Release dates for Lt. Morales and Artanis in Heroes of the Storm

Starcraft will have two more representatives in the Nexus before Halloween, according to the latest info from our friendly neighborhood data-miners. Lt. Morales, the Medic, is expected next Thursday on October 6, followed by Artanis on October 27.

Anyone who has played the Starcraft II campaign will recognize the indispensable Medic unit.  Lt. Morales has a few more tricks up her sleeve and will be the first primary support hero from the Starcraft universe (Tassadar is technically a support but can be specialized via talents for damage and crowd-control), specializing in healing and damage mitigation. 

Abilities

(Passive) Caduceus Reactor – Regenerate 3 percent of your maximum health per second after not taking any damage for four seconds.

(Q) Healing Beam – Heal an ally for 20 health per second as long as they are in range.  Reactivate to switch targets or activate your trait to cancel channeling.

(W) Safeguard – Grant target ally Resistant, reducing damage taken by 25 percent for three seconds.

(E) Displacement Grenade – Fire a grenade that explodes on the first enemy hit, dealing damage and knocking enemies away.

(R) Stim Drone – Grant an allied Hero 75 percent attack speed and 25 percent movement speed for 10 seconds.

(R) Medivac Dropship – Target a location for a Medivac transport. For up to 10 seconds before take-off, allies can right-click to enter the Medivac.

With this kit, Lt. Morales has replaced Malfurion as the most specialized support in the game.  The Medic possesses only one non-heal/mitigation spell, Displacement Grenade, which is will likely see the most play as an escape tool rather than offensive crowd-control.

Artanis, who will the taking center stage in the upcoming Starcraft II expansion, Legacy of the Void, will enter the Nexus as the first Starcraft warrior.  Despite the label, Artanis will be bringing higher single target damage than the standard warrior while remaining more durable than his assassin counterparts.

Abilities

(Passive) Shield Overload – If you take damage while below 50 percent health, gain a shield for five seconds.

(Q) Blade Dash – Dash forward damaging enemies then return dealing increased damage.

(W) Twin Blades – Your next basic attack strikes the enemy twice.

(E) Phase Prism – Fire a Phase Prism that damages enemy heroes and swaps your position with theirs.

(R) Purifier Beam – Target an enemy hero with an orbital beam from the Spear of Adun, dealing heavy damage for eight seconds.  The beam will chase the target as they move and has unlimited range.

(R) Suppression Pulse – Fire a large area pulse from the Spear of Adun, damaging and blinding enemies for four seconds.  Has unlimited range.

Artanis fills a similar thematic space to Raynor, in the fact that their leadership roles have been expressed in their kits and are formidable in their own right.  Like Raynor’s Battlecruiser, both Artanis’ heroic abilities call on his forces to launch a devastating attack from his flaghship. 

Players who pre-order Legacy of the Void will receive Artanis when he is released for Heroes of the Storm.

Players have been asking not only for more Starcraft heroes but role diversity within the franchise as well.  With the addition of Lt. Morales and Artanis, we finally have new options for support and warriors within the Starcraft universe. 

Which other Starcraft heroes would you like to see in Heroes of the Storm?