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Tyrael Build Guide “I am Justice itself!”
Welcome to our guide for Tyrael, a Tank in Heroes of the Storm. Within these pages, you will find everything required to understand how best to play this hero, in both different map styles and team compositions.
Tyrael's Overview
Tyrael is a melee Tank, whose great mobility allows him to get in and out of combat very quickly. With his unique kit, he can support allied Heroes in various ways: Shielding them, giving them Movement Speed, and more. On the other hand, compared to his counterparts, Tyrael lacks crowd control and thus cannot easily punish enemy Heroes who are out of position.
Tyrael's Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Supports allied Heroes with Movement Speed and Shields- Exceptional mobility
- Reduces enemy waveclear, especially with
Justice for All - Good engage with
Judgment - Great protection for allied Heroes with
Sanctification - Good waveclear with
Burning Halo - Able to secure Capture Points with
Holy Ground - High damage output for his Role, augmentable with dedicated Talents
Weaknesses
Lack of crowd control- Extremely Mana dependent throughout the game
- Weak engage outside of Judgment
- Time Stop can nullify Sanctification
Tyrael's Talent Build Cheatsheet
Basic Attacks Build
Recommended
Tyrael's Basic Attacks Build provides self-sustain in combat, more damage, and waveclear. With it, you will be able to harass enemy Heroes.
The self-sustain mainly comes from 
Ardent Restoration
at Level 1 and is increased by 
Burning Halo at Level 7
which makes its healing ramp up faster at the beginning of a team fight.
Reciprocate at Level 4 also heals you a bit.
The waveclear comes from Burning Halo at Level 7,
which passively deals area of effect damage,
increased when teleporting with 
El'druin's Might.
Once you get Sword of Justice at Level 13,
your playstyle will be drastically different:
use El'druin's Might, reactivate it to reach enemy Heroes,
deal damage to them, and then reactivate it again to teleport back.
When not playing against Garrosh, you can pick 
Holy Ground
at Level 13 for blocking the path of enemy Heroes in narrow corridors
or to secure Capture Points. Combine it with
Horadric Reforging at Level 16 for cooldown reduction.
Righteousness Build
Advanced
Tyrael's Righteousness Build provides peeling and utility for your team, in the form of Movement Speed and Attack Speed. With it, you will be able to enable allied Heroes.
The peeling comes from 
Justice for All at Level 1
providing a bigger Shield for allied Heroes, from Holy Ground
at Level 13 blocking the path of melee Heroes, and from your Heroic Ability.
Swift Retribution at Level 7 is great for enabling
allied Heroes who rely on Basic Attacks.
After picking it, remember to use 
Smite on
allied Heroes instead of using it on enemies.
Holy Ground at Level 13 is great for blocking the path
of enemy Heroes in narrow corridors or to secure Boss Camps.
Horadric Reforging at Level 16 gives cooldown reduction for that.
When playing against Garrosh, you should pick
Sword of Justice at Level 13 to teleport back
when caught by 
Wrecking Ball. Combine it with
Bound by Law at Level 16 for blocking his
engage with a stronger Slow.
Smite Build
Situational
Tyrael's Smite Build provides self-sustain,
high damage, and mobility. With it, you can empower
Smite and Basic Attacks to deal a huge amount
of damage to enemy Heroes, especially if they tend to group.
The self-sustain mainly comes from Divine Vigor
at Level 4 and is increased by Purge Evil at Level 7.
Ardent Restoration at Level 1 also heals you a bit.
Once you get Sword of Justice at Level 13,
your playstyle will be drastically different:
use El'druin's Might, reactivate it to reach enemy Heroes,
deal damage to them, and then reactivate it again to teleport back.
ARAM Build
ARAMTyrael's ARAM Build provides self-sustain in combat, more damage, and waveclear. With it, you will be able to harass enemy Heroes.
The self-sustain mainly comes from Ardent Restoration
at Level 1 and is increased by Burning Halo at Level 7
which makes its healing ramp up faster at the beginning of a team fight.
Reciprocate at Level 4 also heals you a bit.
The waveclear comes from Burning Halo at Level 7,
which passively deals area of effect damage,
increased when teleporting with El'druin's Might.
Once you get Sword of Justice at Level 13,
your playstyle will be drastically different:
use El'druin's Might, reactivate it to reach enemy Heroes,
deal damage to them, and then reactivate it again to teleport back.
When not playing against Garrosh, you can pick Holy Ground
at Level 13 for blocking the path of enemy Heroes in narrow corridors
or to secure Capture Points. Combine it with
Horadric Reforging at Level 16 for cooldown reduction.
Tyrael's Synergies and Counters
Tyrael synergizes with
Tyrael has synergy with allied Heroes who want to dive (such as Kerrigan), lack mobility (like Alarak), or want to constantly hit enemy Heroes with Basic Attacks (for example Valla).
Due to his lack of crowd control
outside of 
Judgment, we suggest pairing
Tyrael with Heroes who have some crowd control for helping
to engage and/or peel.
You can play without too, however, it is easier with.
Together with Lt. Morales, Tyrael is a fundamental piece of
the famous Juice Pirates team composition. This backdoor
strategy relies on 
Medivac Dropships
to quickly reach enemy Structures as a team and
Sanctification to push
uncontested, unless they have a counter for it.
Tyrael is countered by
Tyrael with Judgment is countered by
Heroes who can protect the targeted Hero with Shields and similar effects
(notably Medivh with 
Force of Will), who can
quickly deny the dive with disengage tools
(for example 
Mighty Gust by Falstad),
or who have access to cleanse effects (such as
Purge by Rehgar).
Tyrael with Sanctification is countered by
Heroes who can interrupt it, protect Heroes during it
(for example 
Bunker Drop by Blaze), or nullify it
by using Time Stop on the Heroes protected by it
(only Medivh, Mei, and Zeratul can do it,
with 
Ley Line Seal, 
Ice Wall,
and 
Void Prison respectively).
Tyrael with Holy Ground is countered by
displacement effects (notably Mighty Gust
by Falstad) as it will mainly be used to secure Boss Camp
by standing on the Capture Point uncontested.
For obvious reasons, this part is only relevant on Maps where Boss Camps
are a win condition.
Tyrael's Maps
Thanks to Holy Ground at Level 13
being usable to block the path of enemy Heroes, Tyrael excels
on Maps where Boss Camps are a
win condition and does well
on Maps with narrow corridors around the Objective.
Tyrael's Heroic Abilities are extremely powerful in team fights.
Considering that both Judgment and
Sanctification have a relatively long cooldown,
Tyrael does better on Maps where team fights do not happen too often,
so that he has time to get them back before fighting again.
Tyrael's Tips and Tricks
- Use your Abilities wisely while laning. If you are not careful, Tyrael will run out of Mana very quickly.
El'druin's Might can be used to juke opponents while Tyrael is on the retreat.
Righteousness should be used right before Tyrael, allied Heroes, Minions, or Mercenaries are being hit.
Smite can be used to deal damage and/or to increase the Movement Speed of allied Heroes when needed.- Judgment is great for diving but can also be used to interrupt powerful Heroic Abilities.
- If you play with Sanctification, use it when diving with your team or save it for the enemy team's most dangerous Abilities.
- Upon dying, you will trigger
Archangel's Wrath. Stick on top of enemy Heroes to reduce their damage done and for hitting them with the explosion. - After picking
Swift Retribution at Level 7, you should mainly use Smite on allied Heroes to buff them. - Holy Ground at Level 13 can help you secure Mercenary Camps (especially Boss Camps) if El'druin's Might is aimed at the very center of the Capture Point.
Tyrael's Role in the Current Meta
Tyrael is a Tank that excels at enabling allied Heroes who want to dive, lack mobility, or want to constantly hit enemy Heroes with Basic Attacks.
He has access to powerful Heroic Abilities that do completely different things:
Judgment can be used either for diving
or as an interrupt when your team is lacking them;
Sanctification can be used for diving,
peeling, enabling a strong push
with allied Heroes, or countering specific Abilities.
Thanks to Holy Ground at Level 13,
Tyrael is one of the best Heroes for securing Capture Points.
This is quite strong on Maps where Boss Camps
are a win condition.
Sanctification also helps with that
because it is great when fighting in a static position.
Changelog
- 15 Jul. 2026 (talents page): Guide reviewed.
- 15 Jul. 2026 (abilities page): Guide reviewed.
- 15 Jul. 2026 (this page): Guide reviewed.
- 08 Dec. 2025 (talents page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 08 Dec. 2025 (abilities page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 08 Dec. 2025 (this page): Guide reviewed for the latest Balance Update.
- 31 Aug. 2025 (this page): Maps updated.
- 08 Aug. 2025 (talents page): Guide updated for the latest Hero Rework.
- 08 Aug. 2025 (abilities page): Guide updated for the latest Hero Rework.
- 08 Aug. 2025 (this page): Guide updated for the latest Hero Rework.
- 12 Dec. 2022 (talents page): Updated Tyrael's talents and builds to ensure meta relevance.
- 12 Dec. 2022 (this page): Updated Tyrael's Builds and added Basic Attacks Build.
- 08 Mar. 2021 (talents page): Updated Tyrael's talents and builds in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
- 08 Mar. 2021 (abilities page): Updated Archangel's Wrath's description in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
- 03 Mar. 2021 (this page): Updated Tyrael's Builds in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
- 30 Jul. 2020 (this page): Updated Level 4 Talent choice for both builds.
- 17 Jun. 2020 (this page): Guide reviewed after recent balance patch and no changes are necessary.
- 22 Apr. 2020 (abilities page): Abilities section updated.
- 22 Apr. 2020 (this page): Updated Tips, Builds, and Counters sections.
- 13 Apr. 2020 (talents page): Updated Builds and Talents to reflect current meta.
- 14 Feb. 2020 (talents page): Updated Tyrael's talents and builds in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
- 14 Feb. 2020 (abilities page): Updated Archangel's Wrath's description in accordance with the latest Balance Update.
- 16 Dec. 2019 (this page): Added the current Anomaly (Experience Globes) to the guide.
- 23 Sep. 2019 (talents page): Updated Tyrael's talent builds and talent section.
- 23 Sep. 2019 (abilities page): Updated Tyrael's abilities section.
- 23 Sep. 2019 (this page): Updated Tyrael's introduction section.
- 26 Nov. 2018 (talents page): Updated Tyrael's talents and builds.
- 17 Mar. 2018 (this page): Updated the guide for Probius' patch.
- 19 Feb. 2018 (talents page): Changed Law and Order from Not Recommended to Recommended, Sword of Justice from Recommended to Not Recommended, and Smite the Wicked from Not Recommended to Situational.
- 07 Feb. 2018 (talents page): Updated Stalwart Angel's description in accordance with the Maiev update.
- 17 Jan. 2018 (talents page): Updated Tyrael's talents in accordance with his latest rework.
- 17 Jan. 2018 (abilities page): Adjusted Tyrael's abilities in accordance with his latest rework.
- 17 Jan. 2017 (this page): Updated Tyrael's introduction in accordance with his latest rework.
- 21 Dec. 2016 (this page): Moved Tyrael to the new guide format.
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Elitesparkle has been hooked on Heroes of the Storm since day one in 2015. Over the years, he has consistently competed at Master level across multiple Seasons and has even climbed into Grand Master a couple of times. Known for his logical mindset and love for theorycrafting, he thrives on breaking down the game's mechanics and engaging in high-level strategy discussions with the community.
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