Illidan Talents

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

Immolation provides Illidan with a steady source of area of effect damage, something that his base kit sorely lacks. Immolation helps at all stages of the game, be it with waveclearing, claiming Mercenary Camps, or simply dealing more damage whenever Sweeping Strike is used—which is always.

Battered Assault has the potential of greatly increasing Illidan's team fight damage. However, you do need to ensure that Sweeping Strike meets its condition of hitting at least two Heroes whenever it is used. Battered Assault is typically picked on Maps that do not feature many Mercenary Camps, as the value of the Immolation alternative Talent diminishes in this case.

Unending Hatred provides the largest, most reliable damage increase in this Tier, albeit much later into the game. With one of the highest Attack Speeds in the game, Unending Hatred will increase your Basic Attack damage by 40 on completion, which translate to 35% extra damage at Level 10. The downside of Unending Hatred is that it requires time to stack and become impactful. Unending Hatred is recommended on Maps where you do not need to fight during the early game, such as Sky Temple or Cursed Hollow. It is also excellent on Maps where Illidan needs to double soak, like in Towers of Doom or Garden of Terror.

Reflexive Block is a powerful choice against teams that feature at least two Heroes with powerful Basic Attacks, such as Cho'gall, Greymane, Leoric, Ragnaros, Raynor, Sgt. Hammer, Stukov, The Butcher, Thrall, Varian, Zeratul, or Zul'jin. Otherwise, the other 2 options will generate more value in the form of self sustain.

Thirsting Blade fulfils the same purpose as Hunter's Onslaught. Its effectiveness depends just on how much you are able to freely deliver Basic Attacks. If the opposing team features several sources of Blind or crowd control, Hunter's Onslaught may end up being more reliable.

Hunter's Onslaught will be decent in every scenario, because it greatly enhances your self-sustain in lane, and its value cannot be reduced by blinds or fast Basic Attackers. It is the alternative to when there are either not many Basic Attack-reliant Heroes on the opposing team, or in the presence of Tracer or Tychus, both of which quickly chew through and waste Block charges.

Although Rapid Chase provides reliable Movement Speed increase and cooldown Reduction on Dive, the Friend or Foe alternative is much more versatile with its range increase and ability to jump to allied Heroes.

Friend or Foe provides Illidan with more mobility. The range increase is useful for chasing, whereas the option to jump to an ally is invaluable to keep yourself alive or avoid dangerous area of effect Abilities. With this Talent, Illidan becomes a much safer Hero, because you can easily use Dive from a large distance, Sweeping Strike towards your desired target, and Dive again towards an ally to disengage as soon as enemies starts to focus you.

Unbound adds a new dimension to the way Illidan can be played by allowing you to quickly move through both impassable terrain and thin Structures like Gates and Walls, making you much more nimble and difficult to catch. Its additional charge will be incredibly strong against teams based on Basic Attacks, because Illidan will be able to constantly reset Evasion through Elusive Strike. The only issue with this Talent, however, is how Illidan needs to risk himself to complete the Quest. In the end, the range provided Friend or Foe generally ends up being more useful.

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.

Metamorphosis is the source of much of Illidan's team fighting power, and is generally picked as a means of crushing team compositions that are ill-equipped to counter Illidan. In the presence of one or more of Illidan's "enablers" as allied Heroes, and in the absence of Illidan's counters, Metamorphosis opens up the possibility for team fighting-centric strategies that simply focus on fighting as often as Metamorphosis is available. Refer to this guide's Counters section for more information about Illidan's counters.

The Hunt allows you to create Map pressure through split pushing and ganking. It may also be used as a key Ability in burst compositions, although using it as a means of initiating is ill-advised. The Hunt is typically used on larger Maps such as Garden of Terror and Warhead Junction or as a counter to other Heroes with global movement Abilities such as Brightwing, Dehaka, or Falstad.

Nimble Defender provides a dependable damage reduction when fighting enemy Heroes, reducing all damage that taken by 25% with an approximate 50% uptime (via the Cooldown reduction provided by Betrayer's Thirst). It is, however, less specialized than its counterparts, and should only be picked if no value is to be gained from them.

Elusive Strike has niche use against team compositions that feature three or more Heroes with potent Basic Attacks, including, but not limited to, Cho'gall, Greymane, Leoric, Ragnaros, Raynor, Sgt. Hammer, Stukov, The Butcher, Thrall, Tracer, Tychus, Varian, Zeratul, and Zul'jin. The cooldown reduction provided by this Talent, compounded with that provided by Betrayer's Thirst, will cause Evasion to be available much more often than it normally would.

Sixth Sense reduces Ability damage taken for the next 2 instances of Ability damage taken. This unfortunately includes any damage dealt by Abilities, as minute as it may be, such as ticks from Stitches's Shambling Horror or Dehaka's Dark Swarm. This makes it very difficult to reduce the damage of Abilities that are actually dangerous, such as Nova's Precision Strike. Sixth Sense still has a place place against caster-heavy team compositions, such as those that might feature Chromie, Jaina, Kael'thas, Kel'thuzad or Nova.

Marked for Death provides Illidan with an alternative way of dealing damage that is no longer tied to his Basic Attacks. This is particularly useful against Heroes that are able kite to reduce your uptime, or otherwise have access to Blind or other forms of crowd control. Marked for Death also turns Dive into a sustain damage increase against Structures and Mercenary Camps. It should be noted that this Talent also makes Illidan particularly strong at destroying Cores. Its important to note that the extra damage added to Dive is counted for Hunter's Onslaught.

Fiery Brand is Illidan's specific version of Giant Killer. Although it requires 3 consecutive Basic Attacks to trigger, Illidan's very fast Attack Speed, and the fact that Fiery Brand deals a hefty 7% of the target's Health as pure damage makes the Talent a reasonable choice against team compositions that feature healthy or Armored Heroes such as Deathwing, Cho or two or more Tanks or Bruisers. A downside in Fiery Brand is that it, differently from the other 2 options, does not increase your self-sustain at all.

Due to how Damage calculations are made, Blades of Azzinoth benefits much more from Unending Hatred than from Battered Assault and is an excellent pick if you got the former. However, if the opposing team does not feature many blinds, this Talent can be good with Battered Assault as well.

Demonic Form provides Illidan with everything he needs. The Attack Speed increase synergises nicely with Betrayer's Thirst, as more Basic Attacks provide more cooldown reduction, which translates into more survivability. The crowd control reduction also indirectly improves his survivability and general uptime.

Nowhere to Hide is a good option to get on extremely large Maps, like Alterac Pass or Warhead Junction. It allows you to constantly threaten Core, while also being able to take part in the teamfight, which is extremely useful in the lategame.

Nexus Blades provides less damage and utility than Demonic Form. Although 20% increased Basic Attack damage and 20% increased Attack Speed may appear as equivalent at a glance, one must remember that Attack Speed also provides Illidan with cooldown reduction through Betrayer's Thirst. The Slowing effect of Nexus Blades is also less than useful to a Hero with infinite chasing potential.

Bolt of the Storm is a powerful Talent for any Hero. Illidan's mobility, however, is high enough to justify picking another Talent. Bolt of the Storm still finds niche use for The Hunt users, as they generally need the added survivability that would otherwise be provided by Metamorphosis.