Heroes Of The Storm PTR Patch Adds Tiny New Character And Lots Of Changes

A new update for Heroes of the Storm is now live on the public test realm, introducing its latest character and a wide of array of changes targeting the game's UI.

The new character is Probius, a Protoss Probe from StarCraft II. He can't ride a mount, but his base movement speed is 10 percent faster than other characters and he has a temporary speed boost ability (a la Sgt. Hammer). In true Protoss fashion, Probius warps in Pylons, which serve to power one of his abilities and restore his mana.

As for his basic abilities, Disruption Pulse does damage to all enemies in a straight line. Warp Rift slows enemies in an area, and if its center is hit by Disruption Pulse, it explodes, dealing damage. Photon Cannon warps in a temporary automated turret, though it needs to be placed within range of a Pylon in order to function.

In terms of Heroics, Null Gate creates a sort of wall that damages and severely slows enemies who are touching it. Pylon Overcharge increases the range of Pylons and allows them to attack nearby enemies. As an added passive bonus, Pylons gain a shield equal to 50 percent of their max health when you choose Pylon Overcharge.

While Probius is the most significant addition in this patch, the UI changes will impact all players. A new killfeed has been introduced that also serves as a means for tracking how much time you have to secure multikills. There's also new art for numerous aspects of the in-game UI, such as the hero portrait; health, mana, and buff bars; and scoreboard, talents, and death recap screens.

The party frame at the top of the screen has been redesigned to resemble what you see when watching an esports match of HotS. It makes it easy to see at a glance who is alive, what Heroic abilities each player has chosen, and which of your teammates are using their Hearthstone. Additionally, the XP indicator shows when a team is approaching a level-up that will allow them to choose a talent. A team that has a talent advantage over their opponent will also see its level have a flame effect on it.

Best of all, the on-fire effect has returned for individual players. By performing particularly well in a match, your portrait at the top of the screen will be surrounded by flames. In addition to this being given more prominent placement than before, the way this is determined now takes more factors into account. Only a maximum of three players can be on fire at any one time.

All of these changes, along with many others--including the addition of two new mounts (seen in the video above)--are all now available to check out on the PTR. A release date for this content in the live game has not yet been confirmed. You can check out the full patch notes here.