This guide is to show how I personally play her. I've tried all the talents in multiple situations and feel that this is the best combination and playstyle because it combines the value of her trait with mobility and high damage. She can make great macro plays by burning bosses fast and creating big waves, but shows up to team fights as well. I find I almost always have top damage and MVP with Sylv, because if you play her the way this guide describes, she has infinite utility for her team.

Sylvanas tends to be a better pick on maps where push is important. Maps with a boss objective like Battlefield Of Eternity are by far her stronger maps. I find I can play her on any map because I tend to play her more as an assassin who happens to shut down structures. Her trait is very strong, but only when her team is with her for the push. Her dagger offers great poke before fights start, and her 15 Qs in a row offer great burst follow up.

Level 1

I find that the level 1 talents don't have a ton of influence on the game. Overflowing Quiver is what you're going to want 90% of the time as it just gives a bit extra waveclear. It has the most value across the most matches. The only time you'll take something different is if you are on a map like Haunted Mines or if you're planning on pushing lanes a lot with camps on a map like Infernal Shrines, in which case you will take Mercenary Queen. The reason why it is strong on Mines is because sappers do a LOT of damage to structures with this talent and you can take the forts down before the first golem if you play the camps as they spawn and escort them in.

Level 4

I ONLY ever take Lost Soul because I find dagger to be her main source of poke damage. If you ensure you ALWAYS use it on a hero instead of minions you will get a lot of free damage before fights start, and will be able to continue pumping out fast daggers throughout the fight as well. Most people underestimate Dagger damage and spread range. They tend to be more irresponsible than with Kael'thas' chain bomb. Also, since it spreads quickly, try to use it when the enemies are either near each other or the minion wave.

Level 7

This tier is more complicated to explain. I use Barbed Shot on maps with higher threat boss monsters. This includes Cursed Hollow, Tomb of the Spider Queen, and Battlefield Of Eternity (for immortal burn). There is also an argument to be made for it on Warhead Junction, Haunted Mines, and Infernal Shrines. Barbed Shot has a lot of synergy with Overflowing Quiver at level 1 and Windrunner at 13. It burns boss monsters mercs, and large waves incredibly fast. On all the other maps I have started taking Possession because it creates a minion wave that the enemy team has a much harder time dealing with. It takes practise to remember to be using it every time that it is up. If the enemy team has a lot of great waveclear to start with, I wouldn't take possession regardless of the map. Unstable Poison doesn't affect heroes OR structures so it is very difficult to get value from it although I have seen a good argument for it on Braxxis Holdout because if a minion wave is in the middle of the zerg, Unstable Poison rips through the zerg wave. Since it is a two wave map, Possession will not have value, and Barbed Shot can only hit one zerg at a time.

Level 10

I take Wailing Arrow 99% of the time. A well placed Arrow silences 3-4 members of the enemy team. You can shut down a Genji or Illidan that has already dove in or aim it at the backline to negate their mages' damage. Each player is silenced for 2.5 seconds so on 4 heroes that's 10 seconds of silence total.

I have yet to see a situation where Mind Control has an undeniable advantage over Arrow. Mind Control silences only one enemy and you are also not able to put out damage or value during the channel. Also keep in mind that you cannot move and should only start the cast if you are in a safe position and the enemy team doesn't have the ability to jump on you while you're vulnerable. Only take Mind Control if your team has great burst and coordination of their burst. I think most Sylvanas teams don't tend to have insane amounts of burst, because selecting Sylv means there is less room for burst mages in the comp, which is why I don't end up using MC often. I feel like a coordinated Team League team may be able to get value from MC more than HL.

Level 13

I only ever take Windrunner at 13. The mobility is insane and the burst of a refilled quiver is undeniable. Haunting Wave makes you unstoppable, so there is no reason to take Will of the Forsaken if your timing is good. Life Drain is a noob trap because you can kite and out-maneuver with Windrunner so your healer should be able to keep you alive just fine. Spell Shield is a bit awkward on Sylv as you are rarely being focused by a mage and with Windrunner you will be kiting around the fight and very rarely diving into the middle to get tagged by AOEs. An exception MAY be if they have a Kael'thas with Pyroblast who is obsessed with using it on only you. Use Windrunner to burn bosses fast, burn enemy cooldowns by zipping in and out quickly, or burst an isolated enemy by using 15 Withering Fires in quick succession while being able to shut down threatening structures, chase easily, avoid cc, and threading in auto attacks to finish them off.

Level 16

This tier will probably give me the most hate. I take Overwhelming Affliction every time. As I said earlier, people spread Dagger damage like they don't even care. Because of the lower cooldown from Lost Soul, the enemy team is pretty much permanently slowed forever once when you have this talent. It's a small slow, but it means they can't engage as effectively and the definitely cannot escape. You can effectively zone out their backline because of your unexpected single target burst and when people are slowed, they panic. They also mistime their abilities and skill shots because they don't expect to be permaslowed. Most people take Cold Embrace here, but keep in mind ONLY the first target hit is vulnerable so if you're taking that you should probably wait until your team engages and throw it on the focused enemy. You don't need Evasive Fire if you already have the mobility of Windrunner as it's overkill without value for the team. Remorseless is difficult to get the value you need from it as you would need to auto attack for every Q and I find the Q E combo is easier in bursts than threading Autos. I think that it could have potential, but I normally end up with top Damage on Sylv as it is, so it may be overkill. If you find yourself in 1v1 fights often it may prove to be very useful.

Level 20

I normally take Deafening Blast here as I find it just brings the most value. It does mean that you have to be more careful in aiming your ult as you want the centre to be on the most valuable silence target. A diving Genji or a backline Chromie or some such. If you feel your team is still lacking in waveclear you can take Fury of the Storm but I find Windrunner cleans up waves fast regardless. I take Bolt of the Storm when I'm against comps with a great cc chain because Haunting Wave can be interrupted before you can use it, so sometimes and the blink will save you in those really tight situations.

A common misconception is that all specialists can be solo laners. Sylvanas is not effective in the solo lane because although she has decent waveclear, she does not have sustain or summons to take damage for her. Her trait is more effective when she is in the 3 or 4 man group because they can protect her while she shuts down the structures and pokes them down.

If playing on a map with a push objective ( Battlefield Of Eternity, Haunted Mines, Infernal Shrines, Braxxis Holdout, and Tomb of the Spider Queen) you should push with the team because the less damage put on the immortal monster, the more push can get done. If your team zones well enough for you, there is a chance you can get a keep by level 7 on any of these maps. On maps with boss monsters ( Cursed Hollow, Warhead Junction, you should push with the boss to at least shut down wall turrets because they put out a lot of the damage on bosses. On Dragonshire or Garden of Terror you can choose to push with the group or go to a different lane to get soak early game, since they have a timed expiry you are less likely to get a keep in the first push.

As for Micro, make sure your dagger is always going on a hero to get the cooldown reduction. If you are pushing alone, dagger the wall between the two turrets as it will spread faster. To push down a wall, position yourself so that your q is targeting one turret while your autos attack the other. You can also take giant camps with this method. Doing a knights camp requires Barbed Shot at 7 and Windrunner at 13. Otherwise you will take too much damage. Remember to kill the mage first, though. when pushing with your team, make sure your are shutting down structures. Your Q tries to prioritize heroes, so I try to make sure my auto is on the fort, unless I'm using E to chase a focused kill on the other side of the fort.

The most common mistake I see most Sylvanas players make is using Haunting Wave forward to clear a wave faster. Your E is your escape. The enemy team picks up on Sylvs who use their E like that and wait for it to happen before pouncing on you. It doesn't put out enough damage to be worth losing your escape. ONLY use E early game to dodge a cc (Like Xul snare), fully escape, or to chase a guaranteed safe kill. After 13, you can go nuts with your E. I like to use it to kite the outside of a fight while poking with my Qs and Autos, followed by chasing down low health heroes to finish them off.

I love Sylvanas. I love how her kit makes her so flexible to adjust to the needs of each map and comp. You cannot play her exactly the same every game. Think critically about your talent choices by using this guide and constantly push yourself to be thinking about your micro and macro impacts on the game. This guide can get you to diamond if you practise. Good luck out there and remember to rate this guide and post a comment!! Feel free to also ask any questions you have! GL HF in the Nexus!