Kerrigan Talents
Welcome to our Talents page for Kerrigan. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of Kerrigan's talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.
Kerrigan's Talent Build
Level | Choices |
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1 |
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4 |
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7 |
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10 |
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13 |
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16 |
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20 |
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Kerrigan's Talent Build Cheatsheet
Ravage Build
RecommendedKerrigan's Ravage Build is excellent if you are able to stack Sharpened Blades.
While
Siphoning Impact
allows Kerrigan to stack up a rather large
Assimilation
Shield very quicky with her additional charges of Ravage, The splash damage component
of
Fury of the Swarm will allow
for viable waveclear when Kerrigan finds herself alone,
especially during the early game.
Both Heroic Abilities are good, and should be picked based on personal
preference. While Summon Ultralisk will be a good
setup or follow up for your combo,
Maelstrom adds more area of effect
damage and self-sustain through
Assimilation.
Chrysalis is a good choice against burst and
crowd control, while
Volatile Power
gives you better survivability during team fights.
Combo Build
SituationalPrimal Grasp Build
SituationalPrimal Grasp Build consists in constantly having stacked spell armor
through Psionic Barrier and
Psionic Pulse.
It should be the choice when facing mages and other heroes reliant on
spell damage, since it might reduce those by 75%,
and give you the much necessary survivability against them.
Boundless Fury is essential for this build. Kerrigan wants
to proc
Primal Grasp's explosion
in multiple targets, and the added mobility from the talent will be necessary.
Even though
Queen of Blades has good synergy with the Primal Grasp Build,
we do not recommend it. It is much less reliable than Boundless Fury, considering
you need to use your combo after using Ravage once or twice, while with
Boundless Fury, you are able to combo at anytime without losing
mobility.
Level 1 Talents for Kerrigan
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Hitting an enemy Hero with Ravage grants 100 (+4% per level) points of Assimilation Shields.
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Regeneration Globe healing grants 50 (+4% per level) points of Assimilation Shields per second while active. While Assimilation is active, Kerrigan's Health and Mana regeneration is increased by 150%.
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Gain 10% more Assimilation Shields from Basic Attacks. After casting Ravage, Kerrigan's next Basic Attack within 3 seconds splashes for 100% damage around the target.
Discussion
Siphoning Impact can be a good Talent choice on Maps
where fights happen far from the wave, and there is not much waveclear
involved, such as Battlefield of Eternity, Hanamura Temple,
Alterac Pass and Cursed Hollow.
This Talent works particularly well when combined with
Boundless Fury as
the extra charges of Ravage can be used to generate more Assimilation Shield.
It is important to note that this Shield is increased by the extra Spell Power provided
by
Unbridled Energy.
Assimilation Mastery provides Kerrigan a solid amount of Shield
via
Assimilation anytime she is under the effects of a
Regeneration Globe. She is also granted bonus Health and Mana Regeneration as long as
Assimilation is active. This Talent brings no additional
damage to Kerrigan's kit, and not enough self-sustain in fights when compared with
Siphoning Impact. Therefore, we do not recommend
Assimilation Mastery.
Fury of the Swarm is a great source of
Assimilation Shielding
alongside the newfound splash damage on Kerrigan's basic attacks after casting
Ravage. The splash damage is phenomenal for clearing Minion waves,
especially during the early game when Kerrigan will be roaming from lane to lane looking for an opportunity to
gank. The splash damage also helps to quickly stack up
additional burst damage
for
Kinetic Fulmination.
Level 4 Talents for Kerrigan
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Quest: Minions and Heroes that die within 1.5 seconds of being hit by Ravage increase its damage up to a maximum of 75.
Minions grant 1 increased damage and Heroes grant 5 increased damage.
Reward: After reaching a 75 damage increase, Ravage gains 50 additional damage.
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Damaging an enemy increases the damage of Kerrigan's next Impaling Blades within 10 seconds by 10%, up to 100%.
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Primal Grasp explodes a second time 2 seconds after its first explosion.
Discussion
Sharpened Blades solely increases the damage of
Ravage through a Quest mechanic that relies on farming kills
on enemy Minions and Heroes. The quest can take some time to complete, as Kerrigan
will need to kill 75 Minions within 1.5 Seconds of being hit by Ravage (without
taking into account any Heroes that Kerrigan may be able to pick off). When utilizing the
Ravage Build, it is very important for Kerrigan to try and finish this quest as quickly
as possible as it will provide a nice spike in damage once completed. However, finishing
the quest should never take priority over assisting your allies in fighting over
Objectives and pushing or depushing.
When fully stacked, Kinetic Fulmination causes
Impaling Blades
to deal a massive amount of burst damage. One of the fastest ways to stack up applications of
Kinetic Fulmination is by pairing this Talent with
Fury of the Swarm at Level 1.
Kerrigan can gather applications off of Minion waves very easily before heading into a skirmish or teamfight
to quickly burst down a Hero. Kerrigan can keep
up her applications of Kinetic Fulmination when traveling between lanes by Basic Attacking Mercenary Camps or
enemy Structures such as left over Walls.
Psionic Pulse is the core element behind a successful
Primal Grasp Build. It can deal an amazing amount of
area of effect damage upon initiation and after sticking to an enemy
Hero. Keep in mind it takes 4.5 Seconds for Psionic Pulse's damage to be fully applied (assuming
Kerrigan is not immediately peeled away from her target) therefore it is important to utilize the
multiple charges of
Ravage to stay on top of her target(s).
Level 7 Talents for Kerrigan
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Reduce the cooldown of Ravage by 3 seconds and increase its damage to Minions and Mercenaries by 100%.
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Hitting an enemy Hero with Ravage grants a charge of Ravage. Can only occur once every 10 seconds per Hero.
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Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes reduce the cooldown of Kerrigan's Basic Abilities by 0.6 seconds.
Discussion
Queen of Blades adds a good amount of extra damage against Minions
and Mercenaries, which speeds up
Sharpened Blades's completion.
However, the cooldown Reduction part of the Talent cannot compete with
Boundless Fury's extra
Ravage's
charges, being overshadowed by it.
Boundless Fury grants Kerrigan
an additional charge of
Ravage
after striking an enemy Hero with Ravage. This Talent is great for Kerrigan's mobility, and allows her to
more reliably navigate her way through cluttered team-fights and across longer distances. It is
important to note that the "Cooldown" of Boundless Fury is separate from that of the recharges for Ravage.
This means that upon Kerrigan's first use of Ravage,
her Ravage's charge cooldown will not begin.
Kerrigan should therefore use
her first two casts of Ravage consecutively if her goal is to put out as much damage as possible without
consideration of Ravage's potential for strategic mobility.
Bladed Momentum significantly reduces the cooldowns
of Kerrigan's Basic Abilities as she strikes enemy targets with her Basic Attacks. This
is a good Talent, as Kerrigan's primary strength lies in her ability
to perform a devastating combo of
Ravage,
Primal Grasp, and
Impaling Blades
to deal massive amounts of damage to an isolated target. Unfortunately, it competes
with
Boundless Fury, which will be the better choice in most
games. Mostly for the disparity between Boundless Fury and the other Talents of this tier,
we do not recommend Bladed Momentum.
Level 10 Talents for Kerrigan
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- Mana: 80
- Cooldown: 90 seconds
Deals 74 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies. Lasts for 7 seconds.
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- Mana: 75
- Cooldown: 80 seconds
After 0.5 seconds, summon an Ultralisk that rushes forward upon spawning, dealing 250 (+4% per level) damage to the first enemy Hero hit and Stunning them for 0.5 seconds.
The Ultralisk's Basic Attacks deal 50% of their damage in an area around their target. Reactivate to retarget the Ultralisk.
Discussion
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.
Maelstrom deals plenty of
area of effect damage although its primary purpose should
be to generate Shields from
Assimilation. The damage
per second element of Maelstrom is very slow, and does not seem to fit too
well with Kerrigan's high burst kit. Kerrigan's main objective is to dive the
enemy backline. This strategy usually results in Kerrigan
becoming a primary target of focus for the enemy team. The additional Shield
generated by Maelstrom via Assimilation is integral to Kerrigan's survival.
Try to keep in mind that Maelstrom's main purpose is not to deal team wide
damage, and players should not sacrifice single target focus to try and
position themselves within multiple enemies, unless the situation allows for
it.
Summon Ultralisk is great for harassing one or a couple of
enemy Heroes and zoning them away from teamfights or Objectives.
The Ultralisk's heightened Movement Speed will ensure that it will be able to
damage most enemies trying to kite or flee from it. The charge and Stun component of
the Ultralisk when summoned allows Kerrigan to lockdown a target who may be otherwise
outside of the range of her initiation via
Ravage. Summon
Ultralisk tends to be the better Heroic Ability option when Kerrigan is fighting
in more open Maps that do not consist of as many narrow choke points.
Ultralisk is also the ideal choice when Kerrigan finds herself in more 1-on-1
situations as the Stun and burst damage will more often than not outperform
the area of effect damage of Maelstrom.
Level 13 Talents for Kerrigan
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Each enemy Hero hit by Primal Grasp grants 20 Spell Armor and 4% Movement Speed for 4 seconds, stacking up to 20% Movement Speed.
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Increase the amount of Assimilation Shields granted from damage dealt by 10%, but reduce duration of Assimilation by 3 seconds.
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- Cooldown: 0.5 seconds
Activate to place Kerrigan in a Chrysalis with 750 (+4% per level) Health for 5 seconds. While inside, Kerrigan regenerates 5% of her maximum Health per second.
Enemies can destroy the Chrysalis to end its effects early.
Discussion
Psionic Barrier is a situational Talent that will sometimes
find use against Spell Power heavy team compositions that rely on coordinated focus-fire
to take down a Hero. Assuming Kerrigan is not able to land her Primal Grasp on
multiple targets, the Talent does take time to ramp up needing to be refreshed by each
application of Primal Grasp damage. This Spell Armor definitely runs risk of falling off
and resetting completely should Kerrigan be unable to stick to her desired targets. It is only
useful with
Psionic Pulse,
because it will have a much higher duration and Armor.
Volatile Power is a go-to defensive Talent for Kerrigan
that will significantly increase her ability to stay alive during encounters through
an increase in
Assimilation Shield. The one trade off is that
Kerrigan's Shield will now expire 50% faster, lasting only 3 Seconds. Volatile Power also
performs very well with any one of Kerrigan's Level 1 Talents and will help to mitigate
all sources of damage unlike
Psionic Barrier.
Chrysalis is a great option when Kerrigan is against
heavy burst damage, since it will mitigate some of that, allowing
her to survive and come back to the fight with higher Health.
Level 16 Talents for Kerrigan
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Ravage grants 5% Spell Power for 5 seconds, up to 40%.
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Enemies hit by Impaling Blades take an additional 70 (+4% per level) damage the next 6 times Kerrigan damages them within 5 seconds.
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Damaging a Hero with a Heroic Ability grants 35% Spell Power for 4 seconds.
Discussion
Mounting Potency takes a lot
of time to ramp-up within a teamfight, and can easily fall off when not careful.
This Talent is completely overshadowed by
Unbridled Energy,
because it would only be better in fights where your Heroic Ability is on cooldown
and it will be better to not fight in this scenario.
Painful Spikes will oftentimes be the
Level 16 Talent of choice as it is the most reliable and consistent source
of bonus
damage. Kerrigan is easily able to utilize all 6 applications of Painful Spikes
on an enemy target as it is triggered by any source of damage, including her Heroic
Abilities
Maelstrom and
Summon Ultralisk.
Unbridled Energy is a good choice when paired with
Sharpened Blades, since it will greatly improve
Kerrigan's
Ravage, which is the main damage tool for
that build.
Level 20 Talents for Kerrigan
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Maelstrom's duration is increased by 0.25 seconds every time it damages a Hero.
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Increase the Health and Basic Attack damage of the Ultralisk by 20%. The Ultralisk morphs into an egg when it dies. If the egg isn't killed within 4 seconds, a new Ultralisk is born.
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Damaging an enemy increases Basic Attack damage by 2% for 5 seconds, up to 40%.
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- Cooldown: 70 seconds
Activate to teleport to a nearby location, dealing 50 (+4% per level) damage to nearby enemies. Generates 300% increased Assimilation Shields from the damage dealt.
Discussion
Omegastorm is not a good choice here, firstly, because
it competes with Psionic Shift, and it will only be a valuable Talent in long teamfights.
As Kerrigan, you cannot be in the middle of enemy team after using your combo,
sometimes even the increased duration might not be transformed into damage, since you
will have to retreat sooner.
Torrasque can be a decent option in less coordinated
scenarios, such as Quick match or Silver and Bronze Storm League, since enemies will
have a hard time bursting Ultralisk, giving this Talent much value.
The cooldown timer of
Summon Ultralisk will continue to run regardless
of how long the Ultralisk stays alive.
Assimilation Blades's damage bonus may prove useful, but takes a very
long time to effectively ramp-up and the Talent is overall much less game-changing than
what is provided in utility and versatility of
Psionic Shift.
However, it can be a good choice for long fights, as Psionic Shift will only be used once,
while
Assimilation Blades will be constantly up.
Psionic Shift is by far one of the best Talents
in Kerrigan's entire kit, as it has a multitude of uses. The versatility provided
by Psionic Shift makes it almost mandatory for Kerrigan. Most often Psionic Shift
will be used for survival, primarily to escape the fray once
Kerrigan has collapsed on and killed an enemy Hero. Since Psionic Shift's Shield is
activated by each enemy hit, including Minions, Structures, Mercenaries, and Monsters, it can
be used towards a Minion wave to get 55% of your maximum Health in the form of Shields.
Should Kerrigan be caught within crowd control,
Psionic Shift can be used for an otherwise impossible escape. In a game
where good positioning is key, Psionic Shift should rarely be overlooked.
Changelog
- 26 Mar. 2021: Updated Talent recommendations.
- 08 Oct. 2020: Builds and Talents updated after recent balance patch.
- 09 Apr. 2020: Builds and Talent changes to better reflect current meta.
- 01 Oct. 2018: Full page updated to reflect changes made in the recent balance patch.
- 01 Sep. 2017: Level 1 Talent Energizing Grasp and Level 7 Talent Adaption have been removed in accordance to the Aug. 31 Balance update.
- 13 Jun. 2017: Level 20 Talent Bolt-of-the-Storm replaced with Psionic Shift. Discussion and builds updated accordingly.
- 04 Nov. 2016: Kerrigan rework with new guide format.
More Melee Assassin Guides
Derenash has been playing Heroes of the Storm since 2015 and has achieved Grandmaster in multiple seasons, peaking at Top 1 in Season 3 and 4 of 2018. He participated in the HGC Copa America in 2018 where his team had a strong victory. He is passionate about teaching others about the game, and streams often on Twitch in Portuguese, and you can find him in Wind Striders' Discord as well where he is happy to answer any questions in English or Portuguese.
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