The Heroes of the Storm roster is getting a whack of StarCraft II loving lately thanks to the imminent release of Legacy of the Void (which is out in just three week time… HYPE). Fans of Blizzard’s MOBA have already received Lieutenant Morales – a Terran medic, and now, they’re about to get somebody a little more… offensive. Just this morning, the Spear of Adun pulled up to the Nexus, and dropped off none other than the Protoss protagonist, Artanis.
Thing is, he isn’t available to everybody just yet, or at least, he won’t be until next week, the 27th of October. No, he is only available to those who have pre-purchased Legacy of the Void. Those who have can look forward to playing around with the following abilities this week…
Basic Abilities
Shield Overload (trait)
If you take damage while below 50% Health, gain a Shield for 5 seconds. Your Basic Attacks lower the cooldown of Shield Overload by 4 seconds.
Blade Dash (Q)
Dash forward to deal damage to enemies, then return to deal significantly more damage.
Twin Blades (W)
Your next Basic Attack immediately strikes the enemy twice.
Phase Prism (E)
Fire a Phase Prism that deals damage to a Hero and swaps your position with theirs.
Heroic Abilities
Purifier Beam (R)
Target an enemy with an orbital beam from the Spear of Adun, dealing damage every second for 8 seconds. The beam will chase the target as they move. Unlimited range.
Suppression Pulse (R)
Fire a large area pulse from the Spear of Adun, dealing damage and Blinding enemies for 4 seconds. Unlimited range.
I like the heroic abilities Artanis possesses. The fact that he has a global presence is pretty damn valuable, especially on those maps where there are multiple objectives to capture simultaneously. He can hold his own on one part of the map, while sending in some support from the Spear of Adun on another. I’m quite fond of the purifier beam in particular – it will sync nicely with other heroes who have long disables.
With a few short weeks to go until the release of Legacy of the Void, I wonder if Blizzard have any other StarCraft heroes up their sleeves waiting for a surprise release? Perhaps Blizzcon holds that answer…
Last Updated: October 21, 2015
Grand Admiral Chief
October 21, 2015 at 11:04
Geez, I sure like those abilities! Very cool
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
October 21, 2015 at 11:41
Still one of the biggest reasons I will stick with DOTA2 is just because all the heroes are always available.
Hargrim
October 21, 2015 at 12:07
Do you play all 110 all the time? 7 free heroes is fine, and honestly, you can get a good collection of owned heroes in less than a month going the f2p route
The ‘all heroes all the time’ is a nice gimmick, but is very low down on the priority list for me when choosing a MOBA
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
October 21, 2015 at 12:10
Well I mainly play support and offlane. So cut out all the carries really, but the big thing is that I want to be able to play against different heroes as well.
It not always what I am allowed to play, but combos to face. I just don’t like being limited really.
Also HOTS is a bit quick and low on detail for my taste.
I can definitely understand why people want to play HOTS though. Good game and well made.
Hargrim
October 21, 2015 at 12:12
Fair enough then. I guess DOTA does need someone to keep the server staff busy 😉
Lardus-For the Emperor!
October 21, 2015 at 11:48
Perhaps a StarCraft themed map is in order?
Hargrim
October 21, 2015 at 12:03
Much as I would love a SC2 map, I think they need to work out a way to rotate the map pool first. 9 is already too much
Hargrim
October 21, 2015 at 12:00
Come on 27th! 🙁
Really look forward to playing him, but the RTB Na’Vi sale these last to weeks ate too much of my gaming budget to justify getting LotV for a week extra with the Heirarch
Caboose
October 22, 2015 at 16:37
Played last night, so much of fun, and that purifier beam, op damage wise but Slow af