Raynor is an extremely versatile and good all around hero. He is good in 1v1's, Team fights and even as a laning champion. Raynor does have some weaknesses. He does not have a good escape ability such as Vault or Blink and is considered somewhat squishy to other heroes, however he has a couple abilities to help him escape and survive such as the Give Me More! + Penetrating Round combo. Depending on your build Raynor can either dish out a whole lot of hero damage or take down forts like they were nothing, this makes Raynor and extremely good hero and one of my favourites.

Raynor's abilities are generally easy to use and I would expect such, since he is classified as an easy hero. Raynor becomes an excellent hero for beginners to use because instead of having 3 abilities you cast he has one passive ability that automatically activates by itself. This means the new player has less abilities to memorize, which in turn means he/she can spend more time analyzing what is going on around them (such as Map objectives, Merc camps, etc.). As you will see with Raynor he is a pretty all around hero and can do both laning and ganking pretty efficiently.

(Q) Penetrating Round is an extremely good ability for Raynor, although I would have preferred a Blink or Vault like ability, this ability prevents enemies from getting the finishing blow and keeping enemies away while Raynor can poke away from range. This becomes your main damage dealer later in the game and is extremely useful for the finishing blow.

(W) Inspire is an extremely good ability in team fights. When I say Raynor is an all around hero I mean it. He can take on enemies 1v1 as well as help out his teammates in a team fight with his (W). If you pick Revolution Overdrive, Inspire also becomes a great escape tool in case you need to escape quickly.

(E) Adrenaline Rush is an extremely good ability for beginners as well as for the hero itself. Since this ability is a passive it will automatically activate without the need of a button. It also gives Raynor extra life, which is good in case he gets ganked, since Raynor has no escape ability. In many cases Penetrating Round + Adrenaline Rush will keep you alive in cases whether you would have otherwise have died.

(R) Hyperion or Raynor's Raiders both these abilities have their own uses. One is generally used for laning since it does random AOE damage in a straight line while the other is generally used for an assassin build as it can chase down and target one enemy doing immense damage.

Advanced Optics is an extremely good trait as it increases the range of all your basic attacks. This makes it easier to kite enemies and provide support in team fights without getting killed. The increased range also helps with an auto-attack oriented assassin build as it can deal damage from range without fear of retaliation. The increased vision radius also helps Raynor in terms of survivability because he can notice enemy threats earlier. The trait also helps Raynor when laning as he has an easier escape if he gets ganked.

---

Seasoned Marksman is the new best choice in this build because Raynor doesn't do as much damage as he used to before his damage nerf, therefore Raynor now needs an increased damage output in order to effectively burst down enemy heroes and fulfill the assassin role (Which Seasoned Marksman provides). Although Raynor is now more vulnerable to high burst heroes, he can still dodge high burst heroes with Revolution Overdrive and still have some survivability/heals from Adrenaline Rush. Raynor can also take down the squishy burst heavy heroes quicker from a range (eg. Jaina, Kael'thas, and Li-Ming). Raiders Recruitment and Scouting Drone are not worth it as it does not help Raynor increase his survivability/damage at all. Give Me More! is the second best choice as it still holds some value and gives Raynor more survivability.

---

For the second ability I like Focused Attack as it gives you sudden burst damage and may be the difference between securing a kill and not. This ability is also useful as Raynor now has plenty of buffs to his fire rate. However the other 3 abilities are also decent and can be used as well. I generally like to deal more damage than additional heal because I already have Adrenaline Rush as an ability.

---

Revolution Overdrive is the best choice in this scenario, as Raynor has pitiful escapes. Revolution Overdrive helps with that by increasing movement speed allowing Raynor to escape more easily. An added benefit of Revolution Overdrive is that he gains even more movement speed when allies are around helping him in team fights and during the laning phase (if he is not soloing a lane) as it allows Raynor to stay behind the tanks and provide a barrage of firepower more easily by escaping enemies chasing him. This being said Revolution Overdrive also works if Raynor is alone, but the speed increase is not as large. All in all this ability helps Raynor exploit his ranged attacks as well as giving him an escape he desperately needs.

---

Hyperion is the better ultimate for Raynor in this current meta as this ulti can chase down fleeing enemy heroes without fear of getting destroyed and has a great zoning potential like the Phoenix ultimate for Kael'thas. Raynor's Raiders can also chase down fleeing enemy heroes however it does not provide area of effect damage and can be destroyed easily. The Raynor's Raiders ultimate also has another flaw as it cannot provide zoning for objectives and lane pushes which are important in this game.

---

Giant Killer is a great ability for a assassin build as it provides a damage increase for 1.5% of the enemies health. This is a lot and can be the difference between a kill and your enemy getting away. The other abilities are Ok however Giant Killer is the best in this case. I also would not recommend swapping this ability for another in the auto-attack build.

---

Due to the change in the meta game Berserk is not as useful as it once was, my new talent of choice for this tier would be Bullseye. Although Bullseye no longer increases all damage dealt on a hero, it is an extremely important tool for helping Raynor stay alive and get kills. Before the new heroes ( Kael'thas, Kharazim, The Butcher and Johanna) were released Raynor did not have as many threats that could close the distance quickly or pull Raynor towards them quickly, but now due to the addition of these new heroes Berserk + Revolution Overdrive no longer helps as much as it once did. Bullseye is kind of like a two way talent. It can be used on the offensive as well as on the defensive. Bulleye can help keep enemies that close the distance quickly away by stunning them (allowing you to get away) or it can be used when you and your team are chasing down an enemy to secure the kill. Therefore Bullseye is too important of a tool not to have. My second choice would be Berserk if you still favor an increased fire rate.

---

Nexus Frenzy is the best ability because it gives Raynor another attack rate buff (permanently and passively) which increases his DPS even more. Nexus Frenzy also increases attack range and goes well with Advanced Optics. I normally would take Bolt of the Storm as Raynor has no escapes but since we took Bullseye and Revolution Overdrive, Raynor has plently of chances to escape. Not to mention that his increased range and vision from Advanced Optics and heal from Adrenaline Rush also helps a lot in terms of escaping.