Come and see what Alarak will have to offer

Alongside two upcoming StarCraft-related maps coming to Heroes of the Storm, Alarak will also soon bring a hefty dose of Sadism.

Gamescom is always a safe bet for Blizzard to announce new content, and especially the Heroes of the Storm team had plenty to share. Lucky us, right? Besides two StarCraft maps, and the second Overwatch hero to get added to the game, another Protoss will soon be playable in the Nexus. If you missed the rest of the goodies coming with Machines of war, make sure you check out yesterday's article.

Alarak, the highlord of the Tal'darim, will be a melee assassin with some very powerful abilities. Thanks to Grubby's stream at gamescom, we have a full look at hit talent tree.

Level 1
 

• Without Effort (W)
  • Telekinesis no longer costs Mana
• Power Conduit (E)
  • Reduces the Mana cost of Lightning Surge by 15
• Applied Force (E)
  • Reduces the damage bonus of Sadism by 10%, but Telekinesis pushes 20% further
• Wide Lighning (E)
  • Increases the width of Lightning Surge's beam by 50%
     

Level 4
 

• Double Cross (Q)
  • Increases the range of Discord Strike by 25% and also hits in a line perpendicular to the forward strike.
• Reckless Strike (Q)
  • Reduces the delay of Discord Strike by 0.25 seconds but if it hits an enemy you become Vulnerable, causing Alarak to take 25% damage for 2 seconds.
• Cycle of Discord (Q)
  • Reduces the cooldown of Discord Strike by 2 seconds. If a Discord Strike hits no enemies, the mana cost is refunded and cooldown reduced by 3 seconds.
• Extended Lightning (E)
  • Increases Lightning Surge range by 20%
     

Level 7
 

• Chaos Reigns (Q)
  • ! Quest: Each time Discord Strike hits a Hero, its damage increases by 3, up to 45.
  • ! Reward: After hitting 15 Heroes, increase its damage by an additional 45.
• Endless Energy (E)
  • ! Quest: Heroes hit between you and the victim permanently decreases the cooldown of Lightning Surge by 0.2 seconds, up to 2 seconds.
• Thunderstruck (E)
  • Reduces the damage bonus of Sadism by 10%, but Lightning Surge slows enemies hit between you and the victim by 70% for 1.5 seconds.

Level 10
 

• Counter-Strike (R)
  • Alarak becomes protected and channels for 1 second. If an enemy Hero attacked Alarak during that time, Alarak sends a shockwave forward that deals 250 damage.
• Deadly Charge (R)
  • After channeling, Alarak charges forward dealing 200 damage to all enemies in the path. Distance is increased based on the amount of time channeled, up to 1.6 seconds.
     

Level 13
 

• Psychokinesis (W)
  • Increases the damage of Telekinesis by 100%
• Pure Malice (Passive)
  • When a nearby Ally Hero dies, your Sadism bonus is increased by 8%, stacking up to 40%. This bonus Sadism cannot be consumed by Hasty Bargain and is lost on death.
• Dissonance (Q)
  • Reduces the damage bonus of Sadism by 10%, but increases Discord Strike's silence duration by 0.75 seconds.
• Hindered Motion (W)
  • Reduces the damage bonus of Sadism by 10%, but Telekinesis slows enemies by 40% for 1.5 seconds.
     

Level 16
 

• Sustaining Power (E)
  • Increases the healing you receive from dealing damage to Heroes with Ligtning Surge by 30%.
• Negatively Charged (E)
  • Increases damage dealt to enemies hit by the center beam of Lightning Surge by 100%, but does not generate any additional healing.
• Quick Mind (W)
  • Reduces the damage bonus of 10% and the cooldown of Telekinesis by 6 seconds.
• Projected Force (W)
  • Reduces the damage bonus of Sadism by 10%, but increases the range of Telekinesis by 25%.
     

Level 20
 

• Counter-Strike/Deadly Charge
  • (Alarak gains the ultimate he didn't take at 10. The second Heroic will take over the Trait button)
• Last Laugh (Active)
  • Cooldown: 20 seconds Activate to remove all roots, slows, and damage over time effects and teleport to the chosen location. Activating Last Laugh will immediately reduce Alarak's Health to 1.
• Hasty Bargain (Active)
  • Cooldown: 20 seconds Activate to permanently reduce your Sadism bonus by 4% and reset the cooldowns of your Basic Abilities.
     

As you can see, Alarak will be a lot of fun for a number of ways. Not only should his Sadism mechanic bring a lot of different choices to your matches, but he will be the first hero that can get access to both his Heroics through his lvl 20 talent. We welcome this melee assassins, with a whole different kit, with open arms (and a Divine Shield prepared).

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