I have never experienced a moba where drops are this frequent. And those mobas tended to have way longer matches than hots.
Something seems wrong with the game's leaver queue, because otherwise I must be the world's unluckiest person and getting first or second offenders every single time. When half of my games in a day are me sitting around waiting to lose, it feels like a massive waste of my time.
To be honest? That sounds exactly what's happening. People come on here to complain about shitty teammates and whatnot on the weekends, you're literally the only person here complaining about ludicrous amounts of disconnects. Perhaps try queuing more with PAers to reduce the number of teammates that can randomly drop?
Yeah, I play alot but don't have frequent disconnecters and I think I've seen maybe 2 leavers in the last 6 months. I've seen a few more I thought were leavers but ended up being people the game crashed on or something at just the right time to make it look like they were leavers, cause they came back a few minutes latter bitching about the crash.
I stick to QM though so maybe HL is worse for people dropping? I don't know. But I don't see many drops.
The multiple crushing losses sounds like standard weekend queue though.
Honestly I feel like matchmaking is worse these past few months then it used to be and I think, based on the way it's worse, it's actually because the playerbase has been UP since around Li-Ming's release. But everyone is playing assassins or specialists so it's all horrible no support/no tank comps.
Cause it's felt better after they said they changed the MM but then got worse after Li-Ming release and what really felt like a player increase and it hasn't gone back to better comps since then.
So how is Xul after his changes? Thinking about buying him to have another specialist to play, since currently the only ones I like are Zag and Murky.
Still super busted.
The nerfs made him a bit more manageable, but he's still just fucking ridiculous. Still 1st pick material for HL, because he's still the best laner/pusher and because picking him straight up means the enemy team can't pick melees.
At this point I think they need to up the CD on his E or something.
Neat. Is Skeleton build still the way to go even with the nerfs? Seems really good still just from playing around with it.
Generally, yeah.
Weaken is actually a good choice at level 7 now too, because his W only does 40% instead of 50%. So if they have several melee and you've got a good healer, consider taking it.
Otherwise business as usual, Corpse Explosion/Skeleton Mastery/Bone Spear. You can actually opt for the Vulnerability at 16 too, if you have need of it.
I think the Q build honestly isn't as strong, especially now that they nerfed his Q damage. Jailors all the way down.
So how is Xul after his changes? Thinking about buying him to have another specialist to play, since currently the only ones I like are Zag and Murky.
Still super busted.
The nerfs made him a bit more manageable, but he's still just fucking ridiculous. Still 1st pick material for HL, because he's still the best laner/pusher and because picking him straight up means the enemy team can't pick melees.
At this point I think they need to up the CD on his E or something.
Neat. Is Skeleton build still the way to go even with the nerfs? Seems really good still just from playing around with it.
Generally, yeah.
Weaken is actually a good choice at level 7 now too, because his W only does 40% instead of 50%. So if they have several melee and you've got a good healer, consider taking it.
Otherwise business as usual, Corpse Explosion/Skeleton Mastery/Bone Spear. You can actually opt for the Vulnerability at 16 too, if you have need of it.
I think the Q build honestly isn't as strong, especially now that they nerfed his Q damage. Jailors all the way down.
I've tried the Q build cause it seems good on paper and it's not bad. I generally go Range/Heal from Skellies/Slow/Cooldown reduction/Fuck-You-Healers. Mostly, really, I grab it for the increased range for landing the anti-heal at 20 when I look at the enemy comp and think it'll be required.
I'm not sure if it's stronger then skeleton build though but I can't feel why. Skeleton build seems to work better invisibly or something. I don't know.
The extra range is pretty nice though. I find it hard to land the thing well otherwise give the delay.
In general though I would say I haven't found Xul as strong as many claim since I feel like he doesn't do enough damage to be a huge issue alot of the time. Sure you ain't gonna die while popping Shade and then W on a melee assassin but you won't kill them back either in my experience and then after the debuffs are gone they will wreck you.
Been trying to check some videos to see if I'm doing something wrong here.
shryke on
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The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
In general though I would say I haven't found Xul as strong as many claim since I feel like he doesn't do enough damage to be a huge issue alot of the time. Sure you ain't gonna die while popping Shade and then W on a melee assassin but you won't kill them back either in my experience and then after the debuffs are gone they will wreck you.
Been trying to check some videos to see if I'm doing something wrong here.
If you're doing Q build that's why you feel like you're not doing enough damage. And that's fine, but it's a different role--Q build is actually the "curse" build, rather than his W, because it's all about spamming debuffs as often as possible. Skeleton Build is actually his damage build, because the instant skellies on jailors + corpse explosion + skeleton mastery + you punching them while they're rooted is actually a very noticeable sum of damage.
Edit: And W build is sort of his melee assassin brawler build, which isn't good because melee assassins haven't been good in months.
In general though I would say I haven't found Xul as strong as many claim since I feel like he doesn't do enough damage to be a huge issue alot of the time. Sure you ain't gonna die while popping Shade and then W on a melee assassin but you won't kill them back either in my experience and then after the debuffs are gone they will wreck you.
Been trying to check some videos to see if I'm doing something wrong here.
If you're doing Q build that's why you feel like you're not doing enough damage. And that's fine, but it's a different role--Q build is actually the "curse" build, rather than his W, because it's all about spamming debuffs as often as possible. Skeleton Build is actually his damage build, because the instant skellies on jailors + corpse explosion + skeleton mastery + you punching them while they're rooted is actually a very noticeable sum of damage.
Edit: And W build is sort of his melee assassin brawler build, which isn't good because melee assassins haven't been good in months.
A few of them were kinda good for a second. Thrall and Zeratul were popular, and Greymane is mostly ranged but he'll do some melee work.
And then Xul came out. Whoops.
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Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
Yeah if you want self-damage you go skeletons with the explosion. However, I've found that Vulnerability is generally better since the nerfs, as the skeletons don't quite do enough burst to blow someone up, but people have learned that Bone Prison = focus this target, so Vulnerability goes a really long way in a fight with half-decent teammates. It used to be the case that you could top both meters by yourself, but since last week I've found that I can really only compete for Siege, which is frankly where he should be since he's a specialist. Bone Prison is a setup skill for others, not just an excuse for you to engage in melee and die after trading.
In general though I would say I haven't found Xul as strong as many claim since I feel like he doesn't do enough damage to be a huge issue alot of the time. Sure you ain't gonna die while popping Shade and then W on a melee assassin but you won't kill them back either in my experience and then after the debuffs are gone they will wreck you.
Been trying to check some videos to see if I'm doing something wrong here.
If you're doing Q build that's why you feel like you're not doing enough damage. And that's fine, but it's a different role--Q build is actually the "curse" build, rather than his W, because it's all about spamming debuffs as often as possible. Skeleton Build is actually his damage build, because the instant skellies on jailors + corpse explosion + skeleton mastery + you punching them while they're rooted is actually a very noticeable sum of damage.
Edit: And W build is sort of his melee assassin brawler build, which isn't good because melee assassins haven't been good in months.
I've found skeleton build better but not by enough. Thrall or the like will still wreck your face 1v1 in my experience anyway.
I haven't had a leaver in weeks.. I almost became one myself because my Internet shat itself, but then I returned 10 minutes later and we still won the game. Luckily Artanisbot took charge at 16.
Speaking of DCing, I had my computer crash right as I loaded into a match on Spider Queen today as Xul.
The AI went with Shackler.
The end result of this is I've determined that Shackler is shit. It's just ... why would you want this? What good is it? I guess it's a chase tool, but it's not much of one and you are burning your main defensive cooldown to get a mediocre slow for 3 seconds.
Just generally, they need to do something about Xul's lvl 1 talents imo. Shade is just too good. The downsides are pretty minor all things considered and the upsides are HUGE. And more importantly, the alternatives just don't really provide much. Backlash is OK (and Shackler is kinda shit) but there's very few instances where you wouldn't be better off with the evasion for most of the game. The whole tier is just completely out of whack imo.
For those wondering, the AI also took Jailer and then Weaken (the 75% attack speed slow on your W). Which was useless cause the only melee they had was Diablo.
Speaking of DCing, I had my computer crash right as I loaded into a match on Spider Queen today as Xul.
The AI went with Shackler.
The end result of this is I've determined that Shackler is shit. It's just ... why would you want this? What good is it? I guess it's a chase tool, but it's not much of one and you are burning your main defensive cooldown to get a mediocre slow for 3 seconds.
Just generally, they need to do something about Xul's lvl 1 talents imo. Shade is just too good. The downsides are pretty minor all things considered and the upsides are HUGE. And more importantly, the alternatives just don't really provide much. Backlash is OK (and Shackler is kinda shit) but there's very few instances where you wouldn't be better off with the evasion for most of the game. The whole tier is just completely out of whack imo.
It works ok as another source of slow if you go executioner build, but yeah, Shade is pretty good.
Man, she's easy as hell to use.
It's literally all point-and-click.
Like, yes you still have to worry about positioning and if you go teleport build it's considerably more challenging but other than that, man it's just all so straight forward.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
+1
The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
Teleport build isn't really more challenging, you just gotta play it like Greymane. Save teleport is a finisher for tagging runner, or getting a lot of damage in if they're like, low and clumped around a Brightwing/Malf for healing. Calamity makes it do a lot of damage, yes, but it's not worth the risk to do anything close to initiation with it.
The range on her abilities is prob the strongest feature she has. It lets her do all of these fire-and-forget shots from a very safe distance.
This is different than Kaelthas who has to be fairly close to cast living bomb.
I'm not sure how far flamestrike range is (I know flamethrower makes the range really good).
She can also spam her Q like every 3 seconds if talented?
That's just nuts. That alone makes her one of the better mages due to the amount of POKE she can put out.
I generally out-DPS her as Zag though because sustained dmg is generally better in a team / map designed for long fights.
But Li-Ming can be much better in a dive-type team where it's more about burst than sustain.
Say, this would be great vs Uther, who can't quite keep up with heals.
She plays very differently than the other mages because of this, and has her ups and downs.
Interesting design.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
Li is flexible as hell, though.
As an aside, did they buff Azmodans damage? I've been seeing him a lot in HL lately and he's brutally effective
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The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
Weird
I got doomed with the daily of playing a support so I got the map I dislike the pirate gold one
But the weird part I cannot figure out is they were at our core as I launched the ship bombardment both did the finishing move at the same time
Both cores went down at the same time leaving me with no score or no win or loss
I never saw that before nor do I think I will see it again
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Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
Weird
I got doomed with the daily of playing a support so I got the map I dislike the pirate gold one
But the weird part I cannot figure out is they were at our core as I launched the ship bombardment both did the finishing move at the same time
Both cores went down at the same time leaving me with no score or no win or loss
I never saw that before nor do I think I will see it again
You should totally report this to Blizzard. Even if it's a super-duper edge case, they should either have a tiebreaker in place to determine a winner and a loser, or explicitly call the game a draw so people know what happened.
Weird
I got doomed with the daily of playing a support so I got the map I dislike the pirate gold one
But the weird part I cannot figure out is they were at our core as I launched the ship bombardment both did the finishing move at the same time
Both cores went down at the same time leaving me with no score or no win or loss
I never saw that before nor do I think I will see it again
Yeah, definitely submit this replay to Blizzard as a bug report. Also, you should totally post it here for our amusement.
Teleport build isn't really more challenging, you just gotta play it like Greymane. Save teleport is a finisher for tagging runner, or getting a lot of damage in if they're like, low and clumped around a Brightwing/Malf for healing. Calamity makes it do a lot of damage, yes, but it's not worth the risk to do anything close to initiation with it.
Teleport build is actually the easymode Li-Ming build. All you have to do is have decent awareness of when to go all in. You don't need to land your skills shots near as well as with Missile or Orb build.
Just plink away from range while your team engages, wait for someone to get low then teleport on top of them, unload QWR at melee range where you can't miss and then hopefully get the kill and do it all over again till the other team no longer exists.
With this in mind, we’ve upped the minimum requirement for ranked play from 10 to 14 heroes. Additionally, any Heroes that you’ve reached level 5 or higher with —including the Heroes you own, as well as those on the Weekly Free-to-Play Rotation— will now count toward the minimum hero requirement, and can be selected for play during ranked games
Huh. Bravo, Blizzard, that's pretty awesome of you.
PUBLIC TEST REALM
Free-to-Play Hero Rotation on PTR
A number of Heroes have received significant Talent changes with today’s patch. In order to help increase the volume of playtesting that these Heroes receive, we’ve expanded the Public Test Realm’s Free-to-Play Hero Rotation to include the following Heroes:
Gazlowe (Talent re-work)
Illidan (Talent re-work)
Kael’thas (Talent re-work)
Sylvanas (Talent re-work)
Tychus (Talent re-work)
Anub’arak
Malfurion
Tyrael
Valla
Rehgar (Requires Player Level 5)
Sgt. Hammer (Requires Player Level 7)
Chen (Requires Player Level 12)
Li-Ming (Requires Player Level 15)
Lost Cavern, a new Battleground featuring just one lane —and a whole lot of team fighting— is now available for play exclusively in Custom Games!
Lost Cavern has no Mercenary Camps, and just one objective: Battle through the opposing Fort, Keep, and Core to claim victory.
Players cannot use Hearthstone and will not heal at the allied Hall of Storms.
Corridors on either side of the lane contain neutral Regeneration Globes, which will respawn regularly throughout the game.
Check out our recent blog to learn more about Lost Cavern.
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NEW HERO: DEHAKA
Dehaka, Primal Pack Leader, has been added to Heroes of the Storm and is now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of his Abilities.
Mount
Brushstalker (Z)
You cannot use Mounts. Instead, you may burrow to any bush or vent on the Battleground. 40 second cooldown.
Trait
Essence Collection (D)
You collect 10 Essence per Hero Takedown, and 2 per enemy Minion killed nearby, storing up to a maximum of 50 Essence.
Activate to consume all stored Essence and regenerate Health over the next 5 seconds for each stack consumed.
Can be cast during Drag and Burrow.
Basic Abilities
Drag (Q)
Lash out with your tongue, dealing light damage to the first enemy hit, and dragging them with you for 1.75 seconds.
Dark Swarm (W)
Over the next three seconds, you gain the ability to move through units and deal damage in an area around yourself. Deals double damage to Heroes.
Can be cast during Drag and Burrow.
Burrow (E)
Burrow into the ground, entering Stasis and becoming Invulnerable for 2 seconds.
Heroic Abilities
Isolation (R)
Launch biomass that deals damage, silences, and slows the first enemy Hero it hits by 30% for 3 seconds. For the next 6 seconds, the affected enemy loses sight of allied Heroes, and has greatly reduced vision.
Adaptation (R)
After a 5 second delay, 60% of all damage taken during this time will be returned to you as Health.
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USER INTERFACE
General
Hero Select
The Ready, Skins, Mount, Abilities, and Talents buttons on Hero Select have received additional visual polish.
Game Start Notification
If Heroes of the Storm is minimized, it will now automatically become the focus window when loading is finished and a match is about to begin.
If Heroes of the Storm is not the focus window (via ALT + TAB), it will now blink in the taskbar when loading is finished.
Ranked Play
Bans have arrived!
Hero bans have been added to draft mode for both Hero and Team League games.
All Ranked games will use the “Mid Ban” method during drafts, which features two ban rounds per team —one round before hero picks begin, and a second halfway through the draft.
The player with the highest matchmaking rating on each team will be automatically selected to issue bans.
Players selected to issue bans can be identified by a new crown icon, which will appear over the Hero portrait, and animates during each team’s turn to ban.
Whichever team wins the coin toss before drafting begins will receive first ban and first pick.
The team that loses the coin toss will ban first during the second ban round.
Each team will have 45 seconds to ban a Hero during the first round, and 30 seconds during the second Ban round.
If no Hero is banned or highlighted before time expires, the ban will be skipped.
If a Hero is highlighted when time expires, that hero will be automatically banned.
Hero pick timers have been reduced from 45 to 30 seconds, but pick order has not been changed.
Updated Ranked Requirements
Minimum Player Level requirements have been removed from ranked play, meaning that players no longer need to reach Level 30 in order to participate in Hero or Team League games.
Due to the addition of bans, Ranked play now requires that players have access to at least 14 Heroes who have reached Level 5 or higher in order to participate.
Weekly free-to-play rotation Heroes that have reached Level 5 or higher now count toward the minimum Hero requirement, and can also be selected for play in ranked games.
Those who have received penalties for leaving games will no longer be prevented from participating in Team League games —be sure to choose Team League allies carefully!
Draft Lobby
The Draft Lobby has received an overhaul and additional visual polish.
Upon entering a draft lobby, the upcoming Battleground’s name and art will be prominently displayed on screen, along with an audible callout.
The draft lobby has received updated background art.
Animated Hero models will now be displayed for each pick and ban.
Draft lobbies now feature animated Hero portraits.
Glow animations have been added to player slots, which will more clearly indicate who will be picking or banning during each turn.
Skin selections will now be visible on Hero models and in portraits in the draft lobby.
Hero Selection has been visually reworked
A “Favorites” bar has been added in order to help players more easily find and select their most preferred Heroes during the draft phase.
To select Favorites, navigate to the Hero Collection tab in the Player Profile, and then drag and drop up to 8 Heroes into the new favorites bar at the top of the screen.
If no favorites have been manually selected, the Favorites bar will be automatically filled with the player’s 8 highest-level Heroes
Click the new “Browse All” Heroes button to open a much larger Hero select pane, which features up to 48 heroes per page.
Heroes can now be sorted by role, and a search bar has been added which can be used to find heroes by name, universe, and other keywords.
Custom Games
Several ban methods have been added for Custom Game Draft Lobbies
Change the Lobby Mode to Draft, and then use the new Ban Mode dropdown to choose which of the following ban methods to use during the upcoming draft:
Not Using Bans: Heroes cannot be banned in this mode.
One ban: One ban round prior to Hero picks.
Two bans: Two ban rounds that alternate teams before Hero picks begin.
Mid Ban: Two ban rounds. One round before Hero picks begin, and another halfway through the draft.
After selecting a Ban Mode, the Lobby Host may click the crown icons found on each player slot to designate which players on each team will issue Hero bans.
In-Game UI
Hero Portrait
Players can now right-click through the in-game Hero Portrait.
Death Recaps
Death Recap notifications will now be displayed on the left side of the screen upon being killed.
These notifications briefly summarize the cause of death, list the player’s killer, and the source of damage that scored the killing blow.
Click the notification to open a detailed Death Recap on the in-game Score Screen.
Players may view their most recent detailed Death Recap at any time by clicking the “Show the last Death Recap” button added near the bottom of the in-game Score Screen (TAB).
Detailed Death Recaps will display a graph of the player’s remaining Health over time, as well as all sources of incoming damage and healing, during the final moments leading to death.
The top three sources of incoming damage will appear at the top of the detailed Death Recap, along with the percentage of total damage dealt by each.
Score Screen
The Show Talents/Show Stats buttons on the in-game Score Screen (TAB) have been replaced by three new buttons on the in-game score screen: Stats, Talents, and Show Last Death Recap
Hotkey settings can now be accessed directly from the Main Menu by pressing Escape and clicking the new Hotkey button.
Hotkey Profiles
A new “Show in Folder” button has been added next to the Selected Profile dropdown, which can be used to find Hotkey Settings files.
These files can be shared with friends or transferred to other Heroes accounts.
Multiple Hotkey Profiles can be created, but only the profile that is currently in use will be cloud saved.
A cloud saved Hotkey Profile will be available for use when logged into the same Heroes of the Storm account while using a different computer.
Basic Hotkeys
Talent hotkeys have been moved from the Advanced tab to the Basic tab.
Hotkeys on the Basic tab can now be rebound to mouse buttons.
Players can now rebind the hotkey for queuing commands using the new dropdown menu at the top of the Basic Hotkeys menu.
The queue commands hotkey will default to Shift, but can also be changed to Ctrl, Alt, or None.
Advanced Hotkeys
Hotkeys for self-casting Abilities can now be rebound under the new “Hero Abilities (Self Cast)” category.
Hotkeys for overriding Quick Cast settings can now be set under the new “Hero Abilities (Quick Cast)” and “Hero Abilities (Quick Cast On Release)” categories.
Quick Cast for Individual Abilities
Quick Cast Settings have been moved to the Hotkeys menu from the Mouse and Keyboard menu.
Quick Cast settings can now be modified for each Hero, including Abilities, Activated Talents, and Basic Attacks.
Open the Options Menu (ESC), click the Hotkeys button, and then select Quick Cast Settings from the list on the left.
Use the new dropdown menu under the “Per Ability Quick Cast Settings” header to switch among Heroes, or Battleground Objectives such as the Dragon Knight and Garden Terror.
After selecting a Hero, use the dropdown lists on the right side of the screen to change quick cast settings for that Hero’s Abilities and Activated Talents.
Most Abilities can be set to Off, On, On Release, or Use Global Setting
Quick Cast Settings for Abilities and Activated Talents that are already cast instantly cannot be changed.
Instant Abilities that are not targeted no longer follow the player’s Global Quick Cast setting, and will now be cast immediately on pressing down the associated hotkey, instead.
Abilities and Talents that are shared across multiple Heroes, such as Basic Attack and Cleanse, will also use shared Quick Cast settings for those Abilities and Talents.
Those who prefer to use the same Quick Cast setting for most actions may still do so using the “Global Settings” dropdown at the top of the Quick Cast Settings menu.
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ART
Hero Abilities and Talents
Many Heroes have received updated Ability and Talent button art.
All generic Talents have received updated button art
All remaining Talents that modify the same Ability and coexist on the same Talent tier have received new color tints to help players more easily tell them apart at a glance
The following Hero Abilities and Talents have received additional visual polish:
Azmodan — General of Hell (D)
Cho — Consuming Blaze (W), Molten Block (Talent)
Gall — Shove (Talent), Psychotic Break (Talent)
Gazlowe — Rock It! Turret (Q), Xplodium Charge (E), Goblin Fusion (Talent)
The following Heroes have received updated visual effects for Abilities and Talents that have been reworked in today’s patch:
Gazlowe
Kael’thas
Skins
Rehgar’s Ghost Wolf form will now more closely match his Skins and Skin Variations in-game.
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SHOP
Bundles
New Bundles have been added for a limited time!
Mecha Dehaka Bundle
Sovereign Fiends Bundle
Ultimate Sovereign Fiends Bundle
Heroes
Dehaka has been added to the in-game Shop
Price Reductions
Kerrigan’s prices have been reduced to $6.49 USD and 4,000 Gold.
Skins
New Skins
Master Dehaka
Mecha Dehaka
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SOUND
General
Sound effects will now play during the following events when Heroes of the Storm is running in the background —even if the “Play in Background” Sound option is disabled:
Game is found while queued for matchmaking
Countdown begins prior to loading into a game
Loading has finished and the game is about to begin
Game has begun
Draft Mode: Player has 10 seconds remaining to pick a Hero
Draft Mode: Player’s Hero pick timer has expired
Draft Mode: Countdown begins after Drafting is finished, prior to loading into a game
Heroes
New voiceover lines have been added for Li-Ming, who will now call out her own kill streaks.
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DESIGN & GAMEPLAY
AFK Detection
Players who are not present at the start of a game will now be more quickly removed.
Hero Movement Interaction Unification
Several Abilities have been changed in an effort to unify their usage.
The following Abilities can now be used to move to invulnerable units:
Kerrigan — Ravage (Q)
Illidan — Dive (Q)
The following Abilities can now be used to travel to objects created by an enemy, such as Sgt. Hammer’s Spider Mines:
Kerrigan — Ravage (Q)
Lunara — Leaping Strike (R)
Illidan — Dive (Q)
Kharazim — Radiant Dash (Q)
Chen — Flying Kick (Q)
On-Hit Effects
Effects applied when Basic Attacks strike the target will no longer be applied if evasion causes the Basic Attack to miss.
“On My Way” Ping Pathing Lines
Allied "On My Way" pings will now display lines on the minimap that show the projected path of travel.
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BATTLEGROUNDS
Dragon Shire
Dragon Knight
Now immune to Attack Speed slows applied by attacks from enemy Forts and Keeps
Savage Charge (W)
Targets punted by Savage Charge will no longer be stunned after landing
Garden of Terror
Garden Terror (Player Controlled)
Basic Attack damage reduced by 15%
Basic Attacks now deal 50% damage to nearby non-Heroic enemies
Basic Attacks now instantly kill Minions
Overgrowth (W)
No longer affects Minions or Mercenaries
No longer deals damage to Structures
Garden Terror now deals 100% bonus damage to Structures disabled by Overgrowth
Maximum duration increased from 15 to 25 seconds
Cooldown increased from 15 to 25 seconds
Health increased by 100%
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TALENTS
Arcane Power
Duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds
Block
Damage reduction increased from 50% to 75%
Dampen Magic
This Talent has been redesigned
Dampen Magic charges now cause all incoming Ability Damage to be reduced by 50% for 1 second
Vampiric Assault
Has been renamed to Vigorous Assault
Vampiric Strike
With this in mind, we’ve upped the minimum requirement for ranked play from 10 to 14 heroes. Additionally, any Heroes that you’ve reached level 5 or higher with —including the Heroes you own, as well as those on the Weekly Free-to-Play Rotation— will now count toward the minimum hero requirement, and can be selected for play during ranked games
Huh. Bravo, Blizzard, that's pretty awesome of you.
...doesn't this mean you don't really have to buy heroes much at all any more, if you just level them to 5 during free week and then mostly play hero league?
Gall can now use Shove and Eye of Kilrogg while riding in the Dragon Knight or Garden Terror
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GREYMANE
Greymane's Basic Attacks in Human form have received responsiveness improvements
Melee Basic Attack animation speed increased by 50% to match the speed of his ranged Basic attack animation
Marked for the Kill (R)
Bullet range increased by 25%
Bullet speed increased by 45%
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ILLIDAN
This Hero has received significant Talent changes
Shadow Shield (Talent) removed
Regeneration Master (Talent) removed
Seasoned Marksman (Talent) removed
Follow Through (Talent) removed
First Aid (Talent) removed
Giant Killer (Talent) removed
Blood for Blood (Talent) removed
Stoneskin (Talent) removed
Health increased from 1426 to 1650
Health Regeneration increased from 2.97 to 3.44
Attack Speed increased from 1.66 to 1.82 attacks per second
New Talent (Level 1): Unending Hatred
Permanently gain 0.1 Basic Attack damage for each enemy Minion killed nearby, and 1 damage for each enemy Hero killed nearby
Upon reaching 20 bonus Basic Attack damage, gain an additional 20 Basic Attack damage.
New Talent (Level 16): Fiery Brand
Every fourth consecutive Basic Attack against the same enemy Hero deals damage equal to 6% of the target’s maximum Health
Betrayer's Thirst (Trait)
Healing received increased from 20% to 40% of Basic Attack damage dealt
Thrill of Battle (Talent) removed
Thirsting Blade (Talent) redesigned and moved from Level 4 to Level 7
Increases Betrayer’s Thirst healing from 40% of Basic Attack damage to 60% of Basic Attack damage while Sweeping Strike is active
Hunter's Onslaught (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 7
Healing increased from 15% to 25% of Ability Damage done
Now only affects Basic Abilities
Healing doubled against Heroic targets
Dive (Q)
Lunge (Talent) removed
Friend or Foe (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 4
Targeting an ally no longer reduces Dive’s cooldown
Now also increases Dive range by 33%
Rapid Chase (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 4
Movement Speed bonus reduced from 20% to 15%
Reflexive Block (Talent)
No longer triggered by Evasion
Casting Dive now provides 3 Block charges. Each charge reduces damage taken from the next incoming Basic Attack by 75%
Marked for Death (Talent) redesigned and moved from Level 4 to Level 16
Dive deals an additional 230 damage (+4% per level) each time it is cast against the same target within 10 seconds
Sweeping Strike (W)
Damage bonus duration reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds
Fel Reach (Talent) removed
Second Sweep (Talent) removed
Battered Assault (Talent) redesigned
Hitting 2 or more enemy Heroes with Sweeping Strike increases its damage bonus from 35% to 100%
Immolation (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 1
Damage reduced from 29 (+4% per level) per second to 22 (+4% per level) per second
Unbound (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 4
Now also reduces the cooldown of Sweeping Strike by 5 seconds if it doesn’t hit any enemies
New Talent (Level 13): Nimble Defender
Hitting an enemy Hero with Sweeping Strike grants Resistant for 2 seconds
New Talent (Level 16): Blades of Azzinoth
Hitting an enemy Hero with Sweeping Strike grants 1 Blades of Azzinoth stack, up to a maximum of 5.
Upon earning 5 stacks, Blades of Azzinoth can be activated to gain 50% Basic Attack damage for 8 seconds. Activation consumes all stacks.
Evasion (E)
Duration increased from 2 to 2.5 seconds
New Talent (Level 13): Elusive Strike
Reduce Evasion’s cooldown by 3 seconds for every Hero damaged with Sweeping Strike
Sixth Sense (Talent)
Ability Damage reduction increased from 50% to 75%
Now only affects the first 2 Abilities that would deal damage while Evasion is active
Metamorphosis (R)
No longer increases Attack Speed
Health bonus increased from 183 (+4% per level) to 200 (+4% per level)
Demonic Form (Talent)
Now also provides a 20% Attack Speed bonus
The Hunt (R)
Nowhere to Hide (Talent)
Now also passively reveals all enemy Heroes who are below 25% Health
Illidan Talents
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LEVEL (TIER)
1 (1) Immolation (W) Battered Assault (W) Unending Hatred —
4 (2) Rapid Chase (Q) Friend or Foe (Q) Unbound (W) —
7 (3) Reflexive Block (Q) Thirsting Blade (Trait) Hunter's Onslaught (Trait) —
10 (4) Metamorphosis (R) The Hunt (R) — —
13 (5) Nimble Defender (W) Elusive Strike (E) Sixth Sense (E) —
16 (6) Marked for Death (Q) Fiery Brand Blades of Azzinoth (W) —
20 (7) Demonic Form (R) Nowhere to Hide (R) Nexus Blades Bolt of the Storm
White text indicates a NEW Talent
Blue text indicates a MOVED Talent
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JAINA
Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
Improved Ice Block (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 20
Cooldown reduced from 60 to 20 seconds
Duration reduced from 3 to 2.5 seconds
Frostbite (Trait)
Ice Barrier (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 13
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KAEL'THAS
This Hero has received significant Talent changes
Gathering Power (Talent) removed
Envenom (Talent) removed
Clairvoyance (Talent) removed
Arcane Barrier (Talent) removed
Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
Mana Addict (Talent)
Upon gathering 25 Regeneration Globes, Kael’thas gains the Arcane Barrier Ability.
Activate Arcane Barrier to receive a Shield equal to 100% of Kael’thas’ maximum Mana for 4 seconds. 45 second cooldown
Verdant Spheres (Trait) (D)
Fel Infusion (Talent)
Now also increases Ability Power by 5%
Mana Tap (Talent) redesigned
Activating Verdant Spheres restores 4% of maximum Mana
Sunfire Enchantment (Talent)
Damage reduced from 203 (+4% per level) to 183 (+4% per level)
New Talent (Level 16): Twin Spheres
Verdant Spheres gains an additional charge
Flamestrike (Q)
Damage reduced from 237 (+4% per level) to 213 (+4% per level)
Damage (empowered by Verdant Spheres) reduced from 356 (+4% per level) to 320 (+4% per level)
Flamethrower (Talent) removed
Convection (Talent) redesigned
Now increases Flamestrike's damage by 5 for each enemy Hero hit by Flamestrike, up to 100 damage. Lose all bonus damage on death.
Once Flamestrike reaches 100 bonus damage, gain an extra 50 bonus damage and keep all damage bonuses permanently.
New Talent (Level 7): Burned Flesh
Hitting more than one Hero with Flamestrike causes each to take damage equal to 8% of their maximum Health
Fury of the Sunwell (Talent)
Delay between Flamestrike casts reduced from 1 to 0.5 seconds
Living Bomb (W)
Explosion radius increased by 10%
Explosions now spread Living Bomb to all nearby enemy Heroes not already affected by it
Can no longer be cast on targets already affected by Living Bomb
Chain Bomb (Talent) removed
Pyromaniac (Talent)
Cooldown reduction decreased from 2 seconds to 1 second
Fission Bomb (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 13
No longer increases Living Bomb damage
Bonus to Living Bomb’s explosion radius reduced from 30% to 20%
Backdraft (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 13
Movement Speed slow reduced from 50% to 30%
New Talent (Level 16): Sun King's Fury
Basic Attacks deal 190 (+4% per level) damage to targets affected by Living Bomb
New Talent (Level 20): Master of Flames
Living Bomb can now spread indefinitely between enemy Heroes
Gravity Lapse (E)
Using Verdant Spheres to empower Gravity Lapse now also increases its Stun duration by 50%
Tri-Optimal (Talent) removed
Gravity Throw (Talent) removed
Energy Roil (Talent) redesigned and moved from Level 1 to Level 4
Hitting an enemy Hero reduces the cooldown of Gravity Lapse by 7 seconds
Nether Wind (Talent) redesigned
Increases Gravity Lapse range by 30%. Refunds 85 mana when an enemy Hero is hit by Gravity Lapse
New Talent (Level 7): Gravity Crush
Gravity Lapse causes enemies hit to take 25% additional damage from Kael'thas for 4 seconds
Kael'thas Talents
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LEVEL (TIER)
1 (1) Convection (Q) Fel Infusion (Trait) Mana Addict —
4 (2) Nether Wind (E) Energy Roil (E) Mana Tap (Trait) —
7 (3) Burned Flesh (Q) Gravity Crush (E) Sunfire Enchantment (Trait) —
10 (4) Phoenix (R) Pyroblast (R) — —
13 (5) Pyromaniac (W) Backdraft (W) Fission Bomb (W) —
16 (6) Fury of the Sunwell (Q) Sun King’s Fury (W) Twin Spheres (Trait) —
20 (7) Rebrith (R) Presence of Mind (R) Master of Flames (W) Arcane Power
White text indicates a NEW Talent
Blue text indicates a MOVED Talent
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KERRIGAN
Ultralisk (R)
Attack damage increased from 91 (+4% per level) to 100 (+4% per level)
Torrasque (Talent)
Egg timed life decreased from 8 to 4 seconds
Egg Health decreased from 1095 (+4% per level) to 594 (+4% per level)
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LUNARA
Noxious Blossom (Q)
Choking Pollen (Talent)
Damage bonus increased from 50% to 100%
Crippling Spores (W)
Let Them Wither (Talent)
The Slow amount applied by Crippling Spores no longer decays over its 3 second duration
Slow amount reduced from 60% to 50%
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TYCHUS
This Hero has received significant Talent changes
Health increased from 1545 (+4% per level) to 1669 (+4% per level)
Health Regeneration increased from approximately 3.22 to 3.48 Health per second
Regeneration Master (Talent) removed
Scouting Drone (Talent) removed
Focused Attack (Talent) removed
Vampiric Assault (Talent) removed
First Aid (Talent) removed
Sizzlin’ Attacks (Talent) removed
Problem Solver (Talent) removed
Executioner (Talent) removed
Stoneskin (Talent) removed
Nexus Frenzy (Talent) removed
Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
Relentless (Talent) renamed Relentless Soldier and moved from Level 13 to Level 7
Duration reduction for silences, stuns, slows, and roots decreased from 50% to 33%
New Talent (Level 4): Master Assassin
Hero takedowns increase Attack Speed by 2%, up to a maximum of 20%
While at maximum stacks, Tychus gains an additional 10% Attack Speed bonus
New Talent (Level 13): Neosteel Coating
Activate to reduce incoming Ability damage by 50% for 3 seconds. 30 second cooldown
New Talent (Level 20): Sizzlin’ Attacks
Basic Attacks deal 1% of the target’s maximum Health as damage
Minigun (Trait) (D)
Minigun has been redesigned
No longer requires wind-up
Activate to cause Basic Attacks against Heroes to deal bonus damage equal to 1.5% of the target’s maximum Health. Lasts 3 seconds. 12 second cooldown
Rapid Fire (Talent) removed
Lock and Load (Talent) removed
New Talent (Level 4): In the Rhythm
While Minigun is active, each Basic Attack against an enemy Hero permanently increases its duration by 0.03 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): Fully Loaded
Decreases Minigun’s cooldown by 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): The Bigger They Are…
Increases Minigun damage bonus to 3% of the target’s maximum Health against enemy Heroes who are above 40% Health.
Minigun has no effect against targets under 40% Health
New Talent (Level 13): That’s the Stuff!
Tychus is Healed for 100% of damage dealt while Minigun is active
Overkill (Q)
Armor Piercing Rounds (Talent) moved from Level 1 to Level 16
Damage bonus increased from 20% to 50%
Spray ‘n’ Pray (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 13
Bonus to Overkill range increased from 15% to 25%
Lead Rain (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 16
Frag Grenade (W)
Shredder Grenade (Talent) removed
Melting Point (Talent) removed
Concussion Grenade (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 7
Now also increases Frag Grenade’s radius by 25%
New Talent (Level 16): Titan Grenade
Enemy Heroes take additional damage equal to 5% of their maximum Health
Run and Gun (E)
No longer interacts with Minigun
Cooldown increased from 8 to 10 seconds
Stim Pack (Talent) removed
Dash (Talent)
This Talent’s functionality has changed
Gather Regeneration Globes to increase Movement Speed after casting Run and Gun by 1% for 2 seconds, up to a maximum of 25%
After reaching 25 stacks, Run and Gun’s range is increased by 50%
New Talent (Level 1): Shrug it Off
Run and Gun grants Resistant, reducing incoming damage by 25% for 3 seconds
New Talent (Level 1): Press the Advantage
Run and Gun increases Basic Attack range by 25% for 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 1): Combat Tactician
Each Basic Attack reduces Run and Gun’s cooldown by 0.75 seconds
New Talent (Level 20): Bob and Weave
Run and Gun now has 3 charges, and its Mana cost is reduced from 50 to 25
Drakken Laser Drill (R)
Health increased from 1141 (+4% per level) to 1255 (+4% per level)
Attack range increased by 10%
Tychus Talents
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LEVEL (TIER)
1 (1) Shrug it Off (E) Press the Advantage (E) Dash (E) Combat Tactician (E)
4 (2) In the Rhythm (Trait) Fully Loaded (Trait) The Bigger They Are… (Trait) Master Assassin
7 (3) Quarterback (W) Concussion Grenade (W) Relentless Soldier —
10 (4) Commandeer Odin (R) Drakken Laser Drill (R) — —
13 (5) That’s the Stuff! Neosteel Coating Spray ‘n’ Pray (Q) —
16 (6) Titan Grenade (W) Lead Rain (Q) Armor Piercing Rounds (Q) —
20 (7) Big Red Button (R) Focusing Diodes (R) Sizzlin’ Attacks Bob and Weave (E)
White text indicates a NEW Talent
Blue text indicates a MOVED Talent
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Posts
Yeah, I play alot but don't have frequent disconnecters and I think I've seen maybe 2 leavers in the last 6 months. I've seen a few more I thought were leavers but ended up being people the game crashed on or something at just the right time to make it look like they were leavers, cause they came back a few minutes latter bitching about the crash.
I stick to QM though so maybe HL is worse for people dropping? I don't know. But I don't see many drops.
The multiple crushing losses sounds like standard weekend queue though.
Cause it's felt better after they said they changed the MM but then got worse after Li-Ming release and what really felt like a player increase and it hasn't gone back to better comps since then.
Generally, yeah.
Weaken is actually a good choice at level 7 now too, because his W only does 40% instead of 50%. So if they have several melee and you've got a good healer, consider taking it.
Otherwise business as usual, Corpse Explosion/Skeleton Mastery/Bone Spear. You can actually opt for the Vulnerability at 16 too, if you have need of it.
I think the Q build honestly isn't as strong, especially now that they nerfed his Q damage. Jailors all the way down.
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
I've tried the Q build cause it seems good on paper and it's not bad. I generally go Range/Heal from Skellies/Slow/Cooldown reduction/Fuck-You-Healers. Mostly, really, I grab it for the increased range for landing the anti-heal at 20 when I look at the enemy comp and think it'll be required.
I'm not sure if it's stronger then skeleton build though but I can't feel why. Skeleton build seems to work better invisibly or something. I don't know.
The extra range is pretty nice though. I find it hard to land the thing well otherwise give the delay.
Been trying to check some videos to see if I'm doing something wrong here.
If you're doing Q build that's why you feel like you're not doing enough damage. And that's fine, but it's a different role--Q build is actually the "curse" build, rather than his W, because it's all about spamming debuffs as often as possible. Skeleton Build is actually his damage build, because the instant skellies on jailors + corpse explosion + skeleton mastery + you punching them while they're rooted is actually a very noticeable sum of damage.
Edit: And W build is sort of his melee assassin brawler build, which isn't good because melee assassins haven't been good in months.
A few of them were kinda good for a second. Thrall and Zeratul were popular, and Greymane is mostly ranged but he'll do some melee work.
And then Xul came out. Whoops.
I've found skeleton build better but not by enough. Thrall or the like will still wreck your face 1v1 in my experience anyway.
Way down there? The screen isn't that big... (And the portrait is needlessly huge.)
mmm
kicky-punch
The AI went with Shackler.
The end result of this is I've determined that Shackler is shit. It's just ... why would you want this? What good is it? I guess it's a chase tool, but it's not much of one and you are burning your main defensive cooldown to get a mediocre slow for 3 seconds.
Just generally, they need to do something about Xul's lvl 1 talents imo. Shade is just too good. The downsides are pretty minor all things considered and the upsides are HUGE. And more importantly, the alternatives just don't really provide much. Backlash is OK (and Shackler is kinda shit) but there's very few instances where you wouldn't be better off with the evasion for most of the game. The whole tier is just completely out of whack imo.
But we won anyway, so it all worked out.
It works ok as another source of slow if you go executioner build, but yeah, Shade is pretty good.
Man, she's easy as hell to use.
It's literally all point-and-click.
Like, yes you still have to worry about positioning and if you go teleport build it's considerably more challenging but other than that, man it's just all so straight forward.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
This is different than Kaelthas who has to be fairly close to cast living bomb.
I'm not sure how far flamestrike range is (I know flamethrower makes the range really good).
She can also spam her Q like every 3 seconds if talented?
That's just nuts. That alone makes her one of the better mages due to the amount of POKE she can put out.
I generally out-DPS her as Zag though because sustained dmg is generally better in a team / map designed for long fights.
But Li-Ming can be much better in a dive-type team where it's more about burst than sustain.
Say, this would be great vs Uther, who can't quite keep up with heals.
She plays very differently than the other mages because of this, and has her ups and downs.
Interesting design.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
As an aside, did they buff Azmodans damage? I've been seeing him a lot in HL lately and he's brutally effective
It's 3 seconds by default, 2 seconds if talented :P
Good lord how did they ever pass that through testing?
Being able to siege every 2-3 secs from outside range is nuts (before they nerfed the dmg).
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
He's always been good, he's just really hard to play.
And no, the uptick is people getting practiced with him so they'll be ready to play when Azmodunk is released
I got doomed with the daily of playing a support so I got the map I dislike the pirate gold one
But the weird part I cannot figure out is they were at our core as I launched the ship bombardment both did the finishing move at the same time
Both cores went down at the same time leaving me with no score or no win or loss
I never saw that before nor do I think I will see it again
You should totally report this to Blizzard. Even if it's a super-duper edge case, they should either have a tiebreaker in place to determine a winner and a loser, or explicitly call the game a draw so people know what happened.
Spider queen.
We were doing very damn well most of the game. Diablo ganks with xul roots and great medivac sustain.
Then just as we're hammering on their core at lv 22, we get wiped.
We try again with a lv 24 boss helping us. We (and boss) get wiped again leaving their core at 12%.
Thankfully we were far enough ahead and the enemy wasn't too blood thirsty to go core too much after each wipe (there was at least one more).
We eventually won after.... 37 minutes?
Goodness...
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
Didn't even think about that.
I never even saw him as a real threat until yesterday. I guess I just hadn't seen any really good Azmo players.
Yeah, definitely submit this replay to Blizzard as a bug report. Also, you should totally post it here for our amusement.
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Teleport build is actually the easymode Li-Ming build. All you have to do is have decent awareness of when to go all in. You don't need to land your skills shots near as well as with Missile or Orb build.
Just plink away from range while your team engages, wait for someone to get low then teleport on top of them, unload QWR at melee range where you can't miss and then hopefully get the kill and do it all over again till the other team no longer exists.
Here's the link
Huh. Bravo, Blizzard, that's pretty awesome of you.
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Free-to-Play Hero Rotation on PTR
A number of Heroes have received significant Talent changes with today’s patch. In order to help increase the volume of playtesting that these Heroes receive, we’ve expanded the Public Test Realm’s Free-to-Play Hero Rotation to include the following Heroes:
Gazlowe (Talent re-work)
Illidan (Talent re-work)
Kael’thas (Talent re-work)
Sylvanas (Talent re-work)
Tychus (Talent re-work)
Anub’arak
Malfurion
Tyrael
Valla
Rehgar (Requires Player Level 5)
Sgt. Hammer (Requires Player Level 7)
Chen (Requires Player Level 12)
Li-Ming (Requires Player Level 15)
Lost Cavern, a new Battleground featuring just one lane —and a whole lot of team fighting— is now available for play exclusively in Custom Games!
Lost Cavern has no Mercenary Camps, and just one objective: Battle through the opposing Fort, Keep, and Core to claim victory.
Players cannot use Hearthstone and will not heal at the allied Hall of Storms.
Corridors on either side of the lane contain neutral Regeneration Globes, which will respawn regularly throughout the game.
Check out our recent blog to learn more about Lost Cavern.
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NEW HERO: DEHAKA
Dehaka, Primal Pack Leader, has been added to Heroes of the Storm and is now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of his Abilities.
Mount
Brushstalker (Z)
You cannot use Mounts. Instead, you may burrow to any bush or vent on the Battleground. 40 second cooldown.
Trait
Essence Collection (D)
You collect 10 Essence per Hero Takedown, and 2 per enemy Minion killed nearby, storing up to a maximum of 50 Essence.
Activate to consume all stored Essence and regenerate Health over the next 5 seconds for each stack consumed.
Can be cast during Drag and Burrow.
Basic Abilities
Drag (Q)
Lash out with your tongue, dealing light damage to the first enemy hit, and dragging them with you for 1.75 seconds.
Dark Swarm (W)
Over the next three seconds, you gain the ability to move through units and deal damage in an area around yourself. Deals double damage to Heroes.
Can be cast during Drag and Burrow.
Burrow (E)
Burrow into the ground, entering Stasis and becoming Invulnerable for 2 seconds.
Heroic Abilities
Isolation (R)
Launch biomass that deals damage, silences, and slows the first enemy Hero it hits by 30% for 3 seconds. For the next 6 seconds, the affected enemy loses sight of allied Heroes, and has greatly reduced vision.
Adaptation (R)
After a 5 second delay, 60% of all damage taken during this time will be returned to you as Health.
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USER INTERFACE
General
Hero Select
The Ready, Skins, Mount, Abilities, and Talents buttons on Hero Select have received additional visual polish.
Game Start Notification
If Heroes of the Storm is minimized, it will now automatically become the focus window when loading is finished and a match is about to begin.
If Heroes of the Storm is not the focus window (via ALT + TAB), it will now blink in the taskbar when loading is finished.
Ranked Play
Bans have arrived!
Hero bans have been added to draft mode for both Hero and Team League games.
All Ranked games will use the “Mid Ban” method during drafts, which features two ban rounds per team —one round before hero picks begin, and a second halfway through the draft.
The player with the highest matchmaking rating on each team will be automatically selected to issue bans.
Players selected to issue bans can be identified by a new crown icon, which will appear over the Hero portrait, and animates during each team’s turn to ban.
Whichever team wins the coin toss before drafting begins will receive first ban and first pick.
The team that loses the coin toss will ban first during the second ban round.
Each team will have 45 seconds to ban a Hero during the first round, and 30 seconds during the second Ban round.
If no Hero is banned or highlighted before time expires, the ban will be skipped.
If a Hero is highlighted when time expires, that hero will be automatically banned.
Hero pick timers have been reduced from 45 to 30 seconds, but pick order has not been changed.
Updated Ranked Requirements
Minimum Player Level requirements have been removed from ranked play, meaning that players no longer need to reach Level 30 in order to participate in Hero or Team League games.
Due to the addition of bans, Ranked play now requires that players have access to at least 14 Heroes who have reached Level 5 or higher in order to participate.
Weekly free-to-play rotation Heroes that have reached Level 5 or higher now count toward the minimum Hero requirement, and can also be selected for play in ranked games.
Those who have received penalties for leaving games will no longer be prevented from participating in Team League games —be sure to choose Team League allies carefully!
Draft Lobby
The Draft Lobby has received an overhaul and additional visual polish.
Upon entering a draft lobby, the upcoming Battleground’s name and art will be prominently displayed on screen, along with an audible callout.
The draft lobby has received updated background art.
Animated Hero models will now be displayed for each pick and ban.
Draft lobbies now feature animated Hero portraits.
Glow animations have been added to player slots, which will more clearly indicate who will be picking or banning during each turn.
Skin selections will now be visible on Hero models and in portraits in the draft lobby.
Hero Selection has been visually reworked
A “Favorites” bar has been added in order to help players more easily find and select their most preferred Heroes during the draft phase.
To select Favorites, navigate to the Hero Collection tab in the Player Profile, and then drag and drop up to 8 Heroes into the new favorites bar at the top of the screen.
If no favorites have been manually selected, the Favorites bar will be automatically filled with the player’s 8 highest-level Heroes
Click the new “Browse All” Heroes button to open a much larger Hero select pane, which features up to 48 heroes per page.
Heroes can now be sorted by role, and a search bar has been added which can be used to find heroes by name, universe, and other keywords.
Custom Games
Several ban methods have been added for Custom Game Draft Lobbies
Change the Lobby Mode to Draft, and then use the new Ban Mode dropdown to choose which of the following ban methods to use during the upcoming draft:
Not Using Bans: Heroes cannot be banned in this mode.
One ban: One ban round prior to Hero picks.
Two bans: Two ban rounds that alternate teams before Hero picks begin.
Mid Ban: Two ban rounds. One round before Hero picks begin, and another halfway through the draft.
After selecting a Ban Mode, the Lobby Host may click the crown icons found on each player slot to designate which players on each team will issue Hero bans.
In-Game UI
Hero Portrait
Players can now right-click through the in-game Hero Portrait.
Death Recaps
Death Recap notifications will now be displayed on the left side of the screen upon being killed.
These notifications briefly summarize the cause of death, list the player’s killer, and the source of damage that scored the killing blow.
Click the notification to open a detailed Death Recap on the in-game Score Screen.
Players may view their most recent detailed Death Recap at any time by clicking the “Show the last Death Recap” button added near the bottom of the in-game Score Screen (TAB).
Detailed Death Recaps will display a graph of the player’s remaining Health over time, as well as all sources of incoming damage and healing, during the final moments leading to death.
The top three sources of incoming damage will appear at the top of the detailed Death Recap, along with the percentage of total damage dealt by each.
Score Screen
The Show Talents/Show Stats buttons on the in-game Score Screen (TAB) have been replaced by three new buttons on the in-game score screen: Stats, Talents, and Show Last Death Recap
Hotkey settings can now be accessed directly from the Main Menu by pressing Escape and clicking the new Hotkey button.
Hotkey Profiles
A new “Show in Folder” button has been added next to the Selected Profile dropdown, which can be used to find Hotkey Settings files.
These files can be shared with friends or transferred to other Heroes accounts.
Multiple Hotkey Profiles can be created, but only the profile that is currently in use will be cloud saved.
A cloud saved Hotkey Profile will be available for use when logged into the same Heroes of the Storm account while using a different computer.
Basic Hotkeys
Talent hotkeys have been moved from the Advanced tab to the Basic tab.
Hotkeys on the Basic tab can now be rebound to mouse buttons.
Players can now rebind the hotkey for queuing commands using the new dropdown menu at the top of the Basic Hotkeys menu.
The queue commands hotkey will default to Shift, but can also be changed to Ctrl, Alt, or None.
Advanced Hotkeys
Hotkeys for self-casting Abilities can now be rebound under the new “Hero Abilities (Self Cast)” category.
Hotkeys for overriding Quick Cast settings can now be set under the new “Hero Abilities (Quick Cast)” and “Hero Abilities (Quick Cast On Release)” categories.
Quick Cast for Individual Abilities
Quick Cast Settings have been moved to the Hotkeys menu from the Mouse and Keyboard menu.
Quick Cast settings can now be modified for each Hero, including Abilities, Activated Talents, and Basic Attacks.
Open the Options Menu (ESC), click the Hotkeys button, and then select Quick Cast Settings from the list on the left.
Use the new dropdown menu under the “Per Ability Quick Cast Settings” header to switch among Heroes, or Battleground Objectives such as the Dragon Knight and Garden Terror.
After selecting a Hero, use the dropdown lists on the right side of the screen to change quick cast settings for that Hero’s Abilities and Activated Talents.
Most Abilities can be set to Off, On, On Release, or Use Global Setting
Quick Cast Settings for Abilities and Activated Talents that are already cast instantly cannot be changed.
Instant Abilities that are not targeted no longer follow the player’s Global Quick Cast setting, and will now be cast immediately on pressing down the associated hotkey, instead.
Abilities and Talents that are shared across multiple Heroes, such as Basic Attack and Cleanse, will also use shared Quick Cast settings for those Abilities and Talents.
Those who prefer to use the same Quick Cast setting for most actions may still do so using the “Global Settings” dropdown at the top of the Quick Cast Settings menu.
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ART
Hero Abilities and Talents
Many Heroes have received updated Ability and Talent button art.
All generic Talents have received updated button art
All remaining Talents that modify the same Ability and coexist on the same Talent tier have received new color tints to help players more easily tell them apart at a glance
The following Hero Abilities and Talents have received additional visual polish:
Azmodan — General of Hell (D)
Cho — Consuming Blaze (W), Molten Block (Talent)
Gall — Shove (Talent), Psychotic Break (Talent)
Gazlowe — Rock It! Turret (Q), Xplodium Charge (E), Goblin Fusion (Talent)
The following Heroes have received updated visual effects for Abilities and Talents that have been reworked in today’s patch:
Gazlowe
Kael’thas
Skins
Rehgar’s Ghost Wolf form will now more closely match his Skins and Skin Variations in-game.
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SHOP
Bundles
New Bundles have been added for a limited time!
Mecha Dehaka Bundle
Sovereign Fiends Bundle
Ultimate Sovereign Fiends Bundle
Heroes
Dehaka has been added to the in-game Shop
Price Reductions
Kerrigan’s prices have been reduced to $6.49 USD and 4,000 Gold.
Skins
New Skins
Master Dehaka
Mecha Dehaka
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SOUND
General
Sound effects will now play during the following events when Heroes of the Storm is running in the background —even if the “Play in Background” Sound option is disabled:
Game is found while queued for matchmaking
Countdown begins prior to loading into a game
Loading has finished and the game is about to begin
Game has begun
Draft Mode: Player has 10 seconds remaining to pick a Hero
Draft Mode: Player’s Hero pick timer has expired
Draft Mode: Countdown begins after Drafting is finished, prior to loading into a game
Heroes
New voiceover lines have been added for Li-Ming, who will now call out her own kill streaks.
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DESIGN & GAMEPLAY
AFK Detection
Players who are not present at the start of a game will now be more quickly removed.
Hero Movement Interaction Unification
Several Abilities have been changed in an effort to unify their usage.
The following Abilities can now be used to move to invulnerable units:
Kerrigan — Ravage (Q)
Illidan — Dive (Q)
The following Abilities can now be used to travel to objects created by an enemy, such as Sgt. Hammer’s Spider Mines:
Kerrigan — Ravage (Q)
Lunara — Leaping Strike (R)
Illidan — Dive (Q)
Kharazim — Radiant Dash (Q)
Chen — Flying Kick (Q)
On-Hit Effects
Effects applied when Basic Attacks strike the target will no longer be applied if evasion causes the Basic Attack to miss.
“On My Way” Ping Pathing Lines
Allied "On My Way" pings will now display lines on the minimap that show the projected path of travel.
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BATTLEGROUNDS
Dragon Shire
Dragon Knight
Now immune to Attack Speed slows applied by attacks from enemy Forts and Keeps
Savage Charge (W)
Targets punted by Savage Charge will no longer be stunned after landing
Garden of Terror
Garden Terror (Player Controlled)
Basic Attack damage reduced by 15%
Basic Attacks now deal 50% damage to nearby non-Heroic enemies
Basic Attacks now instantly kill Minions
Overgrowth (W)
No longer affects Minions or Mercenaries
No longer deals damage to Structures
Garden Terror now deals 100% bonus damage to Structures disabled by Overgrowth
Maximum duration increased from 15 to 25 seconds
Cooldown increased from 15 to 25 seconds
Health increased by 100%
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TALENTS
Arcane Power
Duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds
Block
Damage reduction increased from 50% to 75%
Dampen Magic
This Talent has been redesigned
Dampen Magic charges now cause all incoming Ability Damage to be reduced by 50% for 1 second
Vampiric Assault
Has been renamed to Vigorous Assault
Vampiric Strike
Has been renamed to Vigorous Strikes
...doesn't this mean you don't really have to buy heroes much at all any more, if you just level them to 5 during free week and then mostly play hero league?
GALL
Gall can now use Shove and Eye of Kilrogg while riding in the Dragon Knight or Garden Terror
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GREYMANE
Greymane's Basic Attacks in Human form have received responsiveness improvements
Melee Basic Attack animation speed increased by 50% to match the speed of his ranged Basic attack animation
Marked for the Kill (R)
Bullet range increased by 25%
Bullet speed increased by 45%
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ILLIDAN
This Hero has received significant Talent changes
Shadow Shield (Talent) removed
Regeneration Master (Talent) removed
Seasoned Marksman (Talent) removed
Follow Through (Talent) removed
First Aid (Talent) removed
Giant Killer (Talent) removed
Blood for Blood (Talent) removed
Stoneskin (Talent) removed
Health increased from 1426 to 1650
Health Regeneration increased from 2.97 to 3.44
Attack Speed increased from 1.66 to 1.82 attacks per second
New Talent (Level 1): Unending Hatred
Permanently gain 0.1 Basic Attack damage for each enemy Minion killed nearby, and 1 damage for each enemy Hero killed nearby
Upon reaching 20 bonus Basic Attack damage, gain an additional 20 Basic Attack damage.
New Talent (Level 16): Fiery Brand
Every fourth consecutive Basic Attack against the same enemy Hero deals damage equal to 6% of the target’s maximum Health
Betrayer's Thirst (Trait)
Healing received increased from 20% to 40% of Basic Attack damage dealt
Thrill of Battle (Talent) removed
Thirsting Blade (Talent) redesigned and moved from Level 4 to Level 7
Increases Betrayer’s Thirst healing from 40% of Basic Attack damage to 60% of Basic Attack damage while Sweeping Strike is active
Hunter's Onslaught (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 7
Healing increased from 15% to 25% of Ability Damage done
Now only affects Basic Abilities
Healing doubled against Heroic targets
Dive (Q)
Lunge (Talent) removed
Friend or Foe (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 4
Targeting an ally no longer reduces Dive’s cooldown
Now also increases Dive range by 33%
Rapid Chase (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 4
Movement Speed bonus reduced from 20% to 15%
Reflexive Block (Talent)
No longer triggered by Evasion
Casting Dive now provides 3 Block charges. Each charge reduces damage taken from the next incoming Basic Attack by 75%
Marked for Death (Talent) redesigned and moved from Level 4 to Level 16
Dive deals an additional 230 damage (+4% per level) each time it is cast against the same target within 10 seconds
Sweeping Strike (W)
Damage bonus duration reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds
Fel Reach (Talent) removed
Second Sweep (Talent) removed
Battered Assault (Talent) redesigned
Hitting 2 or more enemy Heroes with Sweeping Strike increases its damage bonus from 35% to 100%
Immolation (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 1
Damage reduced from 29 (+4% per level) per second to 22 (+4% per level) per second
Unbound (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 4
Now also reduces the cooldown of Sweeping Strike by 5 seconds if it doesn’t hit any enemies
New Talent (Level 13): Nimble Defender
Hitting an enemy Hero with Sweeping Strike grants Resistant for 2 seconds
New Talent (Level 16): Blades of Azzinoth
Hitting an enemy Hero with Sweeping Strike grants 1 Blades of Azzinoth stack, up to a maximum of 5.
Upon earning 5 stacks, Blades of Azzinoth can be activated to gain 50% Basic Attack damage for 8 seconds. Activation consumes all stacks.
Evasion (E)
Duration increased from 2 to 2.5 seconds
New Talent (Level 13): Elusive Strike
Reduce Evasion’s cooldown by 3 seconds for every Hero damaged with Sweeping Strike
Sixth Sense (Talent)
Ability Damage reduction increased from 50% to 75%
Now only affects the first 2 Abilities that would deal damage while Evasion is active
Metamorphosis (R)
No longer increases Attack Speed
Health bonus increased from 183 (+4% per level) to 200 (+4% per level)
Demonic Form (Talent)
Now also provides a 20% Attack Speed bonus
The Hunt (R)
Nowhere to Hide (Talent)
Now also passively reveals all enemy Heroes who are below 25% Health
Illidan Talents
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LEVEL (TIER)
1 (1) Immolation (W) Battered Assault (W) Unending Hatred —
4 (2) Rapid Chase (Q) Friend or Foe (Q) Unbound (W) —
7 (3) Reflexive Block (Q) Thirsting Blade (Trait) Hunter's Onslaught (Trait) —
10 (4) Metamorphosis (R) The Hunt (R) — —
13 (5) Nimble Defender (W) Elusive Strike (E) Sixth Sense (E) —
16 (6) Marked for Death (Q) Fiery Brand Blades of Azzinoth (W) —
20 (7) Demonic Form (R) Nowhere to Hide (R) Nexus Blades Bolt of the Storm
White text indicates a NEW Talent
Blue text indicates a MOVED Talent
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JAINA
Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
Improved Ice Block (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 20
Cooldown reduced from 60 to 20 seconds
Duration reduced from 3 to 2.5 seconds
Frostbite (Trait)
Ice Barrier (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 13
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KAEL'THAS
This Hero has received significant Talent changes
Gathering Power (Talent) removed
Envenom (Talent) removed
Clairvoyance (Talent) removed
Arcane Barrier (Talent) removed
Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
Mana Addict (Talent)
Upon gathering 25 Regeneration Globes, Kael’thas gains the Arcane Barrier Ability.
Activate Arcane Barrier to receive a Shield equal to 100% of Kael’thas’ maximum Mana for 4 seconds. 45 second cooldown
Verdant Spheres (Trait) (D)
Fel Infusion (Talent)
Now also increases Ability Power by 5%
Mana Tap (Talent) redesigned
Activating Verdant Spheres restores 4% of maximum Mana
Sunfire Enchantment (Talent)
Damage reduced from 203 (+4% per level) to 183 (+4% per level)
New Talent (Level 16): Twin Spheres
Verdant Spheres gains an additional charge
Flamestrike (Q)
Damage reduced from 237 (+4% per level) to 213 (+4% per level)
Damage (empowered by Verdant Spheres) reduced from 356 (+4% per level) to 320 (+4% per level)
Flamethrower (Talent) removed
Convection (Talent) redesigned
Now increases Flamestrike's damage by 5 for each enemy Hero hit by Flamestrike, up to 100 damage. Lose all bonus damage on death.
Once Flamestrike reaches 100 bonus damage, gain an extra 50 bonus damage and keep all damage bonuses permanently.
New Talent (Level 7): Burned Flesh
Hitting more than one Hero with Flamestrike causes each to take damage equal to 8% of their maximum Health
Fury of the Sunwell (Talent)
Delay between Flamestrike casts reduced from 1 to 0.5 seconds
Living Bomb (W)
Explosion radius increased by 10%
Explosions now spread Living Bomb to all nearby enemy Heroes not already affected by it
Can no longer be cast on targets already affected by Living Bomb
Chain Bomb (Talent) removed
Pyromaniac (Talent)
Cooldown reduction decreased from 2 seconds to 1 second
Fission Bomb (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 13
No longer increases Living Bomb damage
Bonus to Living Bomb’s explosion radius reduced from 30% to 20%
Backdraft (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 13
Movement Speed slow reduced from 50% to 30%
New Talent (Level 16): Sun King's Fury
Basic Attacks deal 190 (+4% per level) damage to targets affected by Living Bomb
New Talent (Level 20): Master of Flames
Living Bomb can now spread indefinitely between enemy Heroes
Gravity Lapse (E)
Using Verdant Spheres to empower Gravity Lapse now also increases its Stun duration by 50%
Tri-Optimal (Talent) removed
Gravity Throw (Talent) removed
Energy Roil (Talent) redesigned and moved from Level 1 to Level 4
Hitting an enemy Hero reduces the cooldown of Gravity Lapse by 7 seconds
Nether Wind (Talent) redesigned
Increases Gravity Lapse range by 30%. Refunds 85 mana when an enemy Hero is hit by Gravity Lapse
New Talent (Level 7): Gravity Crush
Gravity Lapse causes enemies hit to take 25% additional damage from Kael'thas for 4 seconds
Kael'thas Talents
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LEVEL (TIER)
1 (1) Convection (Q) Fel Infusion (Trait) Mana Addict —
4 (2) Nether Wind (E) Energy Roil (E) Mana Tap (Trait) —
7 (3) Burned Flesh (Q) Gravity Crush (E) Sunfire Enchantment (Trait) —
10 (4) Phoenix (R) Pyroblast (R) — —
13 (5) Pyromaniac (W) Backdraft (W) Fission Bomb (W) —
16 (6) Fury of the Sunwell (Q) Sun King’s Fury (W) Twin Spheres (Trait) —
20 (7) Rebrith (R) Presence of Mind (R) Master of Flames (W) Arcane Power
White text indicates a NEW Talent
Blue text indicates a MOVED Talent
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KERRIGAN
Ultralisk (R)
Attack damage increased from 91 (+4% per level) to 100 (+4% per level)
Torrasque (Talent)
Egg timed life decreased from 8 to 4 seconds
Egg Health decreased from 1095 (+4% per level) to 594 (+4% per level)
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LUNARA
Noxious Blossom (Q)
Choking Pollen (Talent)
Damage bonus increased from 50% to 100%
Crippling Spores (W)
Let Them Wither (Talent)
The Slow amount applied by Crippling Spores no longer decays over its 3 second duration
Slow amount reduced from 60% to 50%
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TYCHUS
This Hero has received significant Talent changes
Health increased from 1545 (+4% per level) to 1669 (+4% per level)
Health Regeneration increased from approximately 3.22 to 3.48 Health per second
Regeneration Master (Talent) removed
Scouting Drone (Talent) removed
Focused Attack (Talent) removed
Vampiric Assault (Talent) removed
First Aid (Talent) removed
Sizzlin’ Attacks (Talent) removed
Problem Solver (Talent) removed
Executioner (Talent) removed
Stoneskin (Talent) removed
Nexus Frenzy (Talent) removed
Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
Relentless (Talent) renamed Relentless Soldier and moved from Level 13 to Level 7
Duration reduction for silences, stuns, slows, and roots decreased from 50% to 33%
New Talent (Level 4): Master Assassin
Hero takedowns increase Attack Speed by 2%, up to a maximum of 20%
While at maximum stacks, Tychus gains an additional 10% Attack Speed bonus
New Talent (Level 13): Neosteel Coating
Activate to reduce incoming Ability damage by 50% for 3 seconds. 30 second cooldown
New Talent (Level 20): Sizzlin’ Attacks
Basic Attacks deal 1% of the target’s maximum Health as damage
Minigun (Trait) (D)
Minigun has been redesigned
No longer requires wind-up
Activate to cause Basic Attacks against Heroes to deal bonus damage equal to 1.5% of the target’s maximum Health. Lasts 3 seconds. 12 second cooldown
Rapid Fire (Talent) removed
Lock and Load (Talent) removed
New Talent (Level 4): In the Rhythm
While Minigun is active, each Basic Attack against an enemy Hero permanently increases its duration by 0.03 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): Fully Loaded
Decreases Minigun’s cooldown by 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 4): The Bigger They Are…
Increases Minigun damage bonus to 3% of the target’s maximum Health against enemy Heroes who are above 40% Health.
Minigun has no effect against targets under 40% Health
New Talent (Level 13): That’s the Stuff!
Tychus is Healed for 100% of damage dealt while Minigun is active
Overkill (Q)
Armor Piercing Rounds (Talent) moved from Level 1 to Level 16
Damage bonus increased from 20% to 50%
Spray ‘n’ Pray (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 13
Bonus to Overkill range increased from 15% to 25%
Lead Rain (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 16
Frag Grenade (W)
Shredder Grenade (Talent) removed
Melting Point (Talent) removed
Concussion Grenade (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 7
Now also increases Frag Grenade’s radius by 25%
New Talent (Level 16): Titan Grenade
Enemy Heroes take additional damage equal to 5% of their maximum Health
Run and Gun (E)
No longer interacts with Minigun
Cooldown increased from 8 to 10 seconds
Stim Pack (Talent) removed
Dash (Talent)
This Talent’s functionality has changed
Gather Regeneration Globes to increase Movement Speed after casting Run and Gun by 1% for 2 seconds, up to a maximum of 25%
After reaching 25 stacks, Run and Gun’s range is increased by 50%
New Talent (Level 1): Shrug it Off
Run and Gun grants Resistant, reducing incoming damage by 25% for 3 seconds
New Talent (Level 1): Press the Advantage
Run and Gun increases Basic Attack range by 25% for 4 seconds
New Talent (Level 1): Combat Tactician
Each Basic Attack reduces Run and Gun’s cooldown by 0.75 seconds
New Talent (Level 20): Bob and Weave
Run and Gun now has 3 charges, and its Mana cost is reduced from 50 to 25
Drakken Laser Drill (R)
Health increased from 1141 (+4% per level) to 1255 (+4% per level)
Attack range increased by 10%
Tychus Talents
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LEVEL (TIER)
1 (1) Shrug it Off (E) Press the Advantage (E) Dash (E) Combat Tactician (E)
4 (2) In the Rhythm (Trait) Fully Loaded (Trait) The Bigger They Are… (Trait) Master Assassin
7 (3) Quarterback (W) Concussion Grenade (W) Relentless Soldier —
10 (4) Commandeer Odin (R) Drakken Laser Drill (R) — —
13 (5) That’s the Stuff! Neosteel Coating Spray ‘n’ Pray (Q) —
16 (6) Titan Grenade (W) Lead Rain (Q) Armor Piercing Rounds (Q) —
20 (7) Big Red Button (R) Focusing Diodes (R) Sizzlin’ Attacks Bob and Weave (E)
White text indicates a NEW Talent
Blue text indicates a MOVED Talent
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Makes playing as not first pick so much better, though I'm surprised they're giving both bans to the best mmr player.