Heroes of the Storm Patch Notes – June 12, 2018

In our latest patch, Heroes are called to join forces with the Horde and Alliance in preparation for the battle to control the upcoming Alterac Pass Battleground. This patch also brings Yrel, a new Warrior Hero, into the Nexus, as well as the Echoes of Alterac event, a 50% XP bonus, and much more!

Please Note: Shortly after releasing our Echoes of Alterac patch (version 34.0), we also applied a new hotfix (34.1) to resolve issues affecting Ragnaros, Thrall, and the Home Screen. These have been added to the Bug Fixes section below.

NOTE: Orange text indicates a difference between the PTR and Live patch notes.

Echoes of Alterac

Catch additional details about the Echoes of Alterac event on the Heroes of the Storm website!

An age-old rivalry has flared up as the Horde and Alliance battle for dominance over a strategic pass through the Alterac Mountains. Generals from each faction rally Heroes to their banners in an effort to gain the upper-hand in the struggle to control Alterac Pass. You must decide whether to side with Vanndar Stormpike and the Alliance or Drek'thar and the Horde. Choose wisely! Your decision is permanent, and these battle-hardened Generals will not tolerate traitors among their ranks.

Starting the week of June 12, until July 9, those who successfully complete quests for their General of choice will be handsomely rewarded with in-game loot, including a Warcraft Reinforcements Chest, which guarantees a Warcraft Hero of epic or higher rarity.

Alliance Quest Chain and Rewards

Reconnaissance: Play 4 games as a Warcraft Hero.
- Reward: Warcraft Reinforcements Loot Chest.
Raiding Camp: Achieve 50 Takedowns in winning games.
- Reward: Alliance Portrait.
Carry the Banner: Play 6 games with a friend.
- Reward: Alliance Banner.
For the Alliance: Win 8 games as a Warcraft Hero.
- Rewards: Swift Ram Mount.

Horde Quest Chain and Rewards

Scout: Play 4 games as a Warcraft Hero.
- Reward: Warcraft Reinforcements Loot Chest.
Strike Back: Achieve 50 Takedowns in winning games.
- Reward: Horde Portrait.
Gaining Drek'thar's Favor: Play 6 games with a friend.
- Reward: Horde Banner.
For the Horde: Win 8 games as a Warcraft Hero.
- Rewards: Raging Wolf Mount.

50% XP Bonus

Now through July 9, players can earn 50% more XP by playing Heroes of the Storm with friends!
- Complete Heroes matches in Versus A.I., Quick Match, Unranked Draft, Heroes Brawl, or Team League while partied with a friend to receive a 50% XP bonus.
- Read our XP Bonus blog for more details.

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New Battleground: Alterac Pass

Please Note: Alterac Pass will become available for play in two stages during the coming weeks:

Non-Ranked Modes: During the week of June 19, Alterac Pass will enter Quick Match, Unranked, and Versus A.I. matchmaking queues, as well as Custom Games.
Ranked Play: During the week of July 10, Alterac Pass will enter the Ranked Battleground Rotation.

Learn even more about Alterac Pass by visiting the Heroes of the Storm website!

Alterac Pass is a 3-lane Battleground where Heroes must free imprisoned allied troops, call in their cavalry, and take down the opposing General to claim the Pass for their faction. In addition to enemy forces, the Alterac Mountains are home to many treacherous hazards! Heroes must remain vigilant, as a misstep into a mud pit can prove fatal. Teams would also be wise to recruit the Armored Gnolls and Ice Giants who inhabit the Pass before the enemy faction can harness these deadly creatures for their own gain.

Cores Replaced by Generals

Each team's Core has been replaced by a General who will aid them in fending off attackers.
- Vanndar Stormpike leads the Alliance (left team) in driving back the Horde forces at Alterac Pass.
- Drek'Thar has rallied the Horde (right team) to aid in defending the Pass against Alliance invaders.
Each General receives bonus Armor and damage based on the number of allied Keeps remaining. Destroy enemy Keeps to weaken their General.
When attacking a General directly, be prepared to finish the job! Vanndar and Drek'thar will regenerate Health once they are out of combat.
In addition to their Basic Attacks, they can also use two Abilities:
- Whirlwind: Deals damage in an area around the General.
- Charge: The General dashes to the target enemy, dealing damage.

Capture Prison Camps to Call in the Cavalry!

Three minutes after a match begins, a Prison Camp will spawn for each team. Invade enemy territory, take out the Guards, and free the allied prisoners to call in a Cavalry Charge!
- Channel an opposing Prison Camp to begin a breakout, and then free the prisoner by preventing the enemy team from regaining control of the Camp for 30 seconds.
  - Watch out for enemy Heroes and Guards! They will attempt to stop any attackers and Channel on their Prison Camp to retake control.
  - Each subsequent breakout will require the capturing team to maintain control for an additional 10 seconds, up to a maximum of 50 seconds.
Once a team frees the prisoners at an enemy camp, allied Cavalry will charge down all three lanes, attacking any enemies and Structures in their paths.
- Cavalry units generate an aura that increases nearby Minion and Hero Movement Speeds, and grants a damage bonus to nearby allied Heroes.
  - The aura's damage bonus will increase based on the number of Prison Camp events completed so far, up to a maximum of 3 events.
    - Cavalry on both teams will benefit from these increases independent of which team won each Prison Camp event.
Subsequent Prison Camps will spawn at random within a range of time after all Cavalry from the previous event have been eliminated. This range of time is determined as follows:
- From 110 – (# of game minutes elapsed * 2) seconds to 150 – (# of game minutes elapsed * 2) seconds.
- For example: If all Cavalry from the most recent event are defeated at the 10-minute mark, the next set of Prison Camps will spawn at random between 90 and 130 seconds later.

Mercenaries

Armored Gnolls – Siege Camp
- Watch out for the Gnolls who inhabit the Pass! They're formidable creatures who wield a cleaving attack that can shred a Hero's Armor in no time.
Ice Giants – Boss Camp
- The Ice Giants at the northern and southernmost points of the Pass tend to mind their own business, but once provoked, they've been known to hurl deadly balls of ice and even stomp the ground in an effort to Slow or Stun their foes.

Mud Pits

Combatants who don't mind where they step can fall victim to one of several mud pits that have sprung up within Alterac Pass.
- Any Hero who enters a mud pit will find their Movement Speed reduced by 16% per second, to a maximum of 60%, for as long as they remain there.
- Upon finding solid ground, the Hero will regain Movement Speed at 50% per second.

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New Hero: Yrel

Learn even more about Yrel by visiting her Hero page on the Heroes of the Storm website!

After traveling to an Alternate Draenor, the forces of Azeroth saved the acolyte Yrel from the Iron Horde. With their aid, she rose to the rank of Exarch and fought back the demonic invasion of her world. Now, she finds herself where time, space, and dimensions converge: the Nexus.

Trait

Divine Purpose (D)
- Activate to instantly charge Yrel's next Basic Ability at no mana cost.
- Passive: Yrel's Basic Abilities charge up over 1.5 seconds, increasing in effectiveness, but reducing Yrel's Movement Speed by 25%.

Basic Abilities

Vindication (Q)
- Unleash holy energy around Yrel, dealing 38 damage to nearby enemies and healing her for 96.
- Charging up this Ability increases its damage up to ~~125~~ 140, and Healing up to 320.
Righteous Hammer (W)
- Swing Yrel's hammer, dealing 38 damage to enemies in front of her and knocking them away.
- Charging up this Ability increases its knockback distance, and damage up to 125. Enemies hit at maximum charge are Stunned for 0.75 seconds.
Avenging Wrath (E)
- Leap to a location, dealing 150 damage to enemies in an area and Slowing them by 50% for 1 second.
- Charging up this Ability increases its range.

Heroic Abilities

Ardent Defender (R)
- Surround Yrel in a barrier for 3 seconds, absorbing all damage taken and Healing her for 50% of the damage received.
Sacred Ground (R)
- Yrel sanctifies the ground around her, gaining 40 Armor until she leaves the area.

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Art

Hero Select Screen

Starting today, troops will now make their Hero selections among the snowy, picturesque peaks of Alterac.

Heroes, Abilities, and Talents

The following Heroes have received updated visual effects for their Abilities:
- Auriel
- Muradin

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Design

Vehicles

Vehicle Exit hotkey has been moved to the Trait key (default: “D”), and Vehicle Trait hotkeys have been moved to the Heroic key (default: “R”). This includes:
- Dragon Knight
- Garden Terror
- Triglav Protector
- Blaze's Bunker Drop

Heroes, Abilities, and Talents

Ragnaros: Empower Sulfuras will now miss when Ragnaros is Blinded, and the Ability's cooldown will be consumed.
Abathur: Allied and enemy Symbiote hosts will now display a crown icon above their portraits on the Minimap.

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Battlegrounds

Warhead Junction

Nuke (F)
- Bonus damage has been removed and Nukes now deal a flat amount of damage across the entire area of impact.
  - Note: This change was originally made in the Nexomania patch on May 22, but did not make it into that set of patch notes. We apologize for any confusion this caused in the meantime.

Developer Comment: The bonus damage dealt by Warheads had very little counterplay in late-game situations. Teams could hoard Warheads and kill any Structure—including the Core—very quickly. Although this center bonus damage presented players with interesting decision points, the mechanic's problems outweighed its positives. We feel encouraging players to hit as many structures as possible is a similarly fun mechanic that is healthier for the game.

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Warrior

Yrel

Stats

Basic Attack damage increased from 140 to 155.

Abilities

Vindication (Q)
- Charged up damage increased from 125 to 140.

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Collection

New Bundles and Skin Packs

The following new bundle will soon become available for a limited time:
- Yrel Heroic Bundle – Available until June 25.
- Heroes of Warcraft Bundle – Available until July 9.

New Announcers

Yrel Announcer
Drek'Thar Announcer
Vanndar Announcer

New Skins

The following new Skins will enter the Nexus during the week of June 12:
- Yrel
  - Mad Jester Yrel
  - Mad Harlequin Yrel
  - Sparkle Jester Yrel
  - Dreamknight Yrel
  - Silver Hand Yrel
- Falstad
  - Ironforge Falstad
  - Midnight Buccaneer Falstad
- Greymane
  - Seafarer Greymane
- Rehgar
  - Gladiator Rehgar
- Varian
  - Copper Varian
  - Prince Varian
- Zul'jin
  - Frostmane Zul'jin
The following new Skins will enter the Nexus during the week of June 19:
- Auriel
  - Spirit Healer Auriel
  - Ethereal Spirit Healer Auriel
  - Vengeful Spirit Healer Auriel
- Garrosh
  - High Warlord Garrosh
  - Chaos Warlord Garrosh
  - Frostwolf Warlord Garrosh
- Junkrat
  - Sapper Junkrat
  - Darkspear Sapper Junkrat
  - Kezan Sapper Junkrat
- Johanna
  - Warsong Johanna
  - Frostwolf Johanna
  - Mag'har Johanna
- Muradin
  - Vanndar Muradin
  - Expedition Vanndar Muradin
  - Ironheart Vanndar Muradin
- Rehgar
  - Drek'Thar Rehgar
  - Alterac Drek'Thar Rehgar
  - Draenor Drek'Thar Rehgar
- Varian
  - Grand Marshal Varian
  - Stromgarde Marshal Varian
  - Kul Tiran Marshal Varian
- Valeera
  - Nightslayer Valeera
  - 7th Legion Nightslayer Valeera
  - Sunfury Nightslayer Valeera

New Mounts

The following new Mounts will enter the Nexus during the week of June 19:
- Swift Stormpike Ram
  - Swift Dark Iron Ram
  - Swift Stormwind Ram
- Raging War Wolf
  - Raging Timber Wolf
  - Raging Night Wolf

New Portraits and Sprays

We've once again teamed up with Carbot Animations to add even more HeroStorm-themed portraits and sprays in their signature art style!

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Bug Fixes

Hotfix Additions

Home Screen: The leftmost tile on Yrel's Home Screen now correctly opens her Hero page in the Collection.
Ragnaros: Lava Wave now correctly dissipates after reaching the end of the targeted lane on Towers of Doom.
Thrall: The Feral Resilience Talent now correctly states that it grants 50 Physical Armor, rather than 75.

General

Fixed a number of typo and tooltip errors across several aspects of the game.

A.I.

Chromie: A.I. Chromie will no longer cast Temporal Loop on Vehicles, like the Dragon Knight or Garden Terror.

Art

Abathur: Removed an excess visual effect that could appear after casting Symbiote on a Monstrosity while using the Xenotech Abathur skin.
Abathur: Ultimate Evolution clones of Lil' Ragnaros will now use the correct death model when the Ability expires or the clone is destroyed.
Gall: The Double Back Talent now displays the base Dread Orb icon art the Talent selection pane.
Genji: Genji no longer occasionally uses a default pose after being affected by a Time Stop effect during Dragonblade.
Greymane: Hunter Greymane no longer hides his face behind his shoulder pad on the post-match summary screen.
Leoric: The Consume Vitality Talent now displays the base Skeletal Swing icon art in the Talent selection pane.
Medivh: The Mystic Assault Talent and Arcane Rift's quest icon now display the base Arcane Rift icon art.
Tassadar: The Psi-Infusion Talent now displays the base Psionic Storm icon art in the Talent selection pane.
Artanis: The Templar's Zeal Talent now displays the base Blade Dash icon art in the Talent selection pane. Undocumented
Gul'dan: The Curse of Exhaustion Talent now displays the base Drain Life icon art in the Talent selection pane. Undocumented

Battlegrounds

Try Mode: A.I. Heroes will now ignore Mercenary Camps. However, an allied Hero will still engage a Mercenary Camp if the player attacks it while that ally is following them.
Volskaya Foundry: Minions can no longer clip through the northern Wall near the Fort in the bottom lane.

Heroes, Abilities, and Talents

Artanis: Purifier Beam is now correctly interrupted if its target is a Hero with a post death effect, like Leoric or Uther, who is killed while the Ability is being cast.
Deckard: Stay Awhile and Listen's book model no longer visually persists if the Ability is interrupted by a Taunt effect.
Deckard: Casting Horadric Cube while on a conveyor belt no longer causes the Ability's area of effect to disjoint from its visual effects.
Deckard: Casting Scroll of Sealing while on a conveyor belt no longer causes the Ability's area of effect to disjoint from its visual effects.
Deckard: Fixed an issue that could prevent a Healing Potion from being picked up if it was placed between an injured ally and Deckard when Deckard is at full Health.
Fenix: Offensive Cadence will no longer stop functioning if Fenix is killed when his next Basic Attack would have triggered the Talent's bonus damage.
Li-Ming: Fixed an issue causing Disintegrate to deal one less damage tick than intended.
Ragnaros: When cast on Ragnaros in his normal form, Alarak's Rite of Rak'shir and Alexstrasza's Blessing of the Red will not persist after casting Molten Core. However, Ragnaros will regain those marks once Molten Core expires.

Sound

Abathur: Increased the volume of Xenotech Abathur's voiceover lines during Symbiote.
Announcers: A number of Announcers' countdown lines that play at the start of a match will no longer end earlier than intended.
Hero Interactions: Fixed an issue that prevented unique voiceover lines from playing when a clash between two specific Heroes, such as Arthas vs. Uther, resulted in a kill.
Leoric: Reduced the volume of Leoric's Basic Attack sound effects.
Tychus: Enemy A.I. Tychus was a little too chatty on the battlefield. He's been ordered to do less talkin' and more fightin'.

User Interface

Abathur: Symbiote now correctly creates a crown icon above an allied target's minimap portrait.
Artanis: Damage dealt by the Plasma Burn Talent now displays correctly in Death Recaps.
Stukov: Healing done by the Superstrain Talent no longer displays as “Unknown” in Death Recaps.
Tychus: The Event Log now correctly displays the yellow Run and Gun icon upon completing the Dash Talent's quest.

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