Heroes of the Storm Gets New Update for December 2024

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 9, 2024 21 Views 21 Min Read
Heroes of the Storm Gets New Update for December 2024



Key Takeaways

  • Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm Patch 55.8 brought changes to heroes like Samuro and D.Va, focusing on balancing talents and skills.
  • Despite no major content updates, Blizzard continues to provide balance updates for Heroes of the Storm every few months.
  • Fans are pushing for the game’s full comeback, with petitions for Blizzard to add Heroes of the Storm to Steam to boost player participation.



On December 9, Blizzard released Heroes of the Storm Patch 55.8, which brought changes to the game’s home screen, some new cosmetic shop bundles, and adjustments to character talents and skills. The new Heroes of the Storm patch went live after spending a month on the Public Test Realm (PTR), where players submitted feedback ahead of its release.

Originally released in June 2015, Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard’s multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) title, which features playable characters from the Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch franchises. Two teams of five players face off on a rotating selection of maps, such as Overwatch‘s Hanamura Temple or Warcraft‘s Alterac Valley, and matches can be decided quickly compared to other MOBA games like League of Legends. However, after seven years of continuous updates, Heroes of the Storm went into maintenance mode in July 2022.


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Months after Heroes of the Storm launched a big balance patch, more changes were made by Blizzard following a round of PTR testing. Some of Patch 55.8’s main changes were focused on Samuro’s Mirror Image ability. Mirror Images can no longer be targeted if launched by abilities like Artanis’ Phase Prism, and can no longer be used to mirror the Hearthstone or Mount commands back to Samuro when selected. Samuro’s Critical Strike trait was also adjusted to activate while a basic attack is ongoing, rather than carry over to the next swing. Another Hero that received major attention was D.Va, as her Defense Matrix ability and different talents were buffed across the board. Imperius’ level 10 talent, Wrath of the Angiris, was reworked to deal extra damage per Valorous Brand, and Greymane’s level 16 talent, Executioner, was replaced by Lord Of His Pack, which deals extra damage to enemies that are stunned, slowed, or rooted.


The new Heroes of the Storm update came at an interesting time for Blizzard and its player base. Weeks after the launch of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, fans petitioned Blizzard to add Heroes of the Storm to Steam to drive up player participation and potentially revive the game. At the time of writing, Heroes of the Storm remains exclusive to the Battle.net Launcher.

Despite receiving no more major content updates, Heroes of the Storm continues to receive balance updates every few months. As fans continue to push for Heroes of the Storm to make a full comeback, it remains to be seen what Blizzard will do in the future.


Heroes of the Storm Patch 55.8 Notes (December 9, 2024)

General

  • Updated Homescreen and Startup Music.
  • Updated Shop Bundles and Items.

Map Update

  • Snow Brawl has been added to Custom Games.

Volskaya

  • The Triglav Protector will now gain 25% increased energy regeneration and the Pilot and Gunner Abilities will both recharge 25% faster while both slots are occupied.

Hero Updates

Chen

Talents

  • Level 10
    • Wandering Keg
      • Wandering Keg updated to be a targeted forced Quick cast instead of a Self cast.


Samuro

General

  • Order of buffs in the Buff bar has been updated to match the order in which talents are gained.
  • Samuro can no longer target a Mirror Image that is affected by launch effects (Example: Phase Prism).
  • Samuro will no longer mirror Hearthstone and Mount commands on his Mirror Images if the command is sent while selecting a Mirror Image and not Samuro.
  • Tooltips have been updated to reduce confusion.

Base

  • Image Transmission [Trait]
    • Advancing Strikes will now copy Samuro’s state for the following: creating a new Mirror Image, Image Transmission, Deflection, Press the Attack.
  • Wind Walk [E]
    • Wind Walk will no longer cancel move and attack commands in the command queue when activated.
  • Critical Strike [W]
    • Activating Critical Strike while Samuro’s Basic Attack is being swung will now apply to that attack, rather than the next attack, and will carry the attack reset over to the next Basic Attack.
    • Samuro can now see his Critical Strike progress below his Healthplate.
    • Samuro can now see the remaining duration of Critical Strike’s activation around the ability button.
    • Critical Strike will now copy Samuro’s state for the following: creating a new Mirror Image, Image Transmission, Deflection, Press the Attack.


Talents

  • Level 1
    • Way of Illusion
      • Way of Illusion quest progress is now correctly mirrored between different Mirror Images and Samuro.
  • Level 7
    • Burning Blade
      • Burning Blade is now an additive modifier for both Samuro and his Mirror Images instead of just his Mirror Images.
  • Level 13
    • Kawarimi
      • Kawarimi Mirror Images will now clear their command queue of Hearthstone commands when created.
  • Level 16
    • Harsh Winds
      • Harsh Winds is now an additive modifier.

Balance Update

Heroes

Arthas

Talents

  • Level 13
    • Frost Strike
      • Rework: If Death Coil hits a target Slowed by Frost Strike, they will be Silenced for 1 second.
      • Rework: No Longer reduces the cooldown of Frostmourne Hungers.
  • Level 16
    • Frostmourne Feeds
      • Rework: The cooldown for Frostmourne Hungers now starts as soon as the first empowerment is used.
      • Rework: The second Frostmourne Hungers empowerment now only applies after hitting a Hero and lasts for 4 seconds.

D.Va

Base

  • Max Health increased from 2100 to 2150.
  • Defense Matrix [W]
    • Damage reduction increased from -50% to -60%.


Talents

  • Level 1
    • Liquid Cooling
      • Bonus duration increased from 35% to 50%.
  • Level 7
    • Get On The Point!
      • Movement Speed increase duration increased from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
      • Timer reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.
  • Level 10
    • Bunny Hop
      • Damage increased from 70 to 78.
      • Proc bonus damage reduced from 100% to 80%.
    • Micro Missiles
      • Cooldown between charges reduced from 5 to 3 seconds.
      • Cooldown per charge reduced from 20 to 19 seconds.
  • Level 13
    • Target Locked
      • Armor reduction and Slow are now refreshed in duration if the enemy Hero already has the debuffs.
      • Reduced the amount of time that enemy Heroes need to be in the Defense Matrix from 1 second to 0.75 seconds.
  • Level 16
    • Diverting Power
      • Healing reduced from 35 to 31.
    • Emergency Shielding
      • Duration increased from 4 to 8 seconds.
      • Shield increased from 280 to 290.

Greymane

Talents

  • Level 16
    • Lord Of His Pack
      • New: Replaces Executioner. Basic Attacks against Slowed, Rooted or Stunned enemy Heroes deal 25% additional damage for 3 seconds, increased to 50% while in Worgen Form.


Imperius

Talents

  • Level 10
    • Wrath of the Angiris
      • Rework: Damage reduced from 375 to 250.
      • Rework: Now deals 20% additional damage for each Valorous Brand marker on the target when landing.
      • Rework: Valorous Brand markers placed by Imperius will no longer be removed when launching the target into the air. These can still expire while in the air.

Li Li

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Free Drinks
      • Can now reduce the cooldown multiple times per cast (Example: Combined with Two For One).
  • Level 20
    • Shake It Off
      • Armor now persists for 2 seconds after Stun, Silence, or Root expires.

Medivh

Talents

  • Level 20
    • Glyph of Poly Bomb
      • Rework: Target an area to apply Poly Bomb to all enemy Heroes in the area. Poly Bomb activates a second time 1 second after.

Murky

Talents

  • Level 13
    • Egg Shell
      • The Shield now regains an amount equal to 35% of Murky’s current Health when Murky places a new Egg.

Varian

Talents

  • Level 20
    • Demoralizing Shout
      • Cooldown of Demoralizing Shout and Parry are reduced by 2.5% whenever an enemy Hero affected by Demoralizing Shout deals damage to a Hero.


Bug Fixes

General

  • Fixed issues with Block and Basic Attacks that Ignore Armor.

Map

  • Cursed Hollow
    • Fixed an issue that caused Cursed Hollow’s Call for Help’s Armor reduction to not be cleared by Stasis or Invulnerable.

Heroes

  • Anubarak
    • Level 20
      • Cryptweave
        • Fixed an issue that caused Cryptweave’s duration increase to be granted while Anub’arak is dead.
  • Artanis
    • Level 10
      • Purifier Beam
        • Fixed an issue that caused Purifier Beam to last up to an additional 0.5 seconds.
  • Azmodan
    • Level 10
      • Demonic Invasion
        • Fixed an issue that caused Demonic Invasion grunts to attack Stealthed enemies.
  • Cassia
    • Level 20
      • Titan’s Revenge
        • Fixed an issue that caused Titan’s Revenge empowered Basic Attacks to consume Block charges.
        • Fixed an issue that caused Titan’s Revenge to not apply to Charged Strikes bounce attacks.
  • Cho’Gall
    • General
      • Fixed an issue that caused Cho and Gall to become separated if Cho enters a Vehicle the moment the Vehicle expires.
  • Deathwing
    • Level 10
      • Bellowing Roar
        • Fixed an issue to allow Deathwing to cast Bellowing Roar while Dragonflight is active.
  • Diablo
    • Base
      • Black Soulstone [Trait]
        • Fixed an issue that caused Diablo’s health gained from Black Soulstone to not be accurate.
  • D.Va
    • Base
      • Self Destruct [E]
        • Exploding Mech visibility has been updated from the detonation area to the expanding warning indicator area.
      • Boosters [Q]
        • Fixed an issue that caused Boosters to not be affected by cooldown reduction granted by Allied Heroes.
        • Will now behave similarly to Defense Matrix and have a fresh cooldown when a new Mech is called.
    • Level 16
      • Emergency Shielding
        • Will now be properly reset when ability cooldowns are reset in Sandbox or Try Mode.

  • Fenix
    • Level 20
      • Unconquered Spirit
        • Ability will no longer be shaded as though it is disabled when off cooldown.
        • Will now be properly reset when ability cooldowns are reset in Sandbox or Try Mode.
  • Gul’dan
    • Base
      • Drain Life [W]
        • Added a range indicator for Drain Life.
  • Hanzo
    • Level 16
      • Piercing Arrows
        • Fixed an issue that caused Storm Bow to not hit targets in close proximity to the first target hit with Piercing Arrows.
  • Johanna
    • Level 20
      • Indestructible
        • Ability will no longer be shaded as though it is disabled when off cooldown.
        • Will now be properly reset when ability cooldowns are reset in Sandbox or Try Mode.
  • Junkrat
    • Level 7
      • Dirty Trickster
        • Will now be properly reset when ability cooldowns are reset in Sandbox or Try Mode.
  • Leoric
    • Level 1
      • Fealty Unto Death
        • Healing increased from 31.85 to 32. Updated the tooltip to display number instead of percentage.
  • Li Li
    • Base
      • Cloud Serpent [W]
        • Fixed an issue that caused crit floating modifiers to not apply to Cloud Serpent damage.
        • Fixed an issue that caused Defense Matrix to not apply to any Cloud Serpent damage.
        • Fixed an issue that caused Spell Power to not apply to Cloud Serpent healing.
      • Healing Brew [Q]
        • Fixed an issue that caused Healing Brew to be disjointed if the target Teleports.

    • Level 7
      • The Good Stuff
        • Fixed an issue that caused The Good Stuff’s Fast Feet healing increase to be multiplicative.
    • Level 10
      • Jug of 1,000 Cups
        • Fixed an issue that caused Jug of 1,000 Cups to instantly heal the target if the target Teleports while the jug is on its way to them.

    • Level 13
      • Lightning Serpent
        • Fixed an issue that caused Spell Power and other damage mods to not apply to Lightning Serpent damage.
    • Level 16
      • Pick Me Up
        • Fixed an issue that caused Pick Me Up’s healing increase to be multiplicative.
  • Lt. Morales
    • Level 4
      • Trauma Trigger
        • Will now be properly reset when ability cooldowns are reset in Sandbox or Try Mode.
        • Fixed an issue that caused the cooldown displayed on the ability to show incorrectly.
  • Maiev
    • Level 4
      • Sudden Vengeance
        • Fixed an issue that caused Sudden Vengeance to not activate Ruthless Spirit.
  • Mal’Ganis
    • Level 1
      • Winged Guard
        • Fixed an issue that caused Winged Guard to lose Block charges to all effects that ignore Armor.
  • Mephisto
    • Level 16
      • Lightning Reaction
        • Fixed an issue that caused Lightning Reaction to activate around Shades of Mephisto when Mephisto has not selected Mimic.
  • Nazeebo
    • Base
      • Voodoo Ritual [Trait]
        • Fixed an issue that caused Voodoo Ritual and Vile Infection to display the incorrect total damage value in their tooltips.
        • Fixed an issue that caused Voodoo Ritual to not grant stack progress if the target is killed by the last tick of Voodoo Ritual after completing Vile Infection.

    • Level 10
      • Gargantuan
        • Fixed an issue that caused Gargantuan Stomp damage to not display the correct values in the tooltip.
  • Orphea
    • Level 16
      • Dead Magic
        • Fixed an issue that caused Chaos-empowered Basic Attacks from Dead Magic to consume Block charges.
  • Rehgar
    • Level 7
      • Purification
        • When selecting Purification, Purge will now be able to target Unstoppable enemy Heroes.
  • Rexxar
    • Level 10
      • Unleash the Boars
        • Unleash the Boars damage updated to have Rexxar deal the damage instead of each Boar dealing its own damage.
  • Samuro
    • Base
      • Image Transmission [Trait]
        • Fixed an issue that allowed Samuro to cast Image Transmission on a destroyed Mirror Image if it was queued to happen directly after Mirror Image was cast.
        • If Samuro activates Image Transmission or if a new Mirror Image is created, any Mirror Images that are updated will copy Blessing of the Red if it is present on Samuro instead of increasing their maximum Health as if Blessing of the Red were cast on them.
    • Level 7
      • Crushing Blows
        • Fixed an issue that caused Crushing Blows to apply to the triggering Critical Strike.
    • Level 20
      • Three Blade Style
        • Fixed an issue that caused Three Blade Style to increase Mirror Image maximum health if Samuro gained Blessing of the Red between the Images being created and the talent being selected.
        • Fixed an issue that caused Three Blade Style to reset the duration on an active Mirror Image when selected.
  • Sgt. Hammer
    • General
      • Sgt. Hammer’s level 1 talent icon changes have been reverted.
  • Stitches
    • Level 13
      • Meat Hook
        • Fixed an issue that caused the refresh duration to not match the full duration of Meat Hook.
  • Tassadar
    • Level 7
      • Arc Discharge
        • Will now be properly reset when ability cooldowns are reset in Sandbox or Try Mode.
        • Fixed an issue that caused Arc Discharge to become disjointed when Tassadar stops attacking.

  • The Butcher
    • General
      • Talent sorting for The Butcher has been updated to be the same as other Heroes.
    • Base
      • Fresh Meat [Trait]
        • Fresh Meat is now referred to as stacks instead of charges.
  • Thrall
    • Level 13
      • Spirit Shield
        • Fixed an issue with Spirit Shield’s cooldown reduction from Frostwolf Resilience.

  • Tyrande
    • Level 1
      • Ranger
        • Fixed an issue that caused Ranger to allow Sentinel to hit up to 3 targets.
    • Level 4
      • Everlasting Light
        • Added an indicator on targets that will receive additional healing from Light of Elune.

  • Whitemane
    • Base
      • Inquisition [W]
        • Added a range indicator for Inquisition.
        • Fixed an issue that caused Inquisition to not be cancelled if the target leaves the radius while Stealthed.
  • Zul’jin
    • Level 16
      • No Mercy!
        • Fixed an issue that caused empowered Grievous Throw Basic Attacks from No Mercy! To not activate Medivh’s Raven Familiar.


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