After a month aboard the hype train, Heroes of the Storm's 2.0 update is finally live in the NA region, with EU following later tonight. This is probably the most extensive update for HotS since it launched two years ago, bringing nearly all the game's cosmetic items out from behind a paywall while simultaneously adding tons of new ones like sprays and chat emojis. The update will also revamp player progression, uncapping hero and account leveling. Blizzard has marked the occasion with a new cinematic trailer revealing D.Va from Overwatch is on the way.
The crux of the cosmetic changes is the introduction of Loot Chests, a system extremely similar to the one in Overwatch. Every time you level up a hero, you'll be rewarded with a Loot Chest filled with cosmetic items—so while earning these cosmetics is random, items that were previously only available for real money are now open to everyone. And as part of the progression rework, the experience needed to level up a hero has been massively scaled down.
Overwatch's Genji is being added as a new hero today, along with a map based on Hanamura. The Diablo 2 Amazon character Cassia was added earlier this month as part of the 2.0 rollout, and D.Va's coming at some unknown point in the (likely near) future. A new Nexus Challenge has also kicked off, offering cosmetic rewards in both HotS and Overwatch for playing games with friends in HotS.
The new currency systems replace real money with Gems and add Shards that can be used to unlock specific cosmetic items. To give newer players a boost, anyone who logs on in the next month will be given 100 Gems for free—conveniently the exact amount needed to purchase one of the game's new Mega Bundles—which will immediately unlock 20 heroes. Blizzard's clearly looking to entice new players (and Overwatch fans) to give Heroes a shot.
The update is now live in the NA region, so you can jump in and get stabby with Genji right now. Look for the patch to hit Europe at 8 am CEST. You can find all the details on Blizzard's official site.
