heroes Malthael Hero Preview

[Stan 5,243]

Malthael is the next Assassin to join the Nexus. Our preview goes through his skins and abilities.

Learn more about Malthael, the latest Hero to join the roster in our preview.

Yesterday, Blizzard started teasing us with candles. At first, we thought the new Hero is either Deckard Cain or Leah, but it's actually Malthael! 

Updates

• Malthael's Bargain Event (June 13)
• Malthael Patch Notes (June 5)
• Malthael Spotlight
• Malthael Talents

Hero Details

Once the Aspect of Wisdom, Malthael abandoned heaven after the Worldstone's destruction. In secret, he had resolved to end the Eternal Conflict by becoming a Reaper of Souls and eliminating everything affected by demonic corruption, including humanity.

Skins - Gravewarden Malthael

With every corpse interred in his mausoleum, the Grave Warden gains power and influence. His unholy alliance with the Grave Keeper ensures that his collection of souls will continue to grow.

Abilities

Trait

• Reaper's Mark - Basic Attacks afflict non-Structure targets with Reaper's Mark for 4 seconds. Marked enemies are revealed and take damage equal to 2.5% of their Health every 1 second.

Primary Abilities

• [Q] - Soul Rip - Extract the souls of nearby enemies afflicted by Reaper's Mark, dealing 100 damage and healing Malthael for 44 per target hit. Heroic targets heal Malthael for an additional 3% of the Hero's maximum Health.
• [W] - Wraith Strike - Instantly teleport through an enemy afflicted by Reaper's Mark, dealing 59 damage and refreshing Reaper's Mark.
• [E] Death Shrould - After 0.25 seconds, unleash a wave of dark mist that applies Reaper's Mark to enemies it hits.

Heroic Abilities

• [R1] - Tormented Souls - Gain 20 Armor and unleash a torrent of souls, continually applying Reaper's Mark to nearby enemies for 4 seconds.
• [R2] - Last Rites - Apply a death sentence to an enemy Hero that, after 2 seconds, deals damage equal to 50% of their missing Health. Repeatable Quest: Enemies killed while under the effect of Last Rites permanently reduce its cooldown by 5 seconds, to a minimum of 15 seconds.

Screenshots

Primary Abilities

Heroic Abilities

(Source)

[positiv2 953]

Malthael looks like a strong anti-tank hero. So much %-based damage will make him a very strong tool for tearing down high-health targets, such as Diablo. At least it seems that he won't be good at sieging and won't have any reliable escape options, though his talents might change that.

[Laragon 269]

His lack of siege will be the big difference. But since most maps win off objectives anyways, that's hardly a draw back. I'm nervous. 10% is HUGE let alone his ultimate that is as hard a finisher as cursed bullet is an engage. His attack speed and the cool down on moves will make a big difference.

I'm also worried he might unintentionally push out some heroes that were picked for giant killer (tychus) into lower tiers. He seems really really strong, but not necessarily OP, yet. Have to see the talents before we judge too hard. Especially the level 20 heroic improvements.

[MurkyFelix 51]

I don't get this:  enemy Hero that, after 2 seconds, deals damage to 50% of their missing Health.

Could someone explain? Missing health?

[Plergoth 277]

5 minutes ago, MurkyFelix said:

I don't get this:  enemy Hero that, after 2 seconds, deals damage to 50% of their missing Health.

Could someone explain? Missing health?

Possibly a typo of some sort, I would assume it means dealing damage equal to 50% of their missing health.

[strategylord 4]

1 hour ago, MurkyFelix said:

I don't get this:  enemy Hero that, after 2 seconds, deals damage to 50% of their missing Health.

Could someone explain? Missing health?

I have another suggestion that might be the case

if the target health is 100 % it deals NO damage

If the target is missing 50% of his health it deals damage equals to 25% of the target's health

If the target is missing 67% of his health it deals damage equals to 33% of the target's heath (Instantly killing the target)
So if an enemy's health is less than 1/3 of his total health, it's instant kill

This might explain the quest for the Heroic Skill

[Valhalen 1,484]

Holy shit, his trait is just insane. I guess that is compensated by his lack of gap-closer, which is unusual for Melee Assassins. Still, I can already see him shitting all over the tanks. Goodbye, Tychus.

[demonardvark 556]

ah totally called it, i knew it was adria........ >_> she just..... has a robe on....... and a different name....

[gamerk2 20]

So, dual tanks is the current meta, introduces hero that seems built to kill tanks.

 

Really tired of all the Assassins though.  We don't need one assassin for every possible in-game situation.

[Valhalen 1,484]

1 hour ago, gamerk2 said:

So, dual tanks is the current meta, introduces hero that seems built to kill tanks.

 

Really tired of all the Assassins though.  We don't need one assassin for every possible in-game situation.

Actually the current meta is dual healer, if I'm not wrong.

I feel you, though. I was expecting another Support or Specialist.

Edited June 2, 2017 by Valhalen

[KingMe 289]

1 hour ago, gamerk2 said:

Really tired of all the Assassins though.  We don't need one assassin for every possible in-game situation.

 

31 minutes ago, Valhalen said:

I feel you, though. I was expecting another Support or Specialist.

I agree with both of you on this one. Though I do like the way he looks, I do feel like the game could use more Supports and or Specialists. Oh, and more Overwatch Heroes wouldn't be a bad thing either. I'd like to see Sombra come in as a Specialist. 

[Undeath 67]

7 hours ago, Valhalen said:

Holy shit, his trait is just insane. I guess that is compensated by his lack of gap-closer, which is unusual for Melee Assassins. Still, I can already see him shitting all over the tanks. Goodbye, Tychus.

I believe you mean he lacks reliable escape, because from the looks of his W description, his Gap closer is pretty solid, if I understand this correctly.

[Skyewalker 20]

no gameplay trailer yet? Hero spotlight? E.T.A. on PTR?

[SteveFrost 97]

Heroes of the Assassins Creed lul.

Seriously, not whining or anything, tho I believe it would be a wise move to make a "Mage" class and put the appropriate Heroes there since Assassin is getting overcrowded ('true' assassins, mages and marksmen/markswomen)- and there's a Mage Wars brawl so,,, :3

[Oreo 8]

I would welcome support class too since there are too many assasins. 

[Nathex 8]

Another interesting point to his trait that hasn't been hit on is the targets will be revealed for as long as death mark is on them. Makes it tougher to lose him by running through cover and will shut stealth heroes down pretty well. Guess you cant hide from death.

[Oreo 8]

1 minute ago, Nathex said:

Another interesting point to his trait that hasn't been hit on is the targets will be revealed for as long as death mark is on them. Makes it tougher to lose him by running through cover and will shut stealth heroes down pretty well. Guess you cant hide from death.

Yeah, atm he looks sweet. Very similar to alarak. 

[Valhalen 1,484]

4 hours ago, Jonar said:

I believe you mean he lacks reliable escape, because from the looks of his W description, his Gap closer is pretty solid, if I understand this correctly.

I wouldn't say it's too solid as a gap-closer since you need mark them in the first place, which can be trick to do so on backline Heroes. But since he's basically a tankbuster, I guess it works.

[Nathex 8]

Guess its going to come down to what the range of death shroud will be. And i can see him having some thing in his talent tree that can turn wraith strike into some kind of escape. Guess we have to wait to see his full talent tree.

[MurkyFelix 51]

14 hours ago, strategylord said:

I have another suggestion that might be the case

if the target health is 100 % it deals NO damage

If the target is missing 50% of his health it deals damage equals to 25% of the target's health

If the target is missing 67% of his health it deals damage equals to 33% of the target's heath (Instantly killing the target)
So if an enemy's health is less than 1/3 of his total health, it's instant kill

This might explain the quest for the Heroic Skill

Thank you for the explanation. I makes much more sense (then again I read it after a day of work xD)

I wonder from the description of his trait is it based off max health or current health. It just says "health" right now ;-;

EDIT: Found it on source; it's max health. Might be worth updating original post

Edited June 2, 2017 by MurkyFelix
Thought of something else

[CyberDVonaven 82]

I team with Tychus & Maltheal are gonna melt down HP like crazy. 

[gamerk2 20]

On 6/3/2017 at 1:21 AM, CyberDVonaven said:

I team with Tychus & Maltheal are gonna melt down HP like crazy. 

 

You wouldn't take both though.  That's my big issue: Maltheal and Tychus now clash for the same job: Melting down high HP targets.  One will always end up falling out of favor as the other is considered more powerful.

This has been a bit of a recurring trend: Blizzard has been adding heroes that are similar in role, and it's rare both are viable at the same time.  Khaz and Rehgar, Jaina and KT, Greymane and Butcher.  And so forth.  There's too much overlap in terms of what heroes are built to do, and the roster is suffering for it.  Before anymore heroes are added, Blizzard needs to define what each hero is designed to do first and foremost, then rekit heroes that overlap to make them unique and both viable.

[Valhalen 1,484]

54 minutes ago, gamerk2 said:

 

You wouldn't take both though.  That's my big issue: Maltheal and Tychus now clash for the same job: Melting down high HP targets.  One will always end up falling out of favor as the other is considered more powerful.

This has been a bit of a recurring trend: Blizzard has been adding heroes that are similar in role, and it's rare both are viable at the same time.  Khaz and Rehgar, Jaina and KT, Greymane and Butcher.  And so forth.  There's too much overlap in terms of what heroes are built to do, and the roster is suffering for it.  Before anymore heroes are added, Blizzard needs to define what each hero is designed to do first and foremost, then rekit heroes that overlap to make them unique and both viable.

Jaina and Kael'thas are absurd together. If your team has a solid frontline, they're unstoppable. 

[Valks 2,377]

8 hours ago, Valhalen said:

Jaina and Kael'thas are absurd together. If your team has a solid frontline, they're unstoppable. 

Throw Li-Ming in there, a Rehgar and an E.T.C. Mages for life!