Heroes of the Storm – Kael’Thas Sunstrider, the Sun King Update [New Hero, New Skins, UI / Art and Music Updates]
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Hail Heroes! An exciting patch has come! Kael’Thas Sunstrider, the Sun King, has come to Heroes of the Storm to join the fight in the Nexus!
We’ve got that, as well as the introduction of new skins and improved art plus more characters with themed abilities (awesome!). We also get a glimpse of Johanna, the Crusader character from Diablo III, with multiple hero skills getting revamped.
Got questions? Comment below and I’ll do my best to respond to your questions!
New Hero: Kael’Thas Sunstrider – the Sun King
OVERVIEW
Kael’Thas, which probably reminds some of “Invoker” from DotA (they used Kael’s model from the WarCraft III engine), is best known for his role as the main character for the Blood Elf campaign in WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne and his roles as an enemy boss in World of WarCraft.
WarCraft story-wise, Kael’Thas is an extremely powerful mage and fighter, capable of instantly burning entire legions of his enemies using both arcane and demonic magic. He prefers using flame-based attacks, ranging from summoning pillars of fire to conjuring Phoenixes to attack his opponents.
In-game, Kael is classified as a Ranged Assassin (Blizzard’s classification for characters designed to kill other heroes), meaning he’s a damage dealer that can dish out a ton of damage to enemy heroes, mercenaries and minions.
What’s interesting though is that his skills are meant to work together with his own kit or those of other heroes, especially those with stuns and slows. It makes Kael a very tactical hero, requiring precise timing between his own skills and those of his allies and knowing when to use his trait, Verdant Spheres, which increases the power of skills. Blind spamming isn’t going to maximize Kael’s damage output.
IN-GAME REVIEW
Based on some initial games with Kael, it seems like he is excellent not only as DPS assassin, but also in area + crowd control/denial (disrupting enemy formations) and doing Area of Effect damage (especially through combos).
He shines brightest when used with allied support, so he can bring all his skills to bear on the enemy. With excellent timing and team coordination, Kael’Thas can give a team superior firepower and control during team fights.
The downside of Kael’Thas is his relative squishiness. Teams must remember to protect their Kael’Thas during clashes, as any high burst DPS character like Zeratul, or a disable-heavy bruiser like Diablo, will rip him apart quickly if unsupported.
ABILITIES
[Q] Flame Strike –Create a pillar of fire in an area after a short delay. Area and damage improved when empowered with Verdant Spheres.
[W] Living Bomb – deal damage over time to an enemy, and turn it into a bomb that explodes after a delay. Cooldown and mana cost removed when empowered with Verdant Spheres.
[E]Gravity Lapse – a skillshot that stuns one enemy. When empowered, it can stun up to three enemies in a straight line.
Trait
[D] Verdant Spheres – active trait that when used, improves Kael’s standard abilities.
Heroic Abilities
[R] Phoenix – summons a Phoenix to a location, dealing damage along travel path. It then acts like a turret with rapid AOE damage, and can be relocated once.
[R] Pyroblast – unleashes a fireball that deals massive damage after a channeling period. The fireball is slow, but tracks the primary target if it can.
TALENT LIST
Below is a list of talents unique to Kael (generic talents have been omitted):
As is now becoming standard with new releases, Blizzard gives us two new skins for Kael’Thas on release (aside from the default). The first is Kael’s Master Skin and the second is magic and technology hybrid-themed Stormpunk Kael. Both also have their corresponding color and mount combo variations.
For those interested, Kael + the Stormpunk Kael bundle is currently on a 25% discount bundle in the in-game store.
Updates
Included in this patch are several major skill changes for several heroes, including Diablo’s Terror Charge mount ability (serves as a mount, allowing Diablo to run on all fours) and two new Leech talents. The rest of Diablo’s talents also received major changes.
Anub’Arak’s beetles minions received an AI update, which now prioritizes the Crypt Lord’s own target, while Sonya, Muradin and ETC all receive major skill changes.
In addition, we’re getting a whole bunch of new skins and some old skins are getting art and animation updates! While not yet in the game, it seems that Blizzard is going on full-track with making sure skins will have unique themed abilities. To see an example in action, check out Super Sonya in the “In Development” video below.
That’s it for now, Heroes!
For a full list of changes of hero, shop, game improvements and bug fixes, check out the patch notes blog at the official Blizzard Blog!
Happy Brawling, Heroes!
Elements guide you!
Eisenhart
You can catch Kevin William “Eisenhart”Serafico Enriquez in the Nexus by downloading Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard’s Action Strategy game.
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