Medivh soars into 'Heroes of the Storm'

Finally soaring into the Nexus is Medivh, one of the most important characters in the Warcraft saga.

He’s also among the trickiest “Heroes of the Storm” characters to play. His offensive game is weak, and his health is nothing to write home about, either. What he excels at is supporting his allies by serving as their eye in the sky, allowing them to move large distances in a blink, shielding those in danger, and disrupting enemy activity.

In “Heroes of the Storm,” Medivh is a high-utility Ranged Specialist that has been listed as “very hard” to use effectively. Like most Heroes, he boasts one Hero Trait, three Primary Abilities, and two Heroic Abilities.





Raven Form (Trait)

Who needs a horse when you can sprout wings? Instead of mounting, Medivh morphs into a raven for a 15% boost in movement speed. While in raven form, he can fly over any sort of terrain, giving him complete freedom of movement. Best of all, this form makes him invulnerable. Because he doesn’t have to worry about reprisal, he can seek enemies out on the map and watch everything they do – permitting the rest of his team to see where they are and what they’re up to. This makes Medivh an excellent spy and scout, letting him put a damper on the enemy’s ganking attempts.

Certain Talents boost Raven Form’s efficacy by increasing Medivh’s vision range, movement speed, or mana regeneration rate while transformed.


Arcane Rift (Q)

Arcane Rift, which is Medivh’s only offensive ability, is a skill shot that has him sending out a linear wave of force in the direction of your choice. Enemies caught in its path receive moderate damage. If an enemy Hero is hit, its cooldown of 7 seconds is trimmed to 2 seconds, and 30 mana is refunded.

When fighting Heroes, the cooldown reduction lets Medivh spam Arcane Rift – which is always nifty. While it’s fairly good at putting the hurt on enemies, your allies probably have better offensive tools. You’re therefore better off saving Medivh’s mana for his other skills.

Of course, there are Talents that increase Arcane Rift’s damage and further reduce its cooldown. At level 20, Guardian of Tirisfal even enables Arcane Rift to eliminate catapults and minions with a single hit, making it great at exterminating enemy hordes and pushing lanes.

Force of Will (W)

Medivh wraps a protective shield around an ally, making them immune to damage for 1.5 seconds. Its cooldown is 5 seconds.

While Force of Will can save lives, its short duration makes it difficult to use. One will have to keep a close eye on allies’ health bars, and know when exactly to cast the skill. Furthermore, Force of Will doesn’t prevent allies from getting stunned or rooted.

The Talent Enduring Will does raise the duration, while Reabsorption heals the affected ally, further enhancing its usefulness. Force of Will is at its best, however, when paired with Medivh’s E ability…


Portal (E)

Medivh creates one portal at his location, and another at a chosen spot a moderate or great distance away. Medivh and allied Heroes can use either portal to instantaneously teleport to its twin, and back. The portals last 6 seconds and cannot be destroyed by enemies. Cooldown is 20 seconds.

Portal doesn’t only allow Heroes to immediately cross large distances, it also lets them phase through solid obstacles or act as a bridge over ravines, thereby shaving off the precious seconds that it would take to go around them. While it can be used to quickly escape from battle, Portal also has great offensive potential. Imagine teleporting yourself and your allies into the middle of the enemy team, then unleashing all your Heroic Abilities on them. Or casting Force of Will on your team’s most damaging Hero, then sending him through a portal to rip your startled enemies to shreds. Either way, it’ll be a bloodbath.

Talents exist that increase the range of Portal so that you can teleport Heroes even farther, or increase its duration. Or you could combo Force of Will and Portal with the Talent Mage Armor, which gives teleporting Heroes Block.

For Portal to be most effective, however, coordination with your team is paramount. You need to be of one mind about when, where, and how to use it, otherwise, you could end up planting a portal on the ground, only for it to be ignored by your teammates.

Poly Bomb (R1)

Poly Bomb turns an enemy Hero into a sheep, silencing and preventing them from attacking for 2 seconds. Once the effect ends, it spreads to other enemy Heroes nearby. Poly Bomb will last forever as long as there are Heroes it can chain to. Cooldown is 40 seconds.

Because the only way to stop Poly Bomb is to move away from those affected by it, this skill is amazing at disrupting enemy formations and tactics. Detonate it in the middle of a group huddled close together, and watch them scatter. This gives you the potential to isolate enemies, so you can kill them more easily.


Ley Line Seal (R2)

Following a 0.5-second delay, Medivh unleashes a slow-moving energy wave in a straight line, in the direction of your choosing. Any enemy Hero it touches is locked in Stasis for 3 seconds. Cooldown is 80 seconds.

The benefits of immobilizing an enemy is obvious. While they’re unable to move, you and your allies can position yourselves in such a way so that when they do regain their mobility, they’ll receive the brunt of your assault. Like any skill shot, however, Ley Line Seal can be dodged, so using it takes precision.

Changing the game

Medivh makes a poor fighter, and he’s frail, to boot. If you must absolutely engage an enemy, do it from behind a meat shield.

What he brings to the table, however, can drastically affect the flow of battle. The map awareness provided by his Raven Form gives your team command of the battlefield no other Hero can, so that you’ll always be one step ahead of the enemy. Portal not only assists with mobility; it can be used as an escape tool, or as part of your offensive strategy. If you are vigilant and possess impeccable timing, Force of Will will prevent deaths. As for his Heroic Abilities, one disperses enemy groups, making individuals easy pickings, while the other traps them in place, allowing you to set them up for trouble.

Of course, all this comes at a price: Medivh won’t work without a solid game plan, and without a party you can communicate and cooperate with. Don’t expect him to do too well in Quick Matches with absolute strangers. But if you already have allies you can trust and depend on, then Medivh can be just the game changer your team needs. — TJD, GMA News