Brightwing

Title
 Role
 Franchise

**Brightwing**, the Faerie Dragon, is a ranged Healer Hero from the *Warcraft* universe. The Faerie Dragons of Ashenvale are known for their playful demeanor, seemingly disappearing at a whim. The mischevious Brightwing is no exception, often materializing out of nowhere to save her allies or just to mock her foes by some sort of faerie trickery.

Brightwing is a Healer who can teleport to allies, excelling on large battlegrounds.

## Background

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

Brightwing is a Faerie Dragon located in the Emerald Dreamway in World of Warcraft.

Faerie Dragons (also known as sprites, sprite darters, blink dragons, fey dragons or fey drakes) are diminutive, intelligent creatures that look like flying lizards (much like a chameleon with butterfly wings). Though not actual dragons, these mystical looking creatures police the Emerald Dream from magic. As such they are immune to magic.

The Faerie Dragons of Ashenvale are known for their playful demeanor, seemingly disappearing on a whim. The more mischievous ones will often materialize out of nowhere to save their allies, or simply to mock their foes. One wouldn't know it from looking at them, but the lovely faerie dragons can be truly fearsome if trained properly. They can do amazing things to magical energy: absorb it, redirect it, even nullify it entirely. They're nearly harmless alone, but in large numbers, they can have a stunning effect on a battle. Faerie dragons can speak, but few of them choose to do so. The faerie dragons that dwell near Nordrassil in Mount Hyjal can see through enemy illusions. They are quite intelligent and able to speak, albeit with broken grammar.

This creature resembles a dragon in some respects, but feathery antennae sprout from its head and its wings are moth-like. Its turquoise scales shimmer in the sparkles that dance from its body. It turns its head to look at you with a beady black eye before emitting a small keen. They have a powerful natural defense against magic and the unique ability to phase out of reality. Their defense seems to work by the dragon encasing itself within a strong energy shield that repels most magic and conventional attacks. While in this form they can siphon the unused magical energy wasted in basic spell casting, and then focus, amplify, and direct it back at the unfortunate caster in a sort of "feedback" attack. This ability is very powerful but requires a great deal of effort, and can only be used sporadically, requiring the dragon to rest between uses. For this reason, the faerie dragons often travel in packs.

## Abilities

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

Soothing Mist
 Cooldown: 75 seconds
Activate to remove all Stun, Root, Slow, and Silence effects from nearby allied Heroes.

Passive: Brightwing heals nearby allied Heroes for 110 every 4 seconds.

**Type:** CC removal (active) / Healing (passive)**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Allied Heroes, Self**Targeting:** No target**Properties:** Area of Effect**Cast time:** Instant**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:**
- Initial: 1.0
- End: 7.0

* Expands to its maximum radius over 0.6 seconds.
* Passive heal does not trigger if Brightwing and all targetable allied Heroes in range are at full Health, but instead remains at 0 cooldown and automatically activates just after any valid target takes damage.
* Upon entering a Vehicle, the cooldown from the Passive is frozen at its value prior to entering, and resumes counting down from there upon exiting.
* If Brightwing enters a Vehicle while the Ability is off cooldown (usually because it hasn't triggered in awhile as Brightwing and any allied Heroes in range are all at full Health), the passive heal from this Ability will trigger from the Vehicle exactly one time as soon as any targetable allied Hero in range is not at full Health.

Q
Arcane Flare
35 Mana Cooldown: 6 seconds
Shoot a flare dealing 75 damage to enemies hit, and an additional 105 damage to enemies in the center. If a Hero is hit by the center, Soothing Mist's passive healing instantly activates.

**Type:** Spell Damage**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Enemies**Targeting:** Point target**Properties:** Area of Effect**Cast time:** 0.15 + 0 seconds**Range:** 8**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:**
Outer - 2.5
Inner - 1.0**Missile speed:** 11.4

W
Polymorph
50 Mana Cooldown: 12 seconds
Polymorph a target for 1.5 seconds, Slowing their Movement Speed by 30% and Silencing them. Targets are not able to attack while Polymorphed.

**Type:** Crowd Control**Affects:** Enemies**Targeting:** Unit target**Properties:** Polymorph**Cast time:** 0.2 + 0 seconds**Range:** 7.0

* Polymorph counts as a Silence effect, but not as a Slow. Abilities that interact with Silences can also affect Polymorphed targets.

E
Pixie Dust
60 Mana Cooldown: 10 seconds
Increase target's Movement Speed by 20%, and grant them 30 Spell Armor for 3 seconds, reducing Spell Damage taken by 30%.

**Type:** Defensive damage modifier, Status effect**Affects:** Allied Heroes, Self**Targeting:** Unit target**Properties:** Movement Speed, Spell Armor**Cast time:** Instant**Range:** 7.0**Missile speed:** 32

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

R
Blink Heal
40 Mana Cooldown: 9 / 2 seconds
Charge Cooldown: 2 seconds
Teleport to a nearby ally. When teleporting to a Hero, heal them for 200.

 Stores up to 2 charges.

**Type:** Healing / Movement: Teleport**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Allies / Self**Targeting:** Unit target**Range:** 10

R
Emerald Wind
90 Mana Cooldown: 50 seconds
After 0.5 seconds, create an expanding nova of wind, dealing 225 damage and pushing enemies away.

**Type:** Spell Damage, Crowd Control**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Non-Structure enemies**Targeting:** No target**Properties:** Area of Effect, Channeled cast (stationary), Knockback, Stationary channel**Cast time:** 0.5(ch) + 0 seconds**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:** 8.0**Tickrate:** 16.0 per second (x27)**Knockback duration:** 0.1875 seconds**Knockback speed:** 4.5

* Expands to its maximum radius over 1.625 seconds of animation.
* Interrupting the Ability during its windup puts it on a 10-second cooldown.

Z
Phase Shift
 Cooldown: 40 seconds
After 2 seconds, teleport to an allied Hero and heal them for 25% of their maximum Health.

**Type:** Healing / Movement: Teleport**Scaling:** -**Affects:** Allied Heroes / Self**Targeting:** Unit target**Properties:** Channeled cast (stationary)**Cast time:** 2.0 + 0 seconds**Range:** Global

* Interrupting the Ability during its windup puts it on a 10 second cooldown.
* Ability is interrupted if Brightwing directly targets an ally who enters Stasis at any time during the cast.

## Talents

1

Greater Polymorph
Passive: Increase Polymorph's range by 30%.

If Brightwing hits an enemy Hero with Arcane Flare's center within 2 seconds of being Polymorphed, then reduce Polymorph's cooldown by 7 seconds and gain 50 Mana.

**Bonus range:** 2.1

Hyper Shift
Increase Phase Shift's healing by an additional 6% of the target's maximum Health. Nearby enemy Minion deaths reduce Phase Shift's cooldown by 1 second.

**Type:** Bonus healing**Scaling:** -**Affects:** Allied Heroes

* Bonus stacks multiplicatively with healing modifiers.

Pixie Charm
Activate to consume 20 stacks of Bribe to instantly defeat an uncaptured Mercenary.

Passive: Gain 1 stack of Bribe when a nearby enemy Minion dies, and 5 stacks when hitting an enemy Hero with Arcane Flare's center. Maximum 80 stacks.

**Type:** Instant kill**Affects:** Non-Elite neutral Mercenaries**Targeting:** Unit target**Properties:** Bribe**Cast time:** Instant**Range:** 6.0**Charge cooldown:** 0.25 seconds

4

Dream Shot
Increase Arcane Flare's range by 50%. Hitting a Hero with Arcane Flare's center reduces its cooldown to 2 seconds.

**Bonus range:** 4.0

Unstable Anomaly
Increase Polymorph's Slow by 15%. Upon expiration, Polymorph deals damage to nearby enemy Heroes equal to 2% of their maximum Health.

**Type:** Percent damage**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Enemy Heroes**Properties:** Area of Effect**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:** 3.0

Magic Spit
Increase Basic Attack range by 1.1. Basic Attacks against Heroes reduce the cooldown of Soothing Mist by 4 seconds.

**Properties:** Attack Modifier

7

Sticky Flare
Enemies hit by Arcane Flare have their Movement Speed Slowed by 20% for 3 seconds. Increase the Slow to 40% if they are hit by the center portion.

**Type:** Crowd control**Affects:** Enemies**Properties:** Slow

Peekaboo!
Phase Shifting to an ally grants both Brightwing and her target a 335 point Shield for 4 seconds and reveals a large area around them for 5 seconds.

**Type:** Shield**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Self, Target**Properties:** Revealed**Reveal radius:** 15

Critical Mist
Soothing Mist heals for 165. Increase this by 140% if Soothing Mist removed a disabling effect from that ally.

**Type:** Healing**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Allied Heroes

* Bonus healing from removing a disabling effect stacks additively with healing modifiers that affect healing dealt and multiplicatively with modifiers that affect healing received.

10

Blink Heal
Charge Cooldown: 9 seconds
Teleport to a nearby ally. When teleporting to a Hero, heal them for 200.

 Stores up to 2 charges.

Emerald Wind
Cooldown: 50 seconds
After 0.5 seconds, create an expanding nova of wind, dealing 225 damage and pushing enemies away.

13

Pixie Boost
Pixie Dust gives 50% bonus Movement Speed, decaying to 20% over 3 seconds.

**Type:** Status effect**Affects:** Allied Heroes**Properties:** Movement Speed

* Movement Speed bonus decreases by 5% every 0.5 seconds.

Safety Dust
Increase Pixie Dust's duration by 1 second. Soothing Mist and Blink Heal heal allies with an active Pixie Dust for 75% more.

**Type:** Healing dealt modifier**Affects:** Self

* Stacks additively with other healing modifiers that affect healing dealt and multiplicatively with modifiers that affect healing received.

Pixie Power
Reduce the cooldown of Pixie Dust by 3 seconds and increase the Spell Armor granted by 25.

16

Hush!
Enemy Heroes hit by the center of Arcane Flare are Silenced for 1 second and deal 25% less damage for 3 seconds.

**Type:** Crowd Control, Offensive damage modifier**Affects:** Enemy Heroes**Properties:** Silence

* Damage debuff stacks additively with other offensive damage modifiers affecting the target's damage output.

Critterize
While Polymorphed, the target's Armor is reduced by 25, increasing the damage they take by 25%.

**Type:** Defensive damage modifier**Affects:** Enemy Heroes

* Does not stack with other negative Armor effects. Other defensive damage modifiers may stack.
* Damage taken is only increased by 25% assuming no positive Armor is in play. E.g. at 75 positive Armor, applying this debuff doubles the relative damage the enemy Hero takes.

Phase Out
Cooldown: 20 seconds
**Active:**  Activate to place Brightwing in Stasis for 0.75 seconds.

**Type:** Status effect**Affects:** Self**Targeting:** No Target**Properties:** Stasis**Cast time:** Instant

* *Phase Out* cannot be canceled.
* Brightwing retains collision during *Phase Out*.

20

Invisible Friends
Blink Heal grants Stealth to BrightwingAnd her Heroic targets for 9 seconds, and they are Unrevealable for the first 0.5 seconds. While Stealthed by Invisible Friends, Heroes heal for 25 Health per second and are Unrevealable for the first 0.5 seconds.

Remaining stationary for at least 1.5 seconds while Stealthed grants Invisible.

**Type:** Status effect, Healing**Scaling:** 4.00%**Affects:** Allied Heroes, Self**Properties:** Heal over Time, Stealth**Tickrate:** 1.0 per second

Intensive Winds
Permanently reduce Emerald Wind's cooldown to 5 seconds.

Speedy Dragon
Permanently gain 20% Movement Speed. Reduce Phase Shift's cast time by 1 second.

**Type:** Status effect**Affects:** Self**Properties:** Movement Speed

Faerie Protector
Cooldown: 45 seconds
**Active:**  Activate to apply Pixie Dust to all nearby Heroes.

Passive: Pixie Dust always bounces back and applies to Brightwing.

**Type:** Defensive damage modifier**Affects:** Allied Heroes, Self**Targeting:** No target**Properties:** Area of Effect, Spell Armor**Cast time:** Instant**Area of Effect:** Circle**Radius:** 8.0

* Benefits from all talents affecting *Pixie Dust*.
* Does not stack with other positive Spell Armor effects. Other defensive damage modifiers may stack.

## Builds and guides

**Icy Veins Brightwing Guide**

**Brightwing Community Build Guides @ HeroesFire**

**Brightwing Community Build Guides @ Heroes Hearth**

## Quotes

*Main articles:* Brightwing/Quotes, Brightwing/Quotes/Flying Monkey

## Development

The developers wanted from the beginning Brightwing to be about mitigating damage rather than traditional healing. When they examined the Warcraft III Faerie Dragon, they decided to focus on the fantasy of whimsical powers and pixie dust. The abilities ”Polymorph” and “Pixie Dust” quickly became two staples to build the rest of her kit around. To really push the envelope, they debated and experimented with some complicated mechanics, like mana burn and giving her the ability to fly to allies, but eventually had to tone it back because the extra mechanics got really complicated.

Designing "Phase Shift" as a replacement for a traditional Mount ability was also something that struck the developer team as something special. The goal was to create an omnipresent hero similar to Abathur, but with a stronger tactical presence. The developers wanted Phase Shift to require an ally to play off of and support her trait's design. Brightwing's trait was then purposely designed to be simple, allowing Brightwing players to scan the battlefield constantly. They also wanted to give Phase Shift global range so that there were more opportunities to cast it and to play up soft split pushing strategies.

During development, there were thoughts about giving Brightwing an ultimate where you would "draw" a path of healing with your mouse for a few seconds. Unfortunately, complex systems that sound really cool on paper often either end up with not-so-cool gameplay or a bottomless pit of technical problems to overcome. That idea was pared down and refined until it became *Blink Heal*.

## Trivia

* Brightwing represents the faerie dragon unit from *Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne* (July 2003).
* After being introduced in *Heroes of the Storm*, Brightwing went on to appear in *World of Warcraft: Legion* (August 2016).
* Brightwing is voiced by Amber Hood.
* Brightwing was one of the four heroes revealed at PAX East 2014.
* Brightwing's "Polymorph" Ability randomly turns the target either into a pig, a squirrel or a crab.
	+ The "Flying Monkey" skins cause the Polymorphed enemies to turn into little monkeys instead.
* There is a Brightwing's model update that was shelved after the backlash due to Murky's model update. Both Murky and Brightwing were built in ways that made them difficult to alter, and the art team wanted to address the issue by fixing these problems internally before release. Their schedule didn't permit them to complete the updates before going live. The visual differences are primarily intended to bridge the gap between the current in-game Brightwing and Samwise's concept and improve Brightwing's presence from game-view.
* The Monarch blurb is a reference to the Venture Bros., whose arch nemesis the Monarch insists the butterfly of the same name has a deadly sting.

## Gallery

* Brightwing's artwork.
* Brightwing (old model).
* Brightwing in the Eternal Conflict.
* Concept art for Luxorian Monkey Brightwing.
* Q: Arcane Flare.
* W: Polymorph.
* E: Pixie Dust.
* R1: Blink Heal.
* R2: Emerald Wind.
* Brightwings unused model update

## References

1. ↑ 2013-11-09, Heroes Skin Showcase - Heroes of the Storm - Blizzcon 2013. *YouTube*, accessed on 2013-12-01
2. ↑ 2014-03-18, Hero Interaction Strings - Introduction Questions, accessed on 2014-03-18
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Heroes of the Storm Hero Week: Brightwing
4. ↑ Quest:Forces of Nature: Faerie Dragons
5. ↑ Quest:Inciting the Elements
6. ↑ Developer Insights: Look on the bright side...or wing
7. ↑ Blizz\_DWarner on Reddit
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/AndreaToyias/status/935273368890175489
9. ↑ 2014-04-11, Heroes of the Storm PAX Feature Trailer. *YouTube*, accessed on 2014-04-11
10. ↑ Unused Art: Brightwing ver.2

## External links

* Developer Insights: Look on The Bright Side…Or Wing
* Brightwing Hero Week
* Brightwing - Heroes of the Storm
* Brightwing - Wowpedia
* Brightwing Balance Changelog - Heroes Patch Notes
* Brightwing Sound Files - Sounds of the Storm

  **Melee Assassins**
 ***Unknown*** | Mekkatorque