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Heroes of the Storm Live Patch Notes: September 28

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Blizzard released a new Live patch for Heroes of the Storm and here are the official Patch Notes with all the changes.

Heroes of the Storm Live Patch Notes – September 28, 2026

Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live! Read on for more information.

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

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New Hero: Xal’atath

Xal’atath has arrived in the Nexus!

Base

  • Shadow Mark [Q]
    • Shoot a single Void Orb that deals 75 damage to enemies hit, and an additional 150 damage to enemies in the center.
    • If an enemy Hero or Structure is hit by the center, they are marked for 4 seconds.
    • Targets afflicted by Shadow Mark are Revealed and draw the Dark Heart and Void Minions towards them.
  • Dark Heart Ritual [W]
    • Summon the Dark Heart, which pulses for 50 damage per second to nearby enemies and lasts 8 seconds.
    • The Dark Heart moves to Shadow Mark’s impact location.
    • The Dark Heart will pursue targets afflicted by Shadow Mark and detonates on impact, dealing 305 damage to nearby enemies and an additional 150 more damage to the Marked target.
  • Void Step [E]
    • Cast to teleport Xal’atath 3 times in a triangular pattern.
    • Each time Xal’atath teleports, her Basic Attacks deal 10% more damage while the Ability is active.
    • Reactivate to end Void Step early and remain at the current location.
    • Weapon Bonus Damage caps at +30%.
  • Void Volley [Trait]
    • After attacking enemies with her Basic Attacks 5 times, Xal’atath can activate Void Volley to unleash a barrage of 6 Void Orbs at a target location, each dealing 90 damage on impact.
    • Charge fully decays if Xal’atath does not hit an enemy with a Basic Attack after 6 seconds.
    • Quest: Hit enemy Heroes with Void Volley to grant 1 stack per hit increases Void Volley damage by 1%. Lose all stacks upon dying.
      • Reward (20 Stacks): Increase Void Volley’s range by 2. Upon death, Xal’atath now only loses 6 stacks, but cannot fall below her current milestone minimum
      • Reward (60 Stacks): Void Volley requires 1 fewer Basic Attack to charge Void Volley.
      • Mythic Reward (100 Stacks): Increase Basic Attack and Void Volley damage by 50%. Void Volley projectiles Pierce all targets.
    • Stack loss will never cause the Hero to fall below a quest reward threshold.

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Void Adept
      • Quest: Detonate the Dark Heart on targets afflicted by Shadow Mark.
      • Each successful detonation permanently increases Shadow Mark and the Dark Heart Ritual Detonation damage by 25, up to 20 times
    • Anchored Core
      • Increase Dark Heart’s area by 50% and duration by 25%.
      • Dark Heart’s damage bounces 2 times from the primary target to nearby enemies, dealing 25 damage.
    • Cloak of Shadows
      • Activating Void Step grants 50% Movement Speed and 25 Spell Armor for 2 seconds. This bonus refreshes each time Xal’atath teleports.
  • Level 4
    • Cold Feet
      • Increase Shadow Mark’s duration by 1 second.
      • Heroes afflicted by Shadow Mark have their Movement Speed reduced by 25%.
    • Dark Barrier
      • Each time Dark Heart damages an enemy, Xal’atath gains a Shield equal to 2% of her maximum Health, up to 10%.
    • Void Acolyte
      • Completing Void Step fully charges Void Volley.
      • The next Void Volley deals 50% increased damage and costs no Mana.
  • Level 7
    • Toxic Mark
      • Increase Shadow Mark’s duration by 1 second.
      • Heroes afflicted with Shadow Mark have their Armor reduced by 15 and take damage equal to 1% of their maximum Health every second.
    • Silence of the Lamb
      • Activating Void Step summons a seal of void magic on the ground. When the seal completes, it deals 250 damage to enemies inside and Silences them for 2 seconds.
    • Void Summoner
      • Activating Void Step summons a single Void Minion in Xalatath’s original position. Void Minions are attracted to targets afflicted by Shadow Mark.
      • Void Minions automatically choose a nearby lane to push.
      • Void Minion Basic Attacks deal 95 damage per hit. Void Minions lose Health over 15 seconds.
  • Level 10
    • Void Eruption [R]
      • Channel a single powerful Void Orb that grows over time until reaching maximum size after 2 seconds. Recast to launch the Orb early.
      • Enemies that come into contact with the Orb take up to 112 damage and are Blinded for 1 second.
      • When the Orb reaches the end of its path, it detonates in a large explosion, dealing 400 damage.
      • Charging up this Ability increases its contact damage up to 175 and its explosion damage up to 700.
      • Contact damage is dealt every 0.25 seconds.
    • Void Convergence [R]
      • After channeling for 2 seconds, summon a Void Portal that spawns up to 3 Void Minions to attack nearby enemies.
      • You can have up to 1 active Void Portal.
      • Enemies near the Void Portal are Slowed by 25%.
      • Void Minions automatically choose a nearby lane to push.
      • Void Minions are attracted to targets afflicted by Shadow Mark.
      • The Portal expires after 12 seconds.
      • Void Minion Basic Attacks deal 56 damage per hit.
      • Void Minion loses Health over 12 seconds.
  • Level 13
    • Pull of the Dark Heart
      • Enemies damaged by the Dark Heart Ritual are Slowed by 10% for each pulse, stacking up to 5 times and decaying over 2 seconds.
    • Dark Heart’s Protection
      • Casting Dark Heart Ritual Silences enemies inside its radius for 1 second.
      • Xal’atath and allied Heroes gain 30 Spell Armor while inside Dark Heart’s radius.
    • Crushing Cascade
      • Enemies hit by Void Volley are Slowed by 6% for 2 seconds per projectile, up to 50%.
  • Level 16
    • Marked Resilience
      • Basic Attacks against enemy targets afflicted by Shadow Mark grant a 180 point Shield that rapidly decays.
    • Relentless Whispers
      • While Void Step is active, Xal’atath’s Basic Attack Speed is increased by 150%.
    • Fractured Reality
      • Increase Void Volley projectile damage by 25%.
      • Void Volley projectiles leave a trail of fire for 3 seconds, constantly dealing 9 damage to enemies.
      • Damage is increased the longer a target stands in the flame.
      • Damage is dealt every 0.1875 seconds.
      • Damage increases up to 300%.
      • Damage increase from multiple fires stack.
  • Level 20
    • Harbinger’s Consumption
      • Void Eruption splits into 3 orbiting Void Orbs. Each enemy Hero hit by their explosions reduces Void Eruption’s cooldown by 14 seconds.
    • Rift Invasion
      • Void Convergence’s Void Portal no longer has a life duration, raises the active Void Portal limit to 2, and can spawn and sustain up to 4 Void Minions.
    • Dueling Orbs
      • Gain 1 additional Shadow Mark charge.
      • Shadow Mark has a 3 second cooldown between uses.
    • Unstable Core
      • When the Dark Heart expires or detonates on an enemy Hero afflicted by Shadow Mark, it leaves behind a pool of void flames for 5 seconds.
      • Enemies in the flames take 45 damage over time.
      • The flames deal damage every 1 second.
    • Paradox Loop
      • After completing Void Step, Xal’atath immediately performs a second Void Step in the opposite direction. Added effects are triggered again.

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Collection

  • New Bundle: Dark Twilight Xal’atath Bundle
    • Xal’atath Hero
    • Twilight Xal’atath Skin
    • Sin’dorei Phoenix Mount

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General

  • Updated Homescreen and Startup Music.
  • Added the ability to ping your Healing Fountain cooldown.

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Map Updates

  • Garden of Terror
    • Shambler Health and damage now begin 25% below their previous values and gradually return to their previous values over the course of the match.

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Balance Update

Heroes

Abathur

Talents

  • Level 13
    • Bombard Strain
      • Health decay reduction lowered from 50% to 40%.
  • Level 16
    • Survival Instincts
      • Now provides 50% damage reduction against non-Heroes, instead of +100% Health.

Alexstrasza

Base

  • Health increased from 1698 to 1780.

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Flames of Fury
      • Mythic Reward requirement reduced from 40 extra hits without dying to 30.
  • Level 16
    • Overprotective
      • Shield reduced from 70% of healing to 50%.

Garrosh

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Unrivaled Strength
      • Damage bonus reduced from 125% to 75%.
  • Level 4
    • In For The Kill
      • Damage bonus increased from 70% to 100%.
  • Level 7
    • Oppressor
      • Spell Power reduction decreased from 30% to 25%.
  • Level 13
    • Bloodcraze
      • Heal duration increased from 3 seconds to 4 seconds. Total healing remains the same.
    • Double Up
      • Armor duration increased from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.

Mal’Ganis

Base

  • Night Rush [E]
    • Cast time reduced from 0.75 seconds to 0.625 seconds.
  • Vampiric Touch [D]
    • Healing based on damage against Heroes increased from 45% to 50%.
    • Healing based on damage against non-Heroes increased from 10% to 15%.

Qhira

Base

  • Blood Rage [W]
    • Damage bonus per stack decreased from 0.25% to 0.2%.
    • Blood Rage base damage per tick lowered from 8 to 7.

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Fatal Wounds
      • Damage bonus against low Health targets increased from 50% to 70%.
  • Level 13
    • Pulsing Pain
      • Damage increased from 135 to 150.
  • Level 16
    • Lingering Ailment
      • Armor reduction decreased from -35 to -25.

Whitemane

Base

  • Desperate Plea [Q]
    • Base mana cost increased from 40 to 45. Mana scaling with each use is unchanged.

Talents

  • Level 7
    • Intercession
      • Cooldown increased from 60 to 75 seconds.
  • Level 16
    • Radiance
      • Healing increased from 175 to 190.

Yrel

Base

  • Vindication [Q]
    • Mana cost increased from 50 to 65.

Talents

  • Level 13
    • Aldor Peacekeeper
      • Damage reduction increased from 40% to 50%.
      • Damage reduction duration increased from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
    • Velen’s Chosen
      • Damage bonus per stack decreased from 10% to 8%.
      • Stacks increased from 3 to 4.
  • Level 20
    • Seraphim
      • Cooldown increased from 20 to 30 seconds.

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Bug Fixes

Maps

  • Volskaya Foundry
    • Fixed an issue where the fort walls on one side had more Health than the other. The game is now balanced…

Heroes

  • Anduin
    • Fixed an issue that caused Leap of Faith to be delayed when cast on Rooted Heroes.
  • Malfurion
    • Fixed an issue where Entangling Roots would not continuously root enemies within its area.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Entangling Roots from applying on first contact.
  • Ragnaros
    • Fixed an issue that caused Heroic Difficulty granted 25% more damage and duration.
    • Cooldown on Molten Core when Heroic Difficulty is selected decreased from 90 seconds to 70 seconds.
  • Xul
    • Fixed an issue where Xul’s skeletons were sometimes not dealing damage.

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