Hey there everyone!

As finally my most favourite hero, Sylvanas was released today, I've been testing her whole day, whole night (nerd). And I've figured out very good and extremely strong pushing build. You will literally wreck enemy lanes with this build, fading from their eyes!

I will go slowly down with this build, explaining each step of why to pick this and this .....

This build is NOT for killing heroes, potential of killing enemy heroes with this build is kinda low, but the push is extreme and you can turn a lot of games thanks to this.

Note that playing this build might be very risky in some situations or at some certain maps and you will need very good coordination with your team, so playing this in Team League is viable.

Let's start with Sylvanas abilites.

Abilities

Basic Abilities:

Withering Fire

(Q) - Deal moderate damage to the closest enemy, preferring Heroes. Stores 5 charges. Gain 1 charge on nearby enemy Minion or Mercenary deaths, and 3 charges on nearby enemy Hero deaths.

Now this ability is Sylvanas's bread and butter. You can poke easily anyone in your range (Heroes, minions, buildings, mercenaries) and kills of minions and heroes restores chargers. Note, that this ability does not cost any mana and has very low cooldown, so do not hesitate to use it as much as you can, as the poke is very viable.
Very useful when an enemy is chasing you, just spam Withering Fire and they will retreat, or else - you will kill them.

Shadow Dagger

(W) - Deals light damage to a target intially, followed by moderate damage over the next 2 seconds. The effect spreads to nearby targets.

This ability is just great. Not only it spreads Sylvanas's trait, Black Arrows very fast and among everyone who is is hit by Shadow Dagger, but also, it does moderate damage over time. For poking, excelent thing, but its greatest potential is in clearing the minion waves and affecting buildings + minions with Black Arrows. Using this ability on to enemies Fort will spread passive from Black Arrows very fast, even on to another buildings.

Haunting Wave

(E) - Send forth a wave of banshees dealing moderate damage to all targets. Reactivate to teleport to the banshees location.

This ability is your only way of escape, so do NOT waste for dealing damage, because the damage is just not as much worth as it should be. Instead of dealing damage with banshees, save it for sneaky gang, chasing or just for getting out of some bad situation. You can mistake your enemies by using Haunting Wave in some way, and running exactly another way. Enemies might be confused, and will run for the banshees, while you even do not need to reactivate your teleport.

Note that Sylvanas will NOT be able to reactivate teleport while she is stuneed, rooted or silenced.

Passive Trait:

Black Arrows

- Basic Attacks and Abilities stun Minions, Mercenaries, and Towers for 1 second.

Excelent ability for wave clearing. Just use Shadow Dagger or Withering Fire and apply stun to everything around you. Note that this ability is NOT working on to Summoned Units and Bossess.

Heroic Abilities:

(R)

Wailing Arrow

- Shoot an arrow that explodes for massive damage and silences enemies for 2.5 seconds. Can be reactivated to detonate the arrow early.

Excelent ability for teamfights and 1 v 1 against other Heroes. Very strong, good damage and the silence effect is extremely viable against enemies, for interrupting channeling spells etc.

Possession

- Force an enemy minion to fight for you. It gains 20% Attack Damage and Health. Cooldown is increased to 20 seconds when used on Catapults.

Useless ability for teamfights and fighting, but for pushing, it's like "Uaaaaah!". It has extremely low cooldown (unless you use it on to catapult or Mercenary) and those afflicted minions are very strong, easily beating minions of enemies. Note that if your enemy is spawning Catapults and you use Possession on to 1 - 3 normal minions, your wave will defeat the enemy wave with catapult.


So, likely all about Sylvanas's abilites. In this build, I will go deeply in to explaining abilities potential for pushing and wave clearing, not about teamfights and fighting against enemy heroes.

Talents

Level 1

Barbed Shot

- YES!
- Just a great thing against enemy minions and mercenaries. Your Withering Fire ability costs no mana, so you can spam it all the time and clean lanes faster. Also very good for taking mercenaries, as Sylvanas can easily solo them.

With the Wind

- Fair choice!
- This talent pick also works, in some way, however, you do not need to be afraid of enemy towers or minions, as thanks to Black Arrows, they won;t be able to attack you, but safer range is always a good pick, but still, for clearing the wave and farming, I would always go for Barbed Shot.

Lost Soul

- NO!
- As Shadow Dagger ability is very useful, not for farming. Withering Fire is much more potential, and this doesn;t give you any utility for farming / clearing the wave. Ofcourse, Shadow Dagger does damage and applies Black Arrows all over the lane, but still, more damage for Withering Fire is more viable then reducing cooldown of Shadow Dagger, that is better for full damage build against heroes.

Corruption - NO!
- Useless, since your Black Arrows cause enemy minions / buildings not to attack you, so there is no reason picking this talent.

Level 4

Overflowing Quiver

- YES!
- This talent pick is great, mostly for late game, as at the beggining of laning, you will just waste all charges of Withering Fire to kill enemy minions, however, later, your lane clearing potential will be so high, that you won;t be even able to recharge all those Witherwing Fire stacks, especially with Barbed Shot talent. This talent also works well against buildings, as you use Shadow Dagger on enemy wave of minions, your own minions will destroy them, and you can spam Withering Fire on to enemies buildings.

Paralysis

- Fair choice!
- Good pick. This talent is here for changing all the time your AA targets, mostly buildings or when camping mercenaries. For example, you will AA enemies fort and then immediately tower, and you will repeat this untill both of the buildings are destroyed. As you will use your Withering Fire + Shadow Dagger on to enemy minions, soon, you will have army of your own minions and they won;t even die, since Black Arrows won;t allow enemy minions and towers to attack.

Ranger's Ambush

- NO!
- As you might say this pick is good - yes, it is, but no for pushing. Your Haunting Wave ability is for escaping, with this build, not for chasing anyone, or doing damage, so NO.

Envenom

- NO!
- No point, useless and not helpful while pushing / clearing waves.

Level 7

Unstable Poison

- YES!
- As all your abilities and AA applies Black Arrows effect, this talent will cause you to remove enemy minions extremely fast. Just use Shadow Dagger + Withering Fire and you can clear lane even before some of your own minions die. Also works on mercenaries.

Life Drain

- Fair choice!
- This ability provides longer survival, but no utility in pushing or clearing the lane. Still, some sustain is always nice, so you can stay longer on lane without teleporting to base or going to fountain.

Follow Through

- Fair choice!
- As this ability adds a little bit to your AA, you can add it to your talent choice, since you will spam Withering Fire all the time, so for bringing down enemy towers and forts, this could be a good "Aid".

Mercenary Lord

- Fair choice!
- Kinda good for pushing, when you obtain mercenaries. Bruiser and Siege mercenaries do a lot of damage, so this talent would not be a complete waste. Also, to mention, if you grab at level 20 talent Dark Lady's Call, and possess enemy mercenaries, they will do even more damage, since bonus from Possession + Mercenary Lord will stack up.

Shade Form

- Fair choice!
- If you like a lot of survivalability, go for this. This almost guarantees you that you will survive, if enemies decide to go kill you, unless they have Tassadar or Tyrande, or someone with Clairvoyance.

Level 10

Possession

- YES!
- Here we go. With this ability, you will be almost unstoppable while pushing. As it has only about 3 - 4 seconds, you can spamm it all over enemy minions. Bonus health and damage for them is just extremely vital and while you possess them, even only 1 minion of enemy wave, your wave won;t loose. Notice that if your enemies already spawns a catapults, and you Possess 1 - 3 enemy minions, your lane will beat the lane of enemy with catapult. Stronger minions = stronger push! Also, if you wait right time, you can possess 4 - 5 minions from enemy wave, while you might loose 2 - 3 from your own, which is good trade.

Wailing Arrow

- Fair choice!
- This ability is great in to team fights + the silence utility rules, however, not very useful for pushing. However, you can grab it for safer laning, as if you see enemy coming, you can silence them and Haunting Wave yourself away.

Level 13

Splinter Shot

- YES!
- Hitting two targets with your Withering Fire, combined with Barbed Shot + Overflowing Quiver + Unstable Poison is extremely valid, as all those effects will apply on to more targets, thank's to Splinter Shot, your Overflowing Quiver becomes now much more potential, and you will be able to clear enemy lane in 2 seconds.

Overwhelming Affliction

- NO!
- Good utility if you want to go for damage build and if you want to chase enemies, or slow them down if they chase you, but otherwise, useless for pushing.

Evasive Fire

- Fair choice!
- Good, safe pick, wince you will spam Withering Fire all the time, movement speed is essential for chasing or running from the enemy, or for better push on the lane, however, it does not give any utility against minions, mercenaries, forts and towers, so I would go for this just if you want to insure your chances of surviving.

Spell Shield

- NO!
- No utility while pushing. Ofcourse, picking Spell Shield if enemy team has Zeratul or Nova is good in certain way, but I would not go for that, as you have your Haunting Wave ability.

Level 16

Will of the Forsaken

- YES!
- As this one does not give any utility for pushing and pursuing, you will have two unstoppable abilities, Haunting Wave and Will of the Forsaken, which is very good for your survival, and, if you insist, for chasing also. This pick goes for safer, pushing build.

Windrunner

- Fair choice!
- Another good, safe pick. Allows you to cast two Haunting Wave, which is very good thing, especially if you are being chased by enemies, however, I still prefer to take Will of the Forsaken, since Haunting Wave cannot be used while Sylvanas is rooted, snared, silenced, stunned etc. Will of the Forsaken has faster "reaction" and if you apply it, you can cast immediately Haunting Wave, so enemy cannot silence, stun, root you etc.

Cold Embrace

- YES!
- Solid, viable pick. Not that safe though, but using Shadow Dagger on to enemy towers and forts and applying Cold Embrace, combined with Withering Fire + your Possession minions is devastating thing. I'm not talking about enemy minions, because they will die instatly already at this level.

Blood for Blood

- NO!
- Doesn;t give you anything for pushing and clearing waves, only good while fighting enemy heroes. The slow utility from this ability is good, combined with life drain, but you have already Haunting Wave ability + Windrunner or Will of the Forsaken, depending on your play style.

Level 20

Fury of the Storm

- YES!
- This talent supports this build really well. Not only enemy minions will die instantly, but this is great addition against forts and towers or mercenaries (boss for example).

Dark Lady's Call

- YES!
- Now this is another solid pick, however, I would pick this only if on maps are enough mercenary camps, so it goes good for Sky Temple, Garden of Terror, Cursed Hollow, Blackheart's Bay and Dragon Shire.
I would NOT take this update of Possession while playing on Haunted Mines and Tomb of the Spider Queen.
Honestly, stealing enemy mercenaries feels VERY GOOD, especially while they have increased damage!

Bolt of the Storm

- Fair choice!
- Good choice, ofcourse, as for any other hero, but you have already Haunting Wave + (if you decided to) Will of the Forsaken or Windrunner.

How to push

So, basically, the start with this build over all maps is the same.

I mostly solo at lanes, but if you have partner within yourself, great thing.

Mostly, you should not have any troubles Over - Pushing your enemy, as Black Arrows with your abilities will provide good advantage, so it does not metter what hero you are against, worse thing is, if you are against 2, or worse, even 3. If so, call your Team mates for help, swap lanes or so. Do anything not to ruin your pushing and experience gaining.


So, at level 1, I grab Barbed Shot and go to top, middle or bottom lane, does not metter really.
My tactic is clear - I use Shadow Dagger on the minions on the edge of their group, so effect from Black Arrows and damage over time from Shadow Dagger would spread all over them + if you are lucky, on to enemy hero (happens very often). While in this phase, spam Withering Fire, as it will deal increased damage against enemy minions, so you should not have problems pushing easily (unless you are camped by enemy).
When you push enough, go capture Siege Mercenaries, you can solo them easily.

After reaching level 4, grabbing Overflowing Quiver does not bring any changes to your pushing, not yet. If you see enemies are coming for you, just use Haunting Wave in to safety.

Right at level 7, talent Unstable Poison will cause a lot of damage to enemy waves of minions. Continue with the same tactic, Shadow Dagger + Withering Fire and Auto Attacks. With Unstable Poison, you won;t be forced to spamm Withering Fire so often, as the explosions of minions will damage another, and they will die very fast, that fast that if there won;t be an enemy hero on line, you won;t even loose a single minion.
Right at this stage, you will be able to easily solo Bruiser Mercenaries.

At level 10 comes Possession which adds the most. What I do, is, that I use Possession at enemy face to face soldier minion, instantly turning him against his friends.
You can do two things - Either you spamm Withering Fire, causing Unstable Poison, destroying enemy wave immediately OR you can wait a bit, so you can Possess another 1 - 2 minions and then destroy them. You can wait and should not loose any minion of your own.
When you reach level 10 and gain Possession, pushing will go much easier.

At level 13, grabbing Splinter Shot will cause your Overflowing Quiver to comes in handy.
Now, spamming Withering Fire + Autto Attacks will destroy enemy waves extremely, really extremely fast, as minions will die so fast that your Withering Fire charges won;t even have time to re - charge, so you will be almost non - stop shooting Withering Fire.
At this stage, your push should be almost unstoppable, if enemy won;t start focusing you, you will literally "remove" their waves, towers and forts.

At level 16, grabbing Will of the Forsaken does not change anything at all, just a safe pick when you draw enemies attention. There comes handy Will of the Forsaken + Haunting Wave.

Right, reaching level 20 is a great moment. It unlocks two, different, but both good things - Dark Lady's Call or Fury of the Storm.
It really depends on your play style, but as I wrote before, I would not pick Dark Lady's Call on certain maps, however, the bonus damage + ability to control enemy gained mercenary is really, really awesome. Here you might consider grabbing Mercenary Lord aswell, but it is very hard to predict, if your enemies will focus on to mercenaries or not. However, even 30% damage and HP boost for your minions you Possess is awesome.
Another solid, and great pick, Fury of the Storm, gives you tons of damage against heroes and Buildings. I'm not talking about minions, since they are already dying too fast to mention it. So it really depends upon your playstyle.

So, this is all about How to Push. The MOST IMPORTANT thing about this build is, that you should not get caught and focus on to pushing as much as you can. As I said before, this build does not provide good damage against enemy heroes, but it provides great pushing potential.

At the End

I hope this build will help you guys, I've been working very hard to figure out good, pushing build for Sylvanas.

Any suggestions, advices and so are well welcomed!

Thank you all! :)

Check my another build, for Nova - http://www.heroesfire.com/hots/guide/dominion-ghost-single-target-build-1994