Samuro Talents

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Quick Reference
  • 2. Introduction
  • 3. Strengths
  • 4. Weaknesses
  • 5. Role in the Current Meta
  • 6. Reading Further
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Abilities and Strategy
  • 1. Tips on Ability Usage
  • 2. Advancing Strikes (Trait)
  • 3. Mirror Image
  • 4. Critical Strike
  • 5. Wind Walk
  • 6. Bladestorm
  • 7. Illusion Master
• ×Talent Build
  • 1. Talent Build
  • 2. Common Talent Paths
  • 3. Level 1 Talents
    • 3.1. Discussion
  • 4. Level 4 Talents
    • 4.1. Discussion
  • 5. Level 7 Talents
    • 5.1. Discussion
  • 6. Level 10 Talents
    • 6.1. Discussion
  • 7. Level 13 Talents
    • 7.1. Discussion
  • 8. Level 16 Talents
    • 8.1. Discussion
  • 9. Level 20 Talents
    • 9.1. Discussion

General Information

On this page, we present the viable talent choices for playing Samuro in a competitive environment in Heroes of the Storm. For each talent, we explain what they do and why they should or should not be taken.

The other pages of our Samuro guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About the Author

Straften is a Grand Master ranked player in both Hero League and Team League. He has a passion for theorycrafting, and regularly tests new features early on the PTR. He explains his strategy, reasoning, and implementation in these guides.

1. Talent Build

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

Create your own build and share it with friends!

2. Common Talent Paths

3. Level 1 Talents

3.1. Discussion

Way of Illusion adds a flat amount of Basic Attack damage, which does not scale as you progress into the late game. This type of quest usually is not overshadowed by another Level 1 Talent; however, in this case Way of the Blade actually deals more damage at Level 20. This is because Way of the Blade is based on a percentage of Basic Attack damage, and this mechanic does scale into the late game.

Way of the Blade scales better than Way of Illusion into the late game, as described above. Additionally, you get the full benefit of this Talent without having to complete a quest.

Way of the Wind does not increase your damage output directly, and also requires you to complete a quest. Finishing this quest will require you to play in a way that is less than optimal, as you will Stealth just to land a Basic Attack. Stealth should be used to secure takedowns, of which there can be more with Way of the Blade. Although this is the case, completing the quest can yield great benefits when combined with Talents later on.

4. Level 4 Talents

4.1. Discussion

Mirage greatly increases your survivability by allowing you to reduce incoming Ability damage at will. This will also make your Images harder to deal with for the enemy team, which can buy your team time to rotate, engage, or escape.

One With The Wind can be thought of as reducing damage taken for 1 second, because after that it will expire. This duration can be extended by completing Way of the Wind's quest, at which point this becomes a much more powerful Talent.

Deflection is a good alternative to Mirage if you are facing an enemy team who deals damage primarily through Basic Attacks. It is also good when you are facing a team composition against which you plan to use other Advancing Strikes related Talents.

5. Level 7 Talents

5.1. Discussion

Burning Blade greatly increases the damage that your Critical Strikes do, and also works on your Images. It also greatly improves Samuro's waveclear. For these reasons, it is the go to Talent at this tier.

Phantom Pain can conditionally surpass Burning Blade's single target damage. If you are able to keep two Images active more often than not, Phantom Pain can be a good option to increase your damage output slightly. Burning Blade offers almost as much damage without being dependent on Images being active, so take it if you are not sure you will be able to get full value out of Phantom Pain.

Crushing Blows does not increase the amount of damage each Critical Strike as much as the other options at this tier. The extra charge can increase burst damage slightly; however will usually result in lower damage over the course of a team fight.

6. Level 10 Talents

6.1. Discussion

Bladestorm is a great Heroic Ability which will allow you to secure kills that could otherwise be prevented by enemy crowd control. If an enemy is low on Health and you are able to get in range, this Heroic will almost always result in a takedown. Bladestorm does benefit from the debuff from Harsh Winds, so try to time it accordingly.

Illusion Master is a novel Heroic that is almost an extra passive, rather than focusing on an active component. Illusion Master will increase the efficiency of your Mercenary clear, so if you are playing a map where camps are very important (like Blackhearts Bay,) it can be a very strong choice. If you want to try a challenging and unconventional approach focused on cunning and subterfuge, try this Heroic out! If you need to win through Hero Takedowns, Bladestorm is probably the better option.

7. Level 13 Talents

7.1. 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.

Kawarimi is another good Talent that allows you to replace Images faster. The Images spawned with Kawarimi will continue to run in the direction you are at the moment you activate Wind Walk; so you can sort of "shoot" them at the enemy team during team fights. If you take Wind Strider at Level 20, you can do this quite often and create significant pressure for the enemy team.

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.

8. Level 16 Talents

8.1. Discussion

Merciless Strikes is a good choice if you have a lot of slows and roots on your team. With Heroes like Jaina or Arthas in your composition, you can Critical Strike every strike during team fights.

Harsh Winds is usually what you are waiting for all game. Marking most Heroes with this will usually result in significant damage to them, especially if you have a Critical Strike ready. Once they are marked, you want to immediately cast Mirror Image to apply the most damage possible. If you see kill potential you may want to follow this up with Bladestorm to secure the kill, as it also benefits from the increased damage.

Press the Attack is very good in certain situations, which is usually against very Immobile Heroes. If a certain someone is busy drinking brew or decides that siege mode is a good idea, you can get yourself a lot of attack speed. While this also works well against Slowed or Rooted targets, Merciless Strikes would result in more damage in those scenarios. It has good synergy with Mirrored Steel and Blademaster's Pursuit, which is good to keep in mind if you are considering this in a certain match up.

9. Level 20 Talents

9.1. Discussion

Dance Of Death is a very fun Talent. It can help you eliminate squishy Assassins, and can also cause a lot of damage on team compositions that are designed to wombo combo. However, due to Bladestorm's relatively long cooldown, the other Level 20 options will give more consistant results in your average match up.

Three Blade Style is a good choice if you are a true Illusion Master, as it greatly increases the amount of time you have before Images expire. Because you will be able to spread the Illusions out further, you will be capable of even more complex and mind bending plays! The increased Health on your Images will also assist you with efficient Mercenary clear times, and even makes solo boss captures faily easy to pull off.

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 will squeeze a lot more value out of Press the Attack, and will perform very well against some of the less mobile Heroes. Against Heroes with high mobility who can kite well, a build taking advantage of Harsh Winds combined with the low cooldown provided by Wind Strider may prove more effective.