Cassia is the new hero in the Nexus. Based on the Javelin Amazon-archetype from Diablo 2, Cassia shows her might with the power of thunder against the foes of darkness.
Her trait is called Avoidance, where she automatically gains 65 Physical Armor (or 65% damage reduction on Basic Attacks dealt by other Heroes) while moving. This means while playing as Cassia, it is vital that you keep in movement while attacking, also known as stutter-stepping, to effectively use her trait. It is also very useful especially for scenarios where she can push with either an objective (in maps like Battlefield of Eternity / Braxis Holdout) or with Mercenary Camps. She can also talent her trait to use an area-of-effect ability or effectively increase your max HP after blocking a certain amount of damage.
As for her abilities, her first ability is Q: Lightning Fury, where she fires her lightning-infused spear and splits sideways on the first Hero or minion it targets, penetrating any other target in its way. This ability will feel familiar with Diablo 2 players. It can be talented to increase damage or slow enemy heroes, among others.
Next is her W: Blinding Light, works in two ways: both as a passive and active ability. When activated, Cassia calls down light from the heavens in an effective area after a short period. Passively, any enemy target Blinded by Cassia or any Hero will deal 15% more damage from Cassia’s attacks or abilities. So Heroes like Johanna and Lili go well with Cassia together since they can maximize damage while effectively mitigating the enemies’ ability to attack effectively. This can be talented to increase the bonus damage made by Cassia and increase Blind duration or increase area-of-effect, along with other effects.
With her E: Fend, she will charge at an enemy target then attack all enemies in front of Cassia within range. This is very effective to clear minion waves when used alongside W: Blinding Light. This ability can be talented to increase damage when targets are below 40% HP, increase area-of-effect and duration or increase damage every hit made with W: Fend. It is a great ability especially when you want to chase Heroes and talenting it will increase its potential for securing low HP enemy kills.
Now for Heroics. Her first Heroic (R1) is Ball Lightning where she hurls a sphere of lightning that bounces between enemy Heroes and Cassia, dealing damage with each bounce. This is effective in team fights especially in tight areas where enemy Heroes will be forced to spread out in order to not get hit by the next bounce hereby letting you squish out a lone hero immediately.
Her other Heroic (R2) is Valkyrie, where she summons a Valkyrie that rushes to Cassia, bringing a stunned Hero it hits first. This is a great displacement tool especially for if you have allies nearby or an escaping enemy Hero that you can finish off. This Heroic can also synergize with either Q: Lightning Fury or W: Fend but if you a fast enough, you can have use them both.
How Cassia fares against enemy Heroes will depend on your build, which can be built upon any of your active abilities or receive new passives like at Level 20 where she can receive a new passive that ignores Armor (Physical and Spell damage reduction bonus)
Players that are familiar with the game’s stutter-stepping mechanics will love Cassia, as not only she delivers great damage near or far from the enemy, they will get protection from damage as a bonus. Whether you choose to build her as an excellent gap closer for escaping enemies, a front-line bully against tanks or a long range poke spammer, Cassia blends in with the slew of Ranged Assassins like Valla or Raynor where she delivers great damage but she also excels in being either from the front or back of the line.
Review was made via a review code, all thanks Blizzard SEA!
Check out our other Heroes of The Storm character reviews:
Valeera | Zul’Jin | Samuro | Lucio | Probius