Hanzo Talents

Level	Choices
1	? ✓ ?
4	✓ ? ?
7	? ✓ ?
10	? ✓
13	✓ ? ?
16	? ? ✓
20	? ? ✓ ?

Target Practice is a great Talent that enhances Storm Bow's range and damage. Achieving the first quest reward is extremely easy against most team compositions, and will enable you to poke from great distances. While completing this quest will usually be a simple task, certain enemy Heroes can make this quest difficult (or even impossible) to complete. If the enemy team has Abathur, this Talent is not recommended.

Simple Geometry's quest reward will cause Scatter Arrow to create additional projectiles. This makes it a key Talent to take for a Scatter Arrow build, but also makes it nearly useless for other builds. It can be difficult to complete in the early game on battlegrounds with wide lanes, as enemy Heroes will be far away from any terrain features during the laning phase.

Redemption significantly increases Hanzo's otherwise sluggish attack speed once stacked, bringing him more in line with other Heroes. This Talent is essential if you plan to build around Basic Attacks.

Explosive Arrows dramatically improves Hanzo's waveclear. This Talent can cause Hero damage during confrontations that take place near Minions or Monsters, which can be very good in teamfights that take place in lanes.

Serrated Arrows is not very good after the nerfs to the Level 7 Talent, Never Outmatched. It used to enable Hanzo to solo-capture Mercenaries very quickly, but this is no longer the case. The waveclear provided by this Talent is outshined by Explosive Arrows, even if no other Talents are invested into Storm Bow. However, in Battlefield of Eternity or Hanamura Temple, it is still a good option, since it will deal more damage to Sentinels and Immortals.

Ignore All Distractions will help you waveclear with a Basic Attack build. It also increases your Basic Attack range for a short duration after killing a Minion, which will help you harass enemy Heroes in or around lanes.

There is not much to say in this tier. Each Talent will be good for the corresponding build: The Dragon Hungers with a Storm Bow build, Never Outmatched with Scatter Arrow, and Sharpened Arrowheads for a Basic Attack build.

The Dragon Hungers can be useful with the Storm Bow build, where you will constantly poke with Storm Bow from great distances.

Never Outmatched is an important part of the Scatter Arrow build. This Talent reduces the mana cost of Scatter Arrow, and reduces its cooldown each time you Basic Attack an enemy Hero. If you are a very experienced Hanzo player, this Talent can be picked in Basic Attack build, since it will deal more damage than Sharpened Arrowheads as long as you keep using Scatter Arrow when available.

Sharpened Arrowheads applies an armor debuff to enemy Heroes each time they are hit by your Basic Attacks or Storm Bow arrows. Enemies with negative armor values will take increased damage from all sources. With this Talent, it is important to not change focus between heroes for long, since it will reset your stacks and remove the armor reduction from them. Make sure to always hit the enemy at least once every 3 to reapply the debuff

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.

Dragonstrike is Hanzo's iconic Ability from Overwatch, and performs as one would expect. Due to the channel time, audio cues, and slow travel speed, this Ability is easy for enemies to avoid if they are not trapped or crowd-controlled. Additionally, the center area that deals more meaningful damage is very thin. Dragonstrike does not damage non-Heroic units or structures; it can only damage enemy Heroes. This Ability is strong on maps that have objectives that spawn in tight corridors, such as the tributes on Cursed Hollow. Keep in mind the dragons do not spawn directly from Hanzo, and will not hit Heroes who are within close range of him.

Dragon's Arrow is a linear skillshot that travels globally across the map, dealing damage and stunning in an area of effect upon impact. The damage and stun duration increase as Dragon's Arrow travels past distance intervals, which are demarcated while aiming the Ability. At maximum distance Dragon's Arrow will be at its strongest, but you will not be in range to follow up with your other Abilities (unless you have Play of the Game). Dragon's Arrow is usually going to be the correct Heroic to take. It is easier to hit enemies with it, does not need to be channeled, and can be used both as follow up Heroic or as an engage tool.

Fleet of Foot helps Hanzo kite enemies while repeatedly casting Storm Bow. This is particularly effective with the Storm Bow build, as you can chase or retreat from enemies at long range, but can be picked with any Build.

Ninja Assassin allows you to greatly reduce the Cooldown on your escape, Natural Agility. It is a good option if you are against enemy Heroes who will dive you, because it will increase the likelihood that Natural Agility is available when you need it.

Mounted Archery immediately mounts Hanzo once Natural Agility concludes, and grants bonus mounted Movement Speed for a short duration. This Talent greatly improves Hanzo's rotation speed across all battlefields, and is always an acceptable choice.

Flawless Technique greatly increases Hanzo's single target damage potential. Fleet of Foot works very well with Flawless Technique, because the increased Move Speed will help you deliver Basic Attacks after each hit from Storm Bow. This Talent has great synergy with Sharpened Arrowheads, because they both promote the delivery of Basic Attacks between Storm Bow casts.

Piercing Arrows allows you to hit enemy Heroes with optimal splits of Scatter Arrow much more easily, as the initial Scatter Arrow projectile will pass through the first enemy Hero it comes in contact with. This Talent also affects the arrows caused by Scatter Arrow's split, meaning that the split will continue to ricochet after raking your initial target. Piercing Arrows also allows Explosive Arrows to explode twice, greatly increasing waveclear and team fight damage.

Giant Slayer is a nice addition to a Basic Attack build, because it increases Basic Attack damage dealt to enemy Heroes based on their maximum Health. It is a good substitute for Flawless Technique in situations where Storm Bow arrows may be blocked by enemy Tanks. It is also good when paired with Simple Geometry, as it increases Scatter Arrow's damage, which threatens enemy Heroes who are near terrain features.

The Dragon Awakens can be very powerful if you are using the Scatter Arrow build. This build makes it possible to reset the cooldown of Dragonstrike very quickly.

Play of the Game allows Hanzo to travel to any point on the map, by teleporting to Dragon's Arrow's location. This should usually be used to join a team fight, as teleporting to the arrow after it impacts will cause you to fire additional arrows when you arrive. Using Play of the Game this way also allows Hanzo to split off from the main group until he is needed.

Bullseye is the default level 20 option for Hanzo, since it basically increases the stun duration of Dragon's Arrow by 1 second, and can also be used to cancel a channeled Ability from afar, or to follow up an engage. Try to always use Sonic Arrow on the target you stunned with your Heroic Ability, prolonging the stun duration.

Perfect Agility is very useful if you need additional escape during the late game.