Heroes of the Storm Gets First Update in Over 18 Months, Patch Notes Revealed

Earlier this month, Microsoft finally announced that its purchase of Activision-Blizzard was official. That means that Microsoft now owns massive gaming properties like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo. However, Microsoft brass has already said it’s open to revisiting old Activision franchises. Interestingly, one of those “old” franchises actually got its first update in more than a year and a half this week. Heroes of the Storm was seemingly sunsetted back in July 2022, but Blizzard recently announced a brand-new patch for the game, potentially signaling that the team might be rethinking its plans for the MOBA.

Is Heroes of the Storm Coming Back?

With a new patch going up on the Public Test Realm, many fans are hoping this means HOTS is making a grand comeback. Of course, having Blizzard drop the patch right after Microsoft’s purchase and a week before BlizzCon 2023 only adds to that hype. However, it’s more likely that this is just a quick update that doesn’t signify a return to full development for the Heroes of the Storm team.

That’s largely backed up by what’s coming in this new patch. For the most part, this update is simply changing some of the Icons to make them more visible and introduced several needed bug fixes to iron out issues that have been cropping up. That said, Blizzard also introduced some new changes to the Observer UI, which is something that can be used to spectate matches. Again, that doesn’t mean fans should expect a return of the Heroes of the Storm Global Championships, but it is possible Blizzard might have some kind of surprise for BlizzCon next week.

You’ll find the full patch notes below. Heroes of the Storm is available now on PC.

Heroes of the Storm October 2023 Patch Notes

General

Observer UI

• D.Va’s Mech Healthbar is now displayed in the observer interface’s top bar.
• Misha’s Healthbar is now displayed in the observer interface’s top bar.
• The Lost Vikings Healthbars are now displayed in the observer interface’s top bar.
• XP Globes are now displayed as Blue for the left team and Gray for the right team.

Icons

• Abathur
  • Changed Icon color for Locust Strain.
• Anub’arak
  • Changed Icon color for Chitinous Plating.
• Blaze
  • Incinerator Gauntlets Icon changed to non-Heroes Damage from Basic Attacks.
• Cassia
  • Martial Law Icon changed to Searing Damage from Basic Attacks.
  • Changed Icon color for Ball Lightning.
  • Changed Icon color for Valkrie.
• Dehaka
  • Changed Icon color for Elongated Tonuge.
• Diablo
  • Changed Icon for Soul Shield to be different than Spell Shields.
• Genji
  • Changed Icon color for Zanshin.
• Jaina
  • Changed Improved Ice Block Button to be normal Ice Block.
• Illidan
  • Fiery Brand Icon changed to Searing Damage from Basic Attacks.
• Muradin
  • Changed Icon color for Perfect Storm.
• Nova
  • Changed Icon color for Rapid Projection.
• Sonya
  • Rampage Icon changed to Cooldown Reduction from Basic Attacks.
• Sylvanas
  • Remorseless Icon changed to Range Increase for Basic Attacks.
• The Lost Vikings
  • Nordic Attack Squad Icon changed to Searing Damage from Basic Attacks.
• Tychus
  • Sizzlin’ Attacks Icon changed to Searing Damage from Basic Attacks.
• Tyrande
  • Shooting Star Icon changed to Range Increase for Basic Attacks.
• Valla
  • Manticore Icon changed to Searing Damage from Basic Attacks.
• Whitemane
  • Changed Icon color for Saintly Greatstaff.
• Zarya
  • Feel the Heat Icon changed to Damage Increase from Basic Attacks.

Abilities

• Bounce
  • Abilities that Bounce will require all targets to be visible.
• Cleave
  • Abilities that Cleave will reveal the area and does not require target to be visibile.
• Splash
  • Abilities that Splash will reveal the area and does not require target to be visibile.

Invulnerability

• Johanna
  • Blessed Shield no longer hits Invulnerable enemies.
• Junkrat
  • Frag Launcher no longer hits Invulnerable enemies.
• Kael’thas
  • Gravity Lapse no longer hits Invulnerable enemies.
• Li-Ming
  • Magic Missiles no longer hits Invulnerable enemies.
• Nazeebo
  • Plague of Toads no longer hits Invulnerable enemies.
• Tracer
  • Parting Gift no longer hits Invulnerable enemies.

ARAM

• Increased experience given by Experience Globes.

UI

• Floating Combat Text for Experience earned from killing blows now has a gold color.

Balance Update

General

• Adjusted difficulty levels for a number of Heroes.

Heroes

• Samuro
  • Increased Windwalk healing from 1% per second to 3% per second.
  • Decreased Way of the Wind healing from 5% on cast to 4% on cast.

Bug Fixes

General

• Fixed an issue that caused Evading targets to still lose armor to Hellbats and Gnolls.
• Fixed an issue that caused ARAM maps to use different XP systems.

Heroes

• Abathur
  • Fixed an issue that caused Abathur’s Monstrosity to gain an additional 0.02 damage per stack.
  • Toxic Next no longer reveals attackers while Arming.
• Anduin
  • Moral Compass is now considered Splash damage and will not hit targets Immune to AOE.
• Blaze
  • Combustion now reveals area it affects.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Heat Treatment to not match the damage dealt by Pyromania.
  • Fixed an issue where Oil Spill granted more vision than intended.
  • Flame Stream now reveals targets hit.
• Brightwing
  • Invisible Friends now displays a healing over time preview.
  • Phase Shift’s heal now happens after teleportation instead of at the same time.
  • Unstable Anomaly now reveals the area it affects and enemies it hits.
• Butcher
  • Cleaver AOE no longer reveals targets hit.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Butcher to lose more than intended stacks of Fresh Meat when killed.
  • Furnace Blast now reveals targets hit.
  • No longer revealed when Lamb of the Slaughter damages an enemy.
• Cassia
  • Fend now reveals targets hit.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Lightning Fury Bolts cast from Static Electricity and Lightning Fury to be inconsistently determined.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Lightning Fury Bolts generated by Static Electricity to not heal for the appropriate amount with Ring of the Leech.
  • Fixed an issue where Lightning Fury Bolts were not displaying as critical hits against Blinded enemies.
  • Martial Law no longer damages Heroes while Blinded.
  • Surge of Light now reveals the area it affects and enemies that it hits.
• ChoGall
  • Consuming Blaze now reveals targets when applied.
  • Consuming Blaze will now interrupt channels that are interrupted by damage when applied.
  • Dread Orb no longer has an abnormal vision height.
  • Dread Orb now reveals targets hit.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Cthun’s Gift to Slow while Blinded.
  • Fuel for the Flame no longer deals damage to evading enemies near the Basic Attack target.
  • Fuel for the Flame no longer deals damage to the target of Basic Attacks while Blinded.
  • Fuel for the Flame no longer display as critical damage against Heroes.
  • Runic Blast now reveals targets hit.
  • Shadowbolt Volley no longer has an abnormal vision height.
  • Shadowbolt Volley now reveals targets hit.
  • Shadowflame now reveals targets hit.
  • Twisting Nether now reveals targets hit.
  • The Will of Gall is now treated as a Quest talent and displays the progress in the talents tab.
• Chromie
  • Fixed an issue that caused Sand Echo’s Basic Attacks to grant stacks while Blinded.
  • Shifting Sands will no longer be removed upon death.
  • Time Trap will no longer prevent Allies from being revealed temporarily.
  • Time Troubles’ Armor granted to allies will no longer be removed by Stasis.
  • Unravelling’s Armor debuff will now be removed by Stasis.
• Deathwing
  • Death Drop’s Armor Reduction is now removed by Stasis.
  • Gaze Onto Destruction no longer reduces the damage of non-Heroes hit.
• Deckard
  • Fixed an issue where Horadric Staff does not consume the cooldown when used on an Evading target.
  • Fixed an issue where Potion of Shielding increased Deckard’s Self Healing.
  • Fixed an issue where Scroll of Sealing revealed targets for 4 seconds when taken.
• Dehaka
  • Burrow no longer prevents allied abilities from affecting Dehaka.
  • Burrow will now cleanse negative effects.
  • Lurker Strain no longer reveals area around knocked back targets.
  • Lurker Strain now reveals targets hit.
  • Lurker Strain’s Knockback will no longer function as a Stun.
• Diablo
  • Dying Breath will now display as Apocalypse on the Death Recap.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Black Soulstone to be multiplicative with other health bonuses.
• D.Va
  • Defense Matrix now works on Zagara’s Banelings.
• Falstad
  • BOOMerang’s Armor Reduction is now removed by Stasis.
  • Hammerang now reveals targets hit on return.
  • Hammerang’s explosion no longer displays as a crit after selecting BOOMerang.
  • Hammerang’s reactivation explosion now reveals targets hit.
• Fenix
  • Fixed an issue that caused Divert Power: Weapons to be refreshed while Blinded.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause Mobile Offensive to not apply when moving.
  • Phase Bomb Splash damage now consumes Block charges.
• Garrosh
  • Decimate now reveals targets hit.
  • Into the Fray now shows up on Garrosh’s Try screen.
  • Wrecking Ball and Into the Fray now reveal targets hit.
• Gazlowe
  • Adjusted Ark Reaktor damage to 36.
  • EZ-PZ Dimensional Ripper can now have the cooldown announced to your team.
  • Mecha-Lord no longer grants Armor while Blinded.
• Genji
  • Fixed an issue where Deflect did not grant full Self Healing score when preventing damage.
• Greymane
  • Fixed an issue that caused Alpha Killer to be capable of activating on-hit effects on Invulnerable enemies.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Go For the Throat to apply the incorrect cooldown to Disengage with Running Wild selected.
  • Removed dual block visual from Thick Skin.
• Gul’dan
  • Fixed self-healing bonus from Hunger for Power.
  • Pursuit of Flame is no longer visible through fog.
• Hanzo
  • Fixed an issue that allowed players to fire Storm Bow at maximum range without charging.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Sharpened Arrowheads to not reduce Armor while Blinded when applied with Storm Bow.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Sharpened Arrowheads to reduce Armor before damage is dealt with Storm Bow.
• Jaina
  • Fixed an issue that caused Frost Bolt to hit targets behind Frost Bolt.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Frost Shards to allow more than 2 additional targets to be hit.
  • Frostbite Armor now has a block visual.
• Johanna
  • Blessed Hammer now reveals the area it affects.
  • Fixed an issue where Blessed Momentum stacks multiplicatively instead of additvely with other attack speed modifiers.
  • Heaven’s Fury no longer prevents allies from being revealed.
• Junkrat
  • Fixed an issue that caused Junkrat’s Frag Launcher to gain 0.002 damage per stack of Taste for Explosions.
  • Splash damage now consumes Block charges.
• Kel’Thuzad
  • Deathchill will no longer activate if the target loses Root or Slow by becoming Unstoppable.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Basic Attacks against Rooted Heroes to activate Icy Grasp.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Basic Attacks against Rooted targets to activate Hungering Cold.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Kel’Thuzad’s buttons to light up when getting 15 baseline quest stacks.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Power of Icecrown’s damage increase to be lost upon death.
• Kerrigan
  • Fixed an issue that caused Kerrigan’s Self Healing to increase when she gains Assimilation Shields.
  • Fury of the Swarm no longer reveals targets.
  • Impaling Blades now reveals targets hit.
  • Primal Grasp’s Pulse now reveals targets hit.
  • Psionic Shift now reveals targets hit.
  • Ultralisk Splash damage reveals targets.
• Kharazim
  • Fixed an issue that caused Insight to progress while Blinded.
• Leoric
  • Buried Alive can no longer have its duration reduced.
  • Drain Essence no longer increases his Self Healing score.
  • Deckard’s Rejuvenation is now removed on Undying.
  • Fixed an issue where Leoric could receive Tyrande’s Shadowstalk Healing when Undying was active, thereby reducing his respawn timer.
  • Ossein Renewal can no longer be cast while Undying is active.
  • Drain Hope, Drain Essence, and March of the Black King are now removed if the target enters a vehicle.
• Li-Ming
  • Fixed an issue that caused Tal Rasha’s Elements to prevent Force Armor from granting Block charges.
  • Fixed an issue where Aether Walker would sometime not reset correctly.
• Lt. Morales
  • Medi Drone no longer heals Heroes in Undying state.
• Lunara
  • Fixed an issue that caused Invigorating Spores to be capable of activating on-hit effects on Invulnerable enemies.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Invigorating Spores to deal percent damage while Blinded.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Nature’s Toxin to be applied before damage dealt.
• Maiev
  • Fixed an issue that caused Basic Attacks while Blinded to increase Vengeful Knives damage.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Umbral Bind to not increase Vengeful Knives damage .
• Mal’Ganis
  • Winged Guard now has a block visual.
• Malthael
  • Ethereal Existence now has a block visual at max stacks.
• Mei
  • Fixed an issue that caused Cooling Servos to Slow while Blinded.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Mei’s Induce Hibernation Talent to reduce damage of non-Heroes.
  • Skating Away now has a block visual.
• Murky
  • Fixed an issue that caused Big Tuna Kahuna to be multiplicative with other health bonuses.
  • Octograb now reveals the target instead of the area around the target.
  • Pufferfish now reveals targets hit.
  • Slime now reveals targets hit.
  • While revealed, Murky will no longer reveal the area around him when his Egg is slain.
• Nova
  • Anti-Armor Shells is now removed by Stasis.
  • Anti-Armor Shells now applies debuff after damage.
  • Explosive Snipe now reveals targets hit.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Anti-Armor Shells to display an incorrect damage value for Nova’s Holo Decoys.
  • Holo Decoys no longer reveals area when killed.
  • Holo Decoys are now visible from the center of the unit instead of their border.
  • Precision Strike now reveals targets hit.
  • Snipe no longer reveals around target.
  • Triple Tap no longer reveals area around the target, and the target is now revealed for 2 seconds afterwards, up from 1.3 seconds.
• Orphea
  • Fixed an issue that caused Dead Magic to splash to Evading targets.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Empowered Eldritch Conduit to be lost on death.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Empowered Eldritch Conduit to not be granted when going from 7 or 8 stacks to 10.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Eternal Feast to hit dead objects.
• Probius
  • Fixed an issue that caused Pylon Overcharge to deal additional damage when Construct Additional Pylons is selected.
• Qhira
  • Basic Attacks will no longer reveal targets hit.
  • Blood Rage’s activation no longer grants Fatal Wounds progress.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Finishing Touch to grant attack speed on attacks that bring the target below 50% health.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Finishing Touch to grant attack speed while Blinded.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Upstage to not apply if the targets were killed by the activation damage.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Your Pain, My Gain to grant Armor while Blinded.
• Ragnaros
  • Cauterize Wounds now displays on the Death Recap correctly.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Empower Sulfuras to not reduce the cooldown of Blistering Attacks on non-Heroes.
  • Tempered Flame no longer increases Self Healing on application.
  • Lava Wave can no longer pickup or magnetize Experience Globes.
• Raynor
  • Fixed an issue that caused Execute Orders to not display in the Death Recap.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Give Em’ Some Pepper damage to behaving incorrectly.
• Rehgar
  • Fixed duration of Totemic Projection.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Hunger of the Wolf to deal damage and heal while Blinded.
• Rexxar
  • Fixed an issue that caused Kill Command’s damage bonus to be multiplicative.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Misha to not gain Primal Intimidation’s Passive on respawn.
  • Fixed an issue where Unleash the Boars was not affected by some damage modifications.
• Samuro
  • Burning Blade is now Splash damage.
  • Way of the Wind now increases Self Healing intead of Healing.
• Sonya
  • Leap now also grants Unstoppable when used at minimum distance.
• Stukov
  • Fixed an issue that caused Reactive Ballistospores to not work correctly with cooldown resets.
• Sylvanas
  • Deafening Blast now applies Black Arrows if active.
  • Deafening Blast now reveals targets hit.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Evasive Fire to be refreshed while Blinded.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Lost Soul to reduce cooldowns while Blinded.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Overwhelming Affliction to apply the slow to a Remorseless target when firing at a target with 3 stacks.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Possession to give more XP than intended for Catapults.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Remorseless to not apply Black Arrows while Blinded.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Remorseless to not Stun enemies while Black Arrows is active.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Remorseless to not Stun Mercenaries with 3 stacks of Black Arrows and Merenary Queen.
  • Might of the Banshee Queen is no longer removed on death.
  • Wailing Arrow no longer reveals area around Sylvanas when cast.
  • Wailing Arrow now reveals the area of detonation.
• Tassadar
  • Archon no longer applies armor reduction while Blinded.
  • Archon Splash damage no longer reveals targets hit.
  • Archon’s Armor reduction is now removed by Stasis.
  • Feedback’s Armor reduction is now removed by Stasis.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Oracle to not show in the Death Recap.
  • Khaydarin Amulet will now reveal while active after the attack expires.
• Thrall
  • Feral Resilience now has a block visual.
• The Lost Vikings
  • Hunka’ Burning Olaf now reveals target instead of the area around the target.
  • It’s a Sabotage can no longer be applied while Erik is Blinded.
  • Nordic Attack Squad now shows in recap.
  • Viking Bribery stack count is no longer visible on the scoreboard to other players.
• Tracer
  • Bullet Spray now reveals targets hit.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Composition B and Quantum Spike to deal percent damage to non-Heroes.
  • Heavy Handed’s Armor is now removed by Stasis.
  • If Locked and Loaded has been activated, then the floating text for completing the reload will display as a crit.
  • Is That a Healthpack can no longer heal Vehicles.
  • Locked and Loaded no longer causes Basic Attacks to display as a crit.
  • Ricochet will no longer reveal targets hit (Tracer Rounds will still apply if taken).
  • Telefrag no longer reduces the cooldown of Recall while Blinded.
  • When Tracer completes a reload, it now displays floating text.
• Tyrael
  • Archangel’s Wrath now reveals targets hit by the explosion.
  • Bound by Law no longer refreshes El’Druin’s Might while Blinded.
• Tyrande
  • Fixed an issue that caused Elune’s Chosen to heal for overkill damage.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Self Healing to not increase her Self Healing.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Sentinel to be reset if a Hallucination is killed while revealed.
  • Fxied an issue where Mark of Mending was not healing Evading targets.
• Uther
  • Divine Storm now reveals targets hit instead of area around targets hit.
  • Divine Storm now reveals the area it affects.
  • Holy Radiance now reveals enemies hit.
  • Holy Radiance reveal updated to match area of effect.
• Valeera
  • Ambush now reveals the target for 2 seconds.
  • Blade Flurry now reveals targets for 2 seconds.
  • Blade Flurry now reveals the area it affects.
  • Cheap Shot now reveals the target for 2 seconds.
  • Eviscerate now reveals the target for 2 seconds.
  • Fixed an issue where Garrote’s damage displayed incorrectly in the Death Recap.
  • Garrote now reveals the target for 2 seconds.
  • Sinister Strike now reveals the target for 2 seconds.
• Varian
  • Fixed an issue that caused Juggernaut to be capable of activating on-hit effects on Invulnerable enemies.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Varian’s Victory Rush button to be grayed out.
  • Master At Arms now reveals targets hit and the area affected.
• Whitemane
  • Clemency no longer reveals the area around the heal target.
  • Divine Reckoning now reveals targets hit.
  • Inquisition and Shared Punishment now reveal the target for 2 seconds after expiring.
  • Inquisition now reveals the target instead of the area around the target.
  • Searing Lash now reveals targets hit.
• Xul
  • Shackler no longer reveals the area it affects.
• Yrel
  • Aegis of Light no longer reveals area it affects.
  • Avenging Wrath now reveals targets hit.
  • Dauntless now has a block visual.
  • Holy Wrath now consumes Block charges.
  • Righteous Hammer now reveals targets hit.
  • Vindication now reveals targets hit.
• Zarya
  • Explosive Barrier now reveals the area and targets.
  • Fixing an issue where Zarya’s Defensive Shielding did not stack correctly with other blocks.
  • Splash damage no longer reveals targets.
• Zeratul
  • Cleave now reveals the area it affects.
• Zul’jin
  • Buzzsaw now reveals targets hit for 2 seconds.
  • Grievous Throw now reveals targets hit for 2 seconds.
  • Guillotine now reveals targets hit.
  • Twin Cleave now reveals targets hit.
  • Wrong Place Wrong Time now reveals targets hit for 2 seconds.