Heroes of the Storm Zeratul

[Guest Savorymlkman]

Vorpal Blade is no gimmick, ask any sylvanas/li ming/ lunara/ morales that ive gone up against. I even used it on an abathur who was tunneling away, activated after he disappeared and BAM!

[Guest aibolit]

I'd love to have a "Works well AGAINST" section in addition to "works well with" and "is countered by", because that's the main reason to pick a hero in the first place (aside from synergy).

[Thorgal2226 9]

I know Zera is being change put I have a guestion about lvl 4 choice and overall executing Blink/Wormhole combo.

I used to choose Master Worp Blade like u suggest but i did a few testing lately and it appears I cant get the attack bonus from it when I blink and back with wormhole. I tested it in training ground with lvl 20 being selected. I ended up getting 1843 dmg (spike, slash and AA) with and without master warp blade everytime. I started to choose gathering power instead but without void slash as it apperars with it instead of Follow Through I got only 1793 dmg applied.

I was wondering do I execute the combo between blink and wormhole correctly? I jump and immidiately apply spike and slash with AA being deliviered somwhere in between.

 

I would appriciate any feedback on the subject and cant wait for new reworked Zera and ur updated guide.

Cheers!

Edited November 14, 2016 by Thorgal2226
typo :)

[Valks 2,375]

On 11/14/2016 at 9:09 PM, Thorgal2226 said:

I would appriciate any feedback on the subject and cant wait for new reworked Zera and ur updated guide.

In honesty, I'm not sure. I'm going to see if I can get one of our guide writers to drop in and give you a hand with this :)

[Oxygen 446]

On 11/14/2016 at 4:09 PM, Thorgal2226 said:

I know Zera is being change put I have a guestion about lvl 4 choice and overall executing Blink/Wormhole combo.

I used to choose Master Worp Blade like u suggest but i did a few testing lately and it appears I cant get the attack bonus from it when I blink and back with wormhole. I tested it in training ground with lvl 20 being selected. I ended up getting 1843 dmg (spike, slash and AA) with and without master warp blade everytime. I started to choose gathering power instead but without void slash as it apperars with it instead of Follow Through I got only 1793 dmg applied.

I was wondering do I execute the combo between blink and wormhole correctly? I jump and immidiately apply spike and slash with AA being deliviered somwhere in between.

 

I would appriciate any feedback on the subject and cant wait for new reworked Zera and ur updated guide.

Cheers!

Hey, I just inherited the Zeratul guide from Kendric, whom inherited it himself from Srey. I'll get to updating it as soon as I have some feedback, but I also have something special planned for it, so it might take a bit more time. The current build we think is best for single-target assassination (what Zeratul does!) is this: http://www.heroesfire.com/hots/talent-calculator/zeratul#kzxw. The mobility is great, as is the burst. Master Warp Blade is great for PvE stuff, like Mercenaries, and quite amazing if you can land 3 attacks on any given target.

[Thorgal2226 9]

Thx for quick replay!

What about the new gathering power? My calculations shows that at 5 stacks u deal more burst damage than Rendind Cleave (Blink+Wormhole=1678 compared to 1666 on lvl 20) and on 6 stacks u deal more than Combo Slash (1716 to 1712). It also rewards you for playing safe and adds a little thrill on the gameplay :) And even if lost 5 stacks are not that difficult to regain (especially in QM where often u play without supports xD)

 

And another question is about Sentence to Death. It shows a lot more burst on paper (Combo Slash+Master Warp 1712 Combo+Sentence 2124).

The only flaw is it makes already difficult Zera even higher skill cap hero as u must hit ur Singularity Spike precise after Blink to make the most of it.

Its very satisfying though :)

Once again thanks for the feedback and I cant wait for the whole upgraded guide from you guys.

 

P.S.: also Sentence to Death works so well with Rewind makes u to be able to kill even very high HP heroes 1v1.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Thorgal2226

[Voltorocks 40]

On 11/16/2016 at 1:33 AM, Oxygen said:

The current build we think is best for single-target assassination (what Zeratul does!) is this: http://www.heroesfire.com/hots/talent-calculator/zeratul#kzxw

been playing a lot of zeratul since the rework (full disclosure, i'm a filthy casual in silver, as I'm playing primarily QM or unranked. I have a baby, ok?). I pretty much agree that this is the best build; I think there are a couple possible tweaks depending on personal prefences though:

- switching vorpal blade/wormhole for shadow hunter/slip into shadow OR just shadow hunter. Basically shadow hunter has been *great* to me so far; the quest is very easy to finish on most maps and once finished adds insane power to your blink.  Probably best paired with wormhole but imo the CD redution is so strong it even makes slip into shadow quite playable as well (moreso the less bursty their team comp is and the more AAs you can get in). vorpal blade is very strong early on before the quest is finished but afterwards the divide seems very wide to me between these two talents.

- shroud of adun is a viable alternative to mending strikes. Ultimately it's probably worse but it allows for crazy hit and run trading in a siege/poke situation, and during long teamfights can get you back in the game in many situations where you'd pretty much have to back. Definitely only choose it in team comps where your side is already crushing the neutral camps, and losing mending strikes is a big hit to your merc clearing ability.

- as someone else noted, sentenced to death (especially paired with seeker in the dark) is positively insane but it makes singularity spike absolutely must-hit (and leaves you without a lot of damage while it's on cooldown). against comps that rely on fragile, low mobility champs like kael'thas this build might be a good option as it allows you to delete easy to hit squishy targets almost instantly.

[Niteshadow 20]

1 hour ago, Voltorocks said:

been playing a lot of zeratul since the rework (full disclosure, i'm a filthy casual in silver, as I'm playing primarily QM or unranked. I have a baby, ok?). I pretty much agree that this is the best build; I think there are a couple possible tweaks depending on personal prefences though:

- switching vorpal blade/wormhole for shadow hunter/slip into shadow OR just shadow hunter. Basically shadow hunter has been *great* to me so far; the quest is very easy to finish on most maps and once finished adds insane power to your blink.  Probably best paired with wormhole but imo the CD redution is so strong it even makes slip into shadow quite playable as well (moreso the less bursty their team comp is and the more AAs you can get in). vorpal blade is very strong early on before the quest is finished but afterwards the divide seems very wide to me between these two talents.

- shroud of adun is a viable alternative to mending strikes. Ultimately it's probably worse but it allows for crazy hit and run trading in a siege/poke situation, and during long teamfights can get you back in the game in many situations where you'd pretty much have to back. Definitely only choose it in team comps where your side is already crushing the neutral camps, and losing mending strikes is a big hit to your merc clearing ability.

- as someone else noted, sentenced to death (especially paired with seeker in the dark) is positively insane but it makes singularity spike absolutely must-hit (and leaves you without a lot of damage while it's on cooldown). against comps that rely on fragile, low mobility champs like kael'thas this build might be a good option as it allows you to delete easy to hit squishy targets almost instantly.

Just curious, but I don't see most of these talents in the build. Does the guide need to be updated?

[Voltorocks 40]

Yes, if you read the last few comments you'll see we're discussing the recent rework to his talents.

 

Oxygen is the new author on this guide and he's posted a preliminary build above, presumably in advance of the full guide re-write

[Niteshadow 20]

Ah. Sorry about that!

[Thorgal2226 9]

Voltorocks thx for pointing some interesting talent joices. Im currently testing the Shadow Hunter/Shroud of Adun version and its fine to. 

 

P.S.: Im a "filthy casual" myself xD

Edited November 25, 2016 by Thorgal2226

[Oxygen 446]

On 11/23/2016 at 0:30 AM, Voltorocks said:

Yes, if you read the last few comments you'll see we're discussing the recent rework to his talents.

 

Oxygen is the new author on this guide and he's posted a preliminary build above, presumably in advance of the full guide re-write

Indeed. Sorry for the delay - I got in touch with Glaurung for input on the guide - the first time we contact an active pro player for actual review for our Heroes guides. So, it's taking a bit more time.

[Inmosam 0]

Please update this guide. I've been finding many of the guides very useful, but zeratul hasn't been updated yet.

[Niteshadow 20]

3 hours ago, Inmosam said:

Please update this guide. I've been finding many of the guides very useful, but zeratul hasn't been updated yet.

This has already been addressed in the comments above - hope the new guide helps!

[Thorgal2226 9]

12 hours ago, Inmosam said:

Please update this guide. I've been finding many of the guides very useful, but zeratul hasn't been updated yet.

 

Oxygen put a perfect single target assasination build somwhere above. After many hours I must say Its the best choice universaly and if u want to choose something asside from other important factors (like map ur on or heroes u play with and against) its perfect.

My opinions on the new talents (Im lvl 20 Zera qm player)

Tier 1

Spoiler

 

Greater Cleave - the weakest talent in the tier 33% radius isnt doing much pvp unless u want to dive int whole team in a tight spot. Sometimes useful when chasing opponents but just weaker than Vorpal Blade. I consider it on Braxis when we lack of AoE for clearing zerg waves

Vorpal Blade - my choice most of the time. Perfect for chasing and finishing of single fleeing targets. Alows to do a little overextend in the begining of the match when u lack wormhole and know in which lanes u have ur opponents (countless times i Vorpal myself from mid of the lane under the enemy towers to secure early kill and back with blink to safety). Even if u dont like the talent its a must have against Tracer. U kill her so easly u feel almost like a cheater :) 

Shadow Hunter - very interesting choice but not as strong as previous quest: Regeneration Master IMO. After completing it alows u to perform Blink-Wormhole combo 2 seconds earlier but without Singularity Spike as it has the longest cooldown. Very useful on smaller maps as u wont have so much opportunities to catch solitary targets and must rely only on Blink/Wormhole to do dmg.

 

 

 

Tier 2

Spoiler

 

Grim Task - very powerful talent and with only 10 kills to complete and benefit from it. As it comes to burst dmg it is being better than other choices in this tier after 5 or 6 stacks. The snowball effect is great but it have a major flaw: if u die near the end of the game u might not have time to gather stacks and are literaly without tier 2 talent. After lvl 20 u might die even if u didnt make a major mistake as every hero have their full set of toys now. Still a great choice against Vikings, Murky or Tracer if u take "kill Tracer button" on lvl 1 :)

Rending Cleave - changing this talent by lowering DoT and dmg didnt affect it much IMO. The DoT effect have one major flaw: it doesnt add anything to your burst dmg and its easy to be countered by healers. If u picked Greater Cleave for Braxis u should take it. I also take it 100% of the times when im playing QM and there are no healers. Instant 40% dmg on your easiest to hit ability is just insane.

Combo Slash - besides Blink/Wormhole thats probably the most defining ability for Zera. Amplifies the way he should be played. No matter how u execute Blink/Wormhole combo ur both basic attacks should be boosted by 40%. It is also the safest 40% boost that u can get from this tier talents.

 

Tier 3

Spoiler

 

Wormhole - the biggest reason I waited for this rework. The absolute musthave for being a imperceptible assasin. U attack from ur team backline to the enemy backline and back. What else to say? Its like Nova's snipe but with ur whole body as a bullet and without the "hit first thing on the path" bullshit. Perfectly done combo instantly kills Baleog, Olaf, Murky or Abathur in a single stroke. Other squishy assasins like Ming or Falstad are being struck by ~75% of their hp. U must be very carefull for any stuns or heroics like Gul'Dan's fear as it wont allow u to get back to safety. Also u shouldnt wait to execute it only for securing kills. U should blink in and out every time u have the opportunity to do so in a safe manner.

Slip Into the Shadow - this new toy Blizz gave to Zera is very interesting and can allow u to escape even if u got stunned after blink into fight but the cooldown of this makes u blink in and out safely almost 2 times rarer than with Wormhole. At lower lvls of play when opponents have problem to see you in stealth mode and u can more easly approach to target it gaves u some interesting plays. But even at mid lvls u wont be able to come closer without being noticed. It makes ur burst dmg being missed greatly by ur team. Also playing this risky will make u being killed more often (and I just LOVE to end my games with a clean sheet). it can ofcourse benefit from shadow hunter more than Blink/Wormhole 2 seconds, but if u start to inflict sustained dmg u will be focused and killed before blink can reactivate.

Seeker in the Dark - a terrible choice at this lvl. it have some synergy with Sentenced to Death but the "blink to target" effect is just in every way worse than Wormhole. If u again consider urself as a half protoss-half bullet with this choice u add the Nova's snipe "hit first target" effect. It makes u take more time to find a perfect spot from where to jump into fight. I am amazed how many Zeratuls I face that take this talent. As its for me it should be avoided. U can just play Nova instead :)

 

Tier 4

Spoiler

 

Shadow Assault - the heroics didnt change at all so u might go to see what current guide says about it. I will quote the most important thing that is already in the old guide: "To benefit from Shadow Assault, you must play extremely aggressively while it is active. This can be very risky and counterintuitive to how Zeratul should be played: as a mobile Assassin".

Void Prison - by far one of my favourite Zeratuls toys. It can be used in so many ways and add into almost every aspect of the game... Most of the time u use this to escape from trouble obviously, but u may also save ur team from being slauthered after bad team fight. Also u might use it offensively to grab a target after u used ur burst to wait for Cleave to reactivate and finish of target. Sometimes u can even grab supports like lili or Malf after they hit that "R" button of theirs. This leads to my favourite way to use it. In a middle of a fierce team fight u grab 2 or 3 opponents in void and burst the rest with the help of ur team. If unafected enemy heroes fail to jump into void by themself (which they should do u ASAP) basicaly u won the fight for ur team by urself xD One thing is also worth mention: Void stops structures to do or take dmg so u might use it to escape from those deadly shots after u killed Abathur but failed to run to safety. Yesterday on Garden Terror I manage to freeze our Core at 2% while it was being attacked by enemy terror while my teammates raced down opponent Core and won us the race!

 

Tier 5

Spoiler

 

Shroud of Adun - this is probably the best talent in the whole rework that i never use xD This is great if u dive alot and alows u to gain that 15% health between blinks. Very well adds to your survivability. The reason why I never take it is:

Mending Strikes - my 100% choice for the tier. It alows u to take every mercenary camps except Bosses by urself. Takes advantage from ur high basic attack dmg and the main reason they removed seasoned marksman from Zera I think. Makes up the gap from Regeneation Master being gone. Means a more uptime for Zera as he can heal on minions and help u directly to defeat opponents on 1v1 solo fights.

Spell Shield - as it is unchanged I will help myslef with another quote from the old quide here on Icy-Veins: "the problem with it is that it will usually activate on abilities that deal an insignificant amount of damage, such as Entangling Roots orChain Lightning, and not be available for high damaging abilities."

 

 

Tier 6

Spoiler

 

Master Warp Blade - another great talent that contributes perfectly to the way u should be playing Zera. My main problem with it is that it doesnt add to your Blink/Wormhole combo. U just cant fit the third AA in that 2 second time u got. But it has so much synergy with Mending Strikes u just cant ignore. It helps u clear camps faster and a few times it will save ur ass if u find urslef overxtended and are not able to runaway. I was once able to kill three weakened opponents that was trying to finish of boss before was struck down by that Omega Smash of his. FeelsGoodMan

Void Slash - interesting at first but avoided at all times. To benefit from it u should focus on hitting multiple heroes instead of that lonely Chromie in the back. The only thing it is useful to is against Samuro and his clones but even if u burst him a bit he will most likely escape anyway so he isnt your primary target to strike anyways.

Sentenced to Death - very intresting talent that puts a high skill cap Zera even harder to play. Gives great burst boost if ur able to land that Spike and nothing if u failed to do so. I take it from time to time when I want to test my survivabilty (along with Grim Task). Also it is the reason that ppl used to take Seeker in the Dark instead of Wormhole but again: if u failed to hit the desired target u waste 2 of your talents (gj minions! xD) Perfect talent for gamblers and "kill moars"

 

 

 

Tier 7

Spoiler

 

Nerazim Fury - terrible talent. The healing effect isnt strong enough even with Mending Strikes being chosen. I would not take this even if I misclicked an choose Shadow Assault instead of Void Prison.

Gift of the Xel'Naga - Blizz realy tried to make competiion to the choice u have in lvl 20 in this but... failed. The slow effect would be interesting but if u consider the uses of Void Prison i mention u see that u benefit from the immediate effect of ur ult alredy. The slow effect is usless. So is the non affection for your teammates if u hit the Void correctly. If not? well at least u tried Kappa

Nexus Blades - another talent that needs a little too much from u to really take its effect. The 20%dmg and slow is great to finish of targets but u have the means to do it already. No reason to amplify it. As a melee assasin u dont do that much AA in tf's without being targetted so no reason to take it.

Rewind - what can contribute more at lvl 20 to your gameplan than complete refresh of your lengty cooldowns? It gives more dmg in form of another Singularity Spike and Cleave than Nexus Blades. However it isnt the most important thing IMO. After lvl 20 where all heroes have there full power and the respawn times are 50 seconds and more it is mandatory for u to not die. When a single death can cost u the game u should consider this being kept active for rewind ur Blink if ur out of Void Prison. I think if they remove this talent and put Bolt of the Storm instead I would take it over other 3 choices that are here aswell.

 

 

Uff... I made it to the end and I hope at least one of U will :)

I must make two things clear: Im no pro and this is only my thoughts of the new talents my favourite hero has after the rework.

Sry for my not perfect english as it is my second language.

Feel free to drop a thing or two if u disagree with my choices and explanations but beware: if ur right and I learn to play better I might meet u in QM and turn this against U!

Love ya all!

Thorgal.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Thorgal2226

[Guest ZeroZ95]

Strong work, Thorgal!

[Voltorocks 40]

On 11/30/2016 at 5:39 AM, Thorgal2226 said:

Shroud of Adun - this is probably the best talent in the whole rework that i never use xD

playing more and more and taking shroud of adun more and more often; it's kind of insane how much value you can get out of this when you're skirmishing a lot (which wormhole zera tends to do _a lot_).

The *only* caveats are 1) if your team comp has only 1 or fewer solo merc heroes, or 2) has no support/unreliable heals then you *must* go mending. otherwise, I'm beginning to think this is the strongest choice for hero-on-hero combat.

 

shadow hunter is bonkers anytime you're on a map that doesn't have to be decided by 5v5 deathball. in 1v1 and 2v2 situations it is *often* advantageous to stay in combat (rather than wormholing) and get those master warp blade hits in, *then* blink away to reposition or disengage. also there are tons of situation in lane, around mercs, near enemy buildings, you name it, where you can aa right after wormholing and be ready to go again in just a couple of seconds. 

[Guest Ultrajante]

Can someone please update this page? I've been wanting to play zeratul for quite some time since my main Zagara freaking dies just by the thought of him. And since this week's he's on hero rotation, I thought I'd give him a try, but I wish I could do that with the help of this guide which seems useless since the latest patch completely reworked him I heard. Please someone update him? Thank you

[Damien 1,514]

6 hours ago, Guest Ultrajante said:

Can someone please update this page? I've been wanting to play zeratul for quite some time since my main Zagara freaking dies just by the thought of him. And since this week's he's on hero rotation, I thought I'd give him a try, but I wish I could do that with the help of this guide which seems useless since the latest patch completely reworked him I heard. Please someone update him? Thank you

Oxy's update with the new guide format just came in :p I need to review it before it shows on the site.

[Thorgal2226 9]

Its great to see the updated guide, but I have one issue with it.

Quote

Your basic combo consists of  Blink, Basic Attack (to use  Combo Slash),  Singularity Spike (for the Movement Speed reduction), Basic Attack,  Cleave, Basic Attack, Blink back (through  Wormhole),

 

Im pretty sure U cant fit 3 Basic Attacks between 2 seconds u got with Wormhole. I tested it in the shop try mode where u can even slower the game by a large amount. Its the third basic attack or getting back with wormhole. U cant do both.

[Guest EDGE]

On 3.12.2016 at 9:44 AM, Thorgal2226 said:

Its great to see the updated guide, but I have one issue with it.

 

Im pretty sure U cant fit 3 Basic Attacks between 2 seconds u got with Wormhole. I tested it in the shop try mode where u can even slower the game by a large amount. Its the third basic attack or getting back with wormhole. U cant do both.

 

Absolutely! That's why "Sentenced to Death" is the better option with this burst rotation.
 

[Oxygen 446]

On 12/3/2016 at 3:44 AM, Thorgal2226 said:

Its great to see the updated guide, but I have one issue with it.

 

Im pretty sure U cant fit 3 Basic Attacks between 2 seconds u got with Wormhole. I tested it in the shop try mode where u can even slower the game by a large amount. Its the third basic attack or getting back with wormhole. U cant do both.

I came to the same conclusion, albeit too late. It used to be able to fit in 3, I swear!

[Guest Farbas]

I suggest to add to Gift of the Xel'Naga  description that it prevents from using the skill defensively on structures, I saved our core once with the ult and this is impossible if we take this talent.

[Valks 2,375]

On 2/5/2017 at 5:22 PM, Guest Farbas said:

I suggest to add to Gift of the Xel'Naga  description that it prevents from using the skill defensively on structures, I saved our core once with the ult and this is impossible if we take this talent.

I'll see if we can get a note added - the talent is pretty much useless and never taken anyway.

[Farbas 5]

The combo explaination on page 1 assumes we took Wormhole at lvl7 but the build itself recommends to take Seeker in the Dark