Who is Sonya? Top
"
Sonya, the Wandering Barbarian, is a warrior hero from the Diablo franchise. From the frozen Dreadlands of the north comes the mighty Barbarian warriors. After surviving of the destruction of her home and death of her tribe, Sonya wanders Sanctuary in search of battle and a better life for her people." -
heroesofthestorm.gamepedia.com
In simple laymen's terms: she is a
beast.
What Sonya IS:
Bruiser - Sonya can take and put out a lot of damage, but cannot sustain as much damage as Muradin or Diablo and then some
Unique - Sonya's Fury resource is fueled by dealing and taking damage. This means you have more control on how you regenerate your power, not just how you spend it
Initiator - Despite being squishier than other tanks, Sonya is capable of initiating a team fight, but never engage without all or most of your team mates
High Sustaining - Thanks to her
Whirlwind and lack of mana, Sonya can stay in a lane far longer than most heroes.
Tank - Thanks to recent updates,
Blizzard has seen fit to make Sonya more of a tank and less of a bruiser by giving her a dramatic health buff. Don't worry, she still kicks ***!
What Sonya IS NOT:
Under-powered - I see this a lot on the forums; people whine that she should have her WW buffed so it cannot be interrupted. Coming from a consistent Sonya player, I whole heartily disagree with this. With the build in this guide, she is a ****ing monster and if played well she can make her enemies run away at the sight of her.
Fast - At least at first she isn't. Each time you use an ability, your movement speed is increased by 10%, but if you pick
No Escape at level 16 this will make escaping much easier and chasing more deadly. Until then, pick your battles wisely.
Table of Contents Top
1. Introduction
2. The Build
3. Controlling the Beast
4. Changelog
Introduction Top
I'm Jeff, a.k.a.
PerfectH, and I've been playing Blizzard games ever since
StarCraft. My first MOBA was
DotA which admittedly I didn't play very much of. Almost a year after
League of Legends was released I begun to play that quite a bit, then began to become a seasoned player. Ever since
Heroes of the Storm was released, I fell in love with this MOBA and never looked back.
The Build Top
Your Toolkit
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(Trait) Fury
This is Sonya's fuel. This is her coffee in the morning. This is her rage induced by a stubbed toe on the foot of your desk as you bounce around holding it and screaming obscenities. You get the idea. But in all seriousness this is better than having mana in my opinion because you have direct control over the flow of the resource. I don't mean just spending it, but also how you gain it. Auto-attacks, using your heroic ability, and taking damage all contribute to gaining Fury. Knowing how to gain Fury is important because in certain situations it could mean life or death.
(Q) Ancient Spear
Believe it or not, this little sewing needle does substantial damage to heroes and other enemies. I cannot tell you how many times I've been out of melee range of an enemy trying to escape only to finish them off with ancient spear. However, it takes great practice and patience to learn how to land the spear correctly, because it is extremely frustrating and disappointing to just barely miss your mark because you didn't take the time to aim. But if you do hook someone, they can pretty much kiss their *** goodbye.
(W) Seismic Slam
If I was matched up against Sonya, I wouldn't want to be on the business end of her (W) I'll tell you that right now. You will notice in this build I chose not to put any talents into this build mainly because it is extremely powerful enough unbuffed. Don't worry, even though this is a WW build, I assure you, you will be using this skill a lot. It does a monster amount of damage in a cone with most of the damage focused on the main target. Mid to Late game, you can use this ability to level structures in very little time, making yourself tough competition for your team's specialist for siege damage. It is also exceptional for taking out squishier assassins such as Jaina, Kael'thas or even Zeratul (uncloaked).
(E) Whirlwind
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
This. This is why we are here today. This ability is arguably one of the best basic abilities among all the melee heroes in the entire game. This is the ability that makes Sonya get out of bed in the morning. This is the ability that makes your enemies flee in terror. This is the ability that will make the Red Sox win the World Series. This...is Whirlwind.
Silliness aside, this is a fantastic ability. For three seconds, you do decent AoE (Area of Effect) damage to all enemies within range. Not only that, but you also heal for 20% of the damage dealt, which is why it also makes it a great ability. It is worth mentioning that healing is TRIPLED if the damage is dealt to enemy heroes, which makes it very useful for sustaining team fights. It is with this ability you can stay in lanes longer, fight smarter, soak up more exp for your team.
Be forewarned: although it does heal, you are by no means invincible! There was a time in beta where you could use a group of minions to almost instantly heal yourself back to full health via WW. Those days are long gone as Blizzard finally figured out how overpowered this made Sonya. It is also worth mentioning that there is no protection from stuns while using WW, so time your WW after your enemies cast their stuns, not before!
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(R) Wrath of the Berserker
ROAAAR!!
You have just transformed into what was already considered a beast into a heartless, giant, Amazon ***** with no remorse. Nearly a never ending heroic, this ability can have its duration sustained as long as you continue to generate Fury by means mentioned above. This ability is also your friend when it comes to initiating a team fight, as it reduces the disabling effects (stuns, roots, etc.) on you by 50% (later 75% if you choose Anger Management). Since this ability can have its duration extended, don't be afraid to pop it while taking down structures. In fact, I highly encourage using it for that reason as well, as the cooldown on this ability is only 45 seconds and you can easily make the effect last long enough to re-cast it immediately should the effect wear off.
Talent Selection
Level 1
Shot of Fury
We pick this skill first because it provides 50 Fury on demand every 45 seconds. This is very helpful in many situations and it does not hurt using it right off the bat as Fury does not degenerate. It is also handy because you can use this skill while whirlwinding, thus preparing Sonya for her next attack as soon as she stops. Use this in combination with
Wrath of the Berserker to extend its duration.
Level 4
Hurricane
Your first upgrade for
Whirlwind. This little beauty implants and on/off switch for roots, snares and slowing effects when you use
Whirlwind. Very useful for chasing and getting away. Definitely a must to keep our busy lady on the move.
Pro Tip: It can also be used to get in and out of Nazeebo's
Zombie Wall...friend or foe!
Level 7
Ferocious Healing
Whoa what the heck? Why are we picking a healing spell? I thought
Whirlwind took care of that for us? It does, but not enough to sustain high damage. That is why we need
Ferocious Healing to pick up the slack and allow us to heal even more when our support is down or missing. Don't be afraid to spam this ability if you are retreating.
Level 10
Wrath of the Berserker
Now we're talking! This is definitely one of the greatest heroic abilities in all of the game. With only a mere 40 second cooldown, 40% damage buff, 50% reduction to stuns, roots and slowing effects, AND you can extend its duration by gaining more Fury. What's not to like?!
Level 13
Life Funnel
Healing with
Whirlwind just got better. Instead of healing 20% of the damage dealt, you will now heal for 25% instead! I choose this ability most of the time, regardless of how the game is going. However, if you feel really confident in your support's healing abilities, consider picking
Aftershock instead if you wish.
Level 16
No Escape
Sonya just got disqualified from the Olympics because at level 16 I'm pretty sure she started taking steroids. Movement speed after using an ability increases from 10% to 25%! Very good for chasing down and escaping sticky situations. At this point, Sonya has become very slippery. An alternate choice to this talent if you are the tank would be
Imposing Presence or
Nerves of Steel.
Level 20
Anger Management
Last but not least, your heroic buff. This basically makes your
Wrath of the Berserker even easier to keep up as it takes even less Fury gained to extend the duration. More importantly, your disables reduction is now 75% up from 50% and you generate 50% more Fury. Wait, what?! MORE FURY?! WOW!! At this point, with
Wrath of the Berserker switched on, you should be a wrecking ball with blades sticking out.
Controlling the Beast Top
Early Game
Pick a lane. It doesn't really matter much which lane you push, but you will perform better if you have a laning partner. Some form of range goes well with Sonya as sometimes enemies get too comfortable laning close to you as you smash them a couple times with
Seismic Slam and
Whirlwind. Running away for a drink, that's when heroes with long range attacks such as
Malfurion or
Azmodan really shine as they polish them off before they make it to safety.
Continue laning safely until objectives pop, then stay close to your group. Remember, your team is looking to you to be the initiator most of the time (unless a stronger tank is present) so get in there, but make sure you don't go too deep in case your team doesn't want to commit to a fight after all. Sometimes you have better odds of surviving by staying and fighting instead of running.
After objectives are secured, go back to laning and soak up more exp. By level 7 you should have picked
Ferocious Healing and can start to make more risky attacks on your laning foe. You still don't have your heroic so use caution as the enemy might be formulating a gank on you any second.
Mid Game
At this point, you should have just selected
Wrath of the Berserker, if you didn't, SHAME ON YOU!! Anyway, your heroic will help you immensely in your efforts to push a lane back, especially if you are falling behind. Don't forget that your heroic not only boosts the damage of your basic attacks, but also that of your basic abilities. That means more damage from
Whirlwind and more healing you will receive when you use it.
If you are a seasoned HOTS player, I shouldn't have to tell you that at this point you want to stay closer to your team mates and wander off less if possible. If you are behind in exp, then you may want to stay in your lane and continuing soaking until your team is caught up in level. However, now that everyone has their heroic, more and more team fights are bound to happen, so keep an eye on that mini-map and be ready to jump in when your team needs you.
Since you have your heroic, you might find yourself trying to keep that duration going as long as possible. Use whatever means you have to gain Fury and keep it going.
Ancient Spear generates Fury, but ONLY if it hits an enemy target, that could include an enemy's wall which could also pull you to safety, and allow you to pop
Ferocious Healing if you are running away from danger.
Oh and don't forget about merc camps. As a WW Sonya, you should have no trouble at all soloing any of them.
Late Game
By now you should have all your talents picked and you are just as tough as nails. Apart from objectives, team fights and nuking that core are your life now. Your survivability is unmatched and your
Seismic Slam can almost two-shot weak foes. Helping your team secure kills on team fights will help ensure your exp advantage over them, plus less resistance when pursuing the Core or a boss.
Now I know I said you're not a tank. You're still not. However as a bruiser, it is equally your job to come to the aid of a teammate in crisis and help them to safety if they need it. Or better yet, help them beat down whomever is trying to kill them in the first place if you can do so without dying yourself. Get some more enemies on the clothes line (respawn timer), gather your team, and move in to end the game.
If the Core is at 100%, I would clear a path to the enemy core to help your minions and siege vehicles reach it so they can tank the Core's defenses for you. If the Core is pretty hurt, Sonya should have no problem tanking the Core for a short time; just long enough to get it down to 0%. Of course, it is always best to wait for your teammates if there is a threat!
Acknowledgements Top
I would like to thank my wife,
Ashleigh, for putting up with me ignoring my husband like duties to play this game, love you lots and you're the best.
My cousin,
BronsonH, who plays HOTS with me on a near nightly basis. You're amazing dude.
And to the rest of my friends who also play HOTS;
Kikoku,
cpujockey,
Vyndictus; you guys are all amazing players and I am so lucky to have you guys on my team every night. Thanks for believing me.
Changelog Top
9/9/2015
-Updated for the Rexxar the Beastmaster patch
-Added some threat levels for select heroes (more to come)
-Updated some of her ability statistics to reflect actual values
-Fixed typos
7/13/2015
-Updated for the Eternal Conflict patch (minor fixes)
6/11/2015
-Initial Release
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