Huge Heroes of the Storm Patch Adds Character, Map, Major Hero Changes

The Heroes of the Storm update that recently went into testing is now live for all players, and it represents one of the biggest patches to the game in some time.

As previously detailed, the update adds Dehaka, a new Warrior-class character from StarCraft. Among other things, he's able to heal himself to stay in battles for long periods of time, and he's also capable of burrowing to any vent or brush on the map--an ability that comes at the expense of having a mount. You can read more about him here.

A new map is also included in the update, and it's quite different from those already in the game. Lost Cavern is playable only in Custom Games and has a single lane, as opposed to the usual two or three. Additionally, it doesn't have any mercenary camps or other objectives; your only goal is to take out the enemy's Core. The map is designed to encourage constant team fights, offering a much different sort of game than what we're used to seeing in Heroes of the Storm.

Also new is a ban system that's now available in all ranked modes, and can be enabled for Custom Games. There are several different versions available, but it's the Mid Ban--which includes a round of bans before character selection begins, and another at the midway point--that's used in ranked matches.

Following a death, you'll now be able to see a death recap that helps you to understand exactly what contributed to your demise. There's also a new Dehaka skin on the store and two new large bundles. Kerrigan, meanwhile, has seen her price decreased to 4,000 gold or $6.49.

In terms of character-specific changes, there are far too many to cover here, but many of them are significant. Illidan has been altered pretty dramatically, with his base kit being more powerful and there (hopefully) being more viable choices throughout his talent tree. Tychus, meanwhile, has seen his talents change in order to help differentiate him from other characters, and his passive has been turned into an active skill. Activating the trait causes his basic attacks to deal more damage to enemy heroes for three seconds.

Gazlowe has been adjusted to ensure he is "the premier zone-control hero in the game." Sylvanas, meanwhile, gets a new Ultimate ability to replace the useless Possession; she now has Mind Control, allowing her to control an enemy's movement for 2.5 seconds.

There are numerous other changes that have been made to characters and maps; for instance, the Dragon Knight is now immune to the attack speed slow that forts and keeps inflict, and the Garden Terror's main ability has been reworked. You can check out the full patch notes at Blizzard's website.