Overwatch's Lúcio brings wheeling and healing to HotS
Heal on wheels
It's time for my "they added a hero I know from another game so I'll check back in on Heroes of the Storm [official site]" check-in as Lúcio from that "Overwatch" game I've heard so much about hits the public test realm.
I'm feigning Overwatch ignorance for vaguely comedic effect but actually Lúcio is one of the few characters in that game I love playing as so I'm legit interested to see how he manifests in HotS. Especially so since his skillset in Overwatch involves things like being abole to skate on the side of buildings to cross gaps and exploit verticality which... is less of a thing in HotS.
So here's his skillset in HotS:
Trait: Wall Ride (D) - When moving alongside impassable battleground terrain and Structures, Lúcio can walk through other units, and his Movement Speed is increased by 20%. This effect stacks with other Movement Speed bonuses.
Soundwave (Q) - Deal damage to enemies in a cone-shaped area and knock them back.
Crossfade (W) - Play one of two tracks that passively provide allied Heroes with either a Speed Boost or a Healing Boost in a large radius around you. Activate Crossfade to swap tracks.
Healing Boost: Restore a small amount of Health every second to Lúcio and nearby allied Heroes.
Speed Boost: Increase the Movement Speed of Lúcio and nearby allied Heroes by 15%.Amp It Up (E) - Raise Lúcio’s Crossfade track volume for 3 seconds, amping Speed Boost to 45% increased Movement Speed, and significantly increasing the Healing rate of Healing Boost.
Heroic Abilities
Sound Barrier (R) - After 1 second, Lúcio and nearby allied Heroes gain a massive Shield that rapidly decays over the next 6 seconds.
Reverse Amp (R) - Blast Lúcio’s Crossfade track at enemy Heroes for 4 seconds, causing Healing Boost to inflict damage every second, and Speed Boost to Slow Movement Speed by 45%.
Passive: Increase Amp It Up’s duration to 4 seconds.
It's actually pretty similar to Overwatch. He moves around a lot and heals people or boosts their move speed. The biggest change is the Reverse Amp option for his Heroic Ability which inflicts damage per second or slows enemies.
Heroes of the Storm feels increasingly weird to me every time I go back in. I mean, I know it's a repository of characters from other games and that's the point, but it's like going to a weird all-star charity football event or something and everyone's there doing the things they're known for and saying their catchphrases but it's not like they're a real football team or anything. I hadn't realised that some of the modifier talent things you get as you level up are now quest-related, though. That's an interesting risk/reward riff.
Oh, and if you are still HotS-ing, there's a Warcraft event from 15 Feb where you play and complete 15 games as a Warcraft hero and get flaming mounts for both games and a HotS stimpack (a buff that lets you earn more gold and XP).