Izual, the Corrupted Angel – Melee Tank
Izual was once a proud Lieutenant in the army of the High Heavens and a close friend of Tyrael. Together, they routed the armies of Hell for many untold years. Before the events of Diablo 3, the armies of Hell had reached the Gates of Heaven only once before. The successful charge by Heaven to push back the demons was led by Izual, who was renowned for his strength and valor on, and off, the field of battle. If you played Diablo 2 a lot, you’ll know this story well. His fall from grace came when he attempted an attack on the very Hellforge where Mephisto and Diablo’s Soulstones would be destroyed centuries later. He was captured by the Prime Evils and they tormented them. They twisted his angelic soul and, during their tortures, he revealed how they could use the Soulstones in their favor by corrupting them. Thus the plans for the Dark Exile were set in motion. Believing his friend had suffered enough, Tyrael approached the heroes in the fortress of Pandemonium and requested they free Izual’s soul. Upon finding Izual, you discover that his soul had been tethered to the body of a beast spawned from the deepest pits of Hell. Izual was no longer himself, as he and the abyssal creature had become one. Even after freeing his soul, he would later be reincarnated by Diablo, eternally cementing him as a demon by allowing him to be reborn within Hell. Being reborn in Hell once again, Izual has now set his eyes on traversing the Nexus to conquer it for the pits of Hell and to torment his once long time friend, Tyrael.
Public Note: This is a mashup of both of his Diablo 2 and 3 appearances.
Possible Skin Note: Just as all the Angels have demonic skins, Izual could be restored to his former glory in a Skin. This way, Izual could instead begin to wield Azurewrath once again.
Trait
Abyssal Armor – Izual gains 5 armor and 2.5% movement speed for 1.5 seconds whenever he deals damage to an enemy hero. This can stack up to six times for a max of 30 armor and 15% movement speed.
Idea behind the Trait: In Diablo 2, Izual arguably boasts the biggest defensive stats and health of any story mode side bosses and bosses while having extremely fast movement speed. I wanted to give him a Trait that would allow him to continue to follow along the lines of being “hard to kill”. However, he has to deal damage to get that armor but it’s any damage including auto attacks.
Basic Abilities
Lunging Slam (Q) – Izual charges forward a short distance and slams his weapon on the ground, damaging all enemies in a small radius. Izual performs the slam immediately if he collides with an enemy hero, terrain, vehicle, or structure. 8 second cooldown.
Idea behind the ability: In Diablo 3, Izual has a slam attack with his giant mace. I wanted to incorporate that into his build while also giving him some form of initiation since he is a tank. During the fight in D3, he will also use a slam attack where he appears to ram into you with his body. I combined the two into one ability.
Frozen Nova (W) – Izual releases a frozen nova around him, damaging and slowing all enemies by 25% for 1.5 seconds. 12 second cooldown.
Idea behind the ability: In Diablo 2, Izual has this ability which goes off every 15, 18, or 21 seconds depending on the chosen difficulty. It is also stupidly huge compared to the one the Sorceress uses. I do not intend for it to be stupidly huge. This is simply an homage with the appropriate CC.
Chilling Toss (E) - Izual surrounds his hand in cold magic, grabs an enemy, and lifts them into the air, stunning them for .25 seconds before throwing them a short distance in the direction he is facing, dealing damage upon landing. Their movement and attack speed are slowed by 10% for 1 second and can stack with Frozen Nova. 14 second cooldown.
Idea behind the ability: While fighting Izual in Diablo 2, he has two forms of physical attacks. He’ll either swing his sword or will swipe at you with his available hand, which is surrounded by a chilling blue aura. That blue aura is something I wanted to incorporate into his build somehow. Aside from Heroic abilities, no one has a simple short distance throw other than Garrosh.
Heroic Abilities
Plains of Despair ( R ) – Target a large area for 6 seconds. The area lowers the armor of all enemies inside by 20. Increases Izual’s armor by 6 for each enemy hero in the area. Movement speed and health regen is increased by 30% while inside the Plane of Despair. 90 second cool down.
Idea behind the ability: I wanted to bring the Plains of Despair to the Nexus in some way or form, and allowing Izual to harness the power of his eternal prison seemed fitting. By bringing the desolate plains from Hell to the Nexus, Izual can truly become the juggernaut that he once was from Diablo 2.
Unholy Freeze ( R ) – After two seconds of channeling, in which Izual can use his basic abilities, the air freezes around him in a medium radius, causing low damage and all enemies to become frozen for 2 seconds, dealing minor damage. If an enemy hero is damaged while frozen, the ice is shattered, damaging them further for 7% of their maximum health. 110 second cooldown.
Idea behind the ability: During his boss fight in Diablo 3, Izual had the ability to freeze the entire arena with ice bombs, which are currently used by the Frozen Punisher, and the Cores in Battlefield of Eternity and Infernal Shrines. I did not want to give him that ability so I went with a different route. Looking at Izual’s fight, he completely froze the entrance and exit within mere seconds of the Nephalim entering his arena. So why can’t he do that to his enemies?
Level 1 Talents
Feast of Despondency – Quest: Damage enemies to gain max spell armor 50 times. Reward: Permanently gain 15% attack speed.
Corrupted Strength – Increase the damage and impact radius of Lunging Slam by 15%.
Frozen Eclipse – Increase the radius of Frozen Nova by 25%.
Level 4 Talents
Winged Succor – Increase the distance Izual charges with Lunging Slam. Enemies around him are slightly pushed away from the location of the lunge.
Frost Regeneration – Izual gains 18 (+5 per level) health regen per second for 5 seconds for each hero hit by Frozen Nova.
Abyssal Cold - Increase the slow of Frozen Nova by 10% and the slow by .5 seconds.
Level 7 Talents
Barreling Charge - Using Lunging Slam on an enemy that was thrown by Chilling Toss within two seconds stuns the enemy for .75 seconds.
Sudden Collision - If an enemy hero who has been thrown by Chilling Toss collides with another enemy hero, both are stunned for .5 seconds and receive the damage from when the thrown hero would land.
Swift Impact - The speed of Lunging Slam is increased. Enemies hit by Lunging Slam are slow by 20% for 1 second.
Level 13 Talents
Frozen In Ice - Frozen Nova roots enemies who are already disabled by another slow for 1.25 seconds.
Corrupted Nova – Lower the armor of all enemies hit by Frozen Nova by 10 for 2 seconds.
Indomitable Dive - Izual gains unstoppable during Lunging Slam and for .5 seconds after landing.
Level 16 Talents
Hellish Resistance – Reduce the duration and effectiveness of all slows, roots, and stuns by 15%.
Defensive Stance – Activate Ability – Izual gains 60 armor but moves 20% slower for 2 seconds. 60 second cooldown.
Freezing Discharge - Enemies near Izual other than the targeted enemy are rooted for .75 seconds when he uses Chilling Toss.
Level 20 Talents
Revel In Their Distress ( R ) - Allied heroes receive 50% of the bonuses Izual receives while inside the targeted area and enemies are slowed by 20% while inside the Plains of Despair.
Hell Frozen Over ( R ) – The freeze duration for Unholy Freeze is increased by 1 second. The damage an enemy hero takes is increased from 7% to 12%. Enemies are slowed by 30% for 3 seconds after the ice expires or is shattered.
Primeval Resurrection – Izual’s maximum health is increased by 30% and his damage is increased by 10% but his respawn timer is increased by 20 seconds.
You’re Still A Fool – Activate ability - Encase yourself in ice, entering stasis for 2 seconds. While in stasis, the ice will absorb the damage received and explode when finished, dealing 25% of the damage received in a small area. 60 second cooldown. (Based off of his opening line, “Tyrael was a fool to have trusted me.”)
As always, any form of criticism is always welcomed. Feel free to check out my other hero creations for Maar, Duriel, Iulesca, and Andariel. Thank you for your time and have a great day!