Blizzard released a new beasts of the savage lands preview and an announcement about changes to the heroes of the storm reward system! Check them both out below.
The lush Shadowmoon Valley appears peaceful and idyllic, lulling many would-be adventurers into a false sense of security as they explore its rolling hills and violet forests. But countless hidden perils lie waiting behind the tranquil façade, and only those well-armed with knowledge can hope to survive. What dangers lurk in the shadows?
Riverbeasts
Adventurers are often misled by the seemingly docile riverbeasts. Though slow to anger, once disturbed, a charging riverbeast is a ferocious sight: 4,000 pounds of fat and muscle storming toward its target like a runaway tram. Roaming draenei rangari have long been astounded by how much damage a rampaging riverbeast can take before it’s brought down, and draenei children are taught to keep a wide berth of shallow waters. Riverbeasts are characterized by their rock-like skin, likely developed during the early days of Draenor’s prehistory, when creatures of stone dueled for supremacy against the chaotic flora. Those looking to take a riverbeast as a trophy should take note of their durable armored flesh and tendency to charge unexpectedly.
Podlings
A number of Draenor’s indigenous species blur the line between plant and animal, and the so-called podlings are the most vicious and chaotic of their ilk. Small and seemingly harmless, they work together to capture their prey, attacking only when they have numerical superiority. Explorers who pay attention to the color of podlings’ flowering buds can ascertain whether they favor poison, ensnaring, or physical attacks to incapacitate their victims. Once podlings have overwhelmed their quarry, they will drag the unlucky creature down into the weeds to fertilize a new generation. The clear lesson for adventurers: looks can be deceiving!
Elekk
The majestic elekk graze contentedly across the grassy plains of Draenor, relying on their huge size and the support of the herd to keep predators at bay. Draenei explorers have determined that the animals pose no threat, as long as their young aren’t endangered or their water supply jeopardized. With the endurance to cover great distances and the ability to defend themselves by ramming or stomping attackers, these beasts have emerged as the draenei transport of choice. Explorers should take note of persistent draenei rumors that the Thunderlord Clan orcs torment and twist terrified elekk into vicious weapons of war, covering them in armor plating and inciting them to rampage when turned loose on their foes. Beware!
Draenor Ancients
It was only very recently that draenei rangari managed to communicate with these enormous sentient trees, but wildly different ways of life—not to mention a completely different perception of time—have made further interaction difficult. The ancients get their name from their analogues on Azeroth; they are tied closely to a prehistoric plant lineage that unites much of Draenor’s flora and places them in opposition to the creatures of stone. These enigmatic ancients remain in the same area for hundreds of years and are reluctant to move unless their home is threatened. Adventurers should be cautious when harvesting the valley’s lumber, as they may find the forest fighting back.
Shadowmoon Valley is a dangerous place, but there are many deadly threats still to be discovered across the savage world of Draenor. Until next time, stay alive . . . if you can.
Player Profile
Upon logging in to Heroes of the Storm once our next Tech Alpha patch is released, you’ll immediately notice that the Leveling System progress bar and reward icons have been removed from the home screen. Never fear, they haven’t gone far! They’ve just found a new home in the freshly revamped Player Profile screen. Access your Player Profile by clicking the Hero portrait found in the top right corner of the home screen. Once you do, you’ll see your current player level and Hero portrait are now located at the top of the profile screen, and several tabs have been added to the left-hand side which can be used to navigate the your profile. Hero Progress Use this tab to track of the Experience Points and Rewards you’ve earned by playing games with each Hero. Rewards Here, you’ll be able to see which Leveling System Rewards you’ve earned, as well as those you have yet to unlock. Daily Quests Select this tab to keep an eye on which Daily Quests are currently available to you. Profile Summary and Match History Have been disabled during Tech Alpha testing.
Hero Progress and Rewards
| Hero Level | Reward |
| 1 | Heroes Start Here |
| 2 | Second Heroic Ability |
| 3 | Six Additional Talents |
| 4 | All Remaining Talents |
| 5 | 500 Gold |
| 6 | Hero Portrait / Mount Variation 1 |
| 7 | Skin Variation 1 |
| 8 | Skin Variation 2 |
| 9 | Hero Master Portrait / Mount Variation 2 |
| 10 | Master Skin Unlocked |
</center> There’s quite a bit of information there, so let’s break down a few rewards that you may not be familiar with yet: Heroic Ability Following the patch, each Hero will begin with one Heroic Ability, and the second can be unlocked by reaching Level 2. Talents Talents are no longer completely unlocked for all Heroes at once by achieving player level 8. Instead, each Hero begins with two Talent choices available at each tier of in-game Talent selection. Six additional Talents, one for each tier, can be unlocked by reaching Hero Level 3. All of a Hero’s remaining Talents will become available at Hero level 4. Hero Portraits Hero Portraits are now unlocked on an individual basis by reaching level 6 with each Hero. Upon reaching Level 9, you’ll unlock that Hero’s Master Portrait, which features a shiny golden border. Skin Variations At levels 7 and 8, you’ll unlock Skin variations. With these, each Skin you own (including a Hero’s base model) offers three different options for customizing the look of your Hero in-game, for free! Mount Variations Mount variations will unlock at Hero levels 6 and 9. Much like Skin variations, Mount variations allow you to customize the steeds you ride into combat. Master Skin At level 10, you’ll unlock the ability to purchase a Hero’s Master Skin with Gold, which you can use to show off your prowess with that Hero in-game. Just like other Skins, a Master Skin features two variations, which you’ll have already unlocked by reaching level 10. This means that once you’ve purchased a Hero’s Master Skin, you’ll immediately be able to use its variations in-game. It is also important to note that any Hero Quests which are completed prior to our next patch will count toward Hero Levels, but partial Hero Quest progress will be lost.
- For example, if a Hero’s first Quest is already complete prior to the patch, that Hero will begin at level 2. If all six of a Hero’s Quests are completed, that Hero will begin at level 7.
- Additionally, if a Hero’s second Quest was only halfway complete prior to the patch, progress will be reset, and that Hero will begin at level 2.
Leveling System and Rewards
- For example, if you were halfway toward reaching player level 21, you will be reset back to the start of level 20 following the release of our next patch.
Let’s take a look an exciting new way to earn Gold in the next Tech Alpha patch.
Daily Quests and Gold
End of Game Screen
- All of the experience points and Gold you earned from your most recent match, as well as any rewards you’ve unlocked, will be counted up and detailed for you in the center of the screen.
- The large blue progress bar keeps track of your Hero’s current level, the XP you earned toward the next Hero level, and displays your next Hero level reward to the right.
- Similarly, the purple progress bar tracks your current player level, the XP you’ve earned toward your next level, and displays your next player level reward to the right.
- If you’re ever curious about which reward is coming up next, hover the mouse over the reward icons to the right of each progress bar to get a brief description.
Stats The Stats page is essentially the end-of-game Score Screen you’ve become familiar with in previous Heroes of the Storm builds. Much like before, you’ll still be able to see Takedowns, Deaths, Battleground Mechanic scores for each player, as well as elapsed game time, and XP earned during the previous match. Quests The Quests page offers another a look at all of the Daily Quests that are currently available to you in case you’d like to quickly check out which Quest to complete next before hitting the Play Again button in the lower left corner of the screen. Rewards The Rewards page displays all of the rewards you earned during the previous match.
That just about does it for our Progression System and reward changes in the next patch. Thank you once more for helping us test during this phase of the Tech Alpha. Your constructive input over the past few weeks has gone a long way toward helping us shape the changes we made for the impending patch. If you’d like to share more of your thoughts with us, be sure to drop by the Heroes forums and contribute there. Stay tuned right here at HeroesoftheStorm.com over the next few days to catch more exciting information about what’s coming to the Technical Alpha. Finally, don’t forget to drop by our live Developer Insights broadcast, starting at 11:00 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, July 22. If you’d like to submit a question for the Q&A portion of the show, kindly submit your queries to @BlizzHeroes using #HeroesQA on Twitter.
Most gear that drops in Warlords of Draenor has a chance to have a random bonus in addition to its normal stats. We call these “minor stats,” and they provide a small but useful bonus to your character.
