Our updated talent build and gameplay guide for Tyrande.
Our complete Tyrande guide has everything you need to know about playing this Hero, with the latest builds, tips, map advice and counters.
While Tyrande packs in a few meaty healing abilities, it’s her other support skills that really define her. She can boost your team’s damage output against a target by a whopping 25%, send her pet owl soaring off in order to unstealth enemies and reveal obscured areas of the mini-map, and fire off a damage-dealing stun as well. Mobility with this character is poor, however, and so you don’t want to head into battle unprepared.
Tyrande strategy guide and overview – January 2016
You can’t take your eye off the ball for a minute when playing Tyrande, and you must adapt your playstyle to every situation you find yourself in. Your ability to clear lanes is pretty poor, and so you need to focus your play on supporting your team wherever possible.
In team fights, focus on protecting and healing your allies, while debuffing the correct opposing target with Hunter’s Mark. Lunar Flare is essential for shutting down AOE healing effects in particular, although note the slight delay on the skill’s stun component. When you’re focusing on Mercenary Camps and the like, keep your Sentinel flying in the likely attack direction of stealthed enemies in order to expose them.
You lean very much towards a tactical Support role rather than an outright Healer with this Hero, and so you must be the extra eyes and ears that your team wouldn’t otherwise have. Always know where your meatier team-mates are, give them the support they need to do their best in battle, and never get caught out on your own. Tyrande is so squishy that you’ve as good as condemned her to a respawn by getting stuck into a solo fight.
The best Tyrande Talent build – January 2016
Tyrande Full Healer / Support
There are alternative builds out there that that focus more heavily on enhancing the powers of your furry little friend, but we think this healing and team support-focused build is the one to play right now.
Level 1 – Ranger’s Mark – Lower the Cooldown of Hunter’s Mark by 8 seconds.
Level 4 – Protective Shield – Activate to shield an allied Hero for 15% of their max Health for 5 seconds.
Level 7 – Battle Momentum – Basic Attacks reduce Ability cooldowns by 0.5 seconds.
Level 10 – Shadowstalk – Stealth all allied Heroes and heal them for 256 over 8 seconds. At the conclusion of Shadowstalk, they receive a burst of 100 healing.
Level 13 – Overflowing Light – When you are above 50% Health, Light of Elune’s allied heal is increased by 35%.
Level 16 – Trueshot Aura – You passively grant 15% Basic Attack damage to nearby allies.
Level 20 – Storm Shield – Activate to give all nearby allied Heroes a Shield for 20% of their max Health for 3 seconds.
Tyrande Abilities, Heroic Abilities and Traits – January 2016
Tyrande has some fantastic skills which really help her shine on the battlefield. Her healing, debuff and stealthing abilities speak for themselves, but it’s her ability to scout out an obscured area of the map with her pet owl that really marks her out as a support character. Weaving this skill into your playstyle – in the right way, at the right time – is an essential part of mastering this Hero.
Abilities
Light of Elune (Q)– Heal yourself for 340 (162 + 4% per level). If cast on an ally, also heals them for 680 (323 + 4% per level) Health. Mana: 45, Cooldown: 8 seconds.
Sentinel (W)– Send an Owl that travels across the battleground revealing its path. Deals 380 (180 + 4% per level) damage to the first enemy Hero hit and reveals them for 5 seconds. Mana: 65, Cooldown: 18 seconds.
Lunar Flare (E)– After a short delay, deal 450 (214 + 4% per level) damage and stun enemies in the target area for 1 second. Mana: 60, Cooldown: 12 seconds.
Heroic Abilities
Shadowstalk (R)– Stealth all allied Heroes and heal them for 561 (267 + 4% per level) over 8 seconds. At the conclusion of Shadowstalk, they receive a burst of 220 (104 + 4% per level) healing. Mana: 75, Cooldown: 50 seconds.
Starfall (R)– Deal 141 (67 + 4% per level) damage per second and slow enemies by 20% in an area. Lasts 8 seconds. Mana: 100, Cooldown: 100 seconds.
Trait
Hunter’s Mark (D)– Make an enemy Vulnerable, increasing all damage taken by 25% and revealing them for 4 seconds. Cannot be used on Structures. Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Tyrande counters and match-ups – January 2016
You don’t have to look very far at all to find a differing opinion on the best match-ups and counters both for and to Tyrande, so we tend to reference HeroesCounters for a community opinion based on a large number of participants. Here’s a quick summary of the most critical comparisons right now, although you should note that this list can and will change over time. We’ll update this snapshot the next time we review this article.
- Strong against- Abathur, Sgt. Hammer, ETC, Chen, The Butcher
- Weak against- Illidan, Zeratul, Kerrigan, Falstad, Nova
- Teams well with- Diablo, Kerrigan, The Butcher, Nova, Jaina
Tyrande tips – January 2016
It can be quite an edgy experience taking Tyrande into battle for the first time, as you’re very easily isolated and obliterated by the enemy team, and this won’t win you much praise from your allies. There are, however, a few useful tips that should help you get off to a more solid start. If you have any of your own suggestions for improving as a Tyrande player, let us know in the comments section below and we’ll add them to this article.
- Lunar Flare can be used to great effect to pin down a fleeing enemy. Even if the Lunar Flare damage isn’t quite enough, it’ll often help your team mate pick the last slivers of their health off.
- When you’re taking down NPCs in a group, don’t forget to fire off your Sentinel in the likely direction of the approaching enemy, particularly if there’s a stealthing character like Nova on the other team.
- Positioning and teamwork is absolutely vital when playing Tyrande. You have no hard escape abilities beyond your own two feet, so make sure you’ve buddied up with someone at all times and watch your distance from the enemy.
- Tempting though it is to top your own health up, it’s more important to support your team – save Light of Elune for when you have other players to support as well as yourself.
- In a team fight, drop Hunter’s Mark on the fattest tanky character on the opposite team, and make sure you target your own mightiest character with Protective Shield. There is a lot to juggle when playing Tyrande, so don’t expect to master the character overnight.
Fightin’ Cowboy’s videos helped us out a huge amount while we were learning the game. The builds have changed with balance patches and shifting metagames, but the broad principles remain the same.
