[MDC] Shard, the First Spawn of the Dark Nexus

Chaos. An uncontrollable sea of power, in which islands of Order floats. Separate universes of which the beings have manifested the affinity to harness their local power. But sometimes intense surges of the surrounding chaos lashes out, creating rifts to the immense chaos outside. These rifts attract the attention of certain beings seeking to harness this power, leaving behind voids in the endless pool of fragmented realities. But when these voids collide, they implode, forming twisted yet pure beings with a consciousness capable warping themselves and the chaos around them.
Shard was created as the first of these beings, formed by the voids left behind when the Raven Lord and Deathwing harnessed the power of the Dark Nexus, giving it a tremendous affinity with the surrounding chaos. As the first spawn of the Dark Nexus, Shard seeks only to restore order, shattering the surrounding worlds to the pure chaos it once were, returning the stolen power to the collidedded voids, so he once again can continue his eternal slumber.

Stats: Melee Assassin
Health: 1800
Health Recovery: 0
Attack Damage: 80
Attack Speed: 1,25
Attack Range: 1,5

(Z) No Mount

(D - Trait) Shattered Rift: 90 seconds
Activate to create a Rift at any location. Enemies standing on a rift take take 10 damage and lose 1 Spell Armor every 0,2 second, decaying at a rate of 5 per second. While Shard is on a Rift it regains 10 health every 0,2 second gains 25% increased Movement Speed. Rifts last 10 second. Rifts do 50% reduced damage to structures and have a radius of 1,5 units.
(Passive) Scattering Shards: Shards Basic Attacks grants the target the effect of it standing on a Rift for a stacking 1 second. If the target is an enemy hero, Shard also gains the effect of standing on a Rift of a stacking 1 second.

(Q) Ripping Lash: 8 seconds per charge
After 0,33 second, Shard lashes out in a targeted direction in a 6 unit line, doing 180 damage to enemy furthest away and 60 damage to all enemies in between, slowing all enemies hit by 60% for 1,5 seconds. If the enemy furthest away was a hero, a Rift is created at their location, with a 1 unit wide elongated Rift leading all the way back to Shard. Stores up to 2 charges.
(Rift Stalk) Reality Crack: 2 seconds
Create a Rift at a targeted location within 5 units of another Rift.

(W) Chaos Surge: _12 seconds.
A 5 unit long, 1 unit wide Rift shoots out from all Rifts within a range of 7, in the opposite direction of Shard, instantly doing 70 damage to all enemies in their way. If an enemy hero is hit by one of them, a Rift appears at the end of the given elongated Rift. Elongated Rifts does not could as Rifts for this ability.
(Rift Stalk) Chaotic Pulse: 10 secpnds
Do 60 damage to all enemies standing and a Rift, increasing their size by 100% for 4 seconds.

(E) Rift Stalk: 18 seconds
Shard channels for 1,25 seconds, after which it creates and crawls through a Rift, disappearing from the map and reducing Shards vision to 1,5 units of all Rifts. While in the Rift, Shard gains the effect of being on one and gains new abilities. This last 5 seconds, and it can be ended early to instead appear at another targeted Rift anywhere on the map by giving a move command. If the move command targets an enemy on a Rift, Shard immediately attacks the target, slowing the target by 40% for 3 seconds and and increasing Scattering Shards duration for that attack by 2 seconds.

(R ) Border Break: 80 seconds
Create a Rift underneath a target hero and pull them through if they are still on if after 1 second, removing them from the map for 2 seconds. If the target was an ally, they gain 80 Spell Power and Spell Armor when they reappear, decaying over 6 seconds. If the target was an enemy, they lose 80 Spell Power and Spell Armor, decaying over 6 seconds.

(R ) Shard of Power: 40 seconds
After 1,75 seconds, Shard creates a Rift at its current location and disintegrates into tiny shards, which shoot towards all nearby allied heroes within a range of 8 units. All allied heroes affected gets an item called Shard of Power. After 5 seconds, Rift Stalk is activated, allowing Shard to appear at any Rift with full health. Can only be used while Rift Stalk isn’t active.
Shard of Power:
Activate to instantly create a Rift at your location and gain the passive benefit of Shattered Rift for 6 seconds.

Talents:

Level 1:

  • (Trait) Voidborns Domain: While standing on a Rift, Shard gains 30 Spell Armor.
  • (Trait) Broken Phase: While standing on a Rift, Shard can move through non-structure units.
  • (Trait) Dulling Flow: While standing on a Rift, enemies do 15% reduced damage.

Level 4:

  • (Q) Shattering Jolt: Ripping Lash does 50% increased damage to the enemy furthest away if they stood on a Rift when they were hit.
  • (Trait) Swirling Chaos: Enemies standing on Rifts have their Movement Speed reduced by 30% while they move away from Shard.
  • (W) Crushing Burst: Using Chaos Surge deals 80 damage to enemies standing on a rift and instantly reduces their Spell Armor by 25. This Spell Armor reduction counts as if gained from standing on a Rift.

Level 7:

  • (Trait) Power Leak: While standing on a Rift, enemies lose 1 Spell Power every 0,2 second. This decays at a rate of 5 per second.
  • (Passive) Power Flash: Basic attacks against enemies with their Spell Armor reduced by at least 40 blind them for 3 seconds. This can only affect each enemy once every 10 seconds. Additionally, Rifts do 50% increased damage to blinded enemies.
  • (E) Crippling Strike: Hitting an enemy hero with the exit of Rift Stalk stuns the target for 1,25 seconds. Additionally, basic attacks against the target while it is slowed silences the target for 0,5 second.

Level 10:

  • (R ) Border Break
  • (R ) Shard of Power

Level 13:

  • (Active) Rift Gate: Activate on an piece of terrain to create a Rift at Shards location and the exact opposite side of the terrain, which last for 2,5 seconds. During this time Allies can channel on it for 1 second to appear teleport to the other Rift. 60 seconds cooldown.
  • (W) Space Warp: Chaos Surge can be reactivated within 3 seconds of it being used to teleport to an enemy hero that was hit and instantly hit them with a basic attack.
  • (Q) Reflective Exterior: Every 20 seconds, the next source damage is reduced by 75%. If the source of the damage is within 3 units of Shard, the caster source of the damage instead takes these 75% of the damage. Basic attacks reduce this cooldown by 1,5 seconds, and stores up to 2 charges.

Level 16:

  • (W) Reality Shatter: Chaos Surges cooldown is reduced by 1,5 seconds for each enemy hero hit, and using Chaos Surge increases the duration of active Rifts by 2,5 seconds.
  • (Q) Crushing Swipe: Ripping Lashes damage increase from reduced Spell Armor is increased by 100%. Additionally The target furthest away is pulled up to 3 units towards Shard.
  • (Trait) Sweeping Cracks: Basic attacks also applies Shattering Shards to nearby enemies.

Level 20:

  • (R ) Spacial Shift: While active, Border Break can be activated to the the effect early, forcing the affected hero to appear at a nearby targeted Rift.
  • (R ) Shattered Vessels: While Shard of Power is active, the affected allied hero leaves behind a trail of 1 unit wide elongated Rifts. Additionally, Shard of Powers duration is increased by 4 seconds.
  • (Trait) Rift Stride: Increase Shards Movement Speed by 15%, stacking with the Movement Speed gained from Rifts. Additionally, Shard is unstoppable while standing on a Rift.
  • (W) Using Chaos Surges causes for 2 additional elongated Rifts to appear at each Rift. These Rifts appear at an angle to each other. Additionally, Chaos Surge does 200% increased damage over 2 seconds.
3 Likes

And one more, this pretty and smart boy, create a nice concept, good job.

3 Likes

Creativity: 5/5
Really, REALLY cool concept here. The chaos wanting itself back is a great idea for a beastial anti-hero who just wants peace. The kit is also quite creative, lots of jumping targets unsuspecting and being able to just appear places where you wouldn’t EVER expect him to be due to the global property of rifts. The dual nature of Border Break is awesome and the alternative abilities while Riftstalking are all fitting. If I could give you 6/5 for this I would.

Cohesiveness: 5/5
All of the elements for a melee assassin are here and all fit together quite nicely; He’s got unique mobility, powerful engage and disengage options while having appropriate weaknesses himself (his damage and mobility being quite weak without rifts.), and his heroics both shore up different parts of his kit (single target engage, a powerful crystal aegis style heroic, or a powerful disengage that requires forethought and planning.) Great work on this front too.

Thematic: 3/5
I hate that I have to say this.

Shard just shares too much with Dehaka for me to give you full points in this. They both have similar functions (global mobility, reduction of both spell power and spell armor, powerful dueling capability, ults that shore up both chasing and disengage). Now, I know that they don’t share any moves, but that’s not my issue. Their roles are just a bit too similar.

This can be fixed though, namely by replacing one of Shard’s strengths (maybe his spell power/armor reduction) with something else (max health damage maybe? just pitching ideas). But as it stands, this character needs a pretty big change to avoid infringing on the territory of Dehaka’s role.

Interaction: 5/5:
None of the things Shard does are particularly “annoying” for allies or enemies, and everything I can think of has strong counterplay too: People can just get out of rifts (most mages have some mobility and this character soft-counters mages without mobility like Kaelthas or Jaina.), and just try to be more aware of the map in general (pinging and group communication would hamper a Shard’s ability to get any mileage of their global jumping ability.) 5/5 here.

Again, I want to clarify that I really really like this concept, but it just shares a little too much of the roles and the ideas behind dehaka’s kit for me to give this a perfect score. All in all, great concept regardless.

1 Like