Illidan: An Exhaustive guide to get better by Deadreyo

Illidan: An Exhaustive guide to get better

By: Deadreyo
Last Updated: Nov 6, 2018
9 Votes
Build 1 of 1

Illidan

Build: Illidan: An Exhaustive guide to get...

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Level 4
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Level 10
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20

Threats to Illidan with this build

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Threat Hero Notes
1
Kharazim When fighting Kharazim, destroy his Earth Ally statue or your damage will be decreased to half.
2
  No Threat
3
Artanis When fighting Artanis, he will surely activate his double attack when approaching you. Activate your (E) to evade it.
3
Dehaka Try to expect Dehaka's (Q) and evade it.
4
Chromie Keep your (W) to evade Chromie's abilities. Use Sixth Sense talent to survive her combo if you fail to escape.
5
Alarak Alarak is all about his Discord Strike (Q) and his defensive Ultimate. Try to improve your reactions to dodge those and he will be an easy prey.
5
Kerrigan When fighting Kerrigan, you can easily evade her stun with your (Q), and if you need to run, then move straight and use (W) to go right or left and so, her combo will not hit you.
6
Diablo Illidan keeps changing his position, either by flipping or by dashing. Be careful when moving, as your new position could make Diablo charge you to a wall.
7
Arthas Arthas can heavily slow Illidan's attack speed. That means his damage and healing will be reduced which is fatal to Illidan. Try to get out of his aura.
7
Garrosh Never ever dive into a Garrosh when alone, or when he is close to a tower or keep. A single mistake with him could get you another point in death score.
7
Valeera When fighting Valeera and she stuns you, run away from her. Her blind is long, and she has a talent that increases that blind by 2.5 seconds which makes it absolutely powerful versus you. RUN AWAY!
8
Tychus When fighting Tychus, never use your Evade until he uses the Minigun (Trait) Ability.
9
Johanna Johanna has a blind, that blind can be empowered by her auto-attacks (talent) to extend the blind up to 5 seconds. You don't want this to happen, if she takes that talent then stay away from her.
10
Li Li Worst enemy to fight, she is a blind master. She has a 1.5-second blind in her base kit, a talent that will make her (W) cast a blind, and a talent to increase the Blind duration to 3 seconds. Blinds to Illidan means destruction to him. He won't be able to use his auto attacks, so he won't be able to heal and so he will fall fast. If you happen to get matched with her, then your best shot is to join the fight late, after she uses her blinds, or to stay away from her.
10
The Butcher (with his quest done), dont fight him. If you have to, then save your (E) till he casts his (W) on you, and stay out of his aa range till it vanishes then kill him. That if he was in low health, if he was in full health, you have no chance unless you pick the Elusive Strike talent, which will charge your (E) faster.
10
Varian (Twin Blades.) Varian has a parry ability that lasts for 1.25 seconds and has 2 charges. He also heals from his basic attacks and has a very fast attack speed. This makes him a very hard foe to fight and decreases your chance in winning against him. Again, Elusive Strike talent will help you against him.
10
Tracer Tracer is the ultimate challenge that any Illidan can face. Her ability to Blink (Q) and her auto-attack damage and speed can destroy an UNEXPERIENCED Illidan. Your best shot against her is to fight her near a bush, when she blinks away from you go to that bush and wait her to come, then surprise her with a (W). The fight between Illidan and Tracer depends on both players' skills. If you aren't that good with Illidan, then dont engage her alone.

1. Introduction, stats and abilities Top

Illidan is a very good hunter. He relies on sustain damage from his basic attacks, and the healing he receives from them to destroy his enemies.

**Stats**
At level 0
Health: 1650
Mana: doesn't use
AA Damage: 78
AA speed: 1.82 per second



**Abilities**

- Dive (Q): Dive at the target, dealing 66 damage and flipping to the other side of the target. CD: 6 seconds.

- Sweeping Strike (W): Dash towards target point, dealing 119 damage to enemies along the way. Hitting an enemy increases Illidan's Basic Attack damage by 35% for 3 seconds. CD: 8 seconds.

- Evasion (E): Evade enemy Basic Attacks for 2.5 seconds. CD: 15 seconds.

- Metamorphosis (R): Transform into Demon Form at the target location, dealing 46 damage in the area. Temporarily increases maximum Health by 200 for each Hero hit by the initial impact. Lasts for 18 seconds. CD: 120 seconds.

- The Hunt (R): Charge to target unit, dealing 251 damage on impact and stunning for 1 second. CD: 100 seconds.

- Betrayer's Thirst (Trait) (Passive): Basic Attacks heal for 30% of damage dealt and reduce Ability cooldowns by 1 second.



**Strenghs**

- Very high mobility

- High survivability

- High damage potential

- Can evade abilities and escape

- Abilities recharge fast


**Weaknesses**

- Extremely risky

- Not very big health pool

- Blinds destroy him

- Hard to learn, very hard to master

- A wrong (Q) will result in his death

2. Complete Talent Analysis Top

*First talent tier contains-

- Immolation: Personally I don't like this one. However, this talent is very good for beginners, who are still new to Illidan, but not worth it later on. The reason is that the other 2 talents have the potential to result in more damage dealt, as well as they increase the healing gained from basic attacks.

- Battered Assault: This talent is very underrated and rarely picked. This talent is extremely powerful when fighting 2 enemies or more. The increase in the duration of the (W) effect means that the bonus attack damage will last longer, and the increase of the bonus attack damage percentage means that you will destroy your enemies faster and heal a lot more. When picking this talent, make sure to hit atleast 1 hero with your (W). Usually, I pick this talent.

- Unending Hatred: I pick this talent when I get faced with a lot of ranged heroes, as hitting 2 heroes with a single (W) will be very rare (and thus, Battered Assault will be useless.) This talent has a good potential. It doesn't stop at +40 damage so it is better than Immolation.

Note: Pick Battered Assault when the enemy has 2 or more melees, or when you are sure that you will be able to activate its effect. Else, pick Unending Hatred.




*Second talent tier contains-

- Rapid Chase: This talent is not so useful, and it isnt picked at all. The reason is that Illidan doesn't need that additional movement speed, and the other 2 talents are very much more useful. Don't pick this.

- Friend or Foe: This is one of the escapes Illidan can use instantly inside of a fight to escape. The increase in the range is also very useful to escape or to chase. Very good talent.

- Unbound: This talent used to be without that quest, just "Sweeping Strike can go over walls and terrain" and it was useful to escape. Now it's even better.

Note: Choose Friend or Foe if you go to fights with an ally. Choose Unbound if you solo. Unbound is extremely useful in Dragon Shire, Garden of Terror and Infernal Shrines.



*Third talent tier contains-

-Reflexive Block: Useful against heavy aa heroes like The Butcher. However, it isn't good against heroes with very fast aa speed like Tracer or Zarya.

-Thirsting Blade: Take this if you choose Battered Assault. The combination of both talents is incredibly powerful. For example: Illidan attacks nearly 2 hits per second. With the effect of Battered Assault and at level 1 aa deals ~160, which means he heals for 80 twice per second.

-Hunter's Onslaught: If you didn't take Battered Assault, you can consider taking this. However, Thirsting Blade is far more superior. Note: Heroic abilities do not heal.



*Heroic Abilities tier contains-

-Metamorphosis: This ultimate is very useful for engaging the enemies or for escaping. The extra health will give you more time to deal damage, and can also be used to evade abilities or to escape. I advise you to get this one. Try to hit as many heroes as possible.

-The Hunt: This ability is very good to stun a channeling enemy or to chase and kill them. It's range is long and it's damage is good. Pro tip: Since this ability is usable on minions, it can be your ultimate escape. In fight, if you are going to die, use it on a minion far away.

Tip: Cooldowns seem long for those two, but your basic attacks recharge them.



*Fourth talent tier contains-

-Nimble Defender: If the enemy team is balanced between auto-attackers and mages, you can take this for them both. However, this is weaker to deal with certain type of damage unlike the other two.

-Elusive Strike: This is extremely powerful against auto-attackers. A good (W) will recharge the (E) and so you will continue to deal damage and they won't be able to kill you.

-Sixth Sense: This is very good against mages. With this, you will be able to survive any kind of abilities like Kael's bomb ultimate, Junkrat's rocket ride and Li-Ming's Orb.



*Fifth talent tier contains-

-Marked for Death: This is better for 1v1 and for chasing. It is also very easy to perform it, easier than Blade of Azzinoth. Pick this if you chase alot or can't perform a good (W).

-Fiery Brand: This talent is not good anymore, because of the the other two. Marked for Death easily deals more damage than this one, and the bonus damage from Blades of Azzinoth has better outcome Don't pick this talent even when facing high health-pool heroes.

-Blades of Azzinoth: Take this if you are good in hitting many heroes with a single (W). Stacks with Battered Assault to deal really huge damage. Personally I choose this one.



*Storm Talent tier contains-

-Demonic Form: Simply, if you take Metamorphosis then take this. It's aa speed buff and it's resistance to disables make Illidan an unstoppable force of destruction. However, while those are permanent, the increasement in the health is not.

-Nowhere to Hide: I don't suggest taking this one. Hunt's range is already pretty long, and revealing the low health heroes won't be so useful late-game, since they will stay together and will hardly go down to less than 25% health outside a team-fight.

-Nexus Blades: Take this if you didn't choose Metamorphosis as an ultimate. The slow will disable enemies from escaping, and the damage bonus is good.

-Bolt of the Storm: Basically, take this if you die frequently.

3. Synergies (Good with) Top

- Abathur, especially with Abathur's level 4 talent which increases attack speed, and level 16 talent which increases movement speed.
- Tassadar, since his shields heal for 40% of the attack damage dealt. Can be increased with the level 4 talent to 75%.
- Auriel, at level 16 she has a talent which gives attack speed.
- Lt. Morales, her healing can keep Illidan from dying and her Ultimate increases his attack speed significally.
- Probius, he has a talent which increases attack damage by 35% inside his field.
- Kharazim, can support his well when diving.
- Medivh, his shield benefits Illidan greatly after diving, and his portals can help him get out.
- Zarya, her shields are strong and helpful.

4. General Overview Top

Illidan is one of the best auto-attackers and hunters in the game. He is also one of the hardest heroes to learn and that's why we see a lot of very bad Illidan players with awful Heroic Damage, and unfortunately, many players think that Illidan is bad because of that. He depends completely on his basic attacks for everything; dealing damage, healing, charging abilities and heroic abilities. Anything that gives him attack speed, attack damage or shields is very good for him. His kit is designed to be able to chase, hunt, deal damage, tank (a little bit, but very good against melee attackers), escape and 1v1 most heroes. His talent choices can make a huge difference in his survivability and his damage, and his talent tree is designed to be changeable according to the situation. Sticking with a single build for all matches is not a good thing. There may be players who will criticise your talent choices because maybe it isn't the build they saw on a guide. Clearly, they just want a reason to blame others and flame, so just mute them.

Be careful when engaging enemies alone, because sometimes there are other heroes around that can assist your foe and so kill you. Do not dive recklessly, try to have a vision of the area and maybe wait till the enemies use their abilities on your allied hero then engage and finish them off. If you have a tank, then let the tank get in first, then you follow. Try to save your abilities to dodge as much abilities as you can when fighting mages and/or enemies with strong abilities. Sixth Sense will save you from mages, Elusive Strike will save you from melee attackers.

At the end, remember that your (Q) is instant, and a wrong (Q) will result in a +1 to your death.

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