14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Blizzard is ready to offer all those playing Heroes of the Storm a double dose of new content, with Xul becoming the most recent character that they can control in battle while the core game mechanics get some tweaks via a new patch.
The flavor text that accompanies the introduction of the new hero states, "Buried deep in the Jungles of Eastern Kehjistan, the enigmatic Priests of Rathma dedicate themselves to the challenge of upholding of the balance between chaos and order in Sanctuary, but few of Rathma’s disciples have met the challenge with the skill and vigor of the necromancer Xul."
The talents that Xul can bring to a match include: Mortal Wound, which reduces received heal for several seconds by 75 percent when hit by the player's scythe; Amplify Damage, which adds 25% more melee damage to enemies that get caught in a Bone Prison; Corpse Explosion, which makes skeleton warriors that the character summons to explode, dealing damage to non-hero enemies; Bone Spear, a powerful linear skill shot with a short cooldown, which makes him formidable in team fights.
The character will constantly get skeletons on the battlefield, and his two heroic abilities are Poison Nova and Skeletal Mages.
Sam Didier, art director, and Andrew Kinabrew, 3D artist, explain that Xul offers an updated look on his Diablo 2 incarnation but with the scythe used to really enhance his presence on the battlefield and suggest that he has been tested before arriving in the Nexus of Heroes of the Storm.
Blizzard wants all its heroes to feel unique
Jade Martin, a gameplay designer, says that the powers that are offered to Xul players are inspired by Diablo but were also carefully balanced to make him useful in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena experience.
His powerful golems from the action-adventure title were not included because they introduced too much clutter to team fights and failed to make the character more interesting to play as.
According to Martin, the best way to use Xul in Heroes of the Storm is to select him against Illidan, Thrall, and Raynor while allowing him to work together with Kael’thas, Muradin, and Johanna, with solid counters offered by those heroes who can keep the distance and deliver long-range attacks.
To celebrate the launch of the new character, Blizzard is offering players access to a new update for Heroes of the Storm, with the full list of changes available to gamers who click on the button at the end of this article.
Nova and Rhegar have been tweaked, and the studio has also introduced the improved observer mode, which offers more slots, and a new cooldown announcement system that makes it easier for gamers to keep up with the action and the way their team is approaching the fight.
Heroes of the Storm is one of the most interesting titles in the MOBA space at the moment and faces tough competition from both League of Legends from Riot Games and DOTA 2 from Valve.
