Hello recruit and welcome to the Nexus. You may call me Instructor but let us skip the nice parts and get to business. From now one you will be assigned to James Eugene "Jim" Raynor. You will work with him, you will fight with him and ******** you will learn everything about him because both of your lives are now depending on each other

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What are you waiting for?! Move and get your partner known!

Raynor is a great hero for starters, simply because of his brain dead ability Adrenaline Rush which auto triggers and heals an nice portion of your health, a bless in the beginning if you are not used yet to team fight and have tendency to lose sight of Raynor. But let us have a general look at his abilities:

(Q) Penetrating Round Raynor switches to some heavier ammo and shoots once straight, pushing back what ever it hits on its way. It has a rather short range but the knock back can be helpful either while you are fleeing from other heroes, getting some distance between the two, helping other team members getting distance between their persuaders or, the best case, pushing fleeing heroes back in battle or provide them with a mercy shot.

(W) Inspire A power armor has many benefits one of them making the wearer focus and increase his fire rate. Not only for the user but also for Minions and Heroes around. Great for team fights so in general, use it when ever a good opportunity arrives... so basically, mostly, always...

(E) Adrenaline Rush Wish you would have a power armor to go too, huh? With their integrated med-kits even in the heat of battle health will be restored as soon as it hits critical levels. This abilities makes Raynor a great start Hero to learn the maps and the game and fight in team battles without being a burden to the team for dying too easily cause you rushed foolishly somewhere in. Side Note: It does not prevent death so... don't be too much of a fool, okay...?

(R) Raynor's Raiders He likes to call them "his" Raiders but let's be fair, those are just two Banshees (flying crafts) paid to shoot what ever you target with them. As they are fast, those two flying devils are great for hunting fleeing heroes and give them the rest they deserve, just don't shoot them out of range with Penetrating Round. That can suck... believe me... Because what they have on fire power, they leak in sustain and can easily been shot down by towers or other heroes who pay attention. You can indirectly control the Banshees by pressing R again and pointing them to where they should fly or attack, like in an RTS.

(R) Hyperion The small Banshees are nothing for a real man? Than how about you order some orbital bombardment by a Hyperion? It starts where you stand and flies slowly in the direction you point it, dealing damage to all heroes and buildings on its way. But quite frankly, that thing puts the fear in your enemies and in team fights it can either kill quite the bunch of them or more frequently make them split or flee in all directions. Personally I like Raynor's Raiders more, simply because I can direct the damage and not just cover a large area.

Advanced Optics Just a last word on Raynor's Combat Trait Advanced Optics, what just gives him the last reason to be a great starting hero. He has increased vision and attack range compared to any other ranged hero... what...? You still have a question...?

Over the course of the game, you will gain levels and therefor have to choose of a variation of talents. Many talents are highly situational so feel free to have a look also at the other talents, hidden within spoilers.

Level 1

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Seasoned Marksman - For every Minion you get 1 Point, 2 Points for a Hero kill. Collect 6 of them and get a stack which increases your basic attack by 1. Doesn't sound like much? Accumulated over the game and added with all the +% in speed and range it will give you a nice bonus.

ALTERNATIVES Give Me More! - Okay, I get it. You are not used yet to the game and even though modern medikit instant help you are still dying. No problem, if that is the case, pick this Talent instead and you will be able to stay longer in combat or have more health to flee. Raider's "Recruitment" - Badass people can easily call in "recruits" by killing smaller Minions. Charming, huh? However for getting the game known not really the best choice, rather help your team mates capture Mercenary Camps and on higher levels Raynor can capture small Camps on his own within reasonable time too. Scouting Drone - How about no...? The 60 seconds increased view on a specific area are nice, but its simply too easy killed. If it would be invisible... than it would be worth a second though for beginners. But like that, no!

Level 4

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Vampiric Assault - Health will be a topic through all the matches. So how about you are damaged from a fight but you don't have to go back to the Nexus to heal up? With Vampiric Assault you can heal up on a Minion wave and join the fun again. Besides it makes you slightly harder to kill in fights.

ALTERNATIVES Focused Attack - You are feeling more comfortable with Raynor? You have some battles fought? Than I guess you can trade in the sustain given by Vampiric Assault for more Hero killing power. Confident Aim - As you will get more used with Raynor and his skill shot Penetrating Round you could also think about taking this Talent, but in general I would more recommend taking Vampiric Assault or than Focused Attack. Furthermore it only decreases cooldown if you hit an enemy Hero, not Minions which also makes this Talent unattractive. Activated Rush - Listen, you are new to the game and you are glad that Adrenaline Rush triggers automatically. And even if you are an experienced player I feel taking this Talent only pays really off if you are taking a specific talent ( Fight or Flight) on the next tier.

Level 7

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Revolution Overdrive - You are in a tight spot? That enemy is close of getting away? With Revolution Overdrive these worries are soon gone. The increase in speed granted when using Inspire can just make out the little inch you needed to get that enemy or get away from him, depending on the situation.

ALTERNATIVES Hamstring Shot - In general this Talent is to recommend if you have boosted your Penetrating Round with other Talents before. But to me the 20% slow is nice but if you are pursuing an enemy, you first shoot them away and than make them slow...? It never really worked out for me... so no. Fight or Flight - You took Activated Rush before? Than as said, take this Talent too. A cleanse on demand is something very nice to heave, but as it requires to have taken a different Talent before, I general find to get more value out of Revolution Overdrive. Mercenary Lord - Great, Mercs deal more damage. But will they help you if you have to get out or in fast on an enemy or off an enemy...? No...? Why are you still considering taking this Talent?

Level 10

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Raynor's Raiders - Like stated above, the summoning of two Banshees whose damage you can direct is fantastic for taking out squishy characters or get some support for taking out towers. Later on with the Talent Puttin' On a Clinic those Banshees can be summoned nearly all the time.

ALTERNATIVES Hyperion - Ahh big ship, bigger guns, destroy all on a linear path. Its a great Ability for team fights as its damages everything. Unlike the Banshees you can't direct the damage though. If they leave the area of the Hyperion its just a big ship. Why I prefer the Banshees

Level 13

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Puttin' On a Clinic - Kill a group of Minions and in no time you will have your Heroic Ability available. There is nothing better than just spam your enemy with Banshees and put them in a tight spot.

ALTERNATIVES Giant Killer - If you are just auto attacking your enemies than you probably want to take this Talent. The 1.5% damage based on their max health is great to hammer down those big Tanks, but also the DDs of the opposing teams. Double Barreled - You can shoot Penetrating Round twice. If you got any useful Talent before for Penetrating Round you might want to think about taking this Talent but in general, long term wise, you will get better along with Giant Killer or Puttin' On a Clinic. Steel Resolve - I said before that Adrenaline Rush is a brain dead Ability, with this Talent you make it even more so. When Adrenaline Rush is triggered (or activated, depending if you have chosen such Talent before), it activates a free dose of Inspire. I really can't recommend taking this Talent as Inspire is cheap and can be cast often, thanks to its low cooldown even more so if you also have Puttin' On a Clinic

Level 17

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Berserk - Raynor has one huge disadvantage. He is not great in 1v1. Valla and others can take Raynor out without big trouble. Taking Berserk closes this gap slightly. But even with Berserk it will be a commitment as you have to relay on your Banshees too to take them down. Otherwise the increased movement and attack speed can also be the sudden doom for fleeing enemies from team fights, but in general you want to activate it as you enter combat.

ALTERNATIVES Executioner - At the beginning I often took this Talent but over time I had to figure you can just rely on the stuns on your enemies. So most of the game this Talents is just there doing nothing. Only if Uther or Malfurion is in the team I may consider taking it as both have reliable stun/root. & Cluster Round / Bullseye - More stuff for Penetrating Round. Both are viable and if feel comforting with the skill shots, you might want to consider Bullseye. The 1 second stun can be the second needed that this enemy can be dealt by one of your party members. Cluster Round would be a great Talent for the earlier lanening phase as it would be devastating for the enemy. But at this point of the game its value is lower compared to the other talents. Relentless Leader - If you have not taken before any of the following talents: Fight or Flight or Revolution Overdrive you can consider taking this Talent as it is an auto removal of any disadvantage, in particular the knock back when being stunned can be nice to get that Uther off your back, but for beginners I recommend taking any of the other Talent as getting faster away is in most times more useful than the removal.

Level 20

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Nexus Frenzy - For the grand final have some more attack speed and attack range. With that you will be welcome in any team fights. You can stay far away, not getting killed easily. But also you can hunt down enemies if you took Revolution Overdrive. Besides Inspire giving you even more attack speed.

ALTERNATIVES & Scorched Earth / Dusk Wings - Improving your Heroic Ability is most of the time not a bad idea, but being more flexible in battle with Nexus Frenzy will not make your life easier but also earn you the good will of your team. A Card to Play - You already have a cooldown reduction with Puttin' On a Clinic and really...? What a person are you to rely on your mates dying for cooldown reduction? (Let us just leave out the fact it counts too for enemies) You horrible human being. If your team is killing enemies left and right you can think about taking this Talent as it allows you to cast your Heroic more often, but only if you have not taken Puttin' On a Clinic before. Bolt of the Storm - If you would be a hardcore assassin this Talent would be very viable to you, but as its stand (if you have followed this build) you are more for sustain than damage so you won't get the most out of this teleporting Talent. Also as you have access to Nexus Frenzy in general its more beneficial to you to take Nexus Frenzy as Talent.

Hu? You again? So you learned all about your Partner? Do you know how he fights...? No...? Than why are you vesting your time here. Go in battle!

(Q) Penetrating Round

Bascially shoot thoese enemies in line or put the distance between the two of them. If you can, either get in a battle from the side or behind in order to knock back your enemies where they belong... in the bullets or blades of your mates.














(W) Inspire

When ever you are in team fights or taking out a group of Minions, use that Inspire of yours and take out what stands in your way.



(E) Adrenaline Rush

For the sake of showing, Adrenaline Rush got triggered within heavy enemy tower firing. Please hesitate of doing this in match and just be happy to have it. It restores a decent amount of health to support you in tough situations.











(R) Raynor's Raiders / (R) Hyperion


Lovely flying crafts of doom. Use them either to get extra damage on squishy characters or as help to take down towers and forts. But usually you want to preserve your Heroic Ability for team fights.

If you are suing Hyperion in general launch it towards gates if you are trying to get or in team fights. Try to get an eye where your enemies might flee to and launch it in that general direction. (Try to get the most damage out of it)

Hey guys my name is Corbbox and I hope this guide was of some use to you. There still needs to be some things fixed within it and some pictures added if that bloody Print Screen stuff would be working...

Feel free to leave a comment and thank you for reading it.