Blizzard announces Eternal Conflict expansion for Heroes of the Storm
Take a butcher's at the upcoming new content.
Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm may only have just come out of beta, but there's already a new content expansion planned for the company's modern-day MOBA. Themed around the Diablo universe, Eternal Conflict introduces a new map to the game - Battlefield of Eternity - as well as two new characters.
The new battleground features a central combat arena with two surrounding lanes. Once spawned, each team will have to defend their own Immortal character, while at the same time attempt to take down the opposing team's. The victorious Immortal then commences to march along towards the losing team's defences, smashing anything in its path to pieces.
Johanna, the female fighter from Diablo 3's Crusader class, was released last Tuesday with the game's official launch, but the next content drop will also add The Butcher to the roster of Heroes. In Diablo 3 he's one of the meatier monsters you face off against as you make your way through the main story. In Heroes of the Storm he's an Assassin class character, one capable of dishing out sustained damage by gobbling up what's left of his previous victims. Nice.
Diablo fans will recognise some of the Butcher's signature attacks and abilities. Hamstring allows you to not only hurt enemy Heroes, but also slow them down at the same time. Ruthless Onslaught allows you to charge into an opponent from range - a familiar move from the Diablo 3 fight. Stick Butcher's Brand on your target, and you'll heal the Butcher for 75 per cent of the damage dished out.
As for the higher level signature talents available to the Hero, Lamb to the Slaughter allows you to attach your enemy to a pole, which then drags your chosen victim back to the fight if they try to escape. Alternatively there's Furnace Blast, which delivers a fiery area-of-effect burst of damage to anyone in The Butcher's immediate vicinity, and can be used while charging up Ruthless Onslaught.
Pricing for the new content is currently unavailable, although it's expected to arrive on 30th June.
Eurogamer's Chris Bratt recently sat down with Game Director Dustin Browder to talk about the future of the franchise. Check out the video below for more details of where the game's headed in the months and years to come.
