If you've played Bloodline Champions , the free-to-play MOBA that's more Street Fighter than DotA, then you know how dangerous a jack-of-all-trades can be. Bloodlines that can pressure the opponent with strong offense, while still supporting their team with heals and defense, are a force to be reckoned with—just ask the Astronomer .
But soon, a new melee-healer hybrid will give Astro a run for his money. The pairing of the hulking behemoth Rog, ridden by the shamanistic Grim, will soon charge their way into an arena near you. Read on for details on the new bloodline's abilities, unique mechanics that are new to the game, and what you get when you mix brute strength with voodoo curses.
Grimrog is the scariest kind of healer: one that buffs their allies while getting up in your face with brutal melee attacks and devastating debuffs. Grimrog's toolkit is the bloodline equivalent of a swiss-army knife, arming him (them?) with the answers to any situation. Ally in trouble? Toss some heals their way, or lay down your Healing Ward —a first for the game, plopping down a destructible ward that reduces damage done to your teammates and continuously heals them, as long as an enemy doesn't pick it off. Need to focus an enemy bloodline down? Grimrog's totally capable of mixing it up at close range, able to cleave enemies with AoE melee damage while slowing their movement speed. Ranged opponents chipping away at your health? Grimrog can simply CC them with a Silence, Fear, or Stone effect. This intimidating bloodline seems like he can do it all. Here's the full breakdown of his abilities:
For Grimrog's mouse abilities, you've got a similar setup to Astronomer, with the M1 Claw Attack being a standard melee swipe, and Wicked Blessing on M2 being a healing projectile that heals nearby allies on impact. But Wicked Blessing's utility is twofold, as you can also use it on enemies to consume curses on your opponents, buffing you or disabling them in the process. These effects include Madness, which increases your attack speed, Stone, acting as a hard disable to those unfortunate enough to be caught by it, or Fear, forcing your enemies to run around like chickens with their heads cut off.
Grimrog's spacebar ability is another boon for both himself and his allies: Gringol's Gate will create a portal at the feet of your target, warping allies or enemies alike into or out of combat. There's of course the powerful Healing Ward mentioned above, which should prove incredibly helpful for your teammates and annoying to your enemies. Grimrog can also fire out the Curse of Silence , a projectile which leaves opponents unable to cast spells on impact—great for disrupting your opponent's crucial heal or taking pressure off an ally. Grimrog's Claw Flurry rounds out his offensive capabilities, letting him whirlwind into battle, slashing nearby enemies while inflicting the movement-impairing Curse of Kojo.
We've saved Grimrog's craziest, best abilities for last, as his awesome EX and Ultimate moves are absolute game-changers. His first EX ability, Voodoo , sends out a projectile that causes all incoming healing to the unfortunate target to deal damage instead. Proper timing of this ability can have a HUGE effect on a match, able to make the difference between your target surviving your burst damage or crumpling like wet paper while their healer inadvertently kills them. The second EX, Rampage , is a dash attack that charges an enemy, stunning them in the process as Grim whacks them in the head with his staff. Grimrog's ultimate, Curse of Weakness , charges a projectile which explodes in a large AoE on impact for big damage. As an added bonus, enemies caught within the blast radius suffer from the actual Curse of Weakness, reducing both their healing and damage output. If your enemies all get caught by this fearsome ultimate, they'll be in for a world of hurt.
What about Grimrog's backstory? How can a mischievous midget and a hulking brute get along so well? Here's Grimrog's official lore, straight from Stunlock Studios:
The Grimrog combat units are separated into two different subspecies that aid and complete each other in battle. The Grims are small shamanistic beings, wielding powerful healing spells as well as terrifying curses. Then there's the Rogs, their opposite in both size and combat approach. They are relentless warriors that devote their life to protecting the fragile Grims, carrying a Grim shaman on their back into battle. Strangely enough, they're both descendants from the same Bloodline, and since they never enter battle as a lone combatant, their symbiotic combat units are known as the Grimrogs to outsiders.
We can't wait to see how this addition to the healing bloodline roster will make waves, both in team compositions and game mechanics. What's your take on Grimrog? If you haven't tried BLC yet, there's no better time: the game is completely free, and the recently-added Invite-a-Friend system ensures that you profit from getting your buddies to join in on the fun.
