Zeratul is an amazing hero, although he does not have high health or even a significant amount of sustain damage he is still considered one of the top tier heroes. The reason Zeratul is so highly regarded is because he has an amazing amount of burst damage, which can turn the tide of the battle significantly. Not to mention Zeratul also has a great CC ability, Void Prison, Which can control the flow of the battle, as well as Permanent Cloak which allows Zeratul to get close to his enemies. By using Void Prison to lock out half the enemy team, a team fight can quickly go in favor of your team. Be careful when using Void Prison as it can also trap your own teammates. Usually Zeratul targets the enemy team's assassins. Those are the heroes that pose the most threat to your team because they can dish out a lot of damage, however in compromise they are extremely squishy making it easy for Zeratul to burst down. In essence, Zeratul is an anti-assassin and anti-support hero (as I like to call him).

Zeratul has many excellent abilities that make him the assassin he is meant to be. Although, most of his abilities are meant for 1 target (meaning that he is not really effective at clearing lanes) he still has some AoE abilities unlike Nova (minus Precision Strike). This means Zeratul is able to clear a lane easier yet still able to do his assassin job properly.

(Q) Cleave is the only source of AoE damage for Zeratul. It has the potential to do massive damage late game and is probably your second highest damage ability. This ability is extremely useful in team fights, since Zeratul can hit multiple targets with one Cleave. This is also your go to ability for clearing minions (although Zeratul would be better off wandering and ganking).

(W) Singularity Spike is almost always the first ability you throw at your opponent before going in. Since Singularity Spike actually slows your opponent significantly making it easier for Zeratul to keep up the pressure and get more hits on the opponent. This ability is Zeratul's main damage ability and the amount of damage it can push out late game is ridiculous.

(E) Blink is Zeratul's main escape ability. Since, Zeratul is a melee assassin he mainly gets his kills up close and personal. Zeratul can dish out a lot of burst damage, however in return he is very squishy. In order to escape death, Blink is a much needed tool at Zeratul's disposal. However, Blink is not limited to escaping. It can be a very good tool for initiating a fight bringing you close to an enemy before he reacts. Be careful when using Blink for this aspect as he will have a very hard time escaping if Blink is on cool down and the rest of the enemy team arrives.

(R) Shadow Assault or Void Prison both these abilities benefit Zeratul's kit extensively. Since, Zeratul is a horrible team fight champion, Void Prison can help you even the odds as it traps enemies and allies alike in a unmovable fabric of time. This is helpful because you can throw it on half of the enemy team and take out the other half leaving you with a man advantage. You can also throw it on the entire enemy team allowing for your allies to set up their ultis or AoE abilities after warp expires. Shadow Assault benefits Zeratul in a whole different way. Shadow Assault is meant for chasing down low enemy heroes after a team fight, or for making sure an enemy does not escape in a 1v1. With Shadow Assault active, it is extremely hard to escape death at the hands of Zeratul.

Permanent Cloak is Zeratul's trait. This trait is extremely useful as Zeratul is mainly a ganking hero. This means he catches his enemies unaware and strikes at the right moment, dishing a lot of burst damage and killing the enemy in most cases. Since, Zeratul getting the kill relies on the enemy not escaping, what is a better way, than to be invisible?

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For Zeratul's first ability I almost always pick Rapid Displacement. Rapid Displacement significantly lowers the cool down time for Blink allowing you to have more Blinks at your disposal. This helps you significantly as you can Blink in and out, quicker. This does not seem like a big deal, however it provides you with a lot of survivability (which is always important on a Zeratul). Seasoned Marksman and Regeneration Master are fairly useless as Zeratul isn't meant for laning. The second choice I would go for is Greater Cleave or Block as they both still hold some value ( Block is great for Zeratul's survivability and Greater Cleave allows you to hit more enemies at a greater distance).

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I usually go for Gathering Power as my second ability since any extra damage is welcome, although it may not look like a good ability at first, Gathering Power is extremely good as the extra damage it brings can be the difference between getting a kill or not, and in some cases whether you will be living or not. If you think about it Gathering Power is a great choice as most of Zeratul's damage comes from his Singularity Spike ability and this not only buffs that, but Cleave as well.

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For the third ability, I go for First Aid. Like I have said before, in my Tychus Guide First Aid is probably one of the best abilities in the entire game since the survivability it gives to assassins cannot be underestimated (both Tychus and Zeratul are pretty squishy). Since Zeratul's job is to gank enemies at the right moment having self heal is extremely important and aids your ability to get kills. The heal given by First Aid can be the difference between life or death (and living is extremely important for Zeratul as Gathering Power resets on death).

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For Zeratul's heroic ability most people choose Void Prison. The reason for this choice is simple, Void Prison grants way to much utility not to be chosen. It can help Zeratul escape when he needs to and turn team fights in your favor. It can also prevent enemies from escaping and save one or two keeps (throw Void Prison on them before they are about to die). As you can see, there is no way Shadow Assault can match the utility that Void Prison brings.

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Wormhole is the ability I chose because, it provides a whole lot of value. Since, Zeratul is mainly an ambush or gank assassin, he needs to sneak in quickly and finish enemy heroes. This can be accomplished by blinking into a group of enemies and sniping the low health assassin or blinking behind an enemy gate and sniping the low health hero. This however is almost certain death for Zeratul, as even the lowered Blink cool down given by Rapid Displacement isn't going to recharge fast enough. Wormhole solves this problem as it gives you another free Blink allowing you to quickly snipe the enemy then Blink back to relative safety. This ability provides too much utility to replace and can be the difference between a kill or a death.

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For this ability, you almost always take Double Bombs, yes Rending Cleave looks like an ideal choice but, it simply cannot kill your opponent fast enough because the damage applies slowly over time, while Singularity Spike does immediate extra damage. Having another free spike is too good of an opportunity to pass as the extra damage it brings is immense, For this build I would not pick another ability.

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Rewind is the go to choice for Zeratul. The reason Rewind is so effective is you can do even more burst damage on top of the burst you are already doing. Since Rewind lowers the cool down of all your non-heroic abilities instead of having 1 Cleave you have 2, instead of having 2 Singularity Spike you have 4. Not to mention you an extra Blink to escape safely if the enemy caught up to you from your first Blink. The extra damage and survivability it packs on is just too good to pass and none of the other talents at this stage get are even remotely as useful as Rewind. Therefore, Rewind is the talent to go for.