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Heroes of the Storm
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Published on 2018-07-01 05:48 PM
July 1st Teaser
In a highly unusual move, the Heroes of the Storm Twitter account just posted a teaser on a Sunday. Is this teasing a hero, a new event, or something else entirely?
In a highly unusual move, the Heroes of the Storm Twitter account just posted a teaser on a Sunday. Is this teasing a hero, a new event, or something else entirely?
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Published on 2018-06-29 06:19 PM
Heroes Brawl of the Week, June 29, 2018: Booty Coffers
Blackheart got greedy! Only the richest team can hope to win over his favor with a hefty payment of 100 coins. Dodge cannonball barrages while trying to gather enough Doubloons to take down your enemies. Yarrrrrr!
Rules:
Rewards:
Find out more about the Heroes Brawl game mode on our Heroes Brawl site; and as always, you can find more information on this week’s Brawl by clicking the Brawl Info button at the bottom of the play screen when preparing to queue for the Brawl game mode.
As always, we’ll see you in the Nexus!
HGC Oracle - 2018 Mid-Season Brawl
Take a look behind the scenes of the Mid-Season Brawl with HGC Oracle, as the crew follows the teams and players throughout the entire week.
Blackheart got greedy! Only the richest team can hope to win over his favor with a hefty payment of 100 coins. Dodge cannonball barrages while trying to gather enough Doubloons to take down your enemies. Yarrrrrr!
Rules:
- Shuffle pick - Choose from one of three Heroes before entering the battle.
- Standard play - no talent or level restrictions.
- Blackheart appears immediately after the gates open, and accepts Doubloon turn-ins as usual.
- Skeleton Doubloon camps have been removed from the map.
- Doubloon chests spawn more often, appear at new locations, and drop more Doubloons.
- Forts and keeps drop 10 Doubloons when they die.
- Mercenary camps drop an additional 3 Doubloons (for a total of 5).
- The Boss camp drops a total of 15 Doubloons.
- Forts and keeps drop 10 Doubloons when they die.
- While chests are active, Blackheart fires one cannonball every 2 seconds in an area immediately around the chest.
- Blackheart does not bombard enemy structures as normal (at 10/12/14 Doubloons, etc.). Instead, he waits for a team to turn in 100 Doubloons, whereupon he bombards the enemy core until it's dead.
Rewards:
- Complete three matches of the Booty Coffers brawl to earn a Loot Chest!
Find out more about the Heroes Brawl game mode on our Heroes Brawl site; and as always, you can find more information on this week’s Brawl by clicking the Brawl Info button at the bottom of the play screen when preparing to queue for the Brawl game mode.
As always, we’ll see you in the Nexus!
HGC Oracle - 2018 Mid-Season Brawl
Take a look behind the scenes of the Mid-Season Brawl with HGC Oracle, as the crew follows the teams and players throughout the entire week.
by
Published on 2018-06-28 08:24 PM
Raynor & Azmodan Reworks
It's time for a new round of hero reworks! As one of the oldest kits in the game, players have requested a tune-up for James Raynor a very long time, and now we're getting it. In addition, Azmodan has likewise been in need for some love for a little while. Both heroes are getting a major overhaul with the next update which is expected to go live during the week of July 10th.
Blizzard's Kevin 'cloaken' Johnson guides us through the bigger points of each rework in the videos below:
InvenGlobal had an article up for a short while with the full list of changes for both heroes. It was taken down again for unknown reasons, but Google sees everything and managed to cache the page.
Raynor
Stats
Abilities
(New) Acquire Weak Point (Trait):
Penetrating Round (Q):
Inspire (W):
Adrenaline Rush (E):
Raynor’s Raider (R2):
Talents
Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20
Azmodan
Stats
Abilities
Globe of Annihilation (Q):
Demon Warrior (W):
All Shall Burn (E):
General Of Hell (Trait D):
Demonic Invasion (R1):
(New) Tide Of Sin (R2):
Talents
Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20
It's time for a new round of hero reworks! As one of the oldest kits in the game, players have requested a tune-up for James Raynor a very long time, and now we're getting it. In addition, Azmodan has likewise been in need for some love for a little while. Both heroes are getting a major overhaul with the next update which is expected to go live during the week of July 10th.
Blizzard's Kevin 'cloaken' Johnson guides us through the bigger points of each rework in the videos below:
InvenGlobal had an article up for a short while with the full list of changes for both heroes. It was taken down again for unknown reasons, but Google sees everything and managed to cache the page.
Raynor
Stats
- Health from 1302 to 1450
- Regen from 2.71 -> 3.02
- Damage from 122 to 92
- Base range set to 6.5 (no longer trait driven)
- Scaling from 4 to 5%
Abilities
(New) Acquire Weak Point (Trait):
- Every 4th Basic Attack is empowered and deals an additional 125% damage to your target and splashes for 50% in a small area around your target (2.25 Radius)
Penetrating Round (Q):
- Damage from 240 to 220
- Mana cost from 60 to 50
- New functionality:
- Slows enemies movement speed by 20% for 2 seconds
- Knockback range is dependent on proximity to Raynor
Inspire (W):
- Cooldown from 10 to 12 seconds.
- New functionality: Reset your Basic Attack. You and all nearby Minions and Mercenaries gain 30% Attack Speed and 10% Movement Speed for 4 seconds.
Adrenaline Rush (E):
- Cooldown from 30 to 45 seconds
- Mana cost from 0 to 75
- New functionality: Heal for 25% of your max Health over 1 second. Basic Attacks lower this cooldown by .5 second (double vs. Heroes)
Raynor’s Raider (R2):
- Health from 766 to 1000
- Damage from 31 to 24
- Attacks per Second from 0.8 to 2
- New functionality: Raynor gains a Banshee that flies by his side and auto-acquires his Basic Attack target. The Banshee can be killed which will start a 45-second cd before another is called down
- They gain 75 HPS when out of combat for 4 seconds
Talents
Level 1
- Seasoned Marksman: Removed
- Scouting Drone: Removed
- (New) Veteran Marksman (Trait): Quest: If an enemy Hero is hit with the empowered Acquire Weak Point attack, increase the bonus damage of Acquire Weak Spot by 0.75%
- (New) Ace In The Hole (Passive): You deal 35% more damage to enemy Heroes that are slowed or stunned
- (New) Exterminator (Passive): Increase your Basic Attack damage against Minions, Mercenaries and Monsters by 50%. Increase this bonus to 100% if Inspire is active
Level 4
- Focused Attack: Removed
- Vigorous Assault: Removed
- Confident Aim: Removed
- Relentless Leader: Removed
- Fight Or Flight (E): (Moved from Level 7) New functionality: Lower the cooldown of Adrenaline Rush by 10 seconds. Activating it grants 25 Armor for 4 seconds
- (New) Behemoth Armor (Trait): Quest: Gain 250 Health. Increase this by 5 every time you hit a Hero with Acquire Weak Spot
- (New) Sustaining Rounds (Trait): Acquire Weak Spot attacks heal for 3% of your max health. This is increased to 6% against Heroes
Level 7
- Hamstring Shot: Removed
- Revolution Overdrive: Removed
- Puttin’ On A Clinic: Removed
- (New) Heavy Slugs (Active): Activate: Your next Penetrating Round has 30% increased range and increases the slow duration of Penetrating Round by 200% (30 second CD)
- (New) Fuel The Rush (W/E): While Inspire is active, increase Adrenaline Rush's cooldown bonus from Basic Attacks by 200%
- (New) Unstable Compound (Trait): Increase the area of effect of Acquire Weak Point by 15%. Enemies hit by it are slowed by 10% for 3 seconds
Level 13
- Giant Killer: Removed
- Double-Barreled: Removed
- Steel Resolve: Removed
- (New) Debilitating Rounds (Q/W): Decrease the cooldown of Penetrating Round by 3 seconds. While Inspire is active, the slow amount is increased by 100%
- (New) Rallying Cry (W): Increase the duration of Inspire by 1 second. All nearby Heroes gain 10% movement and attack speed for the duration.
- (New) Giddy-Up (W): Gain 10% movement and Mount Speed permanently. Increase Inspire’s Movement Speed bonus to 20%.
Level 16
- Executioner: Removed
- Cluster Round: Removed
- Bullseye: Removed
- Give Me More (E): (Moved from Level 1) New functionality: Increase the heal amount from Adrenaline rush by 50% and gain 1 additional attack range while Inspire is active
- (New) Bounty Hunter (Active): Acquire Weak Spot attacks that hit a Hero deal an additional 3% of a Heroes max health and grant you 10 Armor for 3 seconds. Activate: Your next Basic Attack is empowered with Acquire Weak Spot (40 second CD)
- (New) Paint Them Red (Q): Increase the damage of Penetrating Round by 50%. Heal for 100% of the damage it deals to Heroes
Level 20
- Scorched earth: Removed
- A Card To Play: Removed
- Nexus Frenzy: Removed
- (New) Indomitable Resolve (R1): Acquire Weak Spot attacks against Heroes lower the cooldown of Hyperion by 5 seconds. Casting Inspire grants 2 seconds of Unstoppable.
- (New) Dusk Wing (R2): Banshee Health, Damage, and leash range are increased by 100%. When killed, Inspire and Adrenaline Rush are activated for free.
- (New) Weak Spot Acquired (Trait): The primary target of your Acquire Weak Spot loses 25 Armor for 2 seconds
- (New) Execute (Passive): Increase your attack speed by 20%. Your Basic Attack damage is increased by 25% against targets below 50% Health
Azmodan
Stats
- Health reduced from 2738 -> 2464
- Health regen reduced from 5.7031 -> 5.1328
Abilities
Globe of Annihilation (Q):
- New baseline quest
- Hitting Heroes and killing minions within 1.5 seconds of being hit by Globe grants 2 stacks of Annihilation.
- Each stack of Annihilation increases Globes’ damage by 1, up to 400.
- Warning splat is now created earlier in the ability cast.
- Range decreased from 35 to 30
- Cast time reduced from .75 -> .5625 seconds
Demon Warrior (W):
- Can now be cast while channeling All Shall Burn.
- No longer has charges.
- Demon Warriors now deal a small amount of damage to nearby enemies every second.
- Attack damage reduced from 37 -> 28
- Health increased from 365 -> 390
- Move speed decreased from 4 -> 3.6
- Weapon range decreased from 1.5 -> 1
All Shall Burn (E):
- New functionality
- Channel for up to 2.5 seconds on a target, dealing damage every second. If the channel lasts its full duration, deal additional damage to the target. Azmodan moves at 60% speed while channeling.
- Cooldown increased from 6 -> 8 seconds.
- Mana cost changed from 12/sec to 30 flat mana.
- Range decreased from 7 -> 6
General Of Hell (Trait D):
- Renamed to Demon Lieutenant
- New Functionality
- Can now be cast on the mini-map and has a small slop range.
- Spawn a Demon Lieutenant at any friendly minion, merc, or Azmodan Summon for 20 seconds. The Lieutenant will cast Demonic Smite at a random nearby minion every 7 seconds, instantly killing them. Lasts 20 seconds. Can be used while channeling All Shall Burn. 60 Second cooldown.
Demonic Invasion (R1):
- New Functionality
- Calls down 8 Demon Grunts in a circle around the targeted location, dealing damage to enemies in each impact zone. Demon Grunts last for up to 8 seconds and explode when they die, dealing damage to nearby enemies.
- Demon health increased from 365 -> 750
- Demon health now decays over 8 seconds
- Attack damage decreased from 51 -> 42
- Cooldown reduced from 100 -> 90 seconds
- Mana cost reduced from 100 -> 60
(New) Tide Of Sin (R2):
- New functionality
- Activate to cause your next Globe of Annihilation to cost no Mana and deal 50% more damage. 30-second cooldown.
Talents
Level 1
- Taste For Blood (Q): Removed
- Sieging Wrath (Q): Removed
- (New) Greed (Q): Increases the timeframe that minion kills will grant Annihilation from 1.5 to 3 seconds. After gaining 200 stacks of Annihilation, Globe of Annihilation deals 20% increased damage to minions and mercs.
- Gluttony (Q): (Moved from Level 4) New functionality: The amount of Annihilation granted for hitting Heroes is increased by 1. After gaining 200 stacks of Annihilation, each enemy hit by Globe reduces its cooldown by .25 seconds, doubled against heroes
- (New) Wrath (Q): Basic Attacks against Heroes under 75% health grant 1 stack of Annihilation. After gaining 200 stacks of Annihilation, Heroes hit by Globe of Annihilation take additional damage from your next Basic Attack equal to your Annihilation stacks. Lasts 4 seconds.
Level 4
- Hellish Hirelings (Trait): Removed
- Army of Hell (W): New Functionality: Summon Demon Warrior summons an additional Warrior but its cooldown is increased by 10 seconds.
- Hellforged Armor (W): (Moved from Level 13) New Functionality: Demon Warriors and Lieutenants gain 35 armor and last 4 seconds longer.
- Battleborn (Passive): (Moved from Level 16) New Functionality: Basic Attacks reduce the cooldown of Summon Demon Warrior by .5 seconds and Demon Lieutenant by 1 second.
Level 7
- Infernal Globe (Q): Removed
- Bound Minion (Trait): Removed
- Gluttonous Ward (Active): Removed
- (New) Art of Chaos (Q): If Globe of Annihilation hits 2 or more Heroes, 25 mana cost is refunded. If it hits 3 or more Heroes, you gain 5 Annihilation.
- Master of Destruction (E): (Moved from Level 1) New Functionality: All Shall Burn’s final damage hits all enemies in a large area. Each hero hit grants 2 stacks of Annihilation.
- (New) Bombardment (Q): Casting Globe Of Annihilation increases your Basic Attack Range by 50% and can hit 2 additional targets for 3 seconds. Each hero hit by Basic Attacks empowered by Bombardment generate 1 Annihilation.
Level 13
- Hedonism (Q): Removed
- Infused Power (E): Removed
- (New) Brutish Vanguard (W): Demon Warriors gain 25% increased health and slow the movement speed of nearby enemies by 20%.
- (New) Cydaea’s Kiss (Q): Reduces the channel time of All Shall Burn by .5 seconds. If All Shall Burn channels for its full duration on a Hero, Azmodan is healed for 5% of his maximum health.
- (New) Chain of Command (D): Demon Lieutenants increase the damage of nearby non-heroes by 25%.
Level 16
- Demonic Smite (Trait): Removed
- Sin for Sin (Active): Removed
- Forced Recruitment (D): Removed
- (New) Total Annihilation (Q): Globe Of Annihilation deals additional 3% max health damage to Heroes.
- Sin’s Grasp (E): (Moved from Level 4) New Functionality: Increases the range of All Shall Burn by 20%. If All Shall Burn channels for its full duration on a Hero, its cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
- (New) Hell Rift (E): If the channel lasts its full duration, a Demon Warrior is summoned at your target and your Demon Warriors deal 100% increased damage for 4 seconds.
Level 20
- (New) Siegebreaker (R1): Azmodan’s summoned units deal 50% increased damage to Structures
- (New) Black Pool (R2): Tide Of Sin creates a Black Pool at the impact location, dealing light damage and reducing armor over 5 seconds to enemies in the area.
- (New) Pride (Q): After reaching 400 stacks of Annihilation, Globe Of Annihilation’s area is increased by 15% and its damage is increased by 100.
- (New) Trample (Active): Activate to dash a short distance, dealing damage and slowing enemies in the path. 60 second cooldown.
by
Published on 2018-06-28 07:09 AM
Focus Down Week 1: A Blank Slate
It’s hard to believe that just two short weeks ago Gen.G was named the 2018 Mid-Season Brawl Champions at Dreamhack Summer in Sweden. HGC fans wanting their weekly dose of action will have to wait no further, as league play resumes this weekend! The caster rotation for Phase 2 will be identical to Phase 1, with Jaycie "Gillyweed" Gluck joining Josh "JHow" Howard for the first five weeks and Wade "Dreadnaught" Penfold tagging in for Gilly for the final five weeks before the HGC Finals.
As Phase 2 begins, team records have been reset to 0-0, players have swapped rosters, and the next mountain to climb is within sight: the HGC Finals. With this blank slate in mind, here are the important matches you don’t want to miss during Week 1.
Gen.G vs Team BlossoM - Friday June 29 at 4:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. CEST
After retiring a year ago, Tae Jun "merryday" Yi is returning to HGC Korea as Team BlossoM’s Support player. However, his debut also brings a steep challenge: his former team Gen.G. Hot off their Mid-Season Brawl win, Gen.G is the team to beat in not only Korea, but the entire world. Although rare, Team BlossoM has taken maps from Gen.G in the past, and nearly qualified for the Mid-Season Brawl themselves. If BlossoM takes a page from Team Dignitas’ playbook, they could put give Gen.G a tough homecoming.
Fnatic vs Team Liquid - Saturday June 30 at 11:00 a.m. PDT / 8:00 p.m. CEST
A year ago, Fnatic won the 2017 Mid-Season Brawl. This year they knocked out Method 3-2 in the lower bracket before being sent home by Team Dignitas 3-1. Fnatic has made some significant roster changes with the departure of team captain Dob "QuackNiix" Engström and the return of Simon "scHwimpi" Svensson. This shuffling will be put to the test right away in Week 1 against Team Liquid on Saturday. Always the bridesmaid, Team Liquid failed to qualify for both the Western Clash and Mid-Season Brawl in 2018. Keep your eye on this marquee matchup from Europe to see which team kicks off Phase 2 on the right foot.
LFM Esports vs Team Octalysis - Saturday June 30 at 2:00 p.m. PDT / 11:00 p.m. CEST
At the beginning of May, LFM Esports successfully defended their spot in the HGC by defeating XD 4-2 in the Crucible. While they ultimately ended Phase 1 with a 2-12 record, LFM showed sparks of potential, taking maps off Tempo Storm and HeroesHearth. They lacked consistency in the first half of the year but gained veteran Warrior player Manny "Fury" Medina for Phase 2. Will his guidance be enough to challenge the reworked Team Octalysis? They will be challenging a familiar face in Nicholas "Drated" Broyles, a former LFM player now on Team Octalysis.
Don’t forget to pick up your tickets to the Western Clash! Be sure to tune in live here at playheroes.com/esports as Phase 2 begins this weekend. Matches kick off with Supernova making their HGC debut against Feliz on Friday June 29 at 2:00 a.m. PDT / 11:00 a.m. CEST.
The Final Rosters for HGC Phase 2
Note that we do not yet who replaces Psalm on Tempo Storm.
The HGC roster change window has closed, and while teams could swap up to five players, no team swapped more than three. Teams not listed here (e.g. Team Dignitas or Tempo Storm) made no changes. Without further ado, here is how the cookie crumbled for North America, Europe, and Korea.
*Tricked Esports has relinquished ownership of their HGC team to Alexander "Remmerballer" Remmerswaal. The roster formerly known as Tricked Esports will play under the name Monkey Menagerie starting in Week 1 of Phase 2.
*Gale Force Esports has relinquished ownership of their HGC team. Blizzard has awarded the ownership of the roster to the quorum of remaining players in accordance with section 4.2 of the HGC rulebook which can be found here. The roster will play under the name Team DJ starting in Week 1 of Phase 2.
It’s hard to believe that just two short weeks ago Gen.G was named the 2018 Mid-Season Brawl Champions at Dreamhack Summer in Sweden. HGC fans wanting their weekly dose of action will have to wait no further, as league play resumes this weekend! The caster rotation for Phase 2 will be identical to Phase 1, with Jaycie "Gillyweed" Gluck joining Josh "JHow" Howard for the first five weeks and Wade "Dreadnaught" Penfold tagging in for Gilly for the final five weeks before the HGC Finals.
As Phase 2 begins, team records have been reset to 0-0, players have swapped rosters, and the next mountain to climb is within sight: the HGC Finals. With this blank slate in mind, here are the important matches you don’t want to miss during Week 1.
Gen.G vs Team BlossoM - Friday June 29 at 4:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. CEST
After retiring a year ago, Tae Jun "merryday" Yi is returning to HGC Korea as Team BlossoM’s Support player. However, his debut also brings a steep challenge: his former team Gen.G. Hot off their Mid-Season Brawl win, Gen.G is the team to beat in not only Korea, but the entire world. Although rare, Team BlossoM has taken maps from Gen.G in the past, and nearly qualified for the Mid-Season Brawl themselves. If BlossoM takes a page from Team Dignitas’ playbook, they could put give Gen.G a tough homecoming.
Fnatic vs Team Liquid - Saturday June 30 at 11:00 a.m. PDT / 8:00 p.m. CEST
A year ago, Fnatic won the 2017 Mid-Season Brawl. This year they knocked out Method 3-2 in the lower bracket before being sent home by Team Dignitas 3-1. Fnatic has made some significant roster changes with the departure of team captain Dob "QuackNiix" Engström and the return of Simon "scHwimpi" Svensson. This shuffling will be put to the test right away in Week 1 against Team Liquid on Saturday. Always the bridesmaid, Team Liquid failed to qualify for both the Western Clash and Mid-Season Brawl in 2018. Keep your eye on this marquee matchup from Europe to see which team kicks off Phase 2 on the right foot.
LFM Esports vs Team Octalysis - Saturday June 30 at 2:00 p.m. PDT / 11:00 p.m. CEST
At the beginning of May, LFM Esports successfully defended their spot in the HGC by defeating XD 4-2 in the Crucible. While they ultimately ended Phase 1 with a 2-12 record, LFM showed sparks of potential, taking maps off Tempo Storm and HeroesHearth. They lacked consistency in the first half of the year but gained veteran Warrior player Manny "Fury" Medina for Phase 2. Will his guidance be enough to challenge the reworked Team Octalysis? They will be challenging a familiar face in Nicholas "Drated" Broyles, a former LFM player now on Team Octalysis.
Don’t forget to pick up your tickets to the Western Clash! Be sure to tune in live here at playheroes.com/esports as Phase 2 begins this weekend. Matches kick off with Supernova making their HGC debut against Feliz on Friday June 29 at 2:00 a.m. PDT / 11:00 a.m. CEST.
The Final Rosters for HGC Phase 2
Note that we do not yet who replaces Psalm on Tempo Storm.
The HGC roster change window has closed, and while teams could swap up to five players, no team swapped more than three. Teams not listed here (e.g. Team Dignitas or Tempo Storm) made no changes. Without further ado, here is how the cookie crumbled for North America, Europe, and Korea.
| Europe | Joining | Leaving |
| Fnatic | scHwimpi, LastHope | QuackNiix, BadBenny |
| Method | BadBenny, adrd | scHwimpi, Arcaner |
| Team Liquid | Arcaner | Splendour |
| Monkey Menagerie* | Splendour | GranPkt |
| Zealots | QuackNiix, robadobah | adrd, Mopsio |
| Leftovers | Leftovers | Lauber |
| Diamond Skin | RaiDbawZ, Meinkraft | robadobah, Roskmeg |
*Tricked Esports has relinquished ownership of their HGC team to Alexander "Remmerballer" Remmerswaal. The roster formerly known as Tricked Esports will play under the name Monkey Menagerie starting in Week 1 of Phase 2.
| Korea | Joining | Leaving |
| BlossoM | HongCono, merryday | DDuDDu, Nasang |
| Miracle | NaCHoJin, Frankle, Bluebeetle | H82, Gunza, Jaehyun |
| GLuck | Asgard, Darvish, Kcb | Relic, Tseron, Bluebeetle |
| Feliz | DDuDDu | Frankle |
| North America | Joining | Leaving |
| Team DJ* | Kure, daneski | Fury, akaface |
| LFM Esports | Fury, Droplets | Drated, Tea |
| No Tomorrow | akaface | Equinox |
| Team Octalysis | Prismaticism, Drated | Kure, Daneski |
| Simplicity | TigerJK | Prismaticism |
*Gale Force Esports has relinquished ownership of their HGC team. Blizzard has awarded the ownership of the roster to the quorum of remaining players in accordance with section 4.2 of the HGC rulebook which can be found here. The roster will play under the name Team DJ starting in Week 1 of Phase 2.
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