Raynor Talents
Welcome to our Talents page for Raynor. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of Raynor's talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.
Raynor's Talent Build
Level | Choices |
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1 |
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4 |
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7 |
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10 |
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13 |
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16 |
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20 |
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Raynor's Talent Build Cheatsheet
Standard Auto Attack Build
RecommendedThe Standard Auto Attack Build is designed to amplify Raynor's damage while also giving
him good survivability. At level 1, 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 as the main option, while
Hyperion can be a great option to push Forts, Keeps or to control
Objectives in Volskaya Foundry or Infernal Shrines.
Level 1 Talents for Raynor


Quest: Every time the primary target of Give 'Em Some Pepper is a Hero, permanently increase its damage bonus by 1%.


Passive: Deal 10% more damage to Stunned or Slowed Heroes.
Enemy Heroes hit by Give 'Em Some Pepper are Slowed by 10% for 2.5 seconds.


Basic Attacks deal 50% more damage to Minions, Mercenaries, and Monsters. This is increased to 125% while Inspire is active.
Discussion
Veteran Marksman should only be a pick in games where you will be
constantly fighting or in ARAM game mode. Otherwise, we do not recommend it because it takes too long
to be useful.
Ace In The Hole is a powerful Talent on Raynor. The extra damage
will be very useful in fights, while the Slow will facilitate his job when attacking
tanks. It is worth mentioning that
this talent increases all of Raynor's damage, not just his Basic Attacks.
We recommend getting this Talent if you do not need the extra PvE damage
from exterminator.
Exterminator has no value when fighting other Heroes, as it only
boosts Raynor's damage against PvE targets. However, when you need extra PvE
damage, or in maps like Battlefield of Eternity or Infernal Shrines, Exterminator will be
very impactful.
Level 4 Talents for Raynor


Reduce Adrenaline Rush's cooldown by 10 seconds. Casting Adrenaline Rush grants 25 Armor for 3 seconds.


Give 'Em Some Pepper heals Raynor for 3% of his maximum Health, increased to 6% if the primary target is a Hero.


Gain 200 bonus maximum Health.
Quest: Every time Give 'Em Some Pepper's primary target is a Hero, gain an additional 5 maximum Health.
Discussion
Fight or Flight adds 25 Armor for 3 seconds whenever Raynor activates
Adrenaline Rush. This a very long duration during team fights and makes
him much harder to take down. The lowered Cooldown on Adrenaline Rush is a nice bonus to have for sure.
It is the default Talent for this tier, because it covers Raynor's main weakness, being dived.
Behemoth Armor provides Raynor with a useful amount of
bonus health. Moreover, stacking this talent is usually not that hard. In most games the overall
health value will be between 400 and 500 bonus health, which makes Raynor more resilient and also
boosts the healing value of
Adrenaline Rush, since it scales with
Raynor's maximum health. However, we only recommend this Talent if opposing team has no
burst damage. If they do, Fight or Flight will be a better option.
Sustaining Rounds is too unreliable compared to the other talents, as it
usually does not give Raynor any value if he is pressured (and thus cannot use
Basic Attacks) or Blinded by an enemy.
Level 7 Talents for Raynor


Reduce the Mana cost of Adrenaline Rush from 75 to 50. While Inspire is active, increase Adrenaline Rush's cooldown reduction from Basic Attacks by 200%.


Increase the area of Give 'Em Some Pepper by 15%. Each enemy Hero hit by Give 'Em Some Pepper grants Raynor 10 Mana and reduces the cooldown of Penetrating Round and Inspire by 1 second.


- Cooldown: 30 seconds
Activate to increase the distance of the next Penetrating Round by 30% and increase its Slow duration to 6 seconds.
Discussion
Fuel The Rush is not really needed, as we find the original cooldown refreshing rate
to be sufficient already.
Unstable Compound is one of the most versatile talents in Raynor's tree.
Not only does it expand the area of
Give 'Em Some Pepper but it also provides
consistent Mana gain and Cooldown reduction on
Penetrating Round
and
Inspire.
Heavy Slugs is not as reliable as
Unstable Compound, and has an unnecessarily long Cooldown.
Unstable Compound will be a better choice.
Level 10 Talents for Raynor


- Mana: 100
- Cooldown: 100 seconds
Order the Hyperion to make a strafing run for 12 seconds, hitting up to 4 enemies for 66 (+4% per level) damage every second. Every 4 seconds, it can fire its Yamato Cannon at a Structure, dealing 794 (+4% per level) damage.


- Cooldown: 45 seconds
Summon a Banshee that assists Raynor. The Banshee deals 84 (+4% per level) damage per second and regenerates 75 (+4% per level) Health per second if it hasn't taken damage in the last 4 seconds. Can reactivate to retarget or move the Banshee.
The Banshee respawns automatically after 45 seconds.
Discussion
Hyperion is a very useful Heroic Ability when
it comes to zoning enemies from Map Objectives.
Furthermore, Hyperion is an excellent
pushing tool, which greatly aids in taking down enemy
Structures. However, refrain from using Hyperion carelessly, as its long Cooldown
makes misuse very unforgiving.
Raynor's Raider provides great single-target damage and
allows Raynor to hunt down retreating opponents very efficiently. Combined with
his dangerous Basic Attacks, the Banshee can take down enemy Heroes
from a safe distance. However, make sure to manually reassign a new
target if needed and always try to keep track of your Banshee's health.
Level 13 Talents for Raynor


Reduce the Mana cost of Penetrating Round from 65 to 45, and its cooldown by 3 seconds. While Inspire is active, Penetrating Round's Slow is increased by 20%.


Increase the duration of Inspire by 1 second. Casting Inspire grants nearby allied Heroes 10% Movement and Attack Speed for its duration.


Gain 8% Movement Speed while mounted and unmounted. Inspire grants 8% more Movement Speed.
Discussion
Debilitating Rounds's Cooldown reduction on
Penetrating Round
feels good, and pairs very well with
Unstable Compound and
Paint Them Red.
Rallying Cry is a useful supportive talent that does not only increase
Raynor's own mobility and Attack Speed boosts' duration by 1 second, but also
increases your allies' combat performance. However, we do not recommend it, as
Giddy-Up's extra movement Speed or Debilitating Rounds's Cooldown reduction will be
more effective for Raynor.
Giddy-Up provides Raynor with a noticeable Movement Speed while
mounted and unmounted. This makes up for the lack of escape mechanisms Raynor's kit suffers from,
while also greatly improving his kite capabilities.
Level 16 Talents for Raynor


Increase the damage of Penetrating Round by 50% and heal for 90% of the damage it deals to Heroes.


Increase Adrenaline Rush healing by 50%. While Inspire is active, gain 1 Basic Attack range.


- Cooldown: 40 seconds
If Give 'Em Some Pepper's target is a Hero, it deals an additional 3% of their maximum Health as damage and grants Raynor 10 Armor for 3 seconds.
Activate Give 'Em Some Pepper to apply it to Raynor's next Basic Attack.
Discussion
Paint Them Red provides Raynor with an incredible amount of self-sustain
while also increasing his AoE damage. It will be good in all games, but
it excels with Talents that reduce
Penetrating Round's Cooldown, like
Unstable Compound or
Debilitating Rounds.
Focus on using Penetrating Round to hit 2 or 3 enemies, so you will get more heal
from this Talent.
Give Me More! comes too late in Raynor's talent tree to become relevant.
While the increased healing on
Adrenaline Rush is nice to have, Give Me More adds no additional
damage to Raynor's late game, which is something he really needs.
Bounty Hunter is good
against high-health Warriors and protects Raynor with additional Armor. We consider
Bounty Hunter a winmore Talent, since it will only be good
in very specific situations where enemies cannot kill you at all.
Level 20 Talents for Raynor


Give 'Em Some Pepper lowers the cooldown of Hyperion by 5 seconds if the primary target is a Hero. Inspire grants Raynor Unstoppable for 2 seconds.


Increase the damage, Health, and leash range of Raynor's Raider by 100%. When it dies, both Inspire and Adrenaline Rush are activated for free.


Enemy Heroes that are the primary target of Give 'Em Some Pepper have their Armor reduced by 25 for 2 seconds.


Increase Attack Speed by 20%. Basic Attack damage is increased by 25% against targets below 50% Health.
Discussion
Indomitable Resolve's Cooldown reduction and Unstoppable effect are nice to have,
however, the overall value of this talent remains weak. Hyperion's team fight damage is rather underwhelming in the late game,
furthermore, it can be dodged easily by most enemy Heroes. If it is reliable extra damage that you seek, we suggest going for
Execute instead.
Dusk Wing is a great Level 20 upgrade for
Raynor's Raider.
It makes the Banshee much easier to navigate, as it covers a greater distance. The free self-heal and Attack Speed boost after
the Banshee gets destroyed can give great value during team fights.
Weak Spot Acquired's Armor Reduction sounds great at first, however, Raynor often has
to switch targets, depending on who is in his range. In most scenarios we consider this talent
inferior to the consistent bonus damage from
Execute. However,
if your Team's game plan is killing a Tank, this Talent might be a good choice, because it will boost
the damage from all allies, greatly speeding up the killing.
Execute marks the ultimate late-game power spike for Raynor.
Not only does the increased Attack Speed trigger
Give 'Em Some Pepper more often,
the additional damage against low-health targets causes Raynor to become a scary ranged Assassin to face.
Changelog
- 26 Mar. 2021: Updated Talent recommendations.
- 17 Feb. 2021: Updated Indomitable Resolve's relevance.
- 17 Apr. 2020: Updated Talents and builds to better reflect current meta.
- 14 Feb. 2020: Updated Raynor's talents and builds in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
- 04 Jul. 2019: Revised and updated Raynor's Talents.
- 26 Jul. 2018: Updated Raynor's talents and adjusted the recommended Builds accordingly.
More Ranged Assassin Guides
Derenash has been playing Heroes of the Storm since 2015 and has achieved Grandmaster in multiple seasons, peaking at Top 1 in Season 3 and 4 of 2018. He participated in the HGC Copa America in 2018 where his team had a strong victory. He is passionate about teaching others about the game, and streams often on Twitch in Portuguese, and you can find him in Wind Striders' Discord as well where he is happy to answer any questions in English or Portuguese.
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