Hello everyone!
We, the collective Heroes of the Storm team, would like to introduce “A Call for Help!”, the second Seasonal Nexus Anomaly of 2020. This new anomaly will consist of two sets of changes that both focus on the structures found within the Nexus. The first will change how you’ll interact with the various combat structures on a Battleground (Towers, Forts, Keeps, Cores, etc). The second will focus on powering up the Core by adding new abilities that are automatically deployed to defend against enemy Heroes. As with the previous anomaly, we will be continually monitoring your feedback to evaluate whether to keep these changes beyond the end of the season.
Tower Defense and Aggression
- We’ve heard feedback over the years that a lot of you would like to feel more protected by nearby friendly structures. Currently, minions, summons, and non-heroic units can hold a structure’s attention for so long that defending players feel that they’re offered no additional protection when taking refuge under their Cannon Towers, Forts, Keeps and Cores. To address that, we’re implementing a system where Heroes will automatically “Call For Help!” from their nearby structures.
- With this change, if a Hero is damaged by a member of the opposite team while within range of a friendly combat structure, that structure will automatically seek out and attack the offending enemy Hero. Additionally, non-Core structure attacks will now progressively reduce the Armor of Heroes, even in situations outside of tower diving. In order to counter-balance these increased defensive measures and to allow attackers the opportunity to swiftly engage and disengage under towers, we’ve removed the Movement Speed and Attack Speed Slow from Fort and Keep attacks. We hope that this system can strike a balance between feeling safe under your own structures while not overly punishing aggressive plays. For a full list of detailed changes please see the patch notes.
Core Abilities
We want fights around the Core to feel like exciting ends to cap off great games, and we feel like we can do more to deliver on that front. To that end, this Seasonal Nexus Anomaly will introduce themed abilities to the majority of non-ARAM Battleground Cores. Want to watch your enemies turn into plant shamblers on Gardens of Terror? How about dodging walls of tornadoes on Sky Temple? Maybe just sit back and watch the Nukes fall on Warhead Junction? We don’t want to spoil all of what we may have in store, but we can’t wait for you to find out for yourselves what new tricks the Cores have up their sleeves!
Current Nexus Anomaly: Experience Globes
Now that we’ve showcased “A Call for Help!”, let’s talk about what we plan to do with the current active anomaly, Experience Globes. Since their addition at the beginning of the last season, we’ve introduced various changes aimed at improving interactivity and playability, such as automatically granting Experience Globes to Heroes that kill a Minion, addressing some globe expiration issues, etc. With these changes now in place, Experience Globes appear to be an overall positive addition to the game, so we’ve decided to keep them! We like how they visualize the process of gaining experience in a way that is easy to understand. Also, by opening small windows of opportunity to deny experience without overwhelmingly changing how the game works, we’ve seen that Experience Globes add some exciting new player interactions. We will still make changes as necessary, so please continue providing feedback to help us improve!
Big changes like revamping structure priorities and adding Experience Globes are exactly what the team hopes to test out with Nexus Anomalies, which are currently planned for release alongside each new Ranked season. Stay tuned for what may be coming next!
Thanks for reading, Heroes. We’ll see you in the Nexus.
