The High Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade, Sally Whitemane, is once again resurrecting—this time, with her sights set on the Nexus. Whitemane is a formidable Support Hero that needs to dish out damage to enemy Heroes to maximize her healing. To get a sense of how to utilize her distinct Support style, we spoke to Granit Gaming’s Support player Jan "WolfJoe" Kramer about his first impressions of Whitemane.

Trait Talk: Utilizing Zeal

Whitemane relies heavily on her Trait, Zeal, to heal her allies. When casting a healing ability on an ally, that Hero also receives Zeal for 8 seconds. 100% of the damage Whitemane does to enemy Heroes heals all allies affected by Zeal.

“I think Zeal is the right direction to make Supports more impactful, especially in Hero League,” WolfJoe said. “It will make it more important for a Support to deal damage while paying extra attention to [their] own positioning to find a good mix of offense and defense.”

Keep in mind that only damage dealt to Heroes is converted to healing by Zeal, which gives Whitemane fewer options to heal allies outside of team fights.

Level 1: Give Yourself an Additional Heal

At Level 1, WolfJoe opts for Clemency, which adds another heal to Whitemane’s toolkit in the form of casting Inquisition on an allied Hero. Clemency also passively reduces the cooldown of Inquisition by 3 seconds.  

“This talent synergizes really well with High Inquisitor on Level 4 as it makes you able to [cast] High Inquisitor on allies,” WolfJoe explained. “Some [of] you will find yourself in a situation where you gathered a lot of Desperation stacks [but you are] unable to hit an Enemy with Inquisition to get rid of them.”

WolfJoe added another option as well: “In a double Support composition where damage is needed, I see myself going with Righteous Flame to follow up with my tank and bring the damage.”

Level 4: Manage your Mana

Whitemane’s Level 4 talents each provide mana management, whether through ability cost reduction or mana refunds. WolfJoe sticks with High Inquisitor at Level 4, which removes all stacks of Desperation and restores mana per stack removed when casting Inquisition. Since Desperation makes Whitemane’s primary healing ability cost additional mana on successive casts, this Talent expands the Hero’s opportunities to clear Desperation.

“You will find yourself in positions where you are forced to cast Desperate Plea multiple times in quick succession, so High Inquisitor will help to deal with her mana issues,” WolfJoe explained.

Level 7: Embrace Fanatical Power

At Level 7, WolfJoe takes Fanatical Power—an ability that grants Whitemane 50% increased Spell Power for 5 seconds when activated. The increase in damage can increase healing in turn, but the ability comes at the cost of 25 Armor for its duration.

“In team compositions where Intercession as a Cleanse is not needed, I will see myself going for Fanatical Power,” WolfJoe said. “If you time it correctly you can profit greatly from the 50% Spell Power as damage on Heroes is [also] healing due to Zeal. You just need to be careful that no dive hero will abuse that -25 Armor.”

Level 10: Choose Denial

Team coordination plays a large role in choosing a Talent at Level 10. Whitemane’s Scarlet Aegis heals nearby Heroes and grants a large Armor buff for 4 seconds, making it a standout choice in team fights.

“I think that Scarlet Aegis outshines Divine Reckoning in a solo Support composition,” WolfJoe said. “The 40 second lower cooldown, together with the 40 armor and area of effect heal (which therefore applies Zeal to every healed ally) will be an insane tool to force objectives, deny wombo-combos, and more.”

However, the choice at Level 10 is situational according to WolfJoe. “As double Support I think you will be taking Divine Reckoning to maximize your DPS in the important team fights.”

Level 13: Add a Root to Your Arsenal

WolfJoe’s choice at Level 13 will take some fast fingers, but the payoff is worth the effort. “Harsh Discipline is very similar to the Stukov Level 13 Talent Virulent Reaction—and as crowd control is always helpful, this is my go-to talent,” he explained.

Harsh Discipline will root an enemy Hero for 1.5 seconds if Whitemane hits them with Searing Lash while they are being targeted by her Inquisition. Since Searing Lash does not strike for 0.5 seconds, there is some flexibility to hitting Inquisition either before or after the first strike hits.

Level 16: Splitting and Synergizing

At Level 16, WolfJoe recommends Shared Punishment, which augments Inquisition to chain to a second nearby enemy Hero, dealing damage to that target as well. His reasoning goes beyond the obvious value of damaging two enemy Heroes.

WolfJoe says: “It synergizes well with Clemency. By damaging the Hero which is chasing the ally you are healing, and at the same time amplifying the heal because with Zeal, Hero damage is healing. It also gives you the option to go into Subjugation on 20 and get even more value.”

In a double Support team composition, WolfJoe adds: “I can see myself taking Lashing Out to maximize DPS.”

Level 20: Finish Your Inquisition

Finally, WolfJoe finds himself gravitating toward Subjugation at Level 20, which reduces all damage dealt by Inquisition’s target by 75%. “It will maximize the peel for my back line while synergizing completely with the rest of my build.”

When Whitemane isn’t the only Support Hero on the team, another strong option exists within the final Talent tier. WolfJoe elaborated: “Purge of the Wicked gives me another tool for focusing a single target down fast while being on a 40 second cooldown. The Armor [reduction] will also be beneficial to amplify the damage of my Assassin.”

Final Thoughts

WolfJoe believes Whitemane will be quite potent in the competitive meta when paired with strong Assassins: “Raynor, Hanzo, Fenix and Cassia. Assassin’s that require peel or can benefit from her root at Level 13.”

For those looking to counter Whitemane, WolfJoe shares a common fear for Support players: Stealth. “I think she will have a very hard time versus Valeera. Silence, burst, and invisibility are all great tools versus Whitemane. You only [have] your E to reveal her, and you are pressured into dealing damage and maybe overextending yourself to get maximum [value] out of your Hero.”

In this build, Whitemane has an early power spike at Level 7 with Fanatical Power, but her utility continues to increase over the course of the game. “Overall, I think Whitemane shines the most at the later levels: 13, 16, and 20 are all important Talents which increase her power level greatly and make your Hero kit more rounded in general,” WolfJoe concluded.

We will see just how effective Whitemane is at dealing damage and providing healing as she takes her place as the newest Hero to enter the Nexus!