Please Note: Alterac Pass will become available for play in two stages during the coming weeks:
- Non-Ranked Modes: During the week of June 19, Alterac Pass will enter Quick Match, Unranked, and Versus A.I. matchmaking queues, as well as Custom Games.
- Ranked Play: During the week of July 10, Alterac Pass will enter the Ranked Battleground Rotation.
Learn even more about Alterac Pass by visiting the Heroes of the Storm website!
Alterac Pass is a 3-lane Battleground where Heroes must free imprisoned allied troops, call in their cavalry, and take down the opposing General to claim the Pass for their faction. In addition to enemy forces, the Alterac Mountains are home to many treacherous hazards! Heroes must remain vigilant, as a misstep into a mud pit can prove fatal. Teams would also be wise to recruit the Armored Gnolls and Ice Giants who inhabit the Pass before the enemy faction can harness these deadly creatures for their own gain.
Cores Replaced by Generals
- Each team’s Core has been replaced by a General who will aid them in fending off attackers.
- Vanndar Stormpike leads the Alliance (left team) in driving back the Horde forces at Alterac Pass.
- Drek'Thar has rallied the Horde (right team) to aid in defending the Pass against Alliance invaders.
- Each General receives bonus Armor and damage based on the number of allied Keeps remaining. Destroy enemy Keeps to weaken their General.
- When attacking a General directly, be prepared to finish the job! Vanndar and Drek’thar will regenerate Health once they are out of combat.
- In addition to their Basic Attacks, they can also use two Abilities:
- Whirlwind: Deals damage in an area around the General.
- Charge: The General dashes to the target enemy, dealing damage.
Capture Prison Camps to Call in the Cavalry!
- Three minutes after a match begins, a Prison Camp will spawn for each team. Invade enemy territory, take out the Guards, and free the allied prisoners to call in a Cavalry Charge!
- Channel an opposing Prison Camp to begin a breakout, and then free the prisoner by preventing the enemy team from regaining control of the Camp for 30 seconds.
- Watch out for enemy Heroes and Guards! They will attempt to stop any attackers and Channel on their Prison Camp to retake control.
- Each subsequent breakout will require the capturing team to maintain control for an additional 10 seconds, up to a maximum of 50 seconds.
- Once a team frees the prisoners at an enemy camp, allied Cavalry will charge down all three lanes, attacking any enemies and Structures in their paths.
- Cavalry units generate an aura that increases nearby Minion and Hero Movement Speeds, and grants a damage bonus to nearby allied Heroes.
- The aura’s damage bonus will increase based on the number of Prison Camp events completed so far, up to a maximum of 3 events.
- Cavalry on both teams will benefit from these increases independent of which team won each Prison Camp event.
- Subsequent Prison Camps will spawn at random within a range of time after all Cavalry from the previous event have been eliminated. This range of time is determined as follows:
- From 110 – (# of game minutes elapsed * 2) seconds to 150 – (# of game minutes elapsed * 2) seconds.
- For example: If all Cavalry from the most recent event are defeated at the 10-minute mark, the next set of Prison Camps will spawn at random between 90 and 130 seconds later.
Mercenaries
- Armored Gnolls – Siege Camp
- Watch out for the Gnolls who inhabit the Pass! They’re formidable creatures who wield a cleaving attack that can shred a Hero’s Armor in no time.
- Ice Giants – Boss Camp
- The Ice Giants at the northern and southernmost points of the Pass tend to mind their own business, but once provoked, they’ve been known to hurl deadly balls of ice and even stomp the ground in an effort to Slow or Stun their foes.
Mud Pits
- Combatants who don’t mind where they step can fall victim to one of several mud pits that have sprung up within Alterac Pass.
- Any Hero who enters a mud pit will find their Movement Speed reduced by 16% per second, to a maximum of 60%, for as long as they remain there.
- Upon finding solid ground, the Hero will regain Movement Speed at 50% per second.
Warhead Junction
- Nuke (F)
- Bonus damage has been removed and Nukes now deal a flat amount of damage across the entire area of impact.
- Note: This change was originally made in the Nexomania patch on May 22, but did not make it into that set of patch notes. We apologize for any confusion this caused in the meantime.
Developer Comment: The bonus damage dealt by Warheads had very little counterplay in late-game situations. Teams could hoard Warheads and kill any Structure—including the Core—very quickly. Although this center bonus damage presented players with interesting decision points, the mechanic’s problems outweighed its positives. We feel encouraging players to hit as many structures as possible is a similarly fun mechanic that is healthier for the game.
