Thanks to the communities curious data-miners we can safely conclude that Auriel might be the most interesting support hero the game has ever seen.
To begin, let me give a big shout out to this Reddit thread and its main contributor, Janru. Through Janru's ninja data mining skills this information is known and this article is for anyone who missed it.
Now, on to the fun stuff.
The best defense...
One of the most straightforward parts of the data mine comes from Redditor "Spazzo965" who did some digging of their own. It's a slugline description of Auriel, most likely seen in the shop menu:
"Hero/Description/Auriel=A ranged Support whose healing capabilities are dependent on the damage she and her allies deal."
We already knew she was a ranged support, but healing capabilities dependent on damage is a classic mechanic that becomes exciting when an entire hero is designed around it. It may be easiest to just view this mechanic as life steal granted to herself and allies. Of course, we don't know the specifics, but if it is like life steal her healing capabilities may be problematic.
ls a good offense?
If the main way Auriel heals you happens when you deal damage then there will be many scenarios that low health heroes won't have the defenses to start dealing damage safely. The same goes for if Auriel has low health herself-- how will she be able to safely deal damage needed to cover that health? All speculation, but this has always been the problem with life steal mechanics: they help during a long grindy fight, but not when you need it the most.
However, her healing may be more nuanced than just life steal. One of the images found is a simple UI bar named "Storm_ui_hud_auriel_Healing_Stored_bar_bg". Healing stored is an interesting phrase and may imply that Auriel gathers healing power (possibly through dealing damage) and can then unleash it when charged in the form of heals.
Potential abilities
Angelic Flight
No idea what this ability could entail, but from the icon, it looks like Auriel is moving someplace in a hurry. If her healing capabilities are dependent on the damage she deals, it only makes sense that she might be a mobile hero. A possible speculation is that Angelic Flight allows Auriel to target an ally or area and simply fly there, potentially while immune or otherwise resistant.
Angelic Sweep
We already know what this ability looks like and judging from the icon it's safe to assume that it is the ability first seen during the 1:23 mark of the In development video recently released. Most heroes have a spammable damage ability and this looks like Auriel's. With impressive looking AoE, Auriel looks like she might have strong wave clear which is a necessity for a top-tier support hero.
Bestow Hope
I have a feeling this might be the icon for her trait. With that in mind, Bestow Hope is probably the passive (or even targetted buff) that grants allies healing based on how much damage they are dealing. Other possibilities include an aura that effects all allies nearby Auriel or an area Auriel can mark that, when allies stand in.
This image was found named "storm_fx_aurield_base_shieldofhope_splat" which may potentially have to deal with this ability. We also have to consider that Bestow Hope may be a buff that Auriel places on an allied hero. Whenever that allied hero deals damage while buffed, perhaps it fills the previously mentioned Healing_Stored_Bar on behalf of Auriel.
Ray of Heaven
Ray of Heaven sounds like a blind ability. The icon looks like a blind ability. It wouldn't surprise me of a Support hero other than Li-Li was given a blind ability as it is a powerful mechanic that isn't used much in Heroes. Another speculation is that this ability allows Auriel to fire a ... ray of heaven at ... something causing ... an effect to happen.
Or, this is the name of the heal ability that Auriel get's after charging her heal bar.
Sounds good.
Restraining Blow
Based on the icon alone, we pretty much know that restraining blow is a ranged skill shot that stuns and pushes back an enemy hero, as seen during 1:26 of the In development video. If you look closely, it also seems to reveal enemy units or can at least be talented to do so.
Heroic 1: Resurrect
Resurrect is probably exactly as it sounds-- Auriel can bring a fallen hero back from the death. How the game determines which hero (or how the player) does is a mystery, but regardless of how it happens this Heroic has the potential to be an absolute game changer.
In an eSport where entire tournaments are determined by getting 1 late game pick off, being able to "undo" a mistake sounds like a powerful trump card to have.
Heroic 2: Ribbon Cocoon
So many questions. Is this a Heroic version of Iceblock? Does Auriel place herself into a cocoon or allies? Potentially enemies? Why does the icon look more like crystals than ribbons? Is there any way this ability is more powerful than Resurrect?
Another shot in the dark, Ribbon Cocoon likely makes use of the Stasis mechanic in some way, as the word Cocoon implies a period of undisturbed rest or growth. Most Support heroes have a Utility Heroic vs. a healing heroic and this looks like it's Auriel's utility choice.
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