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Incase you missed it, last week SEMC released Grace's splash art, abilities and a bit of lore as well. So let's dive into it, Grace stands out on the Fold by leading her team into battle, charging forward with her giant smashy tool aka her mace. Using the power of the Light, she protects her allies granting them shields that reduce incoming damage. When the fight seems all but lost, she can turn the tides of the battle by calling upon the Seraphim to send out massive single-target heals.

Grace’s abilities are below and below that SEMC has some tips about how to play Grace in combat. And below that, there's a bit of lore written up by Sugarvenom.

Hero Abilities

Retribution - (Heroic Perk) Grace chains her normal basic attack into a ground slam, dealing bonus weapon damage and slowing enemies in a wide area. If enemies are hit by the ground slam, her ability cooldowns are reduced.

Benediction - (A) Grace dashes to her target, striking them with an empowered Retribution attack. Nearby allies instantly gain a directional holy shield that continually faces the target, while Grace gains a full holy shield that protects her from all sides. The holy shield reduces incoming damage that strikes the shield. Upon learning this ability, Grace permanently reduces all damage she receives. This effect and the holy shield scale with crystal power. On Overdrive, this skill is refreshed upon casting Divine Intervention.

Holy Nova - (B) After a short delay, Grace knocks enemies into the air and disables them for a short time. If the attack hits at least one enemy, Grace immediately recovers from the ability. On Overdrive, Grace gains immunity to negative effects when casting this ability.

Divine INtervention - (C) Grace instantly surrounds herself and her target with a full holy shield and begins channeling after which Grace’s target receives a massive heal.

Grace In Combat

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It is a good idea to buy some crystal power on Grace, even when played as a Captain, because it strengthens the power of her holy shields as well as her passive damage reduction.

Whenever possible, use Retribution not only for the additional damage and slow but also for the cooldown reduction on her abilities. This works while attacking any enemy, not just heroes, so it’s beneficial to attack jungle monsters and lane minions when you need to use your important abilities.

Benediction is a great skill to initiate fights but is also a very powerful defensive ability: Use it on the most threatening enemy hero to greatly reduce the amount of damage that your team takes.

Holy Nova has a delay, making it easy for enemies to evade. Make sure to position yourself as close to the enemy as possible before casting it.

While Divine Intervention reduces damage on allies when cast, the heal does not come until after a short channel. Be wary when casting her Ultimate on critically low allies because they may die before the heal occurs.

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Part One: ‘The Boy Who Speaks Fire’

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By SugarVenom

On the unkempt path along the mangrove-lined river, overgrown with vines and flowers, the paladin in his gilded ceremonial armor cut an imposing figure. A dozen warriors and several local guides marched behind him; explorers brought up the rear, sketching, collecting samples and taking notes. The paladin’s wide-eyed young daughter gripped his outstretched finger with her whole small fist.
“Do you like the islands, Grace?”

At six years old, this was her first trip outside of Gythia, and the foreign tropics were a dizzying delight. Wherever there was soil, color burst through. Flowers as big as her head called hi! hey! hi! Exotic birds showed off their plumage and screeched to make sure she looked. Even the mosquito swarms shimmered.

“Yes,” she answered, her tone solemn. “This must be the prettiest place in the world.”

“These shall be the Grace Islands, then.” Her father waved his arm in an arc to indicate the half-moon shape of the archipelago. “Make a note of it,” he called over one shoulder, and a mapmaker scribbled in her journal.

Grace stared in reserved wonder at her surroundings while her father named the flora and fauna as though he’d created it all. The locals wore colorful sarongs and flowers in their hair. They waved and never ceased smiling. One of them fed plums to a young macaque that perched with hungry obedience on the little girl’s shoulder.

“These are nice people,” observed Grace.

“Peace and kindness is embedded into their culture. They even file down the sharp teeth of adolescents to remove their violent nature.”

Grace touched her own teeth. “Does it hurt?”

“Oh yes.”

“You should tell them to stop, Papa.”

“Oh, dulcissima! A man may be a better hunter than a tiger, but he would be a fool to tell the beast how to hunt on its own land.”

“But these are people.”

“Yes, they are people,” mused the paladin. “Of a kind.”

Grace stopped short, wavering on her feet. The world around her brightened at the edges. The monkey leaped away and the retinue came to a halt.

“Papa?” she whimpered.

The paladin held her steady by the shoulders. “Do not fear. Tell me what the light shows you.”

Grace shivered as a great wall of ice rose up, blocking their path. Where the path forked toward the river, a wall of fire blazed upward, spitting embers and burning her cheeks. “Ice and fire,” she whispered.

“Which way is the fire?”

She pointed to the river and the vision ended, the walls only tricks of the light.

The procession moved single-file onto the stone steps leading across the river. In the center of the water stood a temple.

A guide intercepted them. His smile never wavered, though his voice was strained. “Sir,” he said, bowing low, “visitors do not cross here, Sir. Danger, Sir.” He held out his arms, revealing rippling burn scars.

“Stand back,” said the paladin. He rested a hand on the guide’s shoulder, and when he lifted it, a hand-shaped spot of healed flesh remained.

The temple was made of stone. The mangroves growing over it were scorched. The buzzing mosquitos and bickering monkeys stayed away, so that the temple was cloaked in eerie quiet. At the temple’s entrance a local boy appeared, perhaps a year younger than Grace. He wore only a sarong around his waist, so that gruesome scars and new welts from burns showed all over his chest and face.

“This boy speaks fire,” whispered the guide. He stared in wonder at his shoulder as the healed skin spread down his arm. “His name is Reza.”

“He’s hurt,” said Grace.

The paladin guided Grace forward, toward the boy. “Go and do as you have learned.”

Grace stepped across slick stones to the temple with care, leaving her father behind. She greeted the boy with a Gythian hand gesture and he flinched.

“I’m going to take care of you,” she said, gentle but firm. She rested her palms on the boy’s face. The light burned at the top of her head and she guided it down, as her father had taught her, down through her head and throat, flooding her heart and belly and arms and then escaping through her fingertips. The light swelled and the boy’s eyes grew wide. Down to his shoulders her hands slid, leaving behind smooth, healed flesh. The light traveled down his body, enveloping him with its warmth. “There,” she said when she had done. She was tired to her bones from the effort, but the boy’s burn scars and welts had disappeared, leaving behind a dazzling, dark beauty. “That’s better.”

The boy opened his mouth to speak, or cry or laugh; it couldn’t be known, for what came from his mouth was a trail of fire, just like in Grace’s vision, spurting sparks and raining ash.

The paladin’s light shield burst into being between her and the boy just in time. The flames beat against it but could not penetrate. The boy’s mouth shut and his eyes filled with ashy tears as the paladin approached.

“The Mageborn must be trained to the proper use of their power, just as you, born to the light, have learned to control your visions,” he said, patting Grace’s red braid. “Until we deliver him to the mages, you must care for him like a sister.”

“My brother.” Grace took the boy’s hand. “I shall name you Titus.”