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Heroes of the Storm's Next Character, Giant Chicken Mount Previewed in New Video

New PTR update also makes significant changes to Tassadar.

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Blizzard has provided a glimpse of new content on the way to Heroes of the Storm with a new video.

Most noteworthy is the next character, Valeera. She's a Blood Elf from the Warcraft universe whom you might know best as the Rogue in Hearthstone. Based on the video, we can safely assume she is an Assassin. Her Trait, Vanish, allows her to stealth and gain movement speed. For the first second it's activated, she's can be revealed and can move through other units. More significantly, activating it gives her a different set of abilities while stealthed than she otherwise has access to.

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Now Playing: Heroes of the Storm: Valeera, New Skins, and More!

Her abilities are already somewhat involved; five out of the six prove a combo point when used, which are then consumed when activating another of her abilities. Her standard moves include Blade Furry (deals damage around her) and Sinister Strike (Valeera dashes forward and deals damage; if she hits an enemy hero, she stops and the cooldown goes down to one second). Her other basic ability is Eviscerate, which consumes all of her combo points--up to three can be stored--to deal damage to an enemy. It deals more damage based on the number of combo points she has saved up.

After using Vanish, her abilities change to include Ambush (deals instant damage to an enemy), Cheap Shot (deals some damage and stuns an enemy), and Garrote (silences an enemy, deals some damage, and causes damage over time).

Valeera's Heroic abilities include Smoke Bomb and Cloak of Shadows, neither of which breaks Vanish. Smoke Bomb marks an area with smoke for five seconds; while inside, she can move through other units, becomes Unrevealable, and takes 25 percent less damage--all while still being able to attack. Cloak of Shadows removes any damage over time she's suffering from and, for one second, makes her Unstoppable and causes her to take 75 percent less damage from abilities.

Valeera is available today on the public test realm as part of a newly released update. This makes some balance changes to existing characters, the most significant of which are for Rexxar and Tassadar. Rexxar's changes are in large part to improve his bear companion, Misha, and make her easier to control. Tassadar receives a more wide-ranging overhaul: His basic attack changes to a channeling one that slows enemies, while his Trait has a lower cooldown and no longer costs mana. His abilities are also mostly buffed across the board, while his talents have also changed to compensate for all of this.

Also in the PTR update are some of the new skins and mounts on display in the video. Valeera has one that makes her look like a Demon Hunter from World of Warcraft's Legion expansion. The new mounts include a wisp of smoke (the Nimbus Cloud) and a giant walking chicken, which comes in two variants: the Lunar Rooster and Golden Rooster.

The Golden Rooster is only available for purchase with gold, while the Lunar Rooster serves as a reward for an upcoming Lunar Festival event. At the start of each match between January 24 and February 14, players will have a chance to take part in the Rooster Race. This involves collecting items and delivering them to a rooster to help it move. The first time you do this during the event, you'll receive 200 gold. Completing 25 races during the event nets you a Lunar Rooster Portrait and the Lunar Rooster mount.

You can check out the full PTR patch notes here.

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