Natalya by CriticKitten

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Natalya

By: CriticKitten
Last Updated: Dec 27, 2016
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Natalya

Blade of the Viz-Jaq'taar

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

For those not versed in Diablo 2 lore, Natalya is a member of the Viz-Jaq'taar, better known as the Order of Mage Slayers. Their order was responsible for slaying sorcerers who became corrupted by demonic magic. The assassins trained themselves to fight without a reliance on magic, instead honing their bodies and minds into potent weapons. They were well-versed in martial arts and preferred to use claw weapons for close quarters combat, but were not above using more deceptive and indirect means of killing their foes when the occasion called for it.

This hero concept is based on the abilities of the Diablo 2 assassin. Natalya is designed to act as a highly mobile assassin hero that is excellent at picking on single targets and disrupting their actions. She is especially good for dealing with mages, as she has a lot of poke potential with her kit. I built this hero primarily around the Martial Arts abilities rather than Traps or Shadow Disciplines, which I know will disappoint a lot of people because her Martial Art abilities weren't necessarily her strongest or most powerful in Diablo 2. Other versions of this hero tend to focus on Shadow Disciplines or Traps because of the larger base of players that used those abilities. However, I have designed this hero to have the ability to pick up some of those "lost" skills through talents, which allows her to be built primarily for AA damage while still hitting on that exploitative trap assassin style of play.

Hero Type: Melee Assassin
Difficulty: Hard

Pros:
  • Natalya's abilities provide a great deal of mobility and control over a single target on the battlefield. She is able to poke in and out of fights using her Dragon Flight to engage, and using either Dragon Tail or Cloak of Shadows to disengage.
  • Natalya's trait enables a player to build up elemental charges and then drop them into an enemy when she uses her abilities, providing her with an optional form of burst damage (Fists of Fire or Claws of Thunder) or with additional utility (Blades of Ice).
  • Most heroic abilities are designed to be single-use, "big bang" abilities that will turn the fight in your favor immediately. Natalya's heroics are toggle effects that provide more of a "slow burn", giving her a smaller edge for a longer period of time. Because of this, she becomes very dangerous after Lvl 10 because her heroics are basically "always on".

Cons:
  • Natalya's kit is designed to emphasize ganking and 1v1 fights, targeting a particular enemy and harassing them to no end. While she can still do this in team fights, her abilities are not necessarily going to be as potent in a team fight scenario.
  • Natalya is a melee hero in every sense of the word. Her only form of "ranged" damage is the melee attack that follows Dragon Flight's teleport. Therefore, any heroes which can keep her at range will be able to pick her apart without much trouble.
  • The strength of Natalya's heroics are also their greatest weakness. Because they are designed as toggle effects, they lack the instant potency of a standard heroic that can instantly turn a team fight. Her team will be getting a much smaller effect over a longer time, meaning that if the enemy team is able to mitigate Natalya's effectiveness, they are essentially playing with one less "trump card".
  • Natalya lacks any form of sustain before Lvl 10, when she can pick up the Cobra Strike....and even then, she must be actively in melee combat to sustain herself. As such, she is highly reliant on her team to keep her alive during ranged engagements and longer battles.

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

Health: 1820 HP (+4%)
Health Regen: 3.8 HP per second (+4%)
Resource: Mana
Mana: 490 (+10)
Mana Regen: 2.9 per second (+0.1)
Attack Damage: 119 (+4%)
Attack Speed: 1.25
Attack Range: 1.25

Combat Trait

1
Fists of Fire
This trait can be selected at Lvl 1.

Natalya gains 1 charge of Fists of Fire for every 10 basic attacks, up to a maximum of 3 charges. These charges appear as small red orbs that circle around Natalya's body. She can use Dragon Flight or Dragon Tail to unleash these charges onto an enemy, dealing 50 (+4%) damage per charge (each charge is delivered as a separate packet of damage).
2
Claws of Thunder
This trait can be selected at Lvl 1.

Natalya gains 1 charge of Claws of Thunder for every 10 basic attacks, up to a maximum of 3 charges. These charges appear as small yellow orbs that circle around Natalya's body. She can use Dragon Flight or Dragon Tail to unleash these charges onto an enemy, which deal 20 (+4%) damage per charge (each charge is delivered as a separate packet of damage) to the target and all nearby enemies.
3
Blades of Ice
This trait can be selected at Lvl 1.

Natalya gains 1 charge of Blades of Ice for every 10 basic attacks, up to a maximum of 3 charges. These charges appear as small blue orbs that circle around Natalya's body. She can use Dragon Flight or Dragon Tail to unleash these charges onto an enemy, slowing the target's movement by 15% per charge.

Primary Abilities

1
Dragon Flight (Q)
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 10 seconds

Natalya is teleported to the target and delivers a swift kick, dealing 126 (+4%) damage. Using this ability consumes all of Natalya's stored elemental charges.

Ability Type: Targeted
Ability Range: 7.5
2
Dragon Tail (W)
Mana Cost: 60
Cooldown: 12 seconds

Natalya kicks the target for 205 (+4%) damage and knocks the target back. Using this ability consumes all of Natalya's stored elemental charges.

Ability Type: Targeted
Ability Range: Targeting range is 1.25, Knock-back range is 7.5
3
Cloak of Shadows (E)
Mana Cost: 80
Cooldown: 20 seconds

Natalya leaps backwards and throws a dark powder into the eyes of a nearby enemy Hero, reducing their vision range by 30% for 3 seconds. During this time, the enemy Hero affected will not be able to see their team mates or their minimap.

Ability Type: Targeted
Ability Range: Targeting range is 1.25, Leap range is 5

Heroic Abilities

1
Cobra Strike (R)
Natayla's heroic abilities are toggle effects that she can switch on or off by pressing the R key.

While the effect of Cobra Strike is active, Natalya deals 30% of her normal damage to enemy Heroes' health, and 10% of her normal damage to enemy Heroes' mana. Any damage dealt to enemy Heroes in this way is transferred to Natalya as healing for her health and mana, respectively.
2
Venom (R)
Mana Cost: 5 per attack

Natayla's heroic abilities are toggle effects that she can switch on or off by pressing the R key.

While the effect of Venom is active, Natalya's basic attacks deal an additional 25% damage as poison damage over 3 seconds.

Talents

Level 1:

  • Fists of Fire - As above.
  • Claws of Thunder - As above.
  • Blades of Ice - As above.

Level 4:

  • Weapon Block - Identical to the "Advanced Block" talent from Lt. Morales.
  • Wake of Inferno - Activate to deploy a fire trap (press once to orient the trap's facing, then again to drop), which will instantly enter stealth. When enemy minions, mercenaries, or Heroes walk past the trap, it sprays fire in a narrow line, dealing 70 (+4%) damage every second for 5 seconds to all foes in its range. Can be killed in 2 hits, and lasts 45 seconds. Contains 2 charges, which refresh every 45 seconds.
  • Charged Bolt Sentry - Activate to deploy a lightning trap (press once to orient the trap's facing, then again to drop), which will instantly enter stealth. When enemy minions, mercenaries, or Heroes walk past the trap, it sprays several bolts of lightning in a cone shaped AoE, dealing 30 (+4%) damage every second for 5 seconds to all foes in its range. Can be killed in 2 hits, and lasts 45 seconds. Contains 2 charges, which refresh every 45 seconds.
  • Kicking Frenzy (W) - Quest: Knock 5 enemy Heroes into terrain using Dragon Tail. Reward: Dragon Tail deals an additional 65 (+4%) damage when an opponent is knocked into terrain.

Level 7:

  • Active Pursuit (Q) - Dragon Flight has 20% increased range.
  • Dragon Talon (Q) - Dragon Flight gains an additional kick of 126 (+4%) damage.
  • Psychic Hammer (W) - Dragon Tail knocks enemy Heroes 20% further away.
  • Shadow Warrior (E) - Using Cloak of Shadows leaves behind a shadow clone of Natalya that will attack nearby enemies, prioritizing enemy Heroes. The shadow clone can only perform basic attacks, and lasts for 5 seconds.

Level 10:

  • Cobra Strike (R) - As above.
  • Venom (R) - As above.

Level 13:

  • Burst of Speed - Activate to boost Natalya's attack speed by 20% and movement speed by 50% for 3 seconds. Can only be used once every 60 seconds.
  • Blade Shield - Identical to the "Burning Rage" talent on other heroes.
  • Death Sentry - Activate to deploy a death trap, which will instantly enter stealth. When enemy minions or mercenaries die while in range of the trap, they explode for 90 (+4%) damage to all nearby enemies. Exploding an enemy unit in this way will temporarily reveal the trap. Can be killed in 2 hits, and lasts 45 seconds. Can only be used once every 45 seconds.
  • Dragon Claw (Q) - Using Dragon Flight increases attack speed by 20% for the next 2 seconds.

Level 16:

  • Claw Mastery - Natalya's basic attacks now deal 10% more damage.
  • Mind Blast (W) - Dragon Tail now inflicts a 0.5 second stun.
  • Shadow Master (E) - Upgrade to Shadow Warrior from Lvl 7. This talent cannot be selected if Shadow Warrior was not selected. The shadow clone now gains the ability to use Natalya's Dragon Flight and Dragon Tail abilities.
  • Fade (E) - Using Cloak of Shadows grants Resistant, reducing all damage taken by 25% for 3 seconds.

Level 20:

  • Opportunist (R) - If an enemy Hero is drained of all of their mana from Natalya's Cobra Strike, they become Vulnerable for 6 seconds, increasing the damage they take from all sources by 25%, and Natalya's mana is completely filled instantly. This effect cannot trigger more than once every 20 seconds.
  • Lethal Dose (R) - If an enemy Hero is under the effects of poison and is below 10% health, activating either Dragon Flight or Dragon Tail on that target will kill them instantly.
  • Assassin's Blades - Identical to the "Nexus Blades" talent on other heroes.
  • Phoenix Strike (D) - Natalya can now build up elemental charges for any element she chooses by pressing the D key to switch elements. Switching elements will cause her to lose all stored charges.

Update Log

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



November 1, 2016: v1.0.1

  • Added hero type and difficulty data.

December 2, 2016: v1.0.2

  • Added attack range, ability design, and range information.
  • Ability Changes:
    • Cloak of Shadows (E) -
      • Vision range reduction has been reduced from 50% to 30%.
Author's Notes: This is an adjustment meant to bring Natalya more in line with other heroes on my roster who have vision range reducing abilities. Natalya's was too powerful to be a commonly casted ability, even with its lower cooldown.

Links to my Other Concepts



Aidan, The Dark Wanderer Aldur, Nomad of the Forest D.Va, MEKA Pilot Genji, Cybernetic Ninja





Izsha, Advisor to the Queen of Blades Ji'nara, First Ascendant of the Tal'darim Junkrat, Demolitionist of the Outback M'avina, Amazon of the Twin Seas





McCree, Bounty Hunter Natalya, Blade of the Viz-Jaq'taar Reinhardt, The Last Crusader Sigon, Paladin of the Zakarum





Sombra, Elite Hacker of Talon Stukov, Infested Terran Vorazun, Matriarch of the Nerazim Zenyatta, The Wandering Guru

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