With each new addition to the hero selection of Prime World , it's looking more and more like a heavyweight contender in the increasingly-popular MOBA genre. Given that each hero type has two counterparts –- one for the industrialist Imperium and another on the side of the naturalistic Keepers -- every new roster member feels like a “buy one, get one free” bonus. We've got a first look at three new archetypes for a grand total of six heroes; check out what these champions of battle are capable of.
Faceless / Phantom
Are you afraid of the dark? You will be once you come face-to-lack-of-a-face with this stealthy killer. Excelling at picking a target, murdering them horribly, then slipping back into the shadows in preparation for the next fight, the Faceless is a ganker extraordinaire who's sure to please fans of speedy executions. That said, if they can't seal the murder deal in a hurry, they'll be sitting ducks for any allies that come to the rescue, due to the fact that the Faceless has a diminutive health pool and few ways to escape past their blink spell. If you're a fan of high risk, high reward hit-and-run ganking, this stealth slayer is the hero for you.
Mystic Executioner encourages a playstyle of using your moves in quick succession; for every ability the hero casts, he'll gain a stack of incrementally-increasing critical strike chance. Daggers have always been a staple of the best assassins; Blade of Darkness will fling such a dagger for heavy damage that'll bounce between targets if it's cast on Native Terrain. Finishing Blow will make trying to fight the Faceless on his home turf a nightmare: his crit damage scales up, grants lifeleech on Native Terrain, will do extra damage versus Intellect-based heroes, and can insta-kill targets if it takes them below a certain health percentage. God dang, that spell will come in handy. The not-so-menacing-sounding Twinkling will let the Faceless blink around a battlefield; passive abilities can also decrease its energy cost and cooldown while making it damage and slow nearby sucke-er, enemies. Finally, Face of Death is an ultimate akin to Mortal Kombat's Kabal: lifting up his expressionless mask to reveals his true visage to the enemy, his stare is so frightening (or ugly) to the opposing hero that they'll be astronomically more vulnerable to critical hits for a short duration. He may not be the prettiest hero around, but that's awfully rude of the enemy to recoil in horror at the sight of his appearance.
Cryo / Blizz
This cold-hearted ice-queen is the opposite of the coin from the Fire Fox / Flame Tail combo we revealed earlier, able to snuff out that fiery minx's warmth with a blast of snowy wrath. Like so many spellcasters, this hero doesn't fare well in hand-to-hand combat, but her nuking and slowing capabilities more than make up for her lacking auto-attack damage. Add in some damage-over-time abilities that are sure to discourage enemy heroes from engaging you, and Cryo makes for quite the offensive and defensive hero package.
What helps her stay healthy is her main talent, Icy Heart , which will automatically reduce the Speed and Agility of anyone foolish enough to attack her in a teamfight. To further prevent enemies from getting up in Cryo's grill, Unassailable Cold is a talent that straight up damages heroes that attack her. Eternity is her get-out-of-jail free card, shackling and damaging an enemy by freezing them in place. Interestingly, this ability works like a game of freeze tag -– if the enemy's ally is nearby, the disabling effect is negated; on the flipside, casting it on your Native Terrain will up the damage via a hefty DoT. The purpose of Ice Splinter is twofold: able to protect allies or chip away at enemy lifebars thanks to a swarm of spiky icicles. Blizzard (sans Activision, we assume) is the ultimate we've come to expect from ice-crystal maidens: a huge area-of-effect spell that'll devastate heroes caught in the chilly carnage. Lastly, Cold Mind is a simple-but-effective temporary buff that'll boost your base damage by a percentage of your maximum Energy. What that translates to is: mo' mana, mo' problems for the opposing team.
Jaeger / Wolf Dancer
When playing as this burly beastmaster, we may or may not recommend consuming multiple Jaegerbombs in an effort to up your elite skills. As a melee fighter who can summon wolves to his aid, the Jaeger is a hero who works best in a pack (you know, like how wolves do). With his multitude of team-buffing abilities, the Jaeger is a hero that any ally would be happy to see joining him in the lane.
Even if the Jaeger's fighting alone, he won't have to for long -- Wolf Call summons a wolf at his side. If you're on Native Terrain, your wolf will go from plain old puppy to an Elite Wolf, which can easily stalk and maim targets on his own. Jaeger and his wolves get further buffs thanks to Beast Rush , which gives the tantalizing chance to deal a double hit with each slash, and Power of the Pack , which grants a Strength buff to Jaeger, his wolves, and any nearby ally, scaling up with the size of his enoutrage. Piercing Spear will deal high damage from long range, and make the target even more vulnerable to the harsh bites of Jaeger's wolfpack. His ultimate, Great Hunt , will strike fear into the hearts of his enemies: Jaeger and his wolves gain increased Agility and damage for a long duration – a duration that grows longer with each enemy hero killed during the effect. If you can chain together kills effectively, you'll be a force to be reckoned with as you roam around the map slaying enemies one after another.
As more hero reveals start to roll in, Nival's MOBA is looking better and better – hero diversity is key to a satisfying 5v5 match, and palette swaps can go a long way towards distinguishing yourself from the enemy. We'll continue to give you the latest coverage on new heroes when they roll out on the official Prime World website ; it's all but guaranteed that you'll find the hero who's right for you as the game nears open beta.
