Heroes of the Storm has been gaining popularity as a decent Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game. Although it has been an uphill battle for the game due to League of Legends and Defense of the Ancients, it has steadily carved a niche for itself. This is not surprising being a product of Blizzard, one of the biggest game developers in North America known for its polished AAA games.
One of the strategies that Blizzard is banking on to popularize the game is giving away awesome playable in-game characters. This time, Blizzard is giving away Artanis (a Protoss Starcraft Warrior) for people who pre-ordered Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void for early access. Artanis is basically a Protoss Hierarch with high survivability. The secret of his resilience lies on his shield.
On the other hand, Chris Carter of Destructoid doesn't seem to be very impressed. "While Artanis might be a formidable foe within the confines of the StarCraft universe, I'm not sure I'll be using him to suit my Warrior needs." Basically, Carter is worried that Artanis is another middle-of-the-road character or an awkward tweener. The Protoss Hierarch doesn't seem to be a tank nor is he very good in support.
Another glaring flaw in Artanis is that he doesn't have an escape skill. According to a Reno Gazette-Journal article, "If there is one thing that’s really, really important for any prospective Artanis players to know, it’s that the guy doesn’t have a solid means for turning (pony) tail and escaping fights. This is especially important to keep in mind because he is a melee warrior." Simply put, if the character is trapped, he's done for.
To counteract this, the masterminds at Blizzard concocted the Shield Overload trait for Artanis. In the same article, reporter Jason Hidalgo explains that the shield will activate when the character takes damage at less than half health. This will activate his shield for 5 seconds alongside a shorter cooldown of 4 seconds for his basic attacks.
This shield trait and his dash makes Artanis a bane to enemies that already sustained significant damage. That said, Heroes experts agree that Artanis is not a must-use character.
Artanis can be played right now if you are in the Blizzard early access program and you have pre-ordered Legacy of the Void. The character will officially drop for all players this October 27.
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