Blizzard Entertainment

*Updated 5/13/2020- Updates shown in gold.

Four ruling powers control the Shadowlands, each of which is in desperate need of aid from the heroes of Azeroth. In exchange for your help, the Covenants are willing to share a piece of their power and access to the rewards and other blessings, boons, or temptations they have to offer.

As you level up on your initial journey through each of their domains, you’ll get to experience the abilities they have to offer firsthand—before you ultimately choose the Covenant you wish to dedicate yourself to.

• Kyrians: The denizens of Bastion, these angelic beings embrace humility and service to their order.
• Necrolords: Comprised of liches, warlords, and spies, the Necrolord Covenant calls Maldraxxus home. They make up the army that defends the Shadowlands.
• Night Fae: Guardians of nature, the Night Fae...

We’ve added a lot of card backs to Hearthstone over the years, 143 to be exact! As a special treat, we thought it would be fun to walk you through the creation process for the September Monthly Card Back. Senior Concept Artist Luke Mancini will stream the entire card back creation process live, from concept to completion, in a 3-part series on Twitch.tv/PlayHearthstone!

Part I: Concept

• When: Monday, May 18 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
• What to expect: We’ll go through the ideation and rough sketch bit, using 3 potential concepts for the new card back. By the end of the stream, we’ll have committed to our favorite option.

...

The 17.2 patch includes three new Heroes and a new minion for Battlegrounds. We’ve also added the ability to rearrange your decks, a new visual aid for end of Season rewards, and more!

As a note, we’ve restructured assets in 17.2 so the data download for this patch will be similar to a fresh install. Pardon our dust!

Battlegrounds Updates

• Dire Wolf Alpha has been removed from the minion pool.

NEW MINION

Rabid Saurolisk

• [Tier 1, Beast] 3 Attack, 1 Health.

After you play a minion with Deathrattle, gain +1/+1.

NEW HEROES

P...

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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Below are the Arena leaderboards for February 26, 2020 – April 7, 2020. Arena rankings reflect players’ best 30 consecutive runs throughout a season. The players featured below have exhibited top-notch deckbuilding skills, in-the-moment decision making, and unyielding dedication to achieve a most noteworthy feat!

For an Arena run to be included in this season, its end time must have been between February 26 at 10:00 a.m. and April 7 at 9:59:59 a.m.

Dynamic ladder rankings are now also available for the Standard and Wild ladders.

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Fighter jet. Blue. Easy-listening music. For most, seeing these listed side-by-side might prompt an eyebrow raise or a second glance. But for Geoff Garnett, senior sound designer on Overwatch? These concepts comprise the 750+ voice line-strong audio core of the game’s newest hero, Echo.

“We started with some key words and phrases that informed and directed me as I went along,” says Garnett, describing the infancy of Echo’s sound development. “For her, I was told she should feel like a fighter jet; she’s the most advanced tech in Overwatch; she’s an adaptive robot. So, I was looking at her model and saw that she doesn’t really have many servos.”

...

Update on May 6, 2020

• Fixed an issue where burrowed Widow Mines were always revealed before an Armory was built.
• Fixed an issue where an overcharged Shield Battery would only restore 3 shields per point of energy instead of the intended 6.
• Baneling’s anti structure damage will no longer be affected by armor.

Update on April 30, 2020

• Fixed an issue where multiple Shield Batteries could target the same unit.
• A range indicator for the Battery Overcharge ability will now always display when a Nexus is selected.

First and foremost, we hope everyone is staying safe in these unprecedented times. While we’ve been hunkered down and large-scale live events have been temporarily halted, we’ve been very fortunate that the community's content creators have stepped up to provide us with a seemingly endless amount of StarCraft. We're always thankful for your passion and ...

Visions of N’Zoth introduced a variety of new pets, mounts, and items for collectors to hunt down while facing the old god’s twisted visions. We’ve highlighted some of them to point you in the right direction.

A Multitude of Mounts

There are many mounts waiting to be hunted down and added to your stable of available transportation options. Some you’ll come upon with a little luck, while others take time and effort to make your own.

Zone: Uldum

Raise Your Own Mount: Shadowbarb Drone (Quest)

If you’re looking for an opportunity...

In Shadowlands, Azeroth’s heroes journey into the realm of the dead after Sylvanas Windrunner tears open the veil between life and death. As they explore four otherworldly zones—Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, and Revendreth—players will meet the Covenants that rule the afterlife realms in the Shadowlands. Your final destination in the narrative arc is the shadowy realm of Revendreth.

Welcome to Revendreth

You arrive with urgent news for Sire Denathrius, the Master of Revendreth and ruler of the Venthyr. The realm is in a midst of a rebellion caused by the anima drought that’s swept over the Shadowlands. The only thing more meaningful than your survival is your discretion — you’ve walked into a den of secret keepers who are all ears as much as they are all teeth. If you are to deliver this message and save these lands you must play court and trust your instincts, for the Venthyr don’t always mean what they say and your new fick...

Within the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale, distant drums beat in an ancient ritual, calling forth the Blood God, Hakkar to the ancient troll city of Zul’Gurub. Beyond the jungle, ancient emerald dragons rise, the insidious Silithid begin to swarm, and perhaps the most dangerous sport of all gets underway: the Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Extravaganza.

Zul’Gurub

Deep within the jungles of Stranglethorn, an ancient troll city full of untold peril awaits. Do you have what it takes to delve into its mysteries? Assemble a band of hardy explorers and make your way to Zul’Gurub a max-level, 20-player raid instance with 120 new rare and epic items to procure from its verdant tree-lined avenues and lost temples.

Raid Bosses: 13
Level: 60
Location: ...

It’s time for the Outland Inn-vitational! Taking place on April 21, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT, the Outland Invitational will split 20 well-known Hearthstone personalities evenly into two groups—the Feisty Fiends and the Salty Satyrs!

The Outland Inn-vitational will use a new format we’re calling Demon Hunter Duel-fest, where both teams play against each other through 4 rounds of best-of-three matches. Each player will represent one of the ten classes and play as that same class in every match. However, on rounds 2 and 4, one full team will play as the Demon Hunter!

Here is how Demon Hunter Duel-fest scoring works:

• The winner of each best-of-three match will earn points for their team.
• Winning a match ...

To help protect the health and safety of players, staff, and partners, the 2020 Arena World Championship (AWC) Battle for Azeroth season will be held entirely online.

This program was originally planned to culminate in a multi-region LAN tournament this summer. Unfortunately, with this move to online-only play, this kind of international tournament cannot be hosted due to differences in regional server ping.

We are determined, however, to make our online events awesome for everyone. To that end, we will be making format changes to our originally scheduled tournaments to ensure that we get our fix of incredible PvP action while competitive integrity is maintained.

The new AWC Battle for Azeroth season will consist of three major stages.

• The AWC Cups – There will be eight open-registra...

Focus your beams, prime your sticky bombs, and get ready to glide into the Echo Showdown. To celebrate the introduction of the new damage hero, Echo, and to give players a chance to show off their skills with this advanced evolutionary combat robot, we’re hosting a tournament that’s open to everyone! 

Tournament Details 

• Signups begin April 14 and extend until April 17. Matches will be held on April 18 and 19 PDT using the GameBattles tournament platform.  
  • Day one (April 18th) matches will begin in EU at 3:00 AM PDT and NA at 1:00 PM PDT 
  • Day two (April 19th) matches will begin in EU at 3:00 AM PDT and NA at 1:00 PM PDT 
• Participating teams will ALWAYS be required have an Echo in play. Tri-shot your hardest, we want to see what you’ve got! 
• Overwatch League and Contenders players will be eligible to compete, though only two can play on a tea...

Celebrate the arrival of Overwatch’s newest hero, Echo! Now through April 20, earn unique, Echo-themed rewards by watching streams on Twitch.

• WATCH TO EARN – Earn special Echo-themed cosmetics by watching Twitch streams
• FLASH OPS: ECHO SHOWDOWN - Compete for $50,000 in prizing
• ECHOED ORIGINS - Learn more about Echo and her creator, Dr. Mina Liao

WATCH TO EARN

Unlock Echo-themed rewards by watching Twitch channels streaming in the Twitch Overwatch game category. Tune in to any Twitch streamer while they’re playing Overwatch now through April 20 to earn six Echo spra...

You're minding your business beneath a friendly Tower when an enemy Hero attacks. Instead of helping, though, your Tower keeps attacking minions!

“Personally, I’ve never really felt safe under my own towers,” says Kevin Gu, a developer on the Heroes team. “Which is strange, considering there are literally cannons right next to you!”

It's not a good feeling being a friendly structure’s second or third priority when it’s your first. That’s why the second Nexus Anomaly, A Call for Help, is hitting the live servers with changes that make both Towers and Cores more reliable teammates, featuring unique abilities that make them defensive forces to be reckoned with.

Experience Globes, our first Nexus Anomaly, went so well that the team is keeping it in the game permanently; the same is possible for A Call for Help, though it’s also possible that these changes will only last a Season. A full breakdown of the changes may be found ...

At the heart of the Maw lies Torghast, Tower of the Damned, a cursed otherworldly prison where the wickedest souls in the universe are locked away. Highly replayable and inspired by roguelike games, heroes are invited to explore its ever-changing halls and chambers and do battle with the minions of the Jailer, Torghast’s vile ruler. Those who brave its trials can claim legendary treasures and help free the heroic spirits wrongfully trapped within.

The Torghast experience is in a true alpha state. It is not yet feature complete and many design decisions are still being made. Due to our desire to get pointed feedback on class-specific Anima Powers, we are only testing a few classes at this time. When it becomes available to play on the alpha, the following classes will be available for testing: Demon Hunter, Mage, Priest, and Warlock. We will keep you updated on when other classes are introduced.

Torghast is an otherworldly place, ...

It began with a crack. A seeping wound through which the Raven Lord drew beings of the Dark Nexus to serve his nefarious will. Though the Raven Lord was defeated, the crack remained. It widened. Spiderwebbed. A drip became a flow, and the flow became a flood, chaos and hatred spilling across the Nexus, threatening to defile it forever.

Some, like the noble Protoss heroes Tassadar and Fenix, journeyed into the rift, risking their sanity to slow the corruption. Others, drawn by the outpouring of power, sought to harness it. Deathwing soared into the violent heart of the Dark Nexus intent on gorging himself and waging a war of conquest. As with Tassadar and Fenix, contact with the turbulent forces found within transformed the fearsome black dragon forever.

Will the snarling overflow of Dark Nexus energies be stopped, reversed, or turned to Deathw...

Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live and brings a new Dark Nexus II event, new skins and mounts, along with a Tassadar rework and more! Read on for more information.

NOTE: Orange text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.

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Hearthstone Grandmasters is back in action for 2020! Season 1 kicks off globally on Friday, April 17, and will run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through June 7. Not only will the best Hearthstone players in the world be battling it out every weekend live on YouTube Gaming, but you can also catch the new Demon Hunter class in competitive play for the first time! 

Seven new comp...

Following three exciting Masters Tour events in 2019 in Las Vegas, Seoul, and Bucharest, seven players proved to be the best in their respective regions and earned a promotion to Grandmasters.  With the imminent launch of Grandmasters 2020 Season 1, we are excited to introduce the newest Grandmasters competing for a spot at the Hearthstone World Championship this fall.

Americas

Guillermo “Empanizado” Tolosa, Mexico

Ever since joining Team Mexico in the 2017 H...