[Hero Concept] Andariel, Maiden of Anguish

quick note: this is still a work in progress and I’ll edit in some icons, labels and format other stuff later on.

Hero Suggestion

Diablo 2: Andariel, Maiden of Anguish

The naked female Evil from the Burning Hells of Diablo, Andariel relishes inflicting mental and emotional suffering upon others.

Design Philosophy: The D2 boss fight itself doesn’t do much to inspire a kit to translate to HoTS: she sprays poison, but otherwise runs around and punches stuff. However, both the story build-up in the aftermath of the events leading to act 1 (of Diablo 2) and the lore associated with the character do provide workable material.

Andariel’s pleasure drawn from the suffering of others casts her as an antithesis to auriel, the archangel of Hope (of Diablo lore) the capacity to enjoy the suffering of others comes from tearing down things that have been built up, from going from abject defiance, to a struggle, to low, and even into corruption and having the victim then becoming that which they tried to valiantly to struggle against. (eg corrupted rogues) So long as they have ‘hope’ and aspirations, they can stand against the trial. But, as that hope corrodes, the struggle drains the victims until they are hollowed out and in turn seek to ‘rekindle’ the sense of hope they had… by taking it from someone else.

So the design here draws parallels from other ‘Holy’ characters in Hots, but twists them. andy here is cast as ‘support’ — and not an assassin — because she can build up the allies around her only for them to be that much more satisfying to tear down later. alternatively: they endure her presence because they’re starting to revel in tormenting others and share her bliss in afflicting others.

Basic abilities

[Q] Noxious affliction: Sprays an arc of toxic fumes; units hit take damage over time.

(The poison spray in Diablo 2 would be closer to Tyrael’s Smite in HoTs, but I thought it’d be better if the spray on this spell was a reverse of auriel’s Sacred Sweep: starts in the middle, and goes outward to the sides.)

[W] Distress: after a short delay, Units in target area are marked with the anguished debuff. While marked, if the units use a cooldown, then they take damage.

(Picture the size and timing similar to Tyrande’s stun, but with less visual indication)

[E] Agoraphobia: andariel lashes enemies with her tendrils. Damage dealt is both physical and spell. Drains energy while channeling, but she can still move for the duration.

(This is similar to Valla’s Strafe heroic: it is a move-channeling ability that automatically deals damage to the closest units in range)

Trait

[D]Philliac: Passive: Gains energy when enemies take damage from andariel’s abilities.

active: deals damage to andy, but heals nearby allies. Damage received is reduced by the percentage of energy meter consumed.

(While andariel uses energy, instead of mana, this ability can be used without energy, but the backlash of that would deal damage to andy instead.)

note: -phillia is like an antonym for -phobia. Instead of an intense fear of [something], the person gets immense pleasure from it instead. However, unlike phobia, -philliac isn’t usually used as a stand-alone word.

Heroic abilities

[R1] Waking Nightmare: Deals damage to affected units. Damage is dealt over 50 seconds.

Units afflicted by Waking Nightmare will be tormented by andariel for the duration.

(For the duration of this dot, andariel will occasionally taunt the enemy player with text prompts that appear above where team-chat would.)

[R2] Desecrate: Mark target area with unholy power. When the effect ends, all damage received in that area will be duplicated, but then split across all enemies in the aoe when the effect ends.

(If 5 heroes are in the circle get hit by a 200 damage aoe, and then 4 heroes leave the circle, the 1 hero still there would take 1000 damage from Desecrate)

Talent Tree: (15 min)

Level 1 :

-Units marked by W share shields and healing with andariel. (regen globe quest to increase % shared)

-Increased Duration of Q

-Energy threshold increases Basic attack range

Level 4 :

-When units marked with W damage andy, she procs a heal for allies in the area

-Basic attacks on debuffed heroes reduce cooldown on D

-Damage dealt to W-marked enemies increases the duration and potency of regen globes

Level 7 :

-Q can mark allies, but regen instead of damage

-If unit marked with W doesn’t deal [x] damage to andy, they take bonus damage.

-If unit marked with W deals [y] damage to andy, the duration of W resets and spreads to nearby allies

Level 13 :

-units affected by both Q & W deal reduced damage.

-using taunt grants andy unstoppable and bonus move speed

-reduced damage taken while channeling E

-Gains an aoe regen aura. [Condition to boost heal effect]

Level 16 :

-Increase number of targets tracked/attacked during E

-Using Trait consumes Q debuffs; bonus damage per hero marked.

-Increase damage dealt to heroes that are away from other units.

Level 20:

  • Basic attacks occasionally proc aoe damage. The aoe slows nearby enemies.

  • andariel releases an aoe explosion on death. Units hit by the aoe take damage over time; each dot tick reduces the timer on her respawn.

  • Gain a second charge of D, energy cap increases, but using D will only consume 100 energy.

  • Hitting enemies with Q adds to the duration of the R1 dot. New instances of R1 can stack.

  • Desecrate: If there aren’t any enemies inside the aoe of Desecrate when it ends, then allies in the area are healed instead. (set value heal, not based on the damage effect)



Suggested Voice Lines

Fear Me

Love me. Loathe me. But you will never leave me.

Dear andy… How do I keep getting these? (Dear abby references)

(without voice filter) It seems you have obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, multiple phobias, hypochondria, and a very dependent personality. (filter back on) Good. (“What about BoB” references)

I have a… deep and abiding interest in your suffering. (“Princess Bride”
Count Rugen references)

Sometimes I like them to be healthy… before I break them (“Princess Bride” albino reference)

Mostly dead means they’re slightly alive. While they’re slightly alive, then they can still feel… anguish (“Princess Bride” Miracle Max reference)

Oh, not actually a “maiden”, I’m married. It’s just my husbands are currently… separated from me.

This’ll ail what cures you (play on an idiom, though a form of this is used as flavor text on a Magic: The Gathering card)

I miss the monastery (Diablo 2 throwback)



Build Theory

Talent names

and more!

COMING SOON

added note: I generally don’t do raw numbers on these suggestions (damage, hp, cooldowns) as I think that sort of stuff needs playtesting to actually get the balance and feel correct – something concept mapping can waste a lot of time overthinking.