PTR Patch notes
Echoes of Alterac Event
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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 are rallying 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.
Catch additional details about the Echoes of Alterac event on the Heroes of the Storm website!
Alterac Pass Battleground
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Alterac Pass is a three-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 simple misstep into a mud pit can prove fatal. As well, teams would be wise to recruit the Armored Gnolls and Ice Giants who inhabit the Pass before the enemy faction can harness the 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Each team’s Core has been replaced by a General who will aid them in fending off attackers.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 to reach the opposing Prison Camp, 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 Knolls – Siege Camp
Watch out for the Knolls 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.
Please Note: Alterac Pass will become available for play in three stages over the next few weeks:
Public Test Realm: Alterac Pass is available for play in the PTR from today until June 11.
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.
New Hero: Yrel
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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, 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
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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
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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.
Collection
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New Bundles and Skin Packs
The following new bundle will soon become available for a limited time:
Yrel Heroic Bundle – Available starting the week of June 12 until June 25.
Heroes of Warcraft Bundle – Available starting the week of June 12 until July 9.
New Announcers
Yrel Announcer
Drek'Thar Announcer
Vanndar Announcer
New Skins
Falstad
Ironforge Falstad
Midnight Buccaneer Falstad
Greymane
Seafarer Greymane
Rehgar
Gladiator Rehgar
Varian
Copper Varian
Prince Varian
Zul’jin
Bloodscalp Zul’jin
Frostmane Zul’jin
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!
The following new bundle will soon become available for a limited time:
Yrel Heroic Bundle – Available starting the week of June 12 until June 25.
Heroes of Warcraft Bundle – Available starting the week of June 12 until July 9.
New Announcers
Yrel Announcer
Drek'Thar Announcer
Vanndar Announcer
New Skins
Falstad
Ironforge Falstad
Midnight Buccaneer Falstad
Greymane
Seafarer Greymane
Rehgar
Gladiator Rehgar
Varian
Copper Varian
Prince Varian
Zul’jin
Bloodscalp Zul’jin
Frostmane Zul’jin
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!
Cassia
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Stats
Health increased from 1,660 to 1,840
Health Regeneration decreased from 4.0 to 3.828.
Abilities
Avoidance (Trait)
Physical Armor while moving unmounted decreased from 65 to 40.
Fenix
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Stats
Unit radius reduced from 1.25 to 1.125. Fenix’s radius now matches Heroes like Stitches and Ragnaros.
Genji
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Abilities
Cyber Agility (Trait)
Cooldown increased from 12 to 15 seconds.
Talents
Level 1
Agile Dismount (Trait)
Cooldown reduction increased from 7 to 10 seconds.
Kael'thas
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Stats
Unit radius reduced from 1.15 to 1.0. Kael’thas’ radius now matches Heroes like E.T.C. and Zagara.
Abilities
Living Bomb (W)
Periodic damage increased from 40 to 42.
Developer Comment: After years of battling in the Nexus, Kael’thas finally learned the reason why puny interlopers could foil his clearly superior plans and went to the tailor to get his cape trimmed.
Maiev
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Abilities
Umbral Bind (W)
Cooldown increased from 12 to 14 seconds.
Spirit of Vengeance (E)
Cooldown increased from 10 to 13 seconds.
Damage increased from 100 to 180.
Adjusted functionality:
No longer deals bonus damage to Heroes.
Instead, if Spirit of Vengeance hits an enemy Hero, its cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
Talents
Level 4
Blade Dance (Q)
Area of effect reduced from 4 to 3.5.
Developer Comment: The cooldown increase for Umbral Bind will grant the Warden’s enemies a bit more of a reprieve between cases of being chained. We are also shifting some of the complexity of Spirit of Vengeance into cooldown reduction upon hitting a Hero, rather than providing bonus Hero damage. This increases Maiev’s capability for wave-clear, rewards players that use the ability to engage, and reduces its usefulness as an escape. Overall, Maiev’s kit is still slightly over-performing, and we’re hoping these changes will get her into a sweet spot.
Lunara
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Talents
Level 4
Nature’s Culling (Trait)
Bonus damage reduced from 150% to 125%.
Level 7
Choking Pollen (Q)
Bonus damage against enemies who have 1 stack of Nature’s Toxin increased from 50% to 75%.
Bonus damage against enemies who have 3 stacks of Nature’s Toxin increased from 100% to 125%.
Developer Comment: Lunara’s rework has put her pick rate, win rate, and Talent pick rates in a pretty good spot. These changes are to address Talent outliers, which we’ll continue to keep an eye on going forward.
Varian
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Stats
Health increased from 1,924 to 2,116.
Health Regeneration increased from 4.001 to 4.406.
Abilities
Taunt (R)
Passive Armor bonus removed
Passive maximum Health bonus increased from 25% to 30%.
Zagara
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Abilities
Creep Tumor (Trait)
Health reduced from 150 to 125.
Health scaling increased from 3% to 4% per level.
Hunter Killer (W)
Health decreased from 471 to 420.
Health scaling increased from 3.5% to 4.5% per level.
Damage scaling increased from 4% to 5% per level.
Movement Speed increased by 4%.
Infested Drop (E)
Impact damage scaling increased from 3% to 4% per level.
Roachling Health reduced from 346 to 328.
Roachling Health scaling increased from 3% to 4% per level.
Roachling Damage scaling increased from 3% to 4% per level.
Devouring Maw (R)
Damage increased from 80 to 88.
Nydus Network (R)
Health reduced from 664 to 550.
Health scaling increased from 3% to 4% per level.
Developer Comment: The Nexus has changed a lot since Zagara first arrived. Originally, she was the ultimate lane bully, known for pushing enemies out of lane with Hunter Killer and draining tower ammo with her summons. The arrival of new solo-laners who can challenge her power, combined with the removal of tower ammo, has made this part of her identity less special. The goals of these changes are twofold: first, to slightly reduce her early-game laning presence, largely by reducing the early-game Health of Hunter Killer. Our second goal is to buff her late-game teamfight capability, which we’re doing by improving the scaling on her abilities. Our general thinking is that she is mostly frustrating to lane against during the early game, and then she falls off in power and has less impact in teamfights, which results in allies relying on her to split-push instead of playing with her team. We’re hoping that with these changes she will be a more standard Hero in team compositions, and can be played as a solid backline damage dealer.
Talents
Level 1
Corpse Feeders (E)
Damage reduction from non-Heroic sources increased from 40% to 50%.
Level 16
Brood Expansion (W)
Cooldown reduction increased from 6 to 7 seconds.
Now also reduces Hunter Killer’s Mana cost by 30.
Corrosive Saliva (W)
Damage increased from 2% to 2.5% of the target Hero’s maximum Health.
Auriel
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Stats
Health reduced from 1,758 to 1,700.
Health regeneration reduced from 3.66 to 3.54.
Abilities
Sacred Sweep (Q)
Outer area damage reduced from 57 to 45.
Inner area damage increased from 171 to 180.
Brightwing
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Abilities
Soothing Mist (Trait)
Heal amount increased from 109 to 112.
Blink Heal (R)
Heal amount increased from 192 to 200.
Stukov
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Abilities
Bio-Kill Switch (Trait)
Amount Healed after detonating a Healing Pathogen increased from 435 to 450.
Healing Pathogen (Q)
Healing per tick increased from 35 to 37.
Anub'arak
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Stats
Base Spell Armor removed.
Health increased from 1,925 to 2,100.
Health Regeneration increased from 4.012 to 4.375.
Abilities
Harden Carapace (W)
Mana cost reduced from 30 to 25.
Additional functionality:
Now also grants 40 Spell Armor while active.
Arthas
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Stats
Base Physical Armor removed.
Health increased from 2,524 to 2,650.
Health Regeneration increased from 5.258 to 5.52.
Talents
Level 1
Rime (Passive)
Physical Armor bonus increased from 60 to 75.
Diablo
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Stats
Health increased from 2,567 to 2,618.
Health Regeneration increased from 5.3515 to 5.4542.
Basic Attack speed increased from 0.91 to 0.95.
Abilities
Fire Stomp (W)
Healing increased from 125% to 130% of the damage dealt.
Talents
Level 1
Feast on Fear (Q/E)
Healing per second increased from 3.75% to 4%.
Duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds.
Devil’s Due (Trait)
Regeneration Globe and Healing Fountain bonuses increased from 2% to 2.25% per Soul.
Soul Shield (Active)
Cooldown reduced from 60 to 45 seconds.
Level 4
Sacrificial Soul (Q)
Armor increased from 15 to 20.
Armor granted after gathering 100 Souls increased from 30 to 40.
Souls to the Flame (W)
Healing increased from 1.25% to 1.3% per Soul.
Level 13
Devastating Charge (Q)
Initial damage bonus reduced from 100% to 80%.
Quest damage bonus increased from 15% to 20% per stack.
Maximum quest damage bonus increased from 75% to 120%.
Developer Comment: Diablo is underperforming since his recent rework, so we’ve increased his baseline survivability. We expect him to rise as players settle into new builds and playstyles, but there was still room to buff the Lord of Terror. We’ve also addressed a few of the Talents that weren’t as strong as their counterparts. Additionally, we’ve reduced the duration of Feast on Fear, but increased its healing per tick, so Diablo players can get more value out of a few healing ticks before overriding it.
Garrosh
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Abilities
Groundbreaker (Q)
Cooldown increased from 7 to 8 seconds.
Wrecking Ball (E)
Cooldown increased from 12 to 14 seconds.
Talents
Level 16
Mortal Combo (Q)
Cooldown reduction increased from 7 to 9 seconds.
Johanna
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Abilities
Base Physical Armor removed.
Health increased from 2,350 to 2,540.
Health Regeneration increased from 4.895 to 5.289.
Talents
Level 1
Reinforce (Passive)
Armor bonus increased from 50 to 75.
Bug Fixes
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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.