Samuro Talents
Welcome to our Talents page for Samuro. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of Samuro's talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.
Samuro's Talent Build
Level | Choices |
---|---|
1 | ? ? ✓ |
4 | ? ✓ ? |
7 | ✓ ✘︎ ? |
10 | ✓ ? |
13 | ? ? ✓ |
16 | ? ✓ ? |
20 | ✘︎ ? ✓ ? |
Samuro's Talent Build Cheatsheet
Wind Storm Build
RecommendedSamuro's Wind Storm Build is excellent to enhance Samuro's macro. It has Way of the Wind (greatly increases Samuro's self-sustain and rotation speed), Burning Blade (enhances Samuro's waveclear), and Bladestorm (can be used to clear a wave instantly). Further, it also focuses on Talents that increase Wind Walk's utility. This helps Samuro get into and out of melee range, where Samuro deals all of his meaningful damage. This build is a great starting point for players new to Samuro, and can perform well at all levels of play.
Bladestorm will mostly be used to clear Minions and Mercenaries effectively, due to its low cooldown and high area of effect damage.
Your Level 16 Talent greatly increases Samuro's lethality towards all kinds of enemies. While Press the Attack is an incredible DPS boost in long fights, Harsh Winds can be picked for good burst damage against squishy enemies, such as Tracer or Hanzo. However, it is important to consider that Merciless Strikes will yield the most damage if you have a good way to constantly apply slows to important targets.
Illusion Master Build
AdvancedThe Illusion Master build is a good choice if your playstyle will be more focused on teamfights than on the macro part of a game. This build is excellent if you are experienced with the Hero, as it is considerably harder to use than Wind Storm build.
Level 1 Talents for Samuro
Quest: Every time a Mirror Image Critically Strikes a Hero, Samuro gains 0.25 Attack Damage, up to 10.
Reward: After hitting 40 Heroes, Samuro gains an additional 30 Attack Damage.
Critical Strike now happens for Samuro and his Mirror Images every 3rd Basic Attack.
Samuro and his Mirror Images' Critical Strikes against enemy Heroes reduce their Physical Armor by 5 for 2.25 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
Gain 40% Movement Speed for 3 seconds after entering or exiting Wind Walk. Casting Wind Walk heals Samuro for 4% of his maximum Health.
Discussion
Way of Illusion greatly increases Samuro's damage, but only when the quest is completely done. It should be the pick in most of the games, unless you will have a hard time stacking it, which will happen when facing Heroes in lane that will not let you stack reliably, such as Fenix or Zeratul.
Way of the Blade increases Samuro's damage. It also increases the damage of Mirror Images, because they will critically strike more often. Additionally, Way of the Blade reduces the Physical Armor of Heroes that are hit by Critical Strike. It will be better than Way of Illusion if you are facing targets with much Armor, such as Garrosh, Deathwing or Cassia.
Way of the Wind gives Samuro more self-sustain and greatly improved mobility that can be used to approach enemies, to retreat, or to dodge harmful effects. While it does not directly increase Samuro's damage, it enables him to be in melee range to deal damage much more often. Besides that, it also greatly improves his macro, since it increases his rotation speed. Furthermore, it allows him to tank more damage in lane without having to take a Healing Fountain or to Hearthstone. It is a great option for Players new to Samuro, since it will allow them to engage, escape, and heal themselves much easier.
Level 4 Talents for Samuro
Mirror Image grants Samuro and his Images 40 Spell Armor against the next 2 sources of Spell Damage, reducing their damage by 40%.
While Samuro has Wind Walk active and for 3 seconds after breaking it, both he and his Mirror Images gain 30 Armor, taking 30% reduced damage from all sources.
Advancing Strikes grants Samuro and his Mirror Images 35 Physical Armor.
Discussion
Mirage increases the survivability of Samuro and his Images by allowing you to reduce the incoming Ability damage. This will also make your Images harder to deal with for the enemy team, which can buy your team time to rotate or escape. Mirage is recommended with Illusion Master, as it makes your Images harder for the enemy team to clear. It should be the default option for this tier, considering the Armor will also makes Images harder to distinguish.
One With The Wind greatly increases the survivability of Samuro and his Images by allowing you to reduce all incoming damage at will. Unfortunately, this Talent is much less versatile than the other 2 options, since it encourages you to start a fight with Wind Walk. Mostly you want to have Wind Walk ready, if you want to retreat or for some healing. It is still a decent option when paired with other Wind Walk Talents.
Deflection can only reduce incoming Attack Damage, and only does so while you are on the offensive. It is a good option against many Basic-Attack-reliant Heroes, such as Illidan, Greymane, or Thrall.
Level 7 Talents for Samuro
Critical Strikes from Samuro and Mirror Images deal an additional 50% of their Basic Attack damage as Spell Damage to the target and nearby enemies.
Samuro's Critical Strikes against enemy Heroes deal an additional 35% of his Basic Attack damage for each Mirror Image that is active and reduce the cooldown of Image Transmission by 1 second.
Samuro's Basic Attacks against Heroes reduce the cooldown of Critical Strike by 2 seconds.
Critical Strikes against enemy Heroes increase Samuro's Basic Attack damage by 10% for 4 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
Discussion
Burning Blade increases the damage that your Critical Strikes do, and also works on your Images. It also greatly improves Samuro's waveclear. This is the default Talent for this tier, as, differently from its counterparts, it does not need any conditions to increase Samuro's Damage. It also boost his PvE capabilities, which is extremely useful considering Samuro will be constantly clearing waves.
Phantom Pain can conditionally surpass Burning Blade's damage, but is much less consistent. Burning Blade offers almost as much damage, does so in an area of effect, and is not dependent on Images being active.
Crushing Blows offers the highest damage potential among the options in this tier. However, it requires sustained combat to become effective, making it challenging to maximize its value. This Talent is best suited for experienced Samuro players who can survive long enough in teamfights to fully charge and utilize its power. While risky, it can be highly rewarding when used properly.
Level 10 Talents for Samuro
- Cooldown: 25 seconds
Cause a Bladestorm of destructive force around Samuro for 3 seconds, granting him 25 Armor and dealing 180 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies.
- Cooldown: 14 seconds
Mirror Images can be controlled individually or as a group and their damage is increased by 100%.
Passive: Image Transmission's cooldown is reduced to 8 seconds.
Discussion
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.
Bladestorm is a good Heroic that greatly improves Samuro's waveclear. Given it deals less single-target damage than your Basic Attacks, it should mostly be used to clear a wave, as it deals enough area of effect damage to quickly kill all Minions. It has better range than your Basic Attacks, so it helps you to secure kills that could otherwise be prevented by enemies moving outside of Melee range. If an enemy is low on Health and you are able to get in range, this Heroic will almost always result in a takedown. If you do not have Mirror Image to self-cleanse a Blind, Bladestorm will be a great way to keep dealing damage to your target. However, be aware that by using Bladestorm you will become an easy target, since it reveals which Samuro is the real one.
Illusion Master is a novel Heroic that is more of an extra passive, rather than an activated one. If you want to try a challenging and unconventional approach focused on cunning and subterfuge, try this Heroic out! Although powerful, this Talent adds a layer of mechanical complexity; we recommend Illusion Master for players who are already quite comfortable with Samuro's other mechanics.
Level 13 Talents for Samuro
Samuro's Basic Attacks against Heroes reduce the cooldown of Mirror Image by 0.75 seconds.
Wind Walk creates a Mirror Image at Samuro's location that will continue whatever he was doing.
Wind Walk teleports Samuro a short distance in the direction he's currently facing.
Discussion
Mirrored Steel works best when you are able to Basic Attack enemy Heroes frequently. It works well when paired with Press the Attack at Level 16. Mirrored Steel is also good choice when paired with Illusion Master, but be aware that this Talent requires more practice than others. A good Samuro can get much value from Mirrored Steel, while an inexperienced may not get anything from it.
Kawarimi allows you to create Images more often. Images created with Kawarimi will continue to execute whatever command Samuro was given prior to its cast. Just like Mirrored Steel, it can be a good choice in the hands of very good Samuro players, since it not only improves his PvE capabilities, but will also enable more deceiving options for him.
Shukuchi gives you a gap closer that opens up more options for engage and escape. It is the most straight forward and reliable Talent in this tier.
Level 16 Talents for Samuro
Samuro's Basic Attacks against Stunned, Rooted, or Slowed enemies are always Critical Strikes.
Attacking a Hero during Wind Walk causes them to take 30% increased damage from Samuro for 3 seconds.
While Advancing Strikes is active, Samuro and his Mirror Images gain 10% Attack Speed every time they Basic Attack, up to 40%.
Discussion
Merciless Strikes is a good Talent when paired with Burning Blade. If you have reliable sources of Slows in your team, this Talent will greatly improve your effectiveness in fights.
Harsh Winds gives Samuro enough damage potential to kill many Heroes in the game by himself. Harsh Winds greatly increases Samuro's burst damage. This makes hit and run harassment much more meaningful, often forcing enemies to retreat from the battlefield completely. It also increases the damage dealt by Bladestorm, and is the standard pick with it.
Press the Attack synergizes exceptionally well with Crushing Blows, enhancing your damage output and accelerating its application. To maximize this Talent's effectiveness, Samuro can initially target more durable Heroes to build up attack speed, then switch focus to a priority target for devastating burst damage. This strategy allows for efficient damage ramp-up and strategic target selection in teamfights.
Level 20 Talents for Samuro
Mirror Images use Bladestorm when Samuro does, but for 45% damage. If Samuro hits at least 20 enemy Heroes with Bladestorm, then reset its cooldown.
Samuro's Mirror Images only deal half of the damage they take to themselves, effectively increasing their Health by 25% and their duration is increased to 16 seconds.
Wind Walk's cooldown is reduced by 6 seconds.
Advancing Strikes grants an additional 15% Movement Speed for Samuro and his Mirror Images, and its duration is increased by 2 seconds.
Discussion
Dance Of Death can be decent if you get to reset Bladestorm often with it, but it is not hard to interrupt it with Stuns or Silences. For those reasons, we do not recommend Dance of Death with Bladestorm.
Three Blade Style is a good choice to destroy Structures or to pressure the opposing team into reacting in many different points at the same time, as it greatly increases Image durability and duration. Because you will be able to spread the Illusions out further, you will be capable of even more complex and mind-bending plays!
Several of the Talents that affect Wind Walk cause unique effects, almost like an Ability. Wind Strider is an amazing Talent because it allows you to activate these effects much more often. If you have two or more Talents invested into Wind Walk, this is almost irrefutably the best choice at Level 20.
Blademaster's Pursuit is primarily useful for the increased Movement Speed. This Talent is a good alternative to Three Blade Style if you are looking for a last fight, since it will add more than the other options.
Changelog
- 14 Sep. 2024: Builds and Talents updated to ensure meta relevance.
- 01 Mar. 2021: Builds and Talents updated after meta development.
- 20 Nov. 2020: Builds and Talent recommendations updated to reflect current meta.
- 14 Oct. 2020: Updated Builds and Talents after recent balance patch.
- 09 Apr. 2020: Updated builds and Talents to reflect current meta.
- 02 Jul. 2019: Recommended builds and Talents updated to reflect current meta.
- 04 Mar. 2018: Talent section updated to reflect current meta.
- 14 Dec. 2017: Talent section updated to reflect Samuro's rework.
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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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