Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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General

• A Call For Help - Balance Update
  • Tower, Fort, and Keep damage to enemy Heroes reduced by 10%.
  • Maximum Armor reduction from Structures reduced from -40 to -20.

Developer Comment: Thank you for your discussions and feedback regarding the Call For Help system. We’ve seen a trend that players believe towers are still too punishing to dive under for lengthy periods of time, so we’re going to reduce their damage as well as how powerful their Armor debuff is so that players are more incentivized to make aggressive plays when pushing. We’ll be continuing to keep an eye on how these changes unfold, so please continue to give us your feedback.

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Heroes

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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• Nexus Anomaly - A Call For Help
  • Tower, Fort, and Keep structure damage reduced by 10%.
  • Structures will only focus their attacks on enemy Heroes if they attack an allied Hero who is also in their range.
  • Self-damage from Heroes will no longer cause structures to focus them.
  • Periodic damage over time will no longer cause structures to focus Heroes.

Developer Comment: We’re making some changes to the Call for Help system that should help the overall player experience. We believe that currently Towers are punishing aggressive play too much, so we’re lowering their damage to give diving Heroes more time to make plays before they have to escape. Our goal overall with the system is to still have aggressive play be possible and rewarded, but to also give the defending team a way ...

You're minding your business beneath a friendly Tower when an enemy Hero attacks. Instead of helping, though, your Tower keeps attacking minions!

“Personally, I’ve never really felt safe under my own towers,” says Kevin Gu, a developer on the Heroes team. “Which is strange, considering there are literally cannons right next to you!”

It's not a good feeling being a friendly structure’s second or third priority when it’s your first. That’s why the second Nexus Anomaly, A Call for Help, is hitting the live servers with changes that make both Towers and Cores more reliable teammates, featuring unique abilities that make them defensive forces to be reckoned with.

Experience Globes, our first Nexus Anomaly, went so well that the team is keeping it in the game permanently; the same is possible for A Call for Help, though it’s also possible that these changes will only last a Season. A full breakdown of the changes may be found here. We called on game designers Gu and Adam Z. Jackson for ...

It began with a crack. A seeping wound through which the Raven Lord drew beings of the Dark Nexus to serve his nefarious will. Though the Raven Lord was defeated, the crack remained. It widened. Spiderwebbed. A drip became a flow, and the flow became a flood, chaos and hatred spilling across the Nexus, threatening to defile it forever.

Some, like the noble Protoss heroes Tassadar and Fenix, journeyed into the rift, risking their sanity to slow the corruption. Others, drawn by the outpouring of power, sought to harness it. Deathwing soared into the violent heart of the Dark Nexus intent on gorging himself and waging a war of conquest. As with Tassadar and Fenix, contact with the turbulent forces found within transformed the fearsome black dragon forever.

Will the snarling overflow of Dark Nexus energies be stopped, reversed, or turned to Deathwing’s maleficent will? Find out during the Fragments of the Dark Nexus event, starting April 14 and lasting until our next major update.

Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live and brings a new Dark Nexus II event, new skins and mounts, along with a Tassadar rework and more! Read on for more information.

NOTE: Orange text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.

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Nexus Anomaly - A Call For Help

We’ve heard feedback over the years that a lot of you would like to feel more protected by nearby friendly structures. Currently, Minions, Summons, and non-Heroic units can hold a structure’s attention for so long that defending players feel that they’re offered no additional protection when taking refuge under their Cannon Towers, Forts, Keeps and Cores. In order to address this issue, we will be making the following changes to structures:

Cannon Towers, Forts, Keeps and Cores

• A beam is now created from these structures to their targets, making it easier to see what is being attacked at a glance.
• Allied Heroes of the structures w...

Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just hit the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting until the week of April 13, PDT. 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.

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• Nexus Anomaly
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Nexus Anomaly - A Call For Help

We’ve heard feedback over the years that a lot of you would like to feel more protected by nearby friendly structures. Currently, Minions, Summons, and non-Heroic units can hold a structure’s attention for so long that defending players feel that they’re offered no additional protection when taking refuge under their Cannon Towers, Forts, Keeps and Cores. In order to address this issue, we will be making the following changes to structures:

Cannon Towers, Forts, Keeps and Cores

• A beam is now created from these structures to their targets, making it easier to see what is being attack...

“Brew is awesome. Brew is amazing,” says Trevor Jacobs.

“I’m OK,” says Andrew Kinabrew, sitting back in his chair with a slight smile and arms folded.

“He’s amazingly OK,” says Jacobs.

Interviewing Jacobs and Kinabrew—Heroes of the Storm Assistant Art Director and Senior Artist, respectively—is like interrogating two giddy suspects who can’t get their story straight, except they’re riffing off of their own jigsaw-fitted dynamic so well that you almost don’t care what you pulled them in for anyway. Their crime, in this case? Creating hundreds of accessories for in-game murder. We sat down with the artists to find out what exactly has been going on behind the scenes of their criminally creative skin pack concoctions.

First: Some background on our suspects. The awesome, amazingly OK Kinabrew started at Blizzard eight years ago on the project that would soon become Overwatch. After a year he switched onto Heroes of the Storm and has been working with Jacobs ever since.

Jacobs, a Bli...

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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General

• Brawl
  • Varian is now able to be selected in ARAM games.

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Heroes

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Tank

Arthas

Base

• Health increased from 2782 to 2860.
• Health Regeneration increased from 5.80 to 5.96.

Talents

• Level 7
  • Rune Tap [Passive]
    • Healing increased from 4% to 5% maximum Health.
• Level 10
  • Army of the Dead [R1]
    • Tooltip now states how much damage Ghouls do.
• Level 20
  • Legion of Northrend [R1]
    • Additional functionality: Increase Ghoul Basic Attack damage by 50%.
  • Absolute Zero [R2] ...

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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Heroes

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Tank

Cho

Talents

• Level 1
  • Calloused Hide [Trait]
    • New functionality: While under 60% maximum Health, Cho receives 15% additional Movement Speed and healing received.
• Level 7
  • Enraged Regeneration [Trait]
    • New functionality: Each time Cho deals damage to enemy Heroes, he is healed for 60 over 3 seconds. Enemy Heroes hit by Gall’s Dread Orb receive 35% less healing for 4 seconds.

Developer Comment: In re...

Senior Designer Kevin Gu takes great joy in moments when the Heroes of the Storm A.I. dunks on him during playtests. Maybe a little too much joy.

“When you get annihilated by Diablo Shadow Charging you into a wall, stunning you, popping Apocalypse, and then flipping you back into the Apocalypse,” says Gu, “you think ‘oh my goodness, I just got destroyed by the A.I.’”

But to reliably capitalize on human mistakes like that, you first have to get the A.I. into position to do so. That’s the challenge Gu, who got involved with A.I. on the Heroes team three years ago, is currently focused on. The current system holds two major components: the Goal system and the Tactical system. Put simply, the Goal system decides where the Hero moves, and the Tactical system determines what they do when they get there. These two systems interact with each other to drive A.I. behavior.

“Before, [the A.I.] would often get confused about where they should go,” says Gu.

This confusion was the result of co...

2019 was a year full of radical new approaches in Heroes—we experimented with our biggest Hero ever, Deathwing, a new slice of the Nexus’ lore in Qhira, and our very first Nexus Anomaly, Experience Globes, among others. We added game-changing Heroes to the roster—including Imperius and Anduin—and seasonal events offered quests and skins that allowed us to pummel our enemies in style. To top it off, we added both innovative and quality-of-life features to the game, including more accurate roles and descriptions, mastery rings, and the very first multi-hero mount.

Here’s a deeper look at some of our favorite moments from the year.

Hero Releases

Imperius

Starting the year off with a power move, the leader of the Angiris Council and Aspect of Valor Imperius arrived to purge darkness from the Nexus. Imperius valiantly led armies of the High Heavens against the forces of hell, and as a Bruiser, there’s no shaking his resolve nor his constitution. This Archangel was one of the most hi...

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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• Toys 2 Event
  • Toys 2 Event has been extended to April 7, 2020, PT.

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Heroes

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Tank

Anub'arak

Talents

• Level 16
  • Beetle, Juiced [Trait]
    • Bonus Health increased from 20% to 40%.
• Level 20
  • Hive Master [R1]
    • Healing increased from 37 to 50.
  • Cryptweave [R2]
    • Bonus Cocoon duration increased from 4 to 6 seconds.

Developer Comment: We’re giving Anub’arak s...

“It almost seemed like some people were more excited about the train mount than about Deathwing.”

Veteran Hero Designer Kyle Dates leans back in his chair and a bright-eyed smile flashes across his face. We’ve just asked him to recount how Heroes of the Storm’s first multi-Hero mount came to be, and it’s clear he has a story to share about this little engine that… almost didn’t.

When the team first showed off the mount at BlizzCon, Dates explains, “everyone just kind of assumed it [linking up your train cars] would be automatic.” Though, as he knew, this was not currently the case. “At the time they didn’t connect,” says Dates, “and there was no intention for them to connect.” The only way to form a train was to organize your buddies and have everyone meticulously control their character in line. Sure, you could make it work, but players wanted more.

The crowd’s reaction to what they thought was the first multi-person mount in the Nexus was immediate, loud, and for Dates and...

The Destroyer has finally descended upon Heroes of the Storm, and the community has been celebrating his arrival with some spicy content.

Here’s some of what you missed while you were laying waste to the Nexus:

Burn Beneath the Shadow of Her Tiny, Adorable Wings

Deathwing’s reveal trailer introduced players to the littlest Aspect of Death, and they have since embraced the adorably terrifying Flying Destroyer Brightwing in all her pint-sized glory. Alongside the Worldbreaker himself, the two make a meme-worthy dream team with unparalleled draconic skinergy:

Don’t talk to me or my son every again. @BlizzHeroes pic.twitter.com/V7XcdgjuW2

— Vipey | Bradley (@Vipey_) December 4, 2019

Deathwing and Brightwing atm in the nexus https://t.co/DTOrZIXNxc

— Hexer Voodoom (@HexerVooDoom) December 7, 2019

Baby deathwing,️ pic.twitter.com/4hhaFdypLr

— Alarak of the storm (@hotshighlord) December 6, 2019

The Hour of Twil-art

The Heroes of the Storm community’s artists brough...

It’s not always sunshine, stuffing, and rainbows between the Funtime Pals. It seems Tickle Mephisto has a posable plastic bone to pick with Cuddle Bear Stitches ever since the adorable abomination played a bit too rough during last year’s celebration. Now, the precocious host of last year’s event has settled into slumber and Mephisto has invited you over for another round of games… though he may have a more sinister goal in mind.

Event Dates and Details:

Dust off your dice and round up your friends--the Toys event kicks off at 10:00 am PT on December 16 and will run until the week of March 3, PT.

You’ll embark on the following set of unique quests with the onset of the Toys event, granting awesome 2019 event rewards as you wind your way around the game board for the first time:

• Have Spacesuit—Will Hunt--Achieve 50 Takedowns in winning games.
  • Rewards: Cute Qhira Spray, Cute Cosmonaut Qhira Portrait
• Green Tactical Superiority—Kill 200 enemy minions in winning ...

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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• Toys 2 Event Quests
  • Toys 2 is the winter event for Heroes of the Storm running from the week of December 16 to the week of March 3, PST. Roll dice, complete quests, and join Tickle Mephisto on a board game adventure in the Nexus for awesome rewards... and sweet revenge!
• Loot Chests
  • During the Toys 2 event, all Loot Chests you earn through progression, Heroes Brawl, or by spending gold will be New Toy Loot Chests. (Except Hero-specific Chests, which will remain unchanged.) Most limited-time items shown above have a chance to drop from New Toy Loot Chests only. You can also score Items from previous years’ winter events limited-time loot chests!
• Balance
  • Gaining Unstoppable now prevents and removes Blinds.

  Developer Comment: We’ve read recent feedback that it is strange that Silences are rem...

The next Heroes of the Storm patch has arrived! The update brings a new Hero, Deathwing the Destroyer, new Experience Globes, new bundles, new skins, and much more! Dive on in for more information.

NOTE: Orange text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.

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Nexus Anomaly – Experience Globes

Nexus Anomalies are seasonal gameplay changes that directly affect all game modes in Heroes of the Storm. These events will last the entire season, allowing us time to receive feedback on them. Depending on this evaluation, some of them may become permanent additions to the game, while others may just be a limited time event.

The first Nexus Anomaly has arrived! In order to make collecting experience more satisfying and intuitive, we're changing how experience is collected from Minions in the Heroes of the Storm. Players will no longer get experience from simply being nearby, but instea...

Senior game designer Alex Neyman’s excitement about Experience Globes is obvious in the way he moves his hands. First they’re in the air, outlining shapes as he speaks; then they’re karate-chopping the table to emphasize a point. He’s talking about the massive armies of minions that often materialize in late-game Heroes of the Storm, and how Experience Globes make vaporizing those stacked-up waves more satisfying than ever.

“It used to be a little bit of a chore,” says Neyman. “But now, you’re like, oh! Honestly, psychologically, it feels so good to see all those minions die and all the globes go—”

(He makes a sound effect along the lines of “shwoop shwoop shwoop,” and mimes picking up Experience Globes with his fingers.)

Nine months ago, the Heroes of the Storm development team began experimenting with ways to make gathering experience more intuitive and fun. That exploration culminated in Experience Globes, the first in a series of seasonal gameplay updates called Nexus Anomalie...

Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just hit the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting until the week of December 2, PST. 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.

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• Nexus Anomaly
• General
• New Hero: Deathwing
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Nexus Anomaly – Experience Globes

Nexus Anomalies are seasonal gameplay changes that directly affect all game modes in Heroes of the Storm. These events will last the entire season, allowing us time to receive feedback on them. Depending on this evaluation, some of them may become permanent additions to the game, while others may just be a limited time event.

The first Nexus Anomaly has arrived! In order to make collecting experience more satisfying and intuitive, we're changing how experience is collected from Minions in the Heroes of the Storm. Players will no longer get experience from simpl...

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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General

Generic Talents

• Seasoned Marksman
  • Cooldown reduced from 60 to 30 seconds.
  • Attack Speed bonus duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds.

Developer Comment: Since its removal on many Heroes, Seasoned Marksman has fallen off a bit due to needing to be tuned around so many different kits.  Now that it has a home in fewer places, we’re giving it a fairly substantial buff to make it more relevant.

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Heroes

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Tank

Arthas

Talents

• Fixed Arthas’s talents so that they appear ...