Games played: 260
Overall winrate: 57.3%

If you are new to Valeera I would recommend you to just read through the entire guide, otherwise press one off these following links to go to a particular section.

Basic Abilities
Combos and dmg. calcs
Map data
Level 1 Talents
Level 4 Talents
Level 7 Talents
Level 10 Heroics
Level 13 Talent
Level 16 Talents
Level 20 Talents

You have 7 basic abilities at the start of the game. (8 if you count your heroic at level 10 and a total of 3 activatables)
The way you get better at Valeera is knowing when to engage the backline and when to use what ability.

First i want to go over her regular abilities.

Sinister Strike:

this is your engage/ disengage ability. This ability does 114 at level 1 and 241 at level 20. A fully buffed sinister strike with the talents Mutilate and Seal Fate does 663 damage at level 20. When you are retreating, remember to use your sinister strike first and then press your trait Vanish. Also when you hit a enemy hero, you will reduce your cooldown to 1 second. When playing one of the sinister strike builds, it's really important to hit all your Q's, because if you miss one you will miss out on a lot of damage and you will get a longer cooldown.

Blade Flurry:

This ability does 135 damage at level 1 and 285 at 20. If you complete the quest you will deal 375 damage. This is her only AoE ability and the damage is alright. It will help you a little bit when clearing minion waves and getting mercenary camps. There is only 1 blade flurry talent Fatal Finesse which is a TRAP talent. It could be useful on maps that rely on wave clear; like Infernal Shrines and Tomb of the Spider Queen. The Blade Flurry talent did get a small buff (10 extra damage and 5 less stacks) but the other 2 options at level 7 are a better choices.

Eviscerate:

This ability is does at level 1 88/177/265 damage and at level 20 186/373/559 damage, this depends of course on how many combo points you stacked up. This is your finishing move and got big a nerf because Expose Armor got removed at level 16. Try to only use this when you have 3 combo points because then you will get the most damage out of it. When playing against auto attack team comps you can spend your combo points more generously, because you want to have more Combat Readiness stacks. Also a little trick you can do to save your combo points is to do any type of damage to reset the timer. The timer itself is 30 seconds so as long as you can auto attack anything you can save your Combopoints indefinitely.

Vanish:

this is her trait, you gain stealth and 20% movement speed, also the first second of activating this ability you gain the Unrevealable status which prevents you from losing stealth when taking damage. You can boost your stealth movement speed at level 20 with Elusiveness.
You live and die by her trait and if you master the use of this ability, then you will master valeera as an hero.

Now lets talk about her stealth abilities:

Ambush:

This ability does 135 damage at level 1 and 285 at level 20, it now also reduces opponents armor by 10. Ambush talented with Assassinate does 428 damage at level 20 and reduces opponents armor by another 10. Early on u want to use this on a caster minion and then press W to clear the wave faster. If you are not going for the Ambush build I listed between the builds, u do not really wanna use this ability much.

Cheap Shot:

This ability does 31 damage at level 1 and 66 damage at level 20. It now also blinds an enemy for 2 seconds. You can take the Blind talent at level 13 to further increase this blind by 2.5 seconds. The stun also got reduced from 1.25 to 0.75 seconds. The stun is still really powerful for setting up kills. You mainly use the stun over the silence when your team is backing you up to kill a target.

Garrote:

this ability does 21 damage and 146 damage over 7 seconds at level 1 and it does 44 damage and 307 damage over 7 seconds at level 20. A fully buffed garrote with the Rupture talent at 20 deals 44 damage and 614 damage over time. The silence is really good against heroes that need there abilities to kill you or to escape. For example, Sylvanas is tower diving your wall early on, u can garrote her so she cant us her banshees and maybe get an easy kill. Also the silence duration got nerved from 2.75 seconds to 2.50 seconds. there is an entire build focused around garrote an auto attacking (this build is listed above) this build is now her weakest build. I listed 2 different versions of the Garrote build. the burst damage version does a bit more damage but the sustained damage version is better in team fights. So even though the garrote build is the weakest build; the silence is still the most powerful engage you can have on most targets. Sidenote: when doing mercenary camps you want to use garrote since it deals the most damage.

These are the combos you want to do when you catch a opponent off guard.
The burst damages are shown at level 20 and with all quest completed.

With the Sinister Strike builds you wanna do this:

Vanish -> Crippling Poison (if you picked this talent) -> Garrote -> Sinister Strike -> Eviscerate -> Sinister Strike and follow up with as many sinister strikes and auto attacks possible.
This combo doesn't really 1 shot a backline hero, but it makes you stick to targets and get a lot of harass and sustained damage in.
Damage of the burst = 2537 and 1269 dps

With the Ambush build you wanna do go like this:

Vanish -> Crippling Poison (if you picked this talent) -> Ambush -> Sinister Strike -> Eviscerate -> Sinister Strike and follow up with as many sinister strike and/or auto attacks possible.
This combo is enough to kill hyper carries like Valla who only has 2792 health at level 20 and Kael'thas deal 84% of his health, because kealthas only has 3334 health at 20
Damage of the burst = 2817 and 1610 dps

With the Garrote build you wanna go like this:

Vanish -> Crippling Poison -> Garrote -> Sinister Strike -> Eviscerate -> Sinister Strike and follow up with as many sinister strike and/or auto attacks possible.
This combo is good for assassins with a blink like Zeratul, Valla and Li-Ming since the cant teleport away.
Damage of the burst = 2590 and 1295 dps

With the anti auto attack build aka the Cheap Shot build you wanna do go like this:

Vanish -> Wound Poison (if you picked this talent) -> Cheap Shot -> Sinister Strike -> Eviscerate -> Sinister Strike and follow up with as many sinister strike and/or auto attacks possible.
This combo is used for fighting against assassins like The Butcher, Greymane etc. Its also a good option for auto attack reliant bruisers and tanks like Sonya and Tyrael.
Damage of the burst = 2351 and 1175 dps

With the beginner build which is a variation of the Ambush build you wanna do go like this:

Vanish -> Ambush -> Sinister Strike -> Eviscerate -> Sinister Strike and follow up with as many sinister strike and/or auto attacks possible.
This combo is enough to kill hyper carries like Valla who only has 2792 health at level 20 and Kael'thas deal 84% of his health, because kealthas only has 3334 health at 20
Damage of the burst = 2817 and 1739 dps

This is a list of Valeeras best maps

I have taken the data on 19 january 2021. All this information is available via the following link. I took the data from Patch v 2.53.0 aka Hogger Release, because this should give the best impression off the most recent meta. Do take into account that Valeera is not a popular hero in the ranked game mode, so therefore the sample size off the games that get recorded and uploaded onto Heroesprofile is very low.

The last patch Valeera got changed was on 10 july 2019. You can view all Valeera patches by pressing that date.

Winrate by map

I will go over every single choice and when and why you should pick it. I will also do this for the other talent tiers.

Vigor:

Okay... i changed my opinion about vigor and Subtlety. I think that subtlety is better now then vigor. This does not mean that vigor is not a good option anymore, on maps where you get a lot of globes from objectives like: Garden of Terror, Blackheart's Bay and Infernal Shrines it is still a good option. And also with the laning updates you complete this quest even faster. So i think that Subtlety is easier to use since you wait every engagement now on your teleport ability and when you teleport you gain the extra energy regen, so... yeah. Vigor for the hardcore valeera players i guess :D Also i got buffed from 2.5 to 3 energy regen a second which is of course very nice if you where already used to playing with it.

Subtlety:

I changed my opinion about Subtlety because i think its easier to use now then before, it is also easier to use then Vigor. And in my opinion the easier you try to make valeeras play style, the better you get. So a big yellow bar that shows you when you can teleport and also shows you when you are going to get the extra energy regen, is a big upside. Subtlety did get buffed again from 8 to 10 energy per second over 5 seconds. So if you don't need Combat Readiness or Crippling Poison get subtlety. So now subtlety is back to what it used to be before, which is great!

Combat Readiness:

This is a good level 1 option if the opponent team has a lot of auto attackers or when there main source of damage are Auto Attacks. For example when you are fighting against a The Butcher + Greymane and maybe a Varian or a Thrall in the frontline.

Crippling Poison:

This is a good starter option for people that have trouble sticking to targets. This is also an good option if you are not good at stacking globes and they do not have a lot of auto attackers. Just so you know crippling poison got buffed because you can further increase the duration because your spells within 4 seconds re-apply the duration uptill 4 seconds. So in theory you can have a duration of 7-8 seconds.

Relentless Strikes:

this is an okay talent to pick. its good in the sinister strike build, since you wanna get as many strikes in on your opponent. So in the sinister strike build you get a lot of value out of this talent.

Hemorrhage:

this talent is only used in the garrote build, do keep in mind that this build is not the strongest build anymore. This talent is kinda good and it god buffed in the latest patch from 30 to 40 %. But just alone without any other garrote talents this talent is pretty bad.

Initiative:

this is another good option at level 4, because u gain more combo points and this makes it easier to kill your targets. So this talent is really good until u get better at valeera, because then you wanna play the strongest build or the build that fits your playstyle the best. Also in the most recent patch they added 15 % movement speed to this talent. This is insane for valeera because now it's even easier to stick to targets that try to get away. If you haven't tried out this talent, I highly recommend you do now.

Wound Poison:

this is an extremely situational pick, because its really good versus double support but the supports just got nerfed. Its good in the higher levels of Hero and Team league. I would only recommend this talent when u are really good and confident at playing valeera.

This tier of talents is where you get your first power spike.
At this tier your build will gain his first form.

Mutilate:

your sinister strike now does more damage only its range is reduced. This talent combined with the level 16 upgrade Seal Fate gives your Q a lot more damage. This is an must pick if you are going one of the sinister strike builds.

Fatal Finesse:

this is your only Blade Flurry talent in the game. Its decent on maps where waive clear is important, but this is a trap talent. So i would not really recommend getting this talent. It did get buffed in the latest patch by reducing the total amount of heroes you need to hit to complete the quest from 20 to 15 and they buffed the damage from 80 to 90. The major problem is that you still cant clear waives fast enough after completing the quest, therefore its never the right pick at level 7.

Slice and Dice:

you only pick this talent when doing the auto attack build, but since that build is awful right now you do not wanna pick that talent.

Smoke Bomb:

this is the most popular and probably the easiest to use heroic for valeera. You wanna use this when you know you can get a free kill or when you need to disengage. For instance there is an Abathur under a fort. you can go in stealth and do your combo, kill him really quickly and then use your smoke bomb to get away, but remember forts and keeps have true sight now so you will be attacked by their cannons. OR for example there is an team-fight if you walk through the front line and then do your combo on one of there mages. you can use your smoke bomb to get away kinda safely. always remember when getting away first Sinister Strike then Vanish.

Cloak of Shadows:

this heroic is definitely a niche heroic. First of its only good when playing against a couple of heroes. the most notable ones are Xul with his Bone Prison or Lunara with her poison. its also good against like Pyroblast and Ring of Frost because it gives you 75 spell armor.
So if you are playing against a mage heavy team you definitely wanna get this over smoke bomb. Also in my opinion this ult is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaarr superior compared to smoke bomb, because you have a self Cleanse (which is on a 15 sec. cooldown and cleanse is on a 40 sec. cooldown) which is also 0.5 seconds longer then cleanse AND you get an extra 75 spell armor with it. So its a cleanse and a Greater Spell Shield in one, on a 15 second cooldown. The trick is to learn when to use this ability to its fullest potential and because its hard to use, its not picked often and seen as the lesser option.

Death From Above:

to be honest this talent is not even necessary for the Ambush build, also the Vanish cooldown reduction is nice but you are better of with extra blind duration or the spell power reduction. The reason why i get it in my ambush build is because more ambush = more damage with the 16 upgrade Assassinate.

Blind:

this is a really good option when playing versus auto attack team comps. Also Valla and Greymane are really good now, so u can pick this talent versus those heroes.

Strangle:

pick this talent when you are doing one of the sinister strike build or the garrote build. since it got buffed from 25% to 40% and the ambush build is no longer the most dominant build anymore, you can safely pick this talent. In my opinion this is the best talent in most situations.

Seal Fate:

This is your new best option at this tier. Since two of the main builds take this talent.
It used to be that Expose Armor was the best option for valeera but the rework removed this talent. You gain an additional 50% damage buff on your Sinister Strike and it gives you an additional combo point when you hit a stunned rooted or silenced enemy. If you are really good you can hit two sinister strikes on 1 garroted target.

Assassinate:

this is your main damage for the Q build. But beware with taking this talent because you deal less damage with it now. You only deal 50% extra damage instead of the 100% it used to, but if you can catch people out of position, this will do some good damage, but only take this talent when you are doing the Ambush build.

Thistle Tea:

some players use this to get away safely or to get another combo off. you can kinda compare it to Rewind since valeera has pretty fast cooldowns. Sometimes u wish u had some extra energy but she already has a lot of regeneration so its not really a good option and you are better of with Seal Fate. It did get buffed in the latest patch from 60 to a 40 second cooldown, but the changes they made to Vigor and Subtlety are arguably better and therefore over shadow this talent entirely.

Adrenaline Rush:

DO NOT PICK THIS TALENT !
Its a lot worse then elusiveness. There is no situation where the extra energy regeneration would help you in any situation. So if you get Smoke Bomb at 10 get Elusiveness at 20.

Enveloping Shadows:

If you pick cloak of shadow at 10 you always want to get this talent. The extra charge of cloak of shadows is extremely powerful. Also the second charge is on a lower cooldown then your heroic ability.

Rupture:

The new Rupture buff makes the Garrote build a lot stronger, that's why this is your pick for going for the garrote build. But for this talent apply the same rules like Slice and Dice and Hemorrhage: only pick these talents if you are doing the garrote build.

Elusiveness:

This is your only option if you didn't take cloak of shadow at level 10 and are also not doing the garrote build. Its certainly not a bad talent, because not a lot of heroes can get a faster then mount speed buff. The only other that comes to mind is On a Pale Horse for Malthael and Hit the Nitrous for D.Va

The most important skill to develop while playing Valleera is hitting your Q's and knowing when to disengage.

Best and only build: Sinister Strike

Best map: Towers of Doom
Second best map: Sky Temple
Third best map: Dragon Shire

I want to give special thanks to the YouTuber: skullheroes.
His Grand-master valeera guide made me wan to play this hero and she is now my number 1 most played hero and my all time favorite hero.

Also if you have any questions about valeera or my guide u can whisper me in game @ LessThan3#21182 on the European server or just leave a comment in the guide or on my videos, ill make sure to check this guide daily.

Hope u will have lots of fun and try out this amazing but underrated hero.