At PAX East in Boston this weekend, Blizzard was on hand to show off the latest challenger that will be entering the Nexus in the Heroes of the Storm beta: Sylvanas Windrunner from World of Warcraft.
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A once proud High Elf of Silvermoon, Sylvanas fell before the Undead scourge and, like her Starcraft II counterpart Kerrigan (also available in game), was resurrected as an unholy avatar of doom and gloom. Sylvanas would later help free a certain faction of the undead - the human and elf portions, that is - from the clutches of the Lich King and now leads the Forsaken as their Queen.
In Heroes of the Storm, Sylvanas is a Specialist ranged hero who is proficient in Siege and high DPS damage. A glass cannon, I'm sure, but one that packs quite a punch. In addition to her bow and arrow, she can manipulate and curse buildings and enemy units, helping to change the course of battle in small but measurable ways.
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Sylvanas' two announced abilities are Wailing Arrow and Possession. Wailing Arrow channels the huntress' inner banshee and silences all units within an area for 2.5 seconds while delivering a massive spike of AOE damage. "It's a flexible ability that can be used to clear waves, hunt down Heroes, and interrupt their channeled abilities."
Possession allows Sylvanas to take control of enemy creep and mercs - permanently. Your opponent barreling down on you with some Siege mercs? Nope, not any more. It's yours now. The possessed units even get bonuses from Sylvanas until they are destroyed. Sadly, no usable on enemy players (for obvious reasons) and the cooldown on it is related to the strength of the creep: the beefier the unit possessed, the more time you have to wait to do it again.
Sylvanas' three basic abilities are: Withering Fire (Q) - a 5-charge rapid assault that seeks out the closest unit; Shadow Dagger (W) - a lingering effect that can jump to nearby enemies, creating a tidal wave of damage that can take down piles of creep in no time and, Haunting Wave (E) - which sends out a wave of banshees that not only deal damage, but allows Sylvanas to teleport to their location.
Check out Sylvanas in action below. No word on when she will be released, but chances are it will be soon.
