Diablo III's Auriel will be entering the Nexus in the week of August 8.
The archangel will be joining the Heroes of the Storm public test realm next week before she officially joins other Heroes in the Nexus. A Support character, Auriel was introduced to the game in a trailer posted July 27 and possesses a number of abilities that deal healing and damage.
"It is through the Archangel Auriel that the power of hope flows into the fabric of creation ... Seeking harmony in all things, she is a mediator, a counselor and when the need arises, a fearless warrior," said the game about its newest addition.
Auriel's Hero trait is Bestow Hope, which allows her to store energy each time a selected ally takes damage. Also, 40 percent of damage the character deals to Heroes and 8 percent to those who are not are stored as energy.
Her primary abilities include:
- Sacred Sweep, which deals damage in a wide arc and heaps bonus damage to enemies caught dead center of the attack
- Ray of Heaven, which consumes all her stored energy to heal allies within a target area. How much healing is experienced will depend on the amount of energy used.
- Detainment Strike, which deals damage to an enemy Hero, knocking them back. The enemy also takes additional damage and gets stunned for 1.25 seconds if they collide with terrain.
Auriel's Heroic abilities include:
- Crystal Aegis, which encases an allied Hero in crystal. The encasement explodes after two seconds, damaging enemies nearby.
- Resurrect, which channels an allied Hero's spirit at death, bringing them back to life at the location of their demise with half of their maximum health.
With abilities that offer healing to allies and damage to enemies, Auriel is a great addition to the roster of Heroes players have access to in Heroes of the Storm. Blizzard has always been serious about making sure players are satisfied but the publisher recently went a step beyond to ensure player safety.
A 28-year-old male Heroes of the Storm player from California was arrested after sending disturbing messages to other players, as well as making serious threats to Blizzard employees. After an investigation was carried out, the man was identified as Stephen Cebula.
Aside from suspending chat access for abusive players like Cebula, Blizzard has partnered with Twitch in an effort to curb the aggressive behavior of some, which is highly evident in streams.
