Varian, Ragnaros, new Brawl battleground revealed for Heroes of the Storm

Blizzard unveiled two new heroes and a new Heroes Brawl battleground for “Heroes of the Storm.” The announcements were made at BlizzCon 2016.

Varian Wrynn

The first hero is Varian Wrynn, the High King of the Alliance.

Varian is described as “an adaptable fighter who can become either a shield-bearing Warrior or a life-ending Assassin based on his talent choices in-game.” He can fight using one great sword, or dual wield.

As the game’s first multi-class Hero, Varian comes with talents at levels 4 and 10 that can completely alter his playstyle. There are six different ways to play him. For example, he can be “a front-line tank like Johanna or an agile assassin like Illidan or Zeratul by the end of the match.”

His Abilities are the following:

Heroic Strike (Trait): “Every 18 seconds, your next Basic Attack against an enemy Hero deals moderate bonus damage. Basic attacks reduce this cooldown by 2 seconds.”

Lion’s Fang (Q): “Create a shockwave that travels in a straight line, dealing moderate damage and slowing enemies by 30% for 1.5 seconds.”

Parry (W): “Parry all incoming Basic Attacks for 0.75 seconds, reducing their damage by 100%.”

Charge (E): “Charge to the target enemy, dealing light damage and slowing them by 75% for 0.75 seconds.”

Taunt (R1): “Force the target Hero to attack you for 1.25 seconds.” Taunt’s passive element increases Varian’s maximum health by 50%, but reduces his attack speed by 25%.

Colossus Smash (R2): “Smash a target enemy, dealing heavy damage and making them Vulnerable for 3 seconds.” Its passive element increases Varian’s attack damage by 75%, but reduces his maximum health by 10%.

Twin Blades of Fury (R3): “Basic Attacks reduce Heroic Strike’s cooldown by 9 seconds, and increase your Movement Speed by 30% for 2 seconds.” Its passive element increases Varian’s attack speed by 100%, but reduces his attack damage by 25%.

Varian will be available in the Public Test Realm next week, and officially launches the week of November 15.

Ragnaros

The second hero is Ragnaros the Firelord.

Ragnaros is a one-of-a-kind Assassin hero thanks to his ability “to take over Allied Forts or Dead Forts with his Trait Molten Core. Seizing control of a fort grants him a new set of abilities that allow him to defend against the enemy’s siege or lay waste to an enemy town in an allied push.”

His Abilities include:

Molten Core (Trait, D): “Channel on an allied or destroyed Fort or Keep to unleash your full power.  You replace the Fort or Keep temporarily, gain new Abilities, and have 4156 Health that burns away over 18 seconds.” When Ragnaros’ health has been brought down to zero, he returns to his original form.

Empower Sulfuras (Q): “Your next Basic Attack is instant, deals moderate damage in an area, and heals you for 20% of the damage dealt. Healing doubled versus Heroes.”

Living Meteor (W): “Summon a meteor at the target point that deals light damage, then rolls in the target direction dealing massive damage over 2 seconds.”

Blast Wave (E): “Ignite yourself or an ally, granting 25% Movement Speed for 1.5 seconds, then causing a fiery explosion that deals light damage to nearby enemies.”

Sulfurus Smash (R1): “Hurl Sulfuras at the target area. It lands after 0.75 seconds, dealing moderate damage. Enemies in the center take triple damage and are Stunned for 0.5 seconds.”

Lave Wave (R2): “Release a wave of lava from your Core that travels down the targeted lane, dealing massive damage per second to non-Structure enemies in its path and instantly killing enemy Minions.  Damage increased by 33% versus Heroes.”

Ragnaros’ Primary Abilities change when he’s in Molten form:

Molten Swing (Q): “Swing your hammer in a wide arc, dealing moderate damage and stunning enemies for 1 second. Damage increased by 75% versus Minions, Mercenaries, and Monsters.”

Meteor Shower (W): “Summon 3 meteors at the target point that fall in the target direction.  Each meteor deals moderate damage and slows enemies by 25% for 2 seconds. Damage increased by 75% versus Minions, Mercenaries, and Monsters.”

Explosive Rune (E): “Create a rune in the target area. After 2 seconds the rune explodes, dealing moderate damage to non-Structure enemies. Damage increased by 75% versus Minions, Mercenaries, and Monsters.”

Ragnaros will be available this December.

Blackheart’s Revenge

Heroes Brawl is getting a new battleground called Blackheart’s Revenge.

In this asymmetrical map, only one team has a core, which it must defend, while the other assists Blackheart in destroying said core.

The team with the core is tasked with collecting cannonballs, which it must load into cannons situated around the dockyard. Once loaded, the cannons will fire on Blackheart’s ship in an attempt to sink it before it arrives at its destination.

The team escorting Blackheart’s ship must prevent the enemy team from loading those cannons, and ensure the ghost pirate’s siege succeeds.

Blackheart’s Revenge will be available the week of November 15.

Aside from the three major updates to “Heroes of the Storm,” Blizzard’s popular MOBA will be on the receiving end of a series of minor enhancements. We will, of course, be getting a plethora of new skins for the heroes, new challenges, and subtle changes to various game systems before the year’s end.

Expect more “Heroes of the Storm” news for GMA News Online. — TJD, GMA News