Sonya Build Guide : Sonya Competitive :: Heroes of the Storm (HotS) Strategy Builds

Table of Contents

1.Hero Abilities
2.Talent breakdown
3.lvl 4:Why is Hurricane so good ?
4.Shields usages
5.What Sonya is good at
6.Matchups

(Q) Ancient Spear
Cooldown: 13 seconds

Sonya's close gap ability. If you want to initate with it, make sure to hit your target as the damage and the +40 fury is really important. If you miss, stay back and wait for it to be back up. Once lvl 13, be careful as will pull you to the location even if it misses. On one hand it is really good as it allows you to escape but on the other hand: if you miss your target, you will most likely be in trouble as it won't give you anything.. so focus on hiting it! Keep in mind that you shouldn't always use it to initiate and instead save it to catch up to your target after his escape ability. Check Matchups to know more.

(W) Seismic Slam
Cooldown: 1 second

This is your main damage ability. Don't be afraid to trade hits 1v1 with this (unless the opponent is or ). If you don't have any trouble sticking to your target, you shouldn't waste any fury on as it does less damage than this.

(E) Whirlwind
Cooldown: 4 seconds

Overall really good to clear camps / minion waves while healing you up (less than it used to but still okay). Don't forget the heal is tripled on heroes, so if you see a pack of 3 enemies together, go for it.

talent: You should mainly use it to close gap to your target. As soon as 1) you are on top of it and 2) you have enough fury for a slam, cancel it (by pressing E again) so the cooldown starts as soon as possible and gives you more slow/root dispels with this underated talent.

(Trait) Fury

Always gives +6 fury/hit (not more when you crit with unfortunately).
Never forget that it grants +10% movement speed for 4 seconds after you use any ability. When you get chased, don't hesitate to use just for this buff.

(R) Leap

(R) Wrath of the Berserker

These will be explained in the talent breakdown.

No

The sustain it gives in lane and for camps can be nice, but I tried this talent a lot and it doesn't have the same impact as does in a teamfight. If you really want more survability here, is better.

Situational

Pick up block if the enemy team has: Zeratul, Greymane or Thrall.
D'ont pick it up if the enemy team has Tracer, Tychus or any range hero with fast attack speed!

Yes

My go-to if block isn't requiered. The fact that you can decide when you want a fury income to control your burst is really huge. Now that it increases your fury pool by 50, it synergies really well with . It also has many tactical uses: Check Matchups for more info.

Yes

Works really well with Sonya's kit: It should basically always be up at about the same time as is which adds quite a nice punch to your initiation. Down from +75% to +60% dmg but still okay.

No

In a teamfight, you will rarely get much value out of this talent unless you have a good setup for it like 's Combo, Leoric's or E.T.C's . So this talent is only good for clearing waves / mercenaries camps which you don't have any problem to do already.

Situational

Your worst nightmare as Sonya is getting kitted. This talent allows you to stick to your target and force him to run, reducing considerably his damage output. The buff this talent recieved in the patch isn't that strong (-1 sec CD on whirlwind) but others talents recieved enough buffs to make this one work.
You now have more fury to work with and and it synergies obviously well with : is now your primary source of health regen (as you won't get anymore).

Here is a list of heroes who can slow/root: lvl 4: Why is Hurricane so good ?

No

This talent is very interesting, as it allows Sonya to solo boss once you've reached lvl 10 with . Even though it can be effective in solo queue, it's not really worth it in high level play where you need as much teamfight presence as you can. Now also empowers nearby Mercenaries... you shouldn't get much value for this since you usually try to make them push an empty lane right before an objective.

No

Since the patch, it might now be better and safer than , but others talents are too strong to pass on this tier.

Yes

+30% range is awesome to chase evasive targets (without it, you can't reach a Sylvanas after her for example). I always liked this talent (even when it was pickable at lvl 13) but felt that it didn't give enough. Now that it also increase the fury gain by 20, I find it more attractive and it's really good with the build.

No

Overall, "auto-attack Sonya" got nerfed to the ground and Blizzard seems to buff more and more others talents. could still be okay if the enemy team had like triple warriors, but... yeah.

Situational

+10% health every 10 sec is nice, and the fury cost isn't a problem as taking damage gives fury. Self sustain is really important right now. Its many uses throughout the game will make you survive longer and actually give you more dps than or . Now that is so strong, I don't take it anymore but it's still the second best talent at this tier.

No

Leap is too unreliable to make it work. In most cases, if you want initation / lock down, you better go with and . The major difference between those heroics is that Leap AOE stuns while Judgement pushes others away. However, I've noticed that most of the time, you actually use Leap to catch up to one target only. Also, If you take leap, you will lack a lot of damage, due to not having . In that case, you will have to compensate by getting and lvl 16 instead of you also desperately need. is also 100% requiered for this heroic to work which also prevent you from getting . In the end, you lose way too much by taking this (and I haven't even talk about the loss of the -50% CC reduction yet....)

Yes

This heroic gives so much compared to . Once activated, you become an unstoppable beast. The uptime on this is insane because as long as you generate fury, the duration increases. That's also a good reason to take as it can give you the extra time you need to reach a teamfight after a merc camp for example.
The 50% CC reduction is also amazing on a damage hero (no wonder is crazy late game with ).

isn't an ALL IN heroic like is. It means that you don't have to comit 100% when you go in. You can poke with Spear + 1/2 slam(s) then get out, wait a bit and go back in which increases drastically your survability.

No

Even with a 10% buff, it's really not strong enough compared to .

No

This talent is here in case you want to take at lvl 16, which isn't necessary as we'll see below. Also the buff only lasts for 2 sec so if you get CC'd or just slowed a bit, you will most likely lose it... PvE talent overall.

Yes

-3 sec CD on your gives more chase potential aswell as more fury incomes. It is also that defensive escape you desperately need. With the additionnal range from , it actually allows you to go over walls and terrains in some situations where you wouldn't be able to without it.

Situational

This talent is really good against magic damage burst comps (Kael'Thas, Jaina, Kerrigan) 3 sec duration for 30 sec CD is quite nice. But it isn't good against poke damage comps or double warriors ones which is the meta right now.

No

The damage your slam will deal combined with is insane. However, to make this talent work, you also need at 13 and getting both is just too greedy (you won't get away with it, unless you have a big experience advantage already). Also, because you already need so much fury for , you really don't want your slam to cost that much.

No

Going from +10 to +25% MS is actually very good to chase people down and apply the pressure you are supposed to do. The problem with this talent is that it comes too late (If it was at lvl 13, I would maybe take it). Also I feel like having is enough mobility and you can't really afford to wait lvl 20 to have a shield, you need one now.

Situational

Pick this over if the opposite team doesn't have much burst and relies more on sustain damage / auto-attacks, like a + double warriors comp.

Yes

An active shield which can be used to block incoming spells or simply stop the bleeding and give your support time to heal you up. The more experience you will have with the game, the more spells you will be able to predict and absorb. Check Shields usages for more info.

No

This talent is like having but lvl 20 instead of 10 which mean people can just counter it easily by picking up at this point.

No

The buff this talent recieved isn't enough to make it viable. This is currently too weak compared to .

No

Not strong enough. Even then, getting this would be too greedy.

Yes

Extremely good. To be honest, if this talent wasn't there, Sonya would not be viable, as she would get destroyed at this point of the game. Check Shields usages for more info about shields rotations.

lvl 4: Why is Hurricane so good ?

So makes your removes all slows and roots.

Here is a list of {heroes -> abilities} which slow and root (the most annoying ones on top).

High Tier Heroes

Low Tier Heroes

I get about 30% of the time.

Shields usages

You should always try to predict and absorb incoming spells, instead of using it after the damages are done. The reason behind it is : If opponents see that you are low HP, they will want to finish you and might chase you to death. Even though it can be a good bait if you are close to your towers / keep, you dont want to drope low in an open field teamfight.

Once you've reached lvl 20, you should have both shields. DON'T EVER USE THEM AT THE SAME TIME as you would lose some of 's value (at lvl 20, Sonya has about 5k Hp, it means Stoneskin would absorb 1500, and you will rarely take that much under Ignore Pain unless you run in 1v5).

I recomend to use them one after the other, starting with because when the fight begins, that's when all opponents abilities are up and they will most likely throw everything at the start (Not necessarely true in high level) so Ignore Pain will negate most of that. Once the duration is gone, either stay in front if the fight goes well and use , or go back a bit and save it for the moment when you go back in.

What Sonya is good at

First of all, you need to understand that her type is misleading: Sonya is NOT a tank! and should never be picked as a solo warrior.
These days, the meta is all about double/triple warriors which is why she is really good. Also you have to consider that and are really strong and they both get crushed by Sonya. Since the Lt. Morales update and the fix, Sonya can also destroy warriors which make her one of the best dps hero in the game.

Clearing camps

You shouldn't waste time doing every camps (like the sonya stereotype :P) but the hero is probably the best at it. Try to memorize the objectives timers to not start a camp when you need to be somewhere else (i.e. with your team for a tribute).

Creating pressure and making space in teamfights

You should never initiate a teamfight unless you see an opportunity for a preponderance situation (5v4, 4v3...). Stay mounted and wait for your squishy target to show up (check next part to know more).
Don't go on him if he's too far from your team unless he's really far back (otherwise his team will turn on you and you won't get any help).
The goal here is to create pressure on the biggest threat (KT, Nazeebo, Valla...). What will happen is that eather you will kill it in less than 5 sec, either it gonna force cooldowns form his healer and/or peels from his warrior which is also very good because it will then make a lot of space for your team to work on.

Matchups

Well, Sonya doesn't care about the since goes through obstructions and body blocks. Nazeebo is currently the best specialist, so you should in most cases focus him in priority.

These heroes have no escape until lvl 20 . You shouldn't have any problem to stick to them. Try to dodge Kael'Thas's as this is the first thing he will try to do after your : before doing any slam, just around him and watch him fail ;)

The best way to kill one of those targets is to mount up and get to her without using . It means that you probably won't have fury, so use right away. Wait for her to use her escape or then spear right on her arrival.

You have to be careful about when you use your to dispel the slow from her trait . The worst case scenario is if she saves 1 spell for after you use it, but most of Jainas are stupid and throw all 3 spells right away after you initiate on her anyway^^. Afterward, her is the same cooldown as your (not exactly because the CD of whirlwind starts after it ends, but you get the idea.)

While can juke you with his and manage to get a re-stealth off, Nova shouldn't be able to. With the bonus movements speed from the trait , there is no way she get out before lvl 20 (with which most of novas don't even take anyway)

His defensives abilities rely on and the shield of it . The Evasion is a bit annoying but one Slam will basically break the shield, so you should always have a good timing window to burst him with a couple of slams afterward (save for this moment)
Keep in mind it will be harder when he reaches lvl 13, as he will have ; but at this point of the game, you should rarely be alone with him.
Try to wait for him to use his when you want to to him, as it will be harder for him to dodge it afterward.

Even thouth he's an assassin, has about the same HP as Sonya throughout the game. The problem is that once he uses his W and starts auto-attacking you, there is no way you will win the duel. However, you can outplay him easily: Before you are lvl 20, wait for him to use both and then out and kite him a bit during his W duration (5 sec). Afterward, you shouldn't have any problem to kill him as he will have no way to get his HP up.
Once you've reach lvl 20, you can just use during his W as he will do very little damage (and therefore won't heal himself aswell).

Important Note: I haven't mentioned any support here because you simply should never focus one alone, unless you play with a coordinated stack with heavy Crowd control. The reason behind it is that if you focus a squishy assassin, he will take so much damage that he won't be able to stand his ground, and will have to run. If he runs, he doesn't do damages anymore, which increases your team survability and particulary yours.

One last thing: mini stuns. Keep that in mind in case there are channeling heroics you have to worry about like Nazeebo's , Valla's or Lili's .

I hope you guys learned something from this.

Let the world know how good Sonya is. Enter the nexus and rock on !

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in comments.
You can also contact me on skype: hypnoz67
or email at: [email protected]

Peace ;)

Sonya Competitive by hypno67

Sonya Competitive

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