Jaina
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Build: Jaina
Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 10
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20
Heroes of the Storm Build Guides
Malfurion with
Jaina as his
Innervate trait can replenish her mana when needed. In my second build guide I will go more into detail about how to build
Malfurion so that you can see how deadly this duo can be.
Malfurion. That way she can be kept alive while she pokes her opponents down, until hopefully a gank can appear to grab a kill.
Conjurer's Pursuit. Because
Jaina is a mana-dependent hero, it is important to have a talent that can replenish that mana.
Jaina only has a 3 mana regen per second, and though that sounds like a lot, when you're hopefully poking down your lane opponents during early game, it can be easy to run out of mana very quickly. Especially when
Jaina is very squishy early game, you would use the range of your abilities to your advantage so as to stay a safe distance away. Though there is only an increase of 0.5 regen per second, that 0.5 can make a huge difference. Even when paired with a
Malfurion who can use his trait
Innervate for free on fellow hero's to give some mana (which is awesome!!!), it good to also have your own source of continuous replenishing so you don't have to rely completely on the cool-down fountain and
Malfurion trait for mana.
Winter's Reach. If you are very confident in your usage of mana and know you will not typically run out several times,
Winter's Reach is another good talent to take as your first talent as it can expand your Q by 30%, increasing the chance of a Q snipe kill.
Lingering Chill. I can see how this can be effective, increasing the chance to cap on your
Frostbite trait, but the above two talents give more for what they do, increasing abilities/uses that you will be continuously aware of using. Sometimes it is easy to forget about the passive traits. As well, there are somewhat similar talents that are more effective that you can take later during your leveling up.
Deep Chill. Especially when paired with a good
Malfurion who can land their roots, the
Deep Chill can become useless. It can be good if you prefer a slower moving target, but once again there are much better talents that you can take at level one.
Frost Shards. This is really helpful in fighting, whether it be in lane or team fights, because it allows for more chance of this skill hitting an enemy if a minion is in front of the or if another enemy is right behind them. This skill is also useful used with
Jaina's other abilities for wave and camp clearing.
Arcane Intellect. If you're having difficulties with keeping your mana bar filled, I would recommend taking another mana regen talent until you learn how to properly manage the mana. This is very useful for beginners to
Jaina once all skills are unlocked, so that you can learn what she is capable of with a smaller chance of running out of mana.
Envenom. If you're confident with your mana usage, and don't want to take
Frost Shards, I would recommend taking
Envenom, which can secure a kill if you pop it on the right person if they're going to be walking away. The reason I don't put this as an always take talent is because it does not usually act out on its full potential. It's hard to determine who to put this on, and it does not kill enough of its targets to warrant it the most useful talent to take at level 4.
Snowstorm. This skill can sound really good, but there is a skill you can take at level 13 that offers a bigger radius that is very effective and convenient. It becomes too much of a radius that you will almost never use to the maximum (which is an added 130% if you take both talents), and so by skipping the 30% you will not be missing much.
Frost Armor. This talent gives several things for
Jaina, with one of the bigger things being armor.
Jaina is a squishy hero, and so giving her this armor can determine whether she lives or dies. Especially by level 7, where enemy heroes have a considerably larger amount of damage, having the ability to block 75% of a basic attack damage every 8 seconds is huge. Additionally, with they effect of an automatic chill being put on those who attack you, it gives you an opportunist to (if you're in a good position) turn around and start attacking them while they have an increase of 50% to all damage taken for 4 seconds. If you're looking to get away, use the trait's ability of decreasing the enemy heroes movement speed by 25% as your chance to save yourself.
Frostbitten. This talent can become useful if you are utilizing your passive trait a lot when going into fights. If not though, I wouldn't recommend taking this talent instead of
Frost Armor.
Ice Floes. If you are not utilizing your passive, then I would go with
Ice Floes talent if you don't take
Frost Armor. The reason I have this talent lower in my list is because it doesn't make much of a difference. By this time in the game you're either close up to your enemies or there's distance between you and opponents, which means increasing distance of abilities and having increased armor would benefit you much more. As well, the cool down reduction is not as good as it could be, even if you use this skill the most. Already
Cone of Cold has a 10 second cool down, so it is fairly short. If you took the
Ice Floes talent, at most the cool down can be reduced by 2.5 seconds (as it will reduce the cool down by 0.5 seconds for each champion hit), and that is if you can hit all 5 enemy players.
Ice Lance. Already the
Frostbolt skill shot ability is on a 4 second cool down, so bringing it down 2 seconds is not the best move as
Frostbolt is not going to be your strongest ability by this point in the game. Additionally, it can be fairly easy to dodge if the enemies have learned your kit by level 7, as well in the middle of intense fights, your accuracy of positioning this skill shot becomes more difficult to hit. What makes this talent even more unappealing is that you must hit your Q on enemies who are chilled in order for the cool down to trigger.
Summon Water Elemental. At first I thought this was a useless ultimate to take and I didn't understand why almost all of the guides were saying to take this ultimate. But then once I played with this ultimate in-game and realized how much more effective it is, especially when you get to level 20 and upgrade it. This water elemental is an immediate responding ability, though it does not deal as much damage as
Ring of Frost does at this level, it will add up to dealing 135 damage on impact, 110 basic attack damage with a 25% splash damage and chilling enemies at level 20. However,
Summon Water Elemental is similar to adding another enhanced minion in the way that will deal enough damage to warrant enemies killing it themselves. In my level 20 guide I will explain further why this ultimate is the more commonly taken one. Ring of Frost. This ultimate is both a stun and a damage dealer that will trigger after an approximate 2 second delay. However, by this time in the game most enemies have increased movement speed; and when adding the fact that heroes should always be moving, it can be difficult to hit this ultimate on as many enemies as you can. If you do hit this ultimate, it can deal 200 damage, adding up to 440 damage at level 20.
Storm Front. You're going to want to take this talent if you want that extra aggression and range on your
Blizzard ability. I personally go with this talent the most out of these four because of my preference for this skill as the damage done can secure a kill for you or your team. This can be a great team fight talent to take because if you are out of reach of an enemy but can plant your
Blizzard properly, the 23% decrease of movement speed and minimum of 237 damage at level 13 (or 474 if both waves hit) can be a game changer.
Improved Ice Block. If you are the one initiating your team fights, this skill can be great to use. You will initiate this team fight by running in as close as you can to the enemies, dropping all the skills you can, then hitting
Improved Ice Block when you're getting low or your team is about to arrive to follow up your initiation can be a massive wipe out of the enemy team if all goes out well. This wouldn't be a skill to take though if the opposing team has someone with a stun such as:
Anub'arak,
Diablo,
E.T.C.,
Gazlowe,
Illidan,
Kerrigan,
Malfurion,
Muradin,
Murky,
Sonya,
Thrall,
Tyrael,
Tyrande, and
Uther.
Icy Veins Less. I don't really like this talent because compared to the other three, it is not as effective in the long run especially when it comes to team fighting.
Jaina's abilities already have a low cool down (frost bolt at 4 seconds;
Blizzard at 15 seconds; and
Cone of Cold at 10 seconds), and so the 50% reduction in mana cost would be the appealing part of this talent. Thus, I would only recommend this talent if you are having difficulties using your mana properly**.
Sprint. Now there are two reasons you would be taking
Sprint: (1) you are wanting to secure kills or get somewhere fast, or (2...which I hope isn't your case cause it's not fun) you need to constantly get away fast. Of course there are always exceptions to getting away fast that could be for good reason (ex. on
Tomb of the Spider Queen or
Blackheart's Bay where if you die you loose the items you have to pay to capture the objectives before the enemy team). You will most likely be doing one or both of these things in most games, but if you can secure kills and get away from danger for the most part; and feel like you would get more use out of one of the other three talents, then skip over
Sprint.
Northern Exposure. Around this time there are a lot of team fights, and so you want as many advantages as possible, and northern exposure can create a huge one if used properly. When used on an opponent, this talent makes the damage taken increase 25% for 2 seconds. This doesn't sound like much, but it can be the difference between making the fight a 5v4 (or whatever your numbers are). It is very important to have good team communication with the team, so you can tell them who you've targeted and is the most vulnerable for the shortest amount of time. This talent can be useful in situations where you just need that extra little push to take down an opponent, or you are ahead.
Numbing Blast. This can also be a great tool in creating a 5v4 situation in team fights. Though the stun only lasts 1 second, it can be just enough to take down an opponent. Use this skill when you are close enough to make a fast gap close, and if there are team mates who are also close, it can provide a great opportunity for a take down. This talent can also be used for a getaway, as long as you kite (kiting is walking/running away while still attacking, but never stopping). That 1 second could provide a safe get away for you or one of your team mates.
Ice Barrier. This talent utilizes
Jaina's passive trait
Frostbite both offensively and defensively. Originally, this trait lasts 4 seconds; stunning, slowing, and increasing damage taken from
Jaina's abilities to 50% damage. When this talent is taken, the damage of
Frostbite increases, and with whatever damage Jaina has dealt, she will be shielded of 25% returning damage. For example, if
Jaina deals 100 damage and the enemy also deals 100 damage,
Jaina's shield will eliminate 25 of that damage, lasting for 3 seconds.
Snow Crash. If you have previously taken the talent
Snowstorm which increases the range of
Jaina's
Blizzard 100%, taking
Snow Crash can be a great partner in crime. With the added range, you can position your
Blizzard ability where all 3 of the waves can hit, dealing a minimum of 720 damage with a single wave; 1,440 damage for two waves hitting; and 2,160 damage if all three waves hit.
Wintermute. If you have chosen
Jaina's ultimate
Summon Water Elemental, take this talent!!! The water elemental becomes like an extension of yourself. What this means, is when you place your water elemental, which ever ability [jaina]] uses afterwards, so will the elemental. With the added bonus of this ultimate range increasing by 50% can allow for either offensive or defensive moves. The offensive includes gap closing, kill securing, and placing the elemental on top of a group of enemies, adding approx. another half-a-hero to the fight. The elemental can also be used defensively, placing it behind you as you get away, using it to attack your enemies; your opponents will have to choose whether to give up the chase or bear the damage taken.
Cold Snap. If you've chosen
Jaina's other ultimate
Ring of Frost, then it is always a bonus to take the talent increasing the ultimate. In this case, the ring that would damage and then stun, will now explode with frost after the 3 second duration is up. By level 20,
Jaina's ultimate
Ring of Frost can deal 440 damage to as many enemies who are caught in the ring.
Bolt of the Storm. This talent is pretty self-explanatory, teleporting
Jaina to any nearby location. I can see the use for this talent, but unless you really feel the need for teleporting, don't take this. It is not worth giving up the increase of ultimate power talents listed above.
Arcane Power. By the late game, you shouldn't find yourself needing mana as much as early game (though it makes more sense the other way around... :P ). Other than that, the 15% increase in damage pales in comparison to
Jaina's other damage-increasing talents such as
Envenom,
Frostbitten,
Summon Water Elemental,
Northern Exposure, and
Ice Barrier.
Malfurion to this guide as the Deadly Duo, so stay tuned!
Jaina. Frostbolt This is your "Q" skill, it's a skill shot that packs a punch behind it if you hit an enemy, dealing an initial 50 damage, scaling 15 each level. Personally, I wouldn't upgrade this skill until level 4, and then choose the talent
Frost Shards. Most would recommend upgrading this skill as much as you can, but I believe there are better talents that offer a lot more throughout your skills. Though this skill begins with the highest damage rate, it scales the least amount, adding up to only 335 damage at level 20. Especially if you're not the best at landing skill shots, it's best to put talents throughout your various skills to make the most of
Jaina. Blizzard This is your "W" skill, it comes in two waves dealing dealing 45 damage for each wave at level 1, or 90 damage if they both hit the enemy . This is one of my favourite skills, as it is great to clear with minion waves, camps, and can really hurt if someone is hit with it. As well, when hitting level 20, each wave can deal 349 damage, or 698 damage if both waves hit. Cone of Cold This is your "E" skill, where it forms a cone, dealing 55 damage at level one, scaling 18 damage per level. At level 20, this skill can deals 397 . Pairing this skill with the talent
Northern Exposure, which will make the enemies hit by this skill vulnerable for 2 seconds, increasing all damage taken on those enemies by 25% for the duration of that time. Ring of Frost This is an "R" skill; being one of the ultimate skills that you can choose. This one is a massive stun, holding enemies in place for 3 seconds, dealing damage starting at 200 on level 10 adding 24 for each level, adding up to 440 damage. At first, I used only this ultimate, thinking it was the most effective. However after using the second ultimate
Summon Water Elemental, I much prefer the latter as it is way more effective in team fights. Summon Water Elemental This is an "R" skill; being the second ultimate skill for
Jaina. With this ultimate she can summon a water elemental which will chill enemies that are hit by it; dealing 65 damage on impact, adding up to 135 damage at level 20; and will do 50 damage at level 10, adding up to 110 damage. The water elemental will continuously hit enemies until the timer runs out or is killed by your enemies. Frostbite This is the trait skill, also known as a passive. With
Frostbite
Jaina will chill targeted enemies, resulting in their reduced movement speed (-25%) and increasing your damage of your ability by 50%. This is a really useful trait, one that you might not notice because it is a passive. Basically, ever time you use an ability on an enemy, they become chilled, and so if you're going in for the kill, go fast as the chilling effect only lasts for 4 seconds.
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