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Franchise-diablo This is from the Diablo universe.


Stay a while and listen.

Damage (3/10) Utility (8/10) Survivability (7/10) Complexity (5/10)

Deckard is a Melee Support from the Diablo universe.

As an avid scholar, Deckard Cain has dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge. He has been an advisor, storyteller, and friend to Sanctuary's greatest heroes, guiding them through peril time and again. When Deckard speaks, it's wise to stay awhile and listen.

Deckard is a burst Healer who excels at preparing battlefield before a fight and can cripple enemies with crowd control.

Background[]

Cain is the last surviving member of the original Horadrim, an ancient order of mages charged with trapping the Prime Evils within Soulstones and guarding them thereafter; his ancestor, Jered Cain, assisted in sealing both Mephisto and Baal, and had led the party that had pursued and captured Diablo in Khanduras.

Cain acts as advisor and guide, accompanying the player's character through each act of the games and providing a great deal of the lore to be found in-game.

Cain remains in Tristram for the entirety of the first game, standing next to the fountain in the middle of town, where he provides his wisdom and identifies items for a small fee.

In Diablo II, he is rescued by the player character from a gibbet next to that fountain in the remnants of Tristram, and travels with the player throughout; he continues to identify items for the player (this time for free).

In Diablo III, he is rescued from the ruins of Tristram's Cathedral as the Skeleton King Leoric, reanimated by the "fallen star", sends his guards to attack him. Directing most of the major quests of Act I, Cain is fatally wounded by the Witch Maghda and her Dark Coven, who seek the "fallen star" (revealed to be the fallen Archangel Tyrael) and his broken sword, recovered by the player. Cain's last act before dying is to use his Horadric magic to reforge the sword, and determine it is angelic in origin. At the cinematic leading into Act II, Cain is cremated on a pyre in the graveyard outside the Cathedral by Tyrael and his adoptive niece, Leah.

Gameplay Summary[]

Deckard Cain is Support who specializes in set-up healing, as well having access to a vast amount of crowd control abilities to keep his enemies at bay. He is unique as his trait, Fortitude of the Faithful, gives him buffs as long he is nearby an ally.

Deckard's versatility and utility makes him a valuable asset in any team composition, as long he has a solid frontline to protect him.

Strengths[]

  • Low mana usage.
  • High sustained and burst healing.
  • Strong area denial and debuffing in large range.
  • Unmatched utility.
  • Healing Potion is a very versatile ability that can be used for set-up healing, allowing Cain to individually heal various allies at once, or burst heal a single.
    • The potions stays for an indefinite amount of time, and are consumed when an allied Hero passes through.
  • Horadric Cube has fast startup and covers a good range, being a powerful zoning tool.
    • At levels 1, 4 and 7, Deckard can pick talents that allows him to empower the next cast of the Horadric Cube.
  • Scroll of Sealing is a fantastic follow-up ability to other forms of crowd control, thanks to its huge range.
  • Fortitude of the Faithful provides Cain with a armor buff, as well faster cooldown recharge, meaning he can use his abilities more often.
  • Stay Awhile and Listen covers huge range, and can even hit enemies in stealth, being a powerful setup for ganks and other Heroic Abilities.
  • Lorenado is excellent for peeling allies, and can setup for a strong displacement when used in tight corridors, pulling enemies towards his team.
    • It also has very low cooldown for a Heroic Ability.

Weaknesses[]

  • Very low health.
  • Poor damage and near non-existent waveclear and sieging (although both Horadric Cube and Scroll of Sealing can be used for that).
  • Lacks of any kind of mobility skills.
  • Very reliant on the team to make the maximum of his trait.
  • Susceptible to dives and hard crowd control (such as stuns and silences).
  • Easy to takedown if focused.
  • Healing Potion requires proper setup and communication, as allies can accidentally pick up a potion reserved for another ally.
    • Additionally, the potions can be seen by the enemy Heroes, who can intercept targets trying to get heals from it.
  • Horadric Cube has a considerable high cooldown and startup.
  • Scroll of Sealing is easy to avoid, being a telegraphed ability due its very slow startup and triangular shape. It also has a considerable high cooldown.
  • Fortitude of the Faithful has a low radius, and forcing Deckard to stay too close to his allies can put him in risk if poorly positioned, exposing him to the enemy team.
  • Stay Awhile and Listen requires proper communication, as any damage will interrupt its effects.
    • Additionally, Cain is completely vulnerable while channeling.
  • Lorenado requires proper positioning, and can ruin setups if misused.

Abilities[]

Icon Healing Potion
Healing Potion (Q)
Mana: 20
Cooldown: 3 seconds

Throw a Healing Potion on the ground that heals the first allied Hero that comes into contact with it for 230.

Limit 5 active Potions.

Icon Horadric Cube
Horadric Cube (W)
Mana: 40
Cooldown: 14 seconds

Throw the Horadric Cube, dealing 80 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies in the area and Slowing them by 35% for 1.75 seconds.

Icon Scroll of Sealing
Scroll of Sealing (E)
Mana: 40
Cooldown: 16 seconds

Unfurl an enchanted scroll, forming a triangle that deals 150 damage to enemies inside and Roots them for 1.5 seconds.

Traits[]

Icon Fortitude of the Faithful
Fortitude of the Faithful [Combat Trait]

When at least 1 other allied Hero is nearby, Deckard gains 10 Armor and his Basic Abilities recharge 50% faster.

Heroic Abilities[]

Icon Stay Awhile and Listen
Stay Awhile and Listen (R)
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 60
Cooldown: 70 seconds

After 1 second, Channel for 3 seconds, putting enemy Heroes in front of Deckard to Sleep while Channeling, and for 2 seconds after.

Enemies can only be put to Sleep once per cast, and Sleep's effects end instantly if they take damage.

Icon Lorenado
Lorenado (R) [Vector Targeting]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 40
Cooldown: 40 seconds

Create a swirling lorenado that travels in the targeted direction, continually knocking away enemies that come into contact with it.

Talents[]

Tier 1, Hero Level 1[]

Icon Scroll of Sealing
Scroll of Identity
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Hitting an enemy Hero with Scroll of Sealing reveals them for 8 seconds.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After hitting 20 Heroes, Scroll of Sealing also reduces Armor by 20 for 4 seconds and the reveal duration is doubled.

Icon Field Study
Field Study
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Each enemy Hero hit by Scroll of Sealing grants 15% Spell Power for 14 seconds, up to 30%.

Icon Sapphire
Sapphire
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Activate to increase the Slow of the next Horadric Cube by 30%. Only 1 Gem may be active at a time.

Tier 2, Hero Level 4[]

Icon Healing Potion
Potion of Shielding
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Whenever an ally is healed by a Healing Potion, they gain a 122 Shield for 6 seconds.

Icon Rejuvenation Potion
Rejuvenation Potion
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Healing Potions restore 10 Mana and heal for an additional 108 over 4 seconds.

Icon Ruby
Ruby
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Activate to make the next Horadric Cube spawn 3 Lesser Healing Potions from each enemy Hero hit, healing allied Heroes for 205 (+4% per level) when picked up. Lesser Healing Potions last for 10 seconds. Only 1 Gem may be active at a time.

Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

Icon Horadric Cube
Cube Mastery
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Each enemy Hero hit by Horadric Cube reduces the cooldown of Scroll of Sealing by 3 seconds.

Icon Kanais Cube
Kanai's Cube
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Horadric Cube reduces damage dealt by 30% for 4 seconds.

Icon Emerald
Emerald
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Activate to make the next Horadric Cube reduce healing received by 75% for 4 seconds. Only 1 Gem may be active at a time.

Tier 4, Hero Level 10[]

Icon Stay Awhile and Listen
Stay Awhile and Listen (R)
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 60
Cooldown: 70 seconds

After 1 second, Channel for 3 seconds, putting enemy Heroes in front of Deckard to Sleep while Channeling, and for 2 seconds after.

Enemies can only be put to Sleep once per cast, and Sleep's effects end instantly if they take damage.

Icon Lorenado
Lorenado (R) [Vector Targeting]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 40
Cooldown: 40 seconds

Create a swirling lorenado that travels in the targeted direction, continually knocking away enemies that come into contact with it.

Tier 5, Hero Level 13[]

Icon Ancient Blessings
Ancient Blessings
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Cooldown: 60 seconds

Activate Fortitude of the Faithful to empower nearby allied Hero Basic Attacks for 8 seconds, causing them to deal an additional 72 (+4% per level) damage in an area and heal for 106 for each Hero hit.

Icon Super Healing Potion
Super Healing Potion
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

If a Healing Potion isn't picked up for at least 2 seconds, it heals for 75% more.

Icon Potion of Revival
Potion of Revival
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

When a Healing Potion is picked up, it also heals all nearby allied Heroes for 40% of the healing amount.

Tier 6, Hero Level 16[]

Icon Horadric Staff
Horadric Staff
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Every 5 seconds, Deckard's next Basic Attack Stuns Heroes for 0.75 seconds.

Icon Safety in Numbers
Safety in Numbers
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

If at least 3 allied Heroes are nearby, Fortitude of the Faithful grants an additional 10 Armor and causes Deckard's Basic Abilities to recharge an additional 50% faster.

Icon Scroll of Sealing
Scroll of Stone Curse
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Scroll of Sealing deals 200% more damage when hitting at least 2 Heroes.

Tier 7, Hero Level 20[]

Icon Stay Awhile and Listen
Respect the Elderly
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Stay Awhile and Listen Silences and Blinds enemies for 2 seconds upon waking up from Sleep.

Icon Lorenado
Morenados!
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Lorenado's cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds every time an enemy Hero is knocked back.

Icon Perfect Gems
Perfect Gems
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Reduce the cooldown of all Gems by 25 seconds and the cooldown of Horadric Cube by 5 seconds.

Icon Healing Potion
Bottomless Flask
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

After use, Healing Potions recharge after 6 seconds.

Tips[]

  • Positioning and reading are keys to play Deckard. His strategical gameplay style rewards those who think ahead and anticipate situations.
  • Make sure to stay with the team, having at least one Hero within the range of his trait, Fortitude of the Faithful.
  • Use Healing Potion wisely, placing it on places where your allies can easily access it.
    • One can also hide them in bushes and other fog of war locations to burst heal allies at low health fleeing from chasers, and surprise the enemy Heroes with fully healed allies.
  • Use Horadric Cube to secure takedowns and to prevent chases, as well to also trigger the effects of the Gems Talents (if picked) and empower Deckard's other abilities.
  • Use Scroll of Sealing as a follow up to other forms of crowd control, as the cast time is quite long. Alternatively, use it to isolate enemies from an area (which makes it great for defending objectives).
    • Use it in conjunction with Horadric Cube to guarantee enemies will be rooted.
  • Deckard can setup deadly ganks with Stay Awhile and Listen, allowing the rest of the team to follow up with their own Heroic Abilities. Make sure to communicate with your team when about to use it, to prevent enemies from being awaken earlier and have the setup ruined.
    • Setting up traps at bushes or even stealing Boss Mercenaries captures from the enemy team are just few of many possibilities.
    • Deckard can cancel this Heroic earlier, which can be useful to prevent him from being in a vulnerable position for too long.
  • Use Lorenado as a peeling tool, or to isolate targets. This ability works the best at maps with very tight corridors, and the enemy will have few options to escape.
  • The Lesser Healing Potions created by Ruby last around 10 seconds.

Talent Builds[]

  • Standard Build: focused on a balance between high healing out, utility and damage. This build allows Deckard to keep an uptime of 30% spell power thanks to the combined talents Field Study and Cube Mastery, while allowing him to deal respectable damage with Scroll of Stone Curse. Potion of Revival remedies one of Deckard's weaknesses, which is area healing. Finally, Ruby and Perfect Gems allow Deckard to summon Lesser Potions every 7 seconds or so, giving an absurdly powerful healing burst potential in the endgame.
    • This build is recommended for most situations.
      • It should be noted that Deckard's talent tree is extremelly flexible, and talents can be changed as the situation demands.
        • At Level 1, Scroll of Identify can provide a solid counter to stealth Heroes such as Valeera and Zeratul.
        • At Level 7, Emerald is very effective to negate powerful heals from abilities such as Rehgar's Ancestral Healing.
        • At Level 16, Horadric Staff is excellent against teams that feature heavy dives, allowing Deckard to briefly stun opponents that attack him in the backline.

Matchups[]

Pairings[]

Deckard Cain brings an unmatched utility to the battlefield, while combing positional sustained and burst healing depending on the situation. His most valuable asset is his Heroic Ability, Stay Awhile and Listen, which can create set-ups for a huge amount of team combinations. Because of this, he is best paired with allies that can properly follow up his setups, as well capitalize on the enemy team while debuffed by Deckard vast arsenal of debuffs. Ideally, a team featuring Deckard should have at least another backline Hero to stay close to him, to maintain 100% uptime on his trait, Fortitude of the Faithful.

Alarakplate
Alarak can displace opponents with Telekinesis and put them within the range of Scroll of Sealing.
Arthasplate
Arthas provides fantastic control in the frontline, which, when combined with Deckard's versatile crowd-control, allows to secure many takedowns.
Blazeplate
Blaze provides a solid frontline that can effectively protect Deckard, while laying carpets of Oil Spill that can secure Deckard's Scroll of Sealing.
Diabloplate
Ironically, Diablo is a very powerful ally for Deckard Cain. Not only he can provide reliable frontline, but a powerful follow-up for Deckard's Stay Awhile and Listen, in the form of Apocalypse.
Garroshplate
Garrosh's Wrecking Ball is perfect to throw enemies on Deckard's Scroll of Sealing.
Jainaplate
Jaina's natural slowing effects from Frostbite are fantastic to combo with Deckard's other crowd control abilities to ensure enemies are disabled for as long as possible. Her Ring of Frost is particularly powerful when combined with Deckard's Stay Awhile and Listen, holding opponents for long periods of time.
Johannaplate
Johanna fantastic peeling tools can protect Deckard perfectly, allowing him to set up his abilities and potions. She can also cluster enemies together with Condemn so Deckard can use his Scroll of Sealing.
Kel'Thuzadplate
Kel'Thuzad is all about high burst combined with powerful displacement, roots and slows, which combo perfectly with Deckard's. Stay Awhile and Listen and Scroll of Sealing can hold enemies long enough for Kel'Thuzad to destroy them with either of his Heroic Abilities.
Ragnarosplate
Ragnaros high burst and telegraphed attacks greatly benefits from Deckard's Scroll of Sealing and Stay Awhile and Listen, with Living Meteor and Sulfuras Smash being particularly powerful.
The Butcherplate
In another ironic twist, The Butcher will have his "food" held by Deckard at ease. The telegraphed and almost impossible to avoid Ruthless Onslaught can give Deckard enough time to lay a Scroll of Sealing and pin down The Butcher's main target.
Tyraelplate
Tyrael provides enough utility that synergizes well with Deckard's kit, with Scroll of Sealing combo'ing well into Judgement.
Varianplate
Varian can pressure opponents well in any of his stances, but Taunt has a better value as it can help in securing Deckard's Scroll of Sealing.

Effective foes[]

Deckard lacks any form of mobility tools, and while he can mass-root enemies who get too close with Scroll of Sealing, he still is vulnerable enough to be a target of hard-engage Heroes, who can dive in the backline and separate him from his team, thus deactivating his Fortitude of the Faithful. In addition, Heroes with access to displacement tools and hard crowd-control can hinder Deckard.

Lt. Moralesplate

Lt. Morales outheals Deckard with her Healing Beam. In addition, she can cancel Deckard's Stay Awhile and Listen with her Displacement Grenade from a safe distance, while if well-positioned exposing him to her team.

Skins[]

The Last Horadrim (base)
Deckard - The Last Horadrim Deckard - Ennead Deckard - Afflicted Deckard - Angelic Deckard - Mystic
The Last Horadrim Ennead Afflicted IconShard 100 Angelic IconShard 100 Mystic IconShard 100
Wastewalker
Few know what lies buried beneath the wastelands. But Deckard has wandered far and wide, gleaning knowledge from forgotten ruins. He may soon discover what came before, and why the world ended.
Deckard - Wastewalker Deckard - Wastewalker - Diesel Deckard - Wastewalker - Scourged
Wastewalker Diesel Scourged

Development[]

Deckard was intended for inclusion in Heroes of the Storm as of April 2014.[1] As of December 2014, adding him was a "definite possibility."[2]

The development process of Deckard took between 6 and 9 months.[3] When being worked on, Deckard originally had an "explosive magic" set. However, the developers felt that this wasn't true to the character. Rather, they found that abilities that were tactical and strategic were a better fit. Healing Potion was tried early on, which was found to fit well, as it rewarded the player for thinking ahead. His original W ability was a buff ability that improved an ally's attacks.

The Horadric Cube originally worked differently. Here, Deckard would place it on the ground, 'throw' abilities into it, and thus change how they worked. It was found that putting the cube on the ground limited players' decisions, where they were constantly casting on the single point. It was shifted to its current form.

His E ability was originally Identify (an ability of his from the Diablo series). In this form, he would channel the ability against an enemy hero, which would reveal them and reduce their armor. When it came to playtesting however, it didn't seem to fit, given that the channel ability was a 'destructive ability' that didn't match his nature as a scholar. Scroll of Sealing was created as the replacement, which better fit Deckard's tactical playstyle; a talent called Scroll of Identify added to empower the ability and retaining the mechanics for the original concept.

Stay Awhile and Listen was one of the earliest abilities designed for Deckard, and worked pretty well from the outset. Lorenado came in later, and originally, Deckard's other ultimate was an ability called "Angelic Seal" (the rationale being that as a Horadrim, Deckard got on well with angels, so it made sense for him to be able to use "angelic magic"). This didn't pan out, so they then drew up an ability called "End Times," where Deckard would prophecize a meteor strike, as a reference to the opening cinematic in Diablo III. The meteor would come down at Deckard's location, knocking enemies away, with Deckard emerging unscathed via a Town Portal. However, because the meteor came down on Deckard, it made players want to run into the enemy team. Thus, the developers looked to generate an ability with knockback that wouldn't involve Deckard running into battle. To do this, the developers looked at the April Fool's Archivist class from Diablo III, where they saw its Lorenado ability. They took the ability, and found it fit.[4]

During the PAX East in April 5, 2018, Deckard Cain was announced as a playable Hero.

Videos[]

Heroes_of_the_Storm-_Deckard_Cain_-_Hero_Spotlight

Heroes of the Storm- Deckard Cain - Hero Spotlight

Trivia[]

  • Deckard Cain's voice actor, Michael Gough, also voices Tassadar.
  • Deckard Cain was the narrator of the reveal trailer for the Eternal Conflict event,[5] and provided voiceovers in regards to treasure goblins at the start of matches held during said event.
  • Deckard Cain's design is a blend between his appearance in Diablo II (light blue cloak, white beard, holding a wooden staff and having "well kept" appearance) and Diablo III (overall posture, and carrying tomes and scrolls).
  • Deckard's Hearthstone animation will always makes him face the screen no matter which direction he is facing when using it.
  • Deckard's trait, Fortitude of the Faithful, looks strikingly similar to the "Escort" ability proposed by Carbot Animations in the video IdBeCoolif: Deckard Cain was in Heroes of the Storm, where it is called "Respect the Elderly".
  • Many of Deckard's abilities and talents makes reference to the Diablo series:
    • Horadric Cube (W) refers to the artifact of the same name found in Diablo II, that could be used to craft various items.
    • Scroll of Sealing (E) draws a triangle on the ground, which is the symbol of the Horadrim order.
    • Lorenado (R) is a reference to the Archivist, a 2009 Blizzard April Fool's joke for Diablo III, that featured a joke class based on Deckard Cain. One of the spells featured was the Lorenado.
    • Stay Awhile and Listen refers to Deckard's most iconic quote, which says when greeting the player character.
    • Scroll of Identify, at level 1, references the item of the same name present in Diablo I and Diablo II that allowed the player to identify unknown items.
      • This also refers to Cain's ability to identify items for the player in Diablo I and Diablo II.
    • Sapphire (1), Ruby (4) and Emerald (7) references some the gems obtained at Diablo II and Diablo III that can be socketed on equipments with slots, empowering them.
      • In Diablo II, Sapphires deal cold damage and chills enemies when socketed in weapons, which is referenced by the talent increasing the slow effect of Horadric Cube.
      • In Diablo II, Rubies increase Life when socketed into a helm or armor, which is referenced by the talent causing Healing Potions to drop.
      • In Diablo II, Emeralds deal poison damage enemies when socketed in weapons, which is referenced by the talent decreasing healing effects (as poisons saps life).
    • Rejuvenation Potion, at level 4, references the item of the same name present in all the games, which restores both health and mana.
    • Super Healing Potion, at level 13, refers to the item of the same name, that was the strongest tier of Healing Potions in Diablo II.
    • Horadric Staff, at level 16, references the artifact of the same name that plays a major rule during a questline in Diablo II.
    • Scroll of Stone Curse, at level 16, references a spell in Diablo I.
    • Perfect Gems, at level 20, refers to the highest tier of Gems that could be obtained in Diablo II.
    • Bottomless Flask, at level 20, refers to potions in Diablo III, as they are not consumables and can be used every 30 seconds, but have a shared cooldown. Players can find Legendary Potions, all which bear the suffix "bottomless".

Patch changes[]

  • Patch (Patch May 1, 2018Note: Replaced an outdated voiceover line that could play after repeatedly clicking Deckard in the Taiwanese game client.
  • Patch (Patch April 24, 2018Note: Added.

References[]

  1. 2014-04-11, Heroes of the Storm Pax East 2014 Panel, New Characters, Character Creation Q & A Full Conference. YouTube, accessed on 2014-06-26
  2. 2014-12-05, HEROES OF THE STORM AMA TRANSCRIPT. Blizzpro, accessed on 2014-12-07
  3. 2018-04-07, HEROES DEVELOPER INTERVIEW FROM PAX EAST. Blizzpro, accessed on 2018-04-10
  4. 2018-04-07, PAX East 2018 Heroes of the Storm Interview: Deckard Cain. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2018-04-09
  5. 2015-06-16, The Eternal Conflict - Heroes of the Storm. YouTube, accessed on 2015-06-24
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