Artanis

Title
 Role
 Franchise

**Artanis**, the Hierarch of the Daelaam, is a melee Bruiser Hero from the *StarCraft* universe. Despite his relative youth, Artanis was named Hierarch of the Daelaam after the fall of Aiur. Driven by the promise of a brighter future, he hopes to reclaim the Protoss' fallen home world and rebuild their once glorious civilization.

Artanis is a tough Bruiser who deals high damage if the enemy team is unable to shut him down. He repositions enemies and strikes with his blades.

## Background

 This section concerns content exclusive to the *StarCraft* universe.

Artanis is the leader of the Daelaam. A renowned warrior, he seeks to unify his beleaguered people, and will let nothing stand in his way to restore the glory of the Protoss. As a renowned Templar with centuries of experience, Artanis combines martial prowess and tactical acumen—striking swiftly with his psi-blades, taking the brunt of enemy assaults with his Shields, and calling upon his flagship, the *Spear of Adun*, to turn his foes into dust.

Artanis was a student of Tassadar, and with the appearance of the Zerg during the Great War, Artanis was thrust into command when his teacher was disgraced for defying the will of the Conclave. Now an executor, Artanis allied with Fenix to repel the Zerg from their homeworld of Aiur, but after Fenix fell in battle and he was ordered away from his home to hunt Tassadar, Artanis became disillusioned with the leadership of the Conclave. Instead of capturing Tassadar, Artanis allied with him, helped him rescue the exiled Nerazim Zeratul, and even fought his own people as he prevented Tassadar's capture. When Tassadar was freed, Artanis commanded the Protoss in the final assault on the Zerg's Overmind, with Tassadar sacrificing himself to slay the creature.

However, in the aftermath, Aiur was overrun with feral Zerg, and Artanis worked with Zeratul to lead his people from the planet to the Nerazim world of Shakuras. But the Zerg followed them there, and the Protoss were forced to hunt the Uraj and Khalis to activate a temple capable of purging the Zerg from the planet. Artanis had little time to rebuild their society and try to settle when their planet was attacked twice, first by the fanatical Nerazim Ulrezaj, and then by Sarah Kerrigan, who kidnapped the Nerazim's matriarch Raszagal and demanded the Protoss aid her in killing the second infant Overmind controlled by the invading Terran United Earth Directorate. When Kerrigan's further betrayal resulted in the matriarch's death, Artanis sent a retaliation fleet, and alongside the Terran Dominion and UED fleets, fought Kerrigan's Swarms. But all fleets were repelled.

With an uneasy peace, Artanis reunited Protoss society into the Daelaam, and was made Hierarch to represent all Protoss tribes. His primary goal was to reassemble his fleet to retake Aiur, slowly forming the Golden Armada, the largest group of Protoss ships ever assembled. Six years of tensions, tribalism and border conflicts later, Artanis released his fleet on Aiur, assaulting the feral Zerg inhabiting the world. However, Zeratul warned him of the return of the fallen Xel'Naga Amon, and during the attack Amon seized control of the Khala that bound Artanis's people, taking direct control of the majority. Zeratul gave his life to free Artanis from Amon's corruption, and Artanis swore to continue the fight, escaping the planet on the *Spear of Adun*.

Over the course of the war, Artanis managed to rally his people and bring into his fleet the forces of the Tal'darim under Alarak, and the Purifiers under an AI construct of the memories of Fenix named Talandar. Together, they used a Xel'Naga relic named the Keystone to drive him into his home realm of the Void, then allied with Jim Raynor and a redeemed Sarah Kerrigan to dog him there, slaying the Xel'Naga once and for all. In the aftermath Artanis attempted to rebuild his society, but the scars of the war made it a struggle.

Years later, Artanis was alerted to a Zerg incursion on the planet Gystt, and found Zagara and her Zerg there, having regrown the planet using a Xel'Naga creature. Artanis was skeptical of the Zerg's intentions, but joined peace talks there at the behest of Emperor Valerian Mengsk. But a plot brewed by Abathur threatened to respark the conflict between the three races, with Artanis prepared to purify the world. A joint-race survey team managed to uncover Abathur's plot and stop him, allowing peace talks to resume. Yet even after these talks, tensions rose over conflicts on the Terran Dominion and Daelaam border, causing Artanis to be pressured by his people to retaliate against the Dominion.

## Gameplay

Artanis is a tough Bruiser who deals high damage if the enemy team is unable to shut him down. While below 75% maximum Health, *Shield Overload* and related Talents can make him deceptively difficult to kill.

### Strengths

* Great sustained damage
* *Phase Prism* can be used during *Blade Dash*, which provides Artanis with unexpected mobility
* Once below 75% health, *Shield Overload* can make Artanis very difficult to kill if not focused
* Both *Suppression Pulse* and *Purifier Beam* are global, allowing Artanis to influence team fights from anywhere on the battlefield

### Weaknesses

* Can be kited easily
* *Shield Overload* only activates when below 75% health
* Crowd control can prevent Artanis from using his Basic Attacks or *Blade Dash*, making him unable to recover *Shield Overload* (although Blinds do not preventing him from reducing its cooldown with Basic Attacks).

## Abilities

*See **Data Page** for a table of scaled values at key levels.*

Shield Overload
 Cooldown: 24 seconds
After taking damage while below 75% Health, Artanis gains a 365 point Shield for 5 seconds. Basic Attacks lower the cooldown of Shield Overload by 4 seconds.

**Type:** Shield**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Self**Properties:** Attack Modifier (cdr)

* Shield applies after the damage that triggered *Shield Overload* is applied to Artanis's Health. However, Artanis will not die if *Shield Overload* is off cooldown, and no "overkill" damage will carry over to this Shield.

Q
Blade Dash
50 Mana Cooldown: 10 seconds
Dash forward and deal 63 damage to enemies, then return and deal 171 damage. Every enemy hit reduces the cooldown on Shield Overload by 1 second, and Heroes by 2 seconds.

**Type:** Spell Damage / Movement: Launch**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Enemies / Self**Properties:** Piercing Skillshot, Clamping**Cast time:** Instant**Range:** 8.0**Hitbox:** 3.0 x 3.0**Missile speed:**
- Min: 0.25
- Max: 50**Dash duration:** 1.25 seconds

* Both forward and backward dash grant *Shield Overload* cooldown reduction.
* Hitting an enemy at the very peak of the dash only damages with backward dash damage.

W
Twin Blades
20 Mana Cooldown: 4 seconds
Artanis's next Basic Attack immediately causes him to charge a short distance and strike the enemy 2 times.

**Type:** Movement: Dash**Affects:** Self**Targeting:** No target**Properties:** Primed**Cast time:** Instant**Range:** 3.5**Missile speed:**
- Min: 5.0
- Max: 45**Strike interval:** 0.25 seconds

* Activating this Ability immediately resets Artanis's Basic Attack timer.
* Cooldown starts once the Ability is triggered by Basic Attacking an enemy.
* *Twin Blades* can be triggered while Rooted, but it doesn't dash.

E
Phase Prism
50 Mana Cooldown: 12 seconds
Fire a Phase Prism that deals 66 damage to Heroes and swaps Artanis's position with theirs. Hitting a Hero also grants Artanis Unstoppable for 1.5 seconds. Can be used during Blade Dash.

**Type:** Spell Damage, Crowd control / Movement: Launch, Status effect**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Enemy Heroes**Targeting:** Point target**Properties:** Clamping, Daze, Displacement, Skillshot, Stationary channel, Unstoppable**Cast time:** 0.0625 + 0.1875 seconds**Range:** 7.5**Hitbox:** 1.0 x 1.0**Missile speed:**
- Projectile: 12.7
- Swap: 18.0

* Enemies can be swapped over terrain and enemy Structures, but not through allied Structures.

R
Suppression Pulse
40 Mana Cooldown: 50 seconds
Fire a large area pulse from the Spear of Adun, dealing 114 damage and Blinding enemies for 4 seconds. Unlimited range.

**Type:** Spell Damage, Crowd control**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Enemy Heroes**Targeting:** Point target**Properties:** Area of Effect, Blind, Self-castable**Cast time:** 0 + 0.125 seconds**Range:** Global**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:** 8.0**Initial delay:** 1.25 seconds**Vision radius:** 9.0**Vision duration:** 3.0 seconds

R
Purifier Beam
65 Mana Cooldown: 70 seconds
Target an enemy Hero with an orbital beam from the Spear of Adun, dealing 184 damage per second for 8 seconds. The beam will chase the target as they move. Unlimited range.

**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Enemy Heroes**Targeting:** Unit target**Properties:** Area of Effect, Revealed**Cast time:** 0 + 0.125 seconds**Range:** Global**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:** 1.25**Missile speed:** 3.105**Tickrate:** 4.0 per second (x32)**Damage per tick:** 46**Initial delay:** 2.0 seconds**Vision radius:** 3.0

* Reveals the target for 10 seconds upon cast.

## Talents

1

Reactive Parry
Damaging enemy Heroes with Twin Blades or Blade Dash grants Artanis 50 Physical Armor against the next enemy Hero Basic Attack, reducing its damage by 50%.

Stores up to 2 charges.

**Type:** Defensive damage modifier**Affects:** Self**Properties:** Block

* *Twin Blades* grants a charge on each attack.
* *Blade Dash* grants a charge for each Hero hit on both the initial dash and return.
* Does not stack with other positive Physical Armor effects. Other defensive damage modifiers may stack.

Amateur Opponent
Twin Blades attacks deal 150% bonus damage to non-Heroes.

**Type:** Offensive damage modifier**Affects:** Ability

* Damage bonus stacks additively with other offensive damage modifiers that can affect Artanis's Basic Attack damage with *Twin Blades*.

Protector of Aiur
❢ Quest: Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes increase Artanis's Basic Attack damage by 0.1%. Takedowns grant 1% bonus damage.

**Type:** Offensive damage modifier**Affects:** Self

* Damage bonus stacks additively with itself and other offensive damage modifiers that can affect Artanis's Basic Attack damage.

4

Psionic Synergy
Hitting an enemy with Phase Prism grants 30 Armor for 5 seconds.

**Type:** Defensive damage modifier**Affects:** Self**Properties:** Armor

* Does not stack with other positive Armor effects. Other defensive damage modifiers may stack.

Shield Battery
Shield Overload's cooldown recharges 125% faster while its Shield is active.

Passive: Reduce Shield Overload's cooldown by 4 seconds.

**Type:** Cooldown reduction

* Reduces the cooldown of *Shield Overload* by 0.3125 seconds every 0.25 seconds while it is active.

Shield Surge
Increases Shield Overload's Shields by 80% while below 25% Health.

**Type:** Bonus Shield**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Ability**Bonus Shield:** 292

7

Solarite Reaper
Increases the damage of the first dash of Blade Dash by 175%.

**Type:** Offensive damage modifier**Affects:** Ability

* Damage bonus stacks additively with other offensive damage modifiers that can affect *Blade Dash*'s damage.

Chrono Surge
Hitting an enemy Hero with Phase Prism grants 40% bonus Attack Speed for 5 seconds and Slows the enemy's Movement Speed by 30% for 4 seconds.

**Type:** Status effect / Crowd control**Affects:** Self / Enemy Heroes**Properties:** Attacks Speed, Slow

Final Cut
After using an Ability, your next Basic Attack within 6 seconds deals 40% additional damage. While under 25% Health, this damage bonus is increased to 60%.

**Type:** Offensive damage modifier**Affects:** Self**Properties:** Follow Through

* During *Twin Blades* the damage bonus is applied to the first strike only.
* Does not stack with itself.
* Stacks additively with other offensive damage modifiers that can affect Artanis's Basic Attack damage.

10

Suppression Pulse
Cooldown: 50 seconds
Fire a large area pulse from the Spear of Adun, dealing 114 damage and Blinding enemies for 4 seconds. Unlimited range.

Purifier Beam
Cooldown: 70 seconds
Target an enemy Hero with an orbital beam from the Spear of Adun, dealing 184 damage per second for 8 seconds. The beam will chase the target as they move. Unlimited range.

13

Templar's Zeal
Reduce the Mana cost of Blade Dash from 50 to 25. Each time that Shield Overload activates, reduce the cooldown of Blade Dash by 6 seconds.

Triple Strike
Increase Twin Blades's number of Basic Attacks to 3, but increase its cooldown by 1 second.

Graviton Vortex
Reduce the Mana cost of Phase Prism from 70 to 25. Hitting an enemy Hero with Basic Attacks or Blade Dash lowers the cooldown of Phase Prism by 2 seconds.

Phase Bulwark
Shield Overload grants 50 Spell Armor while active, and for 2 seconds after it expires.

**Type:** Defensive damage modifier**Affects:** Self**Properties:** Spell Armor

* Does not stack with other positive Spell Armor effects. Other damage modifiers may stack.

16

Titan Killer
Basic Attacks against Heroes deal an additional 0.5% of their maximum Health in damage, increased to 1.5% when empowered by Twin Blades.

**Type:** Percent damage**Affects:** Enemy Heroes**Properties:** Attack Modifier

Force of Will
Casting Basic Abilities reduces the cooldown of Shield Overload by 5 seconds.

Blades of a Templar
Increase Attack Speed by 20%. Basic Attacks Slow enemy Movement Speed by 20% for 1.25 seconds.

**Type:** Status effect / Crowd control**Affects:** Self / Enemies**Properties:** Attack Speed buff, Slow

20

Orbital Bombardment
Suppression Pulse gains an additional charge. There is a 10 second cooldown between uses.

Target Purified
Increase the speed of Purifier Beam by 15%. If the target of Purifier Beam dies, it automatically recasts on the nearest visible enemy Hero.

**Retarget delay:** 2.0 seconds

Zealot Charge
Increase Twin Blades's charge distance by 75%.

**Bonus range:** 2.625

Plasma Burn
While Shield Overload is active, deal 70 damage per second to nearby enemies.

**Type:** Spell Damage**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Enemies**Properties:** Area of Effect**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:** 2.625 (1**Tickrate:** 1.0 per second

* 1) Area of Effect is extended by Artanis's unit radius.
* *Plasma Burn* does not affect unaggroed neutral Mercenaries.
* Damaging enemies with *Plasma Burn* does not trigger tower aggro.
* *Plasma Burn* is unaffected by offensive damage modifier and lifesteal effects.

## Builds and guides

**Icy Veins Artanis Guide**

**Artanis Community Build Guides @ HeroesFire**

**Artanis Community Build Guides @ Heroes Hearth**

## Trivia

* Artanis was the "executor" player character in *StarCraft* (March 1998), though he was not named or seen until *StarCraft: Brood War* (November 1998).
	+ Artanis's default and Daelaam skins reflect his appearance in *StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void* (November 2015).
* Artanis is voiced by Jason Hayes in *StarCraft*, and by Patrick Seitz in *StarCraft II* and *Heroes of the Storm*.
* Artanis was announced at Gamescom 2015.
* All purchasers of *StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void* automatically unlocked Artanis in *Heroes of the Storm*.
* Those who prepurchased a digital copy of *Legacy of the Void* gained access to Artanis on October 20, 2015. He became available for sale to everyone as of October 27, 2015.
* Crimson Purifier Artanis and Test Model Purifier Artanis were inspired by Eva-02 and Eva-01 (respectively) from the influential anime series *Neon Genesis Evangelion*.
* The Purifier Beam Ability references the Purifier Beam weapon of the Protoss Mothership, and later the Purifier Beam Ability of the *Spear of Adun in* Legacy of the Void*.*
* The level 4 Talent Shield Battery references the Shield Battery structure, a Protoss structure that allows Protoss units to recover their Shields.
* The Level 7 Talent Solarite Reaper references the Solarite Reaper axe weapon used by Aiur zealots from the *Legacy of the Void* campaign and Co-op Missions mode.
	+ This weapon itself is a reference to the Arcanite Reaper weapon from *World of Warcraft.*
* The Level 20 talent Zealot Charge references the Charge upgrade that Zealots can research in *StarCraft II.* Much of Artanis's design was based off of the Zealot unit.

## Gallery

### General

* Artanis's artwork
* Artanis home screen
* Tassadar, Artanis, and Zeratul, with the *Spear of Adun* in the background
* Purifier concept
* Draenei Executor Artanis Concept Art

### Abilities

* Q: Blade Dash
* W: Twin Blades
* E: Phase Prism
* R1: Suppression Pulse
* R2: Purifier Beam

## References

1. ↑ 2011-10-23, BlizzCon 2011 - Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and Blizzard DOTA - Art & Technology Panel (Full). *YouTube*, accessed on 2011-11-07
2. ↑ 2014-03-18, Hero Interaction Strings - Introduction Questions, accessed on 2014-03-18
3. ↑ http://www.heroesnexus.com/heroes/60-artanis
4. ↑ Heroes of the Storm: Artanis
5. ↑ 8/5/2015, Battle.net: New Heroes Storm the Nexus at gamescom
6. ↑ 8/5/2015, HeroesNexus: Gamescom Info
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Unlock Artanis in Heroes with Legacy of the Void

## External links

* Artanis Hero Week
* Artanis - Heroes of the Storm
* Artanis - StarCraft Wiki
* Artanis Build Guide on Icy Veins
* Artanis Balance Changelog - Heroes Patch Notes

  **Melee Assassins**
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