14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard has just announced a brand new hero is joining the Nexus in Heroes of the Storm this month, the Draenei paladin Yrel. Along with the new hero, Blizzard unleashed a new battleground scenario called Alterac Pass.
As the name suggests, Alterac Pass is a crossover between World of Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm, which means you'll get to meet some well-known NPCs from Blizzards MMO like generals Vanndar Stormspike and Drek'Thar, both of which are headquartered in the Alterac Valley.
Unlike other Heroes of the Storm scenarios where you must destroy the enemy's Nexus, Alterac Pass challenges players in other ways that will put their offensive and defensive capabilities to the test. Basically, each team will have to defend their own general, while trying to destroy the enemy's leader.
Besides the two generals mentioned, Alterac Pass features keeps that can be destroyed to remove one piece of armor from the enemy general. Additionally, two sets of prisons are placed on the map, which hold units that can be freed to help with conquering enemy keeps.
While these prisoners won't be very powerful damage dealers they will provide great bonuses to the allied team, which can help destroy keeps much faster. Finally, two Ice Giant camps and two Gnolls camps will be available in the Alterac Pass battleground scenario.
Moving on to Yrel, the new Draenei paladin is a deliberate melee warrior with heavyweight abilities and a unique gameplay style that rewards premeditation and commitment. Her basic abilities – Vindication, Righteous Hammer and Avenging Wrath, unleashes holy energy upon the enemy heroes.
Her heroic abilities – Ardent Defender and Sacred Ground ensure that she can endure huge amounts of damage. Something unique about Yrel's powers is the fact that she can charge up her abilities for a more beneficial (or damaging) effect, but she will move slower when her abilities are charged.
Finally, the developers have added new quests that reward players various prizes upon completion like Warcraft Reinforcements Chests (contains four item drops as usual, but one of them is guaranteed to be a Warcraft Hero from a pool of 28), faction portraits and banners, and faction mounts (Ram for the Alliance, Wolf for the Horde).
