I've been playing Heroes of the Storm since the Alpha in April of 2014. I am by no means a pro gamer, but I have played Brightwing in high ranked hero league games at a 66% win rate. This guide is intended to give Inexperienced Brightwing players general idea of how to play the hero. If you enjoy the guide, please Like/Comment on it!

Trait

Phase Shift (Z)

On a 45 second cooldown, this ability allows you to teleport to any friendly hero on the map. This ability gives Brightwing global map presence, and the ability to soak experience or capture an objective and then immediately enter into a teamfight. This can also be used as an escape if you get caught out, although stuns and CC will interrupt it. It is important to know that you cannnot interrupt this ability yourself - once you've started it, you will teleport to that ally!

Abilities

Arcane Flare (Q)

This ability deals damage in a circular area. Enemies inside the inner circle will take additional damage. you won't find yourself landing a lot of kills with this ability, but if you get good at projecting your enemies movements you can add a bit of damage to a fight. This ability can also be useful for revealing invisible heroes, clearing creep, and killing minion waves.

Polymorph (W)

This amazing CC ability turns an enemy into an animal, disabling their abilities but still allowing them to move. Learning when to use this/who to use it on is one of the keys to becoming a good Brightwing player.


Pixie Dust (E)

This ability gives one stack of block to an ally and increases their movement speed temporarily. It is nice to speed up allies who are trying to run away or taking auto attack damage. This can also be useful to use on yourself when you need to get somewhere in a hurry but can't phase shift.

Brightwing is a very versatile hero, and at almost ever talent level there are talents that will be map, team comp, and enemy team comp dependent.


Bribe

Great for stealing enemy merc camps to keep the pressure on. Good choice on Haunted Mines, Dragon Shire, Blackheart's and Sky Temple.

Scouting Drone

Excellent talent to take when you are worried about enemy ganks or keeping an eyes on objectives. Solid choice on Garden of Terror, Cursed Hollow and Tomb of the Spider Queen.

Shield Dust

In my opinion, the extra stack of block never out-values Bribe or Scouting Drone.

Arcane Precision

Again, extra damage is nice, but doesn't outweigh the value of extra map vision or mercs. Unless you plan on split pushing like a madman, forget it.

Anti Magic Powder

The one situation where this is a viable choice is against a Kael'Thas who you think might take Pyroblast. Otherwise, Protective Shield is a better choice.

Protective Shield

Protective Shield saves lives. Excellent to use when an ally is being bursted down or at low health. Since Brightwing doesn't have big bursty heals, this talent complements his kit very well.

Envenom

Nice damaging talent that is absolute murder at low levels. Worth taking if you feel like your team is lacking in damage, particularly if you are running double support.

Promote

With a recent buff in the Johanna patch, this talent is seeing a lot more play, especially on Sky Temple and Tomb of the Spider Queen. If you plan on split pushing a lot and you can keep constant pressure on the lane, you can really annoy opponents with this. If you can't, take something else.

Gust of Healing

Amazing AOE heal that should be taken in almost all situations.

Regenerative Rains

Just doesn't compare to the healing output of gust of healing.

Cleanse

This talent removes all disables and makes the target immune for 1 second. This talent can be amazing if used properly, and can be considered if playing against a composition relying on disables. However, as gust of healing provides Brightwing with such a massive healing boost, Gust wins out in most cases.

Calldown: Mule

Mule can be great for healing up structures on maps where the objectives directly damage buildings: Haunted Mines, Blackheart's Bay and Sky Temple. However, taking this will cost you a lot of healing or cleanse. Better off letting a Tassadar/Tyrande/Abathur take this talent if possible.

Blink Heal

This talent helps Brightwing in 2 ways: it lets you control and target your heals, and gives you a ton of mobility. Once you get this talent, you become extremely hard to kill, as you can teleport to allied heroes and minions to escape. Recommended in most cases.

Emerald Wind

This talent is a great disengage, and can be extremely useful against jumper comps - especially if they have an Illidan. However, you are sacrificing a lot of healing and mobility.

Sticky Flare

This talent just can't compete with the other talents vailable at 13.

Phase Shield

I would only recommend this talent if you are extremely confident in not dying. It can be a nice way to save a teammate.

Sprint

Add this to Blink Heal, and you are damn near unkillable. Great for escaping or quickly repositioning yourself.

Ice Block

In most cases, I take Sprint over Ice Block. However, Ice Block does negate all incoming damage, making it useful against things like Triple Tap, Pyroblast and Judgement.

Hardened Focus

Your 3 basic abilities are not high yield enough to make this a viable choice for Brightwing.

Sticky Powder

Not a bad talent, but simply not as good as Critterize.

Critterize

THE 16 talent. This talent is amazing for focusing down a hero, and should be the 16 talent of choice pretty much 100% of the time.

Stoneskin

If you find yourself constantly being bursted down, I guess you could try stoneskin. However, with Blink Heal and Sprint/Ice Block, this shouldn't be necessary.

Ysera's Blessing

Not a bad talent, but doesn't compare to the utility of Storm Shield at level 20.

Continuous Winds

Makes Emerald Wind extremely annoying, and can make life miserable for a jumper comp.

Storm Shield

Great talent for absorbing AOE damage on a relatively short cooldown. Solid choice if you feel like your healing needs a boost to keep your team alive.

Rewind

Rewind + Critterize + Polymorph is a nasty lockdown combo on a hero you want bursted down. Personally, I choose between this and Storm Shield depending on how the game is going.

Playstyle

Early Game

Early game is all about soaking and taking advantage of your global presence to get your team a lead. Stay in lanes furthest from objectives and soak experience until the last possible second before porting into a team fight. You can also take advantage of your ability to hearth back to base, get mana, and immediately rejoin the fight. A good Polymorph can also be the difference between an enemy being killed or escaping early on.

Until level 7, you rely solely on your trait for healing, which is not really under your control. This makes correct use of protective shield very important in keeping allies alive early on. Once you reach level 7, your ability to heal increases tremendously.

Without Blink Heal, you are a much easier target for enemies. Don't overextend into a fight - just hang back and poke with your abilities, staying just close enough that your trait can heal allies.

If you took scouting drone, place them so that you can your team can see ganks coming and get out or engage if necessary. Scouting drone can really shut down early game ganks and give you eyes on objectives like seeds or gem turn in on Tomb of the Spider Queen.

Finally, if you took bribe, be smart about an opportune time to sneak behind enemy lines and snag their siege giants if possible. The worst possible use of bribe occurs if you die or get caught and end up giving your enemies free mercenaries.

Mid Game

Continue to soak experience and split push unoccupied lanes safety if possible. Always have an eye on the minimap and be ready to port to allies that need you.

Blink heal is a game changer for Brightwing. Good use of this talent will make you a very elusive target to take down, so use it wisely. Good use of Gust of Healing, Protective Shield, Blink Heal and Polymorph are your main concern for the rest of the game. If you find yourself in danger, blink heal to a backline ally or a minion, and save Sprint/Ice Block for your last line of defense. However, good teams will typically not focus you, since you are such an annoying hero to chase down and finish off.

Late Game

At this point in the game, split pushing becomes less of a priority than staying with your team, winning teamfights and taking objectives. Be sure that you are using either Rewind + Polymorph or Storm Shield to maximum effectiveness in addition to the things mentioned above for mid game teamfights.