As soon as one event ends, another one begins in Blizzard’s massive MOBA. Announced and released simultaneously, Heroes of the Storm’s next themed event, Dark Nexus II, is already underway, and this time there are a plethora of new things that the developers have implemented. As stated in the Patch Notes Page, in addition to special loot boxes and items, Blizzard has also made major changes to some of the gameplay mechanics, one of which includes a complete rework on one of the oldest Heroes in the game, StarCraft’s Tassadar.
Tassadar, who has been a longtime Support Hero, has been remade into a Ranged Assassin. As such, nearly all of his Talents and Abilities have changed completely, with the only exception being Psionic Storm, which remains a very strong crowd control ability. In fact, we’d argue that these new ones only amplify the effects of it, as his new Assassins talents are made to complement each other. This makes him a serious threat when it comes to fighting from afar, but if you get to close to anyone, expect to see your health bar drop almost instantly.
One of his new abilities, Shock Ray, sends an electric current at the opponent in a straight line, which deals severe damage as well as slowing anyone it touches. Psionic Storm’s area control works extremely well with this, especially when you obtain the talent that buffs Shock Ray whenever you utilize the former. Speaking of control, his other new ability, Force Wall, creates a small blue wall that blocks the enemy from escaping. This, along with the aforementioned two abilities, makes Tassadar the next long-range powerhouse that fans have been waiting for.
Some of the other game changes have to do with the Towers, Keeps, and Cores. When they’re attacking enemy Heroes, they will now emit a beam showing which player is being attacked. To accompany this, if any of the targets flee from the area, or are destroyed, the cannons on the defense systems will reset automatically to the next available opponent. The defense’s attacks have also been increased slightly. Core’s have been upgraded considerably, with each one on all maps having their own distinct and unique traits. This makes it more of a challenge for the players to complete objectives and push lanes. You can check the full list of changes on the Patch Notes page.
Since this is a special event, you’ll be able to get Dark Nexus themed skins, portraits, sprays, emojis, and mounts. Only certain Heroes will be getting the Dark Nexus treatment though, as specific ones are always chosen by Blizzard for each event. Tassadar is considered a highlight for this one so he will be getting his own, as well as Fenix and the newest, and scariest Hero, Deathwing. All of these cosmetics can be earned in-game just by playing. However, if you wish to jump right to the part where you get them automatically, you can buy them outright in the Collections section.
Despite canceling the game’s beloved esport, Heroes Global Championship (HGC), the game itself is still going strong thanks to its tenacious fanbase. The company hasn’t stated what the long term plan for the game is, but hopefully, these modifications are enough to keep going for a long time. The Dark Nexus II is already underway and will continue until the game’s next major update. Heroes of the Storm is free-to-play on PC through the Battle.net.