Aldur by CriticKitten

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Aldur

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This hero concept is complete! I am open to suggestions as far as refining the balance of this hero.

Aldur's people are former barbarians that left during the reign of Bul-Kathos in pursuit of a more nomadic lifestyle. They settled in Scosglen, a northern region of Sanctuary, where they secluded themselves from the outside world and learned to commune with nature. This natural attachment to the forest and its creatures has allowed them to develop abilities that their barbarian kin could never have dreamed of, such as the ability to manipulate the elements, summon the forest's natural predators, and even transform into powerful bestial avatars of nature themselves. Aldur is one such individual who has ventured out of the tribe's lands, having heard of the rise of Hell's minions and seeking to defend Mother Nature against corruption and hellfire.

Aldur wields his set from Diablo 2, including a morning star. Aldur's kit was difficult to create due to the number of elements that he shares with other pre-existing heroes. Greymane's design makes a permanent Werewolf less practical, so I went for Werebear instead. This enables him to be a hero who can shift from being a melee specialist with a lot of ranged potential into a full-blown melee form with greater tanking potential and a focus on AA damage. Multiple heroes can summon up minions of some sort to fight for them, and Rexxar makes the Grizzly companion less unique as well. Basically, the Druid's kit is restricted by what already exists, so it was a real challenge to develop a kit that stands out among all of the other heroes that already exist. However, I think I've achieved that goal and created something that is true to the D2 Druid while still providing a unique experience.

Hero Type: Melee Specialist
Difficulty: Medium

Pros:

Aldur can summon spirit wolf companions that behave like minions, allowing him to more easily push a lane as well as provide greater pressure against other enemy heroes. With his Lvl 1 talents, he can also choose from one of three other familiars to aid him: ravens that can blind a target, a creeper that can consume the corpses of minions in lane to heal him, and a spirit which provides him and his nearby allies with shielding so long as it remains alive.
Aldur can push lanes with Fissure, and also pressure enemy heroes away from certain locations.
Aldur can reduce incoming ability damage for a short time with Cyclone Armor.
Aldur's Werebear form allows him to become significantly more tanky in a team fight, allowing him to substitute as a tank if the team is in need.
Aldur has good sustain while in Werebear form with Hunger.

Cons:

Aldur's personal auto-attack damage is fairly low. He relies on his spirit wolves to help compensate for his lower damage, and his other familiars do no damage. Thus, when his spirit wolves are killed, his damage potential is greatly reduced.
Aldur's Fissure is his best form of damage, but deals its damage over time, meaning it will have less impact if the enemy moves out of the affected area.
Aldur loses access to his ranged abilities when in Werebear form, depending entirely on his auto-attacks to deal his damage. Also, his primary form of sustain while in Werebear form requires the target to be in melee range, and his heroic has reduced effectiveness at range. Enemies that shoot him from range while he is in Werebear form will be able to pressure him away from a location easily.
Aldur's heroic selection is limited based on which form he is in. This can be exploited by the enemy to force him to use a heroic that may not be ideal for the situation he is in.

Note: All figures shown on this hero concept page are listed at their baseline figures (Lvl 0).

Health: 1760 HP (+4%) in human form, 2288 HP (+4%) in werebear form
Health Regen: 3.85 HP per second (+4%) in human form, 4.74 HP per second (+4%) in werebear form
Resource: Mana
Mana: 490 (+10)
Mana Regen: 2.9 per second (+0.1)
Attack Damage: 67 (+4%) in human form, 80 (+4%) in werebear form
Attack Speed: 1.2 in human form, 1.0 in werebear form
Attack Range: 1.0 in human form, 1.25 in werebear form

Combat Trait

Werebear (D)

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Aldur can shift between his human and werebear forms at will. While in Werebear form, Aldur has 30% increased health, 20% increased attack damage, and 20% decreased attack speed. Aldur's health remains at the same percentage that it was before he shifted, so he cannot "heal" damage by shifting back and forth between forms.

Primary Abilities

Summon Spirit Wolf (Q)

Mana Cost: 40
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Charges: 3

This ability is available in both forms. Aldur summons a spirit wolf companion that follows him around on the battlefield within a short radius. It has health and damage equivalent to that of a minion, and is treated like a minion for damage calculation. The spirit wolf will target whoever Aldur targets. Each Spirit Wolf lasts for 15 seconds.

Health: 325 HP (+4%)
Attack Damage: 39 (+4%)
Attack Speed: 1.0
Attack Range: 1.5

Cyclone Armor (W)

Mana Cost: 60
Cooldown: 15 seconds

This ability is available only in human form. Aldur gains a swirling aura of wind around him, which reduces incoming ability damage by 20% for 3 seconds.

Ability Type: Self-Targeting
Ability Range: N/A

Maul (W)

Mana Cost: 60
Cooldown: 10 seconds

This ability is available only in werebear form. Aldur's next basic attack in the next 5 seconds while in werebear form will hit for double damage and inflict a 1 second stun.

Fissure (E)

Mana Cost: 70
Cooldown: 8 seconds

This ability is available only in human form. Aldur tears open the ground in front of him in a wide skill shot, unleashing the pressure of volcanic vents that deal 170 (+4%) damage per second to all foes in their path for 3 seconds.

Ability Type: Skill-Shot
Ability Range: Length is 6, Width is 3

Hunger (E)

Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 12 seconds

This ability is available only in werebear form. Aldur's auto-attack animation changes from a claw swipe to a bite for the duration of this effect. Aldur's next 5 basic attacks in the next 10 seconds while in werebear form will heal him for the damage dealt.

Heroic Abilities

Volcano

Mana Cost: 100
Cooldown: 80 seconds

This heroic ability is available only in human form and is unlocked automatically at Lvl 10. Aldur makes a volcano emerge from the ground at a selected location for 5 seconds. The volcano acts as a temporary obstruction and begins spewing lava into the air, which falls onto the field randomly in a large area. Enemies hit by the lava take 150 (+4%) damage and are lit on fire, burning for an additional 180 (+4%) damage per second over the next 5 seconds.

Ability Type: Targeted
Ability Range: Targeting range is 5.5, Volcano size is 3, Volcanic lava radius is 10.5

Shock Wave

Mana Cost: 90
Cooldown: 120 seconds

This heroic ability is available only in werebear form and is unlocked automatically at Lvl 10. Aldur slams the ground beneath his feet and sends out a slow-moving shockwave. Enemy Heroes hit by the shockwave are stunned for 1 to 2.5 seconds depending on their proximity to the point of impact.

Ability Type: Circular AoE surrounding the user
Ability Range: Inner circle is 4, Secondary circle is 5.5, Outer circle is 7

Talents

Level 1:

Raven - Activate to summon a small raven familiar which will hover around Aldur's head. When Aldur attacks a non-minion target, the ravens will dive-bomb that target and Blind them for 1 second per raven. Ravens can be killed in 1 hit, and last 30 seconds. Contains 3 charges, which refresh every 30 seconds.
Oak Sage - Activate to summon a spirit which will float around behind Aldur. This spirit provides all nearby allied Heroes with a shield for 5% of their maximum health. Cannot attack. Can be killed in 3 hits, and lasts 30 seconds. Can only be used once every 30 seconds.
Carrion Creeper - Activate to summon a creeper which will crawl in the ground beneath Aldur's feet. Every time a minion dies near Aldur, the creeper emerges from the ground and consumes its corpse, healing Aldur for 20 HP (+4%). Can be killed in 3 hits, and lasts 30 seconds. Can only be used once every 30 seconds.

Level 4:

Hide of the Bear (D) - When Aldur shifts into Werebear form, he gains 2 stacks of Block.
Natural Kinship (Q) - Quest: Have at least 1 Spirit Wolf at Aldur's side for a total duration of 120 seconds. Reward: Summon Spirit Wolf now has no mana cost.
Arctic Blast (W) - Enemies that hit Aldur while he is under the effect of Cyclone Armor will have their movement speed reduced by 40%, decaying over 3 seconds.
Brush Fire (E) - If Fissure is fired into a bush, that bush also takes on the effect of Fissure's damage over time effect. This lasts for an additional 2 seconds after Fissure's effect ends.

Level 7:

Dire Wolves (Q) - Upgrade to Summon Spirit Wolf. Aldur's spirit wolves gain an additional 20% HP and 20% damage.
Fire Claws (W) - If an enemy Hero is hit by Maul, they light on fire and take 146 (+4%) damage over the next 4 seconds.
Rabies (E) - Auto-attacks made while under the effect of Hunger will also infect the target, dealing 103 (+4%) damage over 3 seconds. This effect will spread to other nearby enemy minions, mercenaries, or Heroes.

Level 10:

The Lava Must Flow (R) - When Volcano is placed, all Enemy Heroes standing near that location will be treated as if they had been struck by the falling lava directly.
Shaky Ground (R) - Shock Wave also deals 60-150 (+4%) damage to Enemy Heroes struck by the impact wave depending on their proximity to the point of impact.

Level 13:

Birdemic - Upgrade to Raven from Lvl 1. This talent cannot be selected if Raven was not selected. An enemy Hero hit by Aldur's ravens will now also have their vision range reduced by 20% for the duration of the blind.
Spirit of Barbs - Upgrade to Oak Sage from Lvl 1. This talent cannot be selected if Oak Sage was not selected. If an allied Hero is attacked while under the effects of the Oak Sage, all enemies near that Hero will take 27 (+4%) damage per hit. Can only occur once every 0.5 seconds.
Solar Creeper - Upgrade to Carrion Creeper from Lvl 1. This talent cannot be selected if Carrior Creeper was not selected. The creeper now also provides an additional 25% healing to Aldur's mana for each corpse it consumes.
Hurricane (W) - Cyclone Armor deals 40 (+4%) damage per second to all nearby enemies for the duration of its effect.
Feral Rage (E) - Aldur's movement speed is increased by 20% while under the effects of Hunger.

Level 16:

Strong Like Bear - Stuns, roots, and slows used against Aldur while in werebear form grant him Resistant, reducing all damage taken by 25% for 2 seconds.
Pack Leader (Q) - Aldur gains an additional 2 charges of Summon Spirit Wolf.
Fury (W) - When an enemy Hero is hit with Maul, Aldur deals an additional 60% basic attack damage while in werebear form against that target for the next 5 seconds.
Firestorm (E) - If an enemy Hero is hit by Fissure, they light on fire and take 183 (+4%) damage over the next 5 seconds.

Level 20:

Armageddon (R) - The lava spewed from Volcano will fall twice as frequently in a small area around Aldur, so long as he remains within the overall range of Volcano.
Earthquake (R) - Shock Wave's effective radius increases by 50%.
Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires - Aldur deals an additional 20% damage against any enemy that has been lit on fire by one of his abilities.
Lycanthropy (D) - Aldur can now switch between forms without a cooldown. When Aldur switches into human form, he gains an additional 15% ability damage for 10 seconds, and when Aldur switches into werebear form, he gains an additional 25% basic attack damage for 10 seconds.

Update Log

October 4, 2016: Hero Concept Release (v1.0.0)

November 1, 2016: v1.0.1

Added hero type and difficulty data.

November 5, 2016: v1.1.0

New Abilities:
- Fissure (E) -
  - Mana Cost: 70
  - Cooldown: 8 seconds.
  - This ability is available only in human form. Aldur tears open the ground in front of him in a wide skill shot, unleashing the pressure of volcanic vents that deal 170 (+4%) damage per second to all foes in their path for 3 seconds.
New Talents:
- Lvl 4: Brush Fire (E) - If Fissure is fired into a bush, that bush also takes on the effect of Fissure's damage over time effect. This lasts for an additional 2 seconds after Fissure's effect ends.
Talent Changes:
- Lvl 10: Fissure (R) - Renamed to "The Lava Must Flow"
- Lvl 16: Firestorm (E) - Altered to work with Fissure.
Abilities Removed:
- Molten Boulder (E) -
  - Mana Cost: 70
  - Cooldown: 8 seconds
  - This ability is available only in human form. Aldur fires a rolling ball of magma in a straight line that deals 160 (+4%) damage to all foes in its path. If an Enemy Hero is hit by the boulder, it explodes, dealing an additional 140 (+4%) damage to all nearby enemies.
Talents Removed:
- Lvl 4: Rolling Downhill (E) - Molten Boulder's range is increased by 25% and it rolls 20% faster.

Author's Notes: The introduction of Ragnaros has hit my hero roster rather hard. Not only did it remove Flame Wave from Aidan (my hero concept for the Diablo 1 warrior, with the Lord of Terror imprisoned within), it also made Molten Boulder somewhat obsolete, since Living Meteor can do everything that Molten Boulder can do....but also does it way better.

This has forced me to make a shift away from Molten Boulder in favor of a different classic Druid ability, Fissure. I was originally going to use Firestorm, but the Dragon Knight already has an ability of that sort, so Fissure seemed more appropriate. This allows the Druid to retain some manner of wave clear, and grants him a unique ability not already taken by other heroes. Naturally, I have removed or altered Molten Boulder-related talents that will better fit Fissure's design and help diversify its functionality from other abilities in the game to date.

December 2, 2016: v1.1.1

Added attack range, ability design, and range information.

December 17, 2016: v1.1.2

Ability Changes:
- Summon Spirit Wolf (Q) -
  - Added health, attack damage, attack speed, and range information.

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(22) |

This is good and fun. Love it :D
+1

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Coming from someone who has probably created my favorite concepts on this site, that's lofty praise, indeed! Much appreciated! :)

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Aldur by CriticKitten

Aldur

Aldur

Nomad of the Forest

Combat Trait

Primary Abilities

Heroic Abilities