Heroes of Newerth Blog

Lex Talionis, what an item

noreply@blogger.com (SandyNeegus) — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 11:17:00 +0000

Lex Talionis, latin phrase meaning The Law of Retaliation

Lex Talionis is a brilliant item. I feel that it's among the greatest ideas implemented into the game, yet I see it pretty rarely and can barely even remember to buy it myself.

The item is flexible and makes a few item effects just that much more accessible, emphasis on the word accessible. Let's dissect the item, one component/effect at a time.

Lex Talionis is created from the 175g Guardian Ring and 350g Trinket of Restoration by adding a 300g recipe which can be purchased twice after creating the item to upgrade it into a more powerful form.

The cost: 825/1125/1425

An item with 3 stages and most expensive component being 350g is extremely accessible. It's even viable to pick up just the 825g non-upgraded version and later you can toss it aside with barely any loss to open up an inventory slot.

Low cost items allow variety into many games and can really increase game depth as long as their amount doesn't become overwhelming and cause unnecessary complexity.

The armor: 3/4/5

Early on in the game you won't have too many options for armor and even later on armor items have something of a tendency to not be too easily bought and have other expensive effects to them that may or may not be suitable to your current hero, role and playstyle.

This armor can be crucial for low base armor and low agility heroes, like Pebbles. It's also something easy to buy to negate heavy physical damage from the likes of Monkey King and doesn't force you to invest too heavily for a counter item that you wouldn't otherwise want.

The health regeneration: 2,5/s / 3,5/s / 4,5/s

Health regeneration is another thing that can often be a part of expensive items which have a tendency to be pure survivability, or in the case of Runed Cleaver, made for damage and heavy farming.

Not building anything from a Life Tube or Trinket of Restoration that you pick up only for regen can also feel like a waste so Lex Talionis once again provides accessibility and allows more freedom of choice.

The magic armor: 1/2/3

Magic armor isn't the easiest thing to come by and in many games you won't even have a chance of surviving massive burst without it. Mystic Vestments were something of a staple item for most games and they were deemed powerful enough to have the price increased from 400g to 500g.

Magic armor is extremely valuable and now Lex Talionis brings more accessibility and a still somewhat new choice for buying it.

The targeted armor/magic armor debuff: -3, -1/-4, -2/-5, -3

Activating the item gives the single target spell to lower armor and magic armor of an enemy unit for 7 seconds. This effect will also be applied to yourself but considering you are making the initiative, it's generally in your favor. The ability has an above average range of 750, a low mana cost of 50 and an acceptable cooldown of 20 seconds.

This effect might sound like it hurts you alot but luckily the item itself has passive bonuses equal to the debuff so you even when you get the debuff on yourself your armor will simply be where it would have been if you didn't have the whole item. It's also amazing how this effect is suitable for about any hero.

Any ganker can make someone an easier target with this and burst damage heroes will just love the effects, a support can decide that they can afford to lose the armor and help the team focus down a target and a carry can go into 1 on 1 situations knowing they have enough armor or higher damage output to get more benefit out of the debuff.

In conclusion

Lex Talionis is a wonderful item that can be gotten by almost any hero due to it's flexibility by providing defensive bonuses and a very powerful offensive ability.

Escaping the 1500 MMR Bracket

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Nguyen) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:23:00 +0000

Having difficulties escaping the nightmarish realm of 1500 MMR? I bet you're just sick of being paired with a loser in every game right and if this didn't happen then you'd have little trouble reaching the next level of competition right? Well, no... It's not like that at all, and in fact having that mindset is your first and biggest downfall.

Ever seen someone with thousands of games played and still stuck in the 1500 bracket? It's not that all uncommon, and it's because of their arrogance that they'll be forever a slow learner. Do yourself a favor and begin a new journey in HoN today... be humble and accept your mistakes. Take responsibility for lost games and NEVER accuse another person because of a loss, no matter how tempting it is. Even if you got 4 complete noobs in your team who've never played a game in their life... deal with it and move on. Everyone was new at some point and raging isn't going to solve anything. Anger makes you think irrationally and cause you to do things that's worse for yourself and everybody around you. If you can have a clear head and act on things that will benefit you and your team, you already can achieve what 99.9999% of the population can't. Ignore what everyone else says when you make a mistake, HoN has quickly turned into Heroes of Nugget-heads.

Most everyone plays HoN as a way to project their ego onto other players. Ego is the same as self image, they want everyone to know that they're the best... that they're better than YOU and everyone else. This is why people treasure their KD ratio and other stats so immensely, to the point where they rage over a single kill steal. Stop caring for those things really... HoN would be so much a better game without those things. Everybody is playing HoN as their own thing instead of playing it like a TEAM game. At its core, HoN is a game heavily reliant on teamwork. Without stats like KD ratio, there would be far less games where everybody wants to pick a carry.

Here's a word of advice for you. Instead of playing the game for yourself like everybody else does... play it and make decisions based on what's best for the TEAM... not your beloved KDR or GPM. This will make you a much more beloved player and higher level players would want you on their team more often. Buy wards, upgrade the courier if you have to, even if you're not the support. Go pick a babysitter if no-one wants to babysit the poor scout, and yes even if he's a noob. You have to do your best to support a noob scout, and if you can do that, then you're a great support and highly worthy to be put in the upper divisions of HoN.

Yes, some games you will lose and there's nothing you can do about it. It's not your fault, but you should always be thinking what you can do differently next time. Meanwhilst everyone else is blaming each other, you're actually IMPROVING.

Bad Luck Syndrome

Throughout my thousands of HoN games, I don't think I've ever heard someone say 'I lost this game because I got bad luck.' /internet sarcasm

Seriously, every single loss, someone just has to say 'Why do I always get paired up with the bad team?' and it frustrates me to see this. I've learnt over time to just ignore someone who says this and treat them as a LLL, low life loser.

Here's why Bad Luck Syndrome is a myth:

No-ones perfect and everyone has bad games right? Look at your recent games, and see how many you've done badly in. Probably you had one bad game every 3 games? Or perhaps every 5 games? Or maybe you're real good and only do badly once every 7 games. If you're any better than that, then reaching 1700 shouldn't be too much of a problem.

So let's be generous and assume everyone is quite good and only does badly once every 5 games. We're being quite generous here too. Now that should mean that in a game with 10 players, at least 2 should have a 'bad game' right? So yes you will probably almost always get at least that one noob on your team. You get some lucky teams and some bad ones. The real good players can win for their team in these bad situations, but in general, no-one is unluckier than another.

If you've played hundreds of games then the chances of you being significantly more unlucky than another person is EXTREMELY slim. I won't bother anyone with the maths here, but lets just say that it's near impossible. Even if you are extremely unlucky, you can be that skillful player who wins games for his teams in tough situations. But to do that, you gotta firstly take responsibility and MAN UP. Don't be afraid to fail. Take the leadership role if no-one in your team does.

Experience is Key

Once you have the correct mindset, breaking out of the 1500, 1600 bracket is much easier than it may seem. You don't need to make a new account because that proves nothing. You gain at least 20 MMR for each win if you create a new account and you'll be paired up against other 'basic' account players. Instead, aim for 1700 MMR on your MAIN account. The only way you're going to ever improve if you keep playing and learning from your experience.

The more you play, the more you get used to the heroes and the more you start predicting how much damage your nukes and auto attacks do to the enemy. This experience will allow you to know when you should attempt at a kill and when you shouldn't. You also develop other things such as greater map awareness, knowing which heroes you should choose and items you should buy...

As you get more and more experience, eventually you'll have such great map awareness and such a great understanding of the game that you'll be able to predict the enemies' exact plans and movement at times. You'll know if someone is jungling or waiting for a gank even if you have no vision of them. The very best players in HoN all have this ability of being able to think a step ahead of their opponent and it can only be developed through hundreds or thousands of hours of experience.

Learning from Others

A fast way of learning is by observing how the professionals play. Watch the HoN streams on twitch.tv and watch closely what the top players do in pub games. Each person has a unique way of playing, whether it's AngryTestie's safe style of play or Moonmeanders crazy pubstomp style, just copy what you like about how each person plays. "The bad artists imitate, the great artists steal." Every player will have a strong point and you should see what their strong point are and add that to your arsenal. And a side note: Don't buy codex on heroes like bramble unless you're actually Moonmeander.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions in HoN

noreply@blogger.com (SandyNeegus) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:12:00 +0000

Disclaimer: This is written purely from a Normal Mode 5v5 point of view

With the balance patch coming soon and big changes being in the air, a look at in game tactics is now quite redundant but for the memories of many games and to just rant about teammate's mistakes in numerous games, I find writing ~~some whining and trash talk~~ an educational guide a surprisingly good idea.

The atmosphere is tense. Both teams have lost their outer towers. All raxes (barracks) are still standing. After a significant lead early on, the situation is slowly becoming better for the other team due to their powerful lategame carry. As a teamfight begins and your enemies make minor mistakes and the situation starts looking good for you as you pick four of them off one by one without a single loss. With four people down your jungler heads back to the woods, your carry begins to static farm a lane and a support moves back to defend a base tower from three creeps while the final two members of the team are screaming to take Kongor.

Sounds familiar? Unless you have had strategically focused teammates constantly this is probably something that can happen at any rating below 1800, I admit that this is a pretty dramatic and exaggerated image but all of these happen constantly in games I play. As some people immediately noticed the correct course of action here would have been to move in and push down some raxes or force buybacks (taking Kongor is probably the second best option depending on a lot of variables though). Remember to try and focus down the melee rax first if you have the time and only when in a hurry go for the less armored ranged rax. A mistake like this can easily be heavily punished just by the game going on long enough for the other team's carry to take over the game or if the other team had been more midgame inclined they might have found a situation to push through your raxes and prevent your hard carry from reaching a peak in power in the lategame.

In case you disagree about pushing the raxes, hear me out on what's wrong with the other options. All of these can be valid options in some situation but I deliberately created a situation where I feel that these are all worth less than pushing.

Back to the jungle: Here the main point about the jungler staying is to take the raxes but in general it's somewhat common for junglers to spend too much time in the jungle as it's often better take over an empty lane and possibly deny an enemy hero's chance of freefarming, just try not to push the lane and if someone who can't take neutral creeps comes to the lane you should let them take it and return to the jungle.

Static farming a lane: In this situation your carry could go farm but ensuring that the raxes go down, even if the enemy has a buyback or two, is the most important thing. A viable alternative is for the carry to go backdoor/creep skip/push another lane to get at least minor damage on a base tower or possibly soften it up for once the rest of the team is done with the other lane and ready to take it down.

Defending against three creeps: If you really thought that someone needs to go defend a tower against three creeps, you have a lot to learn, even if the tower is low health those little creeps won't take the raxes or force your team to buyback which is something a lot bigger that you should be doing to the other team. It can sometimes be okay to go back but remember that a tower can turn a lane's push the other way quickly and your job is to punish the other team when you have the chance so don't waste it.

Taking Kongor: The two people wanting to take Kongor are definitely onto something by realizing that you should capitalize on four enemies being down but in the example I gave the other team had the big scary lategame carry and would probably turtle the next seven minutes even without the threat of losing a teamfight against a token.

Seeing the same mistakes repeating themselves constantly has at times caused raged and annoyance for me and I feel relieved getting a chance to let this all out. I'm thankful to everyone who read this far and to make this something closer to a guide I'm going to add some general tips for different roles and behavior that will hopefully help make games more enjoyable.

This is lost cc: Seriously, there is always the possibility of a series of serious mistakes that causes the other team to lose. If your team won't pass that concede vote, no matter how difficult it may be try to remain positive and keep doing your best. I have had a game turn around from a situation where I just finished backdooring the first rax down from the enemy base when the other team took our final raxes before I could tp to defend.

Noob sw, never come with team: I've seen so many games that go wrong just because someone picks a carry and tries to be extremely aggressive before ten minutes. Carries are built to utilize farm and only the most flexible carries can go around that concept. A hero like Sand Wraith is close to useless before becoming a total beast after 25 to 30 minutes of farming and because of this reason they aren't to blame when you lose a teamfight 4v5. Even if someone makes the mistake of not being there for a teamfight when they should have, everyone that went into the fight without that noob has also done something wrong and sometimes you'll be able to handle the situation without them.

Empath: I was farming: Also a quite common mistake is farming on the wrong hero. I've seen an Empath taking jungle camps which is just wrong in so many ways unless they need a little ward money or are 50g away from finishing Astrolabe/Tablet of Command. It's completely fine to farm a little for your core items or to take some experience if you are close to a level that you need. It's also a smart idea to get what gold and experience you can from an empty lane if you aren't needed elsewhere, just try not to push it and let someone who can make better use of the farm take over. Stacking camps for your carrys is also usually worth the time when you don't have much else to do, stacking with the current creep leash times is done by pulling aggro at X:53-X:57, assuming you lead the creeps as far as possible.

Omg team, why didn't you go?: It's extremely important to assess the situation and decide when to go in as ten seconds could make a difference with cooldowns or an item brought by the courier. When you see the enemy team clustered together you may have a good chance for AoE combos, or if they are spread out you might be able to focus one or more heroes down to give you the advantage in the upcoming fight. It's important to be on the lookout for any situation where the other team is not ready but it's also possibly even more important to make sure that your team is ready before suiciding and being outmanned in a teamfight. If the other team is better suited for teamfights or you can't organize people to defend in time, it may be best to let a tower fall and have part of the team farming somewhere or trying to counter push a tower. This will force the other team to decide between pushing and defending/trying to pickoff the lone hero. In a situation like this it's usually extremely important to carry a tp.

All mid pls: Your team obviously has a limited amount of heroes and you can sometimes handle situations without everyone there. It's obvious that you won't need your whole team to gank a squishy support but you should also consider this for situations where you believe you can leave one or more people to farm. An example of this would be three of the other team's heroes pushing a lane with the other two too far to help if your team jumps on them with four while the fifth player is somewhere farming or as I mentioned earlier, your team might handle a fight while your carry was busy farming.

That's all for now, I will carefully assess all feedback I can and try to respond to it.

HoN Top 5 Plays Of The Week - April 19th

noreply@blogger.com (Ph3noM) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:56:00 +0000

Scumbag Network

Once again delivers an amazing video of the Top 5 Plays of the week for the 19th of April.

In this episode you will get to see:

Moraxus: Sidestep God turning a 2v1 fight.
Myrmidon & Behemoth turning the tide in a gank gone wrong!
Rally, Magmus & WitchSlayer executing the perfect combo
Fayde delivering amazing plays to save his support Demented Shaman
Valkyries fast reactions and perfect juking turning what should've been a sure kill for Pyromancer

With a hilarious bonus clip, of the longest cannonball in HoN.

Pandamonium should certainly consider talking his jumping skills to an olympic level!

So what are you still doing here! Get one with it watch the video!

3.0.9 Patch Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Ph3noM) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 14:14:00 +0000

== New Content ==

- Added new Deadwood Alt Avatar: Toadwood Deadstool* Deadwood may be the only creature immune to the lethal spores of the Rulian Marsh, yet he has allowed them to take root and disfigure him so he can spread the destructive seeds throughout Newerth. We hope the Legion likes mushrooms on their pizzas...
* Releases 4/18/2013

- Added new Pollywog Priest Alt Avatar: Penguin Priest* All hail the Penguin Priest, who has waddled from his arctic southern flock to bless us with his presence! If thou chooses this divine flightless fowl to battle the Hellbourne, thou shall kneel for the duration of the combat, for the sake of reverence and to not make the Penguin Priest feel so short.
* Releases 4/24/2013

- Added new Hammerstorm Alt Avatar: Hammer Lord* The massive hammer and ornate garb of the Hammer Lords originated in the mines north of the City of Iron, when they were used to protect royalty in case of a collapse. Now they are reserved for the elite mountain warriors who can both wield the crushing hammers and parade the elaborate armor: The Hammer Lords!
* Releases 4/26/2013

- Added new Arachna Alt Avatar: Arachnabot* Doctor Repulsor and The Electrician know that among the many phobia daemons, Arachna strikes the most fear in the hearts of man and beast. Now they seek to mass-produce a mechanical version of the multi-legged murderess, an Arachnabot even more cruel and soulless than the original!
* Releases 5/1/2013

== Bug Fixes and Optimizations ==

- Updated all of the sounds for heroes to decrease memory usage significantly
- Fixed how sounds load to lower memory usage

Dust of Revelation
- Visual effects now match the AoE more closely

Arachna
- When used in conjunction with Restoration Stone, fixed the second Spiderling on the same target so that it won't die at the same time as the first one does if the target is still alive when the first Spiderling expires.

Armadon
- "Miss!" popups no longer appear on top of Armadon when he uses Spine Burst and the projectiles impact invisible units

Devourer
- Gluttony's Guttling Hook animation has been optimized

Gauntlet
- Gauntlet is no longer able to break out of forced order commands (e.g. Legionnaire's Taunt, Dampeer's fear effect) if his Grapple hook latches onto something after the forced order is issued

Lodestone
- Rocket Drill's visual linkage no longer persists if he gets unbound before he reaches his target destination (ie, by Devourer's Hook)

Martyr
- Sol's Conviction aura shimmer sound is now much quieter when an ally hero is affected

Pandamonium
- Fixed a rare bug where his corpse stands up if he dies when he is in close proximity of his opponent during his Flick jump

Torturer
- Dominatrix Torturer's Chain Reaction animation has been optimized

- Fixed the following heroes standing up when using certain spells just before death:
* Chronos (Time Leap)
* Grinex (Shadow Step)
* Gunblade (Grappling Shot)

- Fixed Enhanced buff icons sometimes behaving oddly on Mac and Linux clients
- Fixed ally cooldowns appearing as '-s'
- Fixed an error with the Alt Courier List
- Fixed an error with the status icon for players on the scoreboard
- Game Tooltips optimized and include the following fixes:
- Fixed the Combat type not showing up in the tooltip when hovering the icon of the selected unit
- Removed the combat type line from the hero info tooltip (hovering your portrait in the top left) as the trigger it needs/uses doesn't exist
- Fixed the courier's name being outside the tooltip when hovering his portrait
- The tooltip from hovering portraits now resizes, thus the courier tooltip doesn't have a space at top where the player name should be
- Improvements to the Match Making Invite a person window
- The list of players now works from top down, with the search bar at the top
- Name colors work based on the option you have selected for the friends list
- The people you have invited are now indicated, this indication is removed once you close the invite a player window
- People in your group, even if they are in your friends list, should no longer appear in the list
- Fixed the double click behavior when inviting people
- Clan tags are now included on names in the list, and can be used when searching
- The Report A Player detailed info text is no longer reset when you collapse and re-expand the window
- Fixed the Report A Player window 'shaking' sometimes when expanding the detailed text box
- Fixed messages with '):'s not displaying correctly
- Fixed buttons on certain notifications not working if they aren't saved into your notification history
- Removed the repick hero button from test++, as the functionality for it no longer exists

UPDATE HoN Blog is Under New Management

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Nguyen) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:09:00 +0000

Over 4 months ago, it was announced that HoN Blog would be closed and never posted on again. Andrew, the previous owner of this blog and a close friend of mine, had been on the verge of retiring from writing for quite some time, as he had important things to attend to in life. Whilst he still isn't sure whether he will stay active in writing or not, he has passed down this blog to me and I very much appreciate it.

From this moment on, HoN Blog will now be in conjunction with my other gaming website, Gaming Point. We will also be undergoing several major changes throughout the coming times, and as you may have noticed already, many comments have been removed. There has been about a thousand spam comments which has been manually removed and in the process, many non-spam comments were removed also and we apologize for the inconveniece. Any post on this blog that is older than 5 days will have comment moderation enabled. This means that for your comment to appear on a post that's older than 5 days, a moderator will have to approve it.

There have also been several adjustments to the blog and certain rules imposed which I would like to make clear. Please refrain from using swear words in the comments. I'd like this blog to become as professional as possible and we will be deleting comments with excessive swearing or harassment. Please no insulting other members as well.

Another new feature we've added to this blog is that the posts made on this blog will also be advertised on several other gaming networks. Hopefully, we can gradually increase our target audience and grab the attention of other gamers into our blog.

Are you interested in writing for HoN Blog?

Now that this blog is under new management, we currently lack writers who specialize in Heroes of Newerth. If HoN is your passion and you would like to write about it, and be heard by a large audience, then please send an email to:

You can write anything thats related to HoN - guides, patches, alts, competitions... anything. However, you must have decent English skills and make none or very little grammatical mistakes.

Thanks for reading this and we will miss Andrew very much. He will still be around for now, but he won't be active.

TL;DR

HoN Blog is back and active

Comment moderation is enabled on posts older than 5 days

Avoid commenting using foul words

We need some people to write about HoN on our blog, contact the email mentioned above in the post.

Feel free to check out the HoN Videos on our new site at Gaming Point.

So Long HonBlog, Welcome Kongor's Den

noreply@blogger.com (ItsMeAn2x) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:58:00 +0000

Today I officially announced this blog is closed and move to a new address. Also from now on, the HonBlog will be known as a new blog named Kongor's Den and will continue keeping the duty as your no.1 source for your daily HoN needs. But now, We also add the Garena South East Asia HoN stuff there, so we are welcoming the Garena HoN players.

A Short introduction about Kongor's Den, its still the same blog as honblog with the same design, but tidier with minimalist design. Coming up with addition of the Garena HoN contents, such as the events and coming up next is the competitive plays too.

We are also very excited to announce that we are now recruiting a new team members to help us fulfill this duty, you guys can read the full information in the new blog.

And the new blog will start with a fresh new contents, so it means the past changelogs from the 2009 closed beta times and all of the stuff will not be there, you guys can still check the HonBlog archives for the old stuff, like the HoN 2.0, Seven Deadly Sins, etc.

After all of this years, We are really thankful for you guys, our loyal readers and supporters for reading the blog and support us. And because of that We are adding the Garena stuff to help uniting all of the HoN Players all around the world in a one stop place.

Visit Kongor's Den now !

And Im sorry for the past few weeks if this blog is like dead with no updates and fresh news, its because im preparing the Kongor's Den, and I do apologize if the surprise is not really big and amusing, but please expect a giveaway in order to celebrate the new blog, coming soon !*oh also im moving the blog since the address is a little bit weird too fyi

2.6.31.1 Patch Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 05:30:00 +0000

== New Content ==

- Added Pandamonium Alt Avatar: Muay Tigermonium
* From deep in Death's Cradle comes a new kind of warrior - a beast whose fists, feet, elbows, and knees have been honed into weapons far more deadly than claw and fang. This unstoppable fighter has entered the fray not to fight the good fight, but simply to keep on fighting for his honor and to prove once and for all that Muay Tigermonium is the greatest there is!
* Releases on 12/07/2012

- Added a new Maliken Alt Avatar: Young Maliken
* Winner for the second avatar shuffle! Young Maliken comes to us from a time before he fell to temptation. This is the mighty General of the Legion of Man during the great wars with the Beasts, the one man who could unite the disparate tribes of savages into an army like the world had never before seen - and who would bear the trophies of his conquests for his enemies to fear.
* Releases on 12/10/2012

- Added a new Chipper Alt: Chiprel Strike Squad
* When Chipper is not enough to handle your Hellbourne problems, who you gonna call? Chiprel Strike Squad of course! This trio of fearless Chiprels brings their brand new war machine to the battlefield to chop down the competition. These are the Chiprels you need...AND the Chiprels you deserve!
* Releases on 12/12/12

- Witch Hunter celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver
- Hook Madman celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver

== General ==

- Announcer sounds have been restored to their higher sound quality

== Hero Balance ==

Grinex
- Illusory Assault: Illusions now move at 750 Movement Speed until they land one attack
- Illusory Assault: Fade time has been decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1 second

== Bug Fixes and Optimizations ==

Fixed the following skills so that you don't break invisibility if you start your attack & cancel it before it connects or if you use a toggleable item (ie,Steamboots, Ring of the Teacher, etc.)
- Night Hound's Invisibility
- Nomad's Sandstorm
- Revenant's Essence Shroud
- Valkyrie's Prism

Fixed the following spells so that you can shift-queue items/skills/other commands after they complete
- Chronos' Time Leap
- Magmus' Lava Surge
- Midas' Elemental Warp
- Pandamonium's Flick
- Parasite's Facehug

Fixed the following spells from automatically dispelling if the target enters fog on the same frame that these debuffs get applied
- Blitz's Pilfering
- Corrupted Discple's Corrupted Conduit

Barrier Idol: Should no longer interrupt commands when used
Energizer: Fixed visuals so that they appear properly when Empath is inside someone
Restoration Stone: Should no longer interrupt commands when used
Arachna: Fixed Brass Arachna's Precision icon to be properly colored
Balphagore: Fixed Corpse Conversion minions so that their slow doesn't apply to towers nor to allied units
Grinex: Fixed a rare case of Grinex following people when teleporting away
Hellbringer: Fixed Overseer Hellbringer's Malphas' Flame Breath cast range indicator
Martyr: Fixed Conviction so it will not give Gemini's Fire/Ice pets a second instance of additional movespeed
Night Hound: Fixed Backstab animation to correctly change when gaining more attack speed
Pandamonium: Hid a self only state on Cannonball when in midair
Pandamonium: Fixed a rare bug where his corpse stands up if he dies when he is in close proximity of his opponent during Flick
Riftwalker: Fixed Shared Existence interaction with Barbed Armor
Scout: Fixed attack animation out of Vanish so that the first attack uses Disarm's animation
Scout: Fixed accidentally breaking Vanish if he attempts to attack out but cancels it before the attack actually connects
Solstice: Fixed the fade time on Shadow Dash so that it is correctly 0.5s or 500 ms
Solstice: Fixed Duel's dayform sound to play the correct files

12.12.12

noreply@blogger.com (ItsMeAn2x) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 05:11:00 +0000

You guys, better get ready for this 12th December 2012

HoN Classic Hero Spotlight: Pandamonium!

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:27:00 +0000

The last of a race of warrior-monks sworn to a chaste existence in the misty Sang-La mountains, Pandamonium has left his bamboo groves for the battlefield. He moves with a grace that belies his great stature and strikes with fury surprising in one with such an apparently gentle nature. And though he is a creature of few words, the Beasts put great stock in his wisdom.
Pandamonium is a melee strength hero that focuses on dealing heavy physical damage. He is able to control his enemies by utilizing his stuns, slows, and a flurry of attacks.

This Friday, the 7th, Pandamonium's new limited edition alt avatar, Muay Tigermonium, will be released!

Pandas are GREEAAAAAAAT!

2.6.30 Patch Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:36:00 +0000

Version 2.6.30

== New Content ==

- Added Cthulhuphant Alt Avatar: Royal Cthulhuphant
* In some cultures, the White Elephant is revered as Holy and Royal. This is true within Newerth as well. While Cthuluphant himself is a force of chaos, Royal Cthuluphant takes a more sagely position. Consulting among his three heads to ensure his actions benefit not just himself, but the land as well, this Royal Ctuluphant has allied himself against his brother and joined the Legion forces.
* Releases on 11/30/2012

- Added a new Master of Arms Alt Avatar: Master of Bows
* Meet Eagleeye, the Master of Bows. Unlike his brother, Eagleeye does not believe that firearms are the key to the Legion beating the Hellbourne, but instead victory will lie in the hands of the skilled men and beasts and their ability to train themselves to use the tools at hand to defeat the daemonic invasion. With his bows in hand he takes aim at the enemies of the Legion like a true avenging force!
* Releases on 12/05/2012

- Added a new Tremble Skin: Iron Tremble
* Knowing that Tremble had been considered weak and outcast, Dr. Repulsor set out to make things right. Encasing both Tremble and Boris in a Crimson and Golden Shell of Iron, the brooding beast has been unleashed back on Newerth!
* Releases on 12/03/2012

- Judge Vindicator celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver
- Futbol Bubbles celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver
- Dark Succibus celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 150 Gold or 750 Silver
- Kurukuru celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 750 Silver
- Fat Lady Taunt celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 300 Gold or 1500 Silver

== Hero Balance ==

Berzerker
- Carnage: Damage Taken decreased from 20% to 15%

Blood Hunter
- Blood Crazy: Cast Time decreased from .5 to .3 seconds
- Blood Crazy: Cast Range increased from 600 to 650
- Hemorrhage: Cast Time decreased from .5 to .3 seconds

Gladiator
- Pitfall: Cast Speed and animation decreased from .4 to .3 seconds
- Pitfall: Impact delay decreased from 1.6 to 1.5 seconds
- Flagellation: Now propagates to illusions

Madman
- Stalk: Cooldown decreased from 13/11/9/7 to 10/9/8/7 seconds

Pestilence
- Flight: Removed 10% Damage Amp
- Flight: Duration decreased from 25 to 20 seconds

== Item Balance ==

Icon of the Goddess
- Charges now cap at 50
- Max charges that you can lose at one time decreased from 10 to 8

Post Haste
- Now takes Striders as a component
* Total price reduced by 300

Striders
- Now builds into Post Haste

== Bug Fixes and Optimizations ==

- Grinex: Now correctly on the Hellbourne faction. Oops!
- Grinex: Fixed Rift Stalk so that you do not cancel previously-ordered attack commands when you are fading into the second stealth state
- Grinex: Fixed a visual timer issue on Rift Stalk when you die
- Solstice: Fixed Pure Light to deal the proper amount of damage when channeling for the full duration
* Damage is effectively increased by 13,19,25 for only a full duration channel
- Arachna: Spider Sting minion will no longer be affected by deflection items
- Corrupted Disciple: Fixed a rare instance causing Electric Tide to deal more damage than intended while teleporting away
- Charged Hammer: Tower attacks will no longer activate the lightning return effect
- Announcer sounds have been downsampled to reduce memory usage
- Search feature in store avatar and hero lists has been fixed
- Monitoring a player should update immediately when opening a 2nd window
- Movable frames template has option to reset position on resolution change
- Game lobby avatar splash screen should now prompt to purchase an avatar on doubleclick if it is unowned
- SpecUI hotkeys to open, close, and toggle info screens should now behave properly again
- Test++ refresh feature should now be disabled when you leave a game

2.6.29 Patch Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 04:24:00 +0000

== New Content ==

- Added new Early Access Hero: Grinex the Riftstalker
* Grinex the Riftstalker is a ganker who uses stealth and deception to sneak upon and burst down his enemies. Utilize his fierce laning presence to cripple the enemy team before they can build up their strength.

- Added new Limited Edition Early Access Grinex Alt Avatar: Slickz
- Added new Premium Grinex Alt Avatar: Gideon
- Added Pestilence Alt Avatar: Queen Serecta
* Pestilence is not the only bug to leave Moon Queen's Hive. The self-proclaimed Queen Serecta has set her sights on the first deserter from Krixi's Hive. Intent to make him her King, they will rule the Hive together... or die trying.
* Releases on 11/28/2012

- Added a new Artillery Alt Avatar: Gunnar
* Deep from within the Iron Mountains comes the Dwarven Artilerist Gunnar! Here to prove Dwarven ingenuity trumps dug-up ancient technology any day, this warrior will soften up the Hellbourne so the Legion can have their final victory.
* Releases on 11/23/2012

- Added a new Nomad Alt Avatar: Red Raja
* The Red Raja - famed performer with a secret past. Framed for murder by the Sand Wraith, this Persian Prince has taken a disguise to hide from his pursuers whilst tracking the murderer of his bride. Will his disguise be lifted before the Sand Wraith can be brought to justice?
* Releases on 11/26/2012

- Added a new Glacius Alt Avatar: Joven Glacius
* Joven - the name of the Ice Warlock Glacius before his tragic fall. Meet this not-quite-corrupted vision of the Hellbourne's master of frost in the halls of DreamHack as an exclusive early access avatar for attendees of the event!
* Releases on 11/21/2012 for DreamHack attendees with unlock codes and 12/7/2012 for regular purchase!

- Added a new Dark Lady Alt Avatar: Hachina
* This is not your daddy's TDL! This Dark Lady of the Night has taken the role of assassin to a whole new level as she tracks her prey in the cities of Newerth! She will be available for one week exclusively with the purchase of a $50.00 or $100.00 Coin Pack
* Releases on 11/21/2012 (free with $50 or $100 coin purchase) and 11/30/2012 for regular purchase!

- Kinesia celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold and 500 Silver
- Musketeer Gladiator celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold and 1500 Silver
- Unseelie Nymphora celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold and 1500 Silver

== General ==

- Good luck to all of the teams participating in the 2012 DreamHoN Winter Championships!
* DreamHack is the world's largest LAN festival running from November 22-25
* Catch the world's best HoN players competing this weekend on DreamHoN.com and HoNTV!
* Due to DreamHack occurring this week there are no major changes in this patch

- Tooltips now include the range and/or radius of abilities

HoN Hero Spotlight: Grinex the Riftstalker

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:21:00 +0000

For many years, stories have been told in Newerth of a place where unimaginable creatures live in perpetual darkness known as the Great Rift. Many on Newerth have attempted to commune with this place of power and Valreia the Riftwalker is one of the few who is known to have succeeded. Since the Hellbourne enlisted her help in the war against the Legion, rifts have been opening in various parts of Newerth and a great creature has made its way through.

Even in the darkness of the Great Rift, there's terror and this creature known only as Grinex is the embodiment of fear. Trapped in a strange new world, this evil power seeks the Riftwalker, as she represents his only chance to escape from this wretched land. Using the Great Rift's power should not be taken lightly and this mere human has grown arrogant. Her time grows short as Grinex approaches from the shadows!

Grinex is a Melee Agility ganker who specializes in creating chaos on the battlefield. Through stealth and deception, Grinex spreads terror amongst the Legion forces
Grinex will be released on Wednesday, November 21st!
(me dumb and said friday in the video. viole not know anything. viole sad.)

2.6.28 Patch Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:31:00 +0000

Version 2.6.28

== New Content ==

- Rereleased Holiday Zephyr Alt Avatar: Turkey Zephyr
* The Holiday Bird returns to Newerth for one week to celebrate Thanksgiving!
* Releases on 11/21/2012

- Added a new Legionnaire Alt Avatar: Golden Centurion
* The Legionnaire's of the Royal Guard are not only noted for their Golden armor, but for their title - Centurions.
* Releases on 11/16/2012

- Added a new Fayde Skin: Glorious Fayde
* Community Member Glorious brings us another amazing avatar for Fayde - This time a reimagined Gypsy Fayde with a bit less left to the imagination!
* Releases on 11/19/2012

- Added a new Taunt: Blacksmith Taunt
* Tell your foes it's "Too Bad" they have been crushed under your boot heel with a Blacksmith in the box - Just watch out for the boom!
* Releases on 11/16/2012

- Night Hunter celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver
- Polar Panda celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 150 Gold or 750 Silver

== Hero Balance ==

- Turnrate increased from 360 to 450 for Hellbringer, Blitz, Demented Shaman, and Voodoo Jester

Drunken Master
- Stagger: Cooldown decreased from 12/10/8/6 to 9/8/7/6
- Untouchable: Drunk Charges needed decreased from 4 to 2

Lord Salforis
- Dark Lord's Presence: Illusions will deal 33% of the aura damage

Rally
- Movespeed increased from 300 to 305
- Compel: Mana Cost decreased from 140 to 130
- Demoralizing Roar: Now does 40/80/120/160 Physical damage
- Demoralizing Roar: Mana Cost increased from 40 to 75

Revenant
- Defile: Cast range increased from 600 to 700
- Mortification: Cast range increased from 600 to 700
- Essence Shroud: Cast range increased from 600 to 700
- Essence Shroud: Mana Cost decreased from 90/100/110/120 to 70/80/90/100

Shadowblade
- Strength gain per level increased from 2.1 to 2.3
- Agility gain per level increased from 2.1 to 2.3
- Intelligence gain per level increased from 2.1 to 2.3
- Essence Shift: Cast range increased from 600 to 800

Solstice
- Shining Rays: Damage decreased from 20/30/40/50 to 15/25/35/45
- Pure Light: Cool Down increased from 80/70/60 to 100/90/80

Vindicator
- Magic Armor increased from 5.5 to 6

== Bug Fixes and Optimizations ==

- Fixed one of the Legion jungle hard neutral camps to spawn the correct amount of goatars

- Double Damage: Re-adjusted the impact sound when attacking with double damage activated
- Draconis: Fiery Barrage now works if you deny an allied unit
- Draconis: Fiery Barrage will now trigger on denies and will no longer count down or trigger on towers
- Forsaken Archer: Fixed Forsaken Strider's Crippling Volley cast animation so that the sounds play at the same time as the original avatar
- Hellflower: Visual Trail now stops spawning when Hellflower is dispelled early
- Hellflower: Greatly optimized entity files
- Magmus: Fixed Eruption animation on Magmoose so that it is a bit brighter now
- Master of Arms: Optimized Pulse Cannon attack
- Valkyrie: Fixed Headhunter Valkyrie and Cyber Valkyrie's attack projectile spawning location so that it won't fire an arrow from the other side of the enemy target if you're hugging them at point-blank range

Hero Teaser: Grinex the Riftstalker

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:28:00 +0000

Grinex the Riftstalker is a melee agility ganker who specializes in creating chaos on the battlefield. Through stealth and deception, Grinex will spread rampant fear amongst the Legion forces!

Abilities Teaser

Shadow Step

Rift Stalk

Nether Strike

Illusory Assault

Look forward to Grinex the Riftstalker bursting his way into Newerth Wednesday, November 21st!

2.6.27 Patch Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:24:00 +0000

Version 2.6.27

== New Content ==

- Added a new Limited Edition Tundra Alt Avatar: Tribal Tundra
* The Frostfields are a harsh and unforgiving land. Among the men and beasts who reside in the Great White North, there are few who have learned to thrive without magic. Within the nomadic people, an elite warrior has learned to master the frost beasts of the ice caverns and have adopted his rule as their own – he is now the Tribal Tundra and all Hellbourne who venture into the lands claimed by his people will know no mercy.
* Releases on 11/09/2012

- Added a new Emerald Warden Alt Avatar: Centaur Warden
* In the forests and plains of Newerth great herds of Centaurs once roamed the lands. Their ancient lands have been destroyed by the deamons and the Centaurs have sent a champion to aid in reclaiming their ancestral lands. With his wolf and hawk, Centaur Warden stands ready to join the Legion cause!
* Releases on 11/14/2012

- Added a new Pollywog Priest Alt Avatar: Holly Polly
* There once was a girl named Holly, who was obsessed with all things Polly, there's a Frog on her head, and her totems make you dead...beware of the Holly Polly!
* Releases on 11/09/2012

- Added a new Devourer Skin: Patchwork Devourer
* Not all demons are stitched from corpses...some are stitched from sackcloth! You may never snuggle with your stuffed toys again after experiencing the new Patchwork Devourer!
* Releases on 11/12/2012

- Minotaur Behemoth celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold and 500 Silver
- Sabretooth Archer celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 150 Gold and 750 Silver

== General ==

- Hero Icons ingame will now always display the Default Hero Icons to avoid confusion
* Icons in the pregame lobby will still reflect which Alt Avatar or skin you are using

- The Voting System no longer displays who calls each vote

Patch 2.6.26.1 Changelog

noreply@blogger.com (ItsMeAn2x) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Version 2.6.26.1

== New Content ==

- Added a new Corrupted Disciple Alt Avatar: Reborn Disciple preview* It is said the power corrupts and now you can see the effects of absolute corruption as Newerth's Corrupted Disciple gives himself fully to the deamonic power within and in consumes him completely and he is reborn as a being of dark energy!
* Releases on 11/02/12

- Added a new Zephyr Alt Avatar: Twista preview
* Twista is one of the mighty Air Elementals of Newerth. His is a lonely lot in life, always drifting from place to place never making any friends. But now he has found the Legion, always willing to accept new warriors against the Hellbourne. They welcomed the Wind Warrior into their ranks only to find that he is more than a bit of a blowhard!
* Releases on 11/02/12

- Added a new Flint Beastwood Alt Avatar: Flint Spellslinger preview
* Not every hunter needs to use weapons to bring down their prey. Flint Beastwood has mastered the art of firethrowing and now brings its destructive power to bear on his enemies!
* Releases on 11/07/2012

- Added a new Solstice Alt Avatar: King Animus preview
* Animus is the King of the Lizardfolk - A Lizard Man by day and a Bestial Frilled Dragon by night, beware the power that he brings to the battlefiled! This Avatar is exclusively available for fans of Heroes of Newerth on Facebook!
* Releases on 11/06/2012

- Added a new Courier: Caterpillar Courier preview
* This amazing new courier is a magic carpet riding, hooka smoking beast who is more than happy to transform into a smoky butterfly to bring you your goods. This courier is exclusively available for fans of Heroes of Newerth on YouTube.
* Releases on 11/06/2012

- Added a new Jeraziah Skin: Crusader Jeraziah preview
* Jeraziah has returned from the frontlines a changed man. In his new Crusader Armor he is bringing the fight back to the Hellbourne Assassins no matter their creed!
* Releases on 11/05/2012

- Cyber Valk celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver coins
- Crematorium Balph celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver coins
- Scorcher celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver coins
- Harumon Monkey King celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 150 Gold or 750S Silver coins

== General ==

- Halloween has concluded in Newerth

== Hero Balance ==

Balphagore
- Demonic Pathogen: Duration rescaled from 1/2/3/4 to 2/2.5/3/3.5
- Demonic Pathogen: Damage rescaled from 60 to 40/50/60/70

Chronos
- Illusions now proc damage from Curse of Ages at 33% less damage than Chronos
* Illusions can not proc a stun

Hellbringer
- Summon Malphas: Cooldown decreased from 165 to 160/150/140
- Malphas: Movespeed increased from 325 to 325/350/375

Martyr
- Sol's Conviction: Cooldown decreased from 18/14/10/6 to 6 seconds

== Item Balance ==

Harkon's Blade
- Mana Cost decreased from 75 to 50

Riftshards
- Recipe Cost decreased from 950 to 925

== Bug Fixes and Optimizations ==

- Fixed Magic Armor displaying an incorrectly rounded number
- You can now mouseover a Hero icon on the scoreboard to show a tooltip
- Chat channels now throttle how often you can use autocomplete
- Herodex will no longer look incorrect when logging out and in
- Public Games 'Cancel' button fixed to work correctly
- Fixed a bug where death tips were not being removed between games if the chosen Hero does not change
- Advanced game options hides with Public Games properly

HoN Dev Blog - Pearl

noreply@blogger.com (ItsMeAn2x) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 04:06:00 +0000

Patch 2.6.25 Changelog - Pearl

noreply@blogger.com (ItsMeAn2x) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 04:02:00 +0000

Version 2.6.25

== New Content ==

- Added new Early Access Hero: Pearl, The Bubble Mage preview preview
* For eons, the Bubble Magi were the greatest defense the Legion had against the Beasts and Demons. Their protective magic circled the Legion cities in domes that kept the enemy assaults at bay. When Maliken betrayed the Legion, his agents simultaneously assassinated every Bubble Mage known to the Legion and burned their monasteries to the ground. All of them... save for one lone apprentice who was mistaken for a mere servant and one pet turtle who had watched his master from afar. Searching among the ruins of her home, she discovered her master's staff still clutched in his charred hands. As she took up his weapon, she finally allowed her tears to flow and her determination became clear. She has spent years honing her craft and now Pearl, the last known Bubble Mage, has taken to the battlefields to bring vengeance down upon Maliken and his demon horde.
* Pearl is a ranged intelligence support hero that protects and heals nearby allies while knocking enemies away. Unlike other support heroes, Pearl wants to be in the midst of the battle, ready to stop damage with Preservation or knock enemies away with Whirlbubble.

- Added new Limited Edition Early Access Pearl Alt Avatar: Brann
* Deep within the Iron Mountains the dwarves toil day and night extracting the riches from the earth. Occasionally when seeking the metals and gems buried in the mountains the dwarves stumble upon on other, hidden things. Such is the case with the Aegis. The ancient shield of the first King of Hell was found in one of the deep tunnels and the first dwarves who touched it were asphyxiated by its evil. A great alchemist warded a charm through the use of her own blood to protect another from its evil. Her own son must take the unholy burden to the deepest point in the ocean and drop it in in order for it to be destroyed. While waiting for a ship to sail, the adventurous dwarf has decided to bring its power to bear against the demons that forged it as Brann, The Shieldbearer.

- Added new Premium Pearl Alt Avatar: Shadian
* How far are you willing to let yourself be pushed before you decide to make a stand? The reach of the legion armies is vast, but it cannot protect all that live on Newerth from the Helbourn forces. A man living in these villages has had enough. Dennin, a simple alchemist has lived in fear of the Helbourn his entire life, running from village to village seeing his homes burned and his friends captured time and time again, being able to do nothing to save them. Knowing that his people will not survive another relocation he did the only thing he could. He tapped into dark magics in order to beseech those from beyond the rift in order to endow him with the strength to defend his new home. Sacrificing his body he has become Shadian the living shield and lives only to protect those that live in fear.

Celebrate Halloween all October long with a slew of monstrously themed content

- Added a new Repulsor Alt Avatar: Tesla the Mad Scientist preview
* This Alt Avatar is given out for free to anyone who purchases a $50 or $100 coin package between patch 2.6.25 and 2.6.26
* Not every scientist can hold onto his sanity while delving into the dark recesses of humanity. The great Tesla has lost his tenuous grasp on reality and powered up his flying platform to spread his mad knowledge throughout Newerth!
* Releases for direct purchase on 11/02/2012

- Added a new Pyromancer Alt Avatar: Headless Horseman Pyromancer preview
* From the hollows of the Darkwood Vale come the restless spirit of Headless Horseman Pyromancer. Maliken may have taken his head in battle, but even that will not stop this Holiday Edition Avatar from seeking revenge from beyond the grave when he returns to Newerth this Halloween!
* Releases on 10/31/2012

- Added a new Predator Alt Avatar: Creature Predator preview
* In the oceans of Newerth demons like Kraken and Myrmdon have grown in power and destroyed many of the beasts that live below the waves. Among the survivors a King has emerged to bring the fight back to the demons. Called Creature by the humans he will destroy the enemy above or below the Lagoon!
* Releases on 10/26/2012

- Added a new Geomancer Skin: Caterpillar Geomancer preview
* Ever wonder where Monarchs come from? Enjoy seeing the butterfly before she enters her chrysalis when she releases on 10/29/2012

- Clockwerk Archer celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver Coins
- Sniper Scout celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver Coins
- Iron Flux celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver Coins
- Rage Bane celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver Coins
- Icy Deadwood celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 150 Gold or 750 Silver Coins
- Joan D'Rally celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver Coins

== General ==

- Solstice is now part of the general hero pool

- HoN Tour is Here (Again)!
* HoN Tour functionality has been fully added to the game client and completely updated. The HoN Tour tournament platform is completely automated to make your HoN Tour experience as streamlined as possible.
* As a registered HoN Tour competitor, you'll notice a few new features in the Game Client. For a full walkthrough of the custom HoN Tour UI, visit bit.ly/hontourui.
* LET THE GAMES BEGIN with the relaunch of the HoN Tour qualifiers October 27th!

- All game votes are now anonymous
* The only vote displayed is from the person who calls each vote

- AFK Kick Votes now take only 2 "Yes" votes instead of 5
- Mac/Linux client no longer consumes a lot of processor time when not in focus

Defiler
- Unholy Expulsion: Attack damage changed from 43 - 48 to 46

Grimoire of Power
- The tooltip has been updated to specify damage done by only the hero
- Unholy Expulsion's Spirits will now receive the benefits of +15% damage amplification.
- Summon Gawain's Diving Strike will now receive the benefits of +15% damage amplification.

== Bug Fixes and Optimizations ==

Bombardier
- Sticky Bomb no longer detonates if it has been purged/dispelled

Balphagore
- Demonic Pathogen no longer spreads to other units when purged/dispelled

Parasite
- Parasite now properly transfers Sticky Bomb and Demonic Pathogen
* Both Bomb and Pathogen no longer transfer and explode

A Note From Soundwizard About Pearl!

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:01:00 +0000

The one and only maestro of Newerth, Soundwizard, has a new blog post which delves DEEP into what it takes to make HoN Heroes come to life. His most recent post recounts our newest hero Pearl and how his sound design and the lore of Pearl led to what we'll all see in Patch 2.6.25 on October 26th. His blog post is epic in the best sense of the word and anyone who wants to see a different side of the HoN development process should be sure to check it out (who knew playing with bubbles and mud could sound so GOOD?). You can find Soundwizard's blog at the URL below as well as the small glimpse I've included here.

Wanna see more behind the scenes sound design from Soundwizard and the rest of the S2 Games team? Leave your feedback below and show Soundwizard some love!

http://audiotorygaming.blogspot.no/2...r-science.html

HoN Hero Spotlight: Pearl the Bubble Mage!

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 04:53:00 +0000

For eons the Bubble Magi were the greatest defense the Legion had against the Beasts and Demons. Their protective magic circled the Legion cities in domes that kept the enemies assaults at bay. When Maliken's betrayal came to pass, his agents simultaneously assassinated every Bubble Mage known to the Legion and burned their monastery to the ground. All of them save for one lone apprentice who was mistaken for a mere servant and one pet turtle who had watched his master from afar. Searching amongst the ruins of her home, she discovered her master's staff clutched in his charred hands. As she took up his weapon, she finally allowed her tears to flow and her determination became clear. She has spent years honing her craft and now Pearl, the last known Bubble Mage has taken to the battlefields to wreck vengeance on Maliken and his demon horde.

Pearl is a ranged, intelligence hero who is adept in utilizing defensive magic. Her mastery over the flowing waters of Newerth allow her to both nurture wounded allies and suffocate her enemies.

She will debut this Friday, October 26th!

Hero Teaser: Pearl, The Bubble Mage!

noreply@blogger.com (Blood Hunter) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 05:20:00 +0000

For eons, the Bubble Magi were the greatest defense the Legion had against the Beasts and Demons. Their protective magic circled the Legion cities in domes that kept the enemy assaults at bay. When Maliken betrayed the Legion, his agents simultaneously assassinated every Bubble Mage known to the Legion and burned their monasteries to the ground.

All of them... save for one lone apprentice who was mistaken for a mere servant and one pet turtle who had watched his master from afar.

Searching among the ruins of her home, she discovered her master's staff still clutched in his charred hands. As she took up his weapon, she finally allowed her tears to flow and her determination became clear. She has spent years honing her craft and now Pearl, the last known Bubble Mage, has taken to the battlefields to bring vengeance down upon Maliken and his demon horde.

Pearl is a ranged intelligence support hero that protects and rewards allies alongside her and punishes enemies for being together.

Abilities Teaser :

Asphyxiate

Whirlbubble

Soothing Presence

Preservation

Pearl will unleashed the forgotten power of the Bubble Magi in Newerth in the upcoming hero spotlight.

Interview with Khezu!

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry O'Connell) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:40:00 +0000

So as I put in my last post, I said I'd be conducting an interview with Khezu from Gary Johnson 2012 - speaking about his victory and getting all his thoughts about the competitive scene and more - so here it is! The finished version!
( Red Brackets indicate what I replied at times )

You played Pikachu in the It's Gosu finals recently and won the series 2 - 0, then during the Destination Dreamhack finals you got matched up against them again! How did it compare to playing them in the It's Gosu finals?
Actually, it was easier in the Dreamhack event than the It's Gosu event 1 week prior to that. I can't really explain why, but it could possibly be that we had only been a team for a couple of days back then, and now we perhaps gathered our teamplay and were able to beat them.

So, what do you think your chances are at Dreamhack winter, against the likes of Complexity and the two Brazilian teams going?
I think we have a fairly decent chance at Dreamhack winter. Complexity are - with no doubt - the favourites, but I'm also looking forward to what the other international teams, such as the Brazilians, can bring to the table, since we never get to play vs them / watch their replays.

What other teams do you think will do well there, alongside you guys?
I think the other top contenders to win, are tdM and TteS, but also QsQ and Orange Esports Malaysia are definately not to be underestimated.

Moving on from Dreamhack, what heroes, that are now available in competitive tournaments, do you think will be used?
I think Prophet and Riftwalker will be used a lot - Prophet is a really sick hero and I've played Riftwalker myself a couple of times, that hero is ridiculous crazy good - not too sure about the others though.
(What do you think of rifts ult? I mean it can just be a huge turning point for team fights, and if you get the rotation off before and catch all five.. it's just insane)
I think Riftwalkers ultimate is really strong, I like the concept of chanelling it up with the mass AoE damage and stun that it has. The fact that it's a superior magic stun (goes through shrunken head) is the biggest factor of the ultimate. If you get caught in it, you will be stunned no matter what, and especially if it's casted out of fog - the ultimate can be deadly.

What are your thoughts on the new heroes S2 are bringing out, for example Solstice and Rally?
I have different thoughts about their heroes, really. Solstice is really strong, but then again Rally just seems weird to me. Prophet is too strong in my opinion too.
Some of them, in my opinion, are a tad too strong and some are underrated. For example Gunblade is underrated, and so is riftwalker. I think Prophet is overpowered :P.

So, back to the older heroes, you're a player well known for insane Tremble plays! What makes him such a valuable hero to you, and also - how you personally, would counter him if faced against him?
I just always liked the hero! I used to play him a lot, about more than a year ago, before they first nerfed him really hard. But anyways, I like the hero a lot, being so mobile, being able to farm & helping the team out literally anywhere on the map, while farming is just great. On top of that he's a great laner and has good laning presence. I just love playing the hero.
Uh..I don't want to give away how to counter him, people need to find that out themselves. Sorry :P!
(Haha, no problem! A secret never to be told!)

So, with the new patch implemented today (including the addition of the Ultimate Avatars), and the balance changes such as the nerf to Pollywog Priest, what impact do you think it'll have on the competitive scene meta game?
Those avatars...no comment. The nerf to Polly specifically, is huge. It's way harder to harass now with his Q and on top of that it's harder to achieve a ward trap too. Overall the other changes were mediocre, in terms of hero changes. Then you have the magic armor nerf / buffs which are rather interesting and I have yet to find out if I like it or not. Then we move over to the jungle changes. I'm not yet sure / haven't figured out if it's a nerf / buff / balance to jungle heroes in general. Another change I do like a lot, is the Defiler's Q change, from 600 to 900 range. I don't think it's going to have the biggest impact, it still depends on if I find out if it's a nerf or a buff, but I think the meta game will progress into a more agressive / push meta game with a semi pushing / mobile carry, such as Tremble / Silhouette / Forsaken etc.
(If the meta progresses towards the aggressive line ups, it'll be a lot more fun to watch - I think that's why people like to watch GJ 2012 because as Swindlemelonzz said, he likes to draft fun lines up, not so much a farm-fest).
I acrtually haven't played with / against as polly since the patch, but I think it's a big deal. That might be why :) - I'm able to adapt to every playstyle - I can play the boring hard carry role as Magebane / Dark Lady / Silhouette, or a more agressive Semi pusher / Ganker such as Tremble. I always have fun doing it so I wouldn't mind, but I really think that that is the way it's going to be.

Moving back a little into the competitive scene alone, what are you thoughts on the upcoming HoNtour? Will you be partaking as well, or just joining in on all of the official hardcore tournaments with more well known teams?
I'm really looking forward to HoNtour, it's finally here and I'm glad that it is. It's going to make the scene grow, as new teams will form in order to participate and practise for the event.
If I have the time I'll join in on all the events, which I do plan on doing!

What Are your expectations from S2, for the future of competitive gaming? Bringing more tournaments and better prizes/better competitive community scene?
My expectations from them, which I think they will do a very good job with, are to bring a couple more tournaments - HoNtour is a great start to that. Perhaps slightly better prizes, but they are already extremely good, so I don't really expect them to put out more prize money in the near future. I do hope for a better Competitive Scene & a better community. There's just too many haters / trolls out there, I dare to say that the HoN community isn't the best, sorry ! I'm not saying that everybody out there is a douchebag, or anything a like. Just that lots of people are insane haters, trolls or crybabies. I think there are a few ways to change that.
(Oh definately, and the competitive scene sees so much hate and drama all the time - it'll be nice to put some measures in to calm it all down.)

Care to elaborate on what you think they could do to help, or just a few things here and there?
Definately less drama and less hate would be nice. I never really thought about it myself, what S2 specifically could do about it, people just have to realize themselves that hating and trolling usually doesn't help, but make it worse. Especially as a streamer you see the difference in a fan and a hater / troll. And I, myself, believe that other games have a better community.

Some of your viewers, including myself, are interested in knowing a little bit more about the girl you have on your stream a lot? Who is she, and how did you meet?
She's my girlfriend, who lives in Sweden currently! We saw each other at Dreamhack Summer, as she also plays HoN (as my loyal viewers know) - and we started to talk every day after then on HoN right up to this day, and Skype also. I was at her place a few months ago also, and we both had a lot of fun being together.

Final question, how long have you been playing mobas/HoN and what motivates you keep playing?
I started playing RTS games when I was around 11 and then started with Dota when I was 13/14, played about 20 games. I then switched over to HoN ever since. HoN specifically, for about 3 years now.
My motivation, hmm, good question. There's a few good reasons:

1) To become the very best player and dominate
2) The fun I have playing this game
3) Being able to go to Sweden and participate at Dreamhack.
4) Making some money besides going to school.

(Mmkay that's interesting to know then :), always nice to have money on the side, and trying to become to best player is always something motivating!)

Any shout-outs you'd live to give before we finish?
Definately one to my girlfriend! I also want to give some shoutouts to all my fans, the people who support me, the people who watch my stream daily & follow me, my family & again, my lovely girlfriend. I love all of you.

And there you have it guys, the wonderful player, Khezu!
You can catch him streaming nearly all day, every day at twitch.tv/khezzu and visit his Facebook Page and like him there!
Big shout out to him for doing this, and a big shout out to Gary Johnson 2012, we're all rooting for you at Dreamhack Winter!

HoNTour UI Preview

noreply@blogger.com (ItsMeAn2x) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:17:00 +0000

S2Dev Blog : Ultimate Avatar

noreply@blogger.com (ItsMeAn2x) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:16:00 +0000