Sylvanas Abilities and Strategy

• Before completing Black Arrows's quest, Withering Fire and Shadow Dagger should be mostly used after infecting enemies with Black Arrows 3 times to quickly stack it.
• Without Festering Wounds, Haunting Wave should almost exclusively be used only for its mobility, as it deals minimal damage.
• Hold on to Wailing Arrow until you can hit many opponents or for when you need to prevent a Hero from saving another.
• If the opposing team has no good peeling tools, you can use Mind Control even on the enemy frontline to kill them.
• When Mind Control is combined with Remorseless, use it to quickly apply maximum Black Arrows stacks to your target, as the following attacks will spread the effect to nearby Heroes, making the fight much easier.
• Haunting Arrows allows you to push down Structures without Minions; exploit this especially with allies and vehicles.
• Possession can be used to quickly kill the Mage Minion to get its Regeneration Globe, just make sure it is safe to collect it.
• Possession can be used on Catapult Minions at the cost of 3 stacks. However, it should only be done after the wave is cleared, or the rest of the wave will otherwise kill it quickly.

Although we typically list Hero Abilities in order, Sylvanas's Trait is quite unique in that it heavily impacts the way that she is played. As such, we list it first and not last, as we usually do with other Heroes.

Black Arrows (D) Sylvanas

• Cooldown: 90 seconds

Basic Attacks infect enemies with Black Arrows for 3 seconds, stacking up to 3 times. Sylvanas deals 15% more damage to enemies with 3 stacks.

Quest: Damage Heroes and Structures with 3 stacks of Black Arrows.

Reward: Upon damaging enemies 250 times, increase the damage bonus provided by Black Arrows to 50%.

Pinnacle Reward: Upon damaging enemies 400 times, Black Arrows now heals Sylvanas for 25% of damage dealt at 3 stacks, doubled against Heroes.

Black Arrows causes Basic Attacks to infect enemies for 3 seconds, stacking up to 3 times. At 3 stacks, Sylvanas deals 15% more damage to that target. Whenever she damages an enemy Hero or Structure that already has 3 stacks, she gains 1 quest stack. After 250 quest stacks, the damage bonus against fully stacked targets increases to 50%, effectively adding 30% more damage on marked enemies. After 400 quest stacks, 25% of the damage she deals to targets with 3 stacks is converted to healing, doubled against Heroes. This healing works on all enemy types, including Minions, Mercenaries, Structures, Monsters, and Summons, allowing her to sustain herself while pushing or waveclearing as long as enemies are fully marked.

Quickly progressing this quest is the key to success with Sylvanas. To stack efficiently, you should adapt your ability usage and positioning as follows:

• Use Withering Fire only after a target reaches 3 Black Arrows stacks. This sequence easily provides multiple quest stacks. The Ability targets the closest enemy Hero first, then other units, then Structures (prioritizing Towers). In the early game, focus your Basic Attacks on the closest enemy Hero so that Withering Fire locks onto that target.
• Whenever possible, apply your third Basic Attack and Shadow Dagger at the same time to a target that already has 2 stacks. This immediately brings the main target to 3 stacks, poisons it, spreads Black Arrows to nearby enemies, granting at least 5 stacks for your quest.
• Look for chances to perform 3 Basic Attacks and use Shadow Dagger and Withering Fire against the furthest enemy Tower or Fort in the current rotation. This can grant a large amount of quest progress very quickly. However, preserve Haunting Wave as it is your primary escape tool for when opponents move in to punish your aggression.
• During extended fights, most of your stacks will come from repeatedly hitting the enemy Bruisers and Tanks. Continue attacking them even when they are unlikely to die. Every fully stacked hit still advances your quest and each extra stack gained this way is valuable.

Level 7 Talents greatly affect how fast you stack. Lost Soul accelerates stacking against Tanks and Structures by frequently refreshing Shadow Dagger in prolonged engagements, while Festering Wounds shines in team fights, where a single Haunting Wave followed by a Shadow Dagger can quickly apply 3 stacks and poison to several enemies at once, granting 6 quest stacks for each enemy hit.

Reaching 400 quest stacks will not always be realistic, but you should prioritize reaching 250 stacks as early as possible. The 50% damage bonus against fully stacked targets is what turns Black Arrows into a true late game threat.

Withering Fire (Q) Sylvanas

• Mana: 25
• Cooldown: 8 seconds

Shoot the closest enemy up to 5 times over 1.5 seconds for 39 (+4% per level) damage, prioritizing Heroes. Cooldown is reset on getting a Takedown.

Withering Fire prioritizes targets in a unique way. It will first target the closest nearby enemy Hero, and, if none exists, it will target the closest non-Heroic enemy (Minion, Mercenary, or Structure). The Ability's current target is shown by a purple marker. While this "automatic" targeting makes Withering Fire easy to use, the target chosen by the Ability can be poor if you are not positioned properly. Focusing a priority target can be particularly difficult if they are hiding behind another Hero. This also applies to Minions, as you will generally want to be targeting those with the lowest Health because of Unstable Poison.

As with all other Abilities, Withering Fire fully benefits from Black Arrows when used against targets with 3 stacks and also advances its quest whenever it damages an enemy Hero or Structure already so marked. Unless you have chosen Withering Barrage, it is better to conserve its Cooldown until stacks have been generated. Further, remember that Hero takedowns instantly refresh Withering Fire's Cooldown.

Shadow Dagger (W) Sylvanas

• Mana: 50
• Cooldown: 11 seconds

Throw a dagger at a target enemy that deals 30 (+4% per level) damage and an additional 150 (+4% per level) damage over 2.5 seconds. Damage dealt by Sylvanas to the initial target spreads Shadow Dagger to all nearby enemies.

Shadow Dagger can simply be thought of as a damage-over-time Ability that "spreads" once from the initial target to nearby enemies when this target is damaged by Sylvanas. As such, you need to make it a priority to hit any target you have hit with Shadow Dagger. This does not have to be done instantly however, as your target may be far from additional target.

Unlike Withering Fire, Shadow Dagger can be used whenever it is available if you are able to trigger its spread. However, it is better when used right before enemies get the 3 stacks of Black Arrows so most of its ticks benefit from the damage bonus and provide quest progress.

Shadow Dagger is also an excellent waveclear tool. By casting it on the Mage Minion and quickly attacking that target, the entire wave becomes poisoned. This makes Shadow Dagger (in combination with Unstable Poison) one of the best waveclearing Abilities around.

Haunting Wave (E) Sylvanas

• Mana: 75
• Cooldown: 11 seconds

Send forth a wave of banshees dealing 114 (+4% per level) damage to all targets. Reactivate to teleport to the banshees' location.

Haunting Wave is an extremely important Ability. Although it does damage, it should be used almost exclusively as a gap-closer. This is due to its high Mana cost, long Cooldown, and being Sylvanas' only escape mechanism.

Since Haunting Wave travels at a set speed, it can take some time before it reaches the appropriate destination for you to reactivate Haunting Wave and teleport to its location. Therefore, you will want to use Haunting Wave proactively (because of the delay) so that you have time to reactivate it to teleport to your intended location, whether trying to escape or occasionally catch up to a fleeing opponent.

It is worth repeating that you should try and use Haunting Wave as a means of mobility, and only if it is absolutely needed, as you are vulnerable without it. Although Haunting Wave can be used to chase a Hero, its relatively low speed makes it difficult, although not impossible, to catch up to them. Haunting Wave's slow travel speed can sometimes be beneficial, however. If you are being chased and cannot cast Haunting Wave over a wall, you can cast Haunting Wave in one direction and then run in another direction. This forces your enemy to decide between chasing you or chase Haunting Wave and where you could possibly teleport to. If they chase you, teleport away; if they chase your Haunting Wave, keep running.

Possession (1) Sylvanas

Activate to force an enemy Minion to fight for Sylvanas's team. Catapults require 3 charges. Stores up to 4 charges.

Possession is a versatile active Ability that forces an enemy Minion to fight for Sylvanas's team. It has 4 charges, with a 25-second Charge Cooldown and a short 2-second internal cooldown between casts. Catapults require 3 charges to be Possessed. This makes Possession a flexible tool with several important uses:

• Speed up your waveclear by immediately converting front-line Minions so that the wave pushes faster in your favor.
• Order a newly Possessed Minion to move ahead of you to tank Tower shots while you tower dive or retreat through Structure range.
• Quickly damage a Tower or Fort even without allied Minions present by Possessing enemy Minions under the Structure so they draw its fire while helping your push.
• Instantly capture a Mage Minion for your team to secure its Regeneration Globe.
• Bait opponents who rely on skillshots. For example, when facing Stitches, you can stand among enemy Minions and Possess one as soon as Hook is cast, causing the Minion to intercept the hook instead of Sylvanas.

Note that Possessing a Minion immediately removes any existing Shadow Dagger damage-over-time effect from that target. Whenever possible, allow Shadow Dagger to spread to nearby enemies before using Possession on that Minion so that you do not waste it.

In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Wailing Arrow (R) Sylvanas

• Heroic
• Mana: 100
• Cooldown: 90 seconds

Shoot an arrow that can be reactivated to deal 228 (+4% per level) damage and Silence enemies in an area for 2.5 seconds. The arrow detonates automatically if it reaches maximum range.

Wailing Arrow is recognized as one of the strongest Heroic Abilities in the game. It deals a large amount of damage instantly in a relatively large area and from a long range, but more importantly, silences all affected targets for a significant duration. This means that you should not be using Wailing Arrow solely for its damage, unless it is to secure one or more kills in a late-game situation. Ideally, it should be used as a follow-up if you are the aggressor to prevent opponents from healing or escaping. In a defensive situation, Wailing Arrow can make it more difficult for opponents to follow up on their own initiation. It also has more niche uses, such as interrupting a number of key channeled Heroic Abilities.

In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Mind Control (R) Sylvanas

• Heroic
• Mana: 50
• Cooldown: 40 seconds

After 0.25 seconds, fire a missile that Mind Controls the first enemy Hero hit. Heroes hit are Silenced, Slowed by 30%, have 3 stacks of Black Arrows applied to them, and are forced to walk towards Sylvanas for 1.75 seconds.

Mind Control is a very potent crowd control Ability that revolves around picking off an enemy target, most notably squishy ranged Assassins and Healers, and isolating them from the rest of their teammates. On hit, it also immediately applies 3 stacks of Black Arrows, granting Sylvanas her full Trait damage bonus and several quest stacks on the affected target. Similarly to Wailing Arrow, Mind Control can be used at key moments to prevent escapes or support by targeting a Healer. As a skillshot with a relatively slow projectile speed, Mind Control is liable to miss without practice, particularly against nimble targets.