Blizzard has revealed the details of its latest Heroes of The Storm update, and it is sure to excite all you World of Warcraft fans out there. With the popular MOBA previously having given host to Blizzard’s other various offers – namely Diablo, Overwatch, and Starcraft – it was only a matter of time before World of Warcraft had its moment in the spotlight. Announced in a recent press release, the massive ‘Echoes of Alterac’ update introduces a new battleground, a new hero, and loads of new event-specific quests and spoils of war for those looking to beef up their Spoils of War. Here’s the official announcement from Blizzard:

The conflict between the Horde and the Alliance rages on inside the Nexus with the upcoming Warcraft-event: Echoes of Alterac! Battle for glory on Alterac Pass, a new battleground inspired by the iconic World of Warcraft battleground, Alterac Valley. Choose a side, then complete a series of quests to unlock your faction’s a portrait, banner, and mount! And don’t forget to show your Azerothian spirit with new skins, mounts, sprays, and other cosmetic items—as well as an all new Warcraft hero, Yrel, the Light of Hope.”

The new battleground, Alterac Pass, comes from the popular player-vs-player mode within World of Warcraft, called Alterac Valley. According to Blizzard, the new battleground is “a snow-covered, three-lane battleground that is the first to bring a piece of the World of Warcraft’s Alterac Valley to the Nexus. Raze keeps, gather forces, and defeat your opponent’s legendary General: Drek’Thar for the Horde, and Vanndar Stormpike for the Alliance.”

Here’s the preview of the battleground, alongside the official summary from Blizzard:

“The horns of war echo once again across the snowy slopes of Alterac. This time, something is different. Powerful Heroes join the Alliance and Horde, while the legendary generals Vanndar and Drek’Thar are infused with strange Nexus energies.”

Heroes of The Storm – Alterac Pass

• New Map Mechanic – Cavalry: Your Cavalry units have been captured by the enemy! Your goal is to break them out of Cages on the map while preventing the enemy team from doing so. Channel on the enemy Cage to gain control of it, then maintain control until your prisoner is freed. After a short delay, the winning team will spawn a Cavalry unit in each lane, boosting the movement speed and damage of nearby allies.
• Lay Siege to your Opponents: Standard cores have been replaced by Generals who will fight back when attacked! Generals can be attacked after one keep is destroyed, but they gain 20 armor from each keep that’s still intact—destroy all three enemy keeps to diminish their defenses.
• Destroy Keeps to Spawn Reavers: When a keep is destroyed, the enemy team will begin to spawn melee Reaver minions instead of catapults. Reavers lead your other minions into combat, and serve to tank the brunt of the enemy General’s attacks.

The new Heroes of The Storm update also introduces a new hero, Yrel, a Draenei paladin whose title is ‘Light of Hope’. Yrel is referred to as a “deliberate warrior,” who features “heavyweight abilities that reward patience and timing.” The interesting thing about Yrel is how devastating she can be when she charges up her abilities, which should lead to some amazing gameplay should players utilize her properly. Check out the hero spotlight for Yrel below, followed by the breakdown of her kit:

Heroes of The Storm – Yrel

Trait

• Divine Purpose (D)
  • Activate to instantly charge Yrel’s next Basic Ability at no mana cost.
  • Passive: Yrel’s Abilities charge up over 1.5 seconds, increasing in effectiveness, but reducing her movement speed by 25%.
    • Cooldown: 10

Basic Abilities

• Vindication (Q)
  • Unleash holy energy around Yrel, dealing 38 damage to nearby enemies and healing her for 96.
    • Charging up this ability increases its damage up to 125, and healing up to 320.
      • Cost: 50
      • Cooldown: 6
• Righteous Hammer (W)
  • Her hammer deals 38 damage to enemies in front, or knocking them away.
    • Charging this Ability increases knockback distance, damage increased to 125.
    • Enemies hit at max charge are stunned for 0.75 seconds.
      • Cost: 50
      • Cooldown: 16
• Avenging Wrath (E)
  • Leap to a location, dealing 150 damage to enemies in an area and Slowing them by 50% for 1 second.
    • Charging this Ability increases its range.
      • Cost: 50
      • Cooldown: 6

Heroic Abilities

• Ardent Defender (R1)
  • Surround Yrel in a barrier for 3 seconds, absorbing all damage taken and healing her for 50% of the damage received.
    • Cost: 40
    • Cooldown: 100
• Sacred Ground (R2)
  • Yrel sanctifies the ground around her, gaining 40 Armor until she leaves the area.
    • Cost: 40
    • Cooldown: 100

In addition to the new battleground and character, the Echoes of Alterac event also features several quests that begin after players choose between, of course, the Horde or the Alliance. Either quest line features faction-themed rewards that include new portraits, banners, and a mount, all of which can be seen here. Here are the quests:

Echoes of Alterac Event Quests and Rewards

• Quest: Play four games as a Warcraft Hero. Reward: Warcraft Reinforcements Chest (Contains four item drops as usual, but one of them is guaranteed to be a Warcraft Hero from a pool of 28)
• Quest: Achieve 50 takedowns in winning games. Reward: Faction Portrait
• Quest: Play six games with friends. Reward: Faction Banner
• Quest: Win eight games as a Warcraft Hero. Reward: Faction Mount (Ram for the Alliance, Wolf for the Horde)

The  Heroes of The Storm: Echoes of Alterac event runs between June 12 and July 9, with Yrel arriving first during the week of June 12, then Alterac Pass during the week of June 19. Heroes of The Storm is now available for PC.

So, thoughts on the latest Heroes of The Storm event? What are you most excited for? Which faction will you choose? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!