Paladins , or as I call it, Overwatch Lite, just announced the abilities for its newest hero, Mal’Damba. MD is a support voodoo doctor who has a pet snake that can shoot venom to heal allies or hurt enemies. There isn’t a hero in Overwatch who can do anything like this guy, so if Hi-Rez wanted to avoid all of the OW comparisons, it should just have released him at launch.
Mal’Damba’s left click ability, Spitting Cobra, does exactly what the title suggests. MD has his pet cobra spit venom a few meters in front of himself, but that’s not at all. When you reload, the snake jumps forward, stunning the first champion hit. You can’t reload your snake unless it is low on ammo, so you can’t just turn into a snake-throwing machine gun.
Mending Spirits is Mal’Damba’s left click, which fires a beam from the cobra’s eyes and heals whoever gazes into it’s eyes. His other heal is his Q ability, Gourd, which lobs a chunk of venom on the ground, which bounces off walls. Allies inside are healed, while enemies are slowly burned to death. It’s a great zoning ability and can provide excellent peel for your squishy carries in the middle of a team fight.
No good hero would be complete without some of dash, and Mal’Damba’s got one of the best in the game. Slither, his F ability, turns MD into a snake which slithers away. He moves super fast but is still targetable, so make sure not to get caught like a snake in a snake charmer’s basket.
If you are scared of snakes, don’t play Mal’Damba. His ultimate ability, Dread Serpent, throws an orb on the ground which turns into a giant snake and fears all enemies inside. Fear in Paladins works exactly like it does in League of Legends , causing those afflicted to run away from the source of the scary.
Mal’Damba is my favorite hero in Paladins . He’s unique without being overpowered, fun without being gimmicky and best of all he shoots snakes.
