heroes Heroes of the Storm Patch Notes: Jun 12

[Stan 5,248]

The latest Heroes of the Storm content patch is now live with Yrel, Echoes of Alterac, and the 50% XP Bonus Event!

Yrel and the Echoes of Alterac event along with the 50% XP Bonus are now live. Alterac Pass and the new skins will become available on June 19.

What's New?

• New Hero: Yrel [Learn More]
  • You can find our Yrel Build Guide here.
• 50% Bonus Event [Learn More]
  • Party up with one or more friends to earn 50% bonus XP for each match you complete during the event in Versus A.I., Quick Match, Unranked, Heroes Brawl, and Team League.
  • The event is active until July 9.
• Echoes of Alterac Event [Learn More]
  • New quests are available and you can unlock various rewards, including Portraits, Sprays, Mounts, and a Warcraft Reinforcements Loot Chest that contains one Warcraft Hero.
    • Note: You can only choose to pursue one questline (Alliance or Horde). Joining the Horde begins the questline and locks you out of the Alliance's rewards, and vice versa. The decision is final and cannot be reversed.
  • The event is active until July 9.
• Alterac Pass Battleground [Learn More]
  • The new Battleground will be available starting June 19 in non-Ranked Modes (Quick Match, Unranked, Versus A.I, and Custom Games).
  • The Battleground will enter the Ranked Battleground rotation during the week of July 10.
• New Faction-Themed Skins
  • Will become available on June 19.
• Difference Between the PTR and Live Patch Notes
  • Additional Yrel tuning.
  • The bonus damage from Nukes (F) on Warhead Junction has been removed and they now deal a flat amount of damage across the entire area of impact.

Blizzard (Source)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Heroes

Warrior

Yrel

Stats

• Basic Attack damage increased from 140 to 155.

Abilities

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

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!

Bug Fixes

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.

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.

[Fash 6]

If you pick Alliance, I don’t want to look at you disgusting person.

[Dejo93 1,023]

3 minutes ago, Fash said:

If you pick Alliance, I don’t want to look at you disgusting person.

Suck it Horde scum ;)

[Arcling 898]

4 minutes ago, Fash said:

If you pick Alliance, I don’t want to look at you disgusting person.

We've got draenei, join us! Plus, it's weird coming from someone who has dwarf in avatar!

[Fash 6]

9 minutes ago, Arcling said:

We've got draenei, join us! Plus, it's weird coming from someone who has dwarf in avatar!

Hearthstone innkeeper - could change it to my lvl. 110 Orc Shaman or Troll Rogue - just more of a hearthstone player for now.

[CyberDVonaven 82]

I picked Horde... then I thought about how I already have access to some wolf mounts... Damn it, I should have picked the goat. It's the only goat in the game (Till the 'epic' version next week. Then I gotta pay shards for it.)

Oh well, to late now... FOR THE HORDE!!! ?

[CyberDVonaven 82]

Oh side note of o_O?

1 hour ago, Stan said:

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

 

Blaze's Bunker drop??

I guess this is for everyone else other then Blaze. So you don't end up casting your ult while trying to get out of the bunker.

Edited June 12, 2018 by CyberDVonaven

[Stan 5,248]

Our Yrel guide is now up :).

[Valhalen 1,485]

Now it's time to see who is friend and who is enemy.

FOR THE ALLIANCE.

[Erathis 53]

For the Goat!

Er... I mean, For the Alliance!

[Dejo93 1,023]

1 hour ago, Stan said:

Our Yrel guide is now up :).

Bless

[Dejo93 1,023]

19 minutes ago, KSDT said:

For the Goat!

Er... I mean, For the Alliance!

Psst, hey kid

Want some R34?

[lChronosl 182]

2 hours ago, CyberDVonaven said:

I picked Horde... then I thought about how I already have access to some wolf mounts... Damn it, I should have picked the goat. It's the only goat in the game (Till the 'epic' version next week. Then I gotta pay shards for it.)

Oh well, to late now... FOR THE HORDE!!! ?

Same here. I am mostly a Horde player, but I do need a black goat mount for my blue goat hero.

[Myke 42]

FOR SYLVANAS...

 

That's how it goes, right?

[Plergoth 277]

Ah, bringing back the glory days of old school Alterac Valley....

http://wowbg.ytmnd.com/

[Alkasar 55]

The Drek'thar voice is probably supposed to represent the failure of Horde leaders. Maybe one day they can keep a leader for more than two expansion.

Just trolling, :) I am happy to see a Warcraft based map now.

Also. I picked Alliance not only because I am biased, but also because the Mount is a little different. There are plenty of Wolves already :/

[Morcalivan 86]

6 hours ago, CyberDVonaven said:

I picked Horde... then I thought about how I already have access to some wolf mounts... Damn it, I should have picked the goat. It's the only goat in the game (Till the 'epic' version next week. Then I gotta pay shards for it.)

Oh well, to late now... FOR THE HORDE!!! ?

Nah, we have Deckard Cain.

And the Mecha Ram too I guess.

[SenatorBinks27 16]

Ugh I hate having to choose. I like both, I play both, I want my Troll and Draenei mains to run away together. But since I have to choose here I have to do what I always do when forced to pick a preference and choose Horde because historically there's far less overt prejudice on their side of the conflict. Even though I will be spending gems on Yrel and playing her almost exclusively aside from quests until she's in her 20s with my other preferred Heroes.

And now, an only tangentially related rant:

The faction war should have ended in Mists and the fact that they keep it limping along has always been the low point of expansions since, and the sheer concept of Battle for Azeroth offends me - me, the guy who adored Cata and Mists unequivocally and for whom the worst thing I could say about Warlords was that it was a little anemic on content for a full expansion but what we got was on-par quality.  I'm sure Battle will be great mechanically since it's Blizzard and WoW and I have no beef with anyone who enjoys it because art is subjective.  But for the first time in a decade I have no desire to grab the new expansion and continue the lore.  /rant

[SteveFrost 97]

Overwatch carried Horde in the exhibition match, smh.

FOR THE ALLIANCE!

[Myke 42]

9 hours ago, SenatorBinks27 said:

Ugh I hate having to choose. I like both, I play both, I want my Troll and Draenei mains to run away together. But since I have to choose here I have to do what I always do when forced to pick a preference and choose Horde because historically there's far less overt prejudice on their side of the conflict. Even though I will be spending gems on Yrel and playing her almost exclusively aside from quests until she's in her 20s with my other preferred Heroes.

And now, an only tangentially related rant:

The faction war should have ended in Mists and the fact that they keep it limping along has always been the low point of expansions since, and the sheer concept of Battle for Azeroth offends me - me, the guy who adored Cata and Mists unequivocally and for whom the worst thing I could say about Warlords was that it was a little anemic on content for a full expansion but what we got was on-par quality.  I'm sure Battle will be great mechanically since it's Blizzard and WoW and I have no beef with anyone who enjoys it because art is subjective.  But for the first time in a decade I have no desire to grab the new expansion and continue the lore.  /rant

You realize the entire premise of Warcraft is a war between Alliance & Horde, right?

[lChronosl 182]

41 minutes ago, Myke said:

You realize the entire premise of Warcraft is a war between Alliance & Horde, right?

At the beginning, yes. But right now there is so much more going in WoW that that conflict. Alliance and Horde managed to work together on most expansions so far, specially Legion. I think all the world ending (or universe ending) threats the Blizzard lore team crafted are simply more interesting (if not more important) then the whole war thing.

Not to mention that Azeroth is literally bleeding to death, and the factions are fighting over bloody rocks. Magni is the only one with sense.

Edited June 13, 2018 by lChronosl

[Brutalis 165]

Lok'tar ogar, or go back to Goldshire. Your choice.

[Myke 42]

6 minutes ago, lChronosl said:

At the beginning, yes. But right now there is so much more going in WoW that that conflict. Alliance and Horde managed to work together on most expansions so far, specially Legion. I think all the world ending (or universe ending) threats the Blizzard lore team crafted are simply more interesting (if not more important) then the whole war thing.

Not to mention that Azeroth is literally bleeding to death, and the factions are fighting over bloody rocks. Magni is the only one with sense.

Gee, it's like there's more to the story that needs to be told or something....

[lChronosl 182]

Different topic here, but kinda disappointed with Blizzard that the 50% more exp with a friend is actually only +25%.

[Valhalen 1,485]

6 hours ago, lChronosl said:

At the beginning, yes. But right now there is so much more going in WoW that that conflict. Alliance and Horde managed to work together on most expansions so far, specially Legion. I think all the world ending (or universe ending) threats the Blizzard lore team crafted are simply more interesting (if not more important) then the whole war thing.

Not to mention that Azeroth is literally bleeding to death, and the factions are fighting over bloody rocks. Magni is the only one with sense.

I've always favored Alliance, but I really like when they put the two factions together to fight for a single cause, which is why Legion felt so epic. If you think about, most, if not all of the major shit that caused Alliance and Horde to clash was because of the Burning Legion in the first place.

I really wish there was a neutral route called "FOR AZEROTH" in this event.