It’s Hero Spotlight time again!  The clear runner-up in our Twitter Poll was to see the War Priest, so today we bring you…

Samuel, Fist of the Heavens

Bio: Holy man, war veteran.  A soldier much of his life, Samuel sought new purpose in his old age as a healer and cleric.  Though time has granted him wisdom, he still bears the scars of his youth.

Samuel is a unique healer who supports his allies by getting into the thick of the fight as a hybrid healer and damage dealer.  He cannot target his allies and heal them directly, but instead relies on powerful skills to produce periods of burst healing while contributing damage in between.

Holy Nova: Provides a burst of healing in a circle around Samuel.  Since this does not encompass the entire battlefield, you’ll need to manage Samuel’s position a little more than other healers to get the most of this skill, but it has a relatively short cooldown compared to other group healing abilities.  Talents can modify Holy Nova to also harm enemies, reduce damage taken by your effected allies, or have a larger, more forgiving radius.

Aura of Light: Similar to the paladin skill from prior Battleheart games, this ability empowers Samuel’s melee attacks for a period of time, during which he will heal the most damaged member of the party every time he strikes an enemy.  Talents can also make the aura increase your movement and attack speed, to better capitalize on this window of healing power, or to also have the healing effect splash to a second target.

Smite: Calls down a bolt of holy lightning, dealing extreme damage to your target and any foes nearby.  This ability sports a long cooldown, but it lets Samuel provide some extra burst damage to the party.  Through talents, you can have Smite also knock enemies to the ground for a long period of time when the skill critically hits.  Another talent reduces your Holy Nova cooldown whenever striking enemies with Smite, making it possible to reset the cooldown entirely when hitting a tightly packed group.

Hope you enjoyed this preview of Samuel, until next time, back to work!