Tychus Talents

Last updated on Sep 27, 2021 at 20:00 by Derenash 22 comments
General Information

Welcome to our Talents page for Tychus. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of Tychus's talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.

1.

Tychus's Talent Build

Level Choices
1 Quarterback Dash ? Press the Advantage ?
4 In the Rhythm ? The Bigger They Are... ? Master Assassin
7 Melting Point Combat Tactician ? Relentless Soldier ?
10 Commandeer Odin Drakken Laser Drill ?
13 Spray 'n' Pray That's the Stuff! ? Neosteel Coating ?
16 Armor Piercing Rounds Titan Grenade ? Sizzlin' Attacks ?
20 Big Red Button Focusing Diodes ? Can Do This All Day ✘︎ Bob and Weave ?
2.

Tychus's Talent Build Cheatsheet

Standard Build

Recommended
Level 1 Quarterback Icon
Level 4 Master Assassin Icon The Bigger They Are... Icon ? In the Rhythm Icon ?
Level 7 Melting Point Icon
Level 10 Commandeer Odin Icon
Level 13 Spray 'n' Pray Icon Neosteel Coating Icon ?
Level 16 Armor Piercing Rounds Icon Titan Grenade Icon ?
Level 20 Big Red Button Icon

This build is a flexible build that will be good in every scenario.

At Level 4, The Bigger They Are... Icon The Bigger They Are... can be chosen if the opposing frontline has high HP, like Cho, Diablo, or Stitches. Otherwise, it is better to get Master Assassin Icon Master Assassin, as even if the quest is not completed, it is the only Talent that will boost Commandeer Odin Icon Commandeer Odin's damage.

Neosteel Coating Icon Neosteel Coating is an excellent Talent to get if the opposing team has high burst magical damage. It should be paired with Titan Grenade Icon Titan Grenade.

If Tychus does not need the magical armor from Neosteel Coating, he should get Spray 'n' Pray Icon Spray 'n' Pray at Level 13. It is good with Armor Piercing Rounds Icon Armor Piercing Rounds against squishy enemies. But it can be picked with Titan Grenade Icon Titan Grenade to have more poke damage.

3.

Level 1 Talents for Tychus

Tychus Quarterback
Quarterback (Level 1) Starcraft Tychus

Increases Frag Grenade's damage by 10% and its range by 50%.

Tychus Dash ?
Dash (Level 1) Starcraft Tychus

Increase the range of Run and Gun by 50%. When cast, increase Tychus's Movement Speed by 20% for 2.5 seconds.

Tychus Press the Advantage ?
Press the Advantage (Level 1) Starcraft Tychus

Increase Tychus's Basic Attack range by 1.

3.1.

Discussion

Quarterback Icon Quarterback's increased range on Frag Grenade Icon Frag Grenade can help you land the killing blow on enemies who are fleeing from combat. You can safely poke for decent damage when coupled with Titan Grenade Icon Titan Grenade. Quarterback can be an effective means of canceling channeled Abilities, especially when used to cancel Heroics. Quarterback is also useful on Maps where it can be used to interrupt enemy Heroes who are channeling an Objective.

Dash Icon Dash greatly increases Run and Gun Icon Run and Gun's effect on Tychus's mobility. This can further your ability to kite effectively, and allows you to deliver additional Basic Attacks to enemy Heroes who are moving away from you. Dash is strong against teams that rely heavily on skillshots that can be avoided.

Press the Advantage Icon Press the Advantage helps Tychus deal Minigun damage from a safer distance. It is a great way to open up more opportunities to use Minigun. However, it is not very effective if you have excellent crowd control in your team, as you will be able to hit the target with any Talent.

4.

Level 4 Talents for Tychus

Tychus In the Rhythm ?
In the Rhythm (Level 4) Starcraft Tychus

Quest: While Minigun is active, Basic Attacks against Heroes permanently increase future Minigun durations by 0.03 seconds.

Tychus The Bigger They Are... ?
The Bigger They Are... (Level 4) Starcraft Tychus

Increase the damage bonus to 4% while enemy Heroes are above 30% Health, but Minigun no longer has any effect on targets below 30%.

Tychus Master Assassin
Master Assassin (Level 4) Starcraft Tychus

Passive: Increase Tychus's Attack Speed by 10%.

Reward: After getting 15 Takedowns, Tychus's Attack Speed is increased by an additional 15%.

4.1.

Discussion

In the Rhythm Icon In the Rhythm is a great Talent because it allows you to increase Minigun's duration. This is dependent on efficiently gaining stacks of In the Rhythm, which can be extremely difficult against team compositions that can outrange Minigun. In addition to this weakness, In the Rhythm will increase the amount of time you will need to wait for Minigun to end. We recommend going for In the Rhythm if you will not be able to get much value out of The Bigger They Are... Icon The Bigger They Are..., which will happen against Garrosh, Medivh or against a good Johanna.

The Bigger They Are... Icon The Bigger They Are... is an excellent way to get an enemy Hero to low Health more quickly, which can inspire your allies to assist with a Takedown. Although Minigun will no longer affect low Health enemy Heroes, you can often secure a kill by using your other damage dealing Abilities. This is a great Talent against Tanks with high Health, like Cho, Diablo, or Stitches.

Master Assassin Icon Master Assassin may not be able to compete with its counterparts in pure Basic Attack damage, but it is the only Talent that will enhance Tychus during Commandeer Odin Icon Commandeer Odin. During the mid to late game, most fights will happen while Tychus is in Odin. This is an excellent Talent for that reason.

5.

Level 7 Talents for Tychus

Tychus Melting Point
Melting Point (Level 7) Starcraft Tychus

Enemies hit by Frag Grenade take an additional 75 (+4% per level) damage over 3 seconds. This damage is increased by 100% against Minions, Mercenaries, and Monsters.

Tychus Combat Tactician ?
Combat Tactician (Level 7) Starcraft Tychus

Reduce the cooldown of Minigun by 4 seconds. Reduce the cooldown of Minigun by an additional 4 seconds after using Run and Gun.

Tychus Relentless Soldier ?
Relentless Soldier (Level 7) Starcraft Tychus

Being Stunned or Rooted grants 30 Armor for 3 seconds, reducing damage taken by 30%.

5.1.

Discussion

Melting Point Icon Melting Point greatly increases Tychus's waveclear, while also adding a good extra damage into fights. This Talent is excellent with Quarterback Icon Quarterback, since it will allow you to poke enemies from a safer distance, by using Frag Grenade Icon Frag Grenade more frequently.

Combat Tactician Icon Combat Tactician greatly reduces the cooldown of Minigun whenever Run and Gun is cast. However, the cooldown reduction will not apply while Minigun is active. This Talent is good against compositions with many Heroes with a high Health pool, like Blaze and Diablo.

Relentless Soldier Icon Relentless Soldier is a powerful Talent when the enemy team has many Stuns or Roots. You are able to live in situations that would otherwise kill you, and this can be the difference between your team winning or losing a team fight. Remember that Armor from different sources does not stack.

6.

Level 10 Talents for Tychus

Tychus Commandeer Odin
Commandeer Odin (Level 10) Starcraft Tychus
  • Mana: 100
  • Cooldown: 100 seconds

Call down an Odin to pilot. The Odin deals increased Damage, has 100% increased Basic Attack range, and uses different Abilities. The Odin has 25 Armor and lasts 23 seconds.

Tychus Drakken Laser Drill ?
Drakken Laser Drill (Level 10) Starcraft Tychus
  • Mana: 100
  • Cooldown: 100 seconds

Call down a Laser Drill to attack nearby enemies, dealing 142 (+4% per level) damage every second. Reactivate to assign a new target. Lasts 22 seconds.

6.1.

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.

Commandeer Odin Icon Commandeer Odin provides Tychus with a powerful set of alternate Abilities, which cost no Mana once Odin is cast. The main drawback of Commandeer Odin is that Tychus cannot use Minigun Icon Minigun while inside of the Odin. Minigun is often the main reason Tychus is picked, as the percent-based damage is a very good way to deal damage to enemy Heroes who have high maximum Health, which is great in team compositions who want to focus the enemy Tank first. It is good to use Minigun before activating the Odin, in order to get the maximum value out of the Hero. However, on some Maps where the Objective is stationary and takes a while, you should use Commandeer Odin Icon Commandeer Odin strategically: before the confrotation starts, around 20/40 Objective's progress on Infernal Shrines, or at 99% Objective's progress on Volskaya Foundry. The Odin does increased damage, but can actually result in less meaningful damage to the enemy's frontline because you cannot use Minigun Icon Minigun during it. Consider taking Commandeer Odin in situations where you need area of effect damage and increased range.

Drakken Laser Drill is an exceptional zoning tool, able to deal very high sustain damage in the area around where it is placed. Tychus will still have access to all of his Basic Abilities while the laser is active. This is an important difference between Drakken Laser Drill Icon Drakken Laser Drill and Commandeer Odin Icon Commandeer Odin, because many of your Talents may be invested into your Basic Abilities. However, Drakken should only be the pick if enemies have many Heroes with high Armor and Health, like Deathwing and Garrosh.

7.

Level 13 Talents for Tychus

Tychus Spray 'n' Pray
Spray 'n' Pray (Level 13) Starcraft Tychus

Overkill Slows enemy Movement Speed by 25% and its range is increased by 25%.

Tychus That's the Stuff! ?
That's the Stuff! (Level 13) Starcraft Tychus

Minigun heals Tychus for 100% of the bonus damage dealt after it expires.

Tychus Neosteel Coating ?
Neosteel Coating (Level 13) Starcraft Tychus
  • Cooldown: 30 seconds

Activate to gain 75 Spell Armor for 4 seconds, reducing Ability Damage taken by 75%.

7.1.

Discussion

Spray 'n' Pray Icon Spray 'n' Pray greatly increases the range of Overkill, while also Slowing targets, which will allow you to harass more effectively with it. You will be able to lock onto fleeing enemies from much further away, or keep pursuing foes at a safer distance while you dissuade their advance. This Talent should be always picked with Armor Piercing Rounds Icon Armor Piercing Rounds.

That's the Stuff! Icon That's the Stuff! helps you win trades with enemy Heroes, but does not allow you to heal from damaging non-Heroic units. That's the Stuff! will not heal you until Minigun's duration ends, so it can be thought of as a Health refund after a trade. As with all Minigun Icon Minigun use, it is vulnerable to crowd control effects, which will eat up the active duration of Minigun. Using Commandeer Odin Icon Commandeer Odin before Minigun runs out will instantly activate the Healing from That's the stuff. That's the Stuff does not have any value during Odin as well, while Neosteel Coating can be activated. This Talent will be underwhelming in most games, since Neosteel Coating will be better by mitigating burst damage at any time.

Neosteel Coating Icon Neosteel Coating is a great way to prevent huge amounts of forecasted Ability damage. It can work well against team compositions that set up ability-chains with Roots. It is the standard Talent for this tier, but if you are not facing any enemies reliant on Spell Damage it might be a good option to go for Spray 'n' Pray Icon Spray 'n' Pray and Armor Piercing Rounds Icon Armor Piercing Rounds.

8.

Level 16 Talents for Tychus

Tychus Armor Piercing Rounds
Armor Piercing Rounds (Level 16) Starcraft Tychus

Each time Overkill hits an enemy, its damage against them is increased by 15%, stacking up to 60% bonus damage.

Tychus Titan Grenade ?
Titan Grenade (Level 16) Starcraft Tychus

Frag Grenade deals bonus damage to Heroes equal to 5% of their maximum Health. Each enemy Hero hit by Frag Grenade reduces its cooldown by 1 second.

Tychus Sizzlin' Attacks ?
Sizzlin' Attacks (Level 16) Starcraft Tychus

Basic Attacks deal bonus damage to Heroes equal to 1% of their maximum Health. Stacks with Minigun.

8.1.

Discussion

Armor Piercing Rounds Icon Armor Piercing Rounds allows you to deal more damage with Overkill Icon Overkill. This Talent has strong synergy with Spray 'n' Pray Icon Spray 'n' Pray, as you can deal a lot of damage from a safe range, something Tychus otherwise struggles with. This Talent combination is a great way to finish off low Health enemy Heroes!

Titan Grenade Icon Titan Grenade adds another way to deal damage based on the maximum Health of your enemies. It is excellent together with The Bigger They Are... Icon The Bigger They Are..., because it can be used to finish targets that Minigun Icon Minigun cannot damage. It also has strong synergy with Quarterback Icon Quarterback.

Sizzlin' Attacks Icon Sizzlin' Attacks stacks with Minigun Icon Minigun to allow you to deal even more maximum Health damage with Basic Attacks. This Talent will greatly increase Tychus's damage towards Heroes, and should be the choice in most games.

9.

Level 20 Talents for Tychus

Tychus Big Red Button
Big Red Button (Level 20) Starcraft Tychus

Odin lasts 50% longer and Ragnarok Missiles also launches a Nuclear Missile which lands 2.5 seconds later, dealing 319 (+4% per level) damage in its area.

Tychus Focusing Diodes ?
Focusing Diodes (Level 20) Starcraft Tychus

Increases the range of the Drakken Laser Drill by 50%. Deals increasing damage the longer it remains on a single target, up to 100% extra damage.

Tychus Can Do This All Day ✘︎
Can Do This All Day (Level 20) Starcraft Tychus

Reduce Overkill's cooldown by 5 seconds. While Channeling Overkill, Tychus gains 40 Armor.

Tychus Bob and Weave ?
Bob and Weave (Level 20) Starcraft Tychus

Run and Gun and Odin's Thrusters gain 2 additional charges and reduces Run and Gun's Mana cost from 50 to 25. After using Run and Gun, increase Tychus's Basic Attack range by 1.5 for 4 seconds.

9.1.

Discussion

Big Red Button Icon Big Red Button dramatically increases your damage, especially in team fights that last a long time. The 50% extra duration of Commandeer Odin Icon Commandeer Odin allows Odin to last the full length of most team fights. Since the range of Odin's attacks is so large, you will be able to deal damage throughout the late game team fights. The Nuclear Missile fired with Ragnarok Missiles Icon Ragnarok Missiles does a massive amount of damage, but it has a several second delay before exploding. Despite this, just landing a single Nuclear Missile on multiple enemy Heroes will usually turn the fight in your team's favor.

Focusing Diodes Icon Focusing Diodes exponentially bolsters the strength of Drakken Laser Drill Icon Drakken Laser Drill. The increased range allows Laser Drill to outrange most Abilities in the game, and zone out enemy Heroes more effectively. The damage of the Laser Drill is essentially doubled. The downside is that Laser Drill can be destroyed by the enemy team rather quickly, especially if the fight takes place somewhere in the open.

Can Do This All Day Icon Can Do This All Day will greatly increases Tychus's resistance during Overkill Icon Overkill cast, while also reducing the cooldown of it. Even thought it sounds decent, Tychus already has many different ways to get Armor, and any cancels to Overkill will also remove the extra Armor from the Talent. For these reasons we do not recommend Can Do This All Day.

Bob and Weave Icon Bob and Weave can result in hyper-mobility when combined with Dash Icon Dash, and will greatly enhance your Basic Attack range when paired with Press the Advantage Icon Press the Advantage. As long as In the Rhythm Icon In the Rhythm is sufficiently stacked, you can apply Minigun active damage almost constantly during late-game team fights.

10.

Changelog

  • 27 Sep. 2021: Builds and Talents updated after meta development.
  • 26 Mar. 2021: Updated Builds and Talents to reflect current meta.
  • 20 Jan. 2021: Builds and Talents updated to reflect meta and balance changes.
  • 12 Oct. 2020: Builds and Talents updated after recent balance patch.
  • 24 Aug. 2020: Builds and Talents updated to reflect recent meta changes.
  • 16 Jul. 2020: Guide updated to reflect recent balance patch changes.
  • 30 Aug. 2019: Guide updated to reflect balance patch changes; Talent recommendations updated to reflect current meta.
  • 10 May 2018: Talent discussion updated to reflect balance patch.
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