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UNIT NAME: Stormtrooper Luke
ALIGNMENT: Light
CATEGORIES: Light Side, Support, Leader, Rebel
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Releasing first in the Era of Anniversary is Stormtrooper Luke. We wanted to pay homage to some of the characters we launched with 10 years ago, and Stormtrooper Luke seemed like an obvious counterpart to Stormtrooper Han.
Our squad vision for this unit, after the Era concludes, includes Legacy characters Stormtrooper Han, Princess Leia, R2-D2, and “Old Ben” Kenobi. The kernel of the squad (and 3v3 Grand Arena team) would be Stormtrooper Luke, Stormtrooper Han, and Princess Leia. In situations where a full 5 person team is used, the addition of R2-D2 and “Old Ben” Kenobi should round out the team.
Stormtrooper Luke’s Era Marquee begins Nov. 18th at 11am Pacific.
Basic ability - TK-421
Deal Special damage to target enemy. If it is Stormtrooper Luke's turn, inflict target enemy with Buff Disruption for 1 turn.
This attack has high damage variance.
Buff Disruption: Immune to buffs until damaged by an attack; Once damaged by an attack, lose 100% Turn Meter
Design Notes: Buff Disruption is a new debuff that has interesting gameplay surrounding it. It’s kind of like ‘fragile Buff Immunity + Stagger’ where it breaks on any damage being applied. To add some gameplay and decision-space around the debuff, a Stagger-like effect of losing all their Turn Meter happens if you do decide to break the Buff Immunity with damage.
Inspiration: The name TK-421 refers to the operating number of the Stormtrooper whose armor Luke dons as a disguise.
FAQ:
Why does this attack have high damage variance?
Stormtroopers and Stormtrooper Han both have this drawback on their Basic ability, so it made sense that Luke should get it too.
Special ability 1 - Short for a Stormtrooper (Cooldown 5)
Dispel all buffs on all enemies. Rally all Rebel allies, and they gain Tenacity Up for 2 turns, which can't be dispelled or prevented. Grant target other ally a bonus turn. If that target ally is Princess Leia, she gains 30% Offense and ignores Taunt effects during the bonus turn.
If Princess Leia and Stormtrooper Han are allies, their chance effects are increased to 100% for 2 turns.
Design Notes: Princess Leia (and Stormtrooper Han) are vintage characters whose kits need a bit of modernization to make them workable. In addition to a buff dispel on the enemy, we add Rally (from Resistance Hero Finn) handing out bonuses based on their role. Finally, Princess Leia and Stormtrooper Han have a couple abilities that only have a chance at working, and that is impossible to rely on when attempting to make an informed decision in the heat of combat, so this helps mitigate that by guaranteeing those effects go off.
Synergy: Obvious callouts to Princess Leia and Stormtrooper Han, and the buffing of their “chance to” mechanics.
Inspiration: When Luke Skywalker entered Princess Leia’s cell, she snarkily remarked “Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?”
FAQ:
Is there an indication that Han and Leia’s chance effects are guaranteed?
Yes, there is a blue Effect icon with some reminder text while it is in effect.
Special ability 2 - Where Could He Be? (Cooldown 4)
Inflict Vulnerable on all enemies for 1 turn. Rebel Attacker allies gain Offense Up for 2 turns and non-Tank Rebel allies gain Stealth for 1 turn. Call all Rebel allies to assist, dealing 10% more damage for each Stealthed ally.
Design Notes: An “all call” ability getting the whole squad to attack the target is always fun.
Synergy: Princess Leia obviously wants that Stealth, and when everyone else is Stealthed your Tanks needn’t worry about Taunting, they are the only legal targets anyway.
Inspiration: When the trash compactor was about to crush our heroes, Luke tried to contact C-3PO on the commlink, only for Threepio not to answer. This caused Luke to exasperate, “Where could he be?”
FAQ:
Does Stormtrooper Luke assist himself?
Yes. If the ability states “all X assist” then it will include the unit activating the ability (if they are X as well). If it states “all _other_ X assist”, then they will exclude themselves, whether or not they qualify.
Do I have any control over Luke’s Buff Disruption? I.e. Does Luke go last in assisting?
Because of the way our slot ordering works, Luke (who will likely be in the Leader slot) will almost certainly attack a split second before the rest of the squad, causing Buff Disruption to be immediately consumed and removing their Turn Meter.
Unique - Something Just Moved Past My Leg
At the start of battle, Stormtrooper Luke gains 10 Speed. If Princess Leia and Stormtrooper Han are allies, they and Stormtrooper Luke gain 30 Speed until the end of the battle instead.
At the start of each encounter, all Rebel Tank allies Taunt for 1 turn, and all other Rebel allies Stealth for 1 turn.
Whenever a Rebel ally Stealths, all other Rebel Tank allies Taunt for 1 turn.
Whenever a Rebel ally gains bonus Turn Meter while below 100% Turn Meter, they gain Protection Up (10%, stacking, max 50%) for 2 turns.
Whenever a Rebel ally scores a critical hit, they recover 10% Health and Protection.
Design Note: Some more help for the venerable Princess Leia and Stormtrooper Han. Additionally, Han (or any Rebel Tank for that matter), gets a pre-Taunt, while everyone else gets Stealth. Additionally, Rebel Tanks getting a reaction-Taunt will really help keep the rest of the squad from being targeted.
Synergy: Using Special 2 as your opener will take advantage of this ability to nearly fully Stealth your Rebel team.
Inspiration: While in the trash compactor, Luke felt the Dianoga monster and exclaimed “Something just moved past my leg” moments before getting pulled under by the trash monster.
Leader - The Brains (Zeta + Omicron)
At the start of battle, Rebel allies gain 10% Critical Chance, Critical Damage, Defense, Max Health and Max Protection. If Princess Leia and Stormtrooper Han are present, these increases are tripled.
While a Rebel ally has more than 50% Health, they have 100% Defense and whenever they use an ability on their turn, they Expose the target enemy for 1 turn. While a Rebel ally has less than 50% Health, they gain 50% Offense.
While a Rebel ally is Stealthed, they have 20% Defense Penetration.
If Stealth or Taunt is dispelled from a Rebel ally, they gain Defense Up and Foresight for 1 turn.
If a Rebel ally removes Turn Meter from an enemy, Distract that enemy for 1 turn.
Distracted: Can't gain Bonus Turn Meter
While in 3v3 Grand Arenas, and there is an allied Princess Leia, Stormtrooper Han, and no enemy Galactic Legends:
Whenever Stealth is dispelled from a Rebel ally, reduce the cooldowns of their abilities by 1.
While Stealthed, Princess Leia ignores the target enemy's Protection when attacking.
Whenever a Rebel ally scores a critical hit against an enemy, that enemy loses 10% Turn Meter.
Whenever an enemy is inflicted with Distract, they are also inflicted with Ability Block for 1 turn.
Whenever a Rebel ally is Dazed or Stunned, dispel that effect, Distract and inflict Protection Disruption for 1 turn on the enemy, which can't be evaded or resisted.
Princess Leia and Stormtrooper Han have their chance effects increased to 100% until the end of battle.
While Stormtrooper Luke is active, he gains 15% Evasion, increased by 5% (stacking, max 50%) each time a Rebel ally attacks out of turn. Tank allies gain 100% Defense, increased by 5% (stacking, max 450%) each time they take damage. Attacker allies gain 15% Critical Damage and Offense, increased by 1% (stacking, max 135%) each time they score a critical hit against an enemy. While another ally has Protection, Stormtrooper Luke can't be defeated.
Design Notes: We’re bringing a modified version of Distracted out of the Speeder Bike raid and into character abilities with this unit. Additionally losing Taunt or Stealth due to an enemy dispel is usually a death sentence, but getting a free Foresight out of it helps remove some of the sting.
Synergy: Stormtrooper Luke’s Leader ability mimics (and somewhat improves on) Stormtrooper Han and Princess Leia’s Leader abilities, so it’s a no-brainer to run Stormtrooper Luke as the leader in the squad. The 3v3 GAC Omicron is made for players who might have their Old Ben and R2-D2 on other squads, it makes the core kernel of Luke, Han, and Leia into a powerhouse in that game mode.
Inspiration: When Princess Leia complains that the rescue operation didn’t have an escape plan, Han Solo motioned to Luke and said “He’s the brains, sweetheart”, so this gave us the idea to name his Leader ability “The Brains”.
UNIT NAME: IG-90
ALIGNMENT: Dark
CATEGORIES: Support, Bounty Hunter, Droid, Scoundrel
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Our second Marquee character for the Era of Anniversary, IG-90 was chosen not just because Galaxy of Heroes launched with three different model IG droids (86, 88, and 100), but because Doctor Aphra could use a hand with some Support that worked overtime to boost the effectiveness of her Hacked Commando Droid and giving the team some much needed tank-like survivability. Plus he’s red!
Upon conclusion of the Era, IG-90 is perfectly suited to slot into Doctor Aphra’s squad alongside BT-1 and 0-0-0. Add in HK-47 for a deadly droid squad any rogue archaeologist would be proud to lead.
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Basic ability: STATEMENT: Point Delivered
Deal Physical damage twice to target enemy and inflict them with Defense Down for 1 turn. If the ally in the Leader slot is Doctor Aphra, grant and trigger 2 stacks of Heal Over Time on all allies for 1 turn and inflict and trigger 2 stacks of Damage Over Time on the target enemy for 1 turn. If there is an active Hacked Commando Droid, it Taunts for 1 turn.
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Design Notes: Adding stacks of HOTs and DOTs on a Basic is powerful on its own, but coupling in Hacked Commando Droid nearly constantly Taunting makes this ability stand out on Aphra’s team.
Synergies: Obviously Doctor Aphra and her Hacked Commando Droid are called out specifically.
Inspiration: IG-90’s line of “STATEMENT: I have made my point, Bossk.” in the comic Darth Vader (issue number 7 to be exact) which features Doctor Aphra was paraphrased to name this ability.
FAQ:
Special ability - Devastating Barrage (Cooldown 3)
Deal Physical damage to all enemies and trigger all stacks of Damage Over Time on all enemies and Mark the target enemy for 2 turns which can't be evaded or resisted. If the ally in the Leader slot is Doctor Aphra, call all other Dark Side Droid allies to assist and all allies recover 20% Health and Protection, and they gain Offense Up for 2 turns. IG-90 gains 40% Defense and Hacked Commando Droid Taunts for 2 turns.
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Design Notes: Triggering all the DOTs is a very powerful ability, especially with his Basic handing out DOTs like they are going out of style. Marking the target can also help Aphra’s team circumvent enemy Taunts in the right situations.
Synergies: Dark Side Droids (like BT-1, 0-0-0, and HK-47) will get assists if Aphra is the Leader. Hacked Commando Droid gets two turns of Taunting off this ability as well, keeping him tanking for the team. If forced to put the Mark onto the already-Taunting enemy, IG-90’s Unique ability will still bring some goodness, with members of the squad gaining Offense and healing back some Health every time the Marked enemy is damaged.
Inspiration: Ever since we added IG-11 to the game, we’ve loved some of the “spin to win” animations we can do with this series of droids, so we wanted to highlight another version of that with this ability.
FAQ:
Does IG-90 also assist himself when he uses this ability? He is a Dark Side Droid as well.
No. The ability calls out that it causes other Dark Side Droids to assist. This makes it exclude the unit using the ability, which, in this case, is IG-90.
Unique ability - QUERY: Dead or Alive? (Zeta, Omicron)
At the start of battle, IG-90 has +100% Counter chance. Whenever IG-90 is damaged, he inflicts Speed Down on a random enemy for 1 turn, and all Scoundrel allies recover 5% Health and Protection. If the ally in the Leader slot is Doctor Aphra,
At the start of battle, all allies gain 100% Bonus Protection and Doctor Aphra Stealths for 2 turns.
Whenever an ally critically hits an enemy, they gain Speed Up for 2 turns.
Whenever IG-90 resists a debuff, Doctor Aphra gains 5 stacks of Siphon
At the start of the battle, Dark Side Droids have +50% Critical Avoidance. At the start of each encounter, If Doctor Aphra has less than 50 stacks of Siphon, she gains 200% Defense. Whenever IG-90 recovers Health, inflict 3 stacks of Damage Over Time on the healthiest enemy for 1 turn. Whenever the Hacked Commando Droid Taunts, he gains 100% Bonus Protection until Taunt expires. Whenever a Marked enemy is damaged, all Scoundrel allies and Hacked Commando Droid gain 5% Offense (stacking, max 80%) and they recover 5% Health.
While in Territory Wars: Whenever IG-90 uses a Special ability and Doctor Aphra has 200 or more stacks of Siphon, IG-90 and Doctor Aphra recover 40% Health and Protection and gain 30% Offense (stacking) until the end of encounter. Whenever an enemy is defeated, the weakest ally gains Damage Immunity for 1 turn. Whenever IG-90 is defeated, refresh the cooldown of Doctor Aphras abilities by 1. Whenever an ally critically hits an enemy, dispel all buffs on the target enemy. At the start of battle, Scoundrel allies gain Critical Chance Up and Critical Damage up for 2 turns and Bounty Hunter allies gain Speed Up and Accuracy Up for 2 turns. Whenever Doctor Aphra has more than 50 stacks of Siphon, all allies Ignore Taunt effects.
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Design Notes: We wanted an ability that did its best to shore up several of the weaknesses in Doctor Aphra’s squad, as well as bring some punch to the table on its own. Doctor Aphra gaining 5 stacks of Siphon when IG-90 resists a debuff might have you considering a Tenacity mod set for IG-90, and we’ll leave that up to you to decide if that’s worth it or not. The Territory Wars Omicron should make the final Doctor Aphra squad a real contender in that game mode.
Synergies: +100% Counter chance will have IG-90 attacking with his Basic over and over again as he is attacked, adding more DOTs to the enemies and more HOTs to his allies. IG-90 also causes Hacked Commando Droid to Taunt with both of his abilities, giving HCD 100% Bonus Protection every time he does.
Inspiration: The name “QUERY: Dead or alive” is also taken from the comics. Darth Vader issue number 16 to be exact.
FAQ:
Leader ability - Calculated Suppression
At the start of battle, all Dark Side Droids and Dark Side Bounty Hunter allies gain 30% Critical Chance and Critical Damage. All Scoundrel allies gain 20% Offense and 20% Tenacity until the end of battle.
When the IG-90 is in the Leader slot, and not the Ally slot, the following Contract is active:
Contract: Inflict 20 debuffs on enemies. (Only Bounty Hunter abilities can contribute to this Contract)
Reward: For the rest of the battle, all Bounty Hunter allies have their Payouts activated and gain the following: while a Bounty Hunter ally is attacking, they have +5% Offense and deal bonus True damage.
IG-90's Payout
Whenever IG-90 receives Rewards from a Contract or another Scoundrel ally in the Leader slots gains 50 Siphon he also gains the following Payout
Payout: IG-90 and Hacked Commando Droid gain 40% Defense and the Hacked Commando Droid Taunts for 2 turns then grants 50 Siphon to Doctor Aphra until the end of encounter. Bounty Hunter allies have 50% Potency and 30% Offense.
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Design Notes: All Bounty Hunters require Leader abilities, Contracts on said Leader, and a Payout for when they (or another Bounty Hunter) fulfils their Contract, so we needed to make sure we included one here. We tried to make it good enough on its own, but great under Doctor Aphra where the character was designed to go.
Synergies: The Payout effects are designed to greatly benefit Doctor Aphra and her Hacked Commando Droid.
FAQ:
Wait, Doctor Aphra is not a Bounty Hunter, how does IG-90 get his Payout (and thus the benefits for Aphra and the HCD) under an Aphra lead?
Normally, a Payout only happens when a Bounty Hunter Contract is fulfilled, but IG-90 can have his activated under a Doctor Aphra lead when she gains 50 Siphon.
How much Critical Chance and Critical Damage does a Dark Side Droid Bounty Hunter (IG-90, IG-88, and 4-LOM) get at the start of battle?
That unit will receive 30% Critical Chance and Critical Damage because they are Dark Side Droid, and additionally receive another 30% for being a Dark Side Bounty Hunter, totaling 60% Critical chance and Critical damage
UNIT NAME: Inquisitor Barris
ALIGNMENT: Dark
CATEGORIES: Healer, Leader, Empire, Inquisitor, Unaligned Force User
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The penultimate character releasing in the Era of Anniversary is the Dark Side version of Barriss Offee, Inquisitor Barriss. This version of the character references her story arc in the animated Tales of the Empire series. In this story she is released from prison (where she has been ever since her heel-turn in the Clone Wars animated series) in order to serve under Darth Vader and the Grand Inquisitor as their newest Inquisitor Sister.
After the Era ends, we are envisioning her leading her own squad of Inquisitorius, consisting of Second Sister, Ninth Sister, Eighth Brother, and Fifth Brother. For 3v3 Grand Arena, she’ll do best with Ninth Sister and Second Sister rounding out that team.
Inquisitor Barriss’ Era Marquee event begins on Jan 13th at 11 am Pacific.
Basic - Enfeebling Strike
Deal Special damage to target enemy and inflict them with a stack of Purge (max 6) until the end of encounter. Unaligned Force User allies recover 5% Health and Protection.
Gain 5 Siphon, which can't be dispelled, until the end of encounter.
Design Notes: This ability has two main highlights: Purge and Siphon. She, being an Inquisitor, has to have Purge. We could have made it an irresistible one, but it being resistible has a nice synergy with Special 2. But on top of that, we also wanted her to Siphon Crit Damage from her enemies. We have put her Siphon stacks gain in her Basic since it combines well with her out of turn attacks.
Synergy: Special 2 has an interaction with Purge, and this is Barriss’ main contribution in that area.
Inspiration: Since this ability is the key part of Siphoning Crit Damage from enemies, the name of Enfeebling Strike suited it.
Special 1 - Force Corruptor (Cooldown: 3)
Dispel all buffs and deal Special damage to all enemies. Inflict Buff Immunity for 2 turns on target enemy and Siphon Critical Damage from them.
If target enemy had 6 stacks of Purge, Buff Immunity can't be resisted and lower the cooldown of Flicker of the Light by 1.
Siphon Critical Damage: Gain a percentage of Critical Damage equal to this unit's Siphon until the end of the encounter and the target loses that much Critical Damage (stacking, excludes raid bosses and Galactic Legends)
Design Notes: In addition to AOE buff dispel, which is already strong, she uses this ability to steal Critical Damage from enemies based on her Siphon stacks.
Inspiration: The ability name reflects her journey as she manipulates the very powers she once used to heal, now bending them to serve the Empire’s sinister ends.
Synergy: We Siphon Critical Damage, and Special 2 - Flicker of the Light will share some of that with Inquisitorius Attackers when used.
FAQ:
Does the Siphon hit all enemies, or just the enemy you had targeted when you used the ability?
It will only Siphon from the targeted enemy, but the dispel and damage will hit all of them.
Special 2 - Flicker of the Light (Cooldown: 4) (Zeta)
Dispel all debuffs on Unaligned Force User allies and they have their current Health percentages equalized. All Unaligned Force User allies recover 10% Health and Protection.
Recover an additional 5% Health and Protection for each stack of Purge that has been consumed by Inquisitorius allies or resisted by enemies in this battle (max 60%).
Inquisitor Barriss grants 20% of her Critical Damage (stacking) to allied Inquisitorius Attackers until the end of battle.
Design note: The additional recovery part takes advantage of her Purge from her Basic being resistible, since it enables her to grant additional healing against high tenacity enemies. Also, this answers the question of why she would accumulate Critical Damage as a Healer - because she has the ability to distribute her Critical Damage to her allied Inquisitorius Attackers.
Inspiration: Though consumed by the Empire, she shows the conflict within herself and the lingering possibility of redemption or - Flicker of the Light.
Leader - Those Left Behind
Inquisitorius allies gain 20% Max Health, and at the start of each of their turns, they recover 8% Health based on Inquisitor Barriss' Max Health.
Whenever an enemy gains a stack of Purge, Inquisitorius allies gain 3 Heal Over Time for 2 turns.
Whenever Purge is resisted by an enemy or dispelled on them, Inquisitor allies gain 10% Offense (stacking) for 1 turn.
While in 3v3 Grand Arenas and if Grand Inquisitor is not an ally: Inquisitorius allies gain 30% Critical Chance and 50% Critical Damage.
Whenever an Inquisitorius ally critically hits an enemy, that enemy gains a stack of Purge (max 6), which can't be resisted, until the end of encounter.
Allied Second Sister is immune to Daze and Stun, and whenever Inquisitor Barriss uses an ability, Second Sister assists. This assist will be a critical hit if able.
At the end of each of Inquisitor Barriss' turns, reduce the cooldowns of Second Sister's abilities by 1.
Design Notes: The main strength of Inquisitorius is Purge. But against AOE dispels and high-resistance enemies, it becomes very difficult for them to inflict enough Purge stacks. This ability attempts to ease that pain by giving bonus offense for 1 turn whenever mass dispel or multiple consecutive Purge stacks are resisted. Also, for her Omicron, she has direct call-outs to Second Sister since she is an Inquisitor usually left out of the main squad, and Inquisitor Barriss helps her become a strong damage dealer when you are assembling a 3v3 squad for Grand Arena.
Inspiration: When the Fourth Sister kills the “almost surrendered” Jedi, Barriss promises the dying Jedi that she would not let those who are left behind die.
FAQ:
How many Omicron materials does it take to unlock the Omicron tier?
When an Omicron is only viable in half the battles of the Grand Arena, being restricted to only 3v3 or 5v5, the cost is only 10 Omicron materials.
Unique 1- Reflexive Mercy
Allies and enemies can't be revived.
Whenever an Inquisitorius ally is critically hit, that ally recovers 10% Health and Protection and that enemy gains a stack of Purge (max 6) until the end of encounter.
While Ninth Sister is Taunting, allied Second Sister and Inquisitor Barriss have 200% Defense and Tenacity, and allied Inquisitor Barriss is immune to Daze and Stun.
Whenever an enemy has any number of buffs dispelled, Inquisitor Barriss gains 10% Turn Meter.
Design note: Being a team-wide source of Purge, inflicting it whenever an ally is critically hit, Barriss is going to be a primary target in any battle. With Ninth Sister’s passive Taunt gaining ability, Barriss will gain defensive stats, is expected to attack out of turn a lot (via Unique 2 - Patience), accumulate a lot of Siphon stacks, and ultimately grant part of her Critical Damage to allies. This makes for a pretty interesting gameplay loop.
Synergy: This ability has direct call-outs to the Second Sister and the Ninth Sister.
Inspiration: Even while Barriss was serving the Empire, by heart, she had always shown mercy, be it her fellow Empire or her enemies.
Unique 2 - Patience
At the start of battle, if all allies (minimum 3) are Inquisitorius, this character gains 20% Max Health, Max Protection, and Potency. Whenever another ally is critically hit by an enemy, this character has a 20% chance to gain 100% Turn Meter (limit once per turn). Whenever an Inquisitorius ally damages an enemy with Purge, this character assists. Whenever Purge is consumed or dispelled on an enemy, this character gains 3% Turn Meter.
Design note: This ability is very similar to the other Inquisitorious’ Patience ability, except it allows her to assist her allies whenever they damage an enemy inflicted with Purge. This fits well with the gameplay loop stated in the previous ability.
UNIT NAME: Darth Vader (Duel’s End)
ALIGNMENT: Dark
CATEGORIES: Attacker, Sith, Empire
Rounding out the Era of Anniversary is Darth Vader (Duel’s End). Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in the galaxy and when we saw this new side to him in the Obi-Wan show, it was an opportunity for a new Darth Vader character that we simply couldn’t pass up.
Our squad vision for this character, after the Era concludes, is for him to empower the Empire squad led by his new master Emperor Palpatine. Other members of this squad (and 5v5 Grand Arena team) include Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Royal Guard.
Darth Vader (Duel’s End)’s marquee event begins January 27th at 11am Pacific.
Basic ability - Then You Will Die
Deal Physical Damage to target enemy and during Darth Vader (Duel's End)'s turn, Ability Block them and inflict Evasion Down for 2 turns. If the targeted enemy is Dazed, Shocked, or Stunned, reduce Vader's cooldowns by 1 and he gains 100% Offense for 1 turn.
Design Notes: Vader’s powerful overhead strikes cripple his opponents with each hit, represented here with the Ability Block and Evasion Down debuffs. The cooldown reduction and Offense increase leverage his synergies to provide opportunities to strengthen Vader’s damage output if set up properly.
Inspiration: During his second duel with Obi-Wan, Vader attempts to show his superiority over Kenobi through heavy hitting, over-the-top attacks.
Synergies: Dazed can come from Mara Jade’s Basic, Stunned from Emperor Palpatine, and Shocked is in both of their kits. Additionally, Royal Guard is a source of Stun as well.
FAQ:
I see the name “Vader” used above and in the kit, does this refer to the original Darth Vader unit?
No. All references to “Vader” in the kit and in this kit reveal refer to Darth Vader (Duel’s End).
Special ability 1 - Your Weakness Still Remains (Cooldown 3)
Deal Physical damage to target enemy twice and call the strongest other Attacker ally to assist. If the target enemy is Galactic Republic, Inquisitorius, or Jedi, Darth Vader (Duel's End) also assists. This ability will always critically hit if possible.
Design Notes: This impactful strike will always critically hit, providing a chance to deal damage up to four times (including the two assists) against certain enemies. Target Dazed, Shocked, or Stunned enemies to trigger additional benefits.
Synergy: With Mara Jade as an ally, the assist call can result in extra ways to Daze opponents. This in turn, strengthens Vader when he uses Then You Will Die against them.
Inspiration: During the duel, Vader does a double pirouette attack, swinging hard at Kenobi. This is one of the coolest moments of this battle if you ask us.
FAQ:
Can Vader assist himself twice?
No. This ability calls “the strongest other Attacker to assist.” Vader will only assist once and only if the target is Galactic Republic, Inquisitorious, or Jedi.
Do Vader’s assists inflict Ability Block and Evasion Down?
No, but it will reduce his cooldowns and grant the 100% Offense for 1 turn if the targeted enemy is Dazed, Shocked, or Stunned.
Why does this ability call out Inquisitorious when Darth Vader works with them throughout the show?
While Vader does work with, and even trains, some of the Inquisitors, it is a tumultuous relationship at best. By the end of the duel, Darth Vader has already been betrayed by Reva and has dealt with her accordingly, resulting in the dynamic captured by this kit.
Special ability 2 - You Will Always Lose (Cooldown 6) (Zeta + Omicron)
Dispel buffs on all enemies and deal Physical damage to them, dealing 50% more damage for each debuffed enemy. If the enemy is Shocked or Stunned, they take another instance of damage. Then inflict all enemies with Speed Down for 2 turns, which can't be dispelled, evaded, or prevented, and they lose 100% Accuracy for 1 turn, which can't be evaded.
Enemies are inflicted with Buff Immunity for 2 turns.
This ability can't be resisted.
While in Grand Arenas: If Emperor Palpatine is in the allied Leader slot, Fracture target enemy and another random enemy until the start of Darth Vader (Duel's End) next turn or until Vader is defeated, which can't be copied, dispelled, or evaded. Vader can't gain bonus Turn Meter this turn.
Design Notes: This ability clears enemy buffs and has the potential to inflict large amounts of Area of Effect damage, especially against debuffed enemies. In Grand Arenas with Emperor Palpatine in the Leader slot, it also inflicts Fracture, stopping up to two enemies in their tracks.
Synergy: The debuffs inflicted by Emperor Palpatine and Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand enable this ability to hit even harder.
Inspiration: This ability recreates one of the most devastating moves in Vader’s duel with Obi-Wan, fracturing the battleground and leading the battle to its crescendo. This made adding the Fracture debuff to it super on-brand as well.
FAQ:
Do enemies lose their buffs before or after damage is dealt?
Buffs are dispelled before damage is dealt, optimizing damage output.
Does this ability deal 50% extra damage per debuff on an enemy?
No. This ability calculates the number of enemies with at least one debuff and uses that number. For example, if three out of five enemies are debuffed, this ability will deal an extra 150% damage.
Unique 1 - I Am What Remains (Omicron)
At the start of battle, Darth Vader (Duel's End) loses 51% Health and is inflicted with Burning until the end of battle, which can't be copied, dispelled, or prevented. Vader can't be defeated by this Burning, is immune to other Burning effects, and takes reduced damage from percent Health effects.
At the start of battle if there are no Galactic Legends, whenever Vader takes Burning damage, all Empire allies gain 20% Offense (stacking, max 300%) until the end of battle and 10% Turn Meter; this effect persists through defeat. If Vader ends his turn with 25% or more Health, all Empire allies gain Potency Up for 1 turn. If Vader ends his turn with 75% or less Health, all Empire allies gain Defense Up for 1 turn.
At the start of battle, if Emperor Palpatine is the ally in the Leader Slot, Vader gains Hatred until he is defeated which can't be copied, dispelled or prevented and assists when Emperor Palpatine uses a Special ability during his turn and whenever Emperor Palpatine assists during another ally's turn. If Vader is revived while Emperor Palpatine is the active ally in the Leader Slot, Vader regains Hatred at the end of that turn which can't be copied, dispelled or prevented.
While in Grand Arenas: At the start of battle, if there are no Galactic Legends and Emperor Palpatine is in the allied Leader slot, all Empire allies gain Hatred until they are defeated which can't be copied, dispelled or prevented. Whenever an Empire Tank ally loses Taunt, they are Marked for 2 turns which can't be copied, dispelled or resisted and recover 30% Max Health and Protection. Vader gains 4 Speed (stacking, max 80) until the end of battle whenever an Empire ally targets a debuffed enemy with an ability, takes damage from an enemy ability while debuffed, or scores a critical hit.
Design Note: Vader begins each battle wounded and Burning, but these ailments trigger a variety of Offense bonuses for all Empire allies. With Emperor Palpatine in the Leader slot stoking Vader’s Hatred, Vader will revive when defeated and assist when the Emperor uses a Special Ability. In Grand Arenas, Hatred is spread to Empire allies as well and Vader provides them with additional bonuses, reminiscent of his power as Lord Vader and alluding to his iconic future abilities, as Darth Vader.
Synergy: Use a full squad of Empire units with Emperor Palpatine in the Leader slot to fully leverage these bonuses.
Inspiration: This version of Vader is scarred by his wounds from the previous duel with Kenobi on Mustafar, and is driven by his Hatred of his former master. By the end of the second duel, Vader solidifies himself as the merciless and formidable Sith Lord “Darth” Vader. Starting off wounded is paying homage to the point in the battle we lifted this look from.
FAQ:
Do the Offense stat increases granted by taking Burning damage expire at the end of each encounter?
These Offense stat increases persist throughout the entire battle, meaning they do not expire on defeat or when a subsequent encounter begins during multi-encounter battles.
What happens when Vader is defeated while Emperor Palpatine is still active in the allied Leader slot?
When Vader is defeated, Hatred will trigger and revive Vader. However, Vader does not regain Hatred again until the end of that turn. This means that squads who attack or assist multiple times have the opportunity to defeat Vader a second time before he regains Hatred, taking him out of the battle.
Unique 2 - You Didn't Kill Anakin Skywalker, I did (Zeta)
At the start of each encounter, whenever he takes burning damage, or when he uses an ability, Darth Vader (Duel's End) gains 1 stack of Vengeance until the end of battle or until he is defeated. When Vader loses 15 stacks of Vengeance or more, he gains 2 additional bonus turns and the next time he damages an enemy, the targeted enemy is Deathmarked until the end of Vader's bonus turns or Vader is defeated.
Vader can ignore Taunt effects during his turn.
Whenever Vader uses a Special ability, the target enemy is inflicted with a stack of Damage Over Time for 1 turn which can't be evaded. This ability inflicts an additional stack if the target enemy is Galactic Republic, Inquisitorius, or Jedi, and another additional stack if it is an Anakin Skywalker. At the start of battle, if there is an enemy Anakin Skywalker, they are inflicted with Demoralized for the rest of battle which can't be copied, dispelled, evaded, prevented or resisted and if they are in the enemy leader slot, all Empire allies are immune to Daze for the rest of battle and Vader can't be targeted while there is another Empire ally.
If all allies are Empire at the start of battle, Vader gains 50% Critical Damage, is immune to Fear and Turn Meter reduction.
Design Note: Leveraging assist calls and targeting Galactic Republic, Inquisitorius, or Jedi foes will more quickly build Vader’s Vengeance, creating additional chances for high burst damage. Using Special Abilities to spread around Damage Over Time can also power up Vader’s You Will Always Lose ability.
Inspiration: This ability is inspired by the bone-chilling line it is named after. Anakin is gone at the hands of Vader, and this ability punishes enemy Anakin characters accordingly while underscoring this new identity with call backs to mechanics that make the other versions of Vader so powerful.
FAQ:
How many total bonus turns does Vader get when Vengeance triggers?
He gets a total of three bonus turns. One from the Vengeance effect and two additional. However, the Deathmark is applied during the first bonus turn, meaning it is only in effect for the following two.
Does Vader have to attack the enemy he Deathmarks?
No. There are certainly benefits to doing so as it will optimize his damage output. However, we wanted to give you the freedom to use these bonus turns however you’d like, especially since there may be scenarios where repeatedly targeting the same enemy might not be the best tactic.
What characters count as an Anakin Skywalker?
General Skywalker, Jedi Knight Anakin, and Padawan Anakin count as Anakin Skywalkers for this ability. Darth Vader, Darth Vader (Duel’s End), and Lord Vader are not Anakin Skywalkers (which is true, from a certain point of view).
Padawan Anakin?
In the Geonosis Territory Battle we have a Padawan version of Anakin and this ability will also work against him.
UNIT NAME: Yoda & Chewie
ALIGNMENT: Light
CATEGORIES: Support, Galactic Republic, Jedi, Wookiee
Yoda & Chewie will be ferociously releasing third in the Era of Anniversary. We took heavy inspiration from the iconic scene of the Battle of Kashyyyk in Revenge of the Sith, where we get to see the bond between Yoda and Chewbacca, as Chewie helps Yoda escape Kashyyyk after Order 66 has been declared.
We had fun with all the names for the abilities in Yoda & Chewie’s kit. Combining distinctive features from both characters, Fur and the Force, we coined the term “the Furce” and replaced famous quotes with this new word. We hope you enjoy the names as much as we do.
After the Era ends, Yoda & Chewie’s squad vision will serve as a lift for Tarfful’s Wookiee squad. Yoda & Chewie have synergy with any Wookiee, but works best with Tarfful lead, Zaalbar, Clone Wars Chewbacca, and Veteran Smuggler Chewbacca.
Yoda & Chewie’s Era Marquee begins Dec. 16th at 11am Pacific.
Basic ability - May the Furce be with You
Deal Special damage to target enemy three times and Yoda & Chewie gain Speed Up for 1 turn.
Design Notes: In each of Yoda & Chewie’s abilities, we wanted to combine elements that feel like they are coming from both Yoda and Chewie individually, combined in one cohesive ability. Damaging three times for example, demonstrates the powerhouse Chewbacca is with his bowcaster. And the Speed Up, a thematically appropriate buff from a Jedi, like Yoda, to make Yoda & Chewie faster to deliver more support to their Wookiee allies.
Inspiration: We considered what each character would bring to the battle, if they found themselves facing off against opponents during their escape.
Special 01 ability - One with the Furce
All Wookiee allies recover 20% Health and Protection and gain Foresight for 2 turns.
If Tarfful was the ally in the Leader slot at the start of battle, all Wookiee Support allies gain Frenzy for 1 turn, which can't be copied or dispelled.
Design Notes: We wanted an ability that is really simple but effective that really packs a punch. Yoda, providing the support-like recovery and Foresight, in true Jedi fashion. And Chewbacca, granting the Frenzy to Support Wookiees to get in more turns to get the upperhand in battle.
Synergies: Obviously a Tarfful Lead for this squad will have immediate benefits. You’ll see a common theme with Foresight playing into other aspects of the kit.
Inspiration: Yoda brings the Foresight, Chewie brings the Frenzy.
FAQ:
Who are all the current “Wookiee Support” characters that will take advantage of the latter half of this ability?
Yoda & Chewie, of course, and Tarfful are currently the two Wookiees that will be gaining Frenzy via this ability.
Special 02 ability - The Furce Awakens
Dispel all buffs on all enemies and deal Special damage to them, and Distract target enemy for 1 turn.
If Tarrful was the ally in the Leader slot at the start of battle, Yoda & Chewie assist, dealing 55% less damage and all Wookiee allies gain Advantage for 2 turns
Design Notes: Distract is a new debuff being introduced with Stormtrooper Luke. It felt fun and thematic here. Plus, an AOE with an assist call attached is always fun.
Synergies: Similar to Yoda & Chewie’s Special 01, the synergy is Tarfful in the Leader spot.
FAQ:
What does Distract do again?
Distract: Can't gain Bonus Turn Meter
Unique 01 ability - The Furce is my Ally
At the start of each encounter, Wookiee allies gain Foresight for 2 turns.
If all allies were Wookiees at the start of battle:
- Yoda & Chewie gain Master's Training until the end of battle
- Whenever an enemy attacks an ally out of turn, that ally gains 5% Turn Meter
- Whenever an ally gains Foresight, they gain 10% Offense (stacking, max 100%) until the end of battle (once per turn) and 5% Turn Meter and whenever Foresight expires on an ally, inflict a stack of Off Balance on a random enemy who didn't already have it for 1 turn (once per turn)
While in Grand Arenas and if there are no Galactic Legend enemies: Wookiee allies gain 25 Speed and 40% Critical Damage.
If all allies were Wookiees at the start of battle:
- All allies gain Master's Training until the end of battle
- Whenever an ally attacks out of turn, they inflict the target enemy with a stack of Damage Over Time for 1 turn
- Whenever an ally gains Foresight, they also gain Retribution for 2 turns and whenever Foresight expires, remove 5% Turn Meter from all enemies
- The first time each ally defeats an enemy, inflict all enemies with Fear for 1 turn and all allies gain Foresight for 1 turn
- At the start of each of Yoda & Chewie's turns, inflict all enemies with Vulnerable for 1 turn
- Whenever Yoda & Chewie use a Special ability while they have Foresight, they trigger all stacks of Damage Over Time on all enemies and inflict Disarm on the target enemy for 2 turns or until Yoda & Chewie are defeated and remove it from all enemies, which can't be copied, dispelled, evaded, or resisted
Design Notes: While the Omicron is quite long, the meat and potatoes of their Unique is very simple but effective. We wanted to utilize mechanics that other existing Yodas have in SWGOH like Master’s Training and Foresight, to create a true Yoda feeling in Yoda & Chewie. While also allowing Wookiees to get the offensive power they deserve by scaling their Offense with Foresight. Very similar to how Tarfful has scaling Offense with Defense.
Synergies: We see some of the payoff from the Special 1 giving out Foresight here, with additional Offence and Turn Meter, as well as throwing Off-Balance on enemies. Additionally, for GAC, we looked at mechanics across many other Wookiees to become even stronger to synergize with their kits, while also creating new thematic experiences like Fear whenever an enemy is defeated by a Wookiee ally.
UNIT NAME: Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple)
ALIGNMENT: Dark
CATEGORIES: Attacker, Leader, Bounty Hunter, Nightsister, UFU
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The fourth Marquee unit of the Era of Anniversary we have Asajj Ventress debuting a brand new look. Based on her appearance in the novel Dark Disciple, this Bounty Hunter version of Ventress had her allying with a maverick Jedi and begin her atonement for her dark past. While this Jedi is not (yet) in Galaxy of Heroes, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get this version of Asajj into the game.
After the Era ends, she will find her home with old man Boba Fett, Scion of Jango and Fennec Shand. We envision her squad being rounded out with the two newest Bounty Hunters: 4-LOM and Zuckuss. This squad will help Boba Fett, Scion of Jango dominate in Territory Wars, putting his sights on more than one Galactic Legend in that mode.
Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple)’s Era Marquee begins on Dec 30th at 11 am Pacific.
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Basic - Swift Strikes
Deal Physical damage to target enemy. If that enemy was debuffed, attack again.
During Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple)'s turn, gain 7% Turn Meter and inflict Tenacity Down on target enemy for 1 turn. Otherwise, gain 12% Turn Meter and Retaliate for 1 turn.
Design Notes: Her Basic ability allows her to attack twice if the enemy is debuffed, resulting in her gaining increased Turn Meter. Therefore, keeping the enemy debuffed is beneficial for her. When attacking out of turn, she gains Retaliate, which makes damaging her more troublesome. (Reminder, when assisting or counter-attacking, a character uses their Basic ability, which is why this text has a specific call out for it being used on her own turn or not).
Synergy: Tenacity Down when used on her turn means that debuffs for the rest of the squad are easier to apply, which in turn means that she will be attacking twice when assisting or using her Basic nearly all the time.
Inspiration: The inspiration for the ability just comes from Asajj being a very agile fighter and her being able to attack very quickly and swiftly. The name has nothing to do with any designer’s obsession with Taylor Swift.
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Special 1 - Come Back to Me
Deal Physical damage to all enemies and inflict Armor Shred on the target enemy until the end of the encounter. Ventress and target Bounty Hunter ally gain Defense Penetration Up for 2 turns. The first time this ability is used, grant target non-Galactic Legend Bounty Hunter ally Disciple until the end of battle.
Ventress gains Retribution for 2 turns.
Disciple: +15 Speed and immune to Ability Block
Design Notes: Disciple is a new buff introduced with Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple), where you select an ally to be your Disciple, and together, you work to defeat the enemy. This Special is mainly used to apply Disciple, but it also provides other bonuses, such as Defense Penetration Up and Retribution, when upgraded.
Synergy: Disciple plays a huge part of her abilities, so make sure you know going into the battle who your Disciple target is going to be.
Inspiration: Since the Dark Disciple novel had a running theme of Asajj teaching, it was evident to include a mechanic which kind of mimics the student-teacher dynamic. We tried to encapsulate this through the Disciple buff. The name “Come Back to Me” refers to the animation, where Ventress throws her lightsaber and it returns to her.
FAQ
Does the “Ventress” in Special 1 also include the original Asajj Ventress?
No. In an effort to cut down on the length of some of these abilities, we tend to shorthand the character’s name after the first time it’s used. So all mentions of Ventress in this kit refers to the Dark Disciple version.
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Special 2 - Know Your Place
Deal Physical damage to target enemy, inflict Vulnerable on them for 2 turns, and Stun them for 1 turn. If there is an active ally with Disciple, Stun them for 2 turns instead.
Dispel all debuffs on Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple) and all allies with the Disciple and they gain 10% Critical Damage (stacking, max 100%) until the end of the encounter for each debuff dispelled this way.
Call all other allies with Disciple to assist.
Design Notes: Once you have Disciple on the field, this special allows both Disciple and Ventress to stack Critical Damage by dispelling debuffs on themselves.
Synergy: This ability also allows you to call all of your Disciples to assist you, triggering various other benefits you get from her Unique.
Inspiration: For this Special, we wanted Asajj to show her dominance over the enemy hence the strong debuffs and a very flashy Lightsaber move for her.
FAQ
Special 1 only grants Disciple once per battle, how can there be multiple Disciples?
The GAC Omicron in her Unique will put Disciple on all other Non-Galactic Legend/Non-Tank Bounty Hunter allies.
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Leader - Selfless Act
At the start of battle, all Bounty Hunter allies gain Critical Chance Up and Offense Up for 2 turns.
If all allies are Bounty Hunters: Whenever an enemy begins their turn with more than 5 debuffs, they are Dazed for 2 turns.
When Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple) is in the Leader slot and not the ally slot, the following Contract is active
Contract: While ally with Disciple is active, attack out of turn 10 times. (Only Bounty Hunters can contribute to the contract)
Reward: All Bounty Hunter allies have +50% Defense Penetration until the end of the encounter. Whenever a Bounty Hunter ally revives, they gain Damage Immunity for 1 turn.
Design Notes: As with all Bounty Hunters, Ventress has a Leader ability and associated Contract. Hers boosts Critical Chance and Offense for Bounty Hunters at the start of the battle. Ventress will be inflicting Tenacity Down on her enemies, which allows her allies to inflict more debuffs which then helps with Daze being inflicted. Completing her contract gives Bounty Hunters some survivability after they are revived via a turn of Damage Immunity.
Inspiration: ***Spoilers for the novel Dark Disciple***: In a moment of character growth, Asajj sacrifices herself to save her allies. We wanted to capture the essence of that sacrifice through the Contract reward.
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Payout- Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple)'s Payout
When Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple) receives a Reward from a Contract, she also gains the following Payout. (Contracts are granted by certain Bounty Hunter Leader abilities.)
Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple)'s Payout: Ventress gains 100% Critical Damage. If an ally with Disciple has a stack of Momentum, grant 10 stacks of Momentum to that ally until the end of the encounter.
All allies with Disciple gain 100% Turn Meter.
Design Notes: This Payout enables Ventress to deal increased Critical Damage but more importantly provides Momentum stacks to her Disciple if they already have a stack.
Synergy: Boba Fett, Scion of Jango loves himself some Momentum, so he should probably be your Disciple target
Unique - Train Under Me
Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple) has +75% Max Health and Max Protection and 20% Offense. At the start of battle, if the ally in the Leader slot is Boba Fett, Scion of Jango and there are no Tank allies, Bounty Hunter allies gain bonus Protection (300%) until the end of the encounter. Whenever an ally with Disciple is damaged, Ventress gains 10% Offense (stacking, max 50%) until the next time she uses her Basic ability on her turn.
Whenever Ventress starts her turn, allies with Disciple gain 10% Turn Meter. Whenever an ally with Disciple starts their turn, inflict Evasion Down on all enemies for 1 turn, which can't be resisted, and Ventress gains 10% Turn Meter.
Whenever an ally with Disciple uses a Special ability, inflict the enemy with Protection Disruption for 1 turn, which can’t be evaded, and Ventress assists. Whenever an ally with Disciple uses their special ability, on their turn, 4 turns in a row, they gain 100% Offense until the end of the encounter and their next ability on their turn inflicts Vulnerable to target enemy, which can’t be dispelled, evaded, or resisted until the end of the encounter.`
Whenever Ventress uses an ability on her turn, allies with Disciple assist.
While in Grand Arenas: All Bounty Hunter allies gain 50% Max Health and Potency. All other non-Galactic Legend and non-Tank Bounty Hunter allies gain Disciple until the end of battle. Whenever Ventress or allies with Disciple are Dazed, they dispel it and gain 50% Turn Meter.
Whenever Ventress gains bonus Turn Meter, she gains 5% Offense (stacking, max 150%) until the end of the encounter. Ventress and all allies with Disciple are immune to Turn Meter reduction. Whenever enemies attack out of turn, allies with Disciple and Ventress recover 5% Health and Protection.
Design Notes: This Unique is where the training happens. It's all about the synergy with your Disciple, and the Omicron has the capability of turning the entire rest of the squad into Ventress’ Disciples.
Synergy: If you use Boba Fett, Scion of Jango, as a leader and have no Tanks on your squad, it allows you to have 300% Bonus Protection for extra survivability. There is a lot of synergy between Disciple and Ventress throughout the Unique. For example, if a Disciple uses a Special, then Ventress will assist. Meanwhile, if Ventress uses any ability on her turn, all Disciples will assist. If a Disciple can pull off using 4 Special Abilities on their turn, they get a huge bonus.
Inspiration: We wanted to capture the journey which Ventress had with her Jedi ally throughout the novel. She took on the role of a mentor, making it such that we wanted to have that in our game as well in some form.
Capital Games Team
