in game, zeratul is an amazing ganker, and gains most of his power late game, when his abilities do more damage and he gains self sustain and damage from talents.
in this guide, you will find a fully comprehensive talent build, a description on abilities, tips and tricks, and playstyle.
Zeratul's trait is permanent cloak. after 3 seconds of not taking damage or dealing damage, zeratul enters stealth, hiding his health and mana and name from enemies. he will also be untargetable but able to take aoe damage. he wont appear on the minimap while stealthed either. all enemies will see of him is a faint outline that is hard to keep track of during a fight. if zeratul stands still for 1.5 seconds while stealthed, he is granted invisible, which makes him completely invisible until he moves or attacks. this trait allows zeratul to make risky plays, and also makes it easy to lose the enemy team in a chase. zeratul is one of the best gankers and burst assasins in the game, because he does massive burst damage before his targets even know he was there. COOLDOWN: 3 SECONDS
Zeratul's Q, cleave, is his main source of damage. when activated, he does moderate damage to enemies in a small circle around him. cleave is his source off waveclear, and is a many use damage tool. its low cooldown and good damage make it zeratul's critical ability. use it liberally. COOLDOWN: 6 SECONDS
Zeratul's W, singularity spike, is his form of ranged damage. when used, he hurls a bomb that explodes after 1 second, dealing good damage and slowing them by %40 for 3 seconds. this is zeratul's idea of poke, and is also useful in a chase, as the slow will help you lose or catch your target. COOLDOWN: 12 SECONDS
Zeratul's blink is straightforward and versatile. when used, he teleports to a location within a medium-sized circle. this ability will not break stealth/invisibility, and can be used to chase, escape, or anything that requires mobility. the cooldown is forgiving as well, and allows him to use this when needed. COOLDOWN: 10 SECONDS
zeratul comes with a built in extra ability, assigned to the 1 key. when activated, he teleports to the last enemy he hit with a basic attack, as long as he hit them under 3 seconds ago. this distance has no limit, and allows zeratul to be an unparalleled chaser. COOLDOWN: 15 SECONDS
zeratuls first R option is might of the nerazim. it comes with 2 parts. a passive, which, when you cast an ability your next AA does %30 more damage, and second, you can activate your R to cast an untalented version of zeratul's most recently cast basic ability, dealing %50 damage. mainly, this is used with blink, and combined with vorpal blade gives you 3 blinks to chase with! this ability is really strong as if you W, AA, Q, AA, 1, AA, R, AA, you will deal incredible amounts of damage like no other. generally take this ultimate when ganking, and not teamfighting. COOLDOWN: 20 SECONDS
Zeratul's second R is void prison. when activated, a circle of energy springs up in a moderate area. anything but zeratul in that area gois into time stop. the circle lasts 5 seconds. if things were to walk into the circle while it is active, they would also be time stopped. this ability is extremely useful. use it to escape, let your cooldowns refresh, chase, freeze an ally being targeted, pause a teamfight, annoy people, anything. this can even freeze towers! you can save your towers, or freeze enemy towers to tower dive. this ultimate is recommended when traveling with your team, because you will get the most value from it. this ability can even freeze the core! beware of the cooldown, though. COOLDOWN: 100 SECONDS
remember, you can blink while invisible. set up in a bush, and blink to your opponent. they wont expect a thing.
your burst is second to none. use it to kill priority targets.
you can be focused and killed easily, always have a plan to escape.
you cant be targeted in stealth, which makes you strong against auto attack heroes like raynor.
blink is an incredible mobility tool. use it in a multitude of situations. it can also go through terrain.
at level 1, take move unseen to not have to mount and to be able to enter stealth more.
At level 4, rending cleave is the best burst option and does nice damage to a enemy team.
at level 7, take warp skirmisher for the better chasing potential.
at level 10, both are good, take might of the nerazim in this case.
at level 13, take shroud of adun to have increased resistance to burst.
at level 16, take master warp blade to do more burst.
at level 20, take twilight falls to completely combo the enemy team.
at level 1, take greater cleave for the better AoE damage and to burst the entire enemy team.
At level 4, rending cleave is the best burst option and does nice damage to a enemy team.
at level 7, take wormhole to flit in and out of an enemy's backline.
at level 10, both are good, take void prison this time.
at level 13, take mending strikes for the increased sustained combat potential.
at level 16, take void slash for the devastating combo potential.
at level 20, take shadow mending to excel at teamfights and sustained combat.