The demand for Overwatch characters in Blizzard’s popular strategic hero brawler Heroes of the Storm has been rife ever since the game’s roster of iconic heroes was announced. Having added D.va, Tracer, Genji and Zarya to the mix in previous updates, Blizzard have now revealed two new Overwatch characters heading to the Nexus — Ana and Junkrat. While not much is known yet about how Junkrat will fit into the mix, today we’re going to talk a bit about Ana.
Ana is known for her long-range healing ability in Overwatch, a skillset she will bring with her into Heroes of the Storm.
Not only will Ana’s sniper rifle function much the same way as it does in Overwatch, healing allies and damaging foes depending on who it strikes, Ana will also be what Blizzard are considering Heroes‘ first skillshot hero. Players will need to be very accurate in their movements and attacks when using Ana to get the most value from her moveset.
Ana will come loaded for bear with a set of moves both new and familiar, Heroic and on cooldown, including her Sleep Dart, Nano Boost and Biotic Grenade with which she can block enemy healing.
She will also pack a powerful Heroic move called Eye of Horus that will allow her to use her sniper rifle to shoot a powerful bolt of healing or damage clear across the level, passing over multiple lanes, to strike a specific target, be it friend, foe or structure.
Here’s the breakdown, direct from Blizzard:
Basic Abilities:
Healing Dart (Q)
o Fire a dart which heals the first allied Hero hit for 250 Health.
Cost: 15
Charges: 1
Cooldown: 2
Biotic Grenade (W)
Toss a Grenade at the target area. Allied Heroes hit are healed
for 175 Health and receive 25% increased healing for 3 seconds.
Enemies hit take 60 damage and receive 100% less healing for 2
seconds.
Cost: 50
Cooldown: 16
Sleep Dart (E)
Fire a dart that Sleeps the first enemy Hero hit, Stunning them for 3 seconds. Sleep’s effects end instantly if the target takes damage after the first 0.5 seconds. Cannot be used on Vehicles.
Cost: 50
Cooldown: 14
Heroic Abilities
Nano Boost (R1)
o Instantly boost an allied Hero, restoring 200 Mana. For the next 8 seconds, they gain
30% Spell Power and their Basic Ability cooldowns recharge 150% faster. Cannot be
used on Ana.
Cost: 75
Cooldown: 60
Eye of Horus (R2)
Assume a sniping position, gaining the ability to fire up to 8 specialized rounds with unlimited range. Rounds hit the first allied or enemy Hero or enemy Structure in their path. Allies are healed for 300 and enemies are damaged for 175. Deals 50% less
damage to Structures. Ana is unable to move while Eye of Horus is active.
Cost: 75
Cooldown: 60
We mean, hot damn. That’s a pretty good looking move set, and one that will reward players with patience and a steady hand. We are very interested to see how Ana will disrupt the competitive scene. We can hear lead hero designer Kent-Erik Hagman rubbing his hands together with glee from here.
Here’s the full talent tree, per Blizzard:
Level 1:
[W] Grenade Calibration
Quest: Hit enemy Heroes with Biotic Grenade.
Reward: After hitting 10 Heroes, Biotic Grenade does 75% more damage per allied and enemy Hero hit.
Reward: After hitting 20 Heroes, Biotic Grenade’s duration on allies is increased from 3 seconds to 12 seconds, and its healing radius is increased by 100%.
[E] Piercing Darts
Quest: Hit Heroes with Sleep Dart.
Reward: After hitting 10 Heroes, Sleep Dart now hits 2 Heroes and its range is increased by 50%.
Reward: After hitting 20 Heroes, Healing Dart now hits 2 Heroes and its range is increased by 50%.
[Q] Detachable Box Magazine
Quest: Stack 5 Doses on an enemy Hero.
Reward: After reaching maximum Dosage 5 times, Doses deal 50% increase damage to enemies with 5 Doses.
Reward: After reaching maximum Dosage 15 times, unlock the Active Reload Ability, which can be activated to instantly gain 3 charges of Healing Dart.
Level 4
[W] Air Strike
Activate to use Biotic Grenade with a 275% increased range, but Grenades thrown this way take 4 seconds to land.
Passive: Reduce Biotic Grenade cooldown by 4 seconds.
Overdose
Hitting enemies with Sleep Dart and Biotic Grenade applies 2 Doses.
[Active] Aim Down Sights
Shrike can be activated to increase vision radius by 112.5% and Basic Attack range by 2 but reduce Movement Speed by 20%. Lasts until cancelled.
Level 7
[E] Temporary Blindness
After Sleep Dart’s effects wear off, targets are Blinded for 2 seconds.
[Passive] Mind-Numbing Agent
Every Dose a Hero has reduces their Spell Power by 15%.
[Active] Debilitating Dart
Activate to fire a dart which reduces the damage dealt by the first enemy Hero it hits by 50% for 4 seconds.
Level 10
[R1] Nano Boost
Instantly boost an allied Hero, restoring 200 Mana. For the next 8 seconds, they gain 30% Spell Power and their Basic Ability cooldowns recharge 150% faster. Cannot be used on Ana.
[R2] Eye of Horus
Assume a sniping position, gaining the ability to fire up to 8 specialized rounds with unlimited range. Rounds hit the first allied or enemy Hero or enemy Structure in their path. Allies are healed for 300 and enemies are damaged for 175. Deals 50% less damage to Structures. Ana is unable to move while Eye of Horus is active.
Level 13
[Q] Speed Serum Healing
Dart grants 25% Movement Speed to affected Heroes for 2 seconds.
[Q] Purifying Darts
Healing Dart removes Roots and Slows from the target, and heals for 20% more when doing so.
[Q] Smelling Salts
Healing Dart removes Stuns from the target, and grants them 50 Armor for 2 seconds when doing so.
Level 16
[Q] Sharpshooter
Healing Dart’s healing is increased by 5% each time it heals a Hero, up to 50%. This bonus is reset if Healing Dart fails to hit a Hero.
[Q] Concentrated Doses
Increase Healing Dart’s healing by 10% for each Dose active on enemy Heroes.
[W] Arcane Echoes Biotic Grenade heals for 30% more per allied and enemy Hero hit.
Level 20
[R1] Nano Infusion
Allies affected by Nano Boost heal for 50% of Spell Damage dealt.
[R2] Ballistic Advantage
Eye of Horus rounds explodes upon impact, healing nearby allies for 300 and dealing 150 damage to nearby enemy Heroes.
Somnolent Doses
Upon stacking 5 Doses, Heroes are Slept for 2 seconds. 20 Dynamic Shooting Basic Attacks increase Attack Speed by 10% for 4 seconds, up to 100%.
Custom Optics
Increase the Aim Down Sights Basic Attack range bonus from 2 to 4.
So there you are. Ana, in all her glory. What in the world is better than a grandma that shoots health into you? We’re hard pressed to tell you, quite honestly. You can find out more about Ana’s entrance into Heroes of the Storm over at Blizzard’s official Twitter. You can also check out the embedded trailers and screenshots above.
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