Zarya, Warhead Junction, and more added to ‘Heroes of the Storm’

Because more new stuff never hurt anyone, the “Machines of War” event has just added another hero and battleground to Blizzard’s battle royal, “Heroes of the Storm.”

The new hero, Zarya, is here to crush skulls with her enormous arms and even more enormous Particle Cannon. This Russian soldier is the second “Overwatch” character to come to the Nexus after Tracer. And, like Tracer, she’s an extremely close translation of her first-person shooter incarnation.

Zarya is a Ranged Warrior whose playstyle revolves around the management of energy. The more energy she has, the more powerful her attacks. She gains energy by absorbing attacks with her shield. Alternatively, she can shield an ally for the same result.

Then there’s Warhead Junction, a large, three-lane battleground boasting the “StarCraft” theme. Its unique objective involves gathering warheads which spawn periodically around the map. Once the player has acquired a warhead, they can use it to launch a nuclear strike against any target within range, dealing massive damage.

Warhead Junction’s boss mercenaries are quite interesting. Hailing from “StarCraft,” these Swarm Hosts spawn Locusts which explode to slow and poison heroes. Once captured, Swarm Hosts leave behind a trail of corrosive sludge that slows and damages enemy heroes.

The update also introduces several tweaks – some more significant than others – to existing characters and battlegrounds.

Alarak has received many buffs. Generally speaking, his Abilities are now more damaging and cost less mana. In addition to dealing more damage, his Heroic, Counter-Strike, also grants Alarak the Unstoppable status effect.

Nazeebo’s changes are pretty wild. For one, his Corpse Spiders no longer behave like they used to. Now, spiders are released only if the jar hits a target enemy. While the impact of the jar itself does less damage, the damage the spiders deal has almost been tripled. The spiders also move considerably faster.

Nazeebo’s Talent tree has also been overhauled. One of his new Talents is Hexed Crawlers, which restores Nazeebo’s health every time his Corpse Spiders attack a target enemy. He also has several quest-type Talents.

Read about all the changes the patch brings to Heroes of the Storm here. — BM, GMA News