Raynor Build Guide “Hit 'em hard and fast.”

Last updated on Dec 08, 2021 at 21:25 by Derenash 47 comments
General Information

Welcome to our guide for Raynor, a Ranged Assassin in Heroes of the Storm. Within these pages, you will find everything required to understand how best to play this hero, in both different map styles and team compositions.

1.

Raynor's Overview

Raynor is a Ranged Assassin who relies on his hard-hitting Basic Attacks and long range to fight his enemies from a safe distance. He combines plain abilities with simple mechanics, however, he requires good positioning and map awareness in order to unfold his true strength. Since Raynor lacks any form of innate escape mechanism, like teleports or dashes, knowing when to take a fight and when to retreat is crucial to achieve good results when playing this Hero.

2.

Raynor's Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
X Weaknesses
  • -One-sided playstyle
  • -No innate escape mechanisms
  • -Blinds greatly reduce his effectiveness
  • -Requires good positioning
3.

Raynor's Talent Build Cheatsheet

Penetrating Round Build

Recommended
Level 1 Exterminator Icon Ace In The Hole Icon ? Veteran Marksman Icon ?
Level 4 Fight or Flight Icon Behemoth Armor Icon ?
Level 7 Unstable Compound Icon
Level 10 Raynor's Raider Icon Hyperion Icon ?
Level 13 Line 'Em Up Icon
Level 16 Paint Them Red Icon
Level 20 Dusk Wing Icon Cavalry's Arrived Icon ? Raiders Roll Icon ?

The Penetrating Round Build is designed to amplify Raynor's damage while also giving him good survivability. At level 1, Exterminator Icon Exterminator will drastically increase Raynor's PvE damage. It should be picked in Maps where waveclear and mercenaries are essential, or in Battlefield of Eternity, to greatly increase damage on immortal. At Level 10, both Heroic Abilities are viable, however, we recommend Raynor's Raider Icon Raynor's Raider as the main option, while Hyperion Icon Hyperion can be a great option to push Forts, Keeps or to control Objectives in Volskaya Foundry or Infernal Shrines.

Adrenaline Build

Situational
Level 1 Exterminator Icon Ace In The Hole Icon ? Veteran Marksman Icon ?
Level 4 Fight or Flight Icon
Level 7 Fuel The Rush Icon
Level 10 Raynor's Raider Icon Hyperion Icon ?
Level 13 Give Me More! Icon
Level 16 Rallying Cry Icon
Level 20 Raiders Roll Icon

The Adrenaline Build greatly amplifies Raynor's self-sustain from Adrenaline Rush Icon Adrenaline Rush, and Attack Speed during Inspire Icon Inspire. This build may not have a good early game and mid game, but it becomes extremely good at level 20 with Raiders Roll Icon Raiders Roll.

We recommend this build if you are in maps that will often reach Level 20, such as Volskaya Foundry or Alterac Pass.

4.

Raynor's Synergies and Counters

V Raynor synergizes with

Raynor excels if played with Heroes that can easily protect him, while also creating space so he can deliver more Basic Attacks. Beside the tanks with decent peel capabilities, Thrall is a good teammate, since Earthquake Icon Earthquake's slow will not only assist Raynor against engages, but will also allow him to play freely in fights.

X Raynor is countered by

Since Raynor relies completely on his Basic Attacks, Blinds are his worst enemy. As a result, Heroes like Johanna, Artanis, or Cassia can really cripple Raynor's combat performance.

5.

Raynor's Maps

Raynor's stronger maps
Battlefield of Eternity Dragon Shire Infernal Shrines Tomb of the Spider Queen Towers of Doom
Raynor's average maps
Alterac Pass Blackheart's Bay Braxis Holdout Cursed Hollow Garden of Terror Hanamura Temple Sky Temple Volskaya Foundry Warhead Junction
Raynor's weaker maps
None

Raynor usually performs decently on most Maps, however, he is slightly more efficient on push-heavy Maps, such as Infernal Shrines or Dragon Shire. The more opportunities he gets to attack his opponents from a safe distance, the better. Try to avoid getting caught separately from your team when playing Raynor, as his escape potential is rather limited. Raynor should not be played in the sofflane, instead, try to be part of rotations and stay behind your Warriors at all time while moving from lane to lane.

6.

Raynor's Tips and Tricks

  • Movement is crucial when playing Raynor, since he lacks any gap-closing abilities. Thus, make sure to constantly keep stutter stepping in between each Basic Attack even while fighting Minions in lane.
  • You can manually reassign a new target to your Banshee by hovering your cursor over the desired target and pressing R again.
  • Penetrating Round Icon Penetrating Round can be used to Knockback enemies away from you. Sometimes it can also be used to knock enemies towards your teammates.
  • Inspire Icon Inspire also works on Minions and Mercenaries. Use it during pushes to take down enemy Structures more quickly.
  • With Exterminator Icon Exterminator, Inspire Icon Inspire should be used every time you move closer to a wave or friendly mercenaries, because it will not expire.
7.

Raynor's Role in the Current Meta

Raynor is a solid pick on most maps, but he particularly shines on smaller ones like Towers of Doom, Infernal Shrines, or Tomb of the Spider Queen, which focus heavily on pushing and fighting in narrow spaces. His conservative playstyle and powerful Basic Attacks make him a stereotypical Ranged Assassin that fits into many team compositions.

Although most of Raynor's abilities are fairly easy to understand, it is extremely important to know when to use them. Penetrating Round Icon Penetrating Round can be used to Knock engaging enemies away from him, but it can also be used to harass and damage opponents in lane. Inspire Icon Inspire can be a valuable tool to push your lane by increasing your own and your allies' attack speed, but it can also be a necessary to provide you with more mobility. The same applies for Raynor's Heroic Abilities. While Raynor's Raider Icon Raynor's Raider is a formidable way to further push his damage output on single targets, Hyperion Icon Hyperion allows him to damage several enemies and Structures at the same time. Thus, Raynor remains a solid Hero that is easy to learn yet hard to master.

8.

Changelog

  • 08 Dec. 2021 (this page): Guide has been reviewed and is in accoordance with the latest patch.
  • 25 Jun. 2021 (talents page): Updated Level 1 Talent recommendations.
  • 25 Jun. 2021 (this page): Updated Level 1 Talent recommendations.
  • 04 Jun. 2021 (talents page): Updated Builds and Talents to better reflect current meta.
  • 04 Jun. 2021 (this page): Guide updated to better reflect current meta.
  • 18 May 2021 (talents page): Updated Builds and Talents after Raynor's recent rework.
  • 18 May 2021 (this page): Guide updated after Raynor's recent rework.
  • 26 Mar. 2021 (talents page): Updated Talent recommendations.
  • 17 Feb. 2021 (talents page): Updated Indomitable Resolve's relevance.
  • 17 Feb. 2021 (this page): Updated Standard Build.
  • 04 Jun. 2020 (this page): Guide has been reviewed and is in accordance with Exterminator changes from the latest patch.
  • 22 Apr. 2020 (abilities page): Added deeper description into Raynor's Abilities.
  • 22 Apr. 2020 (this page): Updated Strengths, Weaknesses, and Synergies to reflect current meta.
  • 17 Apr. 2020 (talents page): Updated Talents and builds to better reflect current meta.
  • 14 Feb. 2020 (talents page): Updated Raynor's talents and builds in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
  • 13 Dec. 2019 (this page): Added the current Anomaly (Experience Globes) to the guide.
  • 04 Jul. 2019 (talents page): Revised and updated Raynor's Talents.
  • 04 Jul. 2019 (abilities page): Revised and updated Raynor's Abilities.
  • 04 Jul. 2019 (this page): Revised and updated Raynor's Guide including Abilities, Talents, and Builds.
  • 26 Jul. 2018 (talents page): Updated Raynor's talents and adjusted the recommended Builds accordingly.
  • 13 Jul. 2018 (this page): Updated for Raynor's rework.
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