison is a nice bonus, not his primary win condition.

Strengths

• Undispellable/Uncleansable Effects: Guarantees value once he fires. The enemy cannot wipe away the heal or the poison.
• Fiend Counter: Instantly deletes all fiends, hard-countering heroes like Hippopotamus or Waterpipe.
• Tanky Passives: Immunity to Defense Down makes him surprisingly durable against standard tile damage and sniper combos.
• Cleanses First: Cleanses ailments before applying the regen, ensuring heal-blockers don't ruin his day.

Weaknesses

• Painfully Slow: 12 tiles is an eternity in the current meta.
• Outdated Stats: His base stats make him squishy compared to 2025/2026 heroes.
• Over-Time Effect: Both his heal and damage take 5 turns to fully realize. In that time, a modern team can kill you three times over.
• No Overheal: His regeneration caps at 100% HP, unlike Boosted Health healers who provide a buffer against big hits.

Best Game Modes

• Rush Attack (Wars/Tournaments): This is his home. At Very Fast speed, his undispellable regen and poison become oppressive, and his fiend destruction is a great counter to Rush fiend tanks.
• Bloody Battle: Wait, actually no. He can't heal here, but his poison is uncleansable damage. Still, there are better options.
• PvE / Auto-Farming: His passive minion and self-sustainability make him a safe choice for auto-playing difficult map stages.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Sample Team Ideas

• The "Grind Down" Rush Team:
  • Composition: Februus - Kalø - - Alberich - Mother North
  • Why: In Rush, this team refuses to die. Februus keeps the HP ticking up undispellably, while the revivers bring back anyone who falls. The poison slowly whittles the enemy down.
• The Anti-Fiend Green Stack:
  • Composition: Februus - Evelyn (or EDD) -
  • Why: Use him specifically against Waterpipe tanks. His immunity to defense down helps him survive, and his skill wipes the minions/fiends to clear the way for your snipers.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Counters:
  • Mana Controllers: Proteus, Hel, or any silence/mana stop hero effectively removes him from the game since he takes so long to charge.
  • Buff Blockers: While they can't dispel the regen once it's on, they can prevent him from casting it in the first place if timed right.
• Anti-Synergy:
  • Other HoT Healers: Be careful pairing him with other Heal-over-Time heroes (like Alberich or Tarlak) as the newest HoT will overwrite the old one. However, since his is undispellable, it often takes priority or behaves uniquely—test your specific interactions, but generally, raw Boosted Health (like Hathor) is a better pair.

Advice for New Players

If you pulled Februus early in your E&P career, congratulations! He is a fantastic "carry" hero for map stages and quests. His ability to keep your team healthy and slowly kill bosses with poison will get you through content you might be under-leveled for. Max him out, but maybe hold off on Limit Breaking him until you have a more modern roster.

Advice for Veterans

He is a luxury toy for your Rush War depth. If you have 30 maxed 5-star greens, sure, level him for that 6th War flag. But do not give him Alpha Aethers. There are 4-star heroes released in 2025 with better stats and more impactful skills. He is a "safe" pick, but rarely a "winning" pick in high-level play.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The community reaction to Februus was... lukewarm, even at launch.

• One player perfectly summed up the frustration: "Slow priority cleanser, pretty much an updated Lidenbrock... very weak hero."
• Others appreciated his niche: "He is not bad hero, both poison and heal cannot be removed. Only drawback is speed is slow."
• There was a lot of debate about his classification: "This is what we call in today’s meta, a ‘balanced’ hero. And balanced heroes are just ‘not good’."
• A common sentiment regarding his pulls: "The uggghhh hero that you hope you don’t get?"

History has proven the skeptics right. While "balanced," he lacked the explosive power needed to stay relevant as stats skyrocketed.

Final Thoughts

Februus is the definition of a "fair" hero in an unfair game. His kit is well-designed, thematic, and mechanically sound. In a slower-paced version of Empires & Puzzles, he would be a god. But in the current landscape of one-shot snipers and lightning-fast battles, the good doctor often arrives at the scene just in time to sign the death certificates.

Use him for Rush Attack and enjoy the cool mask. For everything else, keep him in quarantine.