Kerrigan Talents

Level	Choices
1	? ? ✓
4	✘︎ ? ✓
7	✘︎ ✓ ✘︎
10	? ✓
13	✓ ? ?
16	✘︎ ? ✓
20	✘︎ ✘︎ ? ✓

Primal Grasp Build

Recommended

Level 1 ?

Level 4

Level 7

Level 10 ?

Level 13

Level 16

Level 20

Copy build to clipboard Build copied! Talent calculator »

Primal Grasp Build consists in constantly having stacked spell armor through Psionic Barrier and Psionic Pulse. It should be the choice when facing more than one spell damage dealer, since it will greatly reduce their damage against Kerrigan.

After Level 13, to get the most out of this build, you should learn the pulse timings from Primal Grasp and Psionic Pulse. Primal Grasp pulses 2.5 seconds after being used, while the second pulse from Psionic Pulse happens 4.5 seconds after the cast. Each pulse will increase Kerrigan's Movement Speed and spell armor, while also extending the duration of the existing bonuses from Psionic Barrier. During fights, Kerrigan should use Ravage shortly before each pulse to hit as many targets as possible and keep these bonuses active.

Combo Build

Situational

Level 1

Level 4

Level 7 ?

Level 10 ?

Level 13 ?

Level 16

Level 20

Copy build to clipboard Build copied! Talent calculator »

The Combo Build favors Talent options that give Kerrigan the most utility possible, while also having good burst damage in teamfights.

This Build is good if your playstyle revolves around following a Tank's engages or if the enemy team has many ways to punish your dives.

ARAM Build

ARAM

Level 1 ?

Level 4

Level 7

Level 10 ?

Level 13

Level 16

Level 20

Copy build to clipboard Build copied! Talent calculator »

Kerrigan's ARAM Build is focused on adding as much survivability and damage as possible when fighting against 5 enemies at once. While Siphoning Impact paired with Boundless Fury greatly increases the Shields provided by Assimilation, Psionic Pulse in combination with Psionic Barrier will provide enough Spell Armor to make those Shields and Kerrigan's Health last much longer.

When playing without a Healer, Assimilation Mastery can be a good Level 1 choice, as it provides strong sustain and helps with Mana management, allowing Kerrigan to use her combo more often.

?

Siphoning Impact (Level 1) Kerrigan

Hitting an enemy Hero with Ravage grants 100 (+4% per level) points of Assimilation Shields.

?

Assimilation Mastery (Level 1) Kerrigan

Regeneration Globe healing grants 50 (+4% per level) points of Assimilation Shields per second while active. While Assimilation is active, Kerrigan's Health and Mana regeneration is increased by 150%.

✓

Fury of the Swarm (Level 1) Kerrigan

After casting Ravage, Kerrigan's next Basic Attack within 3 seconds splashes for 100% damage around the target.

Siphoning Impact can be a good Talent choice on Maps where fights happen far from the wave, and there is not much waveclear involved, such as Battlefield of Eternity, Hanamura Temple, Alterac Pass and Cursed Hollow. This Talent works particularly well when combined with Boundless Fury as the extra charges of Ravage can be used to generate more Assimilation Shield. It is important to note that this Shield is increased by the extra Spell Power provided by Unbridled Energy.

Assimilation Mastery provides Kerrigan a solid amount of Shield via Assimilation anytime she is under the effects of a Regeneration Globe. She is also granted bonus Health and Mana Regeneration as long as Assimilation is active, which can be useful for sustain and Mana management outside of fights. However, this Talent brings no additional damage to Kerrigan's kit, and not enough self-sustain in fights when compared with Siphoning Impact.

Fury of the Swarm adds splash damage to Kerrigan's Basic Attacks after casting Ravage. The splash damage is phenomenal for clearing Minion waves, especially during the early game when Kerrigan will be rotating between lanes to quickly stack Ravage by killing Minions. The splash damage also helps to quickly stack up additional burst damage for Kinetic Fulmination.

✘︎

Ravaging Ferocity (Level 4) Kerrigan

Ravage grants Kerrigan 25% Attack Speed for 3 seconds.

?

Kinetic Fulmination (Level 4) Kerrigan

Damaging an enemy increases the damage of Kerrigan's next Impaling Blades within 10 seconds by 10%, up to 100%.

✓

Psionic Pulse (Level 4) Kerrigan

Primal Grasp explodes a second time 2 seconds after its first explosion.

Ravaging Ferocity slightly increases Kerrigan's Attack Speed. However, Kerrigan will rarely be able to deliver Basic Attacks consistently during fights, making this Talent unreliable. As a result, it is not recommended, as the other options are much more consistent.

When fully stacked, Kinetic Fulmination causes Impaling Blades to deal a massive amount of burst damage. One of the fastest ways to stack up applications of Kinetic Fulmination is by pairing this Talent with Fury of the Swarm at Level 1. Kerrigan can gather applications off of Minion waves very easily before heading into a skirmish or teamfight to quickly burst down a Hero. Kerrigan can keep up her applications of Kinetic Fulmination when traveling between lanes by Basic Attacking Mercenary Camps or enemy Structures such as left over Walls.

Psionic Pulse is the core element behind a successful Primal Grasp Build. It can deal an amazing amount of area of effect damage upon initiation and after sticking to an enemy Hero. Keep in mind it takes 4.5 Seconds for Psionic Pulse's damage to be fully applied (assuming Kerrigan is not immediately peeled away from her target) therefore it is important to utilize the multiple charges of Ravage to stay on top of her target(s).

✘︎

Queen of Blades (Level 7) Kerrigan

Reduce the cooldown of Ravage by 4 seconds and increase its damage to Minions and Mercenaries by 100%.

✓

Boundless Fury (Level 7) Kerrigan

Hitting an enemy Hero with Ravage grants a charge of Ravage. Can only occur once every 12 seconds per Hero.

✘︎

Bladed Momentum (Level 7) Kerrigan

Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes reduce the cooldown of Kerrigan's Basic Abilities by 0.75 seconds.

Queen of Blades adds a good amount of extra damage against Minions and Mercenaries, which speeds up Ravage's Quest completion. However, the cooldown Reduction part of the Talent cannot compete with Boundless Fury's extra Ravage's charges, being overshadowed by it.

Boundless Fury grants Kerrigan an additional charge of Ravage after striking an enemy Hero with Ravage. This Talent is great for Kerrigan's mobility, and allows her to more reliably navigate her way through cluttered team-fights and across longer distances. It is important to note that the "Cooldown" of Boundless Fury is separate from that of the recharges for Ravage. This means that upon Kerrigan's first use of Ravage, her Ravage's charge cooldown will not begin. Kerrigan should therefore use her first two casts of Ravage consecutively if her goal is to put out as much damage as possible without consideration of Ravage's potential for strategic mobility.

Bladed Momentum significantly reduces the cooldowns of Kerrigan's Basic Abilities as she strikes enemy targets with her Basic Attacks. This Talent should only be picked when paired with Fury of the Swarm, as the splash Basic Attacks will also reduce these cooldowns. It can be a good option when you expect it to be very difficult to quickly complete Ravage's Quest. However, it competes with Boundless Fury, which will be the better choice in most games.

?

Maelstrom (Level 10) Kerrigan

• Mana: 80
• Cooldown: 90 seconds

Deals 74 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies. Lasts for 7 seconds.

✓

Summon Ultralisk (Level 10) Kerrigan

• Mana: 75
• Cooldown: 80 seconds

After 0.5 seconds, summon an Ultralisk that rushes forward upon spawning, dealing 225 (+4% per level) damage to the first enemy Hero hit and Stunning them for 0.5 seconds.

The Ultralisk's Basic Attacks deal 50% of their damage in an area around their target. Reactivate to retarget the Ultralisk.

In this section we discuss when and why to pick a given Heroic Ability. If you want to read how they work in detail and/or you are looking for some tips on how to use them, check them out on the Abilities and Strategy page.

Maelstrom deals plenty of area of effect damage although its primary purpose should be to generate Shields from Assimilation. The damage per second element of Maelstrom is very slow, and does not seem to fit too well with Kerrigan's high burst kit. Kerrigan's main objective is to dive the enemy backline. This strategy usually results in Kerrigan becoming a primary target of focus for the enemy team. The additional Shield generated by Maelstrom via Assimilation is integral to Kerrigan's survival. Try to keep in mind that Maelstrom's main purpose is not to deal team wide damage, and players should not sacrifice single target focus to try and position themselves within multiple enemies, unless the situation allows for it.

Summon Ultralisk is great for harassing one or a couple of enemy Heroes and zoning them away from teamfights or Objectives. The Ultralisk's heightened Movement Speed will ensure that it will be able to damage most enemies trying to kite or flee from it. The charge and Stun component of the Ultralisk when summoned allows Kerrigan to lockdown a target who may be otherwise outside of the range of her initiation via Ravage. Summon Ultralisk tends to be the better Heroic Ability option when Kerrigan is fighting in more open Maps that do not consist of as many narrow choke points. Ultralisk is also the ideal choice when Kerrigan finds herself in more 1-on-1 situations as the Stun and burst damage will more often than not outperform the area of effect damage of Maelstrom.

✓

Psionic Barrier (Level 13) Kerrigan

Each enemy Hero hit by Primal Grasp grants 20 Spell Armor and 4% Movement Speed for 4 seconds, stacking up to 20% Movement Speed.

?

Volatile Power (Level 13) Kerrigan

Increase the amount of Assimilation Shields granted from damage dealt by 10%, but reduce duration of Assimilation by 3 seconds.

?

Chrysalis (Level 13) Kerrigan

• Cooldown: 90 seconds

Activate to place Kerrigan in a Chrysalis with 650 (+4% per level) Health for 5 seconds. While inside, Kerrigan regenerates 4% of her maximum Health per second.

Enemies can destroy the Chrysalis to end its effects early.

Psionic Barrier is a strong Talent when paired with Psionic Pulse, as it provides Kerrigan with a large amount of Spell Armor and Movement Speed for most of a fight. The pulses generated by Primal Grasp will refresh and extend these bonuses, keeping them active during an engagement. However, it will be less effective when the enemy team is mostly dealing Physical Damage.

Volatile Power is the option to pick when the enemy team has low burst damage and limited crowd control that can quickly punish Kerrigan. It significantly increases her survivability through a higher Assimilation Shield. The trade-off is that Kerrigan's Shield will now expire 50% faster, lasting only 3 Seconds. Volatile Power mitigates all sources of damage, whereas Psionic Barrier is usually the better choice when the enemy team has multiple Spell Damage threats.

Chrysalis is the better choice when against heavy burst damage and impactful crowd control. It can mitigate a large amount of incoming damage, allowing Kerrigan to survive and re-enter the fight with higher Health.

✘︎

Mounting Potency (Level 16) Kerrigan

Ravage grants 5% Spell Power for 5 seconds, up to 40%.

?

Painful Spikes (Level 16) Kerrigan

Enemies hit by Impaling Blades take an additional 60 (+4% per level) damage the next 6 times Kerrigan damages them within 5 seconds.

✓

Unbridled Energy (Level 16) Kerrigan

Damaging a Hero with a Heroic Ability grants 35% Spell Power for 4 seconds.

Mounting Potency takes a lot of time to ramp-up within a teamfight, and can easily fall off when not careful. This Talent is completely overshadowed by Unbridled Energy, because it would only be better in fights where your Heroic Ability is on cooldown and it will be better to not fight in this scenario.

Painful Spikes can be a good Level 16 choice when Ravage's Quest is delayed, as it provides reliable bonus damage that is triggered by any source of damage, including her Heroic Abilities Maelstrom and Summon Ultralisk.

Unbridled Energy should be picked when Ravage's Quest is completed or close to completion, as its damage increase from Quest progress will be much higher than what Painful Spikes provides.

✘︎

Omegastorm (Level 20) Kerrigan

Maelstrom's duration is increased by 0.4 seconds every time it damages a Hero.

✘︎

Torrasque (Level 20) Kerrigan

Increase the Health and Basic Attack damage of the Ultralisk by 20%. The Ultralisk morphs into an egg when it dies. If the egg isn't killed within 4 seconds, a new Ultralisk is born.

?

Assimilation Blades (Level 20) Kerrigan

Damaging an enemy increases Basic Attack damage by 2% for 5 seconds, up to 40%.

✓

Psionic Shift (Level 20) Kerrigan

• Cooldown: 70 seconds

Activate to teleport to a nearby location, dealing 50 (+4% per level) damage to nearby enemies. Generates 300% increased Assimilation Shields from the damage dealt.

Omegastorm is not a good choice here, firstly, because it competes with Psionic Shift, and it will only be a valuable Talent in long teamfights. As Kerrigan, you cannot be in the middle of enemy team after using your combo, sometimes even the increased duration might not be transformed into damage, since you will have to retreat sooner.

Torrasque can be a decent option in less coordinated scenarios, such as Quick match or Silver and Bronze Storm League, since enemies will have a hard time bursting Ultralisk, giving this Talent much value. The cooldown timer of Summon Ultralisk will continue to run regardless of how long the Ultralisk stays alive.

Assimilation Blades's damage bonus may prove useful, but takes a very long time to effectively ramp-up and the Talent is overall much less game-changing than what is provided in utility and versatility of Psionic Shift. However, it can be a good choice for long fights, as Psionic Shift will only be used once, while Assimilation Blades will be constantly up.

Psionic Shift is by far one of the best Talents in Kerrigan's entire kit, as it has a multitude of uses. The versatility provided by Psionic Shift makes it almost mandatory for Kerrigan. Most often Psionic Shift will be used for survival, primarily to escape the fray once Kerrigan has collapsed on and killed an enemy Hero. Since Psionic Shift's Shield is activated by each enemy hit, including Minions, Structures, Mercenaries, and Monsters, it can be used towards a Minion wave to get 55% of your maximum Health in the form of Shields. Should Kerrigan be caught within crowd control, Psionic Shift can be used for an otherwise impossible escape. In a game where good positioning is key, Psionic Shift should rarely be overlooked.