Thoughts on Heroes of the Storm's Medivh

Medivh is the new hero in Heroes of the Storm that can be picked up for 16,000 in game gold or $9.99 cash money. He's the latest hero that came out a few weeks ago. 
  
"Medivh, The Last Guardian, is a Ranged Specialist hero from the Warcraft universe. Under the influence of the demon lord Sargeras, Medivh opened the Dark Portal and unleashed the orcish Horde upon Azeroth. To atone for this sin, he rallied a new generation of heroes to stand against the Burning Legion during the Third War. In the Nexus, Medivh continues to lead his allies to greatness. He observes the battle from up high in Raven Form, then swoops down and uses shields and portals to turn the tide of battle. Now, he takes his place amongst the legends." (wiki)

So basically he's a badass that unleashed the orcs upon the humans in Azeroth. Basically the guy who started the fight between orcs and humans in the Warcraft games. How does he play? He flies around as a raven (passive ability-Z button) and can go anywhere on the map in raven form. He can't attack, he can only fly in that form. I'm only going to cover the basic abilities and not the talents because that would make things way too technical.

His first ability is Arcane Rift (Q).

60 Mana Cooldown: 7 seconds

Launch a rift that deals 399 (190 + 4% per level) damage to enemies in its path. If an enemy Hero is hit, reduce its cooldown by 5 seconds and refund 30 Mana. This is his main attack to deal damage. It doesn't deal very much damage but its perfect for getting that low health hero as they are running away. I've taken many a souls w/ this ability as the enemy is fleeing. Sometimes if I see a low health enemy player I'll fly to them in raven form and shoot out an arcane rift to finish them off. 

His second ability is Force of Will (W).

50 Mana Cooldown: 5 seconds

Protect an allied Hero from all damage for 1.5 seconds. This move is amazing. Basically it protects a hero from any damage-and I mean anything for 1.5 seconds. That might not be a long time but if used at the right moment you can save teammates and make sure they get to safety. One of the hardest parts about using Medivh is knowing when to throw out your force of will. You don't want to throw it out all the time but at the same time you don't want to conserve it only waiting for your teammates to be super low on health. It's a great ability and more of a support ability rather than a ranged specialist thing. It's probably my favorite Medivh ability because I like to play more of a support when I play. 

Next up, is the Portal ability.

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Create a set of portals between you and the target location, allowing allies to teleport between both. The portals last 6 seconds. This is what makes Medivh Medivh in this game. It allows you to create a portal between two locations. Your teammates can use it to either escape from risky situations or as a offensive tool to chase down enemy heroes. It seems so simple but its probably the most technical thing about playing Medivh. He's not for beginners mostly because of the portal. Most people don't know how to use the portals. I'm still in the learning process myself. 

Then, they're are his two ultimate abilities. You can only choose one in game to use. 

Poly Bomb

75 Mana Cooldown: 40 seconds

Polymorph an enemy Hero, suppressing their attacks and Silencing them for 2 seconds. On expiration, Poly Bomb spreads to other nearby enemy Heroes. This is my favorite ultimate to choose because I like to see my enemies get turned into sheep (that's what polymorph means) and not be able to attack or cast spells for a short period. Also, sometimes when the enemies are grouped up, they all can get turned into sheep! It's great getting their whole team polymorphed and then your team swoops in and slays them. Who doesn't like sheep? Baaaaaa. 

His other ultimate is Ley Line Seal.

75 Mana Cooldown: 80 seconds

After 0.5 seconds, unleash a wave of energy that imprisons enemy Heroes in Stasis for 3 seconds. This is also a great choice but it definitely depends on the map and enemy heroes you're playing against. You would definitely want to use stasis on a control point or capture kind of map. This one puts enemies in their place for three seconds. In the meantime your team can gather around the stasis field and wait for it to end, and end them.

Lastly, I really enjoy playing Medivh. I would say he's my favorite hero that I've played in a long time. I haven't been this into Heroes of the Storm in a long time but Medivh is getting me back into it. I don't play him in ranked because I feel like I need to practice with him more. So I'm a Quick Match (non-ranked matches) warrior w/ him. In time I will get good enough and learn how he works better. Then I will use him in ranked matches and see how I do. I feel like he's more of a support sort of character more so than a high dps specialist. Part of it could be just the way I'm playing him because I do play him as more of a supportive role. At the same time though I do go out of my way to make sure my damage is high and things like that. Using the portals is definitely challenging because sometimes your teammates don't use them and just die. I really love the polymorph ultimate too. That's probably my favorite part. Medivh is just awesome. If you play Heroes and want to try out a super technical and satisfying character pick this hero up.