It’s early days for the Archangel of Hope but Auriel might just be one of the strongest characters Blizzard have added to the roster of Heroes of the Storm yet. Considering previous additions have included a trio of adventurous vikings and a gnome who can manipulate time, that’s saying something. She’s a versatile healer who can empower her teammates and give your team and edge on the battlefield.
Here are four reasons you’ll want her on your team:[divider] [/divider]
Auriel’s very much been designed with a supporting role in mind. Her passive ‘Bestow Hope’ lets you link her to a teammate and convert damage dealt by them into energy, which acts as fuel for your spells. What’s more, this blessing can be specced out with talents in the late game to provide a gnarly buff to attack speed or ability power – allowing you to push certain characters (*cough* …Thrall… *cough* …Nova… *cough*) over the line into borderline-unfair levels of damage.[divider] [/divider]
Auriel’s ‘Sacred Sweep’ isn’t just great for clearing creep waves and forcing your enemy out of lane – it can also be upgraded to deliver a blind or push enemies out of formation. Whether you’re trying to capture an early game objective or a late-game push, a good blind can be worth a lot. In fact, it can often very directly make the difference between victory and defeat. In addition, it can be covers a fairly large area and takes only a split second to cast – making it very difficult for enemies to avoid its path.[divider] [/divider]
It would easy to overlook Auriel’s third ability, ‘Detainment Strike’, but like ‘Sacred Sweep’, the skillshot can have huge ramifications if deployed correctly. On its face, it can knock an enemy character backwards – potentially cutting them off from delivering a killing blow. Deployed in the right circumstances, it can also stun them. In addition, a few choice talent upgrades can leave it now only with a slow but pierce effect, enabling the heavies of your team to pull off their own attacks with ease.[divider] [/divider]
Along with her versatile healing ability, ‘Ray of Heaven’, one of Auriel’s two ultimate abilities provides a full-blown resurrection. She’s the first character in Heroes of the Storm to be able to bring fallen allies back from the dead and there’s little else across the game’s entire roster that can turn the tide of a teamfight like a second wind. While the former scales with your energy level, the latter starts at 50% of their maximum health and then can be upgraded to fill that HP bar completely and provide a significant speed buff.
