Alright you solo mid-laners it’s finally here! Eternal Conflict has dropped in Heroes of the Storm as the first big patch from Blizzard.
This is part of the Diablo universe and the first non-Nexus world in HotS; lead game producer Kaeo Milker has shared with us that there are more worlds in the works, and as well, we should expect to see StarCraft and World of Warcraft maps in the near future. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around what they could do with Azeroth, never mind the StarCraft universe. Maps, characters and additions are literally endless.
So, my friends, let’s get right to it! With loads of new content, gameplay and features here’s a quick recap of what’s happening, what happened and how it changes the game.
Kill The Treasure Goblins!
Firstly, there’s the Treasure Goblin. This mischievous goblin has snuck into the nexus along side the arrival of literal Hell. He will appear pre-game before the gates open, and your goal is to kill the him before the pregame timer reaches zero, when he will escape the battleground. Any players that manage to kill the Goblin will get an extra 100 gold for their efforts. The Treasure Goblin is not restricted to just Eternal Conflict content but all maps and playmodes. This event can only be completed once per day.
We of course have the new battleground Battlefield of Eternity, which features two lanes, and in the center the two immortals as featured previously mentioned in our weekly Heroes update.
New Portrait Rewards
The Heroes of the Storm Facebook Page has reached over 1 million fans! To help celebrate this, all players who log into the game before the next patch patch will receive this special themed portrait.
Play The New Battleground, More Often!
To ensure players get their fair chance at playing the new battlefield it’s been put into the cycle with Sky Temple, Cursed Hollow and Tomb of the Spider Queen. It’s only limited ’til July 7th, when all maps will be once again available. All modes are affected by this except custom games.
Hero Buffs/Changes (Taken Straight from Patch Notes)
- The difficulty ratings for many Heroes have been updated to better reflect their ease of play.
- The rings found under Heroes in-game have been scaled to more closely match their hitboxes.
- Skillshots and Abilities that use an arc pattern will now display their range when hovering the cursor over the associated button on the Ability hotbar.
- Several Abilities were unintentionally providing brief moments of Unstoppable behavior during use. The following Abilities no longer provide Unstoppable:
- Chen — Flying Kick (Q)
- Falstad — Barrel Roll (E)
- Illidan — Dive (Q)
- Illidan — Sweeping Strikes (with the Unbound talent) (W)
- Kerrigan — Ravage (Q)
- A number of Hero Abilities were not intended to completely Stun enemy targets. In these cases, Stuns have been converted to Dazes, which act similarly, but will no longer interrupt Abilities that can be channeled while the Hero is moving.
- For example: Dazing Valla will not stop her from channeling Strafe.
- The following abilities will now Daze, rather than Stun, enemy Heroes:
- Brightwing — Emerald Wind (R)
- Chen — Wandering Keg (R)
- E.T.C. — Face Melt (W)
- Falstad — Mighty Gust (R)
- Kerrigan — Primal Grasp (E)
- Raynor — Penetrating Round (Q)
- Sgt. Hammer — Concussive Blast (W)
- Tychus — Frag Grenade (W)
Free Character Rotation
Now onto our free hero rotation, this week features some of the best and easiest to use in my experience. Falstaad, Muradin, Raynor, Sonya, Tyrande.
Raynor is the best entry level character next to Muradin, so if you are new to the game I highly recommend giving these two a whirl! Sonya and Tyrande require a moderate skill level, and Falstaad is best for experts. If you’re high enough level you’ll have access to Gazlowe (level 12) and Azmodan (level 15).
Weekly Sale
Sneaking up on the weekly sale we have Bright Wing, Flying Monkey Bright Wing, and Desert Queen Zagara skins, each at $4.99
As well the new Butcher Bundle which features new character The Butcher, the Iron Butcher Skin, and the Butcher’s Beast mount, all for $20.60 USD
While this is the first of many non-Nexus themed maps, the Diablo universe certainly opens up a realm of new possibilities with gameplay, strategy, and wonder, as we guess which universe is next to join the crowd. We’ll see more in the next few months. There is still no official release date for the Monk or Leoric, AND let’s not forget all these beautiful new skins to come!
So now that you’re as pumped as I am about this, I’ll see you on the Nexus!
Orion, Contributing Editor and self-proclaimed Field Correspondent. A lover of cats, buttons, and fresh bread, his opinions are his own.
