Jason Hidalgo

jhidalgo@rgj.com

Technobubble covers games, gadgets, technology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason Hidalgo’s shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgo

The cats are officially out of the bag. Well, dragon and guardian to be more specific.

Blizzard announced a whole slew of details Friday morning, including two new characters and a revamped ranked play system for its hero brawler, “Heroes of the Storm.”

Slated to join the Nexus are new ranged assassin Chromie and new specialist Medivh, which adds two more characters from the Warcraft universe into the game. Chromie releases in North America on May 17, Europe and Southeast Asia on May 18, and Korea, China and Taiwan on May 19. Medivh will be available in North America on June 14, Europe and Southeast Asia on June 15, and Korea, China and Taiwan on June 16.

Responding to a long-sought request from the community, Blizzard is also revamping ranked play in mid-June by adding ladders, leagues and seasons, as well as Master and Grand Master tiers for its upper echelon players.

Here’s a quick rundown of the basic abilities for Chromie and Medivh straight from Blizzard.

New Hero: Chromie

Role: Ranged Assassin, Warcraft

Overview: Chromie is a long ranged artillery mage. Although she can be incredibly fragile, she has the ability to deal an insane amount of damage. Personality wise, Chromie is a little lost most of the time. She’s never really sure where she is at any given moment, because she’s often in multiple places at once!

(Trait) (D) Time Walker

Chromie learns her talents 1 level early

(Q) Dragon’s Breath

After 1 second, Chromie fires a long range bolt, which hits the first enemy Hero in its path for high damage.

4 second cooldown per charge

(W) Dragon’s Breath

After 1.5 seconds, a rain of sand blasts the target area, damaging enemies.

Long range skill with a 15 second cooldown per charge

Enemy players will not see a warning for this skill

(E) Time Trap

Place a trap on the ground. When an enemy Hero walks over it, they are Stasis’d for 2 seconds.

Max 1 trap active at a time

(R1) Slowing Sands

Conjure a field of sand at the target area, which Chromie can keep up indefinitely, to slow enemies that walk through it.

4 second cooldown to move the field

Slowly drains Chromie’s mana

(R2) Temporal Loop

Target enemy Hero. After 3 seconds, they are returned to the location they were when you used this.

80 second cooldown per charge

New Hero: Medivh

Role: Specialist, Warcraft

Overview: Medivh is a high utility Specialist fashioned after the Warcraft III character. He is “The Prophet” who has returned for the sins of his past so his gameplay isn’t focused on destroying his opponents, but merely disabling them and enabling his team to finish them off. Medivh is the true Master of Magic, the greatest wielder of Magic Azeroth has ever seen, and this is reflected in all his Spells.

(Trait) Transform: Raven

Using (Z) turn Medivh into a Raven, giving him the ability to see and fly over terrain. While in Raven form, Medivh is invulnerable and untargetable.

Using an Ability will instantly land Medivh

(Q) Arcane Rift

Fire off a bolt of energy in a line, damaging enemies in its path.

Hitting a Hero greatly reduces its cooldown

(W) Force of Will

Project your will onto an allied Hero, making them Protected for 1.5 seconds, preventing all damage done to the target.

(E) Portal

Create a portal at Medivh’s feet and at the target point that lasts for 6 seconds.

Allies can travel between the two portals while they are active

(R1) Poly Bomb

Polymorph a target Hero. After 1.5 seconds, any nearby Heroes are also polymorphed.

This ability can chain indefinitely

(R2) Ley Line Seal

Fire off a blast of energy down the ley lines, putting any enemy Heroes in its path in Stasis for 3 seconds.

Fun Facts