Stack-and-execute jungler who finishes marked targets with Demon Feast
Hanzo is a jungle assassin who builds Dark Ninjutsu stacks through basic attacks and Ninjutsu: Dark Mist, then spends them on Demon Feast, a burst execute that only fires at five stacks. His ultimate splits him into a wall-passing demon spirit, letting him reposition around a fight most junglers can't reach.
Landing five stacks of Dark Ninjutsu before committing to Demon Feast, and repositioning through walls with the demon-form ultimate without over-extending, both take real practice.
Max Ninjutsu: Dark Mist first for the mist damage and mark application, level Demon Feast whenever it's usable, and take the ultimate at levels 4, 8 and 12.
dealt by Hanzo's Basic Attacks and skills inflicts a stack of Dark Ninjutsu on the target, up to 5 stacks. Ninjutsu: Demon Feast can only be cast on targets with full stacks of Dark Ninjutsu.
Always active — no cooldown
Hanzo can only cast Demon Feast on a target carrying 5 stacks of Dark Ninjutsu. Against a minion or jungle monster he devours it outright and heals over time; against the Lord or Turtle it deals bonus true damage; against an enemy hero it deals a burst of Physical Damage. In Hanekage form this skill instead becomes Forbidden Ninjutsu: Soul Snatch.
Hanzo consumes a target holding 5 stacks of Dark Ninjutsu: a minion or jungle monster is devoured for a heal over time, the Lord or Turtle takes bonus true damage, and an enemy hero takes a burst of Physical Damage.
Hanekage dashes to an enemy hero and strikes them and nearby units after a brief delay, dealing Physical Damage that scales with the target's Dark Ninjutsu stacks; at maximum stacks the strike deals bonus damage based on the target's max HP and heals Hanzo.
Cooldown not recorded
Hanzo dashes in the target direction, leaving behind a mist that repeatedly damages and slows enemies standing in it while speeding Hanzo up. In Hanekage form this skill instead becomes Forbidden Ninjutsu: Black Mist, which also briefly launches enemies into the air.
Hanzo dashes in the target direction, leaving a Dark Mist that deals Physical Damage to enemies inside it every 0.5 seconds for several ticks, slowing them by 40% while granting Hanzo bonus Movement Speed.
Hanekage dashes in the target direction and briefly launches enemies caught in its path into the air, leaving behind the same damaging, slowing mist as Dark Mist.
Cooldown not recorded
Hanzo transforms into Hanekage, a demon-soul form that can charge toward the target location while ignoring terrain, consuming Energy every second and gaining bonus Movement Speed and Attack Speed. His original body is left behind invincible; killing non-hero units restores a small amount of Energy and killing an enemy hero restores a large amount, extending the transformation.
Cooldown not recorded
Signature combo
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
6,810g total
Default pick for clearing camps efficiently and punishing overextended laners early.
Battle spell
Retribution35s CDA well-timed Retribution on a low-HP objective — a 'smite steal' — can snatch Turtle or Lord away from a team that appeared to be securing it, often the single biggest swing play of the early-to-mid game.
Swap in when needed
Blade of Despair — Raw damage spike once the game reaches a late-game power state.
Queen's Wings — Extra survivability when the enemy has a burst assassin hunting the jungle.
Sea Halberd — Cuts healing against lifesteal fighters or tanks stalling out his stacks.
7,080g total
When the draft wants him applying side-lane pressure instead of ganking every fight.
Battle spell
Execute90s CDBecause its damage is weak against full-HP targets, using Execute to open a fight instead of close one wastes most of its value.
Swap in when needed
Wind of Nature — A window of physical damage immunity when the enemy collapses on his split push.
Malefic Roar — Penetration when a tank sits on the side lane to stall his push.
Blade of Despair — Extra kill pressure once towers start trading.
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
NataliaAssassinHardNatalia's Camouflage state opens with a Basic Attack that teleports her behind Hanzo and silences him, killing him before he's stacked five Dark Ninjutsu marks.
LingAssassinHardLing's wall-climb and blade-storm burst outpace Hanzo's own wall-passing demon form — she can dive him mid-combo before Demon Feast comes online.
HelcurtAssassinHardHelcurt ambushes from his own stealth state, landing the first strike on Hanzo before Hanzo can safely apply five stacks of Dark Ninjutsu.
AamonAssassinHardAamon's Camouflage lets him vanish between shard volleys and burst Hanzo down in the opening exchange of a jungle duel, before Demon Feast even has a full-stack target.
YinFighter · AssassinHardYin's Instant Blast dash and My Turn domain let him isolate Hanzo and kill him through the Dark Mist before Hanzo lands five basic-attack stacks.
SunFighterSoftSun's Doppelgangers give Hanzo extra bodies to chew through while Simian God heals Sun every time one connects, winning the extended trade Hanzo needs to stack marks.
AldousFighterSoftAldous's Contract: Soul Steal stacks into a single enhanced attack that keeps pace with, and eventually outraces, Hanzo's single-target execute.
ZilongFighter · AssassinSoftZilong's Supreme Warrior attack-speed burst and Dragon Flurry healing let him sustain a longer duel than Hanzo, who needs the full five-stack setup to do real damage.
WanwanMarksmanSoftWanwan's Tiger Pace dash after every arrow punishes Hanzo the moment he commits to closing distance with Ninjutsu: Dark Mist, since she out-ranges and out-mobiles him.
MoskovMarksmanSoftMoskov's spear poke deals damage from a range Hanzo can't safely close without eating multiple hits, denying the setup time Dark Ninjutsu needs.
Tough BootsCuts the slow duration from Ninjutsu: Dark Mist, making it easier to walk out before Hanzo finishes stacking marks.
Blade ArmorReflects basic attack damage back at him, punishing the exact attacks he needs to stack Dark Ninjutsu.
ImmortalityThe revive shield survives the Demon Feast execute burst that's meant to be a guaranteed kill at five stacks.Heroes whose own counter list names Hanzo — the same matchup, read from the other side.
BaneFighter · MageHardHanzo stacks Dark Ninjutsu from range and cashes it in with Demon Feast's burst, and Kinjutsu: Pinnacle Ninja leaves his real body invincible elsewhere while Hanekage fights — so Deadly Catch's telegraphed line has nothing worth hitting.
BaratsTank · FighterHardHanzo stacks Dark Ninjutsu from outside Barats' reach and cashes it in with Demon Feast, and while Kinjutsu: Pinnacle Ninja is up his real body sits invincible where the suppression charge can't reach it.
CecilionMageHardAs Hanekage he charges in through terrain from off-screen while his real body sits somewhere else invincible, punishing Cecilion's zero mobility the moment he's spotted out of position.
GordMageHardKinjutsu: Pinnacle Ninja sends Hanekage charging through terrain while Hanzo's real body sits invincible somewhere safe, so landing Mystic Projectile on the thing that reaches Gord accomplishes nothing.
IxiaMarksmanHardOnce Ixia carries five Dark Ninjutsu stacks, Ninjutsu: Demon Feast dumps a burst on her low durability before her Siphon Starlium lifesteal proc can offset the damage.
KajaSupport · FighterHardKinjutsu: Pinnacle Ninja leaves Hanzo's real body invincible while Hanekage charges in through terrain, so Kaja's suppression window closes on a body he cannot kill.Duo partners whose kit completes this one.
HildaFighter · TankHilda's Combat Ritual slow and Power of Wildness stun pin a target, giving Hanzo the window to land basic attacks and stack Dark Ninjutsu before executing.
KhaleedFighterKhaleed's Desert Tornado pulls enemies in and Raging Sandstorm stuns them where they land, letting Hanzo close with Ninjutsu: Dark Mist and stack marks safely.
GlooTankGloo sticks to a target and slows their escape routes, giving Hanzo time to reach five stacks of Dark Ninjutsu before they can disengage.
EdithTank · MarksmanEdith's Earth Shatter knocks a target airborne long enough for Hanzo to land the basic attacks Dark Ninjutsu needs before executing.AldousFighterAldous's Contract: Soul Steal burst and Hanzo's Demon Feast both threaten the same low-HP target, letting the two chain a kill neither finishes alone.
ZhuxinMageZhuxin's Fluttering Grace slow and the Crimson Beacon field keep grouped enemies damaged and stuck inside Hanzo's mist long enough to stack Dark Ninjutsu for the execute.
NatanMarksmanNatan's Interference! drags enemies along its path and opens their HP bars for Hanzo to finish once Demon Feast is fully stacked.
ValentinaMageValentina can steal an enemy ultimate to re-engage a target Hanzo has already marked, giving him a second window to close in.
CyclopsMageCyclops's Star Power Lockdown immobilizes a target for Hanzo to land the basic attacks needed to stack Dark Ninjutsu.
RafaelaSupportRafaela's Holy Baptism stun opens the exact window Hanzo needs to close distance and stack marks before executing.Use Ninjutsu: Dark Mist to apply the first stacks of Dark Ninjutsu from range before committing to basic attacks
Only fire Demon Feast once you can see all five Dark Ninjutsu stacks on the target's portrait
Use the demon-form ultimate to cut through walls for a flank rather than fighting head-on
Save Demon Feast for the Lord or Turtle once they hold five stacks — against them it adds a burst of true damage
Not really — his damage is gated behind five stacks of Dark Ninjutsu and his ultimate's demon-form split takes practice to use safely, so newer players tend to underperform his real ceiling.
Haas' Claws into Hunter Strike and Malefic Roar gives him the lifesteal and penetration to stay in extended trades while stacking marks, with Blade of Despair or Queen's Wings depending on the fight.
Natalia, Helcurt and Aamon all punish him before he can safely stack five Dark Ninjutsu marks, since his early trades are weak until the execute is ready.
It can only be cast on a target carrying five stacks of Dark Ninjutsu. Against an enemy hero it lands a large burst of physical damage; against a minion or jungle monster it devours the target and heals him over time, and against the Lord or Turtle it adds bonus true damage.
