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Heroes of the Storm Video Takes Aim at Overwatch's Ana

The next Heroes of the Storm spotlight video takes a look at Overwatch sniper Ana and what she'll be able to do inside the Nexus.

Ozzie Mejia

September 18, 2017 10:55 AM

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It was a little more than a year ago that Ana first debuted in Overwatch. Now she's picking up her sniper rifle and moving on the Nexus, where she'll take aim at the warriors of Heroes of the Storm. Blizzard kicked off its week by posting a spotlight video of Ana and her abilities in the MOBA.

Ana can wear down the opposition with her Shrike trait, which applies poison to her basic attacks. Enemies hit with the poison will see their health wear down over time. This ability can be stacked, so the more Ana hits, the more lethal the poison. It'll be hard to avoid this, because Ana will have a longer range than the average Nexus hero.

These are Ana's other abilities:

• (Q) Healing Dart: Ana can support her teammates by plucking them with this booster shot. It boasts a short cooldown and can also pass through minions and opposing heroes, so players don't have to worry about anyone getting in the way of their shot.
• (W) Biotic Grenade: This grenade creates a wider healing field, allowing Anna to heal multiple allies at once. It also increases the effectiveness of Healing Dart. Enemies hit by the grenade take damage and also cannot be healed for a brief period.
• (E) Sleep Dart: It's just what it sounds like, as Ana fires in a straight line and puts an enemy to sleep. This leaves the enemy open to follow-up attacks, but be aware that any contact will immediately wake the affected enemy.
• (R1) Nano Boost: Ana's first Ultimate is a mega boost for one teammate. Any ally struck by Nano Boost will see their Mana fully refreshed, along with a boost in spell damage and reduction in cooldown.
• (R2) Eye of Horus: Ana's second Ultimate sees her set up a sniper's nest in her current location, allowing her to get off several powerful shots with global range. The shot will affect both allies and enemies, with the former getting healed and the latter getting taken out.

Ana's Level 1 Questing Talent choices will help shape her play style. Grenade Calibration increases the range of Biotic Grenade, Piercing Dart allows Healing Dart and Sleep Dart to pass through targets and travel farther, and Detachable Box Magazine allows the effect of Healing Dart to stack. At Level 13, players can choose between Purifying Darts, which clear the effects of roots and sows, and Smelling Salts, which remove stuns and grant armor.

No word on when Ana is set to hit the Nexus, but look for her to come shortly after the next big Heroes of the Storm update, which is set to introduce the game's next Overwatch-inspired battleground.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?