Tess Greymane by Regis

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Tess Greymane

By: Regis
Last Updated: Oct 29, 2018
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Tess Greymane

Princess of Gilneas

Daughter to King Genn Greymane and heiress to the throne of Gilneas. Princess Tess Greymane outwardly seems every bit the dutiful and loyal daughter her father believes her to be, a facade Tess would gladly maintain, as it allows her to commit to her work as a member of the rogue organisation - the Uncrowned - without pause. The Princess, while not averse to combat, does not share her fellow Gilnean's desire for vengeance, and fights from the shadows alongside valued allies such as longtime friend Lorna Crowley and her compatriots within the Uncrowned Organisation to protect her people - rather than succumb to Gilnean rage.

While Valeera Sanguinar represents the archetypical Rogue Class - one that ambushes foes from the shadows to fight on one's own terms, Tess Greymane is representative of a rogue's preparation; Adapting to any occasion, Tess is capable of weaving in and out of skirmishes with Shadowstep and Grappling Hook, while adding to her utility or damage using a weapon of choice from Tools of the Trade. Her guerrilla-warfare style of combat culminates with Symbols of Death, allowing her to ensure a calculated execution after whittling down her target's defenses. Tess' seemingly limitless arsenal of weapons extends to both heroic abilities; Shuriken Storm allows her to act aggressively, with a powerful method of easily stacking Symbols of Death on multiple opponents simultaneously, while Smoke Bomb provides a lot more utility and team-fighting presence, allowing her allies great control in a specified portion of the battlefield.
Tess' playstyle is one of aggression, much like Genn Greymane, yet she employs a subtlety and deftness her father has always lacked - trading in brute force for the ability to keep her enemies at bay until she dives in for the kill.

Health: 1760 (+4%)
Regen: 3.6 (+4%)
Mana: 500 (+4%)
Regen: (+0.091)
Damage: 100 (+4%)
Attack Speed: 1.41
Attack Range: 1.25 / 2.5 (Handgonne) / 5.0 (Lorna's Rifle) / 3.5 (Stake Thrower)

Combat Trait

1
Symbols of Death
Though all rogues step in the shadows, it is of vital importance that Tess Greymane's identity remain secret, thus her foes will only meet her face to face when she knows they won't live to tell the tale.

Passive: Damaging an enemy hero or monster with a basic attack or ability generates a Symbol of Death on them, stacking up to 3 times. Basic attacks against targets with 3 stacks consume the symbols to deal an additional 124(+4%) damage and stun for 1 second. After consuming Symbols of Death on a target, they cannot accumulate stacks for 3 seconds.

Basic attacks made with Tools of the Trade are able to consume Symbols of Death.

Primary Abilities

1
Shadowstep
Look to the shadows, and take care. Whether you know it or not, the shadows are always looking back at you.

Active: Rush forward a short distance, dealing 48(+4%) damage to enemy units in your path, stopping at the first enemy hero hit. Upon hitting an enemy hero, Tess spins her blades in a wide arc, damaging enemy units for 96(+4%) and reducing the cooldown of Shadowstep by 3 seconds.

Cost: 40 mana.
Cooldown: 7 seconds.
2
Tools of the Trade
"Be prepared" - Rogue motto.

Active: Your next basic attack will be replaced by Tess' selected weapon:

Handgonne - Fires Tess' short-ranged hand-cannon, dealing 148(+4%) damage to the target and knocking them back.

Lorna's Rifle - Fire a long-ranged rifle at your target, dealing 130(+4%) damage. Deal 96(+4%) damage to enemies between the target and Tess.

Stake Thrower - Use Tess' wrist-mounted crossbow at a medium range to cripple her target, dealing 130(+4%) damage and slowing their movement speed by 80%, decaying over 3 seconds.

Cost: 60 mana.
Cooldown: 9 seconds.

Attacks made with Tools of the Trade are treated as basic attacks.
3
Grappling Hook
Always remain ahead of the situation - your ammunition, your visibility, your target and - most importantly - your escape.

Active: Tess fires a grappling hook a short distance, pulling her toward the first unit, terrain or structure hit. Activating this ability while Tess is being pulled will cause her to vault over the target.

Cost: 70 mana.
Cooldown: 14 seconds.

Secondary Abilities

1
Cycle
Active: Cycle through Tess' arsenal for use in Tools of the Trade.

Heroic Abilities

1
Shuriken Storm
Send your armies, send your men, in the end it matters not... No matter how many or how few, her blades will always find their mark.

Active: Leap into the air, becoming untargetable before spraying shuriken at all enemies damaged by Tess within the last 3 seconds, dealing 198(+4%) damage and applying 3 stacks of Symbols of Death to all targets struck.

Shuriken Storm only applies to units targetable by Symbols of Death.

Cost: 90 mana.
Cooldown: 70 seconds.
2
Smoke Bomb
The Princess shares the King's iron will, it is true, but she spends her time with low-born thieves, rogues and rapscallions. Perhaps most dangerous is not the blade at her side, but her ingenuity; show her a problem, and she'll show you an opportunity.

Active: Throw down a smoke bomb at the target location. Enemies are unable to target into or out of the ensuing smoke cloud for 6 seconds. Enemies within the bomb's initial cast are slowed by 60%, decaying over 3 seconds.

Cost: 100 mana.
Cooldown: 80 seconds.

Level One Talents

Master Stratagem: Consume Symbols of Death on every enemy hero.
Reward: Consuming Symbols of Death lowers the cooldown of all of Tess's abilities by 2 seconds.

Deeper Stratagem: Triggering Symbols of Death on an enemy hero increases its damage by 5, stacking up to 10 times. Dying resets this bonus.
Reward: Upon gaining maximum stacks, Deeper Stratagem is no longer reset upon death, and consuming Symbols of Death heals Tess for 10% maximum health and mana over 3.5 seconds. This regeneration does not stack.

Soothing Darkness: After remaining out of enemy vision for over 6 seconds, gain 8(+4%) mana per second until you cast a spell or enter combat.

Level Four Talents

Uncrowned Bounty: Damaging just one hero with Shadowstep increases the damage of the next Shadowstep by 40%.

Momentum: Basic attacks reduce the cooldown of Tools of the Trade by one second.

Good Company: Landing Grappling Hook on an allied unit halves its cooldown.

Level Seven Talents

Shadow Blades: After casting Shadowstep, your next 3 basic attacks have 40% increased attack speed and ignore all armor.

Escape Plan: Gain up to 50% additional movement speed, depending on distance traveled, for 3 seconds after using Grappling Hook.

Duelist's Blow: Shadowstep grants 75 armor against the next basic attack.

Level Thirteen Talents

Marked for Death: Mark the target enemy hero, increasing damage dealt to them by 20% for 6 seconds, but decreasing damage dealt to other heroes by 20% while the enemy lives in this duration. If the enemy hero dies during Marked for Death, its cooldown is reset. 30 second cooldown.

Premeditated Assault: After not basic attacking for 3 seconds, your next basic attack deals an additional 64(+4%) physical damage and grants two stacks of Symbols of Death.

Ravenholdt's Teachings: Remaining in brush for over 3 seconds grants Tess stealth. Leaving brush for over 3 seconds, attacking or casting a spell breaks stealth.

Level Sixteen Talents

Leeching Poison: Activate to cause Tess to heal for 20% of all damage she deals for 4 seconds. 30 second cooldown.

Wound Poison: Activate to make Tess' next damaging ability and subsequent abilities within 4 seconds reduce enemy healing received by 50% for 4 seconds. 30 second cooldown.

Deadly Poison: An additional 10% of all damage dealt by Tess is dealt over 4 seconds.

Hookshot: Landing Grappling Hook on an enemy binds them in chain, slowing their movement speed by 30% for 2 seconds, pulling them toward Tess at the end of this duration.

Level Twenty Talents

No Witnesses: Smoke Bomb blinds enemies at the location of its initial cast for 3 seconds. Enemies entering the smoke screen after its initial cast are blinded for half this duration.

Jade Shuriken: Shuriken Storm deals 5% more damage per target hit, up to an additional 25% damage dealt.

Gilnean Armory: The cooldown of Tools of the Trade is increased to 12 seconds. However, the cooldowns of each weapon in Tools of the Trade are mutually exclusive.

Shadow Dance: Halves the duration of all crowd-control effects on Tess.

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