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Stan

No Heroes Esports in 2019

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30 minutes ago, taff said:

The fun part is that it is the same company that declined IceFrog, when he was available and then started copyright wars with Valve. Karma?

What can i say
Some people get high by shooting themselves in feet. 15 times in a row. With M61 Vulcan

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9 hours ago, Stan said:

Why would the game die off without HGC? Sure, it may lose some prestige and competitive play, but that’s about it. It’s not like the servers are shutting down or anything. People are overreacting, just look at the mess over at r/heroesofthestorm. The vast majority of the playerbase does not even know about HGC. 

I feel genuinely sorry for the many casters and people involved in Heroes Esports.

Definitely overreacting, as people always do. It is not like the game will die or anything.

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38 minutes ago, Valhalen said:

Definitely overreacting, as people always do. It is not like the game will die or anything.

I think a lot of it as well was the part about them moving some of the HotS team away onto other projects and looking at "sustainability" for the game. A lot of people are interpreting that as the game being transitioned into a maintenance mode like Diablo 3 with few and less frequent updates and the knockon effect of it becoming less likely that there will ever be a serious competitive scene again for the game for the foreseeable future. Many popular casters and streamers who are now looking at other games already to move onto as well because what's the point in scrims or pro streams for HotS now? Or trying to get sponsorship for a game that announces this two weeks before Christmas and the end of the year? 

I know the servers aren't being shut down or anything, but ripping out the heart of a gaming community while in the same breath basically telling us all that we weren't good enough is still pretty mean. 

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31 minutes ago, Plergoth said:

I think a lot of it as well was the part about them moving some of the HotS team away onto other projects and looking at "sustainability" for the game. A lot of people are interpreting that as the game being transitioned into a maintenance mode like Diablo 3 with few and less frequent updates and the knockon effect of it becoming less likely that there will ever be a serious competitive scene again for the game for the foreseeable future. Many popular casters and streamers who are now looking at other games already to move onto as well because what's the point in scrims or pro streams for HotS now? Or trying to get sponsorship for a game that announces this two weeks before Christmas and the end of the year? 

I know the servers aren't being shut down or anything, but ripping out the heart of a gaming community while in the same breath basically telling us all that we weren't good enough is still pretty mean. 

Sure, but it costs Blizzard roughly 6 million dollars to set up the HGC. If they use this capital to inject some money into HotS, they can still create content. But as you said, the problem is how they are shifting people from the HotS team into other teams (which I'm pretty sure it is for "Diablo IV").

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I don't think the game is dead yet, but these are disheartening news. I will probably still play as long as the servers are up, but it will be harder to feel engaged, I guess.

But, hey, on the plus side it will be easier to balance without any "pro players" ! (I jest, I jest. We laugh to hide the pain?).

Edited by lChronosl

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3 hours ago, Kuarinofu said:

Moreso, I think competitive HotS sometimes even hurt the game. I was Master in Season one (rank 1 in Preseason kek)  and now I'm Plat 1 both TL and HL.

Preseason was really weird because top rank could contain people from everywhere between platinum and grand master. I like the game being a more casual title, but with lesser investment, it's not going to attract many new players.

Agreed on it not being impressive as an e-sport. There is a much more limit to what a single player can do in this game, as opposed to something like Starcraft 2, where differences between players are obvious, and insane in case of pros.

Edited by Arcling
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8 hours ago, Steveson said:

Starcraft 2 (Nobody plays it and right now the only new content we are getting are skins and coop commanders - mode nobody plays right now)

Um, what? Starcraft 2 is basically the only RTS (or even strategy) game that people play in a competitive way. Blizzard quite much has monopoly in the RTS e-sports market, so I don't think we should be burying them at all. Products have a lifecycle indeed, and SC2 is not a young game - so sooner or later people will definitely start thinking about alternatives (wouldn't be surprised if HotS developers are moved to an SC3 project), but at the current moment a huge share of the most prestigous e-sport tournaments include SC2 or are solely based around it.
 

6 hours ago, VaraTreledees said:

This is a really shitty think to do.  Oh well.  While I don't think HotS is 100% guaranteed to die, I think there is a high likelihood.  Less content means less people, which means less money and profitability, which means less development time, money and people (as in game devs and such) which leads to less content, which in turn leads to less people, which. . . you get the idea.

While in most cases progress towards depopulation of the game is inevitable, there are ways to turn it around. A competitve game requires far stricter ruleset than a casual one - if they can loosen up the math behind certain abilities and gameplay restrictions HotS could be made great again. We know for example the base SC2 engine has good mod support. Why not open up HotS for community created content as well? Unlikely they will do it, but I'm sure many modders would love to experiment with it and maybe they would even create something new and exciting.

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I seriously don't understand how removing the esports factor kills the game for anyone? If you aren't involved with the scene then you aren't affected. Like, this rampage is getting more ridiculous than people complaining about Rudolph and "Baby, It's Cold Outside". It doesn't kill the game removing an aspect of it that wasn't profitable. I know for you younglings, you don't know what gaming was like prior to esports...but I can tell you people played Ranked Ladder matches without the ability to stream or be hosted at big convention centers. I do see that it sucks that Blizzard is starting to chop up aspects of their games but I mean c'mon...we all knew the HotS player base was considered the most toxic and uneventful player base...there are articles all over it from the time it released how terrible the community was. All this means, is that its time people start looking elsewhere for enjoyment instead of focusing on one company...

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10 minutes ago, Nazamber said:

I seriously don't understand how removing the esports factor kills the game for anyone? If you aren't involved with the scene then you aren't affected. Like, this rampage is getting more ridiculous than people complaining about Rudolph and "Baby, It's Cold Outside". It doesn't kill the game removing an aspect of it that wasn't profitable. I know for you younglings, you don't know what gaming was like prior to esports...but I can tell you people played Ranked Ladder matches without the ability to stream or be hosted at big convention centers. I do see that it sucks that Blizzard is starting to chop up aspects of their games but I mean c'mon...we all knew the HotS player base was considered the most toxic and uneventful player base...there are articles all over it from the time it released how terrible the community was. All this means, is that its time people start looking elsewhere for enjoyment instead of focusing on one company...

You really should read the whole article before commenting. The title of this topic is, quite frankly, poorly chosen and does not reflect the actual Job's message inherent in this particular announcement. 

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Some people are motivated to play competitive games like HoTs to chase an unattainable goal of getting closer in skill to the professionals that display inspiring performances. Hell, I can imagine this is what motivates people to play boring games like baseball. How else can you explain people who invest hours into hitting a fast ball with a stick?  I am one of these people. This move has seriously drained my desires to spend more money on this game or any other Blizzard esport. Blizzard esports has proven that they are unpredictable in what esports they will continue to support. Most of their esports do not excel in their genres. Except Overwatch. And that's only during Overwatch League Season. This has serious ramifications for all investors. 

Edited by greatCraft

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The game is "dead" from a marketing and money making standpoint. Blizzard will be doing very little support for it and will do even less marketing and broadcasting. Sure you might have recycled seasonal events, but very very few new ones. Streamers that play it to be competitive (Bambam, Mewn, Turk, any pros) will start leaving. What's the point of promoting and focusing on a game that is officially a sinking ship.

If you're taking the game seriously, this game is officially no longer for you. If you want to queue with friends in tl and qm to play a moba with blizzard ip, then it still is and is fine. But when "half" the point of the game is now worthless I can absolutely understand why people call it "dead".

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1 hour ago, Nazamber said:

I seriously don't understand how removing the esports factor kills the game for anyone? (...) we all knew the HotS player base was considered the most toxic and uneventful player base...

It's not just about e-sports, but they also haved removed some developers from the team and moved them somewhere else. Most toxic playerbase? HotS playerbase isn't even close to being most toxic, I've seen communities far worse, but if we are talking just about Blizzard, Overwatch is way worse, though it's getting better due to it's playerbase stagnating (so those who have played OW only when it was still fairly new, have left already). They even had to make player profiles hidden by default, because if you had chat turned on, people constantly insulted each other for their respective levels and ranks, even in QM and arcade.

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I'm not sure if I appreciate them announcing these things or not.

On the one hand, its transparency, and it hints at the level of involvement I can expect from them going forward.

On the other, what good is this statement actually doing?  This sort of announcement is the figurative equivalent of firing a giant torpedo into the hull of the game's community.  Why shake player confidence even more when the game is apparently struggling?

I get that you have to announce things like HGC and HoTD not returning, but the additional language is just... negative. Why not say you're reallocating resources from those to pour into the game, or reevaluating the esport format for HoTS, and leave it open?

At worst just silently withdraw support.  You'll have howling from fans but at least they'll be less inclined to look at their time in HoTS as borrowed. 

I know fans want to crawl up devs butts these days, but sometimes limiting information is actually beneficial.  This past year, Blizzard seems to have completely forgotten that, which is really surprising for them.

For a company that is usually modest about this sort of stuff, this to me is very loud writing on the wall.  And its sad; I've really enjoyed this game and I hate the MoBA format typically.

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17 hours ago, greatCraft said:

Dear people in charge,

 

 

**** YOU. I HOPE YA'LL SUFFER.

 

ooh, this is a public forum. "Best wishes guys. Thanks for the memories."

BY FIRE BE PURGED!

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23 hours ago, greatCraft said:

Dear people in charge,

 

 

**** YOU. I HOPE YA'LL SUFFER.

 

ooh, this is a public forum. "Best wishes guys. Thanks for the memories."

 

19 hours ago, Steveson said:

- We will shift some HOTS developers to other projects. This will not affect the game at all
- We are removing official tournaments

You know this situation is kind of similar to what happened to Valve's Team Fortress 2. But there is a difference - TF2 was popular and remains pretty popular (not as much as other games on Steam but still) to this day. HOTS while was received pretty well never got as popular as DOTA 2 or LoL. So it kinda figures that Blizzard are gonna pull the plug on it. Sad but true.
Also i think the order in which Blizzard will be doing the same thing to other IPs is going to be somewhat like this:
1 - Diablo 3 (ditto)
2 - HOTS (Already happening)
3 - Starcraft 2 (Nobody plays it and right now the only new content we are getting are skins and coop commanders - mode nobody plays right now)
4 and 5 - World of Warcraft/Overwatch (nobody knows which one will survive longer)
6 - Hearthstone

 

23 hours ago, Kaelos said:

Are they killing yet another game which I really like? So depressing

What every one of you seems to forget.

Heroes of the Storm was meant to be a minigame in Starcraft2 Heart of the Swarm. It has been bigger, better and more popular than it was planned to be. 

It is a great game which surpassed its own goals. We should not cry for that setback. We still got more than we were ever supposed to get.

Edited by Alkasar
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Well RIP.
Gotta learn to play LoL again then...
I mean it's not going to die, it just is not going to be looked after and that makes me sad.

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On 12/14/2018 at 12:12 AM, Steveson said:

But not as rapidly as WoW yeah.

This is a fiction.  Subscription retention is high, IIRC, around Wrath levels.  It doesn't matter what peak numbers are, it matters what's being retained and they are at high levels of retention despite the salt that is present and has been present for every single expansion.

Heroes was a money loser.  They can't keep pouring resources into making something happen that players obviously aren't there for.  Simple.  Not conspiracy.   The Heroes team couldn't even afford to bill out Blizzard's own internal cinematics team and what was shown at Blizzcon was outsourced.  And while it is a nice looking game in its genre, and I like the use of Blizz IP, it seemed pretty obvious at the last two BlizzCon that there simply wasn't as much interest in the e-sports side either, whereas OWL is already expanding, and attracting investment the likes of which doesn't exist anywhere else in e-sports.

And nobody lost their jobs, they're moving to other teams.   Because Blizz doesn't actually function like corporate Activision or a company like EA.  Based on the numbers this move will only be felt and even noticed by a somewhat vocal minority, and then parroted by the gaggle of folks who are just negative all the time because that's what makes them happy.  For the most part, based on the numbers, this is a move that will be hardly even noticed by gaming as a whole or e-sports in particular.   Otherwise they would have supported the title like they have Hearthstone.

 

Edited by Sholto

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Let’s just say it’s the beginning of the end.

The one thing HOTS misses out on is any ability for a comeback in competitive play.  Once a team starts to slip 95% of the time it’s game over.

I love the game as far as art, having fun with it, looking forward to new characters and maps.  However it truly isn’t a great eSport game.

I’ve been playing it nearly 2 years and never felt compelled to spend one dime on the game between earning gold, the 10-12 characters I got “free” and only purchasing characters in a current meta.  I am the worst player from a business standpoint in that I’ve figured out how to get everything I want and not pay for it.

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      (Source)
      Ten years ago, the Nexus opened a realm between realms…where anything is possible. Over the years, you have braved this tumultuous universe, commanding some of the most legendary Heroes from across Azeroth, Sanctuary, the Koprulu sector, and future Earth. 

      It’s this community that has made Heroes of the Storm so special, and we’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone alongside you. From now until the next patch on June 15, all Heroes will be free! Plus, everyone who logs in during this time will receive two brand-new portraits to showcase their time battling across the Nexus. Check out the patch notes for full details!

      We’re also excited to release a never-before-seen skin into the shop! In honor of Heroes of the Storm’s 10th anniversary, as well as Warcraft’s 30th, what better Hero skin to release from the vault than the one and only Thrall? Gear Head Thrall is now available through the in-game shop for 1500 Gems. And keep your eyes peeled—the Classic Games team is combing through the archives, searching for unreleased skins that would need some finishing touches for release, possibly bringing us more in the future.

      We know Heroes of the Storm means a lot to so many of you, and we cannot thank you enough for the passion you continue to show this game after an entire decade. From the Classic Games team and all of Blizzard, thank you!
      We’ll see you in the Nexus.
    • By Staff
      Blizzard is currently testing a new Heroes of the Storm patch on the PTR. Here's what's new!
      Reddit user Spazzo965 has datamined some additional changes deployed by Blizzard on April 26.
       
      Here are the official PTR patch notes posted by Blizzard on April 21.
      (Source)
      Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just hit the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting. As always, if you encounter any bugs during your PTR play sessions, please stop by the PTR Bug Report forum to let us know about your experiences.
      Quick Navigation:
      General Storm League Balance Update Bug Fixes General
      Anduin has replaced Malfurion as the Ally hero in Try Me Mode. Numerous game strings have been updated to reflect current gameplay. Updated Homescreen and Startup Music. Return to Top
      Storm League
      Rank Decay will now only apply to players in Master and Grand Master Leagues. Reduced maximum party size for Master and Grand Master players to 2. Return to Top
      Balance Update
      Heroes
      Ana
      Base
      Biotic Grenade [W] ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: If Biotic Grenade does not hit any enemies, its cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: If Biotic Grenade only hits Ana, its cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds. Talents
      Level 1 Vampiric Rounds Shrike now gives a 15% passive healing bonus. Level 20 Deadeye ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Eye of Horus can now be toggled On and Off. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Eye of Horus cooldown is now 0.5 seconds. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Eye of Horus rounds are regained once every 10 seconds. Bonuses acquired from Deadeye now lasts 7 seconds. Azmodan
      Talents
      Level 16 Trample ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Now reduces Heroic cooldown by 25% if Trample hits a Hero. Genji
      Talents
      Level 1 Pathfinder ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Heroic Ability now heals Genji for up to 30% of the damage dealt to enemy Heroes. Healing amount is increased based on how low Genji's Health is. Level 10 X-Strike Cooldown increased from 60 seconds to 75 seconds. Detonation damage increased from 275 to 290. Slash damage increased from 135 to 145. Level 13 Shingan Now does 40% less damage to Structures. Level 20 Living Weapon Cooldown reduction increased from 10 seconds to 12.5 seconds. Imperius
      Base
      Molten Armor [E] Now hits an extra target if no Heroes are in range. Talents
      Level 1 Impaling Light REWORK: Impaling Light cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds. REWORK: Impaling Light does 180% more damage to Heroes, reduced by 20% for each additional Hero hit. REWORK: Impaling Light mana cost is reduced from 40 to 30. REWORK: When a Valorous Branded target's Stun ends, Impaling Light's cooldown is reduced by 1 second for each Valorous Brand on the target. Level 7 Blaze of Glory Blaze of Glory delay reduced from 2 seconds to 1.75 seconds. Holy Fervor Molten Armor no longer grants Holy Fervor. Level 20 Heavenly Host ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: All Shields created by Angelic Armaments no longer expire. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Swords fired by Heavenly Host Shields can target non-Heroes, but Heroes are prioritized. Molten Wrath NEW TALENT: Molten Armor will now hit an extra target even if enemy Heroes are in range. Lunara
      Talents
      Level 7 Splintered Spear ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Now grants 3 stacks of Splintered Spear. A stack is consumed when an extra target is attacked. Can have a maximum of 3 stacks and all stacks can be consumed in a single attack. Level 13 Endless Spores Now also refunds 50 Mana. Level 20 For The Wildlands! NEW TALENT: Thornwood Vine now shoots out 4 additional Vines in an arc. Forest's Wrath Can now be selected with either Heroic. Malthael
      Base
      Wraith Strike [W] Range is increased from 6 to 7. Talents
      Level 4 Black Harvest Quest goal reduced from 180 seconds to 150 seconds. Level 10 Tormented Souls No longer resets the cooldown of Wraith Strike when Tormented Souls ends. Now reduces the cooldown of Wraith Strike to 2 seconds and removes its Mana cost while Tormented Souls is active. Level 20 Reaper of Souls While 2 or more enemy Heroes are in Tormented Souls' radius, its duration does not decay. Zagara
      Talents
      Level 16 Corrosive Saliva Damage reduced from 1.75% to 1.5% of maximum Health. Return to Top
      Bug Fixes
      General
      Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Taunt effects. Map
      Battlefield of Eternity Fixed an issue where areas of the map were not covered under Fog of War. Blackheart's Bay Fixed an issue where some Heroes would not be able to path around Healing Fountains. Cursed Hollow Fixed an issue where Hogger could go through unpathable sections of the map. Warhead Junction Fixed an issue where healing fountains were not symmetrical on the map. Heroes
      Artanis Base Shield Overload [Q] Fixed an issue that caused Shield Overload to not display correctly if empowered by Shield Surge. Brightwing Level 10 Blink Heal Fixed an issue that caused Blink Heal's trailing images to be visible while Brightwing has no remaining Blink Heal charges. Chen Base Fortifying Brew [Trait D] Fixed an issue that caused Fortifying Brew being instantly destroyed not granting Attack Speed. Fortifying Brew has been added to the Buff Bar. Dehaka Base Burrow [E] Fixed an issue that caused Burrow's visuals to be displaced if Dehaka is launched shortly after Burrow ends. Jaina Base Frostbite [Trait] Ice Block's before first use attention indicator is now also removed when Jaina is killed. Johanna Level 4 Eternal Retaliation Updated Eternal Retaliation's visual effect to only be visible to Johanna. Level 10 Blessed Shield Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Blessed Shield. Lt. Morales Level 10 Medivac Dropships Fixed an issue that caused Medivac Reinforcement's indicator beam to point to Lt. Morales' active position instead of where Reinforcements was cast. Mephisto Base Shade of Mephisto [E] Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Shade of Mephisto. Ragnaros Level 13 Cauterize Wounds Cauterize Wounds healing is now a singular combined effect each time it heals, instead of a heal effect for each Hero hit. Fixed an issue that caused Cauterize Wounds healing amount to be determined by the damage dealt to the target furthest from the primary Empower Sulfuras target. If Cauterize Wounds is reapplied while already active, any remaining healing will apply over the refreshed duration. Samuro Base Critical Strike [W] Fixed an issue that caused Samuro's Critical Strike stacks to be visible to an enemy Samuro. Sonya Level 10 Wrath of the Berserker Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Wrath of the Berserker. Stukov Base Healing Pathogen [Q] Fixed an issue that caused Healing Pathogen to persist for a brief period after activating Bio-Kill Switch. Sylvanas Base Black Arrows [Trait D] Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Black Arrows. Level 10 Mind Control Fixed an issue with the display duration for the duration bar of Mind Control. Level 20 Deafening Blast Fixed an issue that caused Deafening Blast to activate off of the center of units instead of their edge. The Lost Vikings Fixed an issue that prevented Olaf from charging while Silenced. Valeera Level 16 Assassinate Damage bonus is now additive. Fixed an issue with duration extension. Return to Top
      Click here to discuss this post with other players in the official Heroes of the Storm forums.

    • By Staff
      After extensive PTR testing, the latest Heroes of the Storm patch is now live and here are the official patch notes!
      (Source)
      Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live! Read on for more information.
      NOTE: Orange text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.
      Quick Navigation:
      General Storm League Balance Update Bug Fixes General
      Anduin has replaced Malfurion as the Ally hero in Try Me Mode. Numerous game strings have been updated to reflect current gameplay. Updated Homescreen and Startup Music. Return to Top
      Storm League
      Rank Decay will now only apply to players in Master and Grand Master Leagues. Reduced maximum party size for Master and Grand Master players to 2. Master and Grand Masters can only party with players 5,000 Rank Points away from them. Return to Top
      Balance Update
      Heroes
      Ana
      Base
      Biotic Grenade [W] ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: If Biotic Grenade does not hit any enemies, its cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: If Biotic Grenade only hits Ana, its cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds. Talents
      Level 1 Vampiric Rounds Shrike now gives a 15% passive healing bonus. Level 20 Deadeye ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Eye of Horus can now be toggled On and Off. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Eye of Horus rounds are regained once every 10 seconds. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Eye of Horus cooldown is now 6 seconds. Bonuses acquired from Deadeye now lasts 4 seconds. Auriel
      Base
      Bestow Hope [Trait D] Reduced amount of energy stored from 40% to 35% of damage to non-Heroes. Reduced amount of energy stored from 80% to 70% of damage to Heroes. Azmodan
      Talents
      Level 16 Trample ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Now reduces Heroic cooldown by 25% if Trample hits a Hero. E.T.C.
      Base
      Face Melt [W] Cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds. Rockstar [Trait D] Armor from Basic Abilities increased from 20 to 25. Armor from Heroic Abilities reduced from 60 to 50. Talents
      Level 4 Crowd Surfer Cooldown reduction reduced from 7 to 6 seconds. Level 7 Hammer-on ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Basic Attacks deal 12% more damage, increased to 36% while Guitar Solo is active. Level 13 Encore Cooldown reduction reduced from 5% to 4%. Level 20 Power of the Horde NEW TALENT: Activate to grant nearby allied Heroes a Shield that absorbs damage equal to 30% of their maximum Health for 5 seconds, increased by 2% for each other allied Hero in the area. This new Talent replaces Storm Shield. Ride the Lightning NEW TALENT: Activate to teleport to a nearby location and deal 48 damage to nearby enemy Heroes. The cooldown is reduced by 10 seconds for every enemy Hero hit, up to 50 seconds. Genji
      Talents
      Level 1 Pathfinder ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Heroic Ability now heals Genji for 10% of the damage dealt to enemy Heroes, increased by up to 30% based on how low Genji's Health is. Level 10 X-Strike Cooldown increased from 60 seconds to 75 seconds. Detonation damage increased from 275 to 290. Slash damage increased from 135 to 145. Level 13 Shingan Now does 40% less damage to Structures. Level 20 Living Weapon Cooldown reduction increased from 10 seconds to 12.5 seconds. Imperius
      Base
      Molten Armor [E] Now hits two extra targets if no Heroes are in range. Talents
      Level 1 Impaling Light REWORK: Impaling Light cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds. REWORK: Impaling Light does 180% more damage to Heroes, reduced by 20% for each additional Hero hit. REWORK: Impaling Light mana cost is reduced from 40 to 30. REWORK: When a Valorous Branded target's Stun ends, Impaling Light's cooldown is reduced by 1 second for each Valorous Brand on the target. Level 7 Blaze of Glory Blaze of Glory delay reduced from 2 seconds to 1.75 seconds. Holy Fervor Molten Armor no longer grants Holy Fervor. Level 20 Heavenly Host ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: All Shields created by Angelic Armaments no longer expire. ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Swords fired by Heavenly Host Shields can target non-Heroes, but Heroes are prioritized. Molten Wrath NEW TALENT: Molten Armor will now hit two extra targets even if enemy Heroes are in range. Lunara
      Talents
      Level 7 Splintered Spear ADDED FUNCTIONALITY: Now grants 3 stacks of Splintered Spear. A stack is consumed when an extra target is attacked. Can have a maximum of 3 stacks and all stacks can be consumed in a single attack. Level 13 Endless Spores Now also refunds 50 Mana. Level 20 For The Wildlands! NEW TALENT: Thornwood Vine now shoots out 4 additional Vines in an arc. Forest's Wrath Can now be selected with either Heroic. Malthael
      Base
      Wraith Strike [W] Range is increased from 6 to 7. Talents
      Level 4 Black Harvest Quest goal reduced from 180 seconds to 150 seconds. Level 10 Tormented Souls No longer resets the cooldown of Wraith Strike when Tormented Souls ends. Now reduces the cooldown of Wraith Strike to 2 seconds and removes its Mana cost while Tormented Souls is active. Level 20 Reaper of Souls While 2 or more enemy Heroes are in Tormented Souls' radius, its duration does not decay. Zagara
      Talents
      Level 16 Corrosive Saliva Damage reduced from 1.75% to 1.5% of maximum Health. Return to Top
      Bug Fixes
      General
      Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Taunt effects. Map
      Battlefield of Eternity Fixed an issue where areas of the map were not covered under Fog of War. Blackheart's Bay Fixed an issue where some Heroes would not be able to path around Healing Fountains. Cursed Hollow Fixed an issue where Hogger could go through unpathable sections of the map. Warhead Junction Fixed an issue where healing fountains were not symmetrical on the map. Heroes
      Alarak Level 16 Lethal Onslaught Fixed an issue that caused Lethal Onslaught to not increase Alarak's Basic Attack damage correctly. Artanis Base Shield Overload [Q] Fixed an issue that caused Shield Overload to not display correctly if empowered by Shield Surge. Arthas Level 10 Summon Sindragosa Can now be cast over the Minimap. Azmodan Level 20 Sin's Grasp Tooltip Updated. Brightwing Base Arcane Flare [Q] Now has a minimum cast range of .05. Level 10 Blink Heal Fixed an issue that caused Blink Heal's trailing images to be visible while Brightwing has no remaining Blink Heal charges. Chen Base Fortifying Brew [Trait D] Fixed an issue that caused Fortifying Brew being instantly destroyed not granting Attack Speed. Fortifying Brew has been added to the Buff Bar. Dehaka Base Burrow [E] Fixed an issue that caused Burrow's visuals to be displaced if Dehaka is launched shortly after Burrow ends. Level 7 Paralyzing Enzymes Fixed an issue that caused Paralyzing Enzymes' duration to not be reduced if Drag ends early. Gazlowe Base Xplodium Charge [E] Now has a minimum cast range of .2. Level 10 Grav-O-Bomb 3000 Now has a minimum cast range of .2. Hanzo Base Sonic Arrow [E] Now has a minimum cast range of .2. Jaina Base Frostbite [Trait] Ice Block's before first use attention indicator is now also removed when Jaina is killed. Johanna Level 4 Eternal Retaliation Updated Eternal Retaliation's visual effect to only be visible to Johanna. Level 10 Blessed Shield Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Blessed Shield. Kel'Thuzad Level 13 Chains of Ice Chains of Ice no longer Slows if the Stun is removed. Li-Ming Level 10 Disintegrate Fixed an issue that allowed Disintegrate to be cast while moving. Lt. Morales Base Healing Beam [Q] Fixed an issue that allowed Healing Beam to be cast on multiple targets at once. Level 10 Medivac Dropships Fixed an issue that caused Medivac Reinforcement's indicator beam to point to Lt. Morales' active position instead of where Reinforcements was cast. Malfurion Level 1 Emerald Dreams Emerald Dreams no longer puts Heroes to Sleep if the Root gets removed. Medivh Level 20 Glyph Of Poly Bomb Fixed an issue that allowed Medivh to cast abilities during Raven Form. Mephisto Base Shade of Mephisto [E] Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Shade of Mephisto. Level 20 Unspeakable Horror Fixed an issue that caused Unspeakable Horror to Silence twice. Muradin Base Thunder Clap [W] Fixed an issue that caused Thunder Clap's splat to not match the area Thunder Clap hits. Level 4 Thunder Burn Fixed an issue that caused Thunder Burn's damaging area to be smaller than Thunder Clap's area. Fixed an issue that caused Thunder Burn's warning indicator to be inconsistently sized for the area affected. Murky Base Pufferfish [W] Now has a minimum cast range of .05. Orphea Base Shadow Waltz [Q] Fixed an issue that caused Orphea to not dash when moving after hitting an enemy Hero with Shadow Waltz. Ragnaros Level 13 Cauterize Wounds Cauterize Wounds healing is now a singular combined effect each time it heals, instead of a heal effect for each Hero hit. Fixed an issue that caused Cauterize Wounds healing amount to be determined by the damage dealt to the target furthest from the primary Empower Sulfuras target. If Cauterize Wounds is reapplied while already active, any remaining healing will apply over the refreshed duration. Rexxar Base Misha, Charge! [W] Can now be self-cast. Samuro Base Critical Strike [W] Fixed an issue that caused Samuro's Critical Strike stacks to be visible to an enemy Samuro. Sonya Level 10 Wrath of the Berserker Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Wrath of the Berserker. Remaining duration indicator is now standalone from Whirlwind's duration indicator. Stukov Base Healing Pathogen [Q] Fixed an issue that caused Healing Pathogen to persist for a brief period after activating Bio-Kill Switch. Sylvanas Base Black Arrows [Trait D] Fixed an issue with the display priority for the duration bar of Black Arrows. Remaining duration indicator is now standalone from Haunting Wave's duration indicator. Level 10 Mind Control Fixed an issue with the display duration for the duration bar of Mind Control. Level 20 Deafening Blast Fixed an issue that caused Deafening Blast to activate off of the center of units instead of their edge. The Lost Vikings Fixed an issue that prevented Olaf from charging while Silenced. Tracer Level 16 Ricochet Now appears as its own entry in the Death Recap. Tychus Base Frag Grenade [W] Fixed an issue that caused Frag Grenade to not apply physics to physics objects when no targets are hit. Valeera Level 16 Assassinate Damage bonus is now additive. Fixed an issue with duration extension. Whitemane Base Searing Lash [E] Can now be self-cast. Return to Top
      Click here to discuss this post with other players in the official Heroes of the Storm forums.

    • By Staff
      Game Pass members can now unlock 30 Heroes in Heroes of the Storm for free. Here’s how to claim your in-game perks.
      Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members are getting a fresh batch of in-game perks this week, and Heroes of the Storm is officially part of the lineup!
      Starting now, subscribers can unlock 30 playable Heroes in Blizzard's free-to-play MOBA just by linking their Battle.net account.
       
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