Raynor is a Ranged Assassin hailing from the Starcraft universe. He has quite a few attack options and can be played with a variety of styles. He can take out many other heroes in one-on-one situations, offer support and stun options, and even do well with a siege build. He has more variety than most Assassin heroes and almost leans more towards a Specialist class. He’s also fairly easy to use and most of his good abilities work in a variety of ways, making Raynor fairly easy to learn.
Penetrating Round
Penetrating Round is Raynor’s go-to ability in many situations. If you’re taking down a lane or fortification, it can hit multiple minions or structures. It can also hit multiple heroes, knocking them backwards and giving Raynor a bit more room to escape if the fight isn’t going well. It has solid range and can be used from a moderately safe distance depending on who or what you’re attacking.
Inspire
Inspire increases your attack damage and speed by 15 percent and gives nearby allies half the boost. This is another great tool for taking down structures and minions, but also works well in team battles. Use it whenever it’s up and you have a few allies or minions in close proximity.
Adrenaline Rush
You won’t always have a healer on your team, especially if you’re playing quick matches without a full party. That’s where Adrenaline Rush comes into play. It automatically heals Raynor when his health drops to 30 percent or below. It can easily save you from death if you’re being chased by another Ranged Assassin, or if you need to make a quick escape.
Basic Build
Level 1 – Give Me More, Bribe or Demolitionist
Level 4 – Quick Fingers or Vampiric Assault
Level 7 – Heavy Ammo
Level 10 – Hyperion or Raynor’s Raiders
Level 13 – Giant Killer or Activated Rush
Level 16 – Cluster Round or Bullseye
Level 20 – Battle Hyperion or Dusk Wings
Raynor has a few different build options depending on your play style, but many of the recommended abilities will work no matter how you wish to play (some better than others). At level one you can pick up Give Me More, Bribe or Demolitionist. Demolitionist is best if you’re working on a siege build that can take out enemy structures quickly. It quickly drains ammo, making it much easier to take down the structures. Bribe also works well in a siege build because as you defeat enemy minions you’ll gain bribes that can be used to instantly win over mercenary and brute camps. If you’re not focusing on a siege build, go with Give Me More for additional healing (unless you have a solid healer on your team) or even Seasoned Marksman for increased overall damage.
At level four you have Quick Fingers or Vampiric Assault. If you don’t have a healer in your party, Vampiric Assault is a good option as it gives you additional healing to go along with Adrenaline Rush. Quick Fingers helps to reduce the cooldown of your abilities, which means more of everything more often. It should be your go-to ability at level four unless you’re really starving for heals.
When you reach level seven your only solid choice here is Heavy Ammo. It increases the knockback of Penetrating Round as well as the damage it inflicts to structures. This gives you better escape options and enhances your siege build. The only other ability at level seven worth looking at would be Revolution Overdrive, but that’s only if you’re worried about dying and want more escape options.
For Raynor’s Heroic abilities, Hyperion works well if you’re working on a siege build. It can destroy entire fortifications with relative ease and makes pushing that much faster. In all other builds, Raynor’s Raiders is the better option. It summons two invisible Banshee attack drones that add considerable damage output.
At level 13 you should be looking at Giant Killer or Activated Rush. Giant Killer gives you more damage against enemy heroes, which is always good. Even if you have a siege build, you’re going to be attacking other heroes many times throughout the game. Activated Rush allows Adrenaline Rush to be used on command and reduces the cooldown. This is good for a self-sustaining build when you don’t have a good healer laning with Raynor.
Level 16 brings Cluster Round or Bullseye to the table. Cluster Round increases the damage and width of Penetrating Round, making it far more useful. Meanwhile, Bullseye causes the first enemy hit by Penetrating Round to be stunned for one second and take 50 percent more damage. Both options give Penetrating Round more utility, but Cluster Round should be used in a siege build, while Bulleyes works better if you’re more focused on enemy heroes.
Finally, at level 20 you should select between Battle Hyperion or Dusk Wings. This selection is determined by the ability you chose at level 10. If you opted for Hyperion, Battle Hyperion adds more damage to the attack. If you went with Raynor’s Raiders instead, it causes the two Banshee drones to be invisible all of the time and inflict more damage. This makes much harder to kill and much deadlier than before. Alternately, you can go with Bolt of the Storm to give Raynor another escape option. If you’re having issues getting away from enemy heroes, you may want to go with this option.
Keep a close eye on Prima Games as we continue to work our way through all of the heroes in Heroes of the Storm, and don’t forget to check out our Heroes of the Storm landing page for all your strategic needs.
