The next hero from Heroes of the Storm has been announced. It is the black dragon Deathwing, an ancient enemy from World of Warcraft.
Relatively unexpectedly, the developers of Heroes of the Storm have let a pretty big cat out of the bag. The next hero in Blizzard’s MOBA will be none other than Deathwing, the black dragon aspect. After he met his end in WoW years ago, he is now returning as a playable hero – and he is likely to be the wildest character yet.
What makes Deathwing so insane? Deathwing is in his dragon form throughout the entire game – without exception. This makes him even larger than heroes like Cho’Gall or Alexstrasza in their dragon forms. Moreover, he is permanently unstoppable, meaning he cannot be affected by stuns or slows.
However, Deathwing also cannot be healed or affected by allied effects. He plays “his game” and cannot be influenced by his allies.
These are Deathwing’s abilities in HotS
In Heroes of the Storm, Deathwing counts as a “Bruiser”, which is a hybrid between a tank and a damage dealer. He has two different “stances” to choose from. Depending on the stance, he is either a melee fighter or more suited for medium range. All his abilities consume energy, which regenerates quickly. Here are his abilities:
- Passive: Aspect of Death
- Deals 100% bonus damage to enemy heroes.
- Unstoppable at all times.
- Cannot be affected by allied abilities (healing, Abathur clone, etc.)
- Armor Plates: 40 armor at 100% health, loses 10 armor every 25% health.
- Mount: Dragon Flight
- Cannot use normal mounts.
- Upon use, Deathwing takes off after a short channel and leaves the map. He regenerates health while in the air. He can land at a visible location of his choice.
- Upon landing, he chooses between Destroyer form or Worldbreaker form.
- Other abilities have a 3-second cooldown after landing.
- Molten Flame (both forms)
- After a short delay, Deathwing breathes fiery breath in a straight line. This is channeled until Deathwing stops or runs out of energy.
- Molten Flame (Destroyer)
- After a short delay, Deathwing releases flames in all directions that deal damage in a small area around him.
- Charge (Destroyer)
- Deathwing charges a few meters forward. Enemies hit are slowed. Enemies at the end of the charge are bitten and take additional damage.
- Lava Eruption (Worldbreaker)
- After a short delay, a pool of lava appears in a circular target area. The pool deals damage and slows significantly.
- Earthquake (Worldbreaker)
- After a short delay, two lines shoot away from Deathwing in a V-shape, damaging and stunning all targets hit.
- Heroic Ability: Cataclysm (both forms)
- This ability is available from level 1 (no choice).
- Deathwing takes off and flies a few meters in a straight line, burning the ground beneath him, which remains on fire for a while and deals damage.
In summary, Deathwing seems to be a massive, solid damage dealer, but requires a lot of practice. Those interested in gameplay can see a first look here (starting at minute 28:30):
When will Deathwing be released? There is still no release date for Deathwing. However, he is expected to be playable on the PTR with the “first patch after BlizzCon,” possibly as early as November 4th. The release typically follows 2-3 weeks later.
The last hero from HotS was, by the way, unknown to anyone…
What’s coming at BlizzCon? It is a bit unusual for the developers of Heroes of the Storm to introduce the new character so close to BlizzCon. Since HotS has its own panel at the event, we can at least expect one or two new heroes.
Are you looking forward to Deathwing? Or does the black dragon leave you completely cold?
