If you recently bought Cassia,the latest addition to the Heroes Of The Storm rooster, it is possible that you find the hero a little lackluster. You are not alone, unhappy fans have taken over the HoTS forum to complain about the Amazon. The question is, is she really that bad? Here is an analysis of her kit, in hope of shining some light on the matter.

TRAIT:

Avoidance

Cassia’s trait is probably the key to master this hero. When in movement, Cassia gains 65 armor against enemies auto attacks, making her able to win trades against most auto attacks based opponents. This play style is exclusive to the new hero, her win rate should go up as people get used to it.

PRIMARY ABILITIES:

Lightning Fury ( Q )

This ability is actually pretty good. Low cooldown, good range, short travel time and dealing average damage. It can of course be powered via talents, making it a good poke during lanning. It allows you to deal a decent amount of damage before a team fight without any risk. Upon hitting the target, the spear splits into 2 lightning bolts, allowing a creative player to take full advantage of it.



Blinding Light ( w )

A pretty basic, but effective ability. This AOE allows you to blind 2-3 opponents at the same time if used with good timing. Of course, this ability is again better used against auto attacks oriented heroes, making Cassia a decent counter pick to heroes such as Raynor, Tychus, Lunara, etc. Ring of the leach is a talent that synergies with Blinding light, allowing you to heal for 25% of your damage on a blinded target. Another blinding ability on your team might be required to make this talent choice worthwhile.



Fend ( E )

Probably the main reason why Cassia is considered bad. This ability allow you to jump to a target and deal a fair amount of damage over 1.5 sec in a cone in front of her. This 1.5 sec may not seem like a huge deal, but it makes it very hard to use without dying in a team fight. Worst of all, because Cassia cant move while using Fend, it makes her trait useless, and therefore she is even more vulnerable. On the other hand, the ability is pretty good to finish off a fleeing opponent, because he might not have time to get out of the cone.

HEROIC ABILITIES:

Ball lightning ( R )

The most popular pick among the player base, and for a good reason! It is her most reliable heroic ability, allowing her to deal a great amount of damage to enemies near to each other. The ball bounces 6 times between enemies, dealing 200 damages each hit. The ball can also bounce on Cassia, in order to keep the chain going. Of course, Cassia does not take any damage in the process.

Valkyrie ( R )

A Valkyrie rushes to Cassia, pulling one unfortunate enemy toward the amazon, dealing a good amount of damage in the process. On paper, this ability is very good, and it is for the most part. Unfortunately, it is quite easy to miss entirely, because the zone is not quite as large as one could want. This heroic ability is not bad by any means, but most people go for ball lightning for its reliability.

IS SHE WORTH BUYING?

Cassia seems very situational to me. Her kit seems to be very good at countering auto attacks based teams. On the other hand, her lack of escape options and relative fragility leave her very vulnerable to mages. Stuns and roots are also very good against her, as she can’t take advantage of her trait during that time. Don’t get me wrong, Cassia is a very fun hero, but in her current state, she is very rarely worth being chosen over other auto attack heroes with good poke such as Lunara or even Raynor. I have no doubt that Blizzard will patch her pretty soon, so I encourage you to keep on mastering her if you like the gameplay!

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