Heroes Closed Beta Patch Notes -- February 10, 2015

Official Patch Notes v 9.0

We’ve brought Heroes of the Storm offline for a period of extended maintenance today in order to bring you a brand new Closed Beta patch! Maintenance is ongoing, but don't worry; we'll let you know just as soon as the Nexus is back online. In the meantime, you can check out the complete patch notes below.

Update (February 18, 2015): We released a follow-up patch in order to fix a few bugs and add Stimpacks to the Heroes of the Storm in-game Shop. The February 18 updates have been added to the User Interface and Bug Fixes sections of the patch notes below.

New Hero

The Lost Vikings, (Olaf, Baleog, and Erik) just fell through a Nexus portal and are now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of their Abilities, as well as how to control the Vikings in-game.

  • General
    • The Lost Vikings are three Heroes in one!
      • Olaf – Has lots of Health, regenerates Health quickly, and charges to slow enemies
      • Baleog – Deals splash damage to enemies behind his attack target
      • Erik – Moves faster than the other Vikings and has a longer attack range
    • Each Viking can move, attack, and be killed separately. They will also receive individual respawn timers on death.
      • Use the activated Talent hotkeys “1”, “2”, and “3” to select and control the Vikings individually, or press the “4” key to guide them as a group.
  • Basic Abilities
    • The Lost Vikings’ Basic Abilities must be unlocked through Talent Selection.
    • Spin to Win! (Q)
      • Deals damage around each Viking.
      • Can be unlocked at Level 4 by learning the Spin to Win! Talent
    • Jump! (W)
      • All Vikings become temporarily Invulnerable.
      • Can be unlocked at Level 7 by learning the Jump! Talent
    • Norse Force! (E)
      • All Vikings temporarily gain a Shield.
      • Can be unlocked at Level 16 by learning the Norse Force! Talent
  • Mount
    • Go go go! (Z)
      • The Vikings gain increased Movement Speed for a few seconds.
  • Trait
    • Fast Restart
      • Death time is reduced for The Lost Vikings.
  • Heroic Abilities
    • Play Again! (R)
      • All Vikings are revived and teleported to the summoning Viking.
    • Longboat Raid! (R)
      • Summon a Longboat and go on a Viking Raid!

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User Interface

General

  • The Reconnect System has received several improvements, which should help players more quickly rejoin in-progress Heroes matches from which they’ve disconnected. The Reconnect System will continue to undergo evaluation going forward, and further improvements will be implemented as necessary with future updates.
  • Mac users can now find screenshots at the following location:
    • Library/Application Support/Blizzard/Heroes of the Storm/Screenshots
  • Though Team League is not available with today’s patch, those who have achieved Player Level 40 will earn a new progression reward which indicates that they are eligible to compete in Team League. This reward will be displayed in Player Profiles, Quest Logs, and endgame Score Screens, but Team League will remain disabled until a future update is released.

In-game Communication

  • It is now possible to view recent in-game chat messages by opening the chat box to type a new message. Only the most recent messages will be displayed in this way. Additional improvements will arrive with future updates.
  • The following items have been temporarily disabled for further evaluation and improvements:
    • The Emote Menu (Y).
    • The ability to send “GG” chat messages to opponents in the moments after a Core is destroyed.

Quest Log

  • A new Quest Log button has been added to the lower-right portion of the bottom navigation bar, next to the Friends List button.
    • The Quest Log will be locked prior to earning the Daily Quests reward at Player Level 6.
    • Click the Quest Log button to view active Daily Quest progression, Player Level progress, as well as the next progression reward.
    • The Quest Log will also be automatically displayed upon each login, which should help players more easily keep track of their Daily Quest and progression reward progress.

Player Profile

  • The Player Profile screen has received an overhaul.
    • The Daily Quests tab has been removed.
    • The Profile Summary tab has been enabled.
      • Players can use this tab to view general information about their Heroes of the Storm account, such as: Recent Victory, Most Played Heroes, Total Hero Level, Ranked Play win-rates, games played with each Hero role, and much more!
    • The Rewards tab has been renamed to Player Progression
      • This tab can be used to view current Player Level, progress toward the next level, and all Player Level progression rewards.
    • The Hero Progress tab has been renamed to Hero Collection
      • Hero Progress has been visually reworked, allowing many more Heroes, their current Hero Levels, and progress toward the next level, to be displayed on each page of the Hero Collection tab.
      • Additionally, clicking any Hero portrait on the Hero Collection tab will bring up that Hero’s 3D model, as well as detailed information about its current Hero level and reward progress.
    • The Match History tab has been enabled.
      • Select this tab to view a list of recently played Heroes of the Storm matches.
      • The game mode, Hero, and Battleground selected, as well as the game’s result, and a timestamp will be displayed for each match in the list.
    • A Statistics tab has been added.
      • Players can use this tab to view additional statistics about their performance in Heroes of the Storm, such as: Heroes they’ve scored the most takedowns or received the most deaths with, total games played, and Battleground win-rates.
    • A Portrait tab has been added.
      • Portrait Selection has been moved from its previous location to this tab, making it easier than ever for players to find and choose among the portraits they’ve already earned, or simply browse through the portrait rewards they have yet to unlock.
      • Hover the mouse over any Portrait to display a tooltip that explains how it can be earned.
    • Please Note that some of the Player Profile statistics mentioned above will not contain data for games played prior to today’s patch. However, statistics for games played after the patch will be properly tracked.

Penalties for Leaving Games

  • The tracking and penalties for leaving in-progress Quick Match and Hero League games before they are finished have been changed:
    • Leaving multiple Hero League or Quick Match games without reconnecting will now flag the player to receive the following penalties:
      • The flagged player will be disallowed from queuing for Hero League games until a Quick Match game is played to completion.
        • Leaving additional games early will cause the number of Quick Match games required to increase.
      • When queuing for Quick Match games, the flagged player will be teamed up with other flagged players who have similarly left games early.
      • The system will track players’ recent games. If a player has not left any games prematurely for some time, then leaving a single game (for reasons outside of that player’s control) will not trigger these penalties.
      • When a player who is flagged for leaving games early joins a party, the entire party will also become subject to these penalties.
        • Please note that this will not cause party members to be flagged individually. These penalties will be lifted from the party once the flagged player either completes the requirements noted above, or leaves the party.
      • Players penalized in this way can earn back the ability to play in Hero League, and be matched with non-leaving teammates. Simply play the assigned number of Quick Match games to completion (and stop leaving games).
      • Leaving a Hero League game during Draft Mode will now only penalize and flag the player who left the draft, and will no longer penalize the rest of that player’s party members.
        • In addition, the flagged player will still lose a significant number of Ranked Points upon leaving Draft Mode.

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Art

Battlegrounds

  • Structures
    • The Core now displays Shield impact effects when attacked, so long as Shields remain.
    • Upon destruction, the Core now produces a Nexus coin rather than a crystal.
  • The following units have received updated animations:
    • Siege and Bruiser Mercenaries
    • Grave Golems
    • The Garden Terror
    • The Sky Temple Boss
  • Watchtowers on the Sky Temple Battleground have received updated art.
  • Various Battleground assets have received additional optimization to help improve performance.

Heroes, Mounts, and Skins

  • General
    • Hearthstone (B) has received updated visual effects.
    • A number of in-game Hero portraits have received additional polish.
    • Dance, victory, and taunt animations have been added to a number of Heroes.
    • Kerrigan has received new Ability icon art.
  • The following Heroes, Mounts, Skins, and Skin Variations have received visual improvements:
    • Elder Chen and its Variations
    • Grunty Murky and its Variations have received updated art.
      • Additionally, Grunty Murky has wriggled his way into a brand new suit of Terran power armor, and dropped his fish for a much creepier weapon: a Zerg Larva!
    • Jaina Skins and all Variations have received minor updates.
  • Several Heroes and Hero Skins have received animation polish:
    • Diablo
    • Raynor
    • Sonya
    • Tychus
    • Pajamathur Abathur
    • Skelethur Abathur
    • Grunty Murky
  • Several Hero Skins have received new art for certain Abilities, which more closely match that Skin’s theme:
    • Big Top Gazlowe -- Rock-It! Turret (Q), Deth Lazor (W), Xplodium Charge (E)
    • War World Sgt. Hammer -- Spider Mines (Q), Blunt Force Gun (R)
    • Medic Uther -- Holy Light (Q), Holy Radiance (W), Hammer of Justice (E)
    • Desert Queen Zagara – Baneling Barrage (Q), Hunter Killer (W), and Infested Drop (E)
    • Ronin Zeratul -- Singularity Spike (W), Blink (E)
  • Several Hero Abilities and Talents have received updated visual effects:
    • Chen -- Storm, Earth, Fire (R)
    • Gazlowe -- Deth Lazor (W)
    • Nazeebo -- Ravenous Spirit (R)
    • Raynor -- Basic Attack, Relentless Leader (Talent), Scorched Earth (Talent)
    • Fury of the Storm (Level 20 generic Talent)
  • A number of summoned units have received visual updates and polish:
    • Anub’arak’s Scarabs
    • Arthas’ Ghouls
    • Jaina’s Water Elemental
    • Kerrigan’s Ultralisk
    • Nova’s Holo Decoys
    • Zagara’s Mutalisk and Nydus Worm

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Shop

Bundle Packs

  • The Pajama Party Lost Vikings Bundle has been added to the in-game Shop for a limited time.
  • Head here for more details on all of the Bundle Packs that are currently available for purchase in the Shop.

Heroes

  • The Lost Vikings have been added to the in-game Shop!

Skins

  • A Master Skin has been added for The Lost Vikings.
  • The Pajama Party Lost Vikings Skin has been added to the Shop.

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Sound

Heroes and Skins

  • The following Hero Skins have received unique dialog effects:
    • Betrayer Malfurion
    • Crypt King Tassadar
  • The following Heroes and Hero Skins have received sound effect updates:
    • Raynor
    • Tychus
    • Big Top Gazlowe
    • Ronin Zeratul

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Design and Gameplay

General

  • Heroes can no longer use Activated Talents while channeling.
  • A loss of control channel bar will now appear when Heroes are Silenced (as they do with Stuns).
  • Abathur's Ultimate Evolution clones, Murky, and The Lost Vikings’ deaths are now represented in 0.25 increments on score screens, as killing them awards 25% of the normal XP amount earned by killing another hero.

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Battlegrounds

General

  • Human teams can now begin Coop games on either side of the Battleground, rather than only on the left side.
  • Collecting various Battleground items (Doubloons, Skulls, Seeds, Regeneration Globes) should now be more responsive.

Structures

  • Core
    • The Core is now invulnerable until both the Keep and Fort in a single lane are destroyed.
      • This is now consistent with the way in which Catapult Minions are spawned.
  • Walls
    • Vision provided by Walls reduced by approximately 15%.

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Talents

General

  • All Heroes (including Murky and The Lost Vikings) now count as full credit toward Talents which require Hero kills (such as Gathering Power).

Level 20 Talent Changes

  • Swift Storm has been removed
  • Rewind
    • Has been moved from Level 13 to Level 20
    • Has been removed from many Heroes
    • Found on the following Heroes:
      • Anub'arak, Arthas, Brightwing, Nova, Malfurion, Muradin, Murky, Tassadar, Tyrande, Rehgar, Zeratul
  • Four new Talents have been added at Level 20 for a number of Heroes:
    • Nexus Blades
      • Provides 20% increased Attack Damage, and Basic Attacks slow enemies by 20% for 1 second
      • Found on the following Heroes:
        • Illidan, Kerrigan, Sonya, Thrall, Tyrael, Zeratul
    • Nexus Frenzy
      • Increases both Attack Speed and Basic Attack range by 20%
      • Found on the following Heroes:
        • Falstad, Jaina, Raynor, Sgt. Hammer, Tychus, Valla
    • Hardened Shield
      • Activate to reduce all incoming damage by 75% for 4 seconds; 60 second cooldown
      • Found on the following Heroes:
        • Anub’arak, Arthas, Chen, Gazlowe, Muradin, Sonya, Stitches, Tyrael
    • Fury of the Storm
      • Every 5 seconds, the next Basic Attack will deal an additional 200 damage to the primary target, and 500 damage to each nearby Minion or Mercenary.
      • Found on the following Heroes:
        • E.T.C., Gazlowe, Nazeebo, Sgt. Hammer, The Lost Vikings, Zagara

Calldown: MULE

  • Multiple M.U.L.E.s can no longer repair the same structure.
  • Duration reduced from 60 to 40 seconds; Cooldown remains 60 seconds
  • M.U.L.E.s now restore ammunition more quickly.
  • M.U.L.E. Health is now 140 (+43 per level), rather than remaining at 500 Health for the duration of the match.

Gathering Power

  • Initial Ability Power amount reduced from 8% to 5%
  • Maximum Ability Power bonus reduced from 20% to 15%

Ice Block

  • Ability cooldowns will now continue to run, and persistent auras will continue to take effect, throughout Ice Block’s duration (this was added with the previous patch).

Regeneration Master

  • Now grants 4 Health regeneration upon learning the Talent

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Heroes

Technical Designer John "Johnzee" Hodgson and the balance team posted their thoughts behind some of today's changes in the Closed Beta Hero Feedback forum. Click here to read up on and discuss these changes.

Assassin Specialist Support Warrior
Illidan Abathur Brightwing Anub'arak
Kerrigan Azmodan Rehgar Arthas
Raynor Murky Uther Chen
Thrall Sgt. Hammer Diablo
Tychus Muradin
Zeratul Sonya
Stitches
Tyrael

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Abathur

  • Evolve Monstrosity (R)
    • Minion Stack bonus increased from 4% to 5% Health and Damage.
    • Monstrosity Health increased from 600 (+60 per level) to 600 (+72 per level).
    • Monstrosity now takes 50% less damage from Minions and Structures.

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Anub'arak

  • Basic Attack
    • Locust Needles (Talent) damage increased from 35% to 50%
  • Impale (Q)
    • Stun duration decreased from 1.25 to 1 second
  • Harden Carapace (W)
    • Persistent Carapace (Talent)
      • Duration bonus increased from 2 to 3 seconds
    • Chitinous Plating (Talent)
      • Shield bonus reduced from 50% to 40%
  • Burrow Charge (E)
    • Cooldown increased from 14 to 16 seconds
    • Epicenter (Talent)
      • Impact area and Damage bonuses reduced from 100% to 85%
  • Web Blast (R)
    • Duration increased from 5 to 8 seconds
    • Cooldown increased from 45 to 60 seconds
    • Cryptweave (Talent)
      • Now channels for 4 seconds to increase the duration of Web Blast for 4 seconds. Usable once per Web Blast cast

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Arthas

  • Envenom (Talent) removed
  • Frozen Wastes (Talent) moved from Level 1 to Level 4
  • Eternal Hunger (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 1
  • Basic Attack
    • Rune Tap (Talent)
      • Heal amount reduced from 4% to 3% of maximum Health
  • Frostmourne Hungers (Trait)
    • Obliterate (Talent)
      • Search radius increased by 25%
  • Death Coil (Q)
    • Mana Cost decreased from 55 to 50
  • Howling Blast (W)
    • Mana cost decreased from 75 to 70
    • Frost Presence (Talent)
      • Cooldown reduction increased from 2 to 3 seconds
  • Frozen Tempest (E)
    • Mana drain increased from 12 to 15 per second
    • Radius increased by approximately 15%
    • Initial damage per second increased from 20 to 26
    • Scaling damage increased from 3 to 4
    • Frozen Wastes (Talent)
      • No longer increases Frozen Tempest’s radius
      • Now decreases Frozen Tempest’s Mana cost by 3 per second
    • Biting Cold (Talent)
      • No longer increases Frozen Tempest’s Mana cost
      • Scaling damage increased from 5.5 to 6
  • Summon Sindragosa (R)
    • Cooldown decreased from 90 to 80 seconds
    • Slow duration on Heroes increased from 3 to 4 seconds
    • Absolute Zero (Talent)
      • Hero root duration increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds
      • Hero slow duration increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds
  • Army of the Dead (R)
    • Cooldown increased from 90 to 100 seconds
    • Initial Ghoul heal reduced from 150 to 104
    • Scaling Ghoul heal reduced from 30 to 24
    • Legion of Northrend (Talent)
      • Ghoul duration bonus changed from a 50% increase to a 5 second increase
      • Now increases Ghoul heal by 25%

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Azmodan

  • Bolt of the Storm (Talent) added at Level 20

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Brightwing

  • Starting Health decreased from 775 to 750
  • Scaling Health decreased from 140 to 130
  • Rewind (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 20
  • Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
  • Phase Shift (Z)
    • Cooldown increased from 30 to 45 seconds
    • Phase Shield (Talent)
      • Shield scaling increased from 25 to 50 per level
  • Polymorph (W)
    • Mana Cost increased from 60 to 75
  • Pixie Dust (E)
    • Buff duration decreased from 4 to 3 seconds
    • Movement Speed bonus decreased from 25% to 20%
    • Block charges granted reduced from 2 to 1
    • Cooldown decreased from 12 to 10 seconds
    • Mana Cost reduced from 75 to 60

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Chen

  • The color of Chen’s Brew resource bar has been changed to yellow.
  • Swift Reflexes (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 4
  • Basic Attack
    • Attack Speed increased by 11%
  • Fortifying Brew (Trait)
    • Last Drop (Talent) removed
    • Bottomless Mug (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 1
    • Chug (Talent) moved from Level 4 to Level 16
    • Combat Stance (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 7
    • Starting Brew regeneration increased from 30 to 40 Brew per second upon activation
    • Bolder Flavor (Talent)
      • Moved from Level 7 to Level 16
      • Shield regeneration rate and maximum Shield amount increased from 33% to 40%
    • Brewmaster’s Balance (Talent)
      • Health regeneration bonus increased from 5 (+1 per level) to 10 (+1.5 per level)
      • Movement Speed bonus increased from 15% to 20%
      • Health regeneration and Movement Speed Bonuses have been swapped
        • While at or below 50 Brew, gain 20% Movement Speed
        • While at or above 50 Brew, regenerate an additional 10 (+1.5 per level) Health per second
  • Flying Kick (Q)
    • Deadly Strike (Talent) moved from Level 1 to Level 4
    • Pressure Point (Talent)
      • Moved from Level 7 to Level 16
      • No longer roots the target for 1 second, and instead applies a 90% slow for 1 second
    • Combination Attack (Talent)
      • Attack damage bonus decreased from 200% to 100%
  • Keg Smash (W)
    • Keg Toss (Talent)
      • Moved from Level 16 to Level 7
      • Range bonus reduced from 200% to 125%
  • Breath of Fire (E)
    • Combustion (Talent) removed
    • Deep Breath (Talent)
      • Increases for Breath of Fire’s range and arc changed from 20% to 30%
    • Ring of Fire (Talent)
      • Damage scaling increased from 2 to 2.5
  • Storm, Earth, Fire (R)
    • Elemental Conduit (Talent)
      • Spirit timed life decreased from 5 to 4 seconds
      • Spirit generation cooldown decreased from 9 to 4 seconds

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Diablo

  • Basic Attack
    • Scaling damage increased from 7 to 11
  • Shadow Charge (Q)
    • The pushback distance on the target is now consistent, which should allow for more fluid combos with Overpower.
    • Can now be used on Structures without potentially landing inside of them
  • Fire Stomp (W)
    • Now orients according to cardinal directions with respect to the direction that Diablo is currently facing
    • The number of fire waves created by Fire Stomp has been reduced from 10 to 8.
  • Overpower (E)
    • Issuing additional commands after casting Overpower should now be much more responsive.

Return

Illidan

  • Executioner (Talent) removed

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Kerrigan

  • Executioner (Talent) removed
  • Ravage (Q)
    • Siphoning Impact (Talent)
      • Heal amount increased from 5% to 10% of maximum Health
  • Impaling Blades (W)
    • Starting damage decreased from 125 to 110
    • Scaling damage increased from 20 to 22
  • Primal Grasp (E)
    • Psionic Pulse (Talent)
      • Base damage tick increased from 3 to 6
      • Scaling damage tick increased from .65 to 1.2

Return

Muradin

  • Storm Bolt (Q)
    • Sledgehammer (Talent)
      • 400% damage bonus now also affects Mercenaries
  • Haymaker (R)
    • Casting time slightly reduced

Return

Murky

  • Murky will now lose Kill Streak flames any time he is killed, even if an Egg has been placed prior to death.
  • Gathering Power (Talent) removed
  • Spawn Egg (Trait)
    • Egg placement cooldown reduced from 45 to 20 seconds
    • The amount of time Murky is revealed after his Egg is killed has been increased from 10 to 15 seconds.
    • Spawn Egg’s placement cooldown after Murky’s Egg is destroyed has been decreased from 20 to 15 seconds.
  • Pufferfish (W)
    • Slimy Pufferfish (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 16
    • Compressed Air (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 7
    • Wrath of Cod (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 13
  • Safety Bubble (E)
    • Rejuvenation Bubble (Talent)
      • Now restores 50% Health, rather than all Health

Return

Raynor

  • Raynor has received a significant Talent update.
  • Searing Attacks (Talent) removed
  • Mercenary Lord (Talent) added at Level 7
  • New Talent (Level 1): Raynor's "Recruitment"
    • This is an improved version of the Bribe Talent that requires only 15 stacks to bribe a Mercenary instead of 20.
  • New Talent (Level 16): Relentless Leader
    • Raynor gains 50% Crowd Control reduction.
    • Additionally, once every 5 seconds, Raynor will knock back nearby enemies if he becomes stunned.
  • New Talent (Level 20): A Card to Play
    • Raynor’s Heroic Ability cooldown is reduced by 10 seconds whenever any Hero (ally or enemy) is killed.
  • Lead From the Front (Trait) removed
  • Advanced Optics (Talent) has been converted into Raynor's new Trait.
    • Now also increases Raynor’s vision by 10%
    • New Talent (Level 13): Puttin' On a Clinic
      • Reduces Ability cooldowns by 1.5 seconds whenever an enemy that was recently damaged by Raynor is destroyed
  • Basic Attack
    • Damage reduced from 40 (+12 per level) to 35 (+11 per level)
  • Penetrating Round (Q)
    • New Talent (Level 4): Confident Aim
      • Penetrating Round’s cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds upon striking an enemy Hero.
    • New Talent (Level 7): Hamstring Shot
      • Upon impact, Penetrating Round slows enemies by 20% for 3 seconds.
    • New Talent (Level 13): Double Barreled
      • Penetrating Round becomes charge-based, with a maximum of 2 charges.
  • Inspire (W)
    • Attack damage bonus removed
    • Attack Speed bonus increased from 15% to 25%
      • Nearby allies still benefit from 50% of this bonus.
    • No longer visually scales up Minions and Mercenaries
    • New Talent (Level 13): Steel Resolve
      • Increases Inspire’s duration by 50% and causes Adrenaline Rush to automatically apply Inspire
  • Adrenaline Rush (E)
    • Activated Rush (Talent) moved from Level 13 to Level 4
      • Now dismounts Raynor upon Activation
    • No longer requires activation in order to reduce the cooldown for Adrenaline Rush
    • Cooldown reduction lowered from 15 to 10 seconds
  • Hyperion (R)
    • Battle Hyperion (Talent) removed
    • Now starts with the Yamato Cannon effect that was previously granted by the Battle Hyperion Talent
    • New Talent (Level 20): Scorched Earth
      • An additional set of lasers continually blast the ground, dealing area-of-effect damage.
  • Raynor's Raiders (R)
    • This Heroic Ability now requires a target before it can be cast.
    • Raynor’s Banshees can now be re-targeted by pressing R and clicking an enemy, or issued Move commands by pressing R and clicking the terrain.
    • If their target dies, the Banshees will attempt to acquire a new target nearby, preferring heroes.
    • If Raynor dies, the Banshees will travel to the nearest lane to help push.
    • New Talent (Level 20): Dusk Wings
      • Banshees remain cloaked while firing, and fire 50% more frequently.

Return

Rehgar

  • Earthbind Totem (E)
    • Earthgrasp Totem (Talent)
      • No longer roots the target for 1 second, and instead applies a 90% slow for 1 second

Return

Sgt. Hammer

  • Spider Mines (Q)
    • Bullhead Mines (Talent)
      • Enemies are now knocked back slightly farther, but only the center of the three Spider Mines will knock the target back.

Return

Sonya

  • The color of Sonya’s Fury resource bar has been changed to orange.
  • Ferocious Healing (Activated Talent)
    • Fury cost upon activation increased from 10 to 20
  • Basic Attack
    • Damage increased from 38 (+7 per level) to 40 (+8 per level)
  • Fury (Trait)
    • Fury generated per Basic Attack increased from 4 to 6
    • Fury generated upon taking damage increased from 1 to 2
    • Shot of Fury (Talent)
      • Fury generated upon activation increased from 25 to 50
  • Ancient Spear (Q)
    • Fury generation increased from 20 to 40
  • Seismic Slam (W)
    • Fury cost increased from 15 to 25
    • Furious Blow (Talent)
      • Damage bonus increased from 30% to 40%
      • Increase to Seismic Slam’s Fury cost changed from 5 to 10
  • Whirlwind (E)
    • Fury cost increased from 30 to 50
  • Wrath of the Berserker (R)
    • Cooldown increased from 30 to 45 seconds
    • Damage bonus increased from 30% to 40%
    • Duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds
    • Fury required to extend Wrath of the Berserker’s duration increased from 4 to 10 Fury

Return

Stitches

  • Hook (Q)
    • Cooldown increased from 14 to 16 seconds
  • Gorge (R)
    • Damage reduced from 200 (+50 per level) to 100 (+25 per level)

Return

Thrall

  • Battle Momentum (Talent) removed
  • Frostwolf Resilience (Trait)
    • Heal amount changed from 49 (+36 per level) to 60 (+23 per level)
  • Chain Lightning (Q)
    • Primary target scaling damage reduced from 17 per level to 15 per level

Return

Tychus

  • Minigun (Trait)
    • Rapid Fire (Talent) has been reworked
      • Now allows Minigun's Attack Speed bonus to stack up to two additional times
  • Commandeer Odin (R)
    • The functionality of Commandeer Odin has been changed significantly.
      • The Odin’s Health total will now be set to Tychus’ current Health at the time that Commandeer Odin is cast.
      • Tychus will now die if the Odin is destroyed while he is piloting it.
      • The Odin no longer has 50% Crowd Control reduction.
      • Tychus can now use Activated Talents while piloting the Odin.
    • Basic Attack
      • Range increased by approximately 30%
      • Attack Speed increased by 9%
        • Basic Attack damage decreased from 70 (+20 per level) to 63 (+18 per level)
    • Annihilate (Q)
      • Scaling damage increased from 13 to 18 per level
    • Ragnarok Missiles (W)
      • This Ability’s functionality has changed.
      • Target a point to damage and slow enemies in an area.
    • New Ability: Thrusters (E)
      • Dash in target direction
    • Big Red Button (Talent)
      • This Talent no longer grants Nuclear Blast (E) as a separate Ability.
      • Instead, Ragnarok Missiles now also launches a Nuclear Missile at the target location in addition to its other effects.

Return

Tyrael

  • Cast Aside (Talent) removed
  • Righteousness (W)
    • Angelic Absorption (Talent)
      • Moved from Level 4 to Level 13
      • Healing increased from 10 (+2 per level) to 20 (+4 per level) each second for 3 seconds
  • Smite (E)
    • Purge Evil (Talent)
      • Damage bonus decreased from 30% to 25%

Return

Uther

  • Holy Radiance (W)
    • Gathering Radiance (Talent)
      • No longer increases healing done, and instead increases damage dealt by 10% for each enemy hit up to a maximum of 100%.

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Zeratul

  • Executioner (Talent) removed
  • Bolt of the Storm (Talent) removed
  • Rewind (Talent) added at Level 20
  • Rending Cleave (Talent) moved from Level 7 to Level 16
  • Void Slash (Talent) moved from Level 16 to Level 7
  • Void Prison (R)
    • Now pauses Capture Points (Mercenary Camps, Watch Towers, Dragon Shrines). While paused, these points cannot be captured.

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Bug Fixes

  • Items listed in italics were added with our follow-up patch on February 18, 2015.

General

  • Fixed an issue in which players could be repeatedly prompted to reconnect to a match that had already been completed.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the player to lose control of his or her Hero after reconnecting to an in-progress game multiple times.
  • Try Me and Training modes will no longer generate error text.
  • Fixed an issue affecting machines with NVIDIA GTX 900 series Optimus graphics cards, which could cause greatly reduced framerates when Textures were set to Ultra.
  • Resolved an issue in which some Hero Abilities were not properly revealing their targets after damaging them.
  • Opening the Talent Select pane in Practice Mode will no longer interrupt an in-progress Hearthstone cast.
  • Heroes that have transformation effects will no longer revert back to their default Skin color after Cloaking and Decloaking.
  • Corrected several typos and tooltip errors across multiple aspects of the game.

Art

  • Great-father Winter Rehgar’s appearance while in Ghost Wolf form will now appropriately match his selected Skin Variation.
  • Corrected some minor clipping in Illidan's Master Skin model.
  • Tassadar no longer exhibits an animation pop when sitting idle on the Battle Beast Mount.

Battlegrounds

  • Resolved a crash that could occur while playing on the Garden of Terror Battleground.
  • Abathur’s Hivemind Talent can no longer benefit the Dragon Knight or player-controlled Garden Terrors.
  • Battleground objective units such as Grave Golems, Garden Terrors, and Mercenaries will now become invulnerable while leashing.
  • Falstad’s Flight cooldown is now properly reset after pressing the “Clear Cooldowns” button in Try Mode.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause Grave Golems to deviate from their intended attack paths (Hotfixed on January 22).
  • Grave Golems will now properly ignore Tassadar’s Force Wall.
  • Grave Golems, Mercenaries, and Minions will no longer completely ignore Structures affected by Zeratul’s Void Prison.
  • Fixed a rare issue in which Skulls occasionally spawn outside of the playable area on Haunted Mines.
  • Kerrigan’s Ultralisk can now properly walk through uncollected Doubloons on Blackheart’s Bay.
  • Sky Temple Map Mechanic stats are now properly recorded on the end-game score screen.
  • Spirits created by Chen’s Storm, Earth, Fire Heroic Ability can no longer capture the Dragon Knight on Dragon Shire.

Heroes and Talents

  • Brightwing’s Soothing Mist Trait will no longer stop functioning after coming under the effects of Zeratul’s Void Prison.
  • Fixed an issue which could allow Zeratul’s Singularity Spike to deal more damage than intended when cast multiple times using the Double Bombs Talents.
  • Raynor’s Adrenaline Rush Ability will no longer cleanse movement impairing effects prior to learning the Fight or Flight Talent.
  • Respawn waypoints set from The Lost Vikings’ tombstones onto an enemy Hero will no longer track that Hero through the Fog of War.
  • Spirits created by Chen’s Storm, Earth, Fire Heroic Ability will no longer fly across the Battleground after using their Triple Attack or Split Up Abilities to cross an enemy Zeratul’s Void Prison.
  • Players will no longer permanently lose control of Abathur if he is killed immediately after the Ultimate Evolution Heroic Ability expires (Hotfixed on January 22).
  • Fixed an issue in which Abathur could become permanently stuck in Symbiote form under very specific circumstances.
  • The Bombard Strain Talent for Abathur’s Locust Strain Trait now appropriately lists a 66% damage bonus for Locusts in its tooltip.
  • Visual effects for Abathur’s Deep Tunnel are no longer visible through line of sight blockers for opponents when Symbiote is cancelled.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause Anub’arak to become stuck after using Burrow Charge near a Wall.
  • Internal text will no longer display when Azmodan's Demons kill Murky's Egg.
  • Visual explosion effects for Azmodan’s Globe of Annihilation with the Sieging Wrath Talent will now properly appear at long distances.
  • Visual effects for Chen's Brewmaster's Balance Talent will no longer persist after Chen is killed.
  • Fixed a rare issue which could allow Gazlowe to use both Grav-O-Bomb 3,000 and Robo-Goblin in the same match.
  • Muradin's Haymaker now deals the appropriate amount of damage to Grave Golems and player-controlled Garden Terrors.
  • Lighting issues will no longer occur when Murky is revived at an Egg placed in the Haunted Mines.
  • Nova’s Holo Decoy will no longer pick up Doubloons if Nova is killed before the Decoy expires.
  • Nova's Holo Decoy now appropriately displays any Doubloons it collects on Blackheart’s Bay.
  • Fixed an issue in which Shrink Ray could fail to apply its 50% damage reduction if the target had already begun casting an Ability prior to coming under Shrink Ray’s effects.
  • A Sgt. Hammer in Siege Mode now properly becomes mobile while under the effects of Brightwing’s Polymorph, and will no longer be in Siege Mode when Polymorph expires.
  • Visual explosion effects from Sgt. Hammer's Basic Attacks while in Siege Mode now appear at the appropriate location when attacking flying enemies.
  • Heroes will no longer be teleported back to Stitches if they are Gorged when Stitches comes under the effects of Anub’arak’s Web Blast.
  • Fixed an issue in which Tassadar could gain additional range on Psionic Storm when selecting the talent Second Strike.
  • Tassadar will no longer display a targeting reticule during Dimensional Shift if he was being actively targeted before casting the Ability.
  • Fixed a rare issue in which Earthquake could still be cast, and then receive a reduced cooldown, if Thrall was stunned while channeling the Ability.
  • Thrall's Chain Lightning will no longer bounce to, or reveal, Cloaked units.
  • Tychus will no longer perform any Basic Attacks while using his Overkill Ability (Hotfixed on January 22).

Sound

  • Chen's ready sound can no longer be heard by all players during Hero Selection.

User Interface

  • Fixed an issue which allowed players to access bonus free-to-play Hero rotation slots prior to unlocking them at Player Levels 12 and 15.
  • Options settings will no longer be reset to default if Heroes of the Storm was installed to a filepath that contains non-English characters.
  • Fixed an issue in which players could become incorrectly flagged for game abandonment penalties when their Hero League game failed to start for reasons beyond their control.
  • Fixed an issue in which inviting matched teammates to join a party while in Hero League Draft Mode could cause display issues for the inviting player.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause players to indefinitely receive "Waiting for Results" on the endgame Score Screen if another player disconnects just as the game concludes.
  • It is no longer possible to enter a game using an unearned Skin Variation.

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