Heroes of the Storm Illidan

[Damien 1,514]

This thread is for comments about our Illidan build guide for Heroes of the Storm.

[Guest Supajee]

Damn, I realized this just now. Great guide by the way, although most of the talent choices for Illidan are quite obvious in the current meta. I'm still quite happy that you guys have Heroes section in Icy Veins! Can't wait for more guides. Is Srey going to detail every hero, or will others write guides here as well? I can't wait for more, even though writing these guides can be time consuming.

[Damien 1,514]

We intend to have 3 writers, 2 of which will be Srey and Oxygen. We're still choosing our 3rd writer. These guides take a long time to write, but we should have Oxygen's Valla guide and Srey's Dragon Shire map guide up today. Srey's next guide is going to be Jaina.

In any case, I'm glad you're happy about our Heroes of the Storm section and we hope it will be as popular as the other sections.

[Guest chad]

As a longtime Blizzard game player but a complete noob when it comes to MOBAS, this is an absolutely amazing resource.  I love this guide.  I know Illy is supposed to be very hard to play, but he is literally the reason I play the game so I'm just going to keep pounding my head against him.

[Matenshi 2]

For the level 20 talents, Bolt of the Storm is "situational" on the icons but "not recommended" in the explanations.

[Srey 1]

For the level 20 talents, Bolt of the Storm is "situational" on the icons but "not recommended" in the explanations.

Thanks for the heads up!

[Guest Mayomaximus]

The fact that he synergizes well with Tyrande makes me happier than it should.

[Guest DireToast]

So, under "Dive" it says to not use it to initiate, but under "Metamorphosis" it says to use Dive to initiate instead.

Does it mean Sweeping Strike perhaps?  :confused:

[Srey 1]

So, under "Dive" it says to not use it to initiate, but under "Metamorphosis" it says to use Dive to initiate instead.

Does it mean Sweeping Strike perhaps?  :confused:

Basically, if you want to chase, it is best to initiate with Sweeping Strike first, if possible, as it allows you to save Dive to chase if they flee. If you can't get within range of Sweeping Strike, or you want to use Sweeping Strike to disengage, then you can use Dive.

 

Hope this helps.

[Danielyy 2]

No The Hunt Build? Or how is it called nowadays „Lone Wolf Build”?

[Srey 1]

No The Hunt Build? Or how is it called nowadays „Lone Wolf Build”?

I don't think "The Hunt" is a viable build path.

[Danielyy 2]

 

No The Hunt Build? Or how is it called nowadays „Lone Wolf Build”?

I don't think "The Hunt" is a viable build path.

 

Why's that? I find it more useful.

[Srey 1]

 

 

No The Hunt Build? Or how is it called nowadays „Lone Wolf Build”?

I don't think "The Hunt" is a viable build path.

 

Why's that? I find it more useful.

 

This is all explained in the guide. Please see this section.

[Guest Raxx]

Thanks for the great guide(s)!  I'm a lifelong gamer but am quite new to MOBAs so even if 'the talent choices are quite obvious in the current meta' (as stated above in a comment) having the choices lain out with the reasoning behind them is very useful.

 

One small thing, here you state 'Hunter's Onslaught provides comparable healing to Blood for Blood over several seconds, but lacks the damage and slow.' but the Blood for Blood talent doesn't have a slow component mentioned.  Perhaps that was changed in a previous patch?

[Guest Guest]

Thanks for the great guide(s)!  I'm a lifelong gamer but am quite new to MOBAs so even if 'the talent choices are quite obvious in the current meta' (as stated above in a comment) having the choices lain out with the reasoning behind them is very useful.

 

One small thing, here you state 'Hunter's Onslaught provides comparable healing to Blood for Blood over several seconds, but lacks the damage and slow.' but the Blood for Blood talent doesn't have a slow component mentioned.  Perhaps that was changed in a previous patch?

Yes, it changed two-three patches ago i think (i dont remember when tbh), before it slowed the target, making this tool extremely powerful for the heroes that have acces to it and well making illidan an exceptional chaser.

 

Right now it doesnt have the slow but its still a 10% instant damage and heal so that can be more useul when youre trying to bring someone down

 

[Guest Digman14]

 

 

 

No The Hunt Build? Or how is it called nowadays „Lone Wolf Build”?

I don't think "The Hunt" is a viable build path.

 

Why's that? I find it more useful.

 

This is all explained in the guide. Please see this section.

 

The guide seems rather heavy handed in it's attempts to quash other potential Illidan builds. Thrill of Battle + Hunt is not only my favorite method of playing Illidan, but is also very effective on certain maps, against certain comps, or for punishing push attempts on low level players.

It also completely dismisses Giant Killer, not even considering it situational when it is fantastic against high HP heroes like Muradin, Uther, or Cho'gall.

I've no argument against Meta, as it is definitely the better standard pick for the damage and sustain it provides in teamfights, but to dismiss any Heroic ability for any hero is simply dismissing an entire half of that hero's potential.

[Guest HotsBots]

 

 

 

 

No The Hunt Build? Or how is it called nowadays „Lone Wolf Build”?

I don't think "The Hunt" is a viable build path.

 

Why's that? I find it more useful.

 

This is all explained in the guide. Please see this section.

 

The guide seems rather heavy handed in it's attempts to quash other potential Illidan builds. Thrill of Battle + Hunt is not only my favorite method of playing Illidan, but is also very effective on certain maps, against certain comps, or for punishing push attempts on low level players.

It also completely dismisses Giant Killer, not even considering it situational when it is fantastic against high HP heroes like Muradin, Uther, or Cho'gall.

I've no argument against Meta, as it is definitely the better standard pick for the damage and sustain it provides in teamfights, but to dismiss any Heroic ability for any hero is simply dismissing an entire half of that hero's potential.

 

Well, a few alternative builds might show up when the Illidan rework is done after the changes on the PTR hit.

[Guest hotspost1232]

is this guide outdated? - 5th of april

[Guest Guest]

This guide is outdated, Please fix this. Would be great to get some actual advice on what talents to pick

 

[KendricSwissh 66]

Hey guys, I'm going to take care of Illidan over the next few days, we have updated the Quick Overview section of the guide to give you good builds in the current meta. 

 

The remaining sections will follow shortly. :)

[Guest Gabriel]

On the section 3.4, you don't recomend "Friend or Foe", however that's one of the talents with a recommended image.

 

On the section 8.3

 

Nexus Blades is better if the enemy team lacks crowd control. It offers both a slow and superior damage over Demonic Form, especially since the attack speed from Metamorphosis synergises with the 20% damage bonus from Nexus Blades. Choose Nexus Blades if the enemy team lacks any hard crowd control (stuns, silences, polymorphs, roots).

Metamorphosis no longer increases attack speed. Only Demonic Form does it now.

 

[KendricSwissh 66]

Due to reconstruction in our editorial staff, the Illidan guide is going to get reworked and corrected within the next few days. 

 

Thank you for understanding. :) 

[Guest Shayde]

I've got a question regarding the proper usage of the marked for death talent. In my experience, either the chasing period in which you use dive is either to short in order to truly benefit from the damage bonus, or I use it to switch targets I feel i need to re-position. I have problems with blades of azzinoth as well but I feel that's more of a technical issue than a gameplay one. Any tips?

 

[methusalix 0]

I've got a question regarding the proper usage of the marked for death talent. In my experience, either the chasing period in which you use dive is either to short in order to truly benefit from the damage bonus, or I use it to switch targets I feel i need to re-position. I have problems with blades of azzinoth as well but I feel that's more of a technical issue than a gameplay one. Any tips?

I feel similar about Marked for Death. It can't be utilized in many situations because you need to switch targets or the fight is simply to short. But the bonus damage is quite high, so if it works out, it is great. Sometimes when chasing people (after a fight or when someone is out of position) it's easier to apply.

 

Blades of Azzinoth on the other hand is pretty simple I think. You get the stacks before the Teamfight and immediately activate it, once you start hitting your first target (unless you know he will disengage immediately). It lasts for 8 seconds, that pretty long.

[Oxygen 446]

I've got a question regarding the proper usage of the marked for death talent. In my experience, either the chasing period in which you use dive is either to short in order to truly benefit from the damage bonus, or I use it to switch targets I feel i need to re-position. I have problems with blades of azzinoth as well but I feel that's more of a technical issue than a gameplay one. Any tips?

 

Hi,

 

One thing that should be noted is that MfD is also excellent for PvE and late game sieging purposes; if Illidan wasn't annoying enough on Core races, MfD pushes him to dreadful territories. In pure DPS races, MfD is nearly a 100 DPS gain over just using Basic Attacks and Sweeping Strike. This damage is further increased the less you get to freely hit a target, so in essence, it makes Dive part of your damage rotation (i.e. use on-cooldown). I'd pick it against Crowd Control-heavy teams, or when you have to deal with Imposing Presence / Cursed Strikes / Reverberation, etc. When I do pick it, I don't personally worry about triggering it against Heroes; it's almost one of those "it happens if it it does, and when it does it's great" talents, as all are on this tier.

 

Blades of Azzinoth is just that thing you use once or twice in a game to secure an important kill on a healer or some out of position player. Just make sure it isn't countered by one of the attack speed counters stated above. I wish I could tell you more, but the rework is extremely recent; Illidan is permabanned in most competitive games, and almost always in Hero/Team League.