Yeah, your queue times are definitely going to be affected by free rotation and super popular heroes. Nova always tends to get longer queues. And anyone in rotation will guarantee a 2minute or more queue, worse if the freebie is Illidan, Jaina, or Valla.
Picking a "most picked" hero in QM will always net a longer queue.
Man I'm glad Jaina is in the f2p rotation this coming week. The first time I played her I just didn't even know what the fuck I was doing. And it left a really sour taste in my mouth. And then, yknow, I had been watching streamers play her and I osmosis'd a better understanding of how she works. And I have 15k gold, but I didn't want to drop the 10k without giving her a go again, first.
So yeah I'm hoping this time will be better, especially since I won't be talent gated at level 1 (I mean, assuming this patch brings the level 30 unlocks all heroes thing).
I've finally experienced the no-teamwork games. Jaina and Tyrael (me) vs 5 in teamfights while the rest of the team was pushing lanes while the garden terror was wrecking our forts just outside the core.
I've finally experienced the no-teamwork games. Jaina and Tyrael (me) vs 5 in teamfights while the rest of the team was pushing lanes while the garden terror was wrecking our forts just outside the core.
Man I'm glad Jaina is in the f2p rotation this coming week. The first time I played her I just didn't even know what the fuck I was doing. And it left a really sour taste in my mouth. And then, yknow, I had been watching streamers play her and I osmosis'd a better understanding of how she works. And I have 15k gold, but I didn't want to drop the 10k without giving her a go again, first.
So yeah I'm hoping this time will be better, especially since I won't be talent gated at level 1 (I mean, assuming this patch brings the level 30 unlocks all heroes thing).
inc absurd overnerf of jaina tomorrow even though they barely buffed her last patch.
one win and two losses in QM! Nobody yelled at me though, which felt really nice. Tyrael's really grown on me, his smite utility and that throw-sword spell makes for great escapes! I'm surprisingly survivable, unless I walk into a trap set by the enemy team.
Best part of the day was Thrall and me camping the chest and killing the entire enemy team piecemeal as they tried to turn in dubloons. I love initiating with judgement!
So what's the overall consensus on this game? I've played a bit of DoTA and am generally not a great player. I ultimately just don't have the time to really sink into it to get good. Does HoTS require the same time commitment?
So what's the overall consensus on this game? I've played a bit of DoTA and am generally not a great player. I ultimately just don't have the time to really sink into it to get good. Does HoTS require the same time commitment?
I would argue that it does not. The lack of a gold shop is an important factor in that: your upgrade choices are limited to 2-4 discrete options at predetermined levels in the game.
There are also some detail-oriented mechanics that have been removed/changed, such as last-hitting being gone and the introduction of shared experience, that are a bit more forgiving at lower levels while still offering pleasant amounts of higher-level strategy if you want it.
The community is often considered to be better than in LoL/DotA, although I personally don't have too much experience with the other communities. I do know that I don't see mean people in HotS often, and when I do it is really, really easy to mute them. So I mute people the instant they seem negative, then there is no more toxic community at all .
So what's the overall consensus on this game? I've played a bit of DoTA and am generally not a great player. I ultimately just don't have the time to really sink into it to get good. Does HoTS require the same time commitment?
The matches are shorter and objectives vary from map to map. There's less mechanical difficulty since you don't have to last hit or buy items, and the game is more teamfight focused. I'd say its much easier to pick up and play than DotA/2 or LoL.
So what's the overall consensus on this game? I've played a bit of DoTA and am generally not a great player. I ultimately just don't have the time to really sink into it to get good. Does HoTS require the same time commitment?
I tried to play DOTA and hated it. I tried HoTS and really enjoyed it. No last hitting, no super complex shop, and pretty simple skill breakdown makes it very fun. Teamfights are a blast, even though (in my limited experience) you end up on your own more often than not.
So what's the overall consensus on this game? I've played a bit of DoTA and am generally not a great player. I ultimately just don't have the time to really sink into it to get good. Does HoTS require the same time commitment?
Blizzard has stripped away some of the more obviously gamey tactical elements of DotA (no last hitting, shared experience so you don't have to worry about getting too many kills if you're not the carry, no denying, etc) and made the strategic layer more involved due to different maps and mechanics. Easier to get into but still a good amount of knowledge to be aware of. Simply showing up to objectives when they're up will make you better than a quarter of the player base at the very least.
HotS has a community that is less likely to be assholes unprovoked and less extreme when they do, but also far more likely to get incredibly defensive at any communication whatsoever. If you don't talk much, HotS is strictly better, but if you want to try to herd cats, in DotA/League people are relatively more likely to listen or stay silent, while in HotS people are relatively more likely to start spamming variations of "I'm not listening, lalala."
HotS is a lot easier to get into. Strict mechanical skill hardly comes into play outside of skillshots, and map objectives tend to allow at least pub matches a lot more opportunity to win via ambush than you'd get when the objectives were relatively static.
HotS requires a lot less thought to play in any given session. Between the shorter games, less decisions, and decreased importance of strategic positioning, there's a lot less to keep track of overall and a lot fewer things to do at any given time. I would say that DotA/League have a lot more going on in terms of strategic positioning because the legacy systems do add a lot of decisions (do I farm riskily in the lane, or go to the jungle? Who should rotate and who should capture farm? Should I build for durability and rely on base damage, or build for damage and rely on my team to peel), while Heroes generally has fewer considerations as to where you need to be from a strategic standpoint.
In terms of durability and mechanics, assassins are about as durable as an unfarmed DotA carry while warriors are about as durable as a beefy League bruiser. CC is generally mild and very rarely targeted, and unlike League or DotA very few characters actually rely on autoattacks for damage, and even those that do generally do so as an alternative build rather than the standard.
EDIT: Also, muting people in any given MOBA is two clicks away at this point, if that's your thing.
So you know how we've been talking about Warriors being nerfed constantly? The team "2arc" apparently agrees, they're on WCS now rocking a Warrior-less composition for the second game in a row (http://www.twitch.tv/wca_america).
I like to think of HotS as lazy DOTA in the best way possible. The lack of item shop really does a lot for my enjoyment, you don't have to remember complex builds or anything like that. It is more about the match ups and i really like that as long as they can keep it mostly balanced.
So you know how we've been talking about Warriors being nerfed constantly? The team "2arc" apparently agrees, they're on WCS now rocking a Warrior-less composition for the second game in a row (http://www.twitch.tv/wca_america).
It's crazy how well they pulled that off. They went 2-0!!
Granted, the team they were up against isn't one of the better teams, really. I'm honestly not too sure that Warrior-less comp would work against Tempo Storm, C9M, or Complexity.
Cool, glad to hear about all the positive things. I played arena a ton in WoW and loved every second of it (even made glad one season) so I think I have the potential to be a reasonable MOBA player. DoTA is fairly enjoyable, but the complexity kind of turns me off (super harsh learning curve and I just don't have the time anymore). I will have to give HoTS a shot.
Cool, glad to hear about all the positive things. I played arena a ton in WoW and loved every second of it (even made glad one season) so I think I have the potential to be a reasonable MOBA player. DoTA is fairly enjoyable, but the complexity kind of turns me off (super harsh learning curve and I just don't have the time anymore). I will have to give HoTS a shot.
HotS maps basically remind me of WoW battlegrounds a lot of time. The equivalent of remembering to go for the flag instead of fighting midfield applies here.
Just had a Hero League match where our only support, Malfurion, went full-on MOONFIRE SPAM build. As we were against Tassadar and Rehgar, we got THOROUGHLY FUCKED.
Some people...
Garthor on
0
The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
Just had a Hero League match where our only support, Malfurion, went full-on MOONFIRE SPAM build. As we were against Tassadar and Rehgar, we got THOROUGHLY FUCKED.
Some people...
See, that's why I really dislike Malfurion. His only build that's remotely active/fun is godawful. To be effective at all you have to spec for healing and he's sooooooooooooo boring when just played straight healer.
Also, as one of the few healers who can spec for a significant boost to his healing output, he doesn't even get more active; he gets passive heals and his heals last for a ridiculous duration instead of a long duration.
So I just purchased Zeratul, because I was bored with Zagara for now. Holy cow he's nuts. What's his spec? I just un-talent gated him and am looking to way up my burst, because how I was running, it seemed small.
If, if Reagan played disco He'd shoot it to shit You can't disco in Jackboots
I really think playing cloaked units really pushes my ram usage higher than usual. The two times I used the cloaked guys I could only play 2 or so games before restarting client.
I tried out Nova for the first time ever yesterday. Considering I was talent locked and I had never ever played her before I think I did semi-OK (I ended most games with highest kills, of course). I kind of liked her "easier" style.
I didn't get her to lv 5 though, sadly. But I might actually buy her. I like Zeratul too but somehow I think she can be more effective since her range gives her better options to engage with. With lag too, Zera is harder to use since he requires far more apm and combos.
I really think playing cloaked units really pushes my ram usage higher than usual. The two times I used the cloaked guys I could only play 2 or so games before restarting client.
I tried out Nova for the first time ever yesterday. Considering I was talent locked and I had never ever played her before I think I did semi-OK (I ended most games with highest kills, of course). I kind of liked her "easier" style.
I didn't get her to lv 5 though, sadly. But I might actually buy her. I like Zeratul too but somehow I think she can be more effective since her range gives her better options to engage with. With lag too, Zera is harder to use since he requires far more apm and combos.
What build do your god-like Novas use?
My work internet isn't letting me use the talent calculator but there are two main builds.
Holodecoy which grabs decoy damage at 13, extra decoy at 16 and rewind at 20. That is 4 decoys which each is doing 25% of your damage. The rest of the talents stay the same with snipe damage at 1, gathering power and I almost always take orbital strike. Triple tap has too many ways to be interrupted or negated.
The other is the single burst. Instead of decoys with this I take the movement cloak one at 13, the armor debuff on pinning shot at 16 and the second orbital at 20.
@mmmig I am not a great nova player but this is what I have been using:
Ambush snipe
Gathering power
Anti-armor shells
Precision strike
Lethal decoy (just started, was using advanced cloaking)
Crippling shot
Precision barrage (possibly should be rewind)
I am unsure of what to go with at 13,16, and 20. I dont really like the overdrive playstyle but it may be correct. I haven't played her enough.
My biggest issue with nova is that sure you can get an advantage by creating 4v5 situations by just exploding a backline hero. However you can't assist much in the followup push and the game is kinda-sorta 4v4 for a little while. At least the way the games I've played her. On the opposing team nova always fluctuates between expert assassins and useless.
@mmmig I am not a great nova player but this is what I have been using:
Ambush snipe
Gathering power
Anti-armor shells
Precision strike
Lethal decoy (just started, was using advanced cloaking)
Crippling shot
Precision barrage (possibly should be rewind)
I am unsure of what to go with at 13,16, and 20. I dont really like the overdrive playstyle but it may be correct. I haven't played her enough.
My biggest issue with nova is that sure you can get an advantage by creating 4v5 situations by just exploding a backline hero. However you can't assist much in the followup push and the game is kinda-sorta 4v4 for a little while. At least the way the games I've played her. On the opposing team nova always fluctuates between expert assassins and useless.
I use similar build to WingedWeasel. I switch out advanced cloaking and lethal decoy depending on the map. If it's a small map where I can roam around quicker with advanced cloaking I do that rather than mount.
I also switch out Precision Strike and Triple Tap depending on their team comp. I'll use Triple Tap if they have some squishies that might get away from my initial burst and Precision Strike if the teams appear to be heading to a lot of grouped up team fights.
@mmmig I am not a great nova player but this is what I have been using:
Ambush snipe
Gathering power
Anti-armor shells
Precision strike
Lethal decoy (just started, was using advanced cloaking)
Crippling shot
Precision barrage (possibly should be rewind)
I am unsure of what to go with at 13,16, and 20. I dont really like the overdrive playstyle but it may be correct. I haven't played her enough.
My biggest issue with nova is that sure you can get an advantage by creating 4v5 situations by just exploding a backline hero. However you can't assist much in the followup push and the game is kinda-sorta 4v4 for a little while. At least the way the games I've played her. On the opposing team nova always fluctuates between expert assassins and useless.
I would stay away from overdrive. It messes with stealth and really you should do enough burst without it.
Ambush snipe
Gathering power
Anti-armor shells
precision strike
These are her core talents basically.
As I said above I tend to do lethal decoy if I am doing a decoy build. So the talent at 16 that produces a second decoy and rewind are my last set of talents.
Advanced stealth I find is better for the burst damage because it lets me set up a lot easier.
For the follow up the decoy build is better. Your decoys can help push or tank tower shots. And there are always people to pick off unless you had a full 5 man team wipe.
Also remember bursting down or pushing out a healer or a dps will help really turn the fight in your teams direction. Also practicing the timing to hit a precision strike on a void prison or maw is a major thing as well. The combo damage can really help.
Heroes of the Storm Closed Beta Patch Notes – May 12, 2015
We’ve brought Heroes of the Storm offline for a period of extended maintenance today in order to bring you a brand new Closed Beta patch! Maintenance is ongoing, but don't worry; we'll let you know just as soon as the Nexus is back online. In the meantime, you can check out the complete patch notes below.
General
Players that reached level 40 after the March 24 Closed Beta patch was released will now properly receive the associated portrait reward upon logging in to Heroes of the Storm.
Please note: In order to receive the portrait, players affected by this issue must log in to Heroes of the Storm before June 1, 2015. After that date, the portrait will no longer be awarded.
Performance
Improved Graphics Settings Auto-Detection
Several tweaks have been made to improve how Heroes auto-detects certain hardware configurations.
As a result of these improvements, all players’ default Graphic Settings will be re-detected and reset following today’s patch in order to provide better performance and play experiences across a wider range of hardware configurations.
Updated Performance Notification
The performance overlay (Ctrl + Alt + F) has been updated to track several additional metrics, which should help players better identify some common performance issues.
Several icons have been added, which will display in the performance overlay when the game client is experiencing certain types of significant performance issues.
Please visit the official Heroes of the Storm site to learn more about these icons, and how to troubleshoot the performance issues they indicate.
Many additional performance improvements have been made across various aspects of the game, including reduced memory usage and fragmentation on all graphic settings.
New Hero
Kael’thas Sunstrider has been added to Heroes of the Storm and is now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of this fiery new Assassin's Abilities.
Trait
Verdant Spheres (D)
Activate to make your next Basic Ability more powerful.
Basic Abilities
Flamestrike (Q)
After a short delay, deal damage in an area.
Verdant Spheres (Trait) -- Increases Flamestrike’s radius and damage.
Living Bomb (W)
Damages an enemy over a short time, after which the target will explode, damaging all nearby enemies. Casting a second Living Bomb on an enemy causes the first to explode immediately.
Verdant Spheres (Trait) -- Removes Living Bomb’s Mana cost and cooldown.
Gravity Lapse (E)
Stuns the first enemy hit.
Verdant Spheres (Trait) -- Causes Gravity Lapse to stun the first 3 enemies in its path.
Heroic Abilities
Phoenix (R)
Launch a Phoenix to target area, dealing damage to enemies along the way. The Phoenix persists, attacking enemies, and dealing splash damage to those near its primary attack target.
Pyroblast (R)
After a short delay, cast a slow-moving fireball that deals massive damage to an enemy, and medium damage to enemies near the target.
Art
General
The Radial Ping Menu has received updated art, which more closely matches the appearance of pings issued in the game world.
Defeat, fidget, taunt, and victory animations have been added to a number of Heroes and summoned units.
Gazlowe, Illidan, and Kerrigan have received minor animation and pose updates on Hero Select.
Several Heroes have received polish on the animations that play when purchased in the Shop.
Battlegrounds
Various Battleground assets have received additional visual polish.
Various Battleground assets have received additional optimization to help improve performance.
The terrain surrounding the Core on all Battlegrounds has been changed to better indicate the Core’s attack range.
Siege Giant Mercenaries on Sky Temple and Tomb of the Spider Queen have received minor attack animation polish.
Water in enemy Healing Fountains will now appear red on all Battlegrounds.
Heroes, Abilities, Mounts, and Skins
Heroes
Cloth physics have been added to the following Heroes:
Malfurion
Sylvanas
The following Heroes have received facial animation improvements:
Gazlowe
Sonya
Hero Abilities
The following Heroic Abilities will now apply an Invulnerability overlay to the affected player’s screen for the duration of their effects.
Tyrael -- Sanctification (R)
Uther -- Divine Shield (R)
The following Heroes have received new Ability icon art:
Zagara
Zeratul
The following Heroes’ Ability icons have received updated art to make them easier to differentiate from one another:
Abathur
Kerrigan
Nova
Sgt. Hammer
Tassadar
The following Hero Abilities and Talents have received visual polish:
Blood for Blood (Talent)
Abathur -- Symbiote (Q) Abilities: Stab (Q), Spike Burst (W), Carapace (E); Monstrosity (R)
Arthas -- Summon Sindragosa (R)
Diablo -- Received updated art and visual effects to coincide with his Talent rework.
E.T.C. -- Received updated art and visual effects to coincide with his Talent rework.
Jaina -- Ring of Frost (R) visual effects now more closely match the Ability’s duration.
Nova -- Anti-Armor Shells (Talent) target indicator
Raynor -- Raynor’s Raiders (R) target indicator
Sonya -- Basic Attack
Sylvanas -- Withering Fire (Q) target indicator, Haunting Wave (E) reactivation
Zagara -- Mutalisk (Talent), Nydus Network (R)
Mounts
Terror Charge has been added as a new Mount for Diablo, which will allow him to run across the battlefield on all fours.
Shop
Bundle Packs
New Bundles
The Stormpunk Kael’thas Bundle Pack has been added to the in-game Shop for a limited time.
Starter Bundle
The Starter Bundle has been updated to include a 7-day Stimpack in addition to its other content. The Bundle Pack’s price has not changed.
All players who previously purchased the Starter Bundle will also gain a 7-day Stimpack, which will activate in the weeks following today’s game update. Please see the official forums for more information.
Heroes
New Hero
Kael’thas Sunstrider has been added to the in-game Shop!
Price Changes
The Kandy King Muradin Skin’s real-money price has been reduced to $7.49 USD.
The price to create a new team for competition in Team League has been reduced to 500 Gold.
Skins
New Skins
A Master Skin has been added for Kael’thas.
The Stormpunk Kael’thas Skin has been added to the in-game Shop.
Sound
Battlegrounds
Battlegrounds have had their music playlists updated.
Voiceover that indicates when players rejoin, or disconnect from, a game will be played less frequently.
Heroes and Skins
The Pure Country E.T.C. Skin has received all new Ability sound effects.
The Lurkablo Diablo Skin has received a brand new voiceover set, which *MRGL! Mrglglbrlg rmgll MRGGLGLM! Mrrgrgbl…*
Many Heroes have received additional sound effect polish.
User Interface
Options Menus
Options menus have been cleaned up across the board, and a number of settings that were not applicable to Heroes of the Storm have been removed.
Social Options
An “Enable Allied Chat” checkbox has been added, which can be used to enable or disable in-game chat messages from teammates. This setting will be turned on by default.
Gameplay Options
A “Right-Click Through Minimap” checkbox has been added which can be used to toggle whether right-clicks will register on the minimap, or click through to the terrain underneath.
Please note that this is a first pass at implementation for this feature, and further improvements will be made with future updates.
An Observer and Replay Options tab has been added.
The “Save All Replays”, “Display Replay Time Info”, and “Observer Interface” settings have been moved from Gameplay Options into this new tab.
End-of-Game Score Screen
Summary
A gold border has been added to Hero and Player Level progress bars.
Talents
The Talents tab has been enabled on end-of-game Score Screens. Click to view the Talents selected by each player during the previous game.
Hero and Player Progression
Player Level Rewards
Upon reaching Player Level 25, all Heroic Abilities and Talents will now be automatically unlocked for Heroes that have not yet progressed to Hero Level 4.
Kindly note that, for the time being, players at or above Player Level 25 may still receive Heroic Ability and Talent unlock notifications as their Heroes progress through levels 1 - 4. This is a visual issue that will be resolved with a future game update.
In-Game UI
Buffs and Debuffs
Many buff and debuff icons, which were previously displayed to the left of Heroes’ in-game portraits, have been removed.
Hero-specific buff icons (such as Valla’s Hatred) have been moved to the right of the Hero’s in-game portrait.
Hero nameplates will now display the following status effects: Blinded, Invulnerable, Rooted, Silenced, Stunned, and Unstoppable.
Chat
Whispers from non-friends will now cause a help message to display, which indicates that the Chat Privacy Social Setting is turned off.
In-game Score Screens
The in-game Talents Screen (TAB) has received updated art.
Counters for Battleground Objectives (such as Doubloons, Skulls, etc.) are now also visible on the Talents Screen.
Players may mute chat messages from individual teammates by clicking the speech bubble icons found on the far-right side of the in-game Score Screen (TAB).
Teammates muted in this way will no longer be automatically added to the muting player’s “Blocked Communication” list.
Gear icons have been added to the far-right side of the in-game Score Screen, which can be clicked to report individual teammates or block all communication with them.
XP gains are now tracked more accurately for each Hero on the in-game Score Screen.
XP gains for takedowns, destroying structures, capturing Mercenary Camps, and securing Battleground Objectives are now split between all Heroes that are within standard XP range.
If no Heroes are nearby, XP earned this way is split evenly amongst the team.
Radial Ping Menu
The Radial Ping Menu has received updated art which more closely matches the pings issued by players in the game world.
Issuing an “On My Way” ping will now display an arrow on the terrain that indicates which direction that player is approaching from.
Play Screen
Hero Select
The Party Panel at the top of the screen will now indicate when party members have clicked the Ready button.
Training Mode has been added to the Play Screen.
Use Training Mode to play with A.I. teammates against A.I. opponents. Uther will feel quite compelled to offer advice during games played in this mode.
Games completed in Training Mode will not award any Gold or Daily Quest progress.
Versus A.I.
Use this game mode to play with human or A.I. teammates against more difficult A.I. opponents than those found in Training Mode.
Use the “Versus A.I. Options” box found in the lower-left corner of the Versus A.I. Screen to toggle between human and A.I. teammates.
Player Profile
Portrait Tab
Portrait borders have been added which will indicate the player’s current Hero and Team League ranks.
Navigate to the Portrait tab in the Player Profile to switch among the Player Level, Hero League, and Team League portrait borders.
Ranked Play
Ranks
Hero and Team League rank icons have received new art, and will now update visually upon reaching ranks 40, 30, 20, 10, and 1.
Shop
A number of visual improvements have been made to item display and layout in the Shop.
Each of the Heroes, Skins, and Mounts tabs will now display a featured item.
Discounts are now called out more prominently on item preview images.
Heroes Tab
Hero Ability layout on Heroes’ About pages has been overhauled.
An Abilities page has been added to Hero pages.
The Talents page has received visual improvements, and now more closely matches the Talent pane found on the Hero Select Screen.
Skins Tab
Skins have been classified as Rare, Epic, or Legendary based on how they alter a Hero.
These classifications will be displayed on each Skin’s preview image in the Shop, and Master Skins are also called out in this way.
Skin About pages will now list which aspects of the Hero they modify: Altered Voiceover, Replaced Voiceover, Themed Abilities, Themed Animations, and Themed Mount.
Tutorials
A pop-up dialog has been added to help new players track their progress through the Tutorial Missions.
The Introduction, Basic, and Advanced Tutorial Missions will now award the player with Gold upon completion.
If any Tutorial Missions are skipped, players may return to complete them (and claim their Gold rewards) at any time by opening the Main Menu (F10) and clicking the “Tutorials” button.
Battlegrounds
Sky Temple
Healing Fountains found near each team’s Fort in the center lane have been repositioned to prevent them from being attacked outside of tower range.
Tutorials
Basic Training
Core Health reduced from 14,000 (+400 per level) to 11,000 (+300 per level)
Core Shields reduced from 7,000 (+200 per level) to 5,500 (+150 per level)
Fort Health reduced from 9,000 to 7,000
Keep Health reduced from 13,000 to 10,000
Talents
Clairvoyance
Now breaks units within its radius out of Stealth, rather than revealing them
Focused Attack
Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 50% to 75%
Follow Through
Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 25% to 40%
Healing Ward
Can now be struck by Area of Effect Abilities
Healing Wards now have 50 (+15 per level) Health
Ice Block
Ice Block can now be reactivated to cancel its effects early
Promote
One in the Chamber (Talent)
Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 50% to 80%
Raynor
Penetrating Round (Q)
Knockback distance increased by about 23%
Inspire (W)
Attack Speed bonus increased from 25% to 30%
Allied Attack Speed bonus increased from 12.5% to 15%
Mana cost reduced from 50 to 40
Cooldown decreased from 15 to 10 seconds
Duration decreased from 8 to 6 seconds
Raynor’s Raiders (R)
New indicator art has been added that will highlight the Banshees’ current target.
Specialist
Abathur
Locust Strain (Trait)
Bombard Locusts (Talent)
Bombard Strain Locust attack range reduced by 30%
Symbiote (Q)
Stab (Q)
Damage increased from 44 (+9 per level) to 46 (+9.5 per level)
Azmodan
General of Hell (Trait)
Bound Minion (Talent)
Duration increased from 15 to 30 seconds
Gazlowe
Rock-it! Turret (Q)
Mana cost decreased from 70 to 60
Rock-It! Turret XL (Talent)
Now acquires targets in a cone rather than a circle
This change was made to prevent cases where bonus shots could fire farther than the turret’s indicated range
Turret Storage (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 13
Maximum Turret charges reduced from 4 to 3
Long-Ranged Turrets (Talent)
Turret attack range bonus increased from 25% to 40%
Deth Lazor (W)
Damage gained per level reduced from 14 to 12
Mana cost decreased from 75 to 60
Cooldown decreased from 15 to 12 seconds, and now begins once Deth Lazor is fired
Damage now increases at 1.5 second, rather than 2 second, intervals while channeling, and reaches maximum damage at 3 seconds.
Maximum channel time decreased from 8 to 6 seconds
Goblin Fusion (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 4
Damage bonus reduced from 50% to 25%
EZ-PZ Dimensional Ripper (Talent)
Slow amount increased from 35% to 40%
Xplodium Charge (E)
Mana cost increased from 60 to 70
Kwik Release Charge (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 16
Grav-O-Bomb 3,000 (R)
Triggers 0.1875 seconds sooner in order to better align with the Ability’s visual effects
Murky
Spawn Egg (Trait)
Murky now spawns into the game with an Egg automatically placed in the Hall of Storms.
If both Murky and his Egg are killed, a new Egg will be automatically placed in the Hall of Storms once he respawns.
Spawn Egg will not be placed on cooldown in either of the above scenarios.
Sylvanas
New Talent (Level 7): Remorseless
After using an Ability, the next Basic Attack within 3 seconds deals 25% additional damage.
This is a Sylvanas-specific replacement for the Follow Through Talent.
The Lost Vikings
Jump! (Talent) cooldown increased from 20 to 30 seconds
Longboat Raid! (R)
The Lost Vikings will now become stunned for 1.5 seconds if the Longboat is destroyed before its duration ends.
Play Again! (R)
All of the Lost Vikings are now restored to full Health upon casting Play Again!
Zagara
Infest (Talent)
Duration increased from 15 to 30 seconds
Support
Rehgar
Healing Totem (Talent)
Cooldown increased from 45 to 60 seconds
Farsight (Talent)
Now breaks units within its radius out of Stealth, rather than revealing them
Tassadar
Oracle (Trait)
Now reveals enemy units slightly faster
Warrior
Anub’arak
Scarab Host (Trait)
Beetle A.I. has received several improvements.
If Anub’arak is attacking an enemy when a Beetle is spawned, the Beetle will also attempt to attack that target.
If Anub’arak is not attacking anything when a Beetle is spawned, the Beetle will attempt to find a nearby target to attack.
Beetles will now attack and pursue a target found this way until that enemy dies, or the Beetles lose track of the target (through teleporting away, for example). Only then will the Beetles return to a lane.
Impale (Q)
Casting delay removed
Burrow Charge (E)
Casting delay significantly reduced
Chen
Chen’s Brew will now be fully restored after using Hearthstone (B) to return to the Hall of Storms.
Storm, Earth, Fire (R)
Chen’s status bar will now be hidden during the period of invulnerability that occurs while casting Storm, Earth, Fire, in order to better communicate this state to players.
Diablo
Diablo has received significant updates.
Health decreased from 1060 (+260 per level) to 1050 (+250 per level)
Amplified Healing (Talent) removed
Relentless (Talent) removed
Storm Shield (Talent) removed
New Talent (Level 13): Life Leech
Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes deal bonus damage equal to 1% of that Hero’s maximum Health, and heals Diablo for the same amount.
New Talent (Level 20): Lord of Terror
Activate to steal 10% of the maximum Health of all nearby enemy Heroes
Black Soulstone (Trait)
Maximum Health gain changed from +5 per Soul to +0.15% per Soul
Endless Death (Talent) removed
Soul Feast (Talent)
Health Regeneration bonus increased from 2% to 3% per Soul
Siphon the Dead (Talent) moved from Level 7 to 13
Will no longer interrupt movement when activated
No longer consumes Souls upon activation, and Black Soulstone now heals 15% of Diablo’s maximum Health over 3 seconds
Soul Steal (Talent)
This Talent has been repurposed and now affects Diablo’s Black Soulstone Trait.
Now increases the maximum Health gained per Soul from 0.15% to 0.25%
New Talent (Level 4): Soul Catcher
Passively generates a Soul every 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): Essence of the Slain
Gain 10 Mana whenever a nearby enemy Minion dies
Shadow Charge (Q)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds
Diablo is no longer Unstoppable during Shadow Charge.
Stun duration when the target of Shadow Charge is knocked into a wall has been decreased from 1 to 0.75 seconds.
Crippling Shadows (Talent) removed
From the Shadows (Talent) has been redesigned
Moved from Level 13 to Level 7
Now increases Shadow Charge’s stun duration, inflicted when the target is knocked into a wall, by 0.5 seconds
New Talent (Level 1): Overwhelming Force
Increases the range and knockback of Shadow Charge by 25%
New Talent (Level 7): Devastating Charge
Shadow Charge reduces the duration silences, stuns, slows, roots, and Polymorphs against Diablo by 50% for 3 seconds.
Fire Stomp (W)
Swallowing Flames (Talent) removed
Molten Impact (Talent) removed
Fire Devil (Talent) moved from level 16 to level 4
Damage reduced from 12 (+3 per level) to 10 (+2 per level)
Firestorm (Talent) moved from level 16 to level 13
Damage bonus decreased from 150% to 125%
New Talent (Level 16): Rampage
Fire Stomp increases Diablo’s Movement Speed by 20% and Basic Attack damage by 50% for 2 seconds.
Overpower (E)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
Demonic Strength (Talent) has been redesigned
Now slows the target by 25% for 2 seconds once Overpower’s stun expires
New Talent (Level 16): Domination
Overpower reduces Shadow Charge’s cooldown by 8 seconds.
Apocalypse (R)
Dying Breath (Talent)
Now also reduces Apocalypse’s cooldown by 20 seconds, in addition to its other effects
E.T.C.
E.T.C. has received significant updates.
Scouting Drone (Talent) removed
Superiority (Talent) removed
Relentless (Talent) removed
Hardened Shield (Talent) removed
Follow Through (Talent) added at Level 7
Spell Shield (Talent) added at Level 13
Storm Shield (Talent) added at Level 20
Echo Pedal (Talent)
Moved from Level 4 to Level 16
Pulse damage increased from 10 (+3 per level) to 30 (+5 per level)
The first pulse now fires immediately, and fires the follow-up pulse after 2 seconds in order to allow for more cohesion with Face Melt and Powerslide.
Rockstar (Trait)
No longer affects allied Minions or Mercenaries
Duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
Rockin’ Out (Talent) removed
Uber Rockstar (Talent) renamed to Speed Metal
Moved from Level 13 to Level 16
Now lasts 2 seconds, separate from Rockstar
New Talent (Level 4): Hammer On
Increases Rockstar’s duration by 2 seconds, and reduces the cost of all Abilities by 10 Mana while Rockstar is active
Powerslide (Q)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
New Talent (Level 1): Rolling Like a Stone
Increases Powerslide’s range by 25%
New Talent (Level 4): Double-Necked Guitar
Increases Powerslide’s width by 100%, and speed by 30%
New Talent (Level 13): Show Stopper
E.T.C. gains Resistant, reducing all damage taken by 25%, for 4 seconds after casting Powerslide.
Face Melt (W)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
New Talent (Level 4): Mic Check
Hitting 3 or more targets with Face Melt reduces its cooldown by 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): Pinball Wizard
Face Melt deals an additional 50% damage to enemies recently affected by Powerslide.
New Talent (Level 16): Encore
Face Melt now leaves behind an Amplifier, which will knock enemies back again after 2 seconds.
Guitar Solo (E)
Mana cost decreased from 60 to 40
Pwn Shop Guitar (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 1
Mana cost reduction decreased from 50% to 40%
Groupies (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 13
Healing provided to nearby allied Heroes increased from 12 (+3 per level) to 30 (+6 per level) Health per second while active
Guitar Hero (Talent) has been redesigned
Now heals for 50% of damage dealt by Basic Attacks while Guitar Solo is active
New Talent (Level 1): Prog Rock
Permanently increases Guitar Solo’s healing per second by 2 for each Regeneration Globe picked up
New Talent (Level 7): Just Keep Rockin’
Reduces the duration of all silences, slows, stuns, roots, and polymorphs against E.T.C. by 50% while Guitar Solo is active
Mosh Pit (R)
Death Metal (Talent) has been redesigned
Upon death, a ghost of E.T.C. will now cast Mosh Pit at his death location
This Talent may now be picked even if Stage Dive has been selected as E.T.C.’s Heroic Ability.
New Talent (Level 20): Tour Bus
Allows E.T.C. to cast Powerslide during Mosh Pit, and doing so increases Mosh Pit’s duration by 2 seconds
Additionally, casting Mosh Pit now refreshes Powerslide’s cooldown.
Stage Dive (R)
Cooldown reduced from 100 to 75 seconds
Rock God (Talent) removed
New Talent (Level 20): Crowd Pleaser
Increases Stage Dive’s impact radius by 50%, and reduces its cooldown by 15 seconds for each enemy Hero hit
Muradin
Basic Attack damage gained per level increased from 8 to 9
Follow Through (Talent) removed
Skullcracker (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 7
New Talent (Level 16): Give ‘em the Axe!
Basic Attacks deal 75% additional damage against targets that are rooted, stunned, or slowed
This is a Muradin-specific version of the Executioner Talent.
Thunder Clap (W)
Reverberation (Talent)
Attack speed slow amount increased from 33% to 50%
Attack speed slow duration decreased from 3.5 to 3 seconds
Thunder Burn (Talent)
Movement Speed slow duration applied by Thunder Clap’s secondary explosion increased from 2 to 2.5 seconds
Dwarf Toss (E)
Landing Momentum (Talent)
Movement Speed bonus duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds
Haymaker (R)
Cooldown decreased from 50 to 40 seconds
Sonya
Follow Through (Talent) added at Level 7
Fury (Trait)
War Paint (Talent)
Heal amount per Basic Attack increased from 25% to 30% of damage dealt
Endless Fury (Talent)
Maximum Fury increased from 150 to 200
No Escape (Talent)
Movement Speed bonus increased from 20% to 25%
Ancient Spear (Q)
Boon of the Ancients (Talent) removed
Composite Spear (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 7
Poisoned Spear (Talent)
Bonus damage increased from 50% to 75%
Mystical Spear (Talent)
Moved from Level 16 to Level 13
Now permanently reduces Ancient Spear’s cooldown by 4 seconds in addition to its other effects
Seismic Slam (W)
Damage increased from 90 (+13 per level) to 100 (+16 per level)
Furious Blow (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 16
Shattered Ground (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 4
Splash damage bonus reduced from 100% to 75% of primary target damage
Whirlwind (E)
Fury cost reduced from 50 to 40
Duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds
Cooldown reduced from 10 to 4 seconds, and now begins once Whirlwind completes
Heal amount reduced from 40% to 25% of damage dealt, this effect is doubled for damage dealt to enemy Heroes
Enduring Whirlwind (Talent) removed
Dust Devils (Talent) removed
Life Funnel (Talent)
No longer removes movement impairing effects
Bonus to Whirlwind healing reduced from +15% to +10% of damage dealt
New Talent (Level 4): Hurricane
Casting Whirlwind removes any active slows and roots affecting Sonya.
Leap (R)
Leap has received responsiveness improvements.
Arreat Crater (Talent)
Crater duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds
Wrath of the Berserker (R)
Anger Management (Talent)
No longer reduces Fury needed to prolong Wrath of the Berserker
Now increases all Fury generated while Wrath of the Berserker is active by 50%
Bug Fixes
General
Fixed a rare issue that could allow a Quick Match game to start with fewer than 10 players.
Closing the client during a match countdown will no longer occasionally cause the player to become unable to rejoin that game.
Fixed an issue, in which voice chat functionality that does not apply to Heroes of the Storm, could cause the player’s webcam to activate upon launching the client.
New SystemInfo.txt files will no longer be generated every time the Heroes of the Storm client is launched.
Several typos and tooltip errors have been corrected across various aspects of the game.
Art
Physics objects, such as ragdolls, can now be appropriately manipulated by Sonya and Gazlowe’s Abilities.
The Spider Emblem on the Tomb of the Spider Queen Battleground will no longer appear team-colored.
The color of Baleog and Erik’s Basic Attack projectiles will now appropriately match the selected Skin Variation.
The crystal at the end of Master Tassadar’s nerve cords is no longer flexible.
The visual effects for Flying Monkey Brightwing's Blink Heal now appropriately match the Skin.
Battlegrounds
Players will no longer enter an infinite rejoin loop if both Cores are destroyed simultaneously, and victory will be assigned to one team at random.
Alerts proclaiming that the Core is under attack will no longer play when an enemy Hero is within range of the Core before a Keep has been destroyed.
Fixed an issue that could cause Mercenary Camps on the Dragon Shire Battleground to permanently vanish when the Dragon Knight is killed.
Heroes killed just before being struck by the Dragon Knight’s Savage Charge Ability will no longer fly to the location where they would have landed upon respawning.
Fixed an issue that could cause the neutral Grave Golem in the Haunted Mines to drop Skulls outside the playable area.
Allowing a Temple to return to neutral ownership while it is firing its final 5 volleys will no longer generate error messages.
The Clear Cooldowns button in Try Me Mode will now properly reset the cooldowns for Tychus' Commandeer Odin and E.T.C.’s Mosh Pit Heroic Abilities.
Sound
Fixed an issue that could cause Heroes’ “ready” voiceover to play repeatedly during Hero Select.
Sound effects for Diablo's Fire Stomp will no longer play if the Ability becomes interrupted during its casting time.
Heroes and Talents
Casting a targeted Ability on a Hero that is disappearing into the Fog of War will no longer cause the casting player’s Hero to become briefly unresponsive.
Abathur’s Bombard Strain Talent will no longer increase Locust Health.
Baleog and Erik can no longer walk through Nazeebo’s Zombie Wall.
Casting Diablo's Shadow Charge on a Structure at melee range will no longer move him to that Structure’s opposite side.
E.T.C.’s Rockstar Trait will no longer buff Gazlowe’s Scrap.
Illidan’s Hero model will no longer disappear when casting The Hunt immediately after Dive.
Fixed an issue which could allow Nazeebo to summon a second Gargantuan while the first was still alive.
Stitches’ Hook can no longer pull a Hero that is about to be consumed by Zagara’s Devouring Maw outside of the Ability’s area of effect.
Sylvanas can no longer cast a second Haunting Wave after the Windrunner Talent’s timer has expired.
Sylvanas' Wailing Arrow Heroic Ability is now properly placed on a reduced cooldown if it becomes interrupted during its casting time.
Tassadar’s Oracle properly reveals Zagara’s Creep Tumors once again.
Framerate drops that occur while Valla uses Strafe have been significantly reduced.
User Interface
Fixed an issue which could cause players to search for a match in a game mode that they did not intend to enter.
Heroes that have progressed beyond Hero Level 4 will no longer occasionally load into games with locked Talents.
Inviting a player to join a party while viewing tutorial help tips will no longer cause the user interface to become unresponsive.
During Training Mode games, Uther will no longer prompt players to use a Mount when they are controlling the Dragon Knight.
During Training Mode games, Uther will no longer prompt Illidan players to use a Mount when already Mounted in Demon Form during Training Mode games.
The Quest Log’s clickable area now more closely matches its appearance.
The error message displayed when multiple party members attempt to queue for matchmaking using the same Hero, at the same time, will now indicate the cause for the error.
The ability hotkey for Kerrigan's Primal Grasp is now properly displayed in her Abilities tab on the Hero Select screen.
Items that players do not own will no longer appear purchasable during Draft Mode.
In-game Score Screen sorting options no longer prevent players from using the block communication function.
The in-game Score Screen (TAB) will now properly display the total number of Gems being carried by all three of The Lost Vikings on the Tomb of the Spider Queen Battleground.
Pressing the Escape key will now properly open the Main Menu when Heroes of the Storm is disconnected from the internet.
Hovering the cursor over other players on the end-of-game Stats tab will now properly indicate their current online statuses.
The preview image displayed when selecting Tomb of the Spider Queen Replays now properly displays the Battleground’s loading screen art.
Warlock82Never pet a burning dogRegistered Userregular
Training Mode has been added to the Play Screen.
*Use Training Mode to play with A.I. teammates against A.I. opponents. Uther will feel quite compelled to offer advice during games played in this mode.
*Games completed in Training Mode will not award any Gold or Daily Quest progress.
Versus A.I.
*Use this game mode to play with human or A.I. teammates against more difficult A.I. opponents than those found in Training Mode.
*Use the “Versus A.I. Options” box found in the lower-left corner of the Versus A.I. Screen to toggle between human and A.I. teammates.
Player Profile
So I guess they renamed Practice and Custom? And boo, no more daily credit from practice mode
The Lurkablo Diablo Skin has received a brand new voiceover set, which *MRGL! Mrglglbrlg rmgll MRGGLGLM! Mrrgrgbl…*
So.... I'm not sure how in 2015 having 8 hours downtime fairly regularly is in any way acceptable.
Because it's Blizzard. I've said this before but if this were any other company(see: UPlay) that had a system that's set up in such a way that their entire library was unplayable for 8 hours a week because reasons, people would lynch them.
The Introduction, Basic, and Advanced Tutorial Missions will now award the player with Gold upon completion.
If any Tutorial Missions are skipped, players may return to complete them (and claim their Gold rewards) at any time by opening the Main Menu (F10) and clicking the “Tutorials” button
Posts
Yeah, that's really odd. Especially if you're queue'd solo. The only time I've ever had any wait at all was with 4 or 5 party members.
Streaming 8PST on weeknights
WiiU: jooncole (Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate)
3DS: 2122-5983-8919
Cause Blizzard hates you specifically.
Picking a "most picked" hero in QM will always net a longer queue.
So yeah I'm hoping this time will be better, especially since I won't be talent gated at level 1 (I mean, assuming this patch brings the level 30 unlocks all heroes thing).
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
WiiU: jooncole (Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate)
3DS: 2122-5983-8919
XBL: InvaderJims
Bnet: Pudgestomp#11153
inc absurd overnerf of jaina tomorrow even though they barely buffed her last patch.
Best part of the day was Thrall and me camping the chest and killing the entire enemy team piecemeal as they tried to turn in dubloons. I love initiating with judgement!
WiiU: jooncole (Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate)
3DS: 2122-5983-8919
I would argue that it does not. The lack of a gold shop is an important factor in that: your upgrade choices are limited to 2-4 discrete options at predetermined levels in the game.
There are also some detail-oriented mechanics that have been removed/changed, such as last-hitting being gone and the introduction of shared experience, that are a bit more forgiving at lower levels while still offering pleasant amounts of higher-level strategy if you want it.
The community is often considered to be better than in LoL/DotA, although I personally don't have too much experience with the other communities. I do know that I don't see mean people in HotS often, and when I do it is really, really easy to mute them. So I mute people the instant they seem negative, then there is no more toxic community at all
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
The matches are shorter and objectives vary from map to map. There's less mechanical difficulty since you don't have to last hit or buy items, and the game is more teamfight focused. I'd say its much easier to pick up and play than DotA/2 or LoL.
I tried to play DOTA and hated it. I tried HoTS and really enjoyed it. No last hitting, no super complex shop, and pretty simple skill breakdown makes it very fun. Teamfights are a blast, even though (in my limited experience) you end up on your own more often than not.
WiiU: jooncole (Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate)
3DS: 2122-5983-8919
Blizzard has stripped away some of the more obviously gamey tactical elements of DotA (no last hitting, shared experience so you don't have to worry about getting too many kills if you're not the carry, no denying, etc) and made the strategic layer more involved due to different maps and mechanics. Easier to get into but still a good amount of knowledge to be aware of. Simply showing up to objectives when they're up will make you better than a quarter of the player base at the very least.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
HotS has a community that is less likely to be assholes unprovoked and less extreme when they do, but also far more likely to get incredibly defensive at any communication whatsoever. If you don't talk much, HotS is strictly better, but if you want to try to herd cats, in DotA/League people are relatively more likely to listen or stay silent, while in HotS people are relatively more likely to start spamming variations of "I'm not listening, lalala."
HotS is a lot easier to get into. Strict mechanical skill hardly comes into play outside of skillshots, and map objectives tend to allow at least pub matches a lot more opportunity to win via ambush than you'd get when the objectives were relatively static.
HotS requires a lot less thought to play in any given session. Between the shorter games, less decisions, and decreased importance of strategic positioning, there's a lot less to keep track of overall and a lot fewer things to do at any given time. I would say that DotA/League have a lot more going on in terms of strategic positioning because the legacy systems do add a lot of decisions (do I farm riskily in the lane, or go to the jungle? Who should rotate and who should capture farm? Should I build for durability and rely on base damage, or build for damage and rely on my team to peel), while Heroes generally has fewer considerations as to where you need to be from a strategic standpoint.
In terms of durability and mechanics, assassins are about as durable as an unfarmed DotA carry while warriors are about as durable as a beefy League bruiser. CC is generally mild and very rarely targeted, and unlike League or DotA very few characters actually rely on autoattacks for damage, and even those that do generally do so as an alternative build rather than the standard.
EDIT: Also, muting people in any given MOBA is two clicks away at this point, if that's your thing.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
It's crazy how well they pulled that off. They went 2-0!!
Granted, the team they were up against isn't one of the better teams, really. I'm honestly not too sure that Warrior-less comp would work against Tempo Storm, C9M, or Complexity.
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
HotS maps basically remind me of WoW battlegrounds a lot of time. The equivalent of remembering to go for the flag instead of fighting midfield applies here.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Some people...
See, that's why I really dislike Malfurion. His only build that's remotely active/fun is godawful. To be effective at all you have to spec for healing and he's sooooooooooooo boring when just played straight healer.
I really think playing cloaked units really pushes my ram usage higher than usual. The two times I used the cloaked guys I could only play 2 or so games before restarting client.
I tried out Nova for the first time ever yesterday. Considering I was talent locked and I had never ever played her before I think I did semi-OK (I ended most games with highest kills, of course). I kind of liked her "easier" style.
I didn't get her to lv 5 though, sadly. But I might actually buy her. I like Zeratul too but somehow I think she can be more effective since her range gives her better options to engage with. With lag too, Zera is harder to use since he requires far more apm and combos.
What build do your god-like Novas use?
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
My work internet isn't letting me use the talent calculator but there are two main builds.
Holodecoy which grabs decoy damage at 13, extra decoy at 16 and rewind at 20. That is 4 decoys which each is doing 25% of your damage. The rest of the talents stay the same with snipe damage at 1, gathering power and I almost always take orbital strike. Triple tap has too many ways to be interrupted or negated.
The other is the single burst. Instead of decoys with this I take the movement cloak one at 13, the armor debuff on pinning shot at 16 and the second orbital at 20.
Ambush snipe
Gathering power
Anti-armor shells
Precision strike
Lethal decoy (just started, was using advanced cloaking)
Crippling shot
Precision barrage (possibly should be rewind)
I am unsure of what to go with at 13,16, and 20. I dont really like the overdrive playstyle but it may be correct. I haven't played her enough.
My biggest issue with nova is that sure you can get an advantage by creating 4v5 situations by just exploding a backline hero. However you can't assist much in the followup push and the game is kinda-sorta 4v4 for a little while. At least the way the games I've played her. On the opposing team nova always fluctuates between expert assassins and useless.
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I use similar build to WingedWeasel. I switch out advanced cloaking and lethal decoy depending on the map. If it's a small map where I can roam around quicker with advanced cloaking I do that rather than mount.
I also switch out Precision Strike and Triple Tap depending on their team comp. I'll use Triple Tap if they have some squishies that might get away from my initial burst and Precision Strike if the teams appear to be heading to a lot of grouped up team fights.
I would stay away from overdrive. It messes with stealth and really you should do enough burst without it.
Ambush snipe
Gathering power
Anti-armor shells
precision strike
These are her core talents basically.
As I said above I tend to do lethal decoy if I am doing a decoy build. So the talent at 16 that produces a second decoy and rewind are my last set of talents.
Advanced stealth I find is better for the burst damage because it lets me set up a lot easier.
For the follow up the decoy build is better. Your decoys can help push or tank tower shots. And there are always people to pick off unless you had a full 5 man team wipe.
Also remember bursting down or pushing out a healer or a dps will help really turn the fight in your teams direction. Also practicing the timing to hit a precision strike on a void prison or maw is a major thing as well. The combo damage can really help.
Spoilered version coming shortly
We’ve brought Heroes of the Storm offline for a period of extended maintenance today in order to bring you a brand new Closed Beta patch! Maintenance is ongoing, but don't worry; we'll let you know just as soon as the Nexus is back online. In the meantime, you can check out the complete patch notes below.
General
Players that reached level 40 after the March 24 Closed Beta patch was released will now properly receive the associated portrait reward upon logging in to Heroes of the Storm.
Please note: In order to receive the portrait, players affected by this issue must log in to Heroes of the Storm before June 1, 2015. After that date, the portrait will no longer be awarded.
Performance
Improved Graphics Settings Auto-Detection
Several tweaks have been made to improve how Heroes auto-detects certain hardware configurations.
As a result of these improvements, all players’ default Graphic Settings will be re-detected and reset following today’s patch in order to provide better performance and play experiences across a wider range of hardware configurations.
Updated Performance Notification
The performance overlay (Ctrl + Alt + F) has been updated to track several additional metrics, which should help players better identify some common performance issues.
Several icons have been added, which will display in the performance overlay when the game client is experiencing certain types of significant performance issues.
Please visit the official Heroes of the Storm site to learn more about these icons, and how to troubleshoot the performance issues they indicate.
Many additional performance improvements have been made across various aspects of the game, including reduced memory usage and fragmentation on all graphic settings.
New Hero
Kael’thas Sunstrider has been added to Heroes of the Storm and is now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of this fiery new Assassin's Abilities.
Trait
Verdant Spheres (D)
Activate to make your next Basic Ability more powerful.
Basic Abilities
Flamestrike (Q)
After a short delay, deal damage in an area.
Verdant Spheres (Trait) -- Increases Flamestrike’s radius and damage.
Living Bomb (W)
Damages an enemy over a short time, after which the target will explode, damaging all nearby enemies. Casting a second Living Bomb on an enemy causes the first to explode immediately.
Verdant Spheres (Trait) -- Removes Living Bomb’s Mana cost and cooldown.
Gravity Lapse (E)
Stuns the first enemy hit.
Verdant Spheres (Trait) -- Causes Gravity Lapse to stun the first 3 enemies in its path.
Heroic Abilities
Phoenix (R)
Launch a Phoenix to target area, dealing damage to enemies along the way. The Phoenix persists, attacking enemies, and dealing splash damage to those near its primary attack target.
Pyroblast (R)
After a short delay, cast a slow-moving fireball that deals massive damage to an enemy, and medium damage to enemies near the target.
Art
General
The Radial Ping Menu has received updated art, which more closely matches the appearance of pings issued in the game world.
Defeat, fidget, taunt, and victory animations have been added to a number of Heroes and summoned units.
Gazlowe, Illidan, and Kerrigan have received minor animation and pose updates on Hero Select.
Several Heroes have received polish on the animations that play when purchased in the Shop.
Battlegrounds
Various Battleground assets have received additional visual polish.
Various Battleground assets have received additional optimization to help improve performance.
The terrain surrounding the Core on all Battlegrounds has been changed to better indicate the Core’s attack range.
Siege Giant Mercenaries on Sky Temple and Tomb of the Spider Queen have received minor attack animation polish.
Water in enemy Healing Fountains will now appear red on all Battlegrounds.
Heroes, Abilities, Mounts, and Skins
Heroes
Cloth physics have been added to the following Heroes:
Malfurion
Sylvanas
The following Heroes have received facial animation improvements:
Gazlowe
Sonya
Hero Abilities
The following Heroic Abilities will now apply an Invulnerability overlay to the affected player’s screen for the duration of their effects.
Tyrael -- Sanctification (R)
Uther -- Divine Shield (R)
The following Heroes have received new Ability icon art:
Zagara
Zeratul
The following Heroes’ Ability icons have received updated art to make them easier to differentiate from one another:
Abathur
Kerrigan
Nova
Sgt. Hammer
Tassadar
The following Hero Abilities and Talents have received visual polish:
Blood for Blood (Talent)
Abathur -- Symbiote (Q) Abilities: Stab (Q), Spike Burst (W), Carapace (E); Monstrosity (R)
Arthas -- Summon Sindragosa (R)
Diablo -- Received updated art and visual effects to coincide with his Talent rework.
E.T.C. -- Received updated art and visual effects to coincide with his Talent rework.
Jaina -- Ring of Frost (R) visual effects now more closely match the Ability’s duration.
Nova -- Anti-Armor Shells (Talent) target indicator
Raynor -- Raynor’s Raiders (R) target indicator
Sonya -- Basic Attack
Sylvanas -- Withering Fire (Q) target indicator, Haunting Wave (E) reactivation
Zagara -- Mutalisk (Talent), Nydus Network (R)
Mounts
Terror Charge has been added as a new Mount for Diablo, which will allow him to run across the battlefield on all fours.
Shop
Bundle Packs
New Bundles
The Stormpunk Kael’thas Bundle Pack has been added to the in-game Shop for a limited time.
Starter Bundle
The Starter Bundle has been updated to include a 7-day Stimpack in addition to its other content. The Bundle Pack’s price has not changed.
All players who previously purchased the Starter Bundle will also gain a 7-day Stimpack, which will activate in the weeks following today’s game update. Please see the official forums for more information.
Heroes
New Hero
Kael’thas Sunstrider has been added to the in-game Shop!
Price Changes
The Kandy King Muradin Skin’s real-money price has been reduced to $7.49 USD.
The price to create a new team for competition in Team League has been reduced to 500 Gold.
Skins
New Skins
A Master Skin has been added for Kael’thas.
The Stormpunk Kael’thas Skin has been added to the in-game Shop.
Sound
Battlegrounds
Battlegrounds have had their music playlists updated.
Voiceover that indicates when players rejoin, or disconnect from, a game will be played less frequently.
Heroes and Skins
The Pure Country E.T.C. Skin has received all new Ability sound effects.
The Lurkablo Diablo Skin has received a brand new voiceover set, which *MRGL! Mrglglbrlg rmgll MRGGLGLM! Mrrgrgbl…*
Many Heroes have received additional sound effect polish.
User Interface
Options Menus
Options menus have been cleaned up across the board, and a number of settings that were not applicable to Heroes of the Storm have been removed.
Social Options
An “Enable Allied Chat” checkbox has been added, which can be used to enable or disable in-game chat messages from teammates. This setting will be turned on by default.
Gameplay Options
A “Right-Click Through Minimap” checkbox has been added which can be used to toggle whether right-clicks will register on the minimap, or click through to the terrain underneath.
Please note that this is a first pass at implementation for this feature, and further improvements will be made with future updates.
An Observer and Replay Options tab has been added.
The “Save All Replays”, “Display Replay Time Info”, and “Observer Interface” settings have been moved from Gameplay Options into this new tab.
End-of-Game Score Screen
Summary
A gold border has been added to Hero and Player Level progress bars.
Talents
The Talents tab has been enabled on end-of-game Score Screens. Click to view the Talents selected by each player during the previous game.
Hero and Player Progression
Player Level Rewards
Upon reaching Player Level 25, all Heroic Abilities and Talents will now be automatically unlocked for Heroes that have not yet progressed to Hero Level 4.
Kindly note that, for the time being, players at or above Player Level 25 may still receive Heroic Ability and Talent unlock notifications as their Heroes progress through levels 1 - 4. This is a visual issue that will be resolved with a future game update.
In-Game UI
Buffs and Debuffs
Many buff and debuff icons, which were previously displayed to the left of Heroes’ in-game portraits, have been removed.
Hero-specific buff icons (such as Valla’s Hatred) have been moved to the right of the Hero’s in-game portrait.
Hero nameplates will now display the following status effects: Blinded, Invulnerable, Rooted, Silenced, Stunned, and Unstoppable.
Chat
Whispers from non-friends will now cause a help message to display, which indicates that the Chat Privacy Social Setting is turned off.
In-game Score Screens
The in-game Talents Screen (TAB) has received updated art.
Counters for Battleground Objectives (such as Doubloons, Skulls, etc.) are now also visible on the Talents Screen.
Players may mute chat messages from individual teammates by clicking the speech bubble icons found on the far-right side of the in-game Score Screen (TAB).
Teammates muted in this way will no longer be automatically added to the muting player’s “Blocked Communication” list.
Gear icons have been added to the far-right side of the in-game Score Screen, which can be clicked to report individual teammates or block all communication with them.
XP gains are now tracked more accurately for each Hero on the in-game Score Screen.
XP gains for takedowns, destroying structures, capturing Mercenary Camps, and securing Battleground Objectives are now split between all Heroes that are within standard XP range.
If no Heroes are nearby, XP earned this way is split evenly amongst the team.
Radial Ping Menu
The Radial Ping Menu has received updated art which more closely matches the pings issued by players in the game world.
Issuing an “On My Way” ping will now display an arrow on the terrain that indicates which direction that player is approaching from.
Play Screen
Hero Select
The Party Panel at the top of the screen will now indicate when party members have clicked the Ready button.
Training Mode has been added to the Play Screen.
Use Training Mode to play with A.I. teammates against A.I. opponents. Uther will feel quite compelled to offer advice during games played in this mode.
Games completed in Training Mode will not award any Gold or Daily Quest progress.
Versus A.I.
Use this game mode to play with human or A.I. teammates against more difficult A.I. opponents than those found in Training Mode.
Use the “Versus A.I. Options” box found in the lower-left corner of the Versus A.I. Screen to toggle between human and A.I. teammates.
Player Profile
Portrait Tab
Portrait borders have been added which will indicate the player’s current Hero and Team League ranks.
Navigate to the Portrait tab in the Player Profile to switch among the Player Level, Hero League, and Team League portrait borders.
Ranked Play
Ranks
Hero and Team League rank icons have received new art, and will now update visually upon reaching ranks 40, 30, 20, 10, and 1.
Shop
A number of visual improvements have been made to item display and layout in the Shop.
Each of the Heroes, Skins, and Mounts tabs will now display a featured item.
Discounts are now called out more prominently on item preview images.
Heroes Tab
Hero Ability layout on Heroes’ About pages has been overhauled.
An Abilities page has been added to Hero pages.
The Talents page has received visual improvements, and now more closely matches the Talent pane found on the Hero Select Screen.
Skins Tab
Skins have been classified as Rare, Epic, or Legendary based on how they alter a Hero.
These classifications will be displayed on each Skin’s preview image in the Shop, and Master Skins are also called out in this way.
Skin About pages will now list which aspects of the Hero they modify: Altered Voiceover, Replaced Voiceover, Themed Abilities, Themed Animations, and Themed Mount.
Tutorials
A pop-up dialog has been added to help new players track their progress through the Tutorial Missions.
The Introduction, Basic, and Advanced Tutorial Missions will now award the player with Gold upon completion.
If any Tutorial Missions are skipped, players may return to complete them (and claim their Gold rewards) at any time by opening the Main Menu (F10) and clicking the “Tutorials” button.
Battlegrounds
Sky Temple
Healing Fountains found near each team’s Fort in the center lane have been repositioned to prevent them from being attacked outside of tower range.
Tutorials
Basic Training
Core Health reduced from 14,000 (+400 per level) to 11,000 (+300 per level)
Core Shields reduced from 7,000 (+200 per level) to 5,500 (+150 per level)
Fort Health reduced from 9,000 to 7,000
Keep Health reduced from 13,000 to 10,000
Talents
Clairvoyance
Now breaks units within its radius out of Stealth, rather than revealing them
Focused Attack
Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 50% to 75%
Follow Through
Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 25% to 40%
Healing Ward
Can now be struck by Area of Effect Abilities
Healing Wards now have 50 (+15 per level) Health
Ice Block
Ice Block can now be reactivated to cancel its effects early
Promote
Buff duration increased from 15 to 30 seconds
part 1
Assassin
Nova
One in the Chamber (Talent)
Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 50% to 80%
Raynor
Penetrating Round (Q)
Knockback distance increased by about 23%
Inspire (W)
Attack Speed bonus increased from 25% to 30%
Allied Attack Speed bonus increased from 12.5% to 15%
Mana cost reduced from 50 to 40
Cooldown decreased from 15 to 10 seconds
Duration decreased from 8 to 6 seconds
Raynor’s Raiders (R)
New indicator art has been added that will highlight the Banshees’ current target.
Specialist
Abathur
Locust Strain (Trait)
Bombard Locusts (Talent)
Bombard Strain Locust attack range reduced by 30%
Symbiote (Q)
Stab (Q)
Damage increased from 44 (+9 per level) to 46 (+9.5 per level)
Azmodan
General of Hell (Trait)
Bound Minion (Talent)
Duration increased from 15 to 30 seconds
Gazlowe
Rock-it! Turret (Q)
Mana cost decreased from 70 to 60
Rock-It! Turret XL (Talent)
Now acquires targets in a cone rather than a circle
This change was made to prevent cases where bonus shots could fire farther than the turret’s indicated range
Turret Storage (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 13
Maximum Turret charges reduced from 4 to 3
Long-Ranged Turrets (Talent)
Turret attack range bonus increased from 25% to 40%
Deth Lazor (W)
Damage gained per level reduced from 14 to 12
Mana cost decreased from 75 to 60
Cooldown decreased from 15 to 12 seconds, and now begins once Deth Lazor is fired
Damage now increases at 1.5 second, rather than 2 second, intervals while channeling, and reaches maximum damage at 3 seconds.
Maximum channel time decreased from 8 to 6 seconds
Goblin Fusion (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 4
Damage bonus reduced from 50% to 25%
EZ-PZ Dimensional Ripper (Talent)
Slow amount increased from 35% to 40%
Xplodium Charge (E)
Mana cost increased from 60 to 70
Kwik Release Charge (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 16
Grav-O-Bomb 3,000 (R)
Triggers 0.1875 seconds sooner in order to better align with the Ability’s visual effects
Murky
Spawn Egg (Trait)
Murky now spawns into the game with an Egg automatically placed in the Hall of Storms.
If both Murky and his Egg are killed, a new Egg will be automatically placed in the Hall of Storms once he respawns.
Spawn Egg will not be placed on cooldown in either of the above scenarios.
Sylvanas
New Talent (Level 7): Remorseless
After using an Ability, the next Basic Attack within 3 seconds deals 25% additional damage.
This is a Sylvanas-specific replacement for the Follow Through Talent.
The Lost Vikings
Jump! (Talent) cooldown increased from 20 to 30 seconds
Longboat Raid! (R)
The Lost Vikings will now become stunned for 1.5 seconds if the Longboat is destroyed before its duration ends.
Play Again! (R)
All of the Lost Vikings are now restored to full Health upon casting Play Again!
Zagara
Infest (Talent)
Duration increased from 15 to 30 seconds
Support
Rehgar
Healing Totem (Talent)
Cooldown increased from 45 to 60 seconds
Farsight (Talent)
Now breaks units within its radius out of Stealth, rather than revealing them
Tassadar
Oracle (Trait)
Now reveals enemy units slightly faster
Warrior
Anub’arak
Scarab Host (Trait)
Beetle A.I. has received several improvements.
If Anub’arak is attacking an enemy when a Beetle is spawned, the Beetle will also attempt to attack that target.
If Anub’arak is not attacking anything when a Beetle is spawned, the Beetle will attempt to find a nearby target to attack.
Beetles will now attack and pursue a target found this way until that enemy dies, or the Beetles lose track of the target (through teleporting away, for example). Only then will the Beetles return to a lane.
Impale (Q)
Casting delay removed
Burrow Charge (E)
Casting delay significantly reduced
Chen
Chen’s Brew will now be fully restored after using Hearthstone (B) to return to the Hall of Storms.
Storm, Earth, Fire (R)
Chen’s status bar will now be hidden during the period of invulnerability that occurs while casting Storm, Earth, Fire, in order to better communicate this state to players.
Diablo
Diablo has received significant updates.
Health decreased from 1060 (+260 per level) to 1050 (+250 per level)
Amplified Healing (Talent) removed
Relentless (Talent) removed
Storm Shield (Talent) removed
New Talent (Level 13): Life Leech
Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes deal bonus damage equal to 1% of that Hero’s maximum Health, and heals Diablo for the same amount.
New Talent (Level 20): Lord of Terror
Activate to steal 10% of the maximum Health of all nearby enemy Heroes
Black Soulstone (Trait)
Maximum Health gain changed from +5 per Soul to +0.15% per Soul
Endless Death (Talent) removed
Soul Feast (Talent)
Health Regeneration bonus increased from 2% to 3% per Soul
Siphon the Dead (Talent) moved from Level 7 to 13
Will no longer interrupt movement when activated
No longer consumes Souls upon activation, and Black Soulstone now heals 15% of Diablo’s maximum Health over 3 seconds
Soul Steal (Talent)
This Talent has been repurposed and now affects Diablo’s Black Soulstone Trait.
Now increases the maximum Health gained per Soul from 0.15% to 0.25%
New Talent (Level 4): Soul Catcher
Passively generates a Soul every 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): Essence of the Slain
Gain 10 Mana whenever a nearby enemy Minion dies
Shadow Charge (Q)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds
Diablo is no longer Unstoppable during Shadow Charge.
Stun duration when the target of Shadow Charge is knocked into a wall has been decreased from 1 to 0.75 seconds.
Crippling Shadows (Talent) removed
From the Shadows (Talent) has been redesigned
Moved from Level 13 to Level 7
Now increases Shadow Charge’s stun duration, inflicted when the target is knocked into a wall, by 0.5 seconds
New Talent (Level 1): Overwhelming Force
Increases the range and knockback of Shadow Charge by 25%
New Talent (Level 7): Devastating Charge
Shadow Charge reduces the duration silences, stuns, slows, roots, and Polymorphs against Diablo by 50% for 3 seconds.
Fire Stomp (W)
Swallowing Flames (Talent) removed
Molten Impact (Talent) removed
Fire Devil (Talent) moved from level 16 to level 4
Damage reduced from 12 (+3 per level) to 10 (+2 per level)
Firestorm (Talent) moved from level 16 to level 13
Damage bonus decreased from 150% to 125%
New Talent (Level 16): Rampage
Fire Stomp increases Diablo’s Movement Speed by 20% and Basic Attack damage by 50% for 2 seconds.
Overpower (E)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
Demonic Strength (Talent) has been redesigned
Now slows the target by 25% for 2 seconds once Overpower’s stun expires
New Talent (Level 16): Domination
Overpower reduces Shadow Charge’s cooldown by 8 seconds.
Apocalypse (R)
Dying Breath (Talent)
Now also reduces Apocalypse’s cooldown by 20 seconds, in addition to its other effects
E.T.C.
E.T.C. has received significant updates.
Scouting Drone (Talent) removed
Superiority (Talent) removed
Relentless (Talent) removed
Hardened Shield (Talent) removed
Follow Through (Talent) added at Level 7
Spell Shield (Talent) added at Level 13
Storm Shield (Talent) added at Level 20
Echo Pedal (Talent)
Moved from Level 4 to Level 16
Pulse damage increased from 10 (+3 per level) to 30 (+5 per level)
The first pulse now fires immediately, and fires the follow-up pulse after 2 seconds in order to allow for more cohesion with Face Melt and Powerslide.
Rockstar (Trait)
No longer affects allied Minions or Mercenaries
Duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
Rockin’ Out (Talent) removed
Uber Rockstar (Talent) renamed to Speed Metal
Moved from Level 13 to Level 16
Now lasts 2 seconds, separate from Rockstar
New Talent (Level 4): Hammer On
Increases Rockstar’s duration by 2 seconds, and reduces the cost of all Abilities by 10 Mana while Rockstar is active
Powerslide (Q)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
New Talent (Level 1): Rolling Like a Stone
Increases Powerslide’s range by 25%
New Talent (Level 4): Double-Necked Guitar
Increases Powerslide’s width by 100%, and speed by 30%
New Talent (Level 13): Show Stopper
E.T.C. gains Resistant, reducing all damage taken by 25%, for 4 seconds after casting Powerslide.
Face Melt (W)
Mana cost increased from 50 to 60
New Talent (Level 4): Mic Check
Hitting 3 or more targets with Face Melt reduces its cooldown by 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): Pinball Wizard
Face Melt deals an additional 50% damage to enemies recently affected by Powerslide.
New Talent (Level 16): Encore
Face Melt now leaves behind an Amplifier, which will knock enemies back again after 2 seconds.
Guitar Solo (E)
Mana cost decreased from 60 to 40
Pwn Shop Guitar (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 1
Mana cost reduction decreased from 50% to 40%
Groupies (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 13
Healing provided to nearby allied Heroes increased from 12 (+3 per level) to 30 (+6 per level) Health per second while active
Guitar Hero (Talent) has been redesigned
Now heals for 50% of damage dealt by Basic Attacks while Guitar Solo is active
New Talent (Level 1): Prog Rock
Permanently increases Guitar Solo’s healing per second by 2 for each Regeneration Globe picked up
New Talent (Level 7): Just Keep Rockin’
Reduces the duration of all silences, slows, stuns, roots, and polymorphs against E.T.C. by 50% while Guitar Solo is active
Mosh Pit (R)
Death Metal (Talent) has been redesigned
Upon death, a ghost of E.T.C. will now cast Mosh Pit at his death location
This Talent may now be picked even if Stage Dive has been selected as E.T.C.’s Heroic Ability.
New Talent (Level 20): Tour Bus
Allows E.T.C. to cast Powerslide during Mosh Pit, and doing so increases Mosh Pit’s duration by 2 seconds
Additionally, casting Mosh Pit now refreshes Powerslide’s cooldown.
Stage Dive (R)
Cooldown reduced from 100 to 75 seconds
Rock God (Talent) removed
New Talent (Level 20): Crowd Pleaser
Increases Stage Dive’s impact radius by 50%, and reduces its cooldown by 15 seconds for each enemy Hero hit
Muradin
Basic Attack damage gained per level increased from 8 to 9
Follow Through (Talent) removed
Skullcracker (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 7
New Talent (Level 16): Give ‘em the Axe!
Basic Attacks deal 75% additional damage against targets that are rooted, stunned, or slowed
This is a Muradin-specific version of the Executioner Talent.
Thunder Clap (W)
Reverberation (Talent)
Attack speed slow amount increased from 33% to 50%
Attack speed slow duration decreased from 3.5 to 3 seconds
Thunder Burn (Talent)
Movement Speed slow duration applied by Thunder Clap’s secondary explosion increased from 2 to 2.5 seconds
Dwarf Toss (E)
Landing Momentum (Talent)
Movement Speed bonus duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds
Haymaker (R)
Cooldown decreased from 50 to 40 seconds
Sonya
Follow Through (Talent) added at Level 7
Fury (Trait)
War Paint (Talent)
Heal amount per Basic Attack increased from 25% to 30% of damage dealt
Endless Fury (Talent)
Maximum Fury increased from 150 to 200
No Escape (Talent)
Movement Speed bonus increased from 20% to 25%
Ancient Spear (Q)
Boon of the Ancients (Talent) removed
Composite Spear (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 7
Poisoned Spear (Talent)
Bonus damage increased from 50% to 75%
Mystical Spear (Talent)
Moved from Level 16 to Level 13
Now permanently reduces Ancient Spear’s cooldown by 4 seconds in addition to its other effects
Seismic Slam (W)
Damage increased from 90 (+13 per level) to 100 (+16 per level)
Furious Blow (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 16
Shattered Ground (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 4
Splash damage bonus reduced from 100% to 75% of primary target damage
Whirlwind (E)
Fury cost reduced from 50 to 40
Duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds
Cooldown reduced from 10 to 4 seconds, and now begins once Whirlwind completes
Heal amount reduced from 40% to 25% of damage dealt, this effect is doubled for damage dealt to enemy Heroes
Enduring Whirlwind (Talent) removed
Dust Devils (Talent) removed
Life Funnel (Talent)
No longer removes movement impairing effects
Bonus to Whirlwind healing reduced from +15% to +10% of damage dealt
New Talent (Level 4): Hurricane
Casting Whirlwind removes any active slows and roots affecting Sonya.
Leap (R)
Leap has received responsiveness improvements.
Arreat Crater (Talent)
Crater duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds
Wrath of the Berserker (R)
Anger Management (Talent)
No longer reduces Fury needed to prolong Wrath of the Berserker
Now increases all Fury generated while Wrath of the Berserker is active by 50%
Bug Fixes
General
Fixed a rare issue that could allow a Quick Match game to start with fewer than 10 players.
Closing the client during a match countdown will no longer occasionally cause the player to become unable to rejoin that game.
Fixed an issue, in which voice chat functionality that does not apply to Heroes of the Storm, could cause the player’s webcam to activate upon launching the client.
New SystemInfo.txt files will no longer be generated every time the Heroes of the Storm client is launched.
Several typos and tooltip errors have been corrected across various aspects of the game.
Art
Physics objects, such as ragdolls, can now be appropriately manipulated by Sonya and Gazlowe’s Abilities.
The Spider Emblem on the Tomb of the Spider Queen Battleground will no longer appear team-colored.
The color of Baleog and Erik’s Basic Attack projectiles will now appropriately match the selected Skin Variation.
The crystal at the end of Master Tassadar’s nerve cords is no longer flexible.
The visual effects for Flying Monkey Brightwing's Blink Heal now appropriately match the Skin.
Battlegrounds
Players will no longer enter an infinite rejoin loop if both Cores are destroyed simultaneously, and victory will be assigned to one team at random.
Alerts proclaiming that the Core is under attack will no longer play when an enemy Hero is within range of the Core before a Keep has been destroyed.
Fixed an issue that could cause Mercenary Camps on the Dragon Shire Battleground to permanently vanish when the Dragon Knight is killed.
Heroes killed just before being struck by the Dragon Knight’s Savage Charge Ability will no longer fly to the location where they would have landed upon respawning.
Fixed an issue that could cause the neutral Grave Golem in the Haunted Mines to drop Skulls outside the playable area.
Allowing a Temple to return to neutral ownership while it is firing its final 5 volleys will no longer generate error messages.
The Clear Cooldowns button in Try Me Mode will now properly reset the cooldowns for Tychus' Commandeer Odin and E.T.C.’s Mosh Pit Heroic Abilities.
Sound
Fixed an issue that could cause Heroes’ “ready” voiceover to play repeatedly during Hero Select.
Sound effects for Diablo's Fire Stomp will no longer play if the Ability becomes interrupted during its casting time.
Heroes and Talents
Casting a targeted Ability on a Hero that is disappearing into the Fog of War will no longer cause the casting player’s Hero to become briefly unresponsive.
Abathur’s Bombard Strain Talent will no longer increase Locust Health.
Baleog and Erik can no longer walk through Nazeebo’s Zombie Wall.
Casting Diablo's Shadow Charge on a Structure at melee range will no longer move him to that Structure’s opposite side.
E.T.C.’s Rockstar Trait will no longer buff Gazlowe’s Scrap.
Illidan’s Hero model will no longer disappear when casting The Hunt immediately after Dive.
Fixed an issue which could allow Nazeebo to summon a second Gargantuan while the first was still alive.
Stitches’ Hook can no longer pull a Hero that is about to be consumed by Zagara’s Devouring Maw outside of the Ability’s area of effect.
Sylvanas can no longer cast a second Haunting Wave after the Windrunner Talent’s timer has expired.
Sylvanas' Wailing Arrow Heroic Ability is now properly placed on a reduced cooldown if it becomes interrupted during its casting time.
Tassadar’s Oracle properly reveals Zagara’s Creep Tumors once again.
Framerate drops that occur while Valla uses Strafe have been significantly reduced.
User Interface
Fixed an issue which could cause players to search for a match in a game mode that they did not intend to enter.
Heroes that have progressed beyond Hero Level 4 will no longer occasionally load into games with locked Talents.
Inviting a player to join a party while viewing tutorial help tips will no longer cause the user interface to become unresponsive.
During Training Mode games, Uther will no longer prompt players to use a Mount when they are controlling the Dragon Knight.
During Training Mode games, Uther will no longer prompt Illidan players to use a Mount when already Mounted in Demon Form during Training Mode games.
The Quest Log’s clickable area now more closely matches its appearance.
The error message displayed when multiple party members attempt to queue for matchmaking using the same Hero, at the same time, will now indicate the cause for the error.
The ability hotkey for Kerrigan's Primal Grasp is now properly displayed in her Abilities tab on the Hero Select screen.
Items that players do not own will no longer appear purchasable during Draft Mode.
In-game Score Screen sorting options no longer prevent players from using the block communication function.
The in-game Score Screen (TAB) will now properly display the total number of Gems being carried by all three of The Lost Vikings on the Tomb of the Spider Queen Battleground.
Pressing the Escape key will now properly open the Main Menu when Heroes of the Storm is disconnected from the internet.
Hovering the cursor over other players on the end-of-game Stats tab will now properly indicate their current online statuses.
The preview image displayed when selecting Tomb of the Spider Queen Replays now properly displays the Battleground’s loading screen art.
part 2
So.... I'm not sure how in 2015 having 8 hours downtime fairly regularly is in any way acceptable.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
So I guess they renamed Practice and Custom? And boo, no more daily credit from practice mode
The single best thing they could do to improve my Murky play :P
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
Because it's Blizzard. I've said this before but if this were any other company(see: UPlay) that had a system that's set up in such a way that their entire library was unplayable for 8 hours a week because reasons, people would lynch them.
If any Tutorial Missions are skipped, players may return to complete them (and claim their Gold rewards) at any time by opening the Main Menu (F10) and clicking the “Tutorials” button
FYI
Discord: Dudeman#9279 - Battle.net: Dudeman#1385
Twitch: CrashTestJonny - XBox: CrshTstJonny
Nintendo Switch: SW-4469-1892-0302