Blizzard's free-to-play MOBA continues to receive new heroes from across Blizzard's pantheon of franchises, and this time it's Diablo.
And the new character's aren't only from Diablo 3. For the first time, a Diablo 2 character (if you don't count Diablo himself) will be joining the battle in the form of Xul, the Necromancer. Joining Xul will be Li Ming, Diablo 3's wizard.
Li Ming will have a variety of options are her disposle, according to Metabomb.net, who spoke with Heroes of the Storm game director Dustin Browder. Depending on what talents players choose, Li Ming can be played as a mid-range assassin, a long range "poke" character or an in your face damage dealer thanks to her teleportation spells.
Browder says when adding a new hero to the game, they look at what makes them iconic in their home franchise.
"We definitely look for iconic abilities," Browder says. "We really felt like [Li Ming's] Disintegrate was an iconic ability from Diablo 3. There are certainly players who don't use that ability, but it's such an iconic ability, just how it jumps off the screen at you when you see someone using it."
Xul has long been requested as an addition to Diablo 3. Though it doesn't look like he will be joining Blizzard's latest game in the franchise any time soon, players can take him for a spin in the battlegrounds of Heroes of the Storm.
"...He is a well-loved Diablo 2 hero that didn't really come forward in exactly the same form in Diablo 3...He's been an often requested character from us by our players since we announced the game in 2013," he says. "At PAX, Gamescom and so on, people asked for Necromancer. We thought it would be fun to make a guy who can summon skeletons, can curse enemies, and really get that Necromancer vibe from Diablo 2."
No word yet on when exactly these characters will be added to the game, but expect more information in the coming weeks.
