Introduction (It's been awhile) Are you prepared? Top

Illidan Raynor Chen Hey and welcome to my 2nd guide starring one of my top 3 favorite heroes;, next toand. The jukey in and out assassin. I have 1220+ games on him. He is a blast to play in the right hands and is one of the most mobile heroes in the game. We'll go over how he works mechanically, my in-depth thoughts behind it and so on. Come in and be prepared.

Abilities Top

Pros and Cons Top





-Chasing

-High single target damage

-Escape artist

-Great vs heroes with no mobility, chases them for eternity.

-Excellent at 1v1'ing

-Pair's up well with support behind him

-Scales huge in the late game

-An iconic camp hunter

-Can't be bodyblocked, just Dive Sweeping Strike

-Great vs AA focused comps thanks to Evasion

-Can backdoor the enemies core.



Cons

-Low health, meaning if he get's focused, he'll litterly explode

-Weak if he has no cd's

-Weak early game

-Needs a dedicated healer

-VERY susceptible to Crowd control

-Does not prefer 1v2's, 1v3's, 1v4's or 1v5's

-Useless body if behind

-Has trouble dealing with both CC and burst comps. -Moblie-Chasing-High single target damage-Escape artist-Great vs heroes with no mobility, chases them for eternity.-Excellent at 1v1'ing-Pair's up well with support behind him-Scales huge in the late game-An iconic camp hunter-Can't be bodyblocked, just's over blocker or's out.-Great vs AA focused comps thanks to-Can backdoor the enemies core.Cons Pros

Talents Top

Dealing with Solo Laners (He can deal with them if you're good at him, or kinda'ish) Top

New heroes brawl and how illidonger fits in or does he? Top



-He is kinda poor in brawl because he can't get Friend or Foe

-With the new hero, blademaster added, Illidan is a good matchup to him. Him and his clones give permanent CDR attacking them. They last 16 seconds to feed you free cdr so don't be afraid to hit them. We might see him coming back again b/c of this new AA focused hero.

- Metamorphosis Mirror Image

- Critical Strike Samuro Evasion Windfury Betrayer's Thirst Blinding Wind Elusive Brawler

- Immolation Burning Rage -Illidan is a fantastic team fighter, but once the fight starts, he's vunerable to burst damage. He is at his best when the enemy committed all they're resources and low health.-He is kinda poor in brawl because he can't getwhich is essential to his in and out playstyle.-With the new hero, blademaster added, Illidan is a good matchup to him. Him and his clones give permanent CDR attacking them. They last 16 seconds to feed you free cdr so don't be afraid to hit them. We might see him coming back again b/c of this new AA focused hero.is godly vsfor even more bonus health. Use this to your advantage.fromwill not go through your, but will unproc after he hit you. So the algorithm in the game thinks you got hit by it likeor, but the game thinks the ability got through the victim but it won't allow them to hurt you. E.x;, Auto attacking,etc.will reveal Samey after a few seconds of him stealthing., mages counter him hard.

Illidan Comps and Matchups Top

Illidan Rehgar Brightwing Uther Divine Shield Abathur Tassadar Zarya Lt. Morales Tyrande Malfurion stay with your healer(s).this will make you alot harder to kill without getting instantly blown up in a team fight.



Tyrael Chen Anub'arak Burrow Charge



One of the best known comps with illy is Rehgar Tassadar Muradin E.T.C. Li-Ming Illidan Leeching Plasma works best with dedicated healers likeand sometimesfor theto allow you to go extremely deep without taking severe damage from any source. Semi supports likeandall enable your aggression and buff you or shield you, which let's you prevent burst damage.and medic to an extent don't pair well b/c of your mobility so they can't keep up with you. If you have one of them in your team, play your aggression smartly and don't dive deep.this will make you alot harder to kill without getting instantly blown up in a team fight.is also good with you b/c he can dive in with you, so canif he hasso look for those moments to engage behind your warriors.One of the best known comps with illy isorto prevent countering him, and. This comp seeks to put all the eggs in thebasket if you will to enable him wherever he is. khala's embrace andgive illidan small burst absorption and more life steal. You will need another damage dealer when drafting this to give out more threats on the battlefield and not only illy himself and it helps because illy is mostly sustain damage.

The importance of aiming your sweeping strike and it's angles. Top

Sweeping Strike



When taking the bruiser camp, you can kite away from the melee mercs while attacking the mage merc, if it comes to you from the left side, kite right while stutter steeping away from it etc. As for team fighting, you'll mostly be hitting heroes in range to get the buff but positioning within range of your healer(s) in other words; aim it up and down rather then far east or west. isn't hard by all means, however angling it in the right point for maximum value in pvp and pve. Ideally you don't want to sweep into a bad position in the enemy's frontline but you don't want to end up in their six because you'll be far away from your allies. If your the team's engage, you'll want to come in from your side of the map as going for a flank is risky as a squishy hero like illidan (you don't have any hard cc unless you took hunt).When taking the bruiser camp, you can kite away from the melee mercs while attacking the mage merc, if it comes to you from the left side, kite right while stutter steeping away from it etc. As for team fighting, you'll mostly be hitting heroes in range to get the buff but positioning within range of your healer(s) in other words; aim it up and down rather then far east or west.

Maximizing your movement abilities. (Remember cooldowns are nothing to Illidan) Top

Illidan Dive Sweeping Strike



Offensively, if you can't jump them right away, jump to the nearest enemy within range and W to them. You theoretically behind joined within they're body and you're AA'ing them, get two AA's off on them, this will bring Dive Sweeping Strike



If you're in dire trouble, you can Dive Sweeping Strike Metamorphosis Ok so your movement spells is what definesas a hero, so let's breakdown how you should be darting around eh? If you're on the run from the enemy,to an ally andaway. This will create the most distance from your pursuers. If an enemy catches up to you after you Q'd, save your W to dodge them.Offensively, if you can't jump them right away, jump to the nearest enemy within range and W to them. You theoretically behind joined within they're body and you're AA'ing them, get two AA's off on them, this will bringup in 1 second. Now you are ready to continue the chase. If you have meta, don't use it if they are in range of your Q, if they aren't, Just W them instead and save meta for emergency or if you need to peace out fast. Sometimes you'll want the dmg buff provided by, W them if they're in range of it, then Q to follow and move with them to get the most outta your AA's. Illy is all about his AA's too, it's his fundamentals to survive, cdr, and playmaking potential. So AA a'lot, even on the chase.If you're in dire trouble, you canto an ally over terrain, andto create as much distance as possible. Although burning it early means you'll be without it in a impending skirmish. If do it if you are below 30% health. Otherwise your Q and W were enough to pull you out.

Maps that Illidan excels/sucks at. Top



Blackheart's Bay Immolation due to having an objective to collect chests to obtain coins. You needto "burn" them fast like on tracer. The map is huge once it opens itself up to you. allowing you to punish them for pushing into your defenses.



Cursed Hollow with the right comp and build, you can do the boss with 3 people at the 9-10 min mark in the game or even earlier. Secure 1 tribute, sneak boss, take trib #2, push mid hard, rotate and take bruiser camp and hopefully hit 10 before them and win the first phase.



Garden of Terror Metamorphosis Friend or Foe is good for him b/c he can steal seeds and jump away withorif one of your allies is cheeky. Big map with plenty of options. You could try and take your seige just before your ally takes the terror to create more map pressure.



Infernal Shrines has lot's of options open to you, you can take mercs while the punisher is up (ideally on your side), split push if you know you've won the objective, run as 5 with it and afterwards capture mercs or follow with your team. Yet another map that is big enough to make it good.



Sky Temple Betrayer's Thirst is actually a good map for illy cause 1; there's a boss you can take. 2; bruisers and seige camps and you haveto sustain off the guardians should you fight them. Also pretty big once you roll over the enemy with your lead.



Warhead Junction is good b/c you can do one of two bosses and it's huge! Try and take seige once they come up as they spawn every 2:00.



Examples of average maps;

Braxis Holdout is weird but you can opt to be the solo laner if you have no other to do it. If after the zerg wave is done, you can do your mercs than look to invade if ahead. The boss attacks fast and rips you apart so only do if you get a full team wipe or if you have healers to back you up.



Towers of Doom is also okay for you as you can look to pressure any lane that has sappers nearby. if you win the fight/objective, take the bot sappers and gain more xp without dying preferably. Tale the boss after a wipe mid-late game for free core dmg.



Haunted Mines Sylvanas is (in my eyes) much like towers except you fight for 1 objective and with the seige camps added. You can take mercs while your golem is up which is broken esp if you haveon your team.



Dragon Shire isn't an amazing map but it's not bad either as it greatly depends on if your behind or not. Unless your an Illy comp, you should be piloting the dragon as you are melee. If there is no pressure on contesting mid, you can sneak the seige and take bot. After dragon dies, you take bruisers. Rinse and repeat.



Example of weak illy map(s)



Tomb of the Spider Queen is weak b/c of the layout. Yes it does open up but it's incomparable to others. Not that it's bad, but it's weaker than others as you generally fight for the objective and you really can't chase anyone early on.



Battlefield Of Eternity Immolation is another weak map for you, if you want any chance of winning, You'll needto add more dps to the immortal. Example of good Illy maps;Examples of average maps;Example of weak illy map(s)

How to Carry in Hero League as Illidan (being the playmaker for your team) Top

Illidan Battlefield Of Eternity If you approach the draft as a first or third pick, don't pick him as that will result with you getting countered and your team salty; in other words, your chances of losing are far greater than if you were fourth or last pick. If you can, try to tell your team to play around you and pick heroes that synergies with you.



The maps to pick him are big maps that take the enemy team a long time to run to their gates. So the more the map opens itself up, the farther they have to run. Illidan Warhead Junction Garden of Terror Blackheart's Bay Cursed Hollow I can say as a player of this game since open beta. I can say the best way to carry on a carry hero likeis to minimize your deaths, have the most impact in team fights, try to top hero damage, take the bruiser camp just as the objective starts like onas an example and respect the fact that every team is different.[/u]If you approach the draft as a first or third pick, don't pick him as that will result with you getting countered and your team salty; in other words, your chances of losing are far greater than if you were fourth or last pick. If you can, try to tell your team to play around you and pick heroes that synergies with you.The maps to pick him are big maps that take the enemy team a long time to run to their gates. So the more the map opens itself up, the farther they have to run.thrives on. Now if your behind, well that's a problem that you and your team will have to play around and kill the enemy that pushes to far into your base, but if your ahead, you will chase em down and kill them b/c of the extra distance they have to run.

How to approach fights with weird comps. (Unranked, QM modes) Top

stay with them! Once the big fight comes, bait they're cd's and juke out. If your allies understand what you're trying to do, they kite away with you. If they don't blow everything on you, wait for an opportunity and strike once allies bait them out. If you have another melee assassin, watch him/her, see how he/she plays things out, if he/she dies while trying to make plays, don't engage. If he/she excels at making it happen, jump in with him/her. If you have a range heavy comp, pick your engagements smartly and let them bait **** out first or bait cd's on you while dashing out for your damage dealers. Meta in the fight to keep the frontline healthy (that being you), just give it you're all for your allies to clean up the fight. Don't fred if you can't maintain just b and return or create an advantage elsewhere. Ideally you shouldn't be the one engaging, if you're in QM and you're the only initiator, you'll have to go in first. But be aware of they're cd's and they're ults. Your allies will back you up, or if they aren't say **** team (don't). Stay close to them and don't chase hard cause that's where you're alone with no help. Play your engagements smartly and if you got a healer,Once the big fight comes, bait they're cd's and juke out. If your allies understand what you're trying to do, they kite away with you. If they don't blow everything on you, wait for an opportunity and strike once allies bait them out. If you have another melee assassin, watch him/her, see how he/she plays things out, if he/she dies while trying to make plays, don't engage. If he/she excels at making it happen, jump in with him/her. If you have a range heavy comp, pick your engagements smartly and let them bait **** out first or bait cd's on you while dashing out for your damage dealers. Meta in the fight to keep the frontline healthy (that being you), just give it you're all for your allies to clean up the fight. Don't fred if you can't maintain just b and return or create an advantage elsewhere.

Metamorphosis in detail and taking camps. Top

Metamorphosis is your power, using correctly is a hard thing to do, but can yield great results if nailed it on m8. Don't go into fights without, you want it for baitcity. If it's on cd, just go to the brusier camp and don't use Q or W. Just AA the camp down and you'll reduce the cd on meta by roughly 60 seconds so 1 min due to it being 2 min. Use it in fights and get it back up in your downtime. Rinse repeat and life will be easier on you. Trust.

Knowing when to take camps. Top

Immolation If you're about to fight, don't do camps, you'll make the fight uneven so just show up to the team fight. Once the fight expires, take as many as possible on mostly your side of the map. If you can sneak in to they're side of the map and do their camps, go ahead and do it. If you think it's to risky, don't do it especially if you're doing the hard camp (brusiers) which takes 80-90 seconds to do. Seige take less especially withso take their seige if you think you can get away with it. Point being; gain as big of an advantage on the battleground as possible.

Conclusion Top