Blizzard Entertainment announced today that Diablo’s iconic storyteller and master rapper Deckard Cain is joining Heroes of the Storm’s roster. The character will soon be playable on the Public Test Realm at a to-be-announced date. Along with the addition of the Horadric lore master, Blizzard is also releasing a comic book, Rise of the Raven Lord, that explores Heroes of the Storm’s world.
Deckard is a recurring character from the Diablo franchise, though he features less prominently in Diablo III. He’s a mage who identifies items for the player, and he’s known for his iconic catchphrase: “Stay awhile and listen.” In 2016, Heroes of the Storm game designer Nathan LaMusga said that the old scholar was one of the most requested additions to Blizzard’s multiplayer online battle arena.
The character isn’t playable yet, but Blizzard has unveiled his skillset on its website. Unsurprisingly, he’s a support character and one of his primary abilities is to toss a healing potion to boost allies’ health. However, that doesn’t mean he’s not battle-ready. Deckard can also hurl a Horadric Cube and activate a Scroll of Sealing to damage enemies in an area.
Above: Deckard Cain’s Scroll of Sealing is as captivating as his stories.
Deckard’s heroic abilities pay homage to his in-game behavior. Stay Awhile and Listen puts enemies to sleep — though they’ll wake upon receiving damage — and he can also summon a Lorenado to repel attackers. The latter skill is named after a spell wielded by a Deckard-inspired character called the Archivist, which Blizzard debuted as an April Fool’s joke in 2009.
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The Diablo character is the fourth new hero to join the game this year. Blizzard has also added Warcraft’s Maiev Shadowsong along with Protoss dragoon Fenix and Terran firebat Blaze from StarCraft.
