GENERAL Performance
All players’ default Graphic Settings will be re-detected and reset following today’s patch, which may help to address a few performance issues that some players have been experiencing. Smaller physical memory caps have been introduced for both the 32-bit and 64-bit clients with today’s update, which should mitigate some memory-related issues and make the 64-bit client a more trusted option, even for PCs with less physical RAM. The “Network Spikes” indicator has been removed from the performance overlay (Ctrl + Alt + F). Network Spikes tracked a number of different metrics at once. While it could indicate performance issues, the number of spikes displayed could also be affected by issues with the local player’s computer, among other things. In order to avoid further confusion, the Network Spikes indicator has been removed, and will be replaced by additional performance metrics in a future update, which should help players better identify more common performance issues. For more information on some of these changes, please read the Performance section of our recent blog on Community Conversations.
NEW BATTLEGROUND Heroes_TombSpiderQueen_Thumb_700x350.jpg
Tomb of the Spider Queen, a brand new 3-lane Battleground, has been added to Heroes of the Storm and is now available for play in all game modes!
Spider Minions and enemy Heroes will drop magical Gems of Power upon death. Collect these Gems and turn them in to the Spider Queen’s Altars, which can be found in-between lanes at the center of the Battleground. Once either team has relinquished enough Gems to the Spider Queen, her Webweavers will descend and travel down each lane to siege the opposing team on three fronts. Each team can summon Webweavers by turning in 50 Gems. The number of required Gems will increase by 5 for each subsequent wave. Be sure to turn in Gems promptly! Gems collected by a player will be dropped upon death, but can be picked up by allied Heroes.
NEW HERO Sylvanas Windrunner has been added to Heroes of the Storm and is now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of her Abilities, and then check her out in Try Me Mode using the in-game Shop.
Basic Abilities Withering Fire (Q) Shoot the closest enemy for 25 damage, preferring Heroes. Stores 5 charges. Shadow Dagger (W) Deals 10 damage, and an additional 40 damage over 2 seconds, to target unit. This effect spreads to nearby units. Haunting Wave (E) Send forth a wave of banshees, dealing 30 damage to all targets. Reactivate to teleport to the banshees’ location. Trait Black Arrows Basic Attacks and Abilities stun Minions, Mercenaries, and Towers. Heroic Abilities Wailing Arrow (R) Shoot an arrow that explodes for 200 damage and silences enemies for 2.5 seconds. Can be reactivated to detonate the arrow early. Possession (R) Force an enemy Minion to fight for you. It gains 20% Attack Damage and Health.
USER INTERFACE General
Significantly reduced the likelihood that players will receive the same Battleground multiple times in a row when playing in matchmaking game modes. Requesting to join a party through a party member who is not the leader will now send a notification to that player. Additionally, the party leader will see which party member a join request was made through. Progression System
Hero Progression The maximum Hero Level has been increased from 10 to 20. New rewards have been added: 1250 Gold at Hero Level 15 2500 Gold at Hero Level 20 Player Progression New rewards have been added: 7 Day Stimpack at Player Level 10 2,000 Gold at Player Levels 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 Team League unlocked at Player Level 40 Players who had already reached or surpassed the level requirement for these rewards prior to today’s patch will also receive them upon logging in to Heroes of the Storm. Team League
Initial implementation for Team League, the second mode of Ranked play in Heroes of the Storm, has been added to the game! Read on for an overview of the most competitive game mode in Heroes of the Storm, and then check out our recent Team League blog post for a much more in-depth look at the feature. With Team League, players can create named teams with dedicated rosters in order to participate in ranked, competitive Heroes of the Storm matches as a group against other teams of similar skill. In order to participate in Team League, players must meet the following requirements: Reach Level 40. Own 10 or more Heroes (weekly free rotation Heroes do not count toward this requirement.) Create or join a team that has at least five members logged in and ready to play in Team League. Team Creation and Management Navigate to the Team League Play Screen, click an empty team slot, enter a team name, and pay 1,000 Gold to create a new team. Players may participate in up to 3 teams at any given time. The Team League Screen will display all teams that a player is currently participating in, as well as each team’s current Rank, team name, and Win/Loss record. Using the “Roster” button, a team owner may invite up to 8 other players to join the team’s roster. In order to play Team League matches, five members from the same team must enter the queue together. Use the “Invite” dropdown to invite other players from the roster to queue for Team League matches. A “Ranked Teams” section has been added to the Player Profile. Click on any team to view additional stats for each player on the roster, such as wins, losses, highest rank achieved, and favorite hero. The team owner can also use this screen to add or remove members, as well as disband the team. Draft Mode Team League matches will use the “First Come, First Served” version of Draft Mode, rather than Hero League’s “Predetermined” Draft Mode. With First Come, First Served Draft Mode, players on each team are free to select Heroes in any order when it is their team’s turn to pick. A coin toss will still precede the draft phase, and teams will still alternate picking Heroes in 1-2-2-2-2-1 format. Menu Navigation
General The menu navigation bar has been moved to the top of the screen. The Party Panel has been reworked and once again displays Player Portraits for all party members. Icons have been added next to the Party Panel, which more clearly indicate the current status of Stimpack and XP Bonuses. Players who receive penalties for leaving Hero League and Quick Match games will now see their flagged status indicated to them in the menu navigation bar at the top of the screen. Additionally, party members will now be better notified when they are partied with someone who has been flagged to receive penalties for leaving games early. Home Screen “Go to Shop” and “Try Hero” buttons have been added, which can be used to view information about the newest Hero or quickly start a game in Try Me Mode with that Hero directly from the Home Screen. Shop Screen Shop navigation tabs have been moved to the top of the screen. A “Featured” tab has been added, which will display items that are new to the Shop, or are currently on sale. Play Screen The “Change Mode” button has been removed. Game Mode buttons can now be found along the top edge of the Play Screen, and can be clicked to quickly switch among Game Modes. Hero League Heroes are now displayed on the Hero League Screen based on most wins, rather than most games played with those Heroes. Click any Hero listed on the Hero League Screen to view it in the Player Profile. Custom Games The “Choose Map” button has been removed and Battlegrounds can now be selected directly from the Custom Games Screen. A “Game Privacy” dropdown has been added to custom game lobbies. When a custom game is set to private, that game will not be recorded in players’ match histories. End of Game Score Screens The Rank, Quests, and Rewards tabs have been removed and incorporated into the Summary tab. Summary Player Level, Hero Level, and Rank progress bars have been visually reworked and reorganized on the Summary tab. Daily Quest and progression rewards earned from the previous match are now displayed along the right edge of the Summary tab. Hover the mouse over Daily Quest and progression rewards, as well as XP, Ranked Points, and Gold totals to display tooltips that indicate how each was earned during the previous match. Stats The Stats tab now mirrors the in-game TAB Screen, and includes details for Siege Damage, Hero Damage, Healing, and overall XP contribution during the previous match. Ranked Play and Draft Mode
Draft Mode Notification While tabbed out of Heroes of the Storm during a ranked queue, the player will be tabbed back into the client and a notification sound will play when a match is found. Additionally, players who tab out of the client after a draft begins will be notified and tabbed back in when it is their turn to pick a Hero. Rank and Point Changes The number of points earned from a ranked match will now vary more broadly based on skill difference between teams. As mentioned in the Menu Navigation section above, ranks, rank changes, and ranked points earned during the previous match are now listed on the end of game Summary screen.