🧬 Who is Tyrael?
Tyrael, former Archangel of Justice and now Aspect of Wisdom, brings his righteous might and protective powers to the Nexus. As a versatile bruiser-tank hybrid, Tyrael excels at enabling his allies through shields, movement speed buffs, and devastating area control. If you love diving into battle with holy fervor while empowering your team to victory, Tyrael’s wings of justice await your command.
Main Roles:
🛡️ Off-Tank | ⚡ Dive Enabler | 🔆 Team Support | ⚔️
Bruiser
🛠️ Abilities (Quick Look)
- Archangel’s Wrath (Trait – D): Upon death, become invulnerable and explode for area damage.
- El’druin’s Might (Q): Throw your sword and teleport to it, dealing damage and slowing enemies.
- Righteousness (W): Shield yourself and nearby allies.
- Smite (E): Damage enemies in an area and speed up allies who walk through the zone.
- Judgment (R1): Charge an enemy hero, stunning them and nearby enemies.
- Sanctification (R2): Create a zone that makes allies invulnerable.
🎮 Gameplay Guide
Tyrael thrives as a second frontliner who enables aggressive plays, protects allies, and disrupts enemy positioning with his mobility and area control.
✅ Early Game
- Use El’druin’s Might for safe poke or quick escapes.
- Smite waves for efficient clear and mana conservation.
- Shield allies during trades with Righteousness.
✅ Teamfights
- Initiate or follow-up with El’druin’s Might → Smite combo.
- Position sword teleports to body-block retreating enemies.
- Use Righteousness preemptively before burst damage.
- Create paths of Smite for allies to engage or disengage.
✅ Objective Control
- Zone control with Smite’s speed paths.
- Use Sanctification to secure contested objectives.
- Judgment to punish out-of-position enemies during objectives.
🛡️ Builds & Gameplay Focus
⚔️ Divine Dive Buddy Build
Level 1: Justice For All
Level 4: Bound by
Law
Level 7: Zealotry
Level 10:
Judgment
Level 13: Angelic Might
Level 16:
Horadric Reforging
Level 20: Holy Ground
Focus: Dive Support, Pick Potential, Ally Enabler
The Lowdown:
This build transforms Tyrael into the ultimate dive
companion — a holy warrior who enables assassins to reach their targets and wreak havoc
with impunity. Your game plan revolves around coordinated aggression, using your
mobility and crowd control to lock down priority targets while ensuring your damage
dealers stay protected through shields and speed boosts. With Judgment as your heroic,
you become the initiator that enemy backliners fear, creating pick opportunities that
can quickly snowball into objective control.
The build focuses on maximizing your shield value and El’druin’s Might utility, allowing you to protect allies during committed dives while maintaining the slow pressure on enemy targets. By level 20, with Holy Ground, you gain unprecedented control over enemy positioning, creating impassable terrain that can trap targets or block escape routes. This isn’t a solo carry build — it’s about elevating your team’s effectiveness to divine levels.
Where other tanks might stand passively at the frontline, you lead the charge alongside your assassins, ensuring they have the support needed to secure kills and escape safely.
The Core Loop & Synergy:
- Justice For All (1) extends shield to nearby allies for team protection.
- Bound by Law (4) increases El’druin’s Might slow and duration.
- Zealotry (7) increases shield duration for sustained protection.
- Judgment (10) provides targeted stun initiation for pick potential.
- Angelic Might (13) increases damage after shielding for follow-up burst.
- Horadric Reforging (16) reduces El’druin’s Might cooldown for mobility.
- Holy Ground (20) creates impassable terrain with sword placement.
Key Tactics & Pro Tips:
- Coordinate Judgment with high-burst allies for guaranteed kills.
- Use El’druin’s Might → Holy Ground to trap enemies or block choke points.
- Shield diving allies preemptively as they engage.
- Create Smite paths that align with ally engage angles.
In short: You’re the divine enabler. You create opportunities, protect the aggressive, and ensure your team’s dive strategy succeeds with holy precision.
⚔️ Sanctification Support Build
Level 1: Salvation
Level 4: Swift
Retribution
Level 7: Reciprocate
Level 10:
Sanctification
Level 13: Law of Hope
Level 16:
Smite the Wicked
Level 20: Defense of the Angels
Focus: Team Protection, Counter-Engage, Sustained Support
The Lowdown:
This build transforms Tyrael from an aggressive
initiator into a protective guardian — a bastion of safety in chaotic teamfights. Rather
than diving the backline, you focus on counter-engage, punishing enemy aggression while
providing unmatched protection for your carries. Perfect against heavy AoE composition
or wombo-combo teams, this build lets you nullify enemy ultimates with perfectly timed
Sanctifications while maintaining constant shield and speed support.
Swift Retribution and Smite the Wicked turn your Smite into one of the best team utility abilities in the game, providing both defensive and offensive movement speed that can decide teamfights. Sanctification requires perfect timing but offers game-changing potential, completely negating enemy ultimates or enabling your team to take seemingly impossible fights. By level 20, Defense of the Angels transforms you into a walking fortress of protection.
Where the dive build is about creating kills, this build is about preventing deaths and turning enemy aggression against them.
The Core Loop & Synergy:
- Salvation (1) increases shield amount based on heroes hit.
- Swift Retribution (4) increases Smite’s movement speed bonus.
- Reciprocate (7) causes shields to damage nearby enemies when they expire.
- Sanctification (10) creates invulnerability zone for team protection.
- Law of Hope (13) provides passive regen and active healing.
- Smite the Wicked (16) increases Smite damage and speed duration.
- Defense of the Angels (20) grants armor to allies after Sanctification.
Key Tactics & Pro Tips:
- Watch for enemy ultimate animations to time perfect Sanctifications.
- Position centrally to maximize Salvation’s shield value.
- Create escape paths with Smite when your team needs to retreat.
- Time Law of Hope’s active heal during sustained fights, not just burst moments.
In short: You’re the guardian angel. You nullify enemy aggression, enhance your team’s survivability, and turn the tide of seemingly lost fights through divine protection.
📊 Final Thoughts
Tyrael rewards strategic thinking and team coordination like few other heroes. Whether you’re enabling aggressive dives or protecting your team from certain doom, your success depends on anticipation, positioning, and perfect timing. Master his unique mobility and support capabilities to truly become the Archangel of Justice in the Nexus.
Spread your wings, raise your sword, and deliver judgment upon your enemies! ⚔️💫