Black Raven, The Shadowborn

Black Raven, The Shadowborn

Dire Intelligence
"Darkness shall reign supreme once more."

Base health

: 492

Base mana

: 286

Base damage

: 54

Base armor

: 3

Movement speed

: 290

Base attack time

: 1.7 +0.2

Attacks per second

: 0.67

Cast time

: 0.1 +0.1

Range

: 500

Vision range

: 1800/800

Strength

: 56.4 (18 +1.5)

Agility

: 63 (15 +2)

Intelligence

: 89.2 (22 +2.8)




Lore:
Long ago, in ages long past, there exists a form of arcanery from the shadow realm known as Dark Magic, granted to users by the Shadow Orb and wielded only by the assassin-mages of the Shadowborn Guild. It is so powerful and so volatile that most of its users feared that it was too dangerous to ever teach. And so Black Panther, the leader of the guild and an honorary Shadowborn, renounced the powers of all in the Shadowborn Guild and locked the secrets of the art into a shadowy vault to remain hidden for a thousand years.
As time passed and the earth grew ancient, the inhabitants forgot about the magic that once wreaked havoc upon their world. However, back when the Shadowborn Guild was disbanded, a secret cult of the same name was created by scattered members of the guild, seeking the power they once had. Generation after generation, year after year, their searches had been in vain, but each descendent remembered the goal of their forefathers, until one day, the direct descendant of the former Shadowborn had himself stumbled upon the forbidden vault. Though he had obtained the orb, he did not have the skill to utilize its power, and with no one alive to teach him, he had to learn to master it himself. As the years past and his proficiency in Dark Magic grew, he sought a battleground for him to test his powerful abilities, and though he might not be a master, even the most experienced and powerful of mages cannot best Black Raven in combat. With time, the new, talented Shadowborn will rise up from this world and once again show it the power of Dark Magic.




Q: Soul Corruption
Type: Target-Unit
Affects: Enemies
Black Raven summons ravens that attack the target, reducing its maximum health by a percentage.
- 1000 range
- 14/16/18/20% maximum health reduction lasting 6/7/8/9 seconds
- 100 mana cost
- 22/20/18/16 second cooldown

Fragments of the Shadowborn's soul infiltrate the opponent's body, wreaking havoc from within.





W: Immersion
Type: No Target
Affects: Self
Damage: Magical
Black Raven melds into the shadows, giving him bonus movement speed and invulnerability a short duration. Attacking during this time deals bonus magical damage and ends the duration.
- +20% movement speed and invulnerability for 5 seconds
- +20/35/50/75 bonus damage
- 90/95/100/105 mana cost
- 24/18/14/12 second cooldown

The Shadow Orb infuses flesh and blood with dark energy, making its user one with the shadows.





E: Malicious Grip
Type: Target-Unit
Affects: Enemies
Damage: Magical
Black Raven sends out a shadow beneath his feet that takes hold of the target unit, dealing damage over time. After 5 seconds, the target is stunned and then rooted for a short duration. Enemies that move 900 units away from Black Raven will break the shadow.
- 700 cast range
- 30/45/60/75 damage per second
- 0/1/1.5/2 second stun
- 1/2/2.5/3 second root
- 130/140/150/160 mana cost
- 21/20/19/18 second cooldown

The will of Black Raven's adversaries shatter upon his Dark Magic.





R: Raven's Wrath
Type: No Target
Affects: Enemies
Damage: Magical
Ravens surround Black Raven, silencing enemies in an area. At the end of the silence duration, damage is dealt in a wide area. Black Raven may choose to end the spell early.
- 5/6/7 second silence in a 350 radius
- 240/300/360 damage in a 700 radius
- 180/220/260 mana cost
- 140/130/120 second cooldown

R (during spell): Ravens, Attack!
Ends the duration when cast.

Apparitions of the Shadowborn's choosing are unleashed from the shadows, wreaking havoc upon the material plane.





Balance Changelog:






When spawning:
"Let's see how I do this time."
"Shadowborn!"
"The shadow appears."

When leveling up:
"Shadow mastery!"
"One step closer..."

When killing an enemy hero:
"Consumed by darkness."
"Know the power of the Shadowborn."

When killing Shadow Fiend:
"You are but a sickly bird in my flock."
"Nevermore shall you live."

When killing Keeper of the Light:
"Darkness smothers the light."

When killing Mirana:
"Shadows take you."

When dying to Keeper of the Light
"The light! It burns!"

When dying to Shadow Fiend:
"Thought I was the raven... Looks like I'm the hatchling..."




Behold, the Shadowborn! With his skillset, he can effectively be in a solo lane against a dual or even a tri-lane and be a great presence throughout the midgame. Though his damage falls off late-game, he can remain useful by reducing the maximum health of his target, and is still proficient at disabling important targets and slipping in and out of fights, making him a powerful and versatile hero.

Also, if you have any ideas to replace his ultimate, I'll be glad to hear (read) it :)

90 mana cost is tooooooooooo less for both Q and W

Rest is nice :D

Ok, I'll increase the mana cost of Soul Corruption to 100 and Immersion's to 90/95/100/105.

Immersion feels more like an ulti to me. especially +100 bonus damage at lv 4. If you max that first, you can just get guaranteed kills against at least one hero.

Yeah, I could swap the places of Immersion and Raven's Wrath, that should even out the early game and mid game power.

Actually, I think I'll keep the skills as they are. 100 bonus damage on 1 attack is not a lot, and it also ends the duration of the spell, which isn't that good, and ending up in the wrong position after the spell ends will cost you your life. The main kick is the combo between Immersion and Malicious Grip early game. You are invulnerable for 5 seconds and move faster, meaning that you can catch up to the opponent to let the effects of Malicious Grip set in, then move in for the kill. Though now that I think about it, I should increase Immersion's cooldown to 24/18/14/12 so that it can't be so easily abused at early levels and also reduce Black Raven's strength gain to make him squishier and allow less room for error when playing the hero.

Though I did not take your suggestions, I appreciate your feedback as it made me realize other underlying balance issues :D

Immersion should be channelled, IMO. Compare it to Phase Shift Five seconds of invulnerability with bonus movement speed and a 12 second cooldown? How do you kill this guy?

Are you suggesting that I should make it like the Shadow Amulet active? Otherwise, I can either reduce the movement speed increase or make the maximum duration 4 seconds if you think it is too OP, then at least enemies can follow Black Raven when he tries to escape.

And to be fair Phase Shift has a mere 6 second cooldown, 3.25 seconds (right?) of invulnerability at level 4 and no mana cost, and, combined with Illusory Orb, it is twice as hard to kill Puck than Black Raven. Not to mention Shukuchi, Waveform, and Blink, all of which makes their respective heroes extremely powerful. I always compare my hero's spells to existing heroes with similar spells to check the balance, and I think this one is not overpowered, but it could be stronger than I had intended.

Yeah, maybe something like Meld? maybe Meld + HP regen, or something.