Heroes of the Storm
Heroes Technical Alpha Patch Notes -- December 2, 2014
Blizzard Entertainment
We've brought the Heroes of the Storm service down for a period of extended maintenance today in order to release a brand new patch for the Technical Alpha. Maintenance is ongoing, but don't worry; we'll let you know as soon as the Nexus is back online in this forum thread. In the meantime, you can check out complete patch notes below.
Update (December 10, 2014): We released a follow-up patch in order to fix a few bugs and add Stimpacks to the Heroes of the Storm in-game Shop. The December 10 updates have been added to the Shop and Bug Fixes sections of the patch notes below.
Please welcome Jaina, our latest addition to the Heroes of the Storm roster!
Table of Contents:
New Hero
Jaina Proudmoore has been added to Heroes of the Storm and is now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of her Abilities.
- Abilities:
- Frost Bolt (Q)
- Fires a bolt that deals damage and Chills the target.
- Blizzard (W)
- Creates a storm of ice at target location, damaging and Chilling enemies.
- Cone of Cold (E)
- Deals damage in a cone and Chills targets.
- Frost Bolt (Q)
- Trait:
- Frost Bite
- Your Abilities Chill targets, slowing them and causing them to take increased damage.
- Frost Bite
- Heroic Abilities
- Summon Water Elemental (R)
- Summons a powerful Water Elemental.
- Ring of Frost (R)
- Creates a freezing ring that roots and damages enemies.
- Summon Water Elemental (R)
Art
General
- A number of in-game environments have received visual polish.
Heroes, Mounts, and Skins
- Dance, victory, and taunt animations have been added to a number of Heroes.
- The following Heroes, Skins, and Skin Variations have received visual improvements:
- Countess Kerrigan will now transform into a bat while Mounted
- E.T.C., Glam Metal E.T.C., Pure Country E.T.C., and all Skin variations
- Malfurion, Storm Mantle Malfurion, and all Skin variations
- Sgt. Hammer, War World Sgt. Hammer, and all Skin variations
- Several Abilities have received visual effect improvements:
- Nova’s Basic Attack after selecting the Anti-Armor Shells Talent
- Rehgar’s Ghost Wolf attack
- A new overlay will be displayed for Heroes affected by Stitches’ Gorge Heroic Ability.
- A new overlay will be displayed for Heroes affected by Anub’arak’s Web Blast Heroic Ability.?
Infrastructure
Mac Support
- 64-bit support has been added for Mac users, and 32-bit support has been removed.
Shop
Stimpacks
- As of December 10, 2014, the following items are now available for purchase using the Stimpacks tab in the Heroes of the Storm in-game Shop:
- 7-day Stimpack -- $3.99 USD
- 30-day Stimpack -- $9.99 USD
- Stimpacks are purchasable items used to earn bonus Gold and experience points from Heroes matches.
- Each game completed while a Stimpack is active will award an additional 100% XP and 150% Gold.
- To purchase a Stimpack, simply head to the in-game Shop and click on the new Stimpacks tab to view all available durations.
- A Stimpack’s effects will begin immediately after purchasing, and will last for a set amount of time depending on the duration purchased.
- A Stimpack’s XP bonus will only affect out-of-game Hero and Player Level progression and has no effect on actual gameplay during a Heroes match.
- Check out our recent blog for more information on the upcoming addition of Stimpacks to Heroes of the Storm.
Winter Veil
- The Feast of Winter Veil has come to the Nexus! Spread the holiday cheer with the festive new Mount, Bundles, and Hero Skins listed below!
- Reign-deer Mount
- Great-father Winter Rehgar Skin
- Winter Veil Jaina Skin
- Winter Veil Jaina Bundle
- Winter Veil Complete Bundle
- Head here for complete details on the items added to the Shop with today’s patch.
Bundle Packs
- The Hallows End Costume Bundle has been removed from the Shop.
- However, please note that the Countess Kerrigan and Skelethur Abathur Skins are still available for purchase individually.
Heroes
- Jaina Proudmoore has been added to the Heroes of the Storm Shop.
Skins
- Master Skins
- Master Skins have been added for the following Heroes:
- E.T.C.
- Jaina
- Malfurion
- Master Skins have been added for the following Heroes:
Sound
Skins
- The Crown Prince Arthas Skin has been updated with a complete voiceover rework, featuring brand new lines of dialogue.
User Interface
Custom Games
- Custom Game Lobbies have been reworked and are now split into two phases: Lobby Setup and Hero Select.
- Lobby Setup: After selecting a Battleground, all players will be placed on a new Lobby Screen which will allow the Lobby Host to add and remove human or A.I. players, and organize observers and teams much more easily. Once the teams have been set up, the Host can then hit the Start Game button to enter Hero Select.
- Hero Select: Functions much as it did in the previous version of Custom Games, but no longer allows the Lobby Host to manage teams or observers. In order to do so, the Host will need to hit the Back to Lobby button.
Friends List
- The Friends List now properly sorts friends who are logged into Heroes of the Storm above friends in other games or the Battle.net desktop app.
Shop
- Stimpacks:
- Stimpack XP and Gold bonuses awarded after completing a Heroes match will be displayed on endgame Score Screens.
- An active Stimpack’s remaining duration will be displayed on endgame Score Screens, in the Chat box upon login, and when mousing over the currently selected Hero in the Party Panel.
- A notification will also be displayed in the lower left corner of menus when an active Stimpack becomes expired, or is nearing expiration, and the “Extend” button can be used to purchase an additional Stimpack.
Tutorial
- All Tutorial and Training Battlegrounds can be launched individually from the Main Menu (ESC)
Design and Gameplay
General
- Line skillshots can no longer be self-cast using the Alt key.
Hearthstone
- A flat amount of Health and Mana are now restored after using Hearthstone to return to the Hall of Storms.
Battlegrounds
General
- Town Halls no longer contain all of a town’s experience points. While Town Halls retain a majority of the experience, the surrounding towers protecting the town now yield experience as well.
Cursed Hollow
- Tribute channeling time reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
Dragon Shire
- The Dragon Knight is no longer targetable by allied Abilities or Talents
Garden of Terror
- Garden Terror (Summoned)
- Spore Queen’s Curse (Q)
- Radius decreased by 10%
- Spore Queen’s Curse (Q)
Haunted Mines
- Underground Minions
- Starting Health and Health scaling increased by 20%
- Underground Grave Golem
- Starting Health and Health scaling increased by 20%
- Grave Golem (Summoned)
- Damage scaling decreased by 20%
- Health scaling decreased by 20%
Talents
Technical Designer John "Johnzee" Hodgson and the balance team posted their thoughts behind some of these changes in the Technical Alpha Hero Feedback forum. Click here to read up on and discuss these changes.
Conjurer's Pursuit
- Now also increases Mana regeneration by 0.5 per second in addition to its other effects
Imposing Presence
- Attack speed slow amount increased from 30% to 50%
Promote
- Now heals the target to full Health
- Now has a 15 second duration
- Charge cooldowns have been reduced from 60 to 30 seconds
Resurgence of the Storm
- Cooldown increased from 120 to 180 seconds
Rewind
- Now refreshes all Basic Ability cooldowns rather than reducing them by 10 seconds
- Cooldown increased from 60 to 90 seconds
Searing Attacks
- While active, Basic Attacks will now display “Crit!” floating text on impact
Heroes
Technical Designer John "Johnzee" Hodgson and the balance team posted their thoughts behind some of these changes in the Technical Alpha Hero Feedback forum. Click here to read up on and discuss these changes.
| Assassin | Specialist | Support | Warrior | |
| Illidan | Abathur | Li Li | Anub'arak | |
| Nova | Azmodan | Tassadar | Arthas | |
| Nazeebo | Tyrande | Chen | ||
| Uther | Muradin | |||
| Sonya | ||||
| Stitches | ||||
| Tyrael |
Abathur
- Toxic Nest (W)
- Vile Nest (Talent)
- Slow duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds
- Slow amount reduced from 50% to 40%
- Vile Nest (Talent)
- Ultimate Evolution (R)
- Cooldown no longer starts immediately after casting, and instead begins once the cloned Hero expires or is killed.
Anub'arak
- Imposing Presence (Talent) has been added to Anub’arak.
- Rewind (Talent) has been removed from Anub’arak.
- Harden Carapace (W)
- Shield amount reduced from 120 (+30 per level) to 90 (+22 per level)
- Locust Swarm (R)
- Heal per tick reduced from 10 (+2 per level) to 10 (+1.5 per level)
Arthas
- Frozen Tempest (E)
- Mana cost increased from 10 per second to 12 per second
Azmodan
- Bound Minion (Talent)
- Now heals the target to full Health
- Now has a 15 second duration
Chen
- Wandering Keg (R)
- No longer grants a Shield
Illidan
- Sweeping Strike (W)
- Basic Attack damage bonus increased from 25% to 35%
- Immolation (Talent)
- Duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
- Damage reduced from 17 (+3 per level) to 13 (+2.5 per level)
Li Li
- Healing Brew (Q)
- Initial heal decreased from 100 to 70
- Heal scaling increased from 13 to 20
- Jug of 1,000 Cups (R)
- Cooldown decreased from 70 to 60 seconds
- Heal scaling increased from 3 to 4
- Initial heal increased from 25 to 35
- Search range increased to 10
Muradin
- Second Wind (Trait)
- Threshold for improved Health regeneration increased from 30% to 40% Health
- Third Wind (Talent)
- Threshold for improved Health regeneration increased from 40% to 50% Health
- Stoneform (Talent)
- Heal amount increased from 40% to 50% of Muradin’s Health
Nazeebo
- Voodoo Ritual (Trait)
- Death Ritual (Talent)
- Units other than lane Minions no longer grant permanent Health/Mana when killed while under the effects of Voodoo Ritual.
- Permanent Health/Mana gains increased from 4/2 to 5/3
- Death Ritual (Talent)
Nova
- Booster Shot has been renamed to Perfect Shot
- Hot Shots (Talent)
- Has been renamed to Anti-Armor Shells
- Damage bonus reduced from 330% to 300%
- Rewind (Talent) has been removed from Nova
- Snipe (Q)
- Damage reduced from 120 (+34 per level) to 115 (+31 per level)
Sonya
- Whirlwind (E)
- Lifesteal amount increased from 30% to 40%
- Leap (R)
- Cooldown increased from 50 to 70 seconds
Stitches
- Vile Gas (Trait)
- Damage per second decreased from 14 (+2 per level) to 10 (+2 per level)
Tassadar
- Basic Attack
- Distortion Beam (Talent)
- Slow amount reduced from 25% to 20%
- Distortion Beam (Talent)
- Oracle (Trait)
- Duration reduced from 7 to 5 seconds
- Mental Acuity (Talent)
- Now reduces cooldown by 15 seconds, up from 10
- Scryer (Talent)
- Movement Speed bonus increased from 15% to 20%
- Psionic Storm (W)
- Cast range reduced from 10 to 9
- Overload (Talent)
- No longer increases Psionic Storm damage
- Now increases Psionic Storm cast range by 33%
- Psi-Infusion (Talent)
- Mana restored increased from 5 to 7 per target struck by Psionic Storm
- Static Charge (Talent)
- Critical Strike damage reduced from 100% to 75% of Tassadar’s Basic Attack damage
- Second Strike (Talent)
- Time between casts reduced from 3 to 2 seconds
- Void Shift (E)
- Deep Shift (Talent)
- Duration increased from 0.75 to 1.5 seconds
- Prescience (Talent)
- Effect cooldown reduced from 60 to 45 seconds
- Deep Shift (Talent)
- Archon (R)
- Duration reduced from 15 to 12 seconds
Tyrael
- Judgment (R)
- Damage reduced from 125 (+10 per level) to 60 (+8 per level)
Tyrande
- Empower (Talent)
- Now instantly reduces cooldowns by 2 seconds, rather than cooling down by 4 seconds over a 2 second period
- Shadowstalk (R)
- Cooldown increased from 50 to 70 seconds
Uther
- Holy Light (Q)
- Heal amount reduced from 150 (+44 per level) to 135 (+40 per level)
- Holy Radiance (W)
- Gathering Radiance (Talent)
- The damage and healing bonuses for each target hit are no longer separate.
- Now increases damage and healing by 5% for each target hit, retaining its previous 50% maximum.
- Gathering Radiance (Talent)
Zagara
- Infest (Talent)
- Now heals the target to full Health
- Now has a 15 second duration
- Creep Tumor (Trait)
- Zagara now regenerates a flat 1.5 Health per second while on Creep.
- Reconstitution (Talent) still increases Health regeneration on Creep by 300% (4.5 Health per second.)
- Zagara now regenerates a flat 1.5 Health per second while on Creep.
Bug Fixes
General
- Several typos and tooltip errors have been corrected across various aspects of the game.
Art
- Corrected a texture issue with Tyrande’s hair.
- Removed minor unintended graphic effects that could appear when casting Tyrael’s Sanctification within Line of Sight blockers.
Battlegrounds
- Corrected a minor area of unintentionally pathable terrain within the Haunted Mines.
- The cooldown for Li Li’s Water Dragon now properly resets after clicking the Clear Cooldowns button in Try Me Mode.
- Heroes can no longer be affected by enemy abilities while within the allied Hall of Storms.
- Heroes with a permanent Cloak will now properly Decloak when exiting the Dragon Knight or Garden Terror.
Heroes and Talents
- Activating the Rewind Talent will no longer refresh cooldowns for certain activated Traits.
- Fixed an issue in which selecting a specific combination of Talents could cause Tyrande’s Basic Ability cooldowns to refresh much more quickly than intended.
- Fixed an issue which caused Abathur's Toxic Nests to deal exponential damage if multiple units were present in the mine-triggering area.
- Abathur's Ultimate Evolution now properly applies a 15 second cool-up, rather than 30 seconds, to Heroic Abilities learned after Ultimate Evolution is cast.
- Graphic effects for Ultimate Evolution Anub'arak’s Locust Swarm will no longer also display at Abathur's original location.
- Dealing damage with Azmodan's All Shall Burn will now correctly Decloak him if he is Cloaked during the channel.
- Fixed an issue in which Brightwing's Emerald Wind could receive a reduced cooldown despite being cast successfully.
- Brightwing can no longer use Phase Shift or Blink Heal to escape root effects.
- Falstad can no longer use Fly to escape root effects.
- Rooting Illidan just as he casts Dive will no longer drastically change his vertical position for the remainder of the match.
- Kerrigan's Primal Grasp will no longer occasionally fail to pull Mercenaries.
- The damage over time component of Murky’s March of the Murlocs is now properly paused, and the movement speed reduction effect of the Ability removed, when the target becomes invulnerable.
- Murky's Octo-Grab now properly reveals the target throughout its duration.
- Nazeebo's Corpse Spiders now properly damage Zagara's Creep Tumors on impact.
- Nazeebo’s Ravenous Spirit beam is now properly visible to enemy players.
- Nova's Triple Tap will now be placed on reduced cooldown if the ability becomes cancelled before any shots are fired.
- Casting Raynor’s Inspire while previous Inspire and Revolution Overdrive buffs are still active will now correctly refresh both buff durations.
- When triggered by the Prescience Talent, Tassadar's Dimensional Shift will no longer disrupt Stitches’ Gorge.
- Tassadar will no longer become revealed until his next death after using Dimensional Shift to clear Tyrande's Sentinel.
- Tychus' stat panel no longer displays inappropriate numeric values while Overkill is active.
- Corrected an issue which applied Tychus’ attack speed scaling to his Odin form.
- Fixed an issue in which Zagara’s Creep Tumors could cause a tower to ignore enemy Heroes for the duration of the Tumor’s life in some cases.
- Zeratul’s Void Prison now pauses, rather than cancels, channeled abilities.
Sound
- The volume of in-game spell effects should now appropriately match the selected value on the Sound Effects Volume slider in the Sound Options Menu.
User Interface
- Blocked players no longer appear in the Friends List.
- Defeat and Victory screens now properly dismiss the Options menu.
- Corrected an issue which could cause party members to remain in a ready state after the party leader leaves the game lobby while queued for matchmaking.
- Fixed an issue which could cause the game mode to visibly differ from the game mode selected by the party leader.
