Overhaul series #1 : Accursed

[Ol`Yojimbo]

INTRODUCTION

Hi peeps ! Thought I'd start doing overhauls for HoN heroes. I've figured out a growing number of people browsing the forums are getting interested in hero design. People used to stuck with the flawed logic "hero works in-game => he's fine". That's at best mediocre when you want to be the best game around. Design depth is key for a proper hero concept. I'd say lore as well but all those alt avatars made that effort superfluous. Please understand the following : Heroes might be used often competitively, there's still no point denying possible improvements if the latter is about to make the hero better conceptually. Balancing happens afterwards. I can't stress this one enough : Hero niches should be UNIQUE.

Niche definition :

A niche would commonly be defined by a combination of attack range, statistics or more concrete things such as a role and a "core-idea" which would answer those two questions :
" Is there a specific playstyle people adopt using the hero ?"
" Are there any specific mechanics unique to that hero ?"

Now, enjoy the read (don't be lazy, read it all).

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I gonna cover Accursed in this overhaul.

HERO ISSUES

• Non-existant synergy between Sear and his skillset/playstyle. Requirements (physical attacks) do not fit a melee hero lacking mobility.
• Ulti effectiveness relies too much on opponents' stupidity. Cauterize self-dmg is not enough to make up for it.

SUGGESTIONS

Niche : Melee STR hero exploiting his own high survivability to keep his allies alive thanks to powerful defensive spells. Uses health costs.

Sear
Action/Type : Aura.
Accursed mere presence sears his foes applying the Sear debuff on them. Any ally that attacks the affected unit will be buffed with Burning Strikes. Additionally, he can extend the aura at will using his own health, applying a movement slow around him.
Range : 350/650 when extended.
Cooldown : 6 seconds.
Health cost : 45/55/65/75 per second. (Uses direct hp removal).
Sear effects : 5/10/15/20% Movement Slow (Only when extended). Applies Burning Strikes to the attacker for 2 seconds.
Burning Strikes : 10/20/30/40 Attack Speed. 10% Movement Speed.
Visuals : Flame tongues should spread around Accursed when the aura is extended.

I tried to give his core-concept some more depth so he differentiates better from Jereziah. The synergy with the rest of the skillset is made much more obvious. Flame Consumption activation shall never be a waste anymore (well, except if disabled) thanks to that health cost. Flaming Strikes buff can now be applied right at the start of a team-fight without having him hitting his targets. Might need a bit of rebalancing.

There you go, vote and discuss.

Consider numbers lightly (testing makes those) - Focus on the concept.

Patch changes :
2.0.30 : Sear no longer an attack modifier. Doesn't solve the listed issues since his core items will hardly change.

[[E]Undutchable]

Put in in test mode S2, Seems interested. Don't know about numbers, idea sounds good, and although I don't think he will see competitive play because of it, it's definetly interesting.

Maybe only applying to self, and 650 range at the cost off... Don't know.

Edit: Oh, if it's for the lore, then I don't know. I liked the idea balance wise

[Kleech]

That is a huge ass health cost. O_O

[Ol`Yojimbo]

It ain't just about the lore/theme. The hero concept is actually pretty good already. I just found that idea to complement the hero pretty well.

And yeah, quite a huge health cost. Don't want it to be abused since bonuses are quite important. That, plus a low health cost would be useless for Flame Consumption.

EDIT : Votes are welcome.

[Kleech]

I like to post my first opinion, see a response, and vote from there.

The bonuses are indeed important, but shield would give you only 2.5 seconds of aura, and that's only if you cast it on yourself and if no one feels like hitting you during that time. (And that's a HUGE amount of healing during his ulti.) I feel like 45/55/65/75 would be just as strong. But, it's a start of a remake. IMO he needs even more, but that's fine. T-up.

[Ol`Yojimbo]

Yeah, I do realise Shield would not cover a lot of Sear damage and it should definitely not. I might consider tweaking numbers a bit if asked by more people but keep in mind my main focus is the design.

[Ol`Yojimbo]

Thought I'd bump this since it got lost in there. Want some more feedback.

[Troglodyte]

I've always kinda thought Cauterize should just apply Sear, honestly. It's a simple buff that improves his ability to support a gank dramatically.

[Ol`Yojimbo]

Yet not really elegant, nor does it solve his ultimate issue.

[[tHtI]`Stinkmeaner]

Very nice idea ; )

[[Poni]NoskillzNils]

too high health cost imo, but i like it

[Ol`Yojimbo]

Fine, gonna reduce the health cost to what Kleech suggested.

[Randown]

I liked it. Everything's been said already. TU.

[[L1ON]WwD]

Makes him even more similiar to Jera which is stupid. His ult is perfect. They dont have to attack you to make it useful.

[Ol`Yojimbo]

Fact is, I plan to rework Jeraziah as well since he's so damn dull. Flame Consumption is nowhere perfect. Mind telling how the ulti's useful if you don't use it to heal back ?

[[Dodg]Ar7style]

Fact is, I plan to rework Jeraziah as well since he's so damn dull. Flame Consumption is nowhere perfect. Mind telling how the ulti's useful if you don't use it to heal back ?

You draw focus away from yourself to get off a heal and a shield more? Sounds like useful to me

[[TGCH]Teddy]

Sound kinda good. Dunno how this would affect gameplay with him though.

T-up

[Ol`Yojimbo]

Don't you think it's a tad weak for an ulti then YoungChul ? The damage to health conversion has a reason. You're not supposed to draw focus away with Accursed. That heal is needed, especially with that Sear rework. You'll prolly get off more than a single Cauterize if you manage not to get ignored while you ulti.

[[LARG]SeiZa]

You really don't need to change that attack modifier. If you take it to aura it will give him a free slot for attack modifiers...

A bit over-powered to me. And still the ulti will become useless (if you go to lifesteal modifier)

[Ol`Yojimbo]

Except there is no point buying an attack modifier on Accursed... If you do so, the game either took too long or you didn't get how the hero's supposed to be played.