Sylvanas Talents
Welcome to our Talents page for Sylvanas. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of Sylvanas's talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.
Sylvanas'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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Sylvanas's Talent Build Cheatsheet
Sustained Basic Attack Build
RecommendedThis sustained damage build uses several Talents that improve Sylvanas's Basic Attacks, including
Overwhelming Affliction and
Remorseless. This synergy allows her to effectively whittle down
any target from range, including Tanks.
Single-Target Burst Build
SituationalRevolving around Windrunner, this build seeks to
repeatedly use an empowered
Withering Fire to bring down individual targets while
remaining highly mobile.
Level 1 Talents for Sylvanas


Hitting an enemy Hero with Withering Fire increases Sylvanas's Attack Speed and Spell Power by 5% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 5 times.


Quest: Each time an enemy Hero with 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse is hit by Shadow Dagger, its damage is permanently increased by 0.5%.


Enemy Heroes with 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse are Slowed by 15%. Sylvanas's Basic Attacks against Slowed enemy Heroes deal 1% of their maximum Health as damage.
Discussion
This tier improves Sylvanas's damage output.
Might of the Banshee Queen is the most reliable Level
1 choice damage-wise, provided
you use
Withering Fire against Heroes. The Spell Power provided
by this Talent implies that you should hold on to your other Abilities until you
have used Withering Fire so as to improve their own damage.
Unfurling Shadows has the highest damage potential
at this tier. This damage, however,
must be built over time by repeatedly using
Shadow Dagger against
Heroes afflicted by three stacks of
Black Arrows. This means that
Unfurling Shadows can only reach its full potential on Maps that promote
constant combat, such as Battlefield of Eternity and Braxis Holdout. It is worth
noting that Unfurling Shadows can also trigger off of Shadow Dagger's spreading
effect, provided the targets are also afflicted by three stacks of Black Arrows.
This explains why Unfurling Shadows is generally picked with
Festering Wounds at Level 7.
Overwhelming Affliction provides slightly less area
of effect damage than its
alternatives, instead bringing a modest but reliable Slow effect that is
useful for kiting
and chasing. The percent-based damage also allows Sylvanas to better threaten
enemy Heroes who have high maximum Health. Whether Overhwelming Affliction
or Might of the Banshee Queen should be picked comes down to personal
preference, as both Talents currently perform well.
Level 4 Talents for Sylvanas


Minions that die under the effects of Shadow Dagger or Sylvanas's Traits explode, dealing 130 (+4% per level) damage to nearby Minions, Mercenaries, and Summons.


Friendly non-Elite Mercenaries near Sylvanas deal 60% more damage. Sylvanas Stuns and deals 30% additional damage to Mercenaries with 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse.


- Charges: 3
- Recharge Time: 12 seconds
Activate to force an enemy Minion to fight for Sylvanas's team. Catapults require 3 charges. Stores up to 3 charges.
Discussion
This tier improves Sylvanas's waveclear.
Unstable Poison provides Sylvanas with some of the
best waveclear in the game. This
potential opens up split-pushing strategies on some of the larger
Maps, including Cursed Hollow and Garden of Terror, by allowing a single
Shadow Dagger and a few Basic Attacks to set off a chain reaction of
Minion kills. This, in turn, allows you to roam and generally apply
pressure, forcing opponents to split up to soak
or risk losing Experience and Structures.
Mercenary Queen allows Sylvanas to claim non-Boss
Mercenary Camps quickly and with little to
no Health loss, something that is generally difficult for ranged Assassins,
particularly in the early game. This gives Mercenary Queen a niche use in
team compositions that lack another Hero able to effectively deal with
Mercenaries. Further, the damage increase provided by Mercenary Queen can open
up split-pushing opportunities involving Mercenaries, particularly
when timed with Objectives. This can sometimes make Sylvanas even more
effective than Objectives themselves, assuming your teammates have been
instructed to distract opponents and avoid engaging.
Possession fulfills a role that is similar to
Unstable Poison,
yet differently. Whereas Unstable Poison would be the better tool for soaking
Experience across several lanes and generally applying pressure,
Possession lets you concentrate your efforts upon a single lane. Using
Possession on all three enemy melee Minions lets you quickly conjure a decent
pushing force out of thin air all while denying your opponents's own. This is
useful for pushing and otherwise creating targets for enemy
Turrets, perhaps to help with a dive. Possession can also be used on
enemy Catapults to reverse the lane pressure coming from losing a Fort, at the cost of 3 stacks.
Level 7 Talents for Sylvanas


Hitting the same enemy with 5 shots of Withering Fire causes the 5th shot to deal 350% bonus damage.


Increase Shadow Dagger's damage by 10%. Basic Attacks against Heroes with 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse reduce the cooldown of Shadow Dagger by 1.75 seconds.


Increase Haunting Wave's damage by 15%. Haunting Wave applies 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse.
Discussion
This tier further improves Sylvanas's damage output.
Barbed Shot allows Sylvanas to better threaten
isolated targets to make up for her otherwise
poor burst damage. Barbed Shot is commonly used with
Windrunner to deliver several powerful
Withering Fire salvos.
Lost Soul brings the highest area of effect damage output at this Tier.
It works well with
Might of the Banshee Queen, as the Attack Speed provides
more cooldown reduction, and the Spell Power increases
Shadow Dagger's damage.
Festering Wounds is a strange Talent that requires
Haunting Wave
to be used offensively. Its main point of appeal lies in its outstanding synergy
with
Unfurling Shadows, as applying
Black Arrows to several
Heroes multiplies Unfurling Shadows's damage growth. Further, Festering Wounds
works particularly well with
Life Drain, as three Black Arrows stacks
are required to trigger the healing effect. The synergy with the popular
Windrunner is also worth noting.
Level 10 Talents for Sylvanas


- Mana: 100
- Cooldown: 90 seconds
Shoot an arrow that can be reactivated to deal 228 (+4% per level) damage and Silence enemies in an area for 2.5 seconds. The arrow detonates automatically if it reaches maximum range.


- Mana: 50
- Cooldown: 40 seconds
After 0.25 seconds, fire a missile that Mind Controls the first enemy Hero hit. Heroes hit are Silenced, Slowed by 30%, have 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse applied to them, and are forced to walk towards Sylvanas for 1.75 seconds.
Discussion
At this Level, you gain access to Heroic Abilities. If you want to read more about them, check the dedicated section in the Abilities and Strategy page.
Wailing Arrow is Sylvanas's foremost team fighting
Ability. Its unique ability to
quickly Silence in a large area of effect makes it effective at shutting down
Assassins such as Genji, Tracer, or Zeratul by making their
predictable escapes impossible. Further, Wailing Arrow works well against
combo-oriented team compositions, as interrupting a key piece of any given
combo on demand will turn the fight in your favor. If nothing else, it can also
be used for its respectable area of effect damage.
Mind Control is used along
Cold Embrace to single-out and
rapidly kill any target who is out of position, including
Tanks. Mind Control therefore has
a niche place in bursty team compositions that seek to quickly eliminate one
target to snowball an advantage.
Mind Control can also be used to prevent or interrupt
key Abilities, as can Wailing Arrow.
Level 13 Talents for Sylvanas


Shadow Dagger reduces the Armor of the initial target by 25 and any enemy it spreads to by 10 for 2.5 seconds.


Haunting Wave can be cast a second time for free within 5 seconds after teleporting. Teleporting with Haunting Wave resets the cooldown of Withering Fire.


Increase Sylvanas's Basic Attack range by 1. Sylvanas's Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes with 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse shoot an untalented shot of Withering Fire. This shot of Withering Fire applies Banshee's Curse.
Discussion
This tier further improves Sylvanas's damage output situationally.
Cold Embrace provides Sylvanas with a powerful
Armor-reducing
debuff on a uniquely short cooldown. Cold Embrace's power
depends entirely on your team's cohesion,
making it a niche pick for coordinated play.
Windrunner is a special Talent that opens up many
opportunities for Sylvanas. On top of increasing
her overall mobility, Windrunner lets
Withering Fire
be used up to two more times in quick succession,
ultimately providing a significant amount of burst damage. Works well with
Barbed Shot to obliterate
isolated Heroes.
Remorseless is the sustain damage option. Although
less flexible than its Windrunner counterpart,
Remorseless's range bonus makes it easier to position for Basic Attacks to
ultimately improve Sylvanas's ability to deal damage.
Works particularly well with
Overwhelming Affliction.
Level 16 Talents for Sylvanas


Hitting an enemy with Withering Fire grants 6% Movement Speed for 2 seconds, up to 30%. Basic Attacks refresh this duration.


Heal for 15% of damage dealt by Sylvanas to enemies with 3 stacks of Banshee's Curse. Healing is doubled against Heroes.


- Cooldown: 60 seconds
Activate to become Unstoppable and gain 40% Movement Speed for 3 seconds.
Discussion
This tier improves Sylvanas's survivability.
Evasive Fire significantly improves Sylvanas's
combat mobility with very little thinking involved: simply
cast
Withering Fire and deliver Basic Attacks as you
normally would. Evasive Fire is a strong choice
with
Remorseless and
Overwhelming Affliction so as to make it easier to
stick to one's target and move away from danger.
Life Drain allows Sylvanas to counter
poke damage by providing
her with an extremely high amount of self sustain.
Triggering the healing,
however, requires three stacks of
Black Arrows, which
is why Life Drain is
generally and exclusively used with
Festering Wounds to apply said
stacks of Black Arrows. Life Drain is useful against artillery Heroes such as
Azmodan and Kael'thas.
Will of the Forsaken mirrors its World of Warcraft counterpart by
being one of Heroes of the Storm's most powerful Talent and unique to Sylvanas
as Heroes of the Storm's Forsaken. Will of the Forsaken's Unstoppable effect has
multiple applications, from avoiding deadly crowd control
effects meant to
lock you down for a kill to chasing opponents who expect to be able to control
you in time. The added Movement Speed only adds to this utility. Will of the
Forsaken can even be used to easily bait crowd control Abilities in the
late-game by playing in an unusually reckless manner. Forget not to use the
Ability, however; this effect is not a Passive one.
Level 20 Talents for Sylvanas


Enemies at the center of Wailing Arrow's explosion take 50% more damage and are Silenced for twice as long.


Heroes hit by Mind Control have their vision radius greatly reduced for 5 seconds. Mind Control's cooldown is reduced by 25 seconds.


Withering Fire applies Banshee's Curse, and Heroes hit by Withering Fire reduce its cooldown by 0.75 seconds.


- Cooldown: 70 seconds
Activate to teleport to a nearby location.
Discussion
This Tier improves Sylvanas's late-game options.
Deafening Blast is an extremely powerful effect that suffers
from an unfortunately very small area of effect; center hits against key targets
are certainly possible, but in most cases, it would require you to aim
Wailing Arrow in a way that it hits fewer opponents
overall. In general, the tradeoff is not worth it.
Dark Lady's Call reduces
Mind Control's
Cooldown to a mere 15 seconds, which is unusually short for a Heroic Ability.
This allows you to use Mind Control very aggressively and potentially bait
opponents into playing around its usual cooldown.
Withering Barrage represents a reasonable damage
increase should you have
picked
Wailing Arrow and feel that your survivability has not been
an issue. There is little to say about Withering Barrage; it simply pays off
when
Withering Fire is used, which it should always be.
Bolt of the Storm works well with
Will of the Forsaken to make Sylvanas
one of the hardest Ranged Assassins to lock down.
Whether used defensively
or offensively, Bolt of the Storm remains as powerful as ever, particularly
against Heroes who rely on skillshots or otherwise try
to prevent you from moving, such as Leoric or Tassadar.
Changelog
- 22 Nov. 2020: Description updated for Dark Lady's Call.
- 07 Sep. 2020: Talent builds updated slightly.
- 30 Aug. 2020: Talent recommendations and builds updated to better reflect current metagame state. Again.
- 13 Aug. 2020: Talent recommendations and builds updated to better reflect current metagame state.
- 27 Dec. 2018: Talent discussion added and further updated; new build added.
- 17 Dec. 2018: Build further updated following Sylvanas rework patch. Talent descriptions incoming.
- 12 Dec. 2018: Build updated following Sylvanas rework patch.
- 14 Jan. 2018: Updated Tier 3 Talent discussion. Updated Shadow Dagger build.
- 26 Jun. 2017: Updated the Will of the Forsaken discussion.
More Ranged Assassin Guides
Oxygen is a veteran of the MOBA genre, which he has been playing for nearly 15 years. He has coached some of Heroes of the Storm's most prominent North American players and teams alike, including Team Liquid. As a Master player, he enjoys playing all Heroes and roles.
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