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Blizzard teases next Heroes of the Storm character, nobody is excited

// by Roy Graham
@grayhaem
Blizzard teases next Heroes of the Storm character, nobody is excited

On their official Twitter page, Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm team posted a seemingly innocuous video today. In it, Rehgar, the gladiator-turned-tree-hugger, stands in the middle of a vast arena. As the camera rotates around him, Rehgar stares dumbly off into the distance, his mouth frozen in a scream, his whole body gently heaving.

Above him are the words “#ThrowbackThursday to one of Azeroth’s fiercest gladiators!” It doesn’t really look like something that should be a video at all, until a green knife slides out of the background and slices a neat line through the words “fiercest gladiator.” You can see the tweet below:

I’m calling it a tease, but this is practically a reveal. In the World of Warcraft backstory, Valeera Sanguinar was a blood elf who spent time as a gladiator. It wasn’t her choice of careers, mind you; she was a slave, owned by none other than Rehgar, before he reformed his ways and became a born-again shaman. She’s not a particularly important character in the lore of the Warcraft universe, but she is one of the most recognizable characters among Blizzard fans thanks to Hearthstone, in which she embodies the “Rogue” class. Valeera’s signature weapon, in both Warcraft and Hearthstone, are her bright green daggers. Sound familiar?

Players aren’t exactly hyped for Valeera’s release, though—many Heroes of the Storm fans across Twitter and Reddit see this as more of the same. If the rumors are right, and the next character coming to the game really is Valeera, she’s likely to be the fifth Warcraft character released in a row. Not only that, she’ll be the fifth assassin since Zarya’s inclusion to the game in September. Meanwhile, support players in Heroes of the Storm haven’t gotten a new character since Auriel, in August.

I suppose it’s possible, however unlikely, that the knife-wielding rogue could be a different class. If we have a sniper that shoots healing bullets in Overwatch, maybe we can have a rogue that stabs people better in Heroes of the Storm.

Roy Graham
Roy Graham is the editor of the Meta. His writing has appeared on the internet and in print. He is often asked to keep his voice down.
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