First look at Heroes of Newerth's new ninja-lady hero: Silhouette

Let's face it: ninjas ought to be a part of our daily lives. With the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fading into nostalgic memory and Ninja Gaiden shunning the PC, gaming could definitely use more of the stealthy spies. MOBA games are no exception, and S2 Games is about to help fill the ninja-void with the latest addition to Heroes of Newerth. Pack your throwing stars, we've got the world-first look at this female footsoldier before she's patched in this Friday.

S2 Games describes Silhouette

Role: Silhouette is a ranged Agility hero based around quick, unpredictable movements and attacks. She's definitely got carry potential, but also houses an array of early game action tools to let her get in the fray early on. Silhouette has the arsenal of any self-respecting ninja: she owns a vast collection of shiny throwing projectiles, and always has her trusty grappling hook with her. Ninjas are tricky, and Silhouette is no exception; even her Shadow is a weapon.

Abilities:

Death Lotus
Tree Grapple
Relentless Salvo
Shadow

Playstyle: Silhouette's combat style reflects her creative and resourceful nature. She uses her blades defensively and offensively, at both close quarters and long distance. Her grappling hook is a versatile tool for her to gain combat mobility or take advantage of the power of a nice, strong piece of wood. Silhouette's Shadow allows her to almost be in two places at once, and she prefers to execute her foes in a quick and painful flurry.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present:

PC Gamer's 100% Pure Speculation Breakdown ®

Silhouette seems like she'll be the perfect "poke" hero, constantly tossing out spells at her opponents to both annoy them and whittle down their health bit by bit. Here's what we can gather for her abilities (with some bonus ninja-trivia): the Death Lotus is a weapon that looks like it's composed of four kunai , and will most likely be Silhouette's bread-and-butter skill, used to harass enemy heroes or ensure last hits on creeps. Tree Grapple , represented by a kusari-gama , sounds like a highly-skill-based ability, allowing Silhouette to pull herself to a nearby tree, enabling her to both escape ganks and catch up to her prey--if your micro is good enough. The mention of Tree Grapple giving the "power of a nice, strong piece of wood" (get your mind out of the gutter) suggests that successfully connecting with this ability may grant some bonus damage.

Relentless Salvo sounds like an AoE spell that rains down shuriken on the target area, letting you zone out your opponents or just pester them with constant damage. Lastly, Silhouette's ultimate, Shadow , evokes images of DotA's Spectre and her Haunt ultimate ability (perhaps better known as the Sand Wraith in HoN), only this seems like it'll be single target. Shadow might create a copy of yourself that will stalk the enemy; if it's anything like Spectre's ult, you'll be able to swap places with the copy on the fly to confuse enemies or rack up damage.

So that's our take on Silhouette based on the info released so far; how 'bout yours? Let the speculation run rampant until this shadowy shinobi goes live on Friday, April 22nd!