Sunday, October 28, 2012

Ozgrot's Abilities

Get da WAAAGH goin'! Ozgrot is a magical ...

Ozgrot's Abilities:

	Brain Bursta – Deals random damage.
	Steal Yer Thunder – Random damage, and increases your damage.
	None For Yer – Blocks healing.
	Gork's Bellow – Random damage over time.
	Fist of Gork – Random area damage.

Passive:

	Power of da Waaagh! – When Ozgrot hits a target, he has a 25% chance to immediately hit them again for 50% of the damage done.
	Prolonged – Passive: Your abilities last longer per other Greenskin character in your group.

Battle Strategy

Most of Ozgrot's abilities deal random amount of damage. He can be enormously effective with a little luck, as long as you can accept the risk. No one ever accused him of being stable!
Keep the buff effect from Steal Yer Thunder active as much as possible. Opening the fight with this ability will give Ozgrot an immediate advantage; just be sure to maintain it.
As a ground-targeted effect, Ozgrot can place the Fists of Gork anywhere. This allows him to use it for area denial just as much as for damage - for example, dropping it on a flag will force enemies to either stay away from the flag, or accept taking heavy damage from the falling Fists.

Erratic, brutal, and indisputably a bit mad, this Savage Orc Shaman is a powerhouse of WAAAGH! magic.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Upcoming Hero: Ozgrot

"We'z Orcs and we'z da best. Dat's all yew gotta know." - Ozgrot will join Wrath of Heroes next week. Take a first look at the new Greenskin Hero.

Background:

The greenskins that populate the Badlands are known to the world and their (arguably) more advanced kin as Savage Orcs. These brutes eschew metal weapons and armor in favor of raw force. So unshakable is their belief in the Gork (or Mork) given power of warpaint that enemy weapons have been known to simply bounce off of a Savage Orc's paint-smeared hide. It is a belief Ozgrot, affectionately known as 'da Big Booma,' uses to his advantage.

The erstwhile Shaman of the Blue Face tribe, Ozgrot rose to power following the accidental boiling of the tribe's previous Shaman. According to the Savage Orc, the former Blue Face Shaman jumped into a vat of liquid somewhere in the Badlands. By the time Ozgrot realized that the 'water' was dangerously hot and tried to haul him out, the Shaman had already boiled alive.

In an effort to preserve the Shaman's knowledge (and his own skin), Ozgrot took his skull back to camp and declared himself the new Shaman. Ozgrot's tale is somewhat outrageous and full of more holes than a Shaman's brain, but his ability to harness and direct da Great Green cannot be denied.

"Gork says BOOOOOOOM!" – Ozgrot da Big Booma

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

What's New in Wrath of Heroes?

Any cemetery like the Garden of Morr with all its fresh bodies always attracts Vampires looking for new minions. Two new Vampire Counts Heroes arrived today: Bonechewer the Ghoul and Wilhelm the Zombie. Check out the terror they will bring to the battles! As usual, they will be available for Gems only in the first week.

At the same time four new Free Heroes came to the fights: Conrad the Warrior Priest, Drulg the Ogre, Korith the Shadow Warrior, and Zathis the Assassin. Give them a try!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Wilhelm's Abilities

Wilhelm is about to arrive! Get him and Bonechewer before they vanish back into the shadows to unleash the unnatural horrors!

Wilhelm's Abilities:

	Clumpsy Swipe – Deals damage.
	Rotting Bite – Stacking damage over time.
	Gouging Grasp – Damage and snare.
	Putrefying Gaze – Deals damage from a distance.
	Breath of Nehek – Restores hitpoints over time for you and other allied zombies and ghouls.

Passive:

	Shambling Dead – Passive: Wilhelm moves more slowly than most Heroes, and cannot be snared, rooted, staggered, knocked back, knocked down or pulled.
	Toughened – Passive: Your armor is increased per other Vampire character in your group.

Battle Strategy for Bonechewer and Wilhelm:

Wilhelm moves more slowly than Heroes, but he's completely unstoppable. After all, he's already dead - what could you possibly do that would faze him? The foul magic that animates him also binds his corpse together tightly, giving him more hit points than most other Heroes.
Years of cannibalism and desecration have left Bonechewer befouled in body and soul. His very touch can cause additional damage every time he hits an enemy, making him a deceptively deadly enemy.
The unnatural ties that bind Wilhelm and Bonechewer to their Vampire Count masters also make them very effective when they're working together, allowing some of their abilities to also affect each other when they're both together on the same team.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Bonechewer's Abilities

Bonechewer is about to arrive! Get him and Wilhelm before they vanish back into the shadows to unleash the unnatural horrors!

Bonechewer's Abilities:

	Rend and Tear – Rapid damage.
	Befouled Rending – Damage, and always triggers Befouled Claws.
	Ravenous Hunger – Damages the target and heals you.
	Defiling Foulness – Damages, and blocks heals.
	Frenzied Swarm – Sprint and additional damage for you and nearby allied zombies and ghouls.

Passive:

	Befouled Claws – Passive: Bonechewer's hits have a 20% chance to cause additional damage.
	Empowered – Passive: Your damage is increased per Vampire character in your group.

Upcoming Hero: Wilhelm

"Grgrrmft." - Wilhelm will join Wrath of Heroes next week. Take a first look at the new Vampire Counts Zombie.

Background:

The Vampire Counts' strength lies with their ability to replenish their numbers after every battle. Even if their opponents can cut down two enemies for every one they lose, they often find themselves fighting their own dead in the next confrontation.

Wilhelm had been a peasant living in Talabecland when Mannfred von Carstein led his attack on Altdorf. The undead army had appeared out of nowhere, and he had fled into the woods, hoping to evade them. He watched as his village burned and hid in a ditch as the undead forces raced past him in the night, trying to close his ears to the cries of agony he heard echoing from the village.

When dawn came, he carefully stood and gazed at the horror that his village had suffered. As he wandered through the ruins of his life, he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eyes. He looked up to see a group of his former villagers standing nearby. His joy at seeing them quickly turned to fear as the head of the closest one rolled off while the body shambled towards him. His cries of fear were cut short as the mob encircled him.

"You can't stop a zombie, son. Cut it to pieces, and it'll still come for you." – Empire Peasant

Upcoming Hero: Bonechewer

"Bonechewer is hungry for flesh!" - Bonechewer will join Wrath of Heroes next week. Take a first look at the new Vampire Counts Ghoul.

Background:

Crypt Ghouls are horrifying sights for any who find themselves facing the Vampire Counts. They are hunched creatures with long, filth-encrusted claws, and they spread disease every time they are seen. Even a scratch is enough to confer a terrible illness that will usually result in a slow, painful death, though most that are caught are usually eaten first.

Bonechewer has become something of a legend in the lands of Sylvania. Though he is bound to the service of a Vampire, his lord lets him roam the countryside to spread fear and filth through the lands. He has taken to this task with great glee, and numerous villages have awoken to find a house smashed open and its inhabitants devoured in the middle of the night.

However, he earned the name 'the Foul' when one village woke to find that their elder's door had been smashed in. Fearing the worst, they entered, only to find the rooms empty but undisturbed. They searched high and low, eventually finding the mutilated corpse of the elder jammed in the well, befouling the village's water supply. The village was quickly abandoned as the villagers fled.

"The people everywhere scream and hide, but Bonechewer can find them." - Bonechewer the Foul

What's New in Wrath of Heroes?

Rydion has arrived! This wise and accomplished High Elf Archmage is a master of skillfully-balanced High Magic.

Rydion's Abilities:

	Radiant Lance – Deals damage.
	Fury of Asuryan – Deals greater damage.
	Searing Touch – Damage and snare.
	Courage of Aenarion – Increases Balanced Magic's effectiveness.
	Drain Magic – Damages the target, and increases your damage.

Passive:

	Balanced Magic – All of Rydion's attacks also cause healing around the target equal to the damage done, divided amongst allwounded allies.
	Murderer – You deal more damage to Dwarfs.

Battle Strategy:

Rydion's Balanced Magic effect causes healing around his target. If he wants to take advantage of the healing himself, he needs to close in with the enemy - assess the situation before taking the risk!
When trying to keep an enemy at a distance, Searing Touch is very effective, but make sure to keep moving away from them while channeling it. There's no need to stand still while channeling, so stay mobile.
The Courage of Aenarion will greatly increase the effect of Rydion's Balanced Magic, but only for a few moments. To get the most out of it, make sure to use it just before your bigger attacks - don't spend that valuable time just casting Radiant Lances.

New Scenario - The Garden of Morr

The battle rages on in the blighted lands of Sylvania! Don't expect sunshine and flowers, for Morr is the god of death, and the only things planted in his garden are corpses. Defeat your enemies to earn points, and claim the ancient cursed skull when it appears - you and your allies will then earn even more points for kills! Watch your back, though, because anyone who kills you will immediately claim the cursed skull for their own...

New Free Heroes

A new week means new Free Heroes. This week Albodi the Chosen, Amenadresh the Liche Priest, Durrig the Engineer and - for the first time ever as a Free Hero - Serkhet the Tomb Scorpion.

Known Issues in Version 0.26

The following is a list of known issues with the current build:

Currency: There is a known issue that if you purchase Gems, the client will not update properly. For this beta, please use the ‘refresh’ button beside the currency totals to manually update.
Store: If you find a bug or have an issue, note it and try refreshing the store via the home button on the browser window or relogging into the client.
Graphics: Occasionally VFX will stick on characters during game play.
Ornaments: The Tribute to Khaine will not display on Korelei when her second skin is used, and the Blades for Khaine's Favor will not display on Zathis when his second skin is used.

Please note that known issues will be removed and moved to the patch notes section below when resolved. If you find any other issues, email them to bugs@wrathofheroes.com. General feedback can be directed to feedback@wrathofheroes.com.

Patch 0.26 Goes Live

We will take the Wrath of Heroes servers offline tomorrow, October 16th at 7:30am EDT (11:30pm GMT) to implement patch 0.26. At the moment we expect the servers to be back online no later than 10:30am EDT (2:30pm GMT).

The patch will deliver a new Hero, new Free Heroes and more.

Read all changes in the patch notes.

Game Update 0.26

Highlights

The Garden of Morr

Practice Mode

Need a little time to practice a new Hero? Want to try a new Mastery loadout to see how well it works out? The new Practice Mode is just what you're looking for! Test yourself against NPC versions of several Heroes, hone your skills without enemy players breathing down your neck, and learn the detailed intricacies of your favorite Heroes. Just remember that it is, after all, only practice, and the real battle is always waiting for you!

Ornament Weapons

We let the Heroes pillage the armory, and after only minor arguments and just a few horrible deaths, they've added even more weapons to their arsenals. Earn new trophies, unlock new Ornament weapons, and customize your favorite Heroes even more!

Patch Changes

Practice Mode

Practice Mode is now available as a game type selection. Simply click the arrows below the Play button, select Practice, and then click Play to begin.

Representations of a broad range of Heroes line the walls of the Practice room. Hit any of them to spawn an NPC version of that Hero which will immediately attack you.
To change your current Hero, walk up to the Rat Ogre and attack him. He will obligingly, quickly, and quite definitively kill you, bringing you back to the Hero selection screen.
Attacking the armed gnoblar will cause a target dummy to be created instead of an aggressive NPC. You may then practice against the target dummy without it fighting back.
Multiple target dummies may be created at a time, to assist in practicing area-effect abilities. The armed gnoblar will create a target dummy for each time that he's attacked.
To clear all target dummies from the room, attack the Rat Ogre and allow him to kill you. When you respawn, you will find the room cleared of all target dummies.
To end Practice Mode and return to the lobby, kill the unarmed gnoblar. The Practice session will immediately end.
While in a Practice Mode session, you will not earn any progress towards Trophies, and your performance will not count towards your Hero stats.

Additional Ornaments

All Heroes with available Ornament weapons now have one more weapon to choose from, with corresponding Trophies as well:

Each Hero's Appearance window now includes a second weapon option. Clicking this Ornament weapon will display it on the 3d model, and will tell you exactly what you need to do to unlock it.
These new Ornament weapons may be used with any available skin, and may be used either with or without any earned non-weapon Ornaments, in any combination that you like.
Only one Ornament weapon may be used at a time.
Heroes who previously had no Ornament weapons available did not gain any in this patch. We are continuing to work towards weapon options for these Heroes in the future.

New on the Store

Rydion the Archmage has been added to the Store. See the Hero Lineup section for more information.
Ornate Chest: This item has been updated with additional contents.
Wood Chest: This item has been updated with additional contents.
Look for new items to appear on the store periodically!

Hero Lineup

Rydion has arrived! This wise and accomplished High Elf Archmage is a master of skillfully-balanced High Magic.

Rydion's Balanced Magic effect causes healing around his target. If he wants to take advantage of the healing himself, he needs to close in with the enemy - assess the situation before taking the risk!
When trying to keep an enemy at a distance, Searing Touch is very effective, but make sure to keep moving away from them while channeling it. There's no need to stand still while channeling, so stay mobile.
The Courage of Aenarion will greatly increase the effect of Rydion's Balanced Magic, but only for a few moments. To get the most out of it, make sure to use it just before your bigger attacks - don't spend that valuable time just casting Radiant Lances.

The following Heroes are considered free and available to all during this week:

Durrig the Engineer
Albodi the Chosen
Amenadresh the Liche Priest
Serkhet the Tomb Scorpion

Note: Free to play Heroes change on a weekly basis.

The following Heroes are available for purchase on the store:

Aessa the White Lion
Albodi the Chosen
Amenadresh the Liche Priest
Bax the Black Orc
Conrad the Warrior Priest
Drulg the Ogre
Durrig the Engineer
Felicia the Bright Wizard
Glowgob the Shaman
Ikkrik the Gutter Runner
Ilanya the Sorceress
Korith the Shadow Warrior
Korelei the Witch Elf
Malus Darkblade
Nethys the Vampire
Olwyn the Ironbreaker
Rydion the Archmage
Serkhet the Tomb Scorpion
The Archivist, Chaos Scholar
Volrik the Marauder
Zathis the Assassin

Keep an eye out for future additions to the Hero Lineup in weeks to come.

Hero Changes

General

Numerous Perks have been adjusted to make them both more usable and more well-balanced. The full list of specific changes is:

Absorb Vitality: The effect's duration is now 4 seconds, and its damage has been reduced.
Divine Shielding: This Perk no longer restores hit points.
Fling Explosives: This Perk no longer deals damage.
Glory: The critical hit bonus from this effect now only applies to damaging abilities.
L'il Helper: The activation requirement for this Perk has been reduced to a 7 Kill Streak.
Magmastorm: The activation requirement for this Perk has been reduced to a 10 Kill Streak, and its damage and radius have been reduced.
Massive Smash: This Perk is now a ground-targeted effect.
Power Unbound: The Lord of Change has been slightly scaled down. Additionally, its Chaos Shall Consume You! ability no longer roots enemies.
Unholy Ward: The activation requirement for this Perk has been reduced to a 4 Kill Streak, and it no longer deals damage.
Unnatural Agility: The activation requirement for this Perk has been reduced to a 6 Kill Streak.
Verdant Apotheosis: This Perk no longer grants damage immunity.

Desperation: This Tactic now calculates its effectiveness slightly differently. It now causes you to take only 65% of incoming damage (instead of causing you to take 35% less damage). In most cases this will work the same, but it will now also stack more gracefully with other damage-reducing buffs.
Temerity: This Tactic now calculates its effectiveness slightly differently. It now causes you to take only 60% of incoming damage (instead of causing you to take 40% less damage). In most cases this will work the same, but it will now also stack more gracefully with other damage-reducing buffs.

Albodi

Twisting Chaos: Fixed additional bugs which could sometimes allow enemies to dodge while affected by this aura.

Felicia

Agonizing Burns: This Tactic now correctly displays its description when viewed in the Store.

Malus Darkblade

Khaine's Blade: Fixed a bug which could sometimes cause this Tactic to remain effective when unslotted.

Scenario

This patch adds a new Scenario to the lineup: the Garden of Morr.

This scenario is kill-driven. Each kill is worth 3 points for your team.
30 seconds after the scenario begins, the Cursed Skull will appear in the center of the map.
The first person to touch the Cursed Skull will claim it, and be immediately transformed into a Skeletal Standard-Bearer.
The Skeletal Standard-Bearer has a full set of its own abilities. All abilities which were slotted on your original Hero will be removed, and replaced by the Standard-Bearer's instead.
The Skeletal Standard-Bearer earns 8 points for each kill he makes, instead of the base 3 points. This also applies to any of his allies that are standing near him - their kills will each earn 8 points as well.
Only one Skeletal Standard-Bearer may exist at a time. If the Skeletal Standard-Bearer is slain, then his killer immediately becomes the new Standard-Bearer.
If, for any reason, the Standard-Bearer's killer cannot be transformed into the next Skeletal Standard-Bearer, then the Cursed Skull will re-appear on the ground and wait to be claimed.
The minimap will always show the Skeletal Standard-Bearer's position, even if he is currently claimed by another team.
Becoming the Skeletal Standard-Bearer - either by claiming the Cursed Skull or by killing an enemy Standard-Bearer - will count as a Capture for your personal score. This does not impact team points.

Lobby

Settings

The Garden of Morr is now listed in the Scenario Preferences window.

Upcoming Hero: Rydion

'This world is but a dream.' Rydion will join Wrath of Heroes next week. Take a first look at the new High Elf Hero.

The High Elves are a proud and long lived race with an innate affinity for controlling the Winds of Magic that sweep across the world. Unfortunately they, like the Dwarfs, are a dwindling race. As their numbers fail the importance of each individual increases. Every High Elf born is trained in the art of warfare: bow and arrow, sword and shield, and the blessings of Isha. Those that show particular promise in the magical art are admitted to the Tower of Hoeth in Saphery where they hone their unique gifts until called to war.

Rydion Windborne is an Archmage of such astonishing ability that his own people were hesitant to send him to the battlefield. While other graduates of the Tower of Hoeth may embrace a more forceful approach to the winds of magic, Rydion's holistic view has resulted in synergistic healing spells never before seen. His spells tear at his enemies and restore his allies’ health, and he can augment his own abilities mid-battle to help turn the tide of the fight.

Rydion walks between the Winds of Magic, and is a powerful force to reckon with.

Garden of Morr Scenario

You already know that the developers are busy working on something special for the season. In the same spirit, we'd like to share a little more information - a little more Morr!

Garden of Morr

While our developers were busy in the Garden of Morr, they must have stirred up some angry spirits because one of them was instantly transformed!