Gooze, The Alchemical Accident: A Sticky Situation for Your Enemies

Overview

Gooze is a 5-star Legendary Fire hero from the Super Elemental Summon, specifically belonging to the Slime family. Released in May 2025, he initially landed with a wet thud, confusing players with a complex kit that did no direct damage. However, following a significant balance update in August 2025, he transformed from a "why?" to a "wow." He is a Sorcerer who specializes in disrupting the enemy team through forced interactions and theft. If you like the idea of your opponents hitting you for 1 damage just so you can steal their best buffs, Gooze is your guy. He looks like what would happen if a chemistry set exploded inside a jelly factory, and we love him for it.

Hero Art & Visuals

The artwork for Gooze is a delightful mess. He is essentially a sentient, red, gelatinous blob formed from a failed (or perhaps overly successful) alchemy experiment. He is adorned with various flasks, straps, and goggles that seem to be floating within or resting upon his viscous surface. The vibrant red and purple color palette screams "volatile chemical reaction." It is a refreshing departure from the standard "stoic warrior in armor" trope. He looks squishy, slightly dangerous, and completely ridiculous—a perfect representation of the Slime family aesthetic.

General Info

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Hero Stats

Gooze boasts a stat line that is robust and defensive-leaning, fitting for a hero designed to take hits to trigger his effects. With a base Power of 1193, he sits comfortably in the upper echelon of heroes released in mid-2025.

Health (2391): His health pool is massive. This is critical because his passives and special skills revolve around surviving hits.
Defense (1198): A very solid defense stat that, when combined with his special skill's defense buff, makes him incredibly durable.
Attack (1139): While not sniper-level, this attack stat is respectable, especially considering his special skill now hits all enemies for 350%.

Compared to the latest power creep (like the December 2025 heroes boasting 1230+ Power), Gooze is still very much competitive. He hasn't fallen off; he's just settled into a comfortable "strong meta" position rather than "broken OP."

Special Skill: Alchemy Experiment

This special skill is a Swiss Army knife of disruption and defense. Let's break down the mechanics because they can be confusing:

350% Damage to All: This was the game-changer added in the August update. Previously, he hit like a wet noodle (read: he didn't hit at all). Now, he clears waves and softens up defenses significantly.
Provoke (Undispellable): This forces all enemies to attack a random opponent at the end of their turn for a measly 1% damage. The damage is negligible, but the action is what matters. It forces an interaction.
Sticky Surface (Undispellable): This is where the magic happens. When an ally with Sticky Surface takes damage (like from the forced Provoke attack), they steal a dispelable buff or Growth effect from the attacker.
+55% Defense: A massive defensive steroid that keeps your team alive while they are busy picking the pockets of the enemy team.

The Synergy: The Provoke ensures that enemies must hit you, and the Sticky Surface ensures that when they do, you steal their buffs. It is a forced transaction where you get the goods and they get nothing but a 1% tap. Since both effects are undispellable, not even a Cleanse or Dispel can stop this theft train once it leaves the station.

By the Numbers

Let's look at the math behind the slime:

Mana Speed: Average. He needs 10 tiles to charge (9 with a level 23 mana troop or decent bonuses). This is a fair trade-off for the impact he has on the board.
Damage Calculation:
- Base Attack: ~1139
- Multiplier: 350%
- Rough Damage Potential: ~3986 raw damage value per enemy before defense calculation. Hitting 5 enemies, he dishes out nearly 20,000 points of raw damage potential. That is a heavy hit for a "support" hero.
Defensive Value: +55% Defense is nearly as good as it gets for a team-wide buff.
Buff Stealing Potential: In a 5v5 scenario, if every enemy has a buff and hits your team due to Provoke, you are potentially stealing 5 buffs per turn for 4 turns. That is up to 20 stolen buffs.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

The Slime family is all about minions and survivability through goo.

Family Bonus

This bonus incentivizes running Gooze with other Slimes or minion summoners. A 10-20% attack boost to all minions and fiends can add up, especially if you are running a summoner-heavy team.

Passives

Slime Minion on Defeat: If Gooze dies, he leaves behind presents—Mega Minions for his neighbors. This makes killing him a tactical headache.
Slime Minion Split: This is the "anti-sniper" passive. If you hit him too hard (more than 25% HP damage), he spawns a Mega Minion for himself. This mitigates the damage he just took and gives him a meat shield. It stops snipers from one-shotting him easily.

Aether Power

Special Armor: At the start of the battle, he gets +40% defense against special skills for 6 turns. This is fantastic for a tank or flank, helping him survive the initial barrage of Fast/Very Fast heroes so he can fire his Average speed skill.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

Historical Context: Upon release, Gooze was widely panned as "craptacular" and "confusing." Players didn't value the utility of the Provoke/Sticky Surface combo enough to justify a slot for a hero who dealt zero damage. He was compared unfavorably to other Slime heroes.
The Turning Point: The August 2025 balance update added the 350% direct damage component. This single change vaulted him from the bench to the frontline.
Modern Viability Verdict: Gooze is currently Highly Viable. He is a fantastic counter to the buff-heavy meta (Growth, Taunt, Dodge). While he isn't the fastest hero, his impact when he fires is undeniable. He is no longer a joke; he is a serious contender for defense teams and a potent weapon in wars.

Costume & Costume Bonus

As of this review, Gooze does not have a costume. He is sticky enough on his own.

Emblem Path Analysis

As a Sorcerer, Gooze has access to the Delay talent, which is annoying on defense.

The Durable Blob (Recommended)

Path: Defense > Health > Attack
Pros: Maximizes the value of his high base HP and his passives. He needs to survive to keep the Sticky Surface active and to keep stealing buffs. The longer he lives, the more annoying he is.
Cons: His 350% hit will be slightly softer.

The Angry Slime

Path: Attack > Defense > Health
Pros: Pushes his hit-all damage to threatening levels.
Cons: He becomes slightly squishier, risking death before he can fire his Average speed skill.

Final Recommendation

For most players, the Durable Blob (Defense/Health) path is recommended. Gooze's primary role is disruption and team protection. The damage is a nice bonus, but his utility is his crown jewel.

Strengths

Undispellable Utility: Both Provoke and Sticky Surface cannot be cleansed or dispelled. This is huge in a meta full of cleansers.
Buff Stealing: He turns the enemy's strength into your own. Fighting a team with heavy buffs (like Growth or Taunt) becomes a joy.
Survivability: High base stats, a massive defense buff (+55%), and passives that spawn Mega Minions when hit hard make him very tough to kill.
Respectable AoE Damage: 350% to all is nothing to sneeze at.

Weaknesses

Average Speed: In a Rush meta, he is fine, but in standard play, he can sometimes be too slow against Very Fast rush teams.
Dependent on Enemy Actions: The buff stealing only works if the enemy actually has buffs to steal and hits you. Against a raw damage team with no buffs, his utility drops (though the +55% defense is still good).
Passives overwrite allies: His passive minion spawn on death can overwrite better minions on adjacent allies if you aren't careful.

Best Game Modes

War Defense: Excellent as a Tank or Flank. The undispellable nature of his skills forces attackers to play differently.
Rush Attack/Defense: At Very Fast speed, he is a nightmare. Constant Provoke and Defense Up make his team unkillable.
Buff-Heavy Raids: Bring him against teams that rely on Growth (e.g., Construct family) or Taunt.
Auto-Farming: His hit-all + defense buff makes auto-farming safer and faster.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

The key to using Gooze is to pair him with heroes that benefit from extended battles or those that can keep him alive until he fires.

Sample Team Ideas

The "Stop Hitting Yourself" Team:
- Composition: Gooze (Tank) + 2 Counter-attackers (e.g., Obakan C2, Cyprian C2) + Healer.
- Why: Provoke forces enemies to attack. If you have Riposte active, they attack you, take damage from Riposte, and you steal their buffs.
The Slime Squad:
- Composition: Gooze + other Slime heroes (like Fungustine).
- Why: Stack that family bonus for massive minion stats. Fungustine heals, Gooze protects, and the Mega Minions do the killing.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

Counters:
- Malosi / Chang'e: Heroes who can block status effects or buffs before they are cast. Since Gooze's effects are undispellable after casting, you must stop the cast itself.
- Silence/Mana Control: Proteus, Hel, or any heavy mana controller can stop him from ever firing.
Anti-Synergies:
- Heavy Minion Summoners (non-Slime): Be careful not to overwrite powerful specialist minions with his generic Slime Mega Minions via passives.

Advice for New Players

If you pulled Gooze, congratulations! You have a top-tier tank/flank. Focus on keeping him alive. Pair him with a healer. Don't worry if you don't understand the "Provoke" mechanic fully yet; just know that when he fires, good things happen for you and bad things happen for the bad guys.

Advice for Veterans

Gooze is a tactical weapon. He is one of the few reliable counters to "undispellable" or heavy stack/growth meta teams because he steals the buffs rather than trying to dispel them. He is worth the Limit Break if you need a sturdy red tank or a specific counter to buff-heavy defenses. However, if you are looking for pure speed or raw sniping power, look elsewhere.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The journey of Gooze is a classic "Zero to Hero" story.

Launch Day: "I hope this gets a pre-release buff because it seems pretty bad at the moment imo." - Anonymous Forum User
Confusion: "Just got him... Not sure what to make of him. Also his release version seems to have been nerfed."
Post-Buff Redemption: "Finally he does something more than sitting and stealing buffs. Now usable and borderline great." The community initially despised the complexity of the card for zero damage payoff. The addition of the 350% hit silenced the critics and turned him into a sought-after hero.

Final Thoughts

Gooze is the definition of "don't judge a book by its cover" (or a slime by its viscosity). What started as a confusing mess of text is now a streamlined engine of destruction and theft. He protects your team, annoys the enemy, and hits surprisingly hard. While he might not be the flashiest hero in the game, he sticks around—literally and figuratively.

Final Verdict: A solid, high-tier hero who brings unique utility that ages well. Definitely worth the ascension materials.