Heroes of the Storm PTR Patch Notes - January 14, 2026

Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just hit the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting. As always, if you encounter any bugs during your PTR play sessions, please stop by the PTR Bug Report forum to let us know about your experiences.

Quick Navigation:

• General
• Map Updates
• Balance Update
• Known Issues & Bug Fixes

General

• All Quests that can lose stacks will never cause the player to fall below milestone thresholds.
• Pinnacle Rewards are now named Mythic Rewards to give a more Blizzard feel. So Mythic-y!
• The following Summoned Units now lose health each second: Demon Lieutenants, Demon Warriors, Gargantuan, Hydralisks, Roaches, Rock-It Turrets, Rush Zombies, Scarabs, Treants, Tumors, and Water Elementals. Total Health and Duration of these Summoned Units have been adjusted to compensate for this.
• Structures now prioritize Summoned Units when there are no remaining minions.
• Summoned Units no longer take half damage from Structures.
• XP Globe pickup sound is now also played when killing a minion that instantly yields XP.
• Updated Homescreen and Startup Music.

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Map Updates

• General
  • Watch Towers will now reset to neutral after 45 seconds of not being occupied.
• Volskaya Foundry
  • Triglav Protector bonus Damage and cooldown speed increased from 25% to 40% when 2 players are inside.
• Warhead Junction
  • The burn duration is now displayed on structures affected by a Warhead.

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Balance Update

Heroes

Azmodan

Base

• Summon Demon Warrior [W]
  • Demon Warriors damage increased from 32 to 83. Now deals half damage to Heroes.
  • Demon Warriors no longer have a duration, but lose 26 Health every second.
  • Demon Warriors no longer have Immolation.
  • Now has 2 charges.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Globe of Annihilation
    • Now deals 50% damage to non-Heroes.
    • Upon reaching 225 Annihilation, Globe of Annihilation no longer deals reduced damage to non-Heroes.
  • Wrath
    • REWORK: Now provides 1 stack for every 2 Basic Attacks hit against a Structure or Hero.
• Level 7
  • Art of Chaos
    • Extra Annihilation amount reduced from 4 to 2.
  • Bombardment
    • Amount of time Bombardment lasts reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds.
  • Master of Destruction
    • Amount of Annihilation granted reduced from 2 to 1.
• Level 13
  • Hell Rift
    • Damage bonus reduced from 75% to 35%.
• Level 20
  • Inescapable Annihilation
    • NEW: Globe of Annihilation has unlimited range.
  • Pride
    • Moved to baseline. Now requires 450 stacks.

Deathwing

Base

• Attack Damage decreased from 155 to 110.
• Form Switch [1]
  • Active ability removed. Deathwing now switches forms solely from landing.
• Cataclysm [E]
  • NEW QUEST: Damage Heroes with Molten Flame to gain 1 stack. Gain 50 stacks for killing a Hero. Mythic Reward: Upon reaching 2,000 stacks, Cataclysm now deals 2,500% damage to Structures and Minions. "I AM THE CATACLYSM".
• Onslaught [E]
  • Bonus damage increased from 72 to 120.
  • Damage increased from 38 to 60.
• Earth Shatter [E]
  • Cast time reduced from 1 second to .75 seconds.
  • Energy cost increased from 25 to 30.
• Molten Flame [Q]
  • Base Damage per Second reduced from 21 to 19.
• Incinerate [W]
  • Cooldown increased from 4 seconds to 6 seconds.
  • Energy cost increased from 20 to 30.
  • Slow increased from 12% to 16%.
• Lava Burst [W]
  • Cast time reduced from 1 second to .75 seconds.
  • Cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 9 seconds.
  • Energy cost increased from 15 to 25.
  • Explosion Damage increased from 30 to 35.
  • Explosion Damage over Time increased from 6 to 7.
  • Slow increased from 35% to 45%.
• Dragonflight [Z]
  • Cooldown delay after dealing or taking damage increased from 4 seconds to 6 seconds.
  • Cooldown reduced from 45 seconds to 15 seconds.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Dragon Soul
    • Healing increased from 75%, 150% to 100%, 200%.
• Level 4
  • Heat Wave
    • Damage over Time increased from 6 to 9.
    • Damage over Time stacks reduced from 4 to 3.
    • Initial damage bonus increased from 125% to 150%.
• Level 7
  • Firestorm
    • Damage increased from 70 to 77.
    • No longer reduces cooldown of Dragonflight.
• Level 13
  • Fire and Fury
    • Damage bonus increased from 30% to 40%.

Falstad

Base

• Lightning Rod [W]
  • Range reduced by .5.
  • Time between strikes increased from .8 seconds to .9 seconds.

Jaina

Base

• Frostbite [Trait]
  • NEW QUEST: Deal Ability Damage to Heroes. Upon reaching 12,000 Damage, unlock Improved Ice Block, which allows Jaina to become temporarily Invulnerable. Mythic Reward: Upon dealing 30,000 Damage, Ice Block upgrades to Ice Cold, granting Jaina Protected instead of Stasis.

Talents

• Level 7
  • Ice Lance
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds.
• Level 16
  • Numbing Blast
    • Stun duration reduced from 1 second to .75 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Wintermute
    • Water Elemental cast range and damage bonus decreased from 50% to 40%.

Kael'thas

Talents

• Level 1
  • Convection
    • Increased reward damage and health from 150/50 to 200/100.

Muradin

Base

• Storm Bolt [Q]
  • Perfect Storm Quest removed.
  • NEW QUEST: Basic Attack Heroes affected by Slows or Stuns. Slows provide 1 stack and Stuns provide 2 stacks. At 35 stacks, Storm Bolt pierces to hit an additional target, and Muradin's Basic Attack reduces the cooldown of Storm Bolt by 0.5 seconds. Mythic Reward: At 150 stacks, Storm Bolt's range is increased by 50% and width is increased by 100%, and now pierces all targets.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Dwarf Block
    • Block charges reduced from 4 to 3.
  • Give 'em the Axe!
    • Moved Talent from Level 7 to Level 1.
• Level 4
  • Sledgehammer
    • No longer increases Storm Bolt's cooldown reduction.
    • Now increases Storm Bolt damage to non-Heroes by 500%.
• Level 7
  • Perfect Storm
    • NEW: If an enemy hit with Storm Bolt dies within 3 seconds, reset its cooldown.
• Level 16
  • Dwarf Launch
    • Range bonus reduced from 40% to 30%.

Murky

Base

• Murky now gains a 35% Shield for 10 seconds upon reviving.
• Spawn Egg [D]
  • Egg now regenerates quickly instead of having a Shield.
• Slime [Q]
  • Now applies its debuff to enemy Structures.
  • Now deals 50% damage to Structures.
• Pufferfish [W]
  • Damage reduced by 20%.
  • Detonation time reduced from 3 seconds to 2.75 seconds.
  • NEW QUEST: Hit enemies affected by Slime with Pufferfish. Provides 1 stack per minion, 5 stacks per Hero or Structure hit. At 100 stacks, Basic Abilities now deal full damage to Structures. Mythic Reward: At 200 stacks, Murky gains 50% Health and increases in size.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Egg Hunt
    • Talent removed.
  • Shell Game
    • NEW: Murky can now place 2 eggs, but randomly revives from one of them. Increases the cooldown of placing an egg to 30 seconds and goes off cooldown if either egg dies.
• Level 10
  • March of the Murlocs
    • Damage increased by 4%.
• Level 13
  • Egg Shell
    • REWORK: Murky gains a Shield equal to 35% of his Health upon placing an egg or when one of his eggs dies.
  • Fish Tank
    • Healing reduced from 25% to 20%.
• Level 16
  • Wrath of Cod
    • Damage over Time reduced from 5 seconds to 4 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Big Tuna Kahuna
    • Talent removed.
  • Faster Fish
    • NEW: Pufferfish detonates 80% faster.
  • Making Inky
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds.
  • Never-Ending Murlocs
    • No longer deals reduced damage to Structures.

Sylvanas

Talents

• Level 4
  • Mercenary Queen
    • Now also causes Sylvanas' Basic Attacks to instantly apply 3 stacks of Black Arrows to Mercs.

Thrall

Base

• Basic Attack damage decreased from 173 to 167.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Crash Lightning
    • Mythic Reward Damage bonus increased from 270 to 325.
  • Echo of the Elements
    • Mythic Reward now also allows Chain Lightning to bounce back to the same target.

Tyrande

Base

• Mana reduced from 500 to 450.
• Lunar Flare [E]
  • NEW QUEST: Hitting a Hero with Lunar Flare increased its damage by 5%, up to 250%. After hitting 10 Heroes, increase Lunar Flare's range by 30%. After hitting 20 Heroes, Sentinel now pierces the first Hero hit. Mythic Reward: After hitting 50 Heroes, Tyrande's Basic Attacks occasionally trigger a Lunar Flare.
  • Now restores 25 mana per enemy hit.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Moonlit Arrows
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from .75 seconds to .5 seconds.
    • Moved Talent from Level 7 to Level 1.
  • Trueshot Aura
    • No longer passively increases Tyrande's Attack Damage.
    • Now also applies to Tyrande upon activation.
• Level 7
  • Elune's Gift
    • NEW: Grants 20% Spell Power for 10 seconds after hitting an enemy with Lunar Flare.
• Level 20
  • Commander of Sentinels
    • NEW: Sentinel now has an additional charge.

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Known Issues & Bug Fixes

Known Issues

• Jaina
  • Ice Cold's tooltip is incorrect.
  • Resetting Jaina's talents after finishing her quest causes issues.
• Zul'jin
  • Resetting Zul'jin's talents does not reset cap.

Bug Fixes

Heroes

• Alarak
  • Level 10
    • Deadly Charge
      • Fixed an issue that caused Alarak's Deadly Charge to not be activated by clicking the left mouse button if it occupies the Trait slot.
• Ana
  • Base
    • Aim Down Sights [D]
      • Can now be toggled while affected by a Silencing effect.
• Jaina
  • Base
    • Frostbolt [Q]
      • Fixed an issue causing Jaina's Frostbolt to not have its model updated by Dreadlord Jaina or Lunar Jaina.
• Orphea
  • Level 4
    • Allegrissimo
      • Fixed an issue that could cause Allegrissimo's cooldown reduction to not be granted when hitting a Hero at Shadow Waltz' end.
• Sylvanas
  • Base
    • Possession [1]
      • Fixed Possession not showing in the Quick Cast menu settings.
      • Fixed Possession not being correctly affected by cooldown reduction affects granted by allies.

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