Mei from Overwatch Is Coming to Heroes of the Storm

Blizzard Entertainment have revealed that the next hero for their MOBA Heroes of the Storm is Mei from Overwatch. The character is already available on the test server.

In HOTS Mei will fulfill the tank role, excelling in crowd control, mobility and survivability. Compared to other Overwatch characters in Heroes of the Storm, such as Tracer or Genji, Mei’s kit has much more differences from the hero’s original design.

Abilities:

Trait [D]

• Cryo-Freeze
  • Mei encases herself in ice, gaining a rapidly decaying Shield that absorbs up to 1104 damage. While active, this Shield grants Unstoppable and restores up to 35% maximum Health.
  • Cooldown: 40 seconds.

Basic Abilities

• Snow Blind [Q]
  • Throw a snowball that hits all enemies in an area. Enemies hit take 70 damage, are Slowed by 35%, and are Blinded for 1.5 seconds.
  • Cost: 35 Mana.
  • Cooldown: 10 seconds.
• Blizzard [W]
  • Command Snowball to create a blizzard at the target location for 2 seconds. Enemies within the blizzard take 13 damage every .25 seconds and are Slowed by 7%, stacking up to 35%. When the blizzard ends, enemies within its area take an additional 75 damage and are stunned for 1.25 seconds.
  • Cost: 70 Mana.
  • Cooldown: 14 seconds.
• Icing [E]
  • Slide quickly in the targeted direction. When this effect ends, enemies near Mei are knocked back, take 52 damage, and are Slowed by 80%, rapidly decaying over 1.5 seconds.
  • Cost: 70 Mana.
  • Cooldown: 14 seconds.

Heroic Abilities

• Avalanche [R1]
  • After .5 seconds, roll a massive snowball that consumes enemy Heroes in its path. At the end of its path, the snowball crumbles, releasing the consumed Heroes, dealing 220 damage and stunning them for .5 per Hero consumed.
  • Cost: 70 Mana.
  • Cooldown: 65 seconds.
• Ice Wall [R2]
  • After a .75 second delay, create an impassible wall that traps enemy Heroes hit for 2.5 seconds. When the wall expires, trapped Heroes are slowed by 75% decaying over 3 seconds.
  • Cost: 60 Mana.
  • Cooldown: 90 seconds.

Besides the new hero, the update also introduces a new anomaly called Climate Phenomena, which adds weather events to all game modes. There are three events:

• Rain Storms – Periodically strike all heroes with lightning, increasing Movement Speed and granting a Lightning Shield that damages nearby enemies.
• Snow Flurries – Heroes accumulate a small shield over time while out of combat.
• Foggy Mists – Allows Heroes to gain Stealth after standing in shrubs for a few seconds.

To get more information on the update, head over to the official website.