The PTR will soon be going live and when it does we will be bidding farewell to the Illidan we once knew. Stripped of all but 2 generic talents, Illidan has received a significant rework with several new talents being added. We noticed some of his new talents had fantastic synergy with his AA damage and Sweeping Strike (W) so we went ahead and crunched some numbers and figured out a build that can deliver 1,000 DPS at lvl 20.
At the core of this build are 3 talents that maximize Illidan’s AA damage
Two things to note about this Lvl 1 talent: 1. There isn't a guaranteed rate at which this ability can stack. The battleground, the number of deaths, and number of takedowns can all impact the rate at which your attack damage can increase with this talent. We've found it usually takes until Lvl 13 for 20 stacks to be reached. And 2. It doesnt stop stacking once you hit 20 so the longer the game goes the higher your attack damage can get.
This Lvl 16 talent has incredible synergy with the 35% damage bonus from Sweeping Strike and the cooldown reduction from Illidan's trait. With his attack speed (1.82 p/s) it's possible to use Sweeping Strike twice within Blade of Azzinoth's 8 second window allowing the 35% bonus to be maintained alongside the 75% bonus.
At lvl 20, Illidan's basic attack damage is 171; add the stacks from Unending Hatred, the 20% increase from Nexus Blades, the 75% bonus from Blades of Azzinoth, and the 35% bonus from Sweeping Strike and this demon hunter can do enough damage to take almost every hero in the game from 100-0 within 8 seconds.
Numbers breakdown
Below shows how Illidan's AA damage increases as these talents and abilities are synergized together. As mentioned before, the rate at which stacks of Unending Hatred can be gained varies, but even if it takes until Lvl 20 to get 20 stacks with that additional 10 bonus damage Illidan is still hitting for 569 per auto attack.
This is Illidan's potential DPS. As you can see, at Lvl 16 he is dishing out 800 per second when he activates Blades of Azzinoth and procs the 35% damage bonus from Sweeping Strike. If he can land enough auto attacks (it only takes 5-6) Sweeping Strike will reset and in that 8 second window, it's possible to deal over 5,000 damage (Attack Speed=1.82 p/s, 12.5 auto attacks at 427 per hit + 223 per Sweeping Strike). At Lvl 20 it's over 8,000.
The Other Talents
This build has a lot of diversity because talents from the other tiers won't interfere with its damage. But here are my thoughts on which talents best feed this build's playstyle:
Lvl 4: Rapid Chase- The movement speed bonus helps Illidan stick to a target better while auto attacking, thus making it easier to maintain DPS. Plus it synergizes well with Nexus Blades at Lvl 20 which slow the target by 20%; that adds up to a 35% movement speed bonus.
Lvl 7: Thirsting Blade- 60% healing while Sweeping Strike is active? Yes please. At Lvl 20 he's healing for minimum 290 per hit; 360 if Unending Hatred stacks are up.
Lvl 10: Metamorphosis- More survivability and mobility.
Lvl 13: Nimble Defender- 25% damage reduction with every Sweeping Strike. This caps off some great survivabilty focus for this build.
Final Thoughts
This build depends upon a player with an above average battleground awareness and mechanical proficiency. To gain stacks of Unending Hatred in a timely manner Illidan will have to focus on wave clearing as often as possible. And a player who can effectively stutter step (and resist using Dive) when Blades of Azinoth is active will be able to maximize its value. On paper, it looks like Illidan has one of the highest (if not the highest) DPS in the game. And with his multiple power spikes and ever growing late game potential this new Illidan just might qualify as a top tier hero.
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