[HC] Aethas, Archmage of the Sunreavers

Aethas Sunreaver is a powerful mage of the Kirin Tor, and leader of the Sunreavers. After Kael’thas betrayed the Alliance and Dalaran, Aethas led the charge to rejoin the Kirin Tor and cement Dalaran as a neutral zone. He was incredibly skilled and even served on the Council of Six. However, when the Blood Elves were considering defecting to the Horde, Garrosh planted false evidence that caused Jaina to expel the Sunreavers from the Kirin Tor, including Aethas. He would eventually rejoin, but never took his position back. Aethas ia another addition to my effort to make a concept for every Council of Six member, but is not designed to synergize with the current six like the others are. My other Council of Six members can be found under my profile.

In HotS, Aethas is a powerful burst Assassin who builds up his power until he can unleash a critical spell strike upon his enemies. Based on the timeless fire mage from across the expansions, Aethas forgoes traditional area of effects for high damage, flashy critical strikes. He starts out weak, but as the game progresses, his ability to unleash a torrent of high damage spells is breathtaking.

Universe: Warcraft
Role: Ranged Assassin

Summon Mount
Z (Mount) – 4 sec Cooldown
Increases your movement speed by 30% while mounted.

Explanation: There is no need for a special mount.

Hot Streak
Trait (Passive)
Every second, Aethas gains a stack of Hot Streak, capping at 30. Once Aethas has reached maximum stacks, his next ability will critically strike and deal 50% additional damage and have an additional effect. Aethas can receive stacks from casting abilities, and every time he unlocks a talent besides Tier 1, the maximum stacks is decreased by 2

Explanation: Hot Streak is a core part of Aethas’s core identity. While Kael’thas is focusing on punishing grouped together enemies, Aethas focuses on deleting one enemy, which slowly grows stronger each couple levels. This kit should capture the fun of Fire Mage from WoW while removing random elements The lowering stacks represents how Fire Mages are always stronger at the end of expansions, and makes Aethas a late game deletion mage.

Fireball
Q (6 sec Cooldown)
Aethas prepares a Fireball to throw down a line over .85 seconds before launching it. Upon throwing, if an enemy Hero was in the line, the Fireball tracks onto them; otherwise, it just flies normally. This generates 8 stacks of Hot Streak if it hits an enemy. The first enemy hit is dealt 140 (+4% per level) damage an additional 10 (+4% per level) damage every .5 second for 3 seconds. This damage over time cannot critically strike. If this ability critically strikes, the enemy is dealt double damage.

Explanation: Fireball is the basic Fire spell that every Mage has at the start of their careers. The focus on impact damage instead of damage over time should feel familiar to Fire Mages. The strong critical strike damage makes Fireball Aethas’s major spell to cast with crits.

Dragon’s Breath
W (10 sec Cooldown)
Aethas hesitates for .5 seconds before unleashing a breath of flames in a 4 unit long, 90 degree cone, dealing 220 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies hit and generating 3 stacks of Hot Streak per enemy Hero hit. If Dragon’s Breath was a critical strike, all enemies hit are feared for 1 second.

Explanation: Dragon’s Breath is another familiar Fire Mage ability that patches the holes Aethas has in his kit, without treading on the toes of Kael’thas. It offers AoE and CC, both of which are useful. It is important to note that Dragon’s Breath is Aethas’s only form of CC and he has no escape, meaning that he is very easy to pin down and kill if caught without Hot Streak maxxed.

Inferno Blast
E (8 sec Cooldown)
Aethas unleashes a quick pulse of fire along a thin 6 unit direction that impacts the first enemy hit, dealing 180 (+4% per level) damage and generating 12 stacks of Hot Streak. If Inferno Blast was a critical strike, the enemy is charged for 4 seconds, causing the next spell from Aethas to hit the enemy to also be a critical strike.

Explanation: Inferno Blast is a powerful way to instantly enable crits early in the game, and later on it can be useful for extending crit chains. This can prove fatal if it hits an enemy that is then immediately hit by a high power Fireball, but using this before another spell is always a risk, as it might hit an enemy you don’t want to crit, and enemies can leave after they are hit, causing Aethas to lose his more powerful crit spells.

Combustion
Heroic #1 (60 sec Cooldown)
(Passive) Aethas’s critical strikes deal 100% additional damage, up from 50%. Fireball deals triple damage, rather than double damage.
(Active) For the next 5 seconds, Aethas is cloaked in flames. During this time, Aethas’s cooldowns refresh 25% faster and he always has maximum Hot Streak stacks.

Explanation: Combustion is an extremely simple power boost for Aethas. While most of its power is granted passively, the bonus granted while Active is nothing to scoff at. There is a potential this bleed a bit too much with Sunstrider’s Wrath, but it is an iconic ability for the Fire Mage, and can be more universally present. This further enhances his single target damage.

Sunstrider’s Wrath
Heroic #2 (20 sec Cooldown)
Aethas unleashes a phoenix to a target .75 unit radius location within 7 units, which deals 100 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies hit and infusing the center-most enemy for 4 seconds. If the enemy is critically struck by one of Aethas’s basic abilities, the enemy is dealt an additional 100 (+4% per level) damage and the phoenix will fly to another enemy Hero within 6 units, dealing 100 (+4% per level) damage and infusing them. This can continue bouncing infinitely, or until it expires, and it’s duration is reset each time it bounces.

Explanation: Sunstrider’s Wrath is a more AoE additive to Aethas’s damage off of his crits. Sunstrider’s Wrath is much harder to pull off than Combustion, as he need to crit the enemy that holds his phoenix, causing body blocking Fireball and Inferno Blast crucial. However, if Aethas manages his crits right and his cooldowns correctly, this can be an almost permanent high damage ability.

Tier 1

• Heating Up: After critically striking enemies with two abilities within 10 seconds, Fireball’s cooldown is instantly refreshed, critically strikes, and deals an additional 300 (+4% per level) damage (not boosted by the critical strike).
• Al’ar’s Progeny: When Aethas critically strikes at least one enemy Hero with an ability, his other two basic abilities have their cooldowns reduced by 40%.
• Pyroclasm: Every time one of Aethas’s abilities successfully critically strikes at least one enemy Hero, he gains a stack. At 3 stacks, his next Inferno Blast within 5 seconds will deal 70% increased damage, pass through all enemies hit, and reduce all of his basic ability cooldowns by 1 for each enemy hit.

Tier 2

• Ignite: Inferno Blast now spreads the damage over time effect from Fireball to all enemies within a 4 unit radius, and it deals 25% increased damage. Whenever an enemy being dealt damage over time is critically struck, the damage over time effect refreshes.
• Draconic Bellow: The maximum stacks of Hot Streak is reduced by 4. Dragon’s Breath is now a resizeable line targeted skillshot between 1.5 and 6 units long that explodes into the regular effects in a cone beyond the placement location. The effect will explode early upon hitting an enemy Hero.
• Cremation: When Inferno Blast hits an enemy under 15% health, its cooldown is reduced by 35% and it deals 120 (+4% per level) bonus damage. If Aethas placed a mark on the enemy, Aethas’s next critical strike will deal 3% increased damage for every 1% missing health of the hit enemy.

Tier 3

• Dalaran Armor: After staying out of combat for 3 seconds, if Aethas has more than 50% mana, he will consume 20% of his maximum mana and gain a shield equal to 20% of his maximum health. This shield lasts until broken, and Aethas will not use this while the shield is active. If Aethas is below 50% mana, his mana regen is increased by 250%. Every 6 seconds out of combat, Aethas will restore 2% of his maximum mana and restore any existing shield by 5% of his maximum health.
• Arcane Hunger: Aethas’s critical strikes deal 20% less damage, but heal Aethas for 40% of the damage dealt. If Aethas has already critically struck within the last 3 seconds, the damage is reduced by 10% less and heals Aethas for 10% more of the damage dealt.
• Flamesoul Heart: While at least one enemy Hero is affected by Fireball’s damage over time effect, Aethas can right click the enemy Hero to enchant their flames, dealing an instant 70 (+4% per level) damage and slowing them by 25% for .25 seconds. While the damage over time effect persists on the enemy, Aethas gains 20 Armor and transfers all damage mitigated to the enemy. This has a 7 second cooldown.

Tier 4

• Combustion: (Passive) Aethas’s critical strikes deal 100% additional damage, up from 50%. Fireball deals triple damage, rather than double damage. (Active) For the next 5 seconds, Aethas is cloaked in flames. During this time, Aethas’s cooldowns refresh 25% faster and he always has maximum Hot Streak stacks.
• Sunstrider’s Wrath: Aethas unleashes a phoenix to a target .75 unit radius location within 7 units, which deals 100 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies hit and infusing the center-most enemy for 4 seconds. If the enemy is critically struck by one of Aethas’s basic abilities, the enemy is dealt an additional 100 (+4% per level) damage and the phoenix will fly to another enemy Hero within 6 units, dealing 100 (+4% per level) damage and infusing them. This can continue bouncing infinitely, or until it expires, and it’s duration is reset each time it bounces.

Tier 5

• Charged Foefire: When an enemy Hero that is burning from Fireball is hit by another Fireball, they start to shoot globs of magma to nearby enemy Heroes, dealing 60 (+4% per level) damage every 1 second for 3 seconds.
• Alexstrasza’s Fury: Dragon’s Breath always critically strikes enemy Heroes, and will not consume Hot Streak stacks.
• Immolation Runes: Inferno Blast now has 2 charges that recharge on the same cooldown timer. However, if the second charge is used and is not a critical strike, the cooldown of Inferno Blast is increased by 15 seconds. If Inferno Blast does not hit an enemy Hero, it also has its cooldown increased by 4 seconds.

Tier 6

• Firestarter: While an enemy is being dealt damage over time from Fireball, his other basic abilities generate double Hot Streak stacks against them.
• Critical Focus: The maximum stacks of Hot Streak is increased by 10. When Aethas critically strikes an enemy Hero, they are dealt all of the critical damage again after a 2 second delay.
• Flexibility of the Sin’dorei: Aethas gains all of his Tier 3 talents. Whenever he is shielded, healed, or gains Armor, he gians 4 stacks of Hot Streak.

Tier 7

• Conviction of the Sun: Whenever Aethas would gain Hot Streak staks while using Combustion, its duration is instead increased by 0.1 second for each Hot Streak stack Aethas would gain. While Combustion is on cooldown, any excessive stacks of Hot Streak earned over the maximum will reduce the cooldown of Combustion by .1 seconds per stack.
• Phoenix Reborn: Sunstrider’s Wrath’s cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds every time Aethas uses a critical spell.
• Eye of Wildfire: When Aethas critically strikes with a basic ability, he gains a shield with no duration equal to 5% of his maximum health. This can stack up to a 40% shield. The maximum stacks of Hot Streak is reduced by 8.
• Purge of Dalaran: Aethas has 10 bonus Spell Armor. (Active) Aethas becomes immune to spell damage for 2.5 seconds. Each time Aethas critically strikes within 20 seconds of using Purge of Dalaran, the cooldown is decreased by 2.5 seconds. 125 second cooldown.

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