Version 3.7.0

Frostburn Studios[ | ]

S2 Games is no longer associated with the active development of Heroes of Newerth and the HoN Team has formed a new company in its place: Frostburn Studios! We will continue to support HoN and look forward to improving the game significantly in the future.
Replaced all S2 Games logos with Frostburn logos
See the Forums and the in-game letter for more information on Frostburn Studios!

New Game Mode[ | ]

Capture the Flag[ | ]

It's finally here! After taking the gold medal in Heroes of Newerth's Sol's Theatre Contest, Capture the Flag (previously known as Greenlands) is making its debut in HoN's Matchmaking.

The HoN design team and SBT have been working hand-in-hand with the map's creators, HyperXewl and Kawaiiiii to test and polish the map ensuring that it meets the community's expectations.

In addition to the rigorous testing, the map received a complete makeover from the Content team and now looks as smooth as it plays.

Capture the Flag map information and tips are shown while loading and queueing for a Capture the Flag game

Here is a list of the rules for Capture the Flag and how it differs from Forests of Caldavar:

To see the Sol's Theatre Competition, head here: http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/theatre

Pick Mode:

Blind Ban

Rules:

At the start of the game there is a time for item purchasing where a player cannot leave the base (20 seconds)
Each team has a flag located in its respective base
- Right-clicking the enemy flag picks it up
- Dying while carrying the enemy flag drops it at your current location
- If on the ground, the flag auto-returns to its base after 10 seconds
- Right-clicking your team's flag instantly returns it to your base

Special states while carrying the flag:
- Grants the other team vision of you at all times (you are revealed as well)
- Portal Key cannot be used
- Instantly teleporting over 2000 units drops the flag
- Incoming damage is amplified and the longer you hold the flag, the more damage you take
- Healing received and Health Regeneration are reduced by 50%

Players may drop the flag using a new ability called Flag Drop
- The default hotkey for Flag Drop is 'i'
- This does not reset the damage multiplier
- Ability has a 20-second cooldown

A flag capture (or cap) occurs when you carry the enemy flag to your base while your flag is in place
Right-clicking your flag pedestal while holding the enemy flag scores the flag capture
- You cannot capture the flag if the enemy has taken your flag
A flag capture earns a point for the capping team and resets the location of the enemy flag back to their base
5 flag captures for one team equals victory

Additional Rules:

Hero or creep kills are worth 0 XP and a minor amount of gold
All players are given a static 660 GPM and 156 experience per minute throughout the game
- All players hit max level at the 25 minute mark
Capturing a flag awards all players on the capping team 350 gold
An indestructible, unselectable tower guards each base; it hits very hard but is slow and non-lethal
Shops are in each base and at the respawn points
Wells are outside of the bases and are usable by both teams, but heroes in the wells take significantly increased damage (+170% damage taken)
There are two hard neutral camps; one each side of the map
A rune spawns every 60 seconds in the center of the map
- Haste rune cannot appear
The courier starts the game flying and is invulnerable, invisible, and gives no vision for your team

New Hero[ | ]

New Hellbourne Intelligence Hero: Parallax the Artificer

The Artificers are an alien race who gestate within asteroids hurtling through space. When the asteroids impact a planet the Artificers emerge and begin to dismantle the world by disrupting it with the dark matter within their Fulcrums.

Parallax the Artificer has cratered on Newerth after destroying Andromeda's home planet of Ambia centuries ago, and the Hellbourne corruption oozing from the Scar senses an opportunity to coalesce with this dark matter and spread beyond Newerth.

Ability 1: Fulcrum Shift

Parallax forces the Fulcrum to move toward a target location dealing magic damage to targets along the way.

Target location to move the Fulcrum to that location, consuming a charge. Enemies hit along its path are dealt (10% Max Mana : 0/65/75/75/85) Magic Damage. Max of 1/1/1/2/2 charges that refresh every 9/8/7/6/5 seconds.

Ability 2: Ionic Dash

Parallax uses the power of the Fulcrum to quickly send himself to its location, dealing magic damage and silencing enemy units along the way.

Activate to dash towards the Fulcrum, dealing 75/95/115/135 Magic Damage and silencing enemies hit along the way for 1/1.5/2/2.5 seconds. Hitting an enemy hero with Ionic Dash will reset the cooldown of the ability.

Ability 3: Dark Mana

The Fulcrum's hunger for destruction rewards Parallax's aggression with extra Max Mana.

Passively grants a charge when damaging enemy heroes with abilities; each charge gives 2/5/8/11 Max Mana.
Enemy heroes within a 225 radius of the Fulcrum will lose mana per second equal to 8 +0.5 per charge.
20% of charges are lost on death, up to a maximum of 5 charges.

Ability 4: Earthshatter

Parallax uses his connection with the Fulcrum to create a powerful field around himself and the Fulcrum, dealing massive magic damage to enemy heroes inside of it.

Activate to create an area tether between Parallax and the Fulcrum.
While active, enemy heroes within the area are dealt Magic Damage per second based on the difference between Parallax's Max Mana and the enemy hero's.
While active, Parallax's Movement Speed is increased by 5/10/15% and enemy heroes within the area are slowed by up to 30%.
Drains 5 % Max Mana per second.

New Parallax Avatar: Thai Warrior

Thai Warrior Parallax is a mobile hub of blessings and celebration for the Thai New Year. Wherever he goes, the party goes with him and he's very happy and excited to spread the cleansing, jasmine-scented waters and protective white powders of these sacred rites. Happy New Year, and may this celebration refresh all good things in your life and bring you blessings for the coming year!

New Parallax Avatar: High Priestess

The High Priestess of Arasunia is the Mother to all Sisters of the Sacred Order, guiding them in the pure ways of Sol and performing the divine rituals that welcome all lost souls into the fold. She carries with her a blessed ossuary containing the crumbled, ashen remains of the first High Priestess, Saint Eliana, who traveled Newerth with a bottomless skin of holy water and consecrated the lands upon which the Chapels of Sol would grow. Now the High Priestess must use the ossuary as a weapon, wielding its holy powers to destroy the Hellbourne and the daemonic corruption that permeates the soil they tread upon.

New lobby music for the Parallax release
Removed 8-bit music from the maps

General[ | ]

NOTE: Please uninstall any active mods as this patch includes massive changes. Mods are likely to break until they are updated.

Multi-Unit Control AI[ | ]

Multi-Unit Control (MUC) heroes like Tundra, Tremble and Ophelia have always required more time and finesse to play at a high level. This has caused a lot of players to move aways from these heroes when they could enjoy them if it did not require as much from the player. The following changes are aimed at reducing the tediousness of playing a MUC hero, but still allows players with excellent micromanagement skills to maximize hero's potential if they want to micromanage.

All heroes and items that would allow the player access to another controllable unit will have the option of automated or manual control
Any unit under automated control will follow the player wherever they go and mimic their commands
If your hero attacks an enemy hero, then your other units will use their active abilities (if they have some) on that hero
You can turn off automation by deselecting the option (new button next to glyph and taunt) or by selecting the unit and manually giving them a command

MMR Compression and Decay System[ | ]

This tweak to our matchmaking system is aimed at top-end players in order to relieve some of their long queue times. To accomplish this we have compressed everyone above 1800 MMR down to 1800 and implemented an MMR decay system to players above 1800. Starting in June the top 100 players on the ladder every month will now get to show off a unique name color to signify their achievement.

While this is just a quick fix to top-end queue times, we are also looking at similar solutions for the opposite end of the MMR range as well as adjusting our matching algorithm for these groups. We will also soon be delving into the creation of a much larger system that will allow for better queue times and a more solid sense of progression for all players.

All players above 1800 MMR have had their MMR adjusted to 1800
Players above 1800 MMR who have not played 5 games in any 10-day period will experience MMR decay at a rate of up to 1% of their rating per day until they are back down to 1800 MMR

MMR Adjustments[ | ]

In an effort to remove negativity before the match has even started, we have removed the visibility of how much MMR a player may gain or lose in the match they are in. This will still be visible with the change in MMR after a match ends.

MMR gain and loss amounts are no longer visible in the hero pick screen

Guide System Rework[ | ]

With massive hero changes incoming and new ways to play arising, we will need our guides to reflect this. We decided to not only update every guide in the game to the current retail patch but also simplify and change how the in-game guides work. With this patch you will see a streamlined guide system that tells you exactly what you need to crush your enemies with some options for both offensive and defensive builds. A big thanks to all the SBT players who submitted their guides for this system!

Introduced new Hero Guide structure
Removed all existing guides for reworked heroes (Players will need to re-create guides for these heroes)
Updated default guides for all heroes

Leaver Strike System[ | ]

The Leaver Strike System is used during matchmaking games to make sure players are not quitting games early.

Strikes are earned when a player disconnects from a game and is terminated (can no longer rejoin) from a matchmaking game. This does not apply if the game is conceded or if a player can normally leave a match with no penalty.
The player can gain several strikes, the first being forgiven. Subsequent strikes will ban the player from matchmaking for an increasingly longer duration. Ranging from 10 minutes to 10 hours depending on how many strikes the player has gotten on their account.
These strikes are region-based and are held by the chatserver. 10 days from the player's first strike, the strike count will be cleared out and they start from 0 strikes again.
- Strike 1: Forgiven
- Strike 2: 30 mins
- Strike 3: 1 hour
- Strike 4: 2 hours
- Strike 5: 4 hours
- Strike 6+: 10 hours

Skillshot Hit Percentages[ | ]

This has been a feature that players have asked for since the beginning of HoN. It can now be a reality, so make sure to brag when you hit every shot! We are open to suggestions for which abilities you would like tracked.

We now track certain skillshots and display your accuracy with them in chat when you hit someone
- Only counts as a hit when you hit a hero
- Chat message is only displayed to the person playing the hero
The following abilities are tracked:
- Devourer's Guttling Hook
- Valkyrie's Javelin of Light
- Gauntlet's Grapple

Smartcasting[ | ]

This option allows casting abilities by pressing the ability button without the following click.

Smartcasting is now available in the options menu.
Self-Cast Modifier will be added in the future.

Tower Aggression Indicators[ | ]

There will now be a much more pronounced effect when a tower attacks your hero, allowing players to know exactly when they are being attacked.

A new "Alert" sound is now played when you have drawn tower aggression
A new red circle on the ground appears when you have drawn tower aggression, showing you the range of the tower

Significant Optimizations[ | ]

Loading into the game should be about 50% faster
Numerous memory optimizations to the client and UI resulting in a reduced memory footprint
Significant improvements to game server performance and stability such that the in game experience should be greatly improved for players
The game should no longer freeze for a split-second when the game switches to a new music track
Darkened the loading screen background to reduce on-screen clutter

Maps[ | ]

Map Editor[ | ]

Added undo/redo support using CTRL+Z and CTRL+Y for all the tools supported by our editor including:

Blocker tool
Deform tool
Foliage tool
Tile Definitions
Paint tool
Water tool
Sound tool
Bot tool
Entity Tool
Cliff Tool

Map Editor Changes:

Fixed a potential for memory corruption and crashing when using the water tool
The water tool now properly updates water, fixing needing to restart the client to see changes made
Reworked the water tool to be easier to use, especially when trying to only modify existing water
Right clicking with the water tool now erases/resets properties for existing water
Fixed a handful of string/translation issues with the water tool
The sound tool now works the first time you try to use it
Changed how the sound tool plays placed sounds which fixes most sounds on a map not playing when they should
Added a visual indicator for the falloff area of sounds
Fixed the clone behavior of the bot metadata tool so that it properly re-selects the cloned nodes
The cliff tool now works the first time you try to use it
Fixed a memory leak in the cliff tool
Fixed some situations in which the cliff tool would delete cliff pieces added by the same operation while trying to add more cliff pieces
Added a checkbox to the system bar to enable/disable drawing the navigation grid
Entities now always properly update/create path blockers as you edit them
Fixed Water/Fog markers not being properly removed if you deleted them while hovering them
Made the entities dialogue wider so it is easier to use
The foliage tool now properly updates size/scale/density changes on all areas of the map

Map Help Tips[ | ]

Maps will now display a tip in the bottom right corner for 20 seconds
- Clicking on the tip will open a help window that will explain mechanics about the current map
The following maps have Help Tips added:
- Forests of Caldavar
- Mid Wars
- Grimm's Crossing
- Capture the Flag
- The Grimm Hunt
- Rift Wars
- Darkwood Vale
- Watchtower

Map Changes[ | ]

Forests of Caldavar

The Forests have been improved in many ways:
- Ground textures updated
- Water effects enhanced
- Foliage cleaned up
- New wooden boat!
- Kongor has donned his birthday suit
- HoNiversary Decorations added: Check the entire map for festive 5th HoNiversary decorations!

Mid Wars

The Snotter Boss is back!

All Maps

HoNiversary Party Creeps

Hero Balance[ | ]

The following heroes have been added to Tournament Rules:
- Kane
- Calamity
- Tarot

The following heroes have been removed from Tournament Rules:

Aluna

Emerald Red is a great asset for Power Throw, but we felt that her other abilities needed to shine with Emerald Red as well. With these changes, Emerald Red will bring more game-changing power to her entire skillset.

Emerald Lightning (Q)
- Mana cost reduced from 100/110/120/130 to 80/95/110/125
- Emerald Red effect: Max potential number of targets affected increased from 1/2/3/4 to 2/4/6/8
  - Stun duration still caps at 5 seconds
- Emerald Red effect: Emerald Lightning debuff duration on enemies increased from 5 seconds to 8 seconds
  - Matches the buff duration on Aluna
Deja Vu (E)
- Mana cost reduced from 100/110/120/130 to 70/80/90/100
- Emerald Red effect: When Aluna returns to her location with the third activation of the skill (if she returns), she will be stealthed for 3 seconds
Emerald Red (R)
- Mana cost reduced from 75 to 50

Arachna

Arachna received some much-needed quality of life improvement to her Webbed Shot, removing the item restrictions and further accentuating her laning strength.

Webbed Shot (Q)
- Cooldown removed for early levels
- No longer considered an Attack Modifier

Armadon

Armadon has always been known for his Spine Burst spam and will be seeing more Spine Burst procs with these changes. Players will also experience reduced mandatory button mashing when they have sufficient mana during mid/late-game.

Spine Burst (W)
- No longer has a Cast Time and is non-interrupting
- Can now be toggled (right-clicked) to cast immediately when off cooldown
Armordillo (R)
- Damage reduction required to trigger an instance of Spine Burst decreased from 250 to 150

Artillery

Artillery was heavily limited by his LRM in many ways. This change is aimed at allowing the hero to be more mobile and use his LRM in more hit-and-run type tactics.

Intelligence growth per level increased from 1.4 to 1.5
LRM (Q)
- Implemented a charge system on his LRM
- Each rocket equals one charge; maximum of 20. Charges are refreshed every 0.5s (even during channelling)
- Mana cost: 10 base mana cost, 4 per rocket fired
- The spell can be channeled until there is no ammo left or until Artillery runs out of mana (cooldown is removed)
- Grants 1% bonus damage for each rocket fired after the first one for a given channel instance
  - It is rewarding to stand still, but you don't waste your spell if you have to move
Homing Missile (R)
- Mana cost decreased from 150/175/200 to 125/150/175

Balphagore

Balphagore is a very strong team-oriented push hero that has fallen off due to a lot of unnecessary micro and Hell on Newerth didn't quite hit the mark later on in the game. These changes are aimed at bringing the power level of Hell on Newerth to a stronger place in the current meta. Micromanagement issues are alleviated with the new Multi-Unit Control AI.

Regurgitate (Q)
- Cone angle for hitting enemies in front of self increased from 100 to 120 degrees
Demonic Pathogen (W)
- Now grants 1 charge to Hell of Newerth every 0.5 seconds for every enemy hero affected
  - If Hell of Newerth is on cooldown, reduces its cooldown by 1 second in the same interval instead
Corpse Conversion (E)
- Cast action time lowered from 300 to 200 ms
Hell on Newerth (R)
- Amount of charges given for nearby enemy spell casts reduced from 0.75 times the percentage of mana spent to 0.5 times the percentage of mana spent
- Now has a static 90 second cooldown at all 3 stages instead of 35/60/120
- Now always slows and spawns Volatile minions regardless of charges (instead of in stages)
- Now deals a base amount of 200/250/300 Magic Damage
- Charges now increase the damage by 1/2/3 per charge up to a maximum of 300/450/600 total Magic Damage (100 charges max)
- While on cooldown, now reduces the cooldown by 1 second for every 50 mana spent by nearby enemy heroes
- Volatile Minion health changed from 350 to 300/450/600

Behemoth

A boost to games in which Behemoth sees a bit more farm. This will see its largest impact in Mid Wars while still being a solid buff for normal mode as well.

Enrage (W)
- Bonus Base Damage increased from 50/100/150/200% to 100/175/275/375%

Bombardier

Bombardier has fallen off significantly due to high skill requirements with subpar rewards. The changes here are aimed at limiting the frustrations of playing the hero and increasing his power level so he can compete with other hard nukers.

Bombardment (W)
- Now has 1/1/1/2 charges
Boom Dust (E)
- Action type changed from Target Entity to Target Position
- Target a 250 radius area to apply Boom Dust to 2 units closest to the center of the area
- Max charges decreased from 4 to 2
  - Total maximum of units affected is still 4
- Charge refresh time increased from 4 seconds to 8 seconds

Calamity

A minor tweak to bring her a little closer to where she should be.

Dragon's Path (W)
- Cooldown increased from 2.5 to 3 seconds

Corrupted Disciple

Some quality of life changes for our most loyal disciple.

Electric Tide (Q)
- Radius increased from 700 to 800
  - Expansion and contraction time remain the same
- Clearvision increased from 700 to 800
Corrupted Conduit (W)
- Cast action time reduced from 400ms to 300ms
- Break range increased from 700 to 800

Deadlift

Deadlift has shown a significant amount of popularity and is hitting most of our marks, however the 0 mana cost nuke on “The Dead Shall Rise” was not enough of a risk for Deadlift and caused too much frustration when playing against it.

Onslaught (W)
- No longer deals a high amount of damage when you kill someone
The Dead Shall Rise (E)
- Health Cost removed, added a Mana Cost of 60 instead

Demented Shaman

Demented Shaman is a top-tier support hero who has fallen off in most of our regions. These quality of life changes are aimed at increasing the effectiveness of his abilities in certain situations. Seriously, this hero should be played more!

Unbreakable (W)
- Cooldown lowered from 45/35/25/15 to 30/25/20/15 seconds
- No longer has an extra frame of delay if he casts it on himself
Storm Cloud (R)
- Radius increased from 600 to 700

Devourer

Players will no longer be forced to put an early point in Cadaver Armor to begin gaining charges.

Cadaver Armor (E)
- One point in this skill is automatically acquired at the start of the game, granting the Strength gain passive effects
  - Skill now has 5 levels

Doctor Repulsor

Another small tweak to Doctor Repulsor that makes him weaker against other ranged heroes, while doing very little to affect his dominance against melee heroes.

Attack Range lowered from 500 to 450

Emerald Warden

We wanted to bring Emerald Warden's traps more to the forefront of the hero. The new trigger sub-ability will also now allow players to exert a little more control over their traps as well.

Hunter's Command (W)
- Magic Damage increased from 60/120/180/240 to 90/155/220/285
Overgrowth (E)
- Overgrowth trap now has the ability to forcefully trigger itself to go off
- Max number of Overgrowth traps increased from 3 to 5

Engineer

Having to leave your lane to set up mines left the player underleveled. Additionally, Engineer was often not around to gain the experience from mine kills. Therefore, changes were made to allow Engineer players a better way of utilizing their mines without spending so much time out of lane.

Spider Mines (E)
- Action type changed from Self Position to Target Position
- Cast range increased from 0 to 450
- Max charges increased from 1/2/2/3 to 1/2/3/4
- Max number of mines on the map reduced from 9 to 6
- Charge refresh time reduced from 25 seconds to 15 seconds
- Increase arming time from 1 second to 1.5 seconds
- Magic Damage increased from 150/200/250/300 to 175/250/325/400
- "Destroy Spider Mine" self-destruct ability on the Mine itself moved from the Q slot to the E slot
  - Consistency with other self-destruct abilities on gadgets

Gladiator

Gladiator brings a unique kit to the game and the excitement of playing with and against him can be felt by everyone. We have systematically buffed this hero patch after patch and we feel this will finally put him where we want him. The new use of Call to Arms will allow Gladiator players to more accurately hit the ability and be more useful in team fights. The early mana pool increase allows Gladiator to be played in a support/roamer role if desired, opening up a wider range of play styles.

Base Intelligence increased from 16 to 18
Intelligence growth per level increased from 1.5 to 2.0
Pitfall (Q)
- Damage changed from 0.15s intervals to frame (0.05s) intervals
  - Same total damage, this was just a consistency change
Call to Arms (R)
- Targeting mechanic changed: can target anywhere within cast range.
  - Chariot still spawns 2000 units behind the targeted position relative to Gladiator. As a result, the Chariot's travel time is unchanged.
- Radius increased from 400 to 450
- Damage from the damage buffer state changed from non-lethal damage to direct HP removal
  - Prevents allied Portal Keys from going on cooldown and cancelling Bottle/Health Potion/Mana Potion/Striders, etc.
- Damage buffer duration increased from 5/6/7 seconds to 10 seconds at all levels
- Cooldown increased from 60/50/40 seconds to 70/60/50 seconds

Gunblade

Gunblade is a carry who gains farm through ganking. A lot of players want the hero to have a better farming tool, but it must be understood that heroes like him and Arachna should not be farming lanes much. Instead, they should be running around trying to kill heroes with their exceptional abilities. These changes are made to make Gunblade a little more reliable and to smooth out his gameplay experience.

Crippling Slugs (Q)
- All 3 shots come out regardless of being stunned/silenced/killed midway
  - Prevents a partially wasted nuke if stunned or silenced mid-nuke
Demonic Shield (W)
- Cast action time and cast time reduced to 0
- Can now be used during other orders without interruption
Lethal Range (E)
- Now grants True Strike when Gunblade attacks a hero within 200 range
- Bonus damage is calculated properly when Gunblade has a Wingbow

Hellbringer

Hellbringer has suffered from many problems in his lifetime. The major problem was that his skillset was not very active or even visually impactful. A "walking ultimate" to a certain degree, Hellbringer was just not that fun and did not have much impact as a support or solo hero. The new skillset he has received will keep him similar to the old Hellbringer but allows him to be more active, impactful and entertaining. Malphas is now an actual threat on the field, establishing Hellbringer as a new powerhouse in Newerth!

Demon Strike (Q)
- Reworked
- Charge based ability: 2 charges max, restores 1 charge every 15 seconds, 100 mana cost
- Vector targeting: click location and drag
- Upon use, summons a demon at the target location that slowly lands on the ground (takes 0.6 seconds) and rapidly charges in the target direction, dealing 100/150/200/250 magic damage and applying fear for 1 second to enemies in a line.
Demonic Wave (W)
- Reworked
- Action type changed from Target Entity to Target Position
- Cast Range increased from 600 to 1250
- Now sends out a slow-moving cone-shaped wave that applies Death Boil to enemy units hit
  - Radius starts out at 110 units and ends at 300 units
Evil Presence (E)
- Reworked
- Summons a passive minion that follows you around and heals you for 15/20/25/30% of all damage dealt to organic enemy units
- Can be activated for 50 mana to send the minion towards a target enemy at max movement speed. Upon reaching the enemy (or after 5 seconds) the minion explodes, slowing enemies in an AoE by 20/30/40/50% and reducing their magic armor by 1/2/3/4 for 5 seconds
  - Cast Range of 1200
- This ability has a 15 second cooldown and the healing passive does not work until the minion is revived at the end of the cooldown
- When Hellbringer dies the minion (if present) will explode and apply the effect as well
Summon Malphas (R)
- Now deals 20/40/60 Magic Damage per second for 3 seconds in addition to the instant 100 Magic Damage upon cast
- Only summons 1 Malphas
  - Malphas now has 900/1350/1800 HP, 50/75/100 Attack Damage, 375/400/425 movement speed, 5/10/15 armor, 15/20/25 HP Regeneration and 17 Magic Armor
- Malphas' Immolate (Q)
  - Passive damage increased from 25 to 25/50/75 Magic Damage per second to enemies within a 225 radius
- Malphas' Burning Sword (W)
  - Reworked
  - Now passively gives 25/50/75 Attack Speed
- Malphas' Fire Bomb (E)
  - Reworked
  - Passively throws a fireball every 3 seconds at the closest enemy hero within a 500 radius, dealing 50/75/100 Magic Damage

Kane

Kane was intended to be one of the most powerful counter-carries we put into the game. The ability to lock down an enemy carry and not die is something he is very good at. However, a lot of his skills were not adequately fulfilling that niche to make him a serious threat to carries. In addition, his passive skill had very little use outside towers or Face Off. These changes are aimed at making him more impactful against carries and a better source of mobile out-of-combat regeneration for his team.

Magic Armor lowered from 6.5 to 4.5
Balance of Power (W)
- Auras now heal 1/2/3/4% of missing HP and Mana
- No longer has a Movement Speed bonus and penalty on Kane for either aura
- Swap duration for auras reduced from 8/6/4/2 seconds to 2 seconds at all levels
Steel Resolve (E)
- Debuff duration increased from 1.5 seconds to 4 seconds and each autoattack from Kane adds 1 additional charge to the debuff
- The target's autoattacks deal 5/10/15/20% less damage per charge on them
  - Kane will deal this amount as Bonus Damage when attacking that target
- Max of 4 charges on any single target
Face Off (R)
- Duration increased from 2.5/3.5/4.5 seconds to 3.5/4.5/5.5 seconds
- Range increased from 450/550/650 to 650
- Duration of the force-attack state resets when Kane and the target meet (i.e. when the arena is formed)

Keeper of the Forest

Jungling is often a desirable play style in our game and we felt that we were not offering much difference in play styles within the jungle category. Keeper of the Forest's skillset had a lot of overlap with Tempest, who is also a solid jungle hero. With Tempest considered top-tier while Keeper of the Forest was losing traction, we decided to make Keeper of the Forest's second skill (W) more unique. With these changes, Keeper of the Forest is now a solid farmer with some good damage output and sustainability. His ability to carry was also increased.

Keeper of the Forest has a completely updated and improved base model.
Nature's Veil (Q)
- Cast Range increased from 500 to 800
- Health Regeneration has been removed.
- Can now be cast on structures.
Animate Forest (W)
- Removed
New ability: Nature's Sentinel (W)
- Target Position, 300 Cast Range
- 20/30/40/50 Mana Cost, 25/20/15/10 second Cooldown
- Now creates a Sentinel at the target location. These are considered to be real trees by Keeper's other abilities.
- The center tree has 600 health and can be attacked. Dies in 2 hits from heroes and towers regardless of damage. 30/45/60/75 Gold bounty
- Has 1/2/3/4 smaller trees around it that can't be targeted and deal 30 Physical Damage each, prioritizing heroes. They do not attack structures.
- Nature's Sentinel is disabled if the active tree has taken damage.
  - Health of the tree is regenerated quickly within 3 seconds of not taking damage.
- Nature's Sentinel's cooldown restarts if the tree is killed
Entmoot (E)
- Now also heals you for 0.3% of max health per charge on each attack Keeper makes against enemy units (max of 1.5% healed per hit with 5 charges)
  - This is not lifesteal, as that heals you based on damage done. This heals you based on your max health only
  - Works when you attack structures

Klanx

Goon squad needed to be toned down a bit in terms of sheer utility. The ability to easily siege towers and was not an intended function of the hero. We also noticed hitbox issues with flight that was making skill shots slightly harder to hit.

HAWK (W)
- Lowered flight height so it is easier to land skill shots against him
Goon Squad (R)
- No longer deals damage to structures

Maliken

A minor ability change for Maliken that will give him more control over his Sword Throw.

Sword Throw (Q)
- Changing Sword of the Damned (W) mode while the sword is in mid-flight changes the sword and all effects dynamically

Master of Arms

Master of Arms is a very fun and effective hero and a lot of you may wonder why we are changing him at all. A lot of his abilities were mismatched to his roles. If he wanted to carry he needed to use the Repeater but the Pulse Cannon's Master's Call? His Pulse Cannon's Charged Shot was massively effective while his Repeater's Blast Shot was useless in the vast majority of scenarios. We decided to spice the hero up a bit and make his Pulse Cannon form a solid choice for early game and his Repeater all about carrying. Two solid play styles of long range harass or close range damage form the play style now. Everything is in the right place and the hero is a ton of fun now!

Strength decreased from 17 to 15
Strength per level decreased from 1.8 to 1.5
Agility per level decreased from 2.6 to 2.5
Intelligence increased from 18 to 20
Intelligence per level increased from 2 to 2.4
Pulse Cannon mode renamed to Bulldozer mode
Charged Shot (Q)
- Cast Range increased from 500 to 800
- Mana cost rescaled from 85/95/105/115 to 100
- Cooldown decreased from 12 to 10 seconds
- Stun duration decreased from 1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8 seconds to 1/1.2/1.4/1.6 seconds
- Damage decreased from 75/125/175/225 to 50/100/150/200
Bulldozer (E)
- Adds 75/75/100/125/150 Attack range and 0/10/20/30/40 Attack damage, but reduces Attack Speed by 20%
Master's Call (R)
- Now grants a 250/350/450 post-mitigation Damage Shield for 10 seconds
Repeater mode renamed to Cheetah mode
Blast Shot (Q)
- Reworked
- Cast Range of 550
- Mana Cost of 80
- Fires a projectile that deals 100/150/200/250 Magic Damage and immobilizes the target for 1.5/2/2.5/3 seconds on impact
Cheetah (E)
- Reduces Attack Damage by 20% only against heroes and increases Attack Speed by 0/100/200/300/400
  - Can shoot 12 bullets before needing to reload
  - Reloading takes 4 seconds
Master's Call renamed to Adrenaline Kryo Enhancer
Adrenaline Kryo Enhancer (R)
- Now grants 75/125/175 Movement Speed, 50/75/100 Cast Speed and 20/40/60 Damage for 5 seconds

Monkey King

Monkey King has seen a fair share of the nerf bat because of how hard and frustrating it was to play against him. We took it a bit too far on increasing his overall mana consumption. This did not affect the frustration of playing against the hero all that much. Therefore, the mana cost of Vault was reduced.

Heavenly Vault (W)
- Mana cost reduced to 120 at all levels from 120/130/140/150

Moraxus

These changes are aimed at increasing Moraxus' effectiveness with the challenging timing issues he faces and rewards him more for successful execution. The threat of Arcane Shield is real and it makes playing against Moraxus more dangerous than ever.

Arcane Shield (W)
- Duration of the spellblock state increased from 2 seconds to 2.5 seconds
- Duration of the boost increased from 5 to 6 seconds
- Now grants 40/60/80/100% Slow Resistance on the boost
- Bonus Attack Damage on the boost increased from 20/40/60/80 to 60/80/100/120
- Bonus Movement Speed on the boost increased from 70/110/150/190 to 200
More Axes (E)
- Axes now replenish every 5 seconds, down from 8/7/6/5
- If someone is hit with 4 axes without the debuff falling off, they are immobilized for 1.5 seconds

Myrmidon

Magic Carp has always been an ability that had little purpose on its own and felt extremely weak at impact. The only solid choice in using it was to proc Null Stones. These changes are aimed at giving Myrmidon more teamfight utility and increasing his durability.

Magic Carp (W)
- Now targets an area (300 radius) instead of a unit
- Spawns a Magic Carp for each enemy hero in the target area
  - No longer works on creeps as a result
Forced Evolution (R)
- Forced Evolution state duration increased from 15 to 20 seconds
- Now gains 5/10/15 Magic Armor
- Max Health gained increased from 200/300/400 to 200/400/600

Night Hound

Night Hound now has more choices in leveling and a solid niche as a potential suicide hero. He also becomes the first hero that can level Invisibility at levels 1/3/5!

Invisibility (R)
- Gains 1 attack, skill cast or item activation before being revealed
  - Can still be revealed through eye, dust, and wards
- This charge only refreshes after he attacks/uses a skill or an item again
- Can be leveled at level 1/3/5
- No longer grants bonus Agility

Nomad

Nomad receives quality of life changes that allow him to get more consistent damage opportunities.

True Strike/ Mirage Strike (W)
- True Strike now sets Nomad's Movement Speed to 600 until he hits the target
- Mirage Strike now sets the illusion's Movement Speed to 600 until it hits the target

Plague Rider

Plague Rider now has stronger suicide options to keep him relevant.

Extinguish (E)
- Cooldown reduced from 55/50/45/40 seconds to 50/45/40/35 seconds

Pollywog Priest

These changes are simple and revert Pollywog Priest back to the old days when he could consistently ward trap and harass with his Electric Jolt.

Electric Jolt (Q)
- No longer deals damage in a 500 radius around the target. Instead, creates a large cone that starts at Pollywog and travels 1210 units away
  - This is how Pollywog Priest used to function in the past
Voodoo Wards (R)
- Bound radius increased from 10 to 16
  - Target now has a slightly harder time escaping a ward trap

Riptide

Riptide has always suffered from being a very limited hero with not too many options. This rework is meant to give the hero more options in the ganking territory and provide a real way to play outside of the middle lane. The new Eye of the Storm will accomplish what the old Eye of the Storm was trying to: make Riptide a constant threat on the map.

Check the Content section for information on the completely redesigned base model for Riptid
Undertow (W)
- Cooldown decreased from 45/40/35/30 to 25/20/15/10 seconds
- Damage rescaled to 50/100/150/200 to all enemy units (from 100/125/150/175 to heroes and 150/200/250/300 to units)
- Puddles now only stay for 3 seconds (down from 20)
- Now applies a 30% slow for 3 seconds in a 250 radius upon reaching the end
In My Element (E)
- Linger time increased from 1 to 1.5 seconds
- Now has an additional activation on top of the passive effects while in water
- 20 mana cost, 45 second cooldown
- Upon activation, creates a 600 radius permanent puddle of water
  - Only 1 of these puddles can be active at a time
Eye of the Storm (R)
- Reworked
- Mana Cost increased from 50 to 150
- Cooldown decreased from 120 to 80 seconds
- Now a 20 second channel
- Upon cast Riptide becomes a whirlpool of water charging in the target direction
- Riptide gains speed slowly, up to a maximum speed of 600 over 5 seconds
  - Can travel over any obstacle, tree, or cliff while charging
- Hitting the (R) button again while charging will change the direction of the charge slowly
  - Channeling is manually cancelled if you right-click the ground to move
- Silences and stuns will not interrupt this channel while moving
- Upon contact with an enemy hero or right-clicking, the whirlpool explodes in a 400 radius area, stunning enemies for 1-second and pushing them back
- Enemies hit take up to 200/300/400 Magic Damage based on how long you have been channeling
- Enemies hit have a 100% tapering Movement Speed Slow applied to them for 5 seconds and are considered in water for this duration
  - Everything-walking lingers for 1 second

Sand Wraith

Small quality of life change for his weak slow from Desert's Curse.

Desert's Curse (Q)
- Movement Speed slow increased from 8/12/16/20% to 12/16/20/24%

Soulstealer

Soulstealer has been a staple hero for a long time, but he has been limited in other modes (e.g. Mid Wars and Casual Mode) because of his soul mechanic. We want to allow Soulstealer to have a less frustrating farm mechanic and a better way of gaining souls in all modes! Mid Wars Soulstealer, here I come!

Soulsteal (W)
- Hero kills grant 5 souls to Soulstealer

Swiftblade

Swiftblade is receiving another small tweak to make him play a slightly tighter game to achieve what he was before.

Swift Slashes (R)
- Range decreased from 450 to 400
- Radius for target checks decreased from 450 to 400

Tundra

Tundra has always been a strong hero. However, the changing metagame and the tedium of playing the hero created a high demand for changes. These tweaks are aimed at giving more options to Tundra's minions and making his Piercing Shards ability retain its power during mid/late-game.

Piercing Shards (Q)
- Total Mixed Damage increased from 180/240/300/360 to 190/260/330/400
Call of Winter (W)
- Both Shiver and Coeurl now get a new ability: Patrol
- Upon use, orders the unit to patrol (move back and forth) between the current and the target position
  - Canceled upon issuing any command to them
- Coeurl (dog) will attack any enemies he encounters along the patrolling line (this cancels patrolling)
- Can be used on an allied unit to follow and assist it (attack the targets it attacks, not attacking at all otherwise)

Valkyrie

Valkyrie is a classic hero we wanted to reward for hitting arguably one of the hardest skill shots in the game. With this change she can be more active and more of an unseen threat.

Javelin of Light (W)
- Cooldown reduced from 25 seconds to 20 seconds
- Range increased from 3000 to 7000
- If the Javelin travels farther than 2000/1750/1500/1250 units (distance travelled required to apply a 5-second stun) and hits someone, then up to 100/200/300/400 bonus Magic Damage is dealt
  - Bonus damage scales linearly up to 6000 units travelled
  - Any distance past this will apply the maximum bonus damage
Prism (R)
- Now has clearer visuals to distinguish fade time from full invisibility

Wildsoul

Wildsoul has been at the bottom of the barrel for well over a year now. With the speed of the game and the high damage HoN brings, it took too long and was too hard to actually get to a point where Wildsoul could carry. We also noticed that it wasn't the most fun thing in the world playing against a Wildsoul's Booboo that was bashing down your towers for 250-damage a swing or running down your supports with the damage from Mock of Brilliance. With this rework Wildsoul will become the powerhouse carry he once was while not being as frustrating to play against.

Summon Booboo (Q)
- Cooldown changed from 120 seconds to 30 seconds, but the cooldown only starts after Booboo dies
- While Booboo is alive, can use the ability again to Return Booboo to your side if he hasn't taken hero damage lately
Wild (W)
- Cooldown decreased from 30 to 20 seconds
- Mana Cost increased from 50 to 50/60/70/80
- Upon use, grants Wildsoul and Booboo 10/15/20/25 Attack Speed and 4/6/8/10% Movement Speed for 45 seconds
  - For the first ten seconds, this effect is doubled
Natural Attunement (E)
- Reworked
- Previous bonuses removed
- Now grants 2/3/4/5 HP Regeneration and 0.5/1/1.5/2 Mana Regeneration to Wildsoul and 10/15/20/25% Lifesteal to Booboo
  - Also applies the lifesteal to any other units you own, such as Puzzlebox summons
Bear Form (R)
- Reworked
- Now grants a copy of all of Booboo's abilities to Wildsoul while in Bear form
  - This depends on how much you have leveled Summon Booboo
  - This replaces Wild Soul's Wild (W) and Natural Attunement (E) with Booboo's Swipe (W) and Alpha Male (E)
  - Booboo's Frenzy (R) is added passively
  - Cooldowns are saved between switching forms
- While Bear Form is active, Wildsoul and Booboo will now share all incoming damage (40% of all damage taken is instead taken by the other)
- Bear form no longer grants any health. Instead, grants 5/10/15 Armor, all bonuses of Natural Attunement (Regenerations and Lifesteal), and still changes you into a Melee hero.
  - Essentially, this ability now gives you 30/40/50 seconds of Bear Form that you can use up as you deem necessary. You must effectively spend at least half of the time in human form.
- Cast time completely removed (no longer interrupts walking)
- Activation Mana Cost increased from 25 to 50
  - Mana Cost to deactivate decreased from 25 to 0
- This ability is now charge based and has 30/40/50 max charges
  - When you learn this ability you gain 30 charges
  - Upon leveling this ability up you gain 10 charges immediately
- While Bear Form is active you consume 1 charge per second
- While Bear Form is not active you regain 1 charge per second
  - Can turn back and forth freely with a 1-second cooldown
- Upon reaching 0 charges Bear Form deactivates
- Requires at least 5 charges to activate
- No longer disjoints upon use

Booboo
- Health decreased from 1400/1800/2300/2700 to 1400/1600/1800/2000
- Damage increased from 28-38 to 35-40
- Booboo can no longer deal any damage to heroes or structures when he is out of range (too far from Wildsoul)
- Booboo now has a visual indicator for when he's too far from Wildsoul
- HP Regeneration increased from 2 to 5
- Armor from 3/4/5/6 to a static 5
- Movement speed from 320/320/330/340 to a static 330
- Attack cooldown from 1750/1650/1550/1450 to a static 1500
  - Above changes are meant to remove any hidden bonuses on the bear and put an accent on leveling the skill to gain extra abilities on Booboo.

Booboo's Abilities
- Level 1
  - Return (Q)
    - 5 second cooldown
    - On use Teleports Booboo to Wildsoul's position
    - Goes on a 3-second cooldown when any player-controlled unit hits Booboo
  - Alpha Male (E)
    - Reworked
    - Grants 50% extra attack damage vs. creeps
- Level 2
  - Swipe (W)
  - Reworked
    - 6-second cooldown
    - Deals 150 Physical damage in a 300 radius and applies a 75% slow for 1 second
    - This ability is used automatically on the 3rd attack when off cooldown.
- Level 3
  - Frenzy (R)
  - Reworked
    - Gives 2 attack damage for 15 seconds every time Booboo takes damage
    - Max of 40 damage (20 charges)
    - Works from transferred damage
- Level 4
  - Boosts all the other abilities
    - Alpha Male (E) gains an extra 25% attack damage bonus vs. heroes
    - Swipe (W) now also deals damage to structures and gains 50 extra range
    - Frenzy (R) now passively gives 5 normal and magic armor
      - Wildsoul gains this 5 extra normal and magic armor as well when in bear form (for a total of 10/15/20 +5)

Zephyr

Zephyr is a strong hero who just doesn't fit in the current metagame. However, this change is aimed at allowing players the option of jungling at level 1.

Cyclones (W)
- Consuming a cyclone no longer interrupts your attack animation
Wind Shield (E)
- Now passively blocks 15 damage from creeps and neutrals

Item Balance[ | ]

New Item: Merrick's Bounty

A new item to the game that allows supports and suicides the chance to catch up, even while getting dominated in the laning phase. We will be watching this item closely, but the days of supports having almost no income are over!

Cost: 250 gold
Available in Supplies and Outpost shops
Buying or picking up the item starts a 30-second cooldown
While off cooldown the item gains a charge every 10 seconds
When you kill an enemy non-hero unit all of the charges are instantly consumed, giving you 10 gold per charge and starting a 30-second cooldown
You cannot gain charges while dead
Max of 120 charges
Each time a charge is added, a sound plays for the player who owns the item

Blessed Orb

This was removed from the Outpost to make room for Merrick's Bounty. If we left in the Blessed Orb you would have to scroll down to purchase it, and no one wants to scroll at the Outpost!

Removed from Outpost

Blood Chalice

Now rewards players with a potential boost of mana when any nearby enemy hero dies, even if Blood Chalice was not used. This helps Chalice remain a strong item pickup throughout the game.

Radius for health refund increased from 700 to 1000
Now gains 1 charge when an enemy hero within 1000 range of you dies
- Cannot gain a charge while Blood Chalice is on cooldown
On use, will not remove health if you have a charge on the item
- Removes the charge on use

Doom Bringer

Players will no longer be able to exploit the system and use neutrals to drop Doom Bringers for other players. Doom Bringer has also received a fun change: it increases in power when you get kills!

Only drops when a player scores a kill against them
Every hero kill made with the Doom Bringer grants a bonus 10 Attack Damage on the Doom Bringer
- This bonus Attack Damage remains on the item even if dropped
- Max of 25 charges

Lex Talionis

Lex Talionis having 0 mana cost was being abused on the courier and this will fix that abuse. Self-buff no longer stacking was removed to fix Parasite getting the buff twice.

Self buff no longer stacks with enemy debuff if transferred
Mana Cost increased from 0 to 5

Null Stone

Null Stone was simply too cheap and had to cost more.

Item cost increased from 150 to 300
Removing a Null Stone buff from an enemy now grants kill assist credit

Post Haste

Post Haste was a farming tool that was not being used as much as it could be due to pricing.

Recipe reduced from 1900 to 1600

Power Supply

Power Supply is now a more cost-effective tool.

Cost reduced from 240 gold to 225 gold

Veiled Rot

Veiled Rot was causing players to feel under the constant threat of ganks that they could not play around. With the addition of stock, players can play around the timings much easier.

Can now be purchased from the Observatory (suggested by community member Katieeee)
Now starts the game with 3 stock in the shop
Gains 1 stock every 3 minutes
Max of 5 stock

Community[ | ]

HoNiversary[ | ]

May 12th of this year marks a huge moment in Heroes of Newerth history as we observe HoN's 5th year as a major online multiplayer game. To commemorate this occasion, this HoNiversary's celebrations include sales in Merrick's store, engaging community events, and entertaining in-game changes to some of HoN's favorite maps and units. In addition to that, there will be special contests and content for the entire community to participate in and enjoy. Join us in this wonderful HoNiversary celebration!
To see all of the activities going on during HoNiversary, head here: http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/honiversary

8-Bit Avatars[ | ]

Heroes of Newerth's 8-Bit Collection is about more than reminiscing about some of your earliest gaming conquests; it's about laying the foundation for new ones. That's why we're taking 25% of all revenue generated from the 8-Bit set and using it to help fund Heroes of Newerth's upcoming eSports event, DreamHack Summer 2015. In addition to contributing to HoN eSports, when you collect 8-Bit avatars you will be eligible for exclusive 8-Bit perks.

Currently available 8-Bit Avatars: Big Boss Bubbles, LightGunblade, Paku Devourer, Game Master Puppet Master
8-Bit Avatars coming this patch: Pixelkeeper, DDRhapsody

Perks: For owning 2/4/6/8 8-Bit Avatars, you can claim the 8-Bit Ward/Courier/Taunt/Announcer for FREE.
To take part in the 8-Bit experience and track your journey across the map of Arcadia, head here:

http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/8bit

A.R.M.S. Collection[ | ]

The futuristic A.R.M.S Collection has been available exclusively in Plinko since March 10th. Similar to the 8-Bit Avatars, 25% of all revenue generated from Plinko will be used to help fund Heroes of Newerth's upcoming eSports event, DreamHack Summer 2015.

Currently Available A.R.M.S. Avatars: Invader Kane, Savior Hammerstorm, Savior Rally, Savior Pebbles, Invader Ravenor, Savior Legionnaire, Savior Solstice, Invader Dampeer
New A.R.M.S. Avatars available in the DreamHack Chest in Plinko: Savior Emerald Warden

Perks: Collect all 10 A.R.M.S. Avatars and you can claim the 11th, Gold Collection A.R.M.S. avatar for FREE.
For more information about the A.R.M.S. Collection, head here: http://hontour.com/dreamhack/

New Content[ | ]

HoNiversary[ | ]

New Limited Edition Shadowblade Avatar: Dominion

The glorious regions of Newerth have combined forces for HoNiversary into one unstoppable warrior, capable of shifting combat tactics to suit any environment and enemy. This harmonious melding of regional fighting styles and cultures is a shining example for all of us—especially over chat.

New Limited Edition Oogie Avatar: Boogie Oogie

Boogie Oogie is a rising star on the streets. Coming from nothing and working hard to make a name for himself as one of the greatest break dancers around, he is close to reaching that dream. Watch this B-boy drop, float and suicide his way to victory, but don't get in his way otherwise he'll drop the bass right on top of you.

New Gold Edition Taunt: R.I.Pepperoni

Send your opponents to a saucy grave with this tasty taunt!

New Holiday Edition Name Color: HoNiversary Glowing Gold

Add some lustre to your HoN life with the top-tier Glowing Gold Name Color!

New Holiday Edition Ward: HoNiversary Ward

Put your celebratory spirit on full display with this 5-Year HoNiversary ward!

The following heroes and avatars have been imported from the China build! These vastly improved models replace the current versions.

Hero: Midas
- Avatar: Santa Midas Avatar
Hero: Jeraziah
- Avatar: Dark Jeraziah
Hero: Valkyrie
Hero: Succubus
Hero: Legionnaire
Avatar: Scorpio Slither
Avatar: Hermes Scout

The War Effort[ | ]

New War Effort Announcer Pack: Merrick

By far the best item in the shop! Cash in on wholesale domination with Merrick himself announcing your game.

8-Bit[ | ]

New 8-Bit Gravekeeper Avatar: Pixelkeeper

What happens to all the minions, creeps, and baddies who sacrifice themselves so the heroes of Arcadia can level-up? Their scattered bits and pieces are lovingly collected and restored by the Pixelkeeper, who believes there is a legendary warrior within every minor enemy and all they need is a chance to prove their skills are equal to their ambitions. Maybe it will happen this time...Okay, let's try again...

New 8-Bit Rhapsody Avatar: DDRhapsody

DDRhapsody is the reigning dance champion of Arcadia, and as soon as she saw the carnage and chaos of Newerth she immediately started a campaign to replace all combat with dance battles. She was beating Gauntlet soundly when he blasted her off the platform with a catastrophic fist, and now she's going to freestyle across the battlefield and dance on the enemy's graves. Perfect!!

DDRhapsody has a unique spawn sound the first time she enters the map. Each time she respawns a sound will play. Owning the Staff of The Master grants you a new ability 4 song.

A.R.M.S.[ | ]

New A.R.M.S. Predator Avatar: Savior Predator

The Predators were suspicious of the shiny, noisy Advanced Robotic Mobile Suits and what benefit they might serve when bone claws, spikes, and a stone hide had worked so well against man, and now daemon. Then the Engineers showed them what a captured Hellbourne Invader suit was capable of -* slicing through tooth, claw, and stone with ease -* and the Predators knew they would have to do what they've always done: adapt, evolve, and kill everything in front of them.

General[ | ]

New Base Riptide Model

Riptide's base has been changed from a lumbering elemental creature of the deep to a beautiful merwoman with a monstrous secret.

New Riptide lore: There are few sailors of the Hollow Sea brave or non-superstitious enough to whisper of The Maw, the deepest oceanic trench upon Newerth's scarred landscape. Those who can muster the courage to mention it speak only myth and rumor, for any vessel unlucky enough to actually gaze into the churning abyss is pulled to its black depths forever...or until The Maw decides to regurgitate them, the living drowned, twisted and deformed by the crushing pressure and insidious consciousness of the void.

The creature known as Riptide was the finest captain of the Legion's Armada, and any who questioned her ability due to gender would find it hard to continue their insults with a slit throat. Her ship, The Mermaid's Wrath, was sailing upon calm waters when the sea began to swirl and churn. The Maw was hungry. The Mermaid's Wrath and her entire crew were lost to the whirlpool, and as soon as the top castle disappeared the waters returned to serenity. But below the surface, these fine sailors and their captain were just beginning the endless torture of The Maw. Their lungs were filled with its icy waters, which had a terrible, undeniable consciousness, and their bodies were broken, battered, and reformed in the undertow. When the Second Corruption occurred and all of Newerth shook, The Maw released Riptide to serve as a protector of the deep, imbued with additional strength whenever she feels the cold comfort of water, and to deliver the most skilled warriors of Newerth back to the abyss. If the shape-shifting Riptide is any indication of what will become of them, it is best for everyone to stay out of the river.

New POGs Avatar: The Dark Lady