A test patch, rather than a retail rollout
Blizzard published November 9 patch notes for the Heroes of the Storm Public Test Realm. The publisher says the build is available for playtesting and directs bug reports to its PTR forum. The notice does not announce deployment to the regular live game or give a retail release date.
Medivh’s portals come with trade-offs
The test increases Arcane Rift damage from 170 to 185 and reduces Force of Will’s cooldown from nine seconds to eight. Portal’s cooldown rises from 16 seconds to 20.
Portal Mastery no longer lets Medivh cast Portal in Raven Form without dismounting; that ability instead appears on the level-four Dust of Appearance talent, whose cooldown falls from 45 seconds to 40.
Other changes to check in the notes
Xal’atath’s Shadow Mark range rises from eight to nine, while Void Volley’s Mythic Reward damage bonus falls from 50% to 35%. The notes also change several other Xal’atath talents, so one increase should not be read as an across-the-board buff.
Chromie, Gazlowe, Lúcio, Mei, Mephisto and Stukov also receive adjustments. The full notes list bug fixes, including Hearthstone healing no longer scaling with Spell Power. Players should use the linked PTR notes to review their build; test values can change before any live release.
