The newest Heroes of the Storm PTR patch is live right now and it introduces a new character as well as some UI changes. Probius, the new character, is a Protoss Probe from StarCraft II and despite lacking the ability to ride a mount, his base movement speed is faster than any other character and he even has a temporary speed boost ability. He also warps in Pylons like you would expect, which restores his mana and powers one of his abilities. Probius’ basic abilities include:

• Warp Rift – Slows enemies in the area and can explode and deal more damage when it’s center is hit by Disruption Pulse.
• Disruption Pulse – Damages all enemies in a straight line.
• Photon Cannon – Warps in a temporary automated turret, but must be placed within range of a Pylon to work.

His Heroics include:

• Pylon Overcharge – Increases the range of Pylons and allows attacks against nearby enemies. This goes hand in hand with a passive bonus which gives Pylons a shield equal to 50% of their max health when you choose it.
• Null Gate – Creates a type of wall that will damage and slow down enemies who touch it.

Along with the new character, there are some UI changes that will impact all of the players. These changes include:

• New art for many parts of the UI like health, mana, and buff bars; hero portraits; and scoreboard, death recap, and talents screens.
• A new kill-feed that tracks how much time you have to secure multi-kills.
• A redesign of the party frame that resembles watching an esports match of the game and makes it easier to see who is alive what abilities have been chosen, and which teammates are currently using their Hearthstone.
• The XP indicator shows you when a team is about to level-up, allows them to choose a talent, and shows when a team has a talent advantage with a flame effect on the level.
• The on fire effect has come back with a limit of only 3 players on fire at any time.

You can check out all these changes and 2 new mounts on the PTR right now. You can also watch this video below highlighting the new character along with elemental and epic elemental mounts. For more, you can find the full patch notes here!

What do you guys think of the changes? Have any of you already played with the Heroes of the Storm PTR patch? Let us know in the comment section below or start a conversation over on our Disqus. As always, make sure to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!