Cleanse

**Cleanse** was a Generic Talent, usually found on support Heroes, that allows its user to make the target Hero Unstoppable, removing crowd control effects from a target ally and making them immune to them for 1 second. Currently, all instances of Cleanse have been either removed altogether or modified into Hero-specific alternatives. Rehgar was the last Hero with a base version of Cleanse before his rework on December 7th 2021.

Against teams with heavy crowd control it is an invaluable tool, as timing it with the enemy's high-impact Abilities can deny them most of their strength. It can also be used offensively, for example using Cleanse on an E.T.C. during "Mosh Pit" can prevent the enemies from interrupting it or to keep a chasing ally from being stopped by the enemy's crowd control Abilities. Because of its strength it has gone through many iterations over time, and most of the Heroes with access to Cleanse have had it modified or removed completely from their Talent trees.

In common speech, "cleansing" is used to refer the act of removing disables from Heroes. Terms "hard Cleanse" and "soft Cleanse" are often used to differentiate, whether the cleansing effect grants the target Unstoppable for a brief duration, like the Generic Talent, or only removes disabling effects from them respectively.

## Mechanics

Base version of Cleanse is an Active Ability that has 10 range and has no cast time or delay. Cleanse grants Unstoppable to the target for 1 second, removing crowd control effects from them and making them immune to them the duration.

### Old versions

At one point Cleanse was changed to grant Relentless for 2 seconds, reducing the duration of crowd control effects by 50% instead of granting complete immunity. This change was reverted some months later.

## Heroes with Cleanse

### Modified Version

* Li Li's level 7 Talent "Let's Go!" grants an allied Hero Unstoppable for 1 second and heals them for a small amount. Has slightly lower range than base version of Cleanse.
* Uther's level 7 Talent "Hand of Protection" grants an allied Hero Unstoppable for 1 second. Basic Attacks reduce the cooldown of the Ability by 5 seconds.
* Rehgar's Trait "Purge" grants Unstoppable for 0.5 seconds if used on an allied Hero or Slows if used on an enemy Hero. 45 second coodown.
* Whitemane's level 7 talent "Intercession" grants an allied Hero Unstoppable for 1 second, but Whitemane gains 1 stack of Desperation. Has slightly lower range than base version of Cleanse.

### Removed

These Heroes no longer have Cleanse as a Talent option.

* Brightwing
* Kharazim
* Lt. Morales
* Malfurion

## Similar effects

These Abilities and Talents grant the Unstoppable status, but do not share the same cast mechanics:

* Kharazim's level 16 Talent "Cleansing Touch" causes Radiant Dash to make the target allied Hero Unstoppable for 1 second.
* Lúcio's level 10 Heroic "High Five" dashes to an allied Hero to grant Unstoppable for 1 second and heal both himself and the target.
* Whitemane's level 20 Heroic upgrade "Scarlet Crusade" causes Scarlet Aegis grant affected allied Heroes Unstoppable for 2 seconds.

Theses Abilities and Talents only work as post-factum CC Removal ("soft Cleanse") and may only affect some specific crowd control effects:

* Ana's level 13 Talent, "Smelling Salts", causes Healing Dart to remove all Stuns from the allied Heroes it hits and grants 50 Armor for 2 seconds when doing so.
* Ana's level 13 Talent, "Purifying Darts", causes Healing Dart to remove all Slows and Roots from the allied Heroes it hits and heals them for 20% more when doing so.
* Brightwing's Trait, "Soothing Mist", when active removes all Stuns, Roots, Slows and Silences from all nearby allies.
* Lunara's level 13 Talent, "Abolish Magic", removes all damage over time and disabling effects from Lunara and a target ally, and reduces the duration of disabling effects by 50% for 2 seconds after.
* Malfurion's level 7 Talent, "Nature's Cure", removes all Stuns, Roots and Slows from all allies affected by Regrowth.
* Tyrande's level 16 Talent, "Celestial Attunement", causes Light of Elune to remove Stuns, Slows and Silences from the target.
* Yrel's level 4 Talent, "Hand of Freedom", removes Slows and Roots from an allied Hero.
* Zarya's level 16 Talent , "Cleansing Shield", causes "Shield Ally" to remove all disabling effects from the target upon cast.