Kerrigan Build: Zerg Rush

by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

The Queen of Blades was always one of my favorite characters in all of the Blizzard lore. When I found out she was in Heroes of the Storm I jumped right in with her. She is a very difficult hero to play that requires the correct team composition, but is one of the few heroes that can devastate an entire team. For some of the basics on Kerrigan check out the BlizzPro character page here.

Abilities

Assimilation (Trait) Kerrigan’s passive trait grants a shield based on basic attacks and ability damage. Not too much to say here except get a feel for how much the shield allows you to trade with the various heroes in the game and if it will allow you to surprise the enemy into an early death.

Ravage (Q) A great initiate ability that covers a lot of ground. Ravage allows you to position yourself in a place that will give Kerrigan the opportunity to use all of her high damage abilities. Ravage should be kept off of cooldown as much as possible and only used when you have an honest chance at getting a kill. Remember Kerrigan isn’t someone set up to be on the front lines trading back and forth but rather someone who comes out of the shadows to get a kill. Ravage should be approached with the mind set that I’m using this to get a kill and not I’m using this because it’s one of my abilities not on cooldown.

Impaling Blades (W) This has a small area that can be hard to hit unless used properly in conjunction with Primal Grasp or another teammates slow, root, or stun. This ability has some great damage and allows Kerrigan to get up close and personal with the enemy. Early game this can be a death sentence for the opponent when followed up with some auto attacks and envenom. Look to punish any of your foes with sloppy positioning with the combo of Ravage, Impaling Blades in front of Kerrigan, Primal Grasp that should pull the enemy into Impaling Blades, then auto attacks and Envenom.

Primal Grasp (E) Primal Grasp is Kerrigan’s most versatile basic ability  should be used to punish fleeing enemies with more damage or a possible kill. Its good to save this for the combo mentioned above but you can also use it in conjunction with a teammates ability such as Jaina’s Blizzard or Johanna’s Condemn to keep an enemy where they don’t want to be. Get a feel for the range on sweeping grasp because more than any other hero Kerrigan cannot afford to miss her skills.

Heroic Abilities

Maelstrom (R) The heroic of choice because of its amazing damage and ability to punish the entire team. This is especially true if you have an Uther on your team who can make you invulnerable or two supports who focus on keeping Kerrigan alive. I take this ability more often than Ultralisk but Maelstrom can be very hard to use without some team coordination. If your team does not look ready to protect you while in Maelstrom then use it to clean up team fights rather then initiate them.

Summon Ultralisk (R) – This is a really strong solo target heroic that can punish a squishy hero carrying the enemy team. I will take Ultralisk if my team has no way to deal with high priority targets or I’m worried about my teams ability to support my use of Maelstrom. I think this is the heroic of choice when doing a solo quick match queue.

The Build

Level 1

Sweeping Grasp – This gives Kerrigan some much needed range on her most important tool in her kit. This will help you land the chain of ability combos much easier especially against mobile enemy heroes. Sweeping Grasp also makes it much easier to land your combo on multiple opponents making it the no brainer choice for me. If you feel comfortable using Primal Grasp at its base range then Block is a great tool for keeping Kerrigan alive longer in lane fights.

Level 4

Envenom – This is getting changed soon but not in a drastic way that will cause Kerrigan players to stop taking it in my opinion but time will tell. Right now it’s still her weapon of choice when it comes to guaranteed early death for the enemy. Enemies will get away sometimes when you almost have them dead and envenom ensures that they won’t be getting very far. If the meta changes and Envenom becomes useless after the patch then I will probably start using Focused Attack at this level.

Level 7

Battle Momentum – Great ability for Kerrigan that allows her to secure kills much easier and take time off her very impressive heroic. Battle Momentum is just good if you plan on basic attacking at all and most heroes who have access to it should take it. The other talents on this level are all good in their own way but none of them stand up to Battle Momentum.

Level 10

Maelstrom – see heroic abilities section

Level 13

Sprint – Sprint is amazing and should be taken on Kerrigan 99% of the time. It allows her the mobility she needs to get into position for ganks, secure kills, or escape engages that go poorly. Just take spring and be happy for the mobility boost at this level. If you can live without Sprint then Double Strike is a very strong talent though I feel like its overkill.

Level 16

Overdrive – I’ve chosen Overdrive for now because I feel like with the coming patch Blood for Blood wont be that good anymore and Overdrive was already a fringe pick for me. Once in position for a great Maelstrom activating overdrive can really punish the opponent. It’s also great for surprising the enemy with some great burst on your basic ability combo. This meta may change and every single skill at this level is viable so pick one that suits your play style.

Level 20

Bolt of the Storm – It’s Bolt of the Storm. It’s chase down or escape. Use it properly and it will secure or deny kills that could win you the game. I don’t like either of her heroic buffs as they feel like overkill but Nexus Blades might not be bad if you’re for some reason not liking Bolt of the Storm.

The Strategy

Kerrigan is a tough character to use in all phases of the game because she is a bit squishy and struggles with ranged heroes or strong CC. Playing her as someone who can roam around and gank plays to her strengths so early game you should do just that. Wait in a bush or fog for someone to overextend then come at them with your full combo. The teammate in the lane you jumped on should help you get a nice early kill which is one of the best things that Kerrigan can do for her team early. Don’t be afraid to go back for health or mana as you want to be able to survive and hit full combos on enemies. Much like Nova or Zeratul, Kerrigan should not be too concerned with soaking lane experience as her other teammates should.

Mid and late game is when Kerrigan should really start to put pressure on the enemy team. If your team got to 10 first that’s where she can really step on a teams throat. Look for the big engage or to rally your team into an enemy base or map objective. Once the initiate happens trust your tank and healers to keep you alive as long as possible to do work. It’s not uncommon to die as Kerrigan during big engages because the enemies will likely be very focused on you but she must try to get 2 or 3 kills before she goes down or its a failed engage on her part. This is what makes Kerrigan tough to play and best suited for pre-made team compositions.

Overall Kerrigan is still one of my favorite heroes to play but hard to work into the team. She takes a lot of practice but when in the hands of a skilled player around a competent team the results can be deadly. I hope you enjoyed this guide and were able to learn something about the queen of blades. As always comments and feed back is encouraged and look for another guide next week right here at BlizzPro.