Corvus

The Magistrate's Blade

Lore

The most difficult decisions test even the strongest of wills, but his will has never wavered, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. He is Corvus, The Magistrate’s Blade. He is the son of Karne, the powerful leader of the Magistrate, but it is by his own merit that he has earned the absolute loyalty of his men and instilled fear in his enemies.

A charismatic leader and brilliant tactician, Corvus will stop at nothing to see his goals realized: a peace to surpass that of the Golden Age, under the Magistrate’s rule. With the near-limitless energy of the Abyss, bent to his iron will, and those soldiers still loyal to his vision of peace, he is doing what no other is capable of. By his own strength, the Resistance will fall, and peace will be forged for the Realm’s citizens, with or without their cooperation.

Abilities

Officer’s Pistol

An automatic Machine Pistol worthy of an officer of the Magistrate. Deals 70 damage every 0.07s, has a maximum Ammo count of 50, and is fully effective up to 110 units.

Journals

I've earned their respect, and I have been invited to join the Judges with an honorary place at the cadets' table, but I’m struggling to come to terms with the medal they’re awarding me for 'bravery' on our patrol.

It's hollow. I never would have imagined such a monstrous _thing_ could exist in the realm. So many were lost. What does 'bravery' matter if I failed to bring everyone home? Apparently, it has also earned me some new assignment that everyone refuses to speak about.

None of it matters, though. As long as, in a month from now, this new position gives me the power I need to keep my people safe.

They say the most difficult decisions test the strongest of wills. Mine was tested today.

Nobody but I understood why it had to be done -- that this was the one chance to save everyone. One girl's life was to be given in exchange for the entire town's -- but in the end it didn’t matter. The entire city of Seris was destroyed by the Abyssal explosion that her death was meant to prevent.

It is my burden duty to protect as many as I can. If decisions like this mean the people I seek to protect will despise me, then at least they are alive to do so.

I had to try. How many lives had been lost already? How many under my command had died in this endless conflict with the misguided ‘Resistance’?

This was meant to turn the tides - an Abyssal lord under Magistrate control would have ended things quickly. The Resistance, with their star-god and the moon-goddess; their vision would see the Magistrate gone, and with it, the Realm. So I did what needed to be done.

That lying oracle took advantage of our desperation. She whispered her lies and I believed them. No more. All I’ve done, I have done in service of the Realm and the Magistrate, and this was no different. I will be the one to fix this, all of it.

So it has come to this. I’ve been tried for my “crimes” against the Magistrate and the people. This morning, I heard them list off why I should be chastised, and I laughed. They have no idea what this Realm needs to survive.

I now control powers my father has deemed “unfit” for humanity; my men still stand by me. Only I have the strength. Only I have the willpower to bend the Abyss. No more proxies. No more lies. I will put the Resistance in its place and usher in an age of prosperity and peace the likes of which this Realm has never before seen.

I will do what must be done.

For the Magistrate

I've earned their respect, and I have been invited to join the Judges with an honorary place at the cadets' table, but I’m struggling to come to terms with the medal they’re awarding me for 'bravery' on our patrol.

It's hollow. I never would have imagined such a monstrous _thing_ could exist in the realm. So many were lost. What does 'bravery' matter if I failed to bring everyone home? Apparently, it has also earned me some new assignment that everyone refuses to speak about.

None of it matters, though. As long as, in a month from now, this new position gives me the power I need to keep my people safe.

They say the most difficult decisions test the strongest of wills. Mine was tested today.

Nobody but I understood why it had to be done -- that this was the one chance to save everyone. One girl's life was to be given in exchange for the entire town's -- but in the end it didn’t matter. The entire city of Seris was destroyed by the Abyssal explosion that her death was meant to prevent.

It is my burden duty to protect as many as I can. If decisions like this mean the people I seek to protect will despise me, then at least they are alive to do so.

I had to try. How many lives had been lost already? How many under my command had died in this endless conflict with the misguided ‘Resistance’?

This was meant to turn the tides - an Abyssal lord under Magistrate control would have ended things quickly. The Resistance, with their star-god and the moon-goddess; their vision would see the Magistrate gone, and with it, the Realm. So I did what needed to be done.

That lying oracle took advantage of our desperation. She whispered her lies and I believed them. No more. All I’ve done, I have done in service of the Realm and the Magistrate, and this was no different. I will be the one to fix this, all of it.

So it has come to this. I’ve been tried for my “crimes” against the Magistrate and the people. This morning, I heard them list off why I should be chastised, and I laughed. They have no idea what this Realm needs to survive.

I now control powers my father has deemed “unfit” for humanity; my men still stand by me. Only I have the strength. Only I have the willpower to bend the Abyss. No more proxies. No more lies. I will put the Resistance in its place and usher in an age of prosperity and peace the likes of which this Realm has never before seen.

I will do what must be done.

For the Magistrate

Q&A

Why did we bring Corvus, The Magistrate’s Blade, into Paladins?

We wanted to bring a Support Champion with a versatile set of abilities and engaging gameplay mechanics players haven’t seen in Paladins. Corvus combines mobility not typically seen in a Support (in the form of his Projection) with the ability to put as much (or as little) effort as you want to in managing his Mark mechanic -- allowing multiple playstyles that each bring something different and effective to the battlefield.

Corvus' Marks allow you to determine how and where to focus your efforts as a healer for your team. We wanted to encourage players to experiment with different combinations of Marking and Healing allies, coupled with the unparalleled mobility that a manual teleport gives you. Plus, you get to call down a giant Abyssal artillery strike -- and who doesn’t love Abyssal artillery?

Corvus is the culmination of the Abyssal tales from the Realm. Son of the leader of the Magistrate, Karne, he has done dark deeds to try and protect the town of Seris and has now unleashed the Abyssal lord, Raum, to Raumpage through the Realm, killing friend and foe alike. We wanted to bring a lore-rich figure to life -- one who has been discussed by our community heavily while also being particularly relevant to current events in our timeline.

Corvus, or "Coat Guy" as he has been called, has been teased as a character since the Rise of Furia cinematic, in which we see him sacrifice Abby to the Abyss in a misguided attempt to protect the greater good. Though not originally a Champion, he's been teased in multiple ways and with his release as a playable we're finally able to realize a character who has been present for so long and seen so much engagement with the community. We're happy to be able to do that with such a lore-rich Champion!

-EvilMojoNeco

We’ve seen Corvus for quite some time in Paladins lore as a character; what was the process of transitioning him into a playable Champion since his introduction to the Realm?

Corvus started out as a character in the Rise of Furia cinematic and appeared subsequently in a variety of other art pieces and teasers.It was only after we saw such positive engagement with this mysterious figure that we started looking for a way to incorporate him into the Realm as a playable Champion.The process was similar to many of our Champions' paths into the Realm, except that we were able to pull on previous references for our visual aesthetic and, perhaps more interestingly, some of those recognizable motifs were able to be incorporated into his set of abilities. Our initial kickoff meeting for Corvus, well before he was named, included a bunch of abilities that played even more heavily off his knife. We eventually landed on his current abilities after multiple iterations and shifts - which we felt was a good balance for his character!

-EvilMojoNeco

What were some of the major visual goals when designing Corvus as a Champion?

We wanted to design a Champion that visually represented the Magistrate and Corvus was the perfect fit being the son of Karne. We knew from teasers early on Corvus had been dealing with nefarious things from the Abyss for quite some time, but we wanted to make sure it didn’t dominate his character outright, which is why his dagger is so offset from his pistol for instance. Corvus represents a few key archetypes in the sense he is of royal upbringing combined with a more regimented character discipline. He is sort of a “bad boy” when it comes to princes, but at the end of the day a complete professional, as he really believes what he is doing is right.

-Thunderbrush

When it comes to Corvus representing the Magistrate, were there any defining features you wanted to focus on most?

His color palette is directly taken from the Magistrate color scheme, the reds and golds specifically. Being from noble blood, we knew his uniform needed to feel like a commander of it’s forces which led to the addition of the war medals on his chest. This gave his character a sense of history and accomplishment while helping to capture his stature among his peers. He has been working from the shadows so to speak for quite some time, as seen teased in various Champion trailers before. Overall his design has a sense of discipline and regality that reflect the core values of the Magistrate which he believes in so deeply -- while manipulating the dark powers under his control for the greater good.

-Thunderbrush

With one of the more unique healing abilities in the Realm, we have to ask: where did the core idea behind his healing capabilities come from?

When designing Corvus, we knew we wanted to incorporate the idea of deliberately sharing benefits with other allies. This eventually evolved into his Mark, which allows the player to direct where their benefits are given, either helping an ally potentially well out of range of his direct heal while still Healing a nearby target, or allowing one target to receive focused healing, potentially keeping them alive in a sticky situation. We wanted to give players the potential to explore complex interactions in a set of abilities that still allows players to reap its benefits without significant investment. No other Support Champion can bring to the table what Corvus does with his Mark and Heal combo.

-EvilMojoNeco

Whenever we introduce a new Champion to Paladins, there’s a lot of interaction between our existing roster and those being introduced. In the case of Corvus, what are you most excited about him bringing to the Realm?

I am honestly the most excited to see what kind of crazy situations people can get into -- and out of -- with Corvus. The crazy Projection-into-ult snipe from downtown, or the clutch last-second heal on the flank to save their 1-on-1 with the opposing team are just a couple examples. With the range of his Talents and Cards, there's a lot that any given Corvus player can bring to the table, especially coupled with the variety of Champion combinations our roster allows. Is there some crazy composition that is going to dominate the scene? Are people going to find that they love playing Corvus with a friend on a specific other Champion? Those are the questions that excite me the most, and I can't wait to see what people do with him!

-EvilMojoNeco