Summary
Heroes of the Stormhas officially rolled out the first update of 2025, featuring some balance changes, bug fixes, and the return of Brawl Mode. Players can enjoy these special game modes on a rotating, biweekly basis inHeroes of the Stormright now, starting with the Lunar Rocket Racing minigame.
Though Blizzard’s multi-franchise MOBA has technically been in maintenance mode since July 2022,Heroes of the Stormsuddenly received a balance patch over a year laterin September 2023. Every few months since then,Heroes of the Stormhas consistently rolled out new patches, with the seventh such update arriving in early December 2024.
Now,Heroes of the Stormhas rolled out another patch – and this time, it has added a feature back to the game that has been gone for almost five years. Heroes Brawl, originally introduced as Arena Mode, is officiallyback inHeroes of the Stormas Brawl Mode. This game mode features special maps with drastically different rules, ranging from the all-Nova Ghost Protocol snipe fest to the Escape from Braxis PvE map. Brawls will rotate every two weeks, on the 1st and 15th each month, with the first one, Lunar Rocket Racing, available now until mid-February.
Of course, noHeroes of the Stormupdate would be complete without some balance changes. Chromie and Tracer all saw buffs and nerfs to a few of their talents. Johanna and Zul’jin did as well, though the former’s Shield Glare had its mana cost increased, while the latter’s You Want Axe? trait was improved. Auriel, on the other hand, received buffs to her Bestow Hope trait and several of her talents that will aid her healing, damage, and survivability.
The update also squashed quite a few bugs in Blizzard’s MOBA. Beyond some pathing problems with experience globes, visual effects for rooting, and the interaction between crowd control reduction and gradual slowing effects, nearly three dozen heroes had issues resolved pertaining to their abilities and talents.
Besides the size of this update, the rate at which thisHeroes of the Stormupdate arrived is particularly noteworthy. Since they resumed in 2022, most of these updates have had two to three months between them, and about a month between the patch’s arrival on the Public Test Realm and the live release. Not only did this patch arrive faster than usual –less than two months after the lastHeroes of the Stormupdate– but it also came the same month as it hit the PTR. While this could mean nothing,Heroes of the Storm’s 10-year anniversary is on June 2, leading many fans to wonder if the increased attention could herald something big in store for the MOBA’s big milestone.
Heroes of the Storm Patch Notes – July 30, 2025
Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live! Read on for more information.
NOTE: Italicized text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.
Heroes of the Storm
WHERE TO PLAY
This free-to-play online team brawler assembles a diverse cast of characters from Blizzard’s far-flung realms of science fiction and fantasy, including the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo universes, and challenges them to compete in epic, adrenaline-charged battles.Thrall, Kerrigan, Diablo, Arthas, Zeratul, Tyrael—they’re all here and ready to test their might in the forge of eternal combat. Who will stand with you in battle? Build and customize heroes from across every Blizzard universe to suit your play style. Team up with your friends and engage in fast-paced mayhem across battlegrounds that impact strategy and change the way you play the game.Good players win. Great ones win while dressed to kill. Distinguish yourself in battle with dozens of unique heroes, skins, and mounts, then customize your hero’s talents and choose heroic abilities.The game features an array of gameplay modes for players of every skill level, including Cooperative, in which players team up against computer-controlled opponents, and Quick Match, an accessible way to jump in and play versus others. Experienced players can also join forces against other teams of players in highly competitive, draft-style ranked play.
