Samuro Talents

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

Way of Illusion only increases Samuro's damage, it does not increase the damage of Mirror Images.

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. This Talent has great synergy with Illusion Master.

Way of the Wind gives Samuro greatly improved mobility that can be used to approach enemies, to retreat, or to dodge harmful effects. This Talent opens up several strategic options for Samuro. While it does not directly increase Samuro's damage, it enables him to be in melee range to deal damage much more often.

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.

One With The Wind greatly increases the survivability of Samuro and his Images by allowing you to reduce all incoming damage at will. This is usually better than Mirage, because it reduces damage from Abilities and Basic Attacks. You can also benefit from it more often than Mirage, because Wind Walk has a lower cooldown than Mirror Image. One With The Wind also grants Armor for a duration, rather than only reducing the damage of a number of incoming Abilities.

Deflection can only reduce incoming Attack Damage, and only does so while you are on the offensive. Because it increases Physical Armor, it can help your Images take less damage from Tower shots while you are diving enemy Heroes. While recommended after Mirage and One With the Wind, this Talent is still useful situationally.

Burning Blade greatly increases the damage that your Critical Strikes do, and also works on your Images. It also improves Samuro's waveclear. Of all of the options at this tier, this one is the most versatile.

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. Phantom Pain works well with Illusion Master and Kawarimi, because it will proc its full damage bonus much more often.

Crushing Blows does not increase the damage of Critical Strike like the other options at this tier. While it adds another charge of Critical Strike, each charge will do less damage than Criticals delivered with other Talents from this tier. We do not currently recommend Crushing Blows.

Bladestorm is a great Heroic Ability which will help 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 Harsh Winds' debuff, so time it accordingly.

Illusion Master is a novel Heroic that is more of an extra passive, rather than an actived one. Illusion Master will increase the efficiency of your Mercenary clear, so if you are playing on a battleground 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! Although powerful, this Talent adds a layer of mechincal complexity; we recommend Illusion Master for players who are already quite comfortable with Samuro's other mechancis.

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 allows you to create Images more often. Images created with Kawarimi will continue to execute whatever command Samuro was given prior to its cast. This can be used to create Images that will chase enemy Heroes, and works quite well with Press the Attack.

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.

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 gives Samuro enough damage potential to kill many Heroes in the game by himself. Even if you do not go for a kill with Bladestorm, 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.

Press the Attack is very good with Illusion Master, because it increases the threat of your Images to enemy Heroes.

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 the best choice if you are a true Illusion Master, 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! The increased Health on your Images will also assist you with efficient Mercenary clear times, and even makes solo boss captures fairly 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 is primarily useful for because of the increased Move Speed. This Talent can be a good alternative to Wind Strider if you did not take Way of the Wind at Level 1.