A new hero enters the nexus. Her name is Lena Oxton--better known as "Tracer" from the Blizzard first-person shooter Overwatch. She's making her debut in the Heroes of the Storm franchise and notifying everyone of her presence in the process.
"Don't worry, loves. The cavalry's here," is Tracer's familiar catchphrase for those who have gained access to Overwatch's closed beta and have had the opportunity to play as the teleporting sweet-but-deadly ranged assassin.
While her debut in Heroes of the Storm took place last week for those who pre-ordered Overwatch: Origins Edition for the PC, the rest of the community can now grab a hold of her as she's available for play and purchase starting April 26.
A feel of comfort has been cast over those individuals who've played her in Overwatch--her mechanics feel very similar to that of the FPS version.
What is unique about Tracer aside from her British accent, dual wielding pistols, and non-threatening appearance is her movement mechanic, which is unlike anything Blizzard has introduced in Heroes of the Storm since its inception.
Tracer can move and use basic attacks at the same time. A relatively simple concept but all other characters in the game must remain stationary when attacking their foes and must turn their bodies around when retreating.
Not Tracer.
Her trait "Reload" is described as "you can basic attack while moving, and after attacking 10 times, you need to reload over 0.75 seconds. You can manually reload."
A few things to note when it comes to her trait is that Tracer does not have mana so her abilities rely on cooldowns and her basic attacks are limited based on the ammunition in her dual pistols' clip.
Tracer's basic attack speed is quite fast, as is expected coming from pistols. This makes each individual attack weak--but the damage adds up quickly as she can unload on a target and move around them with ease, dodging and creating openings with the other abilities in her kit.
Her Q ability is "Blink," where Tracer can dash towards an area very quickly while storing three charges at a time, making her disengage, engage, and evade from enemies. Blink, in combination with her W ability "Melee," which is a glorified pistol whip, allows Tracer to smack an opponent up close for a moderate amount of damage, causing disorientation for opponents who fail to predict her next move.
"Recall" or her E ability allows Tracer to literally bend time, which she is famous for. She can teleport backwards to the position she was at three seconds ago while reloading her weapons, and also removing any and all status effects.
Tracer is also the only hero in the game with one Heroic Trait, "Pulse Bomb," which is a short-ranged bomb that can be used from level one and can be manipulated with different talents to take on a variety of utility. The ability's cooldown can be reduced with basic and melee attacks Tracer assaults her opponents with throughout the match.
Due to Tracer's unique play style, abilities, and talents, she must have a drawback to prevent her from being inherently overpowered upon her release--and that comes in the form of a disappointingly low health pool and high skill gap, depending on who you ask and how recently they were harassed by a Tracer.
Heroes that struggle to burst her down or land a proper stun are melted quickly from the battlefield as she has little trouble ripping through a Jaina, Li-Ming, Tyrael, among others.
Where you can gain an advantage against Tracer, as she will be played heavily over the next few weeks, are heroes that have a large health pool, reliable stuns, and can engage hard, as well as have solid gap close when you are able to get in her face.
"Watch for teams to stray away from the standard one support, one warrior, two assassin and one specialist team composition--and watch them create a stronger front line for Tracer to bounce in and out of while poking from afar with her basic attacks."
From a competitive standpoint, Tracer will be one of the first heroes banned in the draft process as she, along with Xul, harbor the strongest one-vs-one combat abilities in the game. But until Tracer is played competitively in professional tournaments, Xul will continue to remain king of the scene.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to see her effectiveness at DreamHack in Austin, Texas in early May, however, professional HoTS teams from North America will still be competing for a spot at the 2016 Summer Championship and a $500,000 prize pool.
If tournament rules allow her play, watch for teams to stray away from the standard one support, one warrior, two assassin and one specialist team composition--and watch them create a stronger front line for Tracer to bounce in and out of while poking from afar with her basic attacks. It will be the job of the warrior to control the field of battle, keeping the opponents at bay while the assassins use their ranged attacks to peck away while slowly taking control of the map and objectives over time.
E.T.C is a natural partner for Tracer as his Moshpit ability to stun the opposing team combined with Tracer's ability to engage quickly on an enemy to plant her grenade and pistol whip opponents makes for a deadly duo when played in sync.
Support wise, Uther is a natural fit for Tracer as his Divine Shield Heroic Trait can be cast on Tracer as she blinks into the opponent's faces while detonating her ultimate ability as well as his natural burst heal. Tracer's exceptionally low health pool makes burst heal more important instead of a passive one that a majority of competitive support heroes provide.
If E.T.C the guitar playing cow is Tracer's buddy, Illidan is her arch nemesis on the battlefield.
With the ability to engage/gap-close on Tracer using his Dive technique, evade her basic attacks while being cloaked, Illidan could be a counter-pick if Tracer is out-of-position, and left astray by her teammates. Another tip for playing against Tracer is to keep a mental clock on her cooldowns that involve her time-bending movements. If you see she used Recall recently, the 24 second cooldown could provide an opening for you to engage on her without her really being able to do much to respond.
Will Tracer's long distance attacks and maneuverability replace Li-Ming's high tournament usage? Only time will tell, but it is something to keep an eye on as the meta takes shape.