Neelu

## Profile

Neelu is a healer always on the run to aid her team!

The second Support type introduced, Neelu's main goal of the game is to keep her allies alive. She has low HP and armor and even less attack power, but she really shines with her ability to support, shield, and heal! **Star Vortex** gives her the ability to attack with slightly more damage, especially towards creeps and minions, and it also has a few useful rune enhancements. Her best abilities let her shield her allies with **Natural Protection** and heal them greatly with **Healing Storm**. **Meditation** also helps keep her health up in between fights, letting her focus on supporting allies during them.

Majority of her rune spread can be divided into two types of support: offensive crowd control or defensive enhancement. She has a few runes that allow her to slow enemies, giving her allies a better chance of finishing off foes or helping them (or herself) retreat, while the other half increases her supportive versatility by enhancing her heals, strengthening her shields, or even removing crowd control effects.

## Abilities

* Piercing Winds
* Torrential Speed
* Cosmic Distance
* Squall
* Nature's Wrath
* Spontaneity
* Titan Shell
* Cleanse Minds
* Healing Barrage
* Natural Bond
* Medic's Sacrifice
* Quick Paws
* Mental Shell

## Runes

### Level 1 Runes

 **Cosmic Empowerment** | Damage of third basic attack increases.

### Level 2 Runes

 **Cosmic Distance** | Maximum casting distance of **Star Vortex** increases by 1.5.

### Level 3 Runes

 **Titan Shell** | The shield of **Natural Protection** absorbs much more damage but expires a lot sooner.

### Level 4 Runes

 **Medic's Sacrifice** | Effectiveness of **Healing Storm** is greatly increased, but excluds the hero herself.

### Level 5 Runes

 **Mental Shell** | Activating **Meditation** adds an effect that blocks the first incoming crowd control effect.

### Level 6 Runes

 **Cosmic Retribution** | Upon reaching the end of its flight path, the **Star Vortex** projectile will explode with a radius of 3 meters, causing emeies to receive more damage and a slow effect for 3 seconds.

## Tips and Strategies

Neelu plays best fighting alongside allies. Her survivability and fighting ability alone is middling at best and terrible at worst, although her shield and heals do help in keeping her alive during desperate times. It's her imperative to get hit as little and as few as times as possible. She should constantly be around an ally to help support with shields and healings. Although her **Healing Storm** doesn't require skill in aiming, her other skills do need you to play smart with timing and positioning. She's useful in both pushing the lane and defending it, keeping her allies topped up with shields and health, allowing them to do whatever job they need to do. Depending on her runes, she can be used to slow down and help kill enemies or enhance her ability to keep her allies alive.

### **Ability and Rune Tips**

* **Basic Attacks**
	+ Neelu's a long ranged character, so it's perfectly fine keeping her attacking from the back. Every little bit helps. Just be careful of the split-second that she stays still when she's attacking.
	+ Her third attack is a long-ranged meteor. It'll help if your enemies are retreating as it doesn't require the projectile to chase them. If they have a small sliver of HP left, you can use it to kill, but be careful of other foes.
	+ **Wearying Particles** also helps with retreating foes, giving your higher-powered allies that small window to finish them off.
* **Star Vortex**
	+ Can be used to help clear the lane or kill minions, and even Archon kills, but shouldn't be relied on. It's use should depend on the runes equipped on it. It's has a small use as a hit-and-run ability as well, especially with slow enhancements.
	+ Paired with Warrior classes, **Weakening Vortex** helps with keeping them alive, particularly in the first minute or so of the game.
	+ **Squall** is useful for ganking low health opponents who try to run away by pushing them right into your allies' attack range and slowing them down. On another hand, it can also help if you or your allies are retreating and need breathing space.
	+ **Cosmic Retribution** not only slows them down but also increases more damage done - just make sure to time it right so that your allies have their powerful skills at ready to deal the finishing blows. Best utilized with Marksman and/or Assassin teammates.
* **Natural Protection**
	+ There's a short delay between triggering the skill and the skill's activation. Be careful with the timing - if you can communicate with your team to know that you're using it great, else make sure they're stationary or using static skills before using it.
	+ The **Spontaneity** rune is a godsend if you can't time the delay right. And even then, you can also use it while you and your allies are running either towards the enemy or retreating, keeping all of you on the move.
	+ If you're having trouble with units like **Sky'lee**, **Bluebeard**, and **Candy** who have great crowd control abilities, **Cleanse Mind** can be a saving grace. Just make sure to use it only when under the effects or when you see it coming.
	+ **Inversion** can be used in almost every situation to keep your allies alive. Giving them to Warrior classes gives them a shield AND healing, increasing their tanking ability, while Marksmen and Assassins don't have to worry about being killed in the middle of an attack.
* **Healing Storm**
	+ Save it for use when you or your allies are at half health, especially for tanks that need to be topped up. Make sure you're close enough to use it, or you'll end up healing yourself or nothing at all. When you're stunned or rooted, however, best use it as soon as you can to make sure you're still alive.
	+ With **Unstoppable Storm** or **Healing Barrage**, the timing becomes a little more off. The former is more useful at spreading around the heals and keeping everyone up for a long fight, while the latter is best used for healing quickly during intense and quick fights.
	+ If you're good at keeping yourself from getting hit or targetted, **Medic's Sacrifice** is pretty useful. It's also a great combo with **Meditation** if you actually do get hit.
	+ **Rejuvenating Winds** is a good panic rune, letting you or your low-health allies run when the going gets tough. It can also be used for chasing, but due to the 'heal lowest health' mechanic, it's not that great in that department.
* **Meditation**
	+ Meditation should be activated whenever you're at low health as much as it can. This allows health buffs to be picked up by your allies when they need it. Don't be afraid to keep yourself out a fight if you need to in order to activate it. Just be close enough to support your allies with shields and healings if they need it.
	+ **Quick Paws** helps you run around a bit. As a support, though, you always want to be supporting an ally, and if you see another ally on another part of the map needing your help, **Meditation** probably won't activate fast enough for it to make an actual difference. The only exceptions are if you're at the complete opposite end of the map and need to get to the other ASAP, or if you're running away because your teammate got killed.

### **Combos and Co-ops**

* Solo Combos
	+ Without any runes, Neelu doesn't have a lot of combos that she can do herself.
	+ Doing **Natural Protection** in combination with **Healing Storm** helps the moment your allies look like they're about to die.
* Rune Combos
	+ For maximum slowing capability, **Wearying Particles**, **Squall**, and **Cosmic Retribution** is great, especially when going for the kill with a high-powered ally. You can maximize it's effectiveness by combining them with the **Torrential Speed** rune.
	+ Combining **Weakening Vortex** with either **Iron Shell** or **Titan Shell** gives your tanks a little more staying power.
	+ Using **Inversion** with either **Iron / Titan Shell** also gives more healing per percent.
	+ To get the most out of **Rejuvenating Winds**, if you're using it, use it conjunction with **Unstoppable Barrage** so that there's more speed-buffing projectiles to go around.
* Notable Character Co-ops
	+ Neelu's favorite tank and ally is Bluebeard. Amongst the Warriors, he arguably has the best staying power due to his **Restoration** active ability and **Regeneration passive**ability. Support him with timely heals and shields, and you can make sure he never dies. He can also keep dangrous enemies off you with **Capture** and **Trap** if the going starts to look dangerous.
* Notable Opponents
	+ While also her best ally, Bluebeard can also be her worst nightmare.
	+ Practically all Assassin class. Neelu's as squishy as they come, and more often than not, her shields and heals won't be able to hold off an onslaught of hardhitting or stunning attacks if you're caught alone.
		- If you have any of the slow runes, make sure to use it against them when retreating. Keep your shield up on you at all times - it might be the only difference. Be wary of being near bushes when you don't see the enemy Assassin on the map, especially when you're on the lane.

## Story

Neelu belongs, to the Eyok tribe. She was trained to become a druid - more precisely, a tech druid from a very young age. Even before the training was completed, the Forerunners recognzed the power of nature inside her and took her to their shelter. Without hesitation, she joined them to fight in the arena and aid those in need!