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Hero Sneak Peek: Blackfeather

Hero Sneak Peek: Blackfeather

  • Vainglory
  • |
  • Nov 03, 2015

blackfeather_splash

At any given time, there are multiple Vainglory heroes in various stages of development. Today, we take a look at Vainglory’s next hero: the assassin Blackfeather. While this hero is likely to release with update 1.11, we make no promises because a hero never hits the Fold until it’s absolutely ready. That means playing AS Blackfeather, playing WITH Blackfeather as an ally and playing AGAINST Blackfeather all feel balanced. Blackfeather is still in testing to make sure we get that right (or die trying). —PlayoffBeard


BLACKFEATHER ABILITIES (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Blackfeather is still in development. During this process, abilities may change slightly — or change dramatically — depending on what the designers learn through the testing process.

 

HEARTTHROB (HEROIC PERK)

Blackfeather’s attacks and abilities apply Heartthrob stacks to enemies. Any time stacks are added or refreshed, Blackfeather also deals crystal damage for each stack of Heartthrob already on the target. Instead of energy, Blackfeather uses Focus for his abilities. This is capped at 100 and naturally regenerates. Blackfeather also recovers an additional 10 focus for each basic attack he lands.


 

Blackfeather_CFEINT OF HEART

Blackfeather lunges to his target and attacks, dealing increased attack damage (+60 crystal power) and applying weapon effects. For the next 4 seconds, the target leaves a rose trail. Blackfeather and his allies gain move speed when moving through this trail. When this ability is used against a target with full Heartthrob stacks (shown as broken hearts) it will execute the target, dealing additional true damage based on the target’s missing health. Overdrive: The rose trail also removes and blocks slows while Blackfeather and his allies move along it. Additionally, Feint of Heart’s cooldown is reset if the target is killed within 0.5 seconds of being struck.


Blackfeather_BON POINT

Blackfeather pierces all enemies in a line, damaging them and applying a decaying slow for 1 second. The duration of this slow is increased by 0.3 seconds for each stack of Heartthrob on the target. If this hits at least one enemy hero, Blackfeather also gains a barrier that scales with 15% of his bonus health and recovers 35 focus. The amount of focus recovered is further increased with 2% of his Max Energy and 50% of his energy regeneration. Overdrive: On Point gains increased range.


 

Blackfeather_AROSE OFFENSIVE

Blackfeather cuts through his opponents, landing basic attacks on all enemies along his path. During the dash, Blackfeather is immune to negative effects and takes greatly reduced damage. This ability has 2 charges.

 


HERO DESIGNER CIDERHELM DISCUSSES BLACKFEATHER:

ciderhelm
Ciderhelm breaks down Blackfeather.

“Blackfeather is all about decisions. He can be played as a weapon assassin or crystal warrior/roamer, and this is further divided by the specific items he chooses.

“Taking down heavily-armored targets like Phinn is easy with an emphasis on weapon-power items, while taking down a lot of targets at once is better with critical-chance items. Red builds are good at finishing fights due to a powerful weapon-scaling execute, but they must commit to the fight and put everything on the line to pull off their best plays.

“On the other hand, mixing crystal power with defense and utility items unlocks a team support path, while building around an Alternating Current offers a well-rounded highwayman experience. Blue builds benefit from being good initiators, providing slow immunity and crystal-scaling movement speed to allies as they chase Blackfeather’s target.

phinn_social_climbers“Notably, the ability you use to initiate as crystal is also the ability you use as a finisher for weapon, meaning the effects are often mutually exclusive … but this itself is a choice. The best players will learn when to take advantage of the secondary roles of their abilities.

“When it comes to build diversity, our heroes cover a wide range. On one end are heroes like SAW and Ardan who have dramatic playstyle differences based on their items, while heroes like Celeste and Phinn are tightly focused into a single path. Blackfeather is designed to fall firmly in the first camp — an “item chameleon” with unique playstyles emerging from how he builds. Here’s one of the ways we’ve set out to achieve this:

Rose Offensive (Ultimate)
Blackfeather cuts through his opponents, landing basic attacks on all enemies along his path. During the dash, Blackfeather is immune to negative effects and takes greatly reduced damage.
 
This ability has two charges.

“This ability is a blank slate. If you want a powerful crowd control ultimate, activate Shiversteel and apply it to every enemy in a single dash. If you want a burst ultimate, build critical chance and critical damage. And if you prefer to use the mobility for closing in on a single target or bypassing enemy crowd controls, keep the two charges ready for the right moment.

“Blackfeather has his bases covered when it comes to overdrives as well. Want a cooldown reset on a successful execute? That’s an overdrive. Want safe long-range harassment when you’re on the defensive? That’s an overdrive. Want to chain both charges of your ultimate together almost instantly? Learn the final rank of your ultimate.

“With Blackfeather, the choice is yours.”


BLACKFEATHER LORE

Want to know more about Blackfeather? Read his interconnected lore with travel companion and fellow kidnapper, Phinn.


Blackfeather is coming soon to Vainglory. Again, all abilities are subject to change based on the testing process.