14 DAY TRIAL // Heroes of the Storm gets not just a closed beta version upgrade today, which includes a variety of new features, but also a new character, in the form of Thrall, Warchief of the Horde. Blizzard now details the imposing melee assassin and offers a few tips to those who want to master his abilities.
Heroes of the Storm saw a long-running closed technical alpha stage take place for most of 2014, and these days fans are awaiting the release of the closed beta version all around the world. The new version of the game comes with quite a few long-awaited features, from a Hero League competitive mode, to a new drafting system and some more severe punishments to those who abandon matches.
Thrall joins the HotS roster
Besides those big features, Heroes of the Storm also includes one new hero, in the form of Thrall, whom Warcraft fans will recognize as the Warchief of the Horde faction. In the multiplayer experience, Thrall will take on the role of a melee assassin, who uses a series of skills to boost his damage.
"Thrall has had a long and impactful history within the Warcraft universe, and in Heroes of the Storm, he takes on the role of a hard-hitting Assassin who uses earth magic to keep himself alive while laying waste to the opposition with his mighty Doomhammer. He is just the Hero you want by your side when you rally your forces in the Nexus," the studio explains on its official website.
Thrall has a variety of abilities and traits
Thrall, like other heroes in the game, has a series of regular abilities, a key trait, and two heroic ultimates. The abilities are Chain Lightining, which blasts three enemies in close proximity with lightning, Windfury, which boosts Thrall's attack and movement speed, and Feral Spirit, which releases a fiery wolf spirit to burn enemies and root heroes in place.
Thrall's trait is Frostwolf Resilience, which allows him to get a healing charge when casting other abilities on enemies. The ultimate heroic abilities include Earthquake, which persistently slows enemies in a big area, and Sundering, which sunders the earth in a line, while stunning and damaging enemies in his path.
Blizzard also offers a few tips to those who want to take full advantage of Thrall's debut in Heroes of the Storm, so check them out below.
"Feral Spirit [W] does not root minions, only enemy Heroes. Use the ability to help push waves of minions while simultaneously harassing your enemies. Windfury [Z] can provide up to three stacks of Frostwolf Resilience when all the auto attacks are used in a timely manner. Chain Lightning [Q] will bounce to three enemies. If there are no secondary enemies for the lightning to bounce to, it will only hit the primary target once," the studio reveals.
Thrall is available in Heroes of the Storm's closed beta for purchase using real money or in-game gold. Check him out and his different skins in the screenshots and the video below.
