Mira Han by Zarpd

Playing Mira

Mira excels at picking off single targets. While she's no more threatening than any other assassin in a one on one, her mobility often means she's not likely to start a fight she can't win. If spots a vulnerable enemy in between lanes she only has to take a quick Strafing Run to get on top of them, use Emergency Landing to cut their escape, then bring the full damage of her Gatling Cannons and Lanzer Torpedoes to bare.

In team fights, Mira should try to harass the enemy back line with her Ripwave Missiles and use Strafing Run to keep out of harm's reach. She can also dish out huge damage with her Lanzer Torpedoes, but only if her team is able to protect her or the enemy is in full retreat. She has to be careful while walking into any dicey situation, as Dust Off has a noticeable start up time, costs fuel, and shares a lengthy cooldown with Emergency Landing.

Playing Against Mira

Mira is extremely vulnerable while on the ground and her survivability relies heavily on her fuel reserves. Dust Off is her only method of escape, and using it locks her in place for a moment, burns a lot of fuel, puts her out of position, and triggers the cooldown of Emergency Landing. Mira's does consistent damage while in the air but lacks the burst her team needs from an assassin. Committing to a team fight will force Mira to engage on the ground with her heavy hitting abilities, and give you an opportunity to send her packing.

Ripwave Missiles are a constant threat from afar, but don't do enough damage to put you in immediate or constant danger. Take some solace in knowing that if Mira chooses to harass from a distance without ever closing the gap, she's going to burn through all her fuel and be unfit for a team fight. If she DOES decide to apply close range pressure with Strafing Run, keep in mind that she's not invulnerable during the dash and that any damage done to her cuts into her fuel supply.

Level 1:

[D] Nuclear Reactor
The amount of fuel you regain per second on the ground is increased from 3 to 5.

[D] Great Mileage
The amount of fuel you consume per second while flying is reduced from 1.5 to 1.

[D] Deep Reserves
! Quest: Gather regen globes to increase your maximum fuel by 3.
! Reward: After gathering 15 regen globes, your maximum fuel increases by 30.

Level 4:

[Q] From Hell's Heart
The length of Ripwave Missile's line is extended by 25%

[Q] Suppressing Fire
Heroes hit by your Gatling Cannons are slowed by 40% for 2 seconds.

[Z] Running Hot
Cooldown - 45 seconds.
Spend 25 fuel to increase your speed by 25% for 5 seconds. Usable in Assault and Flight mode.

[E] Bat Out of Hell
The Warmup time for Dust Off is reduced to 1 second, and enemies near you are knocked back slightly when you cast the ability.

Level 7:

[Q] Second Verse
Strafing Run now holds 2 charges, but its cooldown is increased by 4 seconds.

[W] Wait For it...
Lanzer Torpedoes fire two additional torpedoes.

[E] Coming In Hot
The slow on Emergency Landing is extended to 2.5 seconds and its knockback is increased.

[E] The Crazy Ivan
Emergency Landing and Dust Off can be cast within 3 seconds of each other for free.

Level 13:

[W] Overkill
Lanzer Torpedoes now has 2 charges. Both charges cannot be cast on the same target at the same time.

[W] Tired of Aiming
Ripwave Missile's width is increased by 50%

[1] Chaff
Cooldown - 60 seconds.
Over the course of 3 seconds, Mira deploys 6 flares behind her. These flares dissipate after a few seconds and have no collision, but count as heroes for the purposes of being hit by enemy skill shots. Only usable in Flight Mode.

Level 16:

[Q] Shredder Rounds
Every time Gatling Cannons hits a hero, their armor is reduced by 5% for 3 seconds. This effect stacks up to 6 times.

[Q] Aggressive Maneuvers
The cooldown on Strafing Run is reduced by 2.5 seconds for every hero hit.

[W] Hellfire Missiles
Ripwave Missiles leaves burning ground behind for 4 seconds.

Level 20:

[Q] Indiscriminate Injustice
Doubles the area of effect on Gatling Cannons and reduce the cooldown by 2 seconds.

[W] Itchy Trigger Finger
All Ripwave Missiles charges return at once now, instead of one at a time.

[R] Nothing But Ash
Increase the range of Scorched Earth by 5 and reduce the cooldown by 30 seconds. Scorched Earth no longer has a charge up time to cast, and can be cast in Flight Mode.

[R] Cutthroats
Mira's Wingmen now have 2/3rd her health, deal 70% of her damage, and last for 20 seconds. Each wingman that survives the full duration reduces the ability's cooldown by 30 seconds.

For frame of reference, the core stats of other characters can be viewed HERE.

Stats at: Level 1 / Level 10 / Level 20
Health 2423 / 3446 / 5105
Regen 2.550 / 6.600 / 11.100
Mana 500 / 590 / 690
Regen 3.000 / 3.855 / 4.805
Damage 127 / 181 / 267
Attack Speed 1.00 / 1.00 / 1.00
DPS 127 / 181 / 267

Concept

I've always loved StarCraft's Vikings, so making one for my first hero seemed like a natural fit.

The concept starts and ends with flight. The viking fantasy revolves around that smooth transition between F-16 and Gatling-Robo, so I knew if I couldn't get that right: the idea wasn't worth doing. There are clear uses and limitations on aerial units in StarCraft, but bringing the idea to Heroes of Storm raised a lot of questions. "What function does flight serve in a Moba? How do I make players want to use each form? How do I make them more than overlord/colossi hunters? How do I make them not Medivh?"

The first question was really the only one that matters. The dream of any air unit is "I can attack them, they can't attack me." StarCraft does this by limiting what units can look up, but the cleanest way to do it in a Moba is by using the game's impassable terrain. The rest of the concept fell into place after that:
If it uses terrain for safety, it needs long range -->
>If its long range and safe, it can't do huge damage --> If it just does pokes, it needs a closer -->
>If it can be safe thanks to terrain, it needs limitations --> If it has to spend time grounded, that form needs a function -->
It should weaken enemies while far away and safe, then become vulnerable to finish them off.

Specifics

Why Mira Han?

Mira Han made her debut in StarCraft 2 as a cruel and cutthroat mercenary with a bit of a-... err, shall we say "romantic" side? She had very little time on the center stage of the game's campaign, but she seemed like an interest personality worth exploring further.

I wanted to do a viking concept before I had a character to go with it, but Mira was a perfect fit. She's interesting, quirky, and has the perfect sort of personality that would fit a hero designed to prey on the weak. Plus, Heroes of the Storm could use more jerkish characters that aren't 100% pure evil. I'm looking at you, Tychus.

Why the Fuel Trait?

If a viking is going to fly, it has to be able to shoot. That's part of why they're cool. Obviously, this meant there needs to be some restriction on when they can do that. I originally tried working with a cooldown, but if felt like players would just be waiting for it to pop so they can play their character again. The fuel system ended up being the core to her risk/reward playstyle, as the restriction ends up being directly tied into her offensive commitments.

Why the Flight Mode Q?

If the character is going to mimic a jet, being able to do strafing runs was a no brainer. I toyed around with the idea of giving her increased movement speed and auto-attack range in the sky, but this ended up being a way cleaner alternative.

Why the Flight Mode W?

This was where the core kit originated from. I locked in the concept of "easy but weak damage in the air, heavy but risky damage on the ground" early on, and thought up the abilities from there. I also knew that any good fighter jet inspired character needed two things: guns and missiles. This iteration of Ripwave Missiles seemed like the best way to rain hellfire down on your enemies without putting yourself in harms way.

Why the Flight Mode E?

After I had a few base abilities outlined for Mira, I started thinking about more practical problems the hero might face. A thought that kept coming into my mind is how awkward it would be to try and fly to safe ground and then slowly descend to land. Sometimes, an emergency landing is in order.

Why the Assault Mode Q?

I knew that Mira's ground damage had to be high, but avoidable. I tried making this ability several types of skillshots for a while, but nothing felt right. Taking inspiration from D.Va's Defense Matrix, I decided giving the agency of the ability to Mira instead of her enemy worked best. This way she could make it harder to avoid by getting up close, but that also put herself in danger.

Why the Assault Mode W?

Lanzer Torpedos ended up looking similar to Falstad's Lightning Rod, but it started with the idea of having to maintain a missile lock. The ramping damage is what sealed the risk/reward factor of her ground based combat, and I wanted enemies to have the option to negate Mira's damage by simply running away.

Why the Assault Mode E?

Much like Emergency Landing, Dust Off came from necessity. I very easily imagined scenarios where Mira could see a team fight happening far away, and in order to get there she slowly hovers up into the air, and drifts toward it. That didn't feel particularly exciting. Giving her the option to burn a lot of fuel for a quick take off felt like a fitting trade, and the warm up time stops her from having an easily guaranteed escape.

Why the Scorched Earth R?

I wanted one heroic ability to work in Assault Mode, and one in Flight Mode. In Assault Mode, I knew Mira's biggest annoyance was going to be enemies disengaging when she blew all her cooldowns, then returning immediately after to kick her around. The damage on Scorched Earth isn't phenomenal, but the slowing terrain it leaves behind helps her shape the battlefield into an arena and forces her enemies to deal with her Lanzer Torpedoes and Gattling Cannon directly.

Why the Arrow Formation R?

I wanted one heroic ability to work in Assault Mode, and one in Flight Mode. The trouble was that Flight Mode revolves around harassing enemies, and a harassment-based heroic ability didn't feel very-... heroic. Instead, I opted to give Mira a brief window where she became the queen of the skies, and temporarily give her the firepower needed to directly engage her enemies instead of pestering them from afar.