Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard Entertainment



19 Dec

We wouldn’t normally instruct anyone to “treat” themselves to an avalanche, but if it comes in the form of Overwatch fan art from the new Winter Wonderland event, bring it on! (Also, we’re based in Irvine, California, so we don’t know what an “avalanche” is but they sound pretty exciting.)

Here are some of our favorite pieces of fan art we’ve seen so far:

We’ll start things off with a piece by Twitter user @nununumunu depicting Ice Fisherman Roadhog making friends (?) with some adorable seals….

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The Destroyer has finally descended upon Heroes of the Storm, and the community has been celebrating his arrival with some spicy content.

Here’s some of what you missed while you were laying waste to the Nexus:

Burn Beneath the Shadow of Her Tiny, Adorable Wings

Deathwing’s reveal trailer introduced players to the littlest Aspect of Death, and they have since embraced the adorably terrifying Flying Destroyer Brightwing in all her pint-sized glory. Alongside the Worldbreaker himself, the two make a ...

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17 Dec

GENERAL

  • Added 4 new Console Skin rewards for registering a copy of Warcraft III: Reforged Spoils of War Edition. All of these Console Skins can be used for any race in multiplayer games.
    • Alliance
    • Horde
    • Scourge
    • Sentinels
  • Added 8 Portraits based on the War Chest: BlizzCon 2019 comics for players who purchased any of the War Chest: BlizzCon 2019 bundles.
  • Added a WCS 2019 Champion Portrait for players who purchased any of the War Chest: BlizzCon 2019 bundles.

CO-OP MISSIONS

General

  • Brutal+
    • Lowered the difficulty of Brutal+1 through Brutal+5.
    • Brutal+1 through Brutal+4 is now capped at 3 mutators.
    • All Brutal+ missions are now much more heavily weighted towards having fewer mutators.

Commanders

  • Mengsk
      ...
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Paid Character Transfers are now available for players in WoW Classic who are looking to relocate their characters to a different realm within their region. There are a few things to keep in mind before you take the leap into making a home on a new realm.

  • Each transfer has a ninety-day cooldown.
  • Gold transfer limits specific level ranges are as follows:
    • Level 1-30 can transfer with up to 100 gold
    • Level 31-50 can transfer with up to 500 gold
    • Level 51-60 can transfer with up to 2000 gold
  • Characters cannot transfer from PvE realms to PvP Realms and RP realms cannot transfer to RP-PvP realms.

Ready to make the move? You can find the ...

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Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require scheduled realm restarts to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

Hotfixes


December 20, 2019

Classes

  • Paladin
    • Holy
      • Resolved an issue that caused Divine Favor (PvP Talent) to increase the healing of Flash of Light and Holy Light if removed during their spell casts.

Dungeons and Raids

  • Karazhan
    • Chess Event
      • Players once again are always r...
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16 Dec

It’s not always sunshine, stuffing, and rainbows between the Funtime Pals. It seems Tickle Mephisto has a posable plastic bone to pick with Cuddle Bear Stitches ever since the adorable abomination played a bit too rough during last year’s celebration. Now, the precocious host of last year’s event has settled into slumber and Mephisto has invited you over for another round of games… though he may have a more sinister goal in mind.


Event Dates and Details:

Dust off your dice and round up your friends--the Toys event kicks off at 10:00 am PT on December 16 and will run until the week of March 3, PT.

You’ll embark on the following set of unique quests with the onset of the Toys event, granting awesome 2019 event rewards as you wind your way around the game board for the first time:

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


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13 Dec

When searching for gifts for his family two holiday seasons ago, Morten Skaalvik turned to a celebrated classic: the Ugly Winter Sweater. Skaalvik, a concept artist on the Overwatch team, ended up buying his entire family sweaters based on their favorite TV shows. So when it came time to design Soldier 76’s new Winter Wonderland skin, “Ugly Sweater: 76,” Skaalvik was ready. He’d been training for this moment for years.

“I remember seeing someone from the community changing Soldier 76’s grumpy Halloween spray into a grumpy ugly Christmas sweater,” Skaalvik recalls during our interview. “And it was just such a perfect fit for him. It fits his dad persona so well while still being fun and wholesome. When I got the task to design a winter epic skin for Soldier 76, I knew the stars had aligned, and the time for Ugly Sweater: 76 had finally arrived.”

Over the three years Skaalvik has been an artist on the Overwatch team, he has created many of the game’s beloved skins, i...

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09 Dec

Celebrate your legacy with two new Heritage Armor sets—one for goblins and one for worgen—coming in the release of the Visions of N’Zoth content update.


Players with a maximum-level (120) goblin or worgen who are Exalted with their faction (Bilgewater Cartel or Gilneas respectively) will be able to embark on a new quest line for each race to learn more about their history. Once you complete your quest, you’ll gain a new Heritage Armor transmogrification set unique to your race and be able to show off your pride.

Goblin Heritage Armor
Crafted by the finest madmen and women, this explosive look is the glow up you need. Or, that could be a lit fuse—careful!
Worgen Heritage Armor
...
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06 Dec

We’re excited to announce that after Arlington, the next Masters Tour location will be in Indonesia! Being the first Masters Tour to take place (just) south of the equator, we’re hoping players lucky enough to score an invite to this event will join us in soaking up the South Pacific sun!

As for the Hearthstone tournament, Blizzard Entertainment and AKG Games will host over 300 invited competitors from around the globe on March 20-22, each competing for their share of a $250,000 base prize pool. The qualifying window for Masters Tour Indonesia will run from 12/12-1/26, and as always, you can sign up for Masters Qualifiers two weeks before they start on ...

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03 Dec

The soft snows of Winter Veil are misting over the tavern once again, so get cozy by the hearth and sip some hot apple cider while you join us for festive Hearthstone fun! Exchange seasonal greetings with worthy opponents as you battle under snowy rooftops in Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Then, grab your favorite ornaments for some decorating in Dalaran!

Beginning 10 a.m. PT on December 11, until 10 a.m. PT on December 31, this year’s Winter Veil celebration calls upon you to decorate the magical spires of Dalaran – rewarding your gingerly-bred mayhem with the Winter Veil Treat Card Back!

11_25_HS_Blog_WinterVeil_Inline_TavernBrawl_760x600_JY_v01.jpg


If you’re feeling in the spirit of gift-giving, bolster a friend’s collection (or your own!) with the Winter Veil Wonder Bundle featuring the new Druid Hero, Dame Hazelbark...

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The next Heroes of the Storm patch has arrived! The update brings a new Hero, Deathwing the Destroyer, new Experience Globes, new bundles, new skins, and much more! Dive on in for more information.

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


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27 Nov

As Overwatch players around the world take on Mercy’s Recall Challenge, there’s no time like the present to look back at Dr. Ziegler’s past and explore how this iconic hero became who she is today.

Heroic Inspiration

Years ago, when we were exploring ideas for what would eventually become Overwatch, one of the areas the development team had been focusing on was the concept of a class-based online shooter—an idea that stemmed from an unannounced game that had shuttered, codenamed Titan.

"We had a class meeting, where [lead hero designer of Overwatch] Geoff Goodman said something tha...

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Greetings! I’m Tian, a Senior Data Scientist on the Hearthstone team, and I’m here to talk about some science behind your rating in Hearthstone Battlegrounds!

After your first round of strategic tavern purchases, methodical minion placements, and triples upon triples, you’ll note that you’ve either earned or lost rating points based on your finishing place. After seeing this number change, you may ask yourself: what does this rating actually mean? And how did my rating get decided alongside my opponents?

I’m here to answer those questions - and more! – to help demystify the inner workings of your Battlegrounds rating.

HS-divider.png
What does this rating number mean?

Your rating in Hearthstone Battlegrounds is more than just a number. The value of your rating represents your skill level in Hearthstone Battlegrounds (with a higher valu...

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HELP US DECORATE!

Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes from the Overwatch team!

Since the dawn of Overwatch, the community has flooded the Internet with amazing fan art, entertaining videos, and incredible cosplay. Your talent never ceases to amaze, and we love being surrounded by your creations. With the holidays upon us, we're hoping that you'll be part of our celebration once again.

EXPERIENCE FESTIVITY

For the last three years, we've trimmed our tree with your handmade ornaments, decked the halls with your art, and enjoyed a seemingly endless supply of holiday cards. The community always comes through, and the forecast for this festive season is looking… EPIC!!

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26 Nov

Just in time for the holidays, you can save 50% on Ba...

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The Year of the Dragon may be rapidly flying toward its conclusion, but the dragons themselves have only just begun to descend upon the tavern. Beginning at this year’s BlizzCon, we’ve parted the clouds on the Descent of Dragons set, unearthing three of the five Legendary Galakrond cards that players will receive for free once Descent of Dragons touches down. We’ve also begun to explore some of the other sidequests, shiny sky mechs, and scaly sky serpents that will be available to collect after the expansion launches in a few weeks.

But, of course, BlizzCon was only the beginning, and even more cards have been unleashed across the frozen wastes of Northrend. We’ve gathered some of the high-flying highlights below, and you can always track the newly revealed and upcoming cards ...

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25 Nov

Senior game designer Alex Neyman’s excitement about Experience Globes is obvious in the way he moves his hands. First they’re in the air, outlining shapes as he speaks; then they’re karate-chopping the table to emphasize a point. He’s talking about the massive armies of minions that often materialize in late-game Heroes of the Storm, and how Experience Globes make vaporizing those stacked-up waves more satisfying than ever.

“It used to be a little bit of a chore,” says Neyman. “But now, you’re like, oh! Honestly, psychologically, it feels so good to see all those minions die and all the globes go—”

(He makes a sound effect along the lines of “shwoop shwoop shwoop,” and mimes picking up Experience Globes with his fingers.)

Nine months ago, the Heroes of the Storm development team began experimenting with ways to make gathering experience more intuitive and fun. That exploration culminated in Experience Globes, the first in a series of seasonal gamep...

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Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just hit the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting until the week of December 2, PST. As always, if you encounter any bugs during your PTR play sessions, please stop by the PTR Bug Report forum to let us know about your experiences.


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22 Nov

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


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General

Generic Talents

  • Seasoned Marksman
    • Cooldown reduced from 60 to 30 seconds.
    • Attack Speed bonus duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds.
Developer Comment: Since its removal on many H...
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