Archives: Live Feed

In this week’s free hero rotation, try Vainglory’s unstunnable, unstoppable tank, Phinn! This tough-as-nails river troll is most often played out of jungle as a roamer, but he also has a sneaky-great, off-meta laner build path that’s incredibly fun to try. Be sure to watch the Phinn Hero Spotlight below for an introduction to conventional Phinn, and then graduate to ShinKaigan’s lane Phinn when you’re ready for a new twist.

All the heroes in this week’s free rotation have amazing synergy with Phinn. Try each combination out to see what you like best, and make sure to use Phinn’s Forced Accord to pull enemies through Ardan’s Gauntlet wall for a super-nasty stun! Oh, and one more thing: Skaarf is in this free rotation, too. He’s perhaps Phinn’s hardest counter, so bust out the deadly little dragon if you’re running into a lot of Phinn this week. Have fun! —PlayoffBeard

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PHINN (ROAM/PROTECTOR)

• Phinn ‘School of Shin’ video montage (off-meta lane build)
• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Phinn is an unstoppable tank who brings the fight to him. He pairs incredibly well with other heroes who don’t back down from battle. Phinn is strongest with defense and utility items, and he’s able to absorb immense amounts of punishment, protecting teammates while they dish out damage.

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ARDAN (ROAM/PROTECTOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Ardan is a powerful protector who dramatically changes the landscape of teamfights. Able to rescue friends from certain death and turn lost battles around with his powerful terrain-changing ultimate, Ardan brings immense utility to the team. Start Ardan in either the lane or jungle, depending on which ally you want to protect most.

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SAW (LANE/SNIPER)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

SAW has arguably the highest damage potential in the game … but at the huge expense of mobility. Excellent at sieging important locations, SAW zones out entire regions from the enemy team with suppressing fire.

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RONA (JUNGLE/WARRIOR)

• Rona ‘School of Shin’ video guide
• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Rona is a deadly berserker who is always ready to leap into battle. She holds her own in melee combat, unleashing enormous damage on everyone who stands and fights. Rona is most often played in the jungle, pairs well with protectors and works well with both weapon and crystal builds.

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GLAIVE (JUNGLE/WARRIOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Glaive has one of the most feared abilities in the game: a jet-powered Afterburn strike that will slice through you and blast you back into a tactically fatal position. In teamfights, Glaive’s area-of-effect cleave and Bloodsong lifesteal makes him incredibly hard to bring down.

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SKAARF (LANE/MAGE)

• Skaarf ‘School of Shin’ video guide
• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Skaarf is a cute little flamethrower who thrives at dealing long-range and area-of-effect damage, especially during teamfights. However, his abilities are aimed, meaning you’ll need quick reflexes and good prediction to land those fireballs. Skaarf is often in lane but can also be effectively played out of the jungle. Go burn your way to glory!

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ABOUT THE FREE HERO ROTATION

The free hero rotation unlocks six heroes each week to play as long and as much as you want in the Casual queue. It’s an opportunity to test drive heroes before using ICE or Glory to unlock them.

The free rotation changes every Tuesday and heroes in the rotation usually won’t return for a few weeks or months afterward, so unlocking heroes is always worthwhile. The free rotation does not apply to Ranked play to ensure players are already very familiar with the heroes they play in that try-hard environment with skill tiers at stake.

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Go try Phinn now and hook some laner fools!

Introducing Vainglory’s next hero: Blackfeather! This assassin is coming in a future update. His adventure with Phinn continues below…

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Blackfeather Lore: Ruffians!

“Beware, Princess! Ruffians are about!” Blackfeather posed in a deep lunge, his hand on his sword hilt, as a trio of cagey foes in tattered black cloaks emerged from the dead-end shadows of the thorny maze.

“Thanks for doing the climbing and grabbing part,” said the largest of the hooligan trio with a gap-toothed smile. He gestured toward the princess with a spiked mace. “We’ll take it from here.”

“I guess they’ll get the bounty, then,” said Phinn.

“Ludicrous!” cried Blackfeather. “I will make ribbons of these scruffy barbarians.”

“Outnumbered, aren’t we?” mused Phinn, though no fear edged his voice.

“They are no match for me. Look at them. It is as if they have never heard of an tailor,” scoffed Blackfeather.

The princess crossed her arms and drummed her fingers. “Could whoever is kidnapping me please put a rush on it? The maze guards should be on their way.”

“Yer guards aren’t feeling well.” The second-largest enemy spat on the ground, then jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “We bopped their heads together and now they’re napping. We’ll do the same to you if you can’t otherwise keep quiet.”

“I shall acquaint you with my blade for threatening royalty in that fashion, you boor.” Blackfeather drew his sword with a satisfying shhhiinnnggg. “Uncouth louts, meet my sword, Blackfeather.”

The Princess paused her dramatic despair. “You named your sword after yourself? Of all the egomaniacal …”

“I have much in common with my sword,” smouldered Blackfeather.

“I don’t even want to know.”

“Not sure which of these fussy chickens is the princess,” quipped the smallest of the thieves, cutting short the quarrel. He yanked a sabre free of his belt.

“Shame to muss the boy’s hair,” hooted the largest.

“You s’pose he’ll be offended if the blade that kills him ain’t clean?” The second-largest produced two knives from his vest.

“Leave these imbeciles to me, Phinneas,” commanded Blackfeather. “I will take them all together!”

“Alright,” said Phinn, who amused himself by catching fireflies for Susie’s supper.

The mace had not completed its first arc before Blackfeather dashed straight into the foes, his blade leaving a blooming crimson kiss in the torso, arm and face of each in turn. Quick lunges kept him out of reach; his flashing sword seemed to extend to twice its length. The slice of the sabre, the flash of knives, the swings of the mace caught only air and earned the hoodlums stinging lacerations. Down the dangerous pathways Blackfeather dueled, blocking, feinting, ducking and slashing with grace and pithy insults. “You strike with the speed of a tortoise! Tell me the name of your blademaster so that I may blame him for your untimely demise! I will plant a rosebush on your grave, fiend!”

But while Blackfeather chased the bigger two down a blind dead-end, the smallest tough guy ducked round the fray and grabbed the princess.

“He’s made off with your bounty,” called Phinn.

Blackfeather sprinted after the abductor, but lost him in the dark labyrinthine passageways. He returned to find the other two had squirreled off as well.

“Help, Phinneas!” cried Blackfeather.

“Thought I was to leave the imbeciles to you.”

“We cannot allow these ingrates to steal what we have rightfully seized!”

“Fair enough.” Phinn hoisted up the anchor by its chain and threw it forward into the darkness. When he yanked it back, its hooks had dug into the jackets, belts, and thighs of the three blubbering, thorn-raked goons, not to mention a tumbleweed of prickly thorns. Princess Malene toppled off the shoulder of her captor and into Blackfeather’s embrace, a single thorn scratch weeping blood onto her pale cheek.

“Well done, Phinneas!” whooped Blackfeather.

“You fools,” whimpered the princess. “Don’t you know … the Hardy Orange thorn… is poisonous… to princesses?”

Her eyes closed as she went limp in Blackfeather’s arms.

Royal guards rushed out in a absurd tumble to the balcony above. “They escaped this way!” cried one.

Blackfeather whirled in a panic. “Never fear! I memorized the way… left, left, right… no, it’s backward on the way out…”

“No time for puzzles, I’d say,” said Phinn, and he lumbered straight into the Hardy Orange maze wall, stomping it down into a crumble-squish of finger-long thorns and half-ripe fruits.

To be continued…

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READ MORE BLACKFEATHER LORE

• Princess Malene Kidnapped!
• Social Climbers
• No Use Resisting!

 

STAR QUEEN CELESTE TIER I

Update 1.10 will introduce the long-awaited skin theme for this popular crystal mage. We know many of you have been saving up ICE awaiting this moment, and it’s almost here! While you wait, read on as Celeste commands her army and attempts to claim the throne that’s rightfully hers.

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‘STAR QUEEN’ LORE 

by SugarVenom

“Tell me we didn’t throw this party for nothing,” said Vox, tapping his foot.

Celeste leaned over the spar deck of The Audacity, peering down through Vox’s brass telescope at the Storm Queen’s uniformed soldiers positioned behind the fortified gate of Mont Lille. Celeste’s airship navy hovered in formation around them. Her hodgepodge army, made up of the unified fighting people of a half dozen of the Storm Queen’s occupied cities, waited on the road outside the gate.

A handful of Gythians, heavy in their polished armor, blades sharpened, eyes grim, made a half-circle behind Celeste. “It is time, your highness. You must give the command to fire,” said the war mage in his grand, old world accent.

“Look at the front lines,” she said, handing the telescope to Vox.

He held it to his eye and adjusted the focus. His shoulders slumped. “Kids,” he said.

“The Storm Queen’s child army.”

The Gythian struggled to control his tone. “You knew that the Storm Queen takes children at young ages to be trained for war.”

“That was to be our fate,” said Celeste. “I did not know she would go so far as to put them in the front lines of battle.”

“The queen is a pragmatist. She thinks you will not attack children.”

“That’s messed up,” said Vox.

“She is right,” murmured Celeste.

“We have come too far to turn back,” pleaded the war mage. “This plan has been in place since you were born. If you do not take Mont Lille while the queen is away…”

“I am the queen. Mont Lille is my city. These are my people. Shall I begin my reign by killing my own soldiers? By incinerating children? Does Gythia’s stake in this plan fall away at sunrise?” Celeste held the Gythian’s gaze until he backed away, then took the telescope back and squinted through it. “Vox? How loud can you make my voice?”

Vox laughed. “You wanna know if I can make noise?” He made a microphone with his fist and held it in front of her mouth.

Celeste’s mouth opened, then closed. She pushed down Vox’s hand and whispered, “Do good queens know the right thing to say?”

Vox grinned and put his hands back. “Good queens tell the truth.”

She looked over the mountainside city, every twinkling light representing a soul frightened by the enemy at its gate. The Storm Queen’s army buzzed and sparked with magic.

“My loving people!” she cried, and her voice carried over the gate, over the ground troops and the airships, over the city where her mother was born. “To fill the coffers of a dictator, you have engaged in a generation of war. You have sacrificed your liberty. You have surrendered your children to die in battle. I challenge you tonight to end this oppression. I have come to Mont Lille not to conquer, but to live and die as the rightful descendent to the throne, the Star Queen. My honor and my blood belongs to this land and to you all. I am here to fight, not against you, but alongside you against fear! No more fear!”

In the silence that followed, Vox draped an arm around his sister’s shoulder and they both stared down.

Then, there was a solitary shout from behind the gate. The voice of an adolescent boy.

“No more fear!”

“No more fear!” called another voice, and then another, and more, all of them the voices of child soldiers.

“No more fear!” The adults picked up the chant, and then the ragtag army on the ground with nothing in common but a hatred of the Storm Queen took it up, and then even Vox’s goblin crew burbled the words the best they could just to fit in. The handful of Gythians who had prepared for a bloody battle looked at one another, bewildered.

“The woman will overtake a capital city without a drop of blood spilled,” said the war mage, but the propellers picked up speed so that no one heard him. Vox steered The Audacity over the gate and landed in the city square, and the throngs surrounded the airship to welcome the Star Queen home.

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WATCH STAR QUEEN CELESTE IN-GAME FOOTAGE!

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INTERVIEW WITH SUPER EVIL ART DIRECTOR CHAINSAW

“The Vainglory community calls Celeste “bae.” How do we make bae more bae? By fulfilling the dream of her story. She was a princess in training, but she has come into her own; she has inspired her people, and now it’s time to challenge an evil queen for the throne to an empire. The Storm Queen is supplanted by the Star Queen.

“It was important that Star Queen Celeste fit with the theme of Stormlord Ardan, Cloud Raider Vox and Paragon Catherine. She is designed to appear like she commands a power far greater than herself. She’s space-opera cool and technologically colored. Her staff was based off of an astrolabe with orbiting planets inside. With this staff, Star Queen Celeste wields the power of the solar system.”

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Keep an eye on the in-game News section for more update 1.10 reveals!

VGL today announced the details for the Autumn Season Qualifier tournaments for NA & EU. The eight teams with the most combined points from this and the prior 128-team VGL qualifiers will be invited expenses paid to the Live Finals in December.

One emerging story from today’s news is the newfound importance of in-game Vainglory teams, utilizing the feature introduced in Update 1.9:

All applications for this tournament will be based on teams created within the Vainglory game itself utilizing the new TEAMS feature introduced in Update 1.9. Only applications corresponding to in-game teams will be considered for this qualifier tournament. Good news: This means your team may now have up to six players based on your in-game team roster and roster changes can be made easily in game until the Oct. 28 application deadline. We encourage you to fill all six player slots in case one of your starters has a scheduling conflict on a particular VGL match day.

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TEAM APPLICATION CRITERIA FOR VGL AUTUMN QUALIFIERS

• Your in-game TEAM skill tier ranking
• The Season 0 skill tier rankings of your top three players
• The current Autumn Season skill tier rankings of your top three players

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HOW TO SUBMIT A TEAM APPLICATION:

• Submit EU team application
• Submit NA team application

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FULL VAINGLORY AUTUMN 2015 eSPORTS CALENDAR

View the calendar and story.

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Read all the details on VGL’s website, then stay tuned for the start of the Autumn Qualifiers Nov. 7!

In this week’s free hero rotation, try Krul, Adagio, Koshka and more. Krul has been a menace in the EU meta for quite some time, but his presence is now being felt globally in competitive play — especially with a build centered around double Blazing Salvo, lots of defensive items and then a Breaking Point. Try this devastating combination and play like an animal! Krul is at his most vulnerable in the early game before he has the items that help make him a monster. To compensate, grab a teammate or guildmate and have that ally play roam Adagio. He’s the perfect complement to survive the early game. —PlayoffBeard

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KRUL (JUNGLE/WARRIOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Krul is a jungle nightmare who dominates in 1v1 duels. Able to absorb massive amounts of damage and recover large portions of his own health mid-battle, Krul can bring the pain and survive a beating as long as he can stick to his target.

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ADAGIO (ROAM/PROTECTOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

The master manipulator of large-scale battles, Adagio brings incredible teamfight presence with huge area-of-effect damage and team-saving abilities. He almost seems too good: He can heal. He can amplify damage. He can stun and nuke the entire enemy team … but none of these can be achieved easily without team-wide coordination. Adagio is extremely flexible and can start as laner, jungler or roamer.

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KOSHKA (JUNGLE/ASSASSIN)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Koshka is an in-your-face assassin adept at getting the kill and then getting out. She should focus on assassinating weak targets and locking down the most lethal enemy. She is extremely fast at clearing jungle camps, making her an ideal jungler. Confident players will even invade the enemy-side jungle for fun and profit.

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CATHERINE (ROAM/PROTECTOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Catherine brings the most reliable stun and disruption skills to teamfights and ganks. Hard to kill and great at chasing, she can secure kills and turn around fights that would otherwise be lost. Catherine can soak up damage and strike fear on sight. She is best roaming between jungle and lane. 

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PETAL (LANE/SNIPER)

• LAST CHANCE: Unlock Pumpkin Spice Petal in the Market before the limited-time skin is gone!
• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Petal commands a flock of munion pets she uses to swarm her enemies from distance. She excels at long, sustained fights where damage from her small army really adds up. She can even single-handedly take out important objectives such as the Gold & Minion Mines.

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RINGO (LANE/SNIPER)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Ringo is often played as the primary damage dealer for his team. He can shoot at blinding speeds and finish off fleeing enemies with an epic fireball that follows foes across the battlefield. Incredibly weak in the early game, Ringo players should focus on earning as much gold as possible in the lane before picking big fights.

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ABOUT THE FREE HERO ROTATION

The free hero rotation unlocks six heroes each week to play as long and as much as you want in the Casual queue. It’s an opportunity to test drive heroes before using ICE or Glory to unlock them. The free rotation changes every Tuesday and heroes in the rotation usually won’t return for a few weeks or months afterward, so unlocking heroes is always worthwhile. The free rotation does not apply to Ranked play to ensure players are already very familiar with the heroes they play in that try-hard environment with skill tiers at stake.

Following our Autumn Season announcement last week and the VGL Preseason Qualifiers, here is the Autumn Season eSports calendar for you to mark down. Some previous plans have shifted and there are some surprises, so read carefully!

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 Korea (VIPL)

• Watch the VIPL on demand.
• Watch the World Invitational on demand.

Korea remains where the highest level of international play will take place. The Autumn Season Vainglory International Premier League (VIPL) will kick off in the last week of November with a prize pool of KRW 80M ($67,000 USD). It will again feature 12 teams qualified from various regions. We will see new teams from EU, NA and China as well as possibly new teams from other major regions. The VIPL Finals will be held at the end of December. We will announce full broadcast dates closer to the kickoff. The top 3 teams from last VIPL, Gankstars Sirius (NA), Hunters (China) and pQq (Korea) auto-qualify for VIPL. The rest have to earn their places through regional qualifiers and other regional rules to be announced soon.

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North America & Europe (VGL)

Watch the VGL on demand.

NA and EU will see the Preseason VGL Qualifiers finish over the next week. All matches will be played on update 1.8. We will distribute a tournament build of Vainglory to all remaining players, if necessary.

We had originally planned to run a league structure for our first full season, but based on a lot of advice from teams and tournament organizers alike, we will instead run the Autumn Season in the format of two qualifier tournaments (the current Preseason VGL Qualifier and an upcoming best-of-64 Season VGL Qualifier). Teams will earn points for each qualifier, and the eight teams with the most points will take part in the Live Finals in early December.

The broadcast schedule for EU and NA VGL will be as follows:

Preseason VGL Qualifiers – Remaining Schedule

		EU	NA
30th Sept	Cancelled	7PM CEST	7PM EDT
3rd Oct	Quarterfinals	7PM CEST	7PM EDT
4th Oct	Semifinals, 3rd-place Match & Finals	6PM CEST	6PM EDT

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Season VGL Qualifier (Best-of-64) Schedule

		EU	NA
7th Nov	START / RO 64	7PM CEST	7PM EDT
11th Nov	Round of 32	7PM CEST	7PM EDT
14th Nov	Round of 16	7PM CEST	7PM EDT
18th Nov	Quarterfinals	7PM CEST	7PM EDT
21th Nov	Semifinals	7PM CEST	7PM EDT
22th Nov	Finals	7PM CEST	7PM EDT

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Points will be awarded as follows:

Position	1	2	3	4	5 – 8	9 – 16
PRESEASON QUALIFIER	Sent to VIPL*	80	60	40	20	10
SEASON QUALIFIER (BO-64)	Live Finals #1 Seed	100	85	55	35	15

In the event of a tie, the team that placed higher in the Season VGL Qualifier (best-of-64) will win the tiebreaker.

In the event that multiple teams have the same number of points in addition to ending in the same ranking in the Season VGL Qualifier (best-of-64), additional best-of-three tiebreakers will be played to determine seeding.

*If this first-place team can not attend VIPL, it will instead be awarded 90 points and the second-place team will be sent to VIPL. If the second-place team cannot attend, the third-place team will be sent to VIPL.

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The winner of the Preseason VGL Qualifier will automatically qualify for the VIPL in Korea starting at the end of November.

Any teams that obtained points in the Preseason VGL Qualifiers will be automatically entered to participate in the Season VGL Qualifier and will be reseeded accordingly. All other teams will need to apply for the Season VGL Qualifier.

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VGL Live Finals

The eight teams with the most combined points from the Preseason VGL Qualifier and the VGL Season Qualifier (best of 64) will be invited to participate in the Live Finals in December. These teams will be required to travel and play in person in a broadcasted three-day event at dates and locations to be determined shortly. All travel and lodging will be paid for on behalf of the players. If a team declines to play in person, that team’s spot will be awarded to the ninth-place team (and so on), until the declined spot or spots is filled.

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VGL prize pools will be awarded as follows:

Position	1	2	3	4	5 – 8	Total
NA PRESEASON QUALIFIER	$5,000 (USD)	$1,800	$900	$600	$425	$10,000
EU PRESEASON QUALIFIER	$5,000 (USD)	$1,800	$900	$600	$425	$10,000
NA SEASON QUALIFIER (BEST OF-64)	$5,000 (USD)	$1,800	$900	$600	$425	$10,000
EU SEASON QUALIFIER (BEST OF-64)	$5,000 (USD)	$1,800	$900	$600	$425	$10,000
NA LIVE FINALS	$10,000 (USD)	$3,000	$1,500	$500	0	$15,000
EU LIVE FINALS	$10,000 (USD)	$3,000	$1,500	$500	0	$15,000

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Other Regions (TBD)

We are working on official tournament structures for other regions. Stay tuned for announcements. We are also actively looking to support third-party tournament organizers and competitive events, so if you have ideas or want to set up a tournament, get in touch!

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Moving Forward …

It’s amazing to think that two months ago, there was no VIPL and Vainglory eSports was in its infancy. We appreciate all the teams and players representing Vainglory so well around the globe and displaying immense flexibility as we find the schedule and structure that will best serve everyone best in the long run. We are excited to increase our total upcoming VGL combined prize pool to $70,000 — and that doesn’t include prizes for the next VIPL, which begins in November. We’ve only just begun, but we hope everything we’re announcing today inspires more teams and world-class talent to dedicate themselves to competitive play, make their mark and rise to international prominence.

This week try Vox, Adagio and Ringo together for an incredible ranged-jungle team comp! If you’d rather unite the forces of cats and dogs, try Fortress and Glaive together with Ringo for a hyper-aggressive early game comp.

VOX (LANE/SNIPER)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Vox is a mobile sniper with a high-energy playstyle, with quick dashes and excellent teamfight repositioning. Vox deals significant damage either to a single target or to groups of enemies depending on his build. This flexibility allows Vox to react according to the needs of his team.

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ADAGIO (ROAM/PROTECTOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

The master manipulator of large-scale battles, Adagio brings incredible teamfight presence with huge area-of-effect damage and team-saving abilities. He almost seems too good: He can heal. He can amplify damage. He can stun and nuke the entire enemy team … but none of these can be achieved easily without team-wide coordination. Adagio is extremely flexible and can start as laner, jungler or roamer.

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RINGO (LANE/SNIPER)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Ringo is often played as the primary damage dealer for his team. He can shoot at blinding speeds and finish off fleeing enemies with an epic fireball that follows foes across the battlefield. Incredibly weak in the early game, Ringo players should focus on earning as much gold as possible in the lane before picking big fights.

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GLAIVE (JUNGLE/WARRIOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Glaive has one of the most feared abilities in the game: a jet-powered Afterburn strike that will slice through you and blast you back into a tactically fatal position. In teamfights, Glaive’s area-of-effect cleave and Bloodsong lifesteal makes him incredibly hard to bring down.

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FORTRESS (JUNGLE/PROTECTOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

This Halcyon Well guardian is a snarling, frightening sight in the jungle. He stalks prey, closes in with teammates, flanks targets and creates challenging, multi-front confrontations. Stay near your allies and bite and claw your way to kills.

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JOULE (JUNGLE/WARRIOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Joule is a hardened front-line fighter with built-in defensive plating. Joule’s abilities require proper aim to hit the target, but they have a devastating effect if you can aim properly.

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ABOUT THE FREE HERO ROTATION

The free hero rotation unlocks six heroes each week to play as long and as much as you want in the Casual queue. It’s an opportunity to test drive heroes before using ICE or Glory to unlock them. The free rotation changes every Tuesday and heroes in the rotation usually won’t return for a few weeks or months afterward, so unlocking heroes is always worthwhile. The free rotation does not apply to Ranked play to ensure players are already very familiar with the heroes they play in that try-hard environment with skill tiers at stake.

Play Skye in the free hero rotation for the first time this week! Watch her Hero Spotlight below, and be sure to check out the great Skye VaingloryFire guides to learn how to barrage your way to victory with this versatile, mobile sniper. The free rotation changes every Tuesday. 

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SKYE (LANE/SNIPER)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Skye is a swift sniper able to dance at the edge of fights or dive deep into the enemy backline to kill key targets. Skye’s unique strafing attacks change the complexion of fights, and her ability to chase down and catch opponents is unparalleled. Start Skye in the lane, mow down minions and build weapon or crystal depending on your playstyle.

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RONA (JUNGLE/WARRIOR)

• Rona School of Shin video
• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Rona is a deadly berserker who is always ready to leap into battle. She holds her own in melee combat, unleashing enormous damage on everyone who stands and fights. Rona is most often played in the jungle, pairs well with protectors and works well with both weapon and crystal builds.

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SKAARF (LANE/MAGE)

• School of Shin video guide
• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Skaarf is a cute little flamethrower who thrives at dealing long-range and area-of-effect damage, especially during teamfights. However, his abilities are aimed, meaning you’ll need quick reflexes and good prediction to land those fireballs. Skaarf is often in lane but can also be effectively played out of the jungle. Go burn your way to glory!

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KOSHKA (JUNGLE/ASSASSIN)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Koshka is an in-your-face assassin adept at getting the kill and then getting out. She should focus on assassinating weak targets and locking down the most lethal enemy. She is extremely fast at clearing jungle camps, making her an ideal jungler. Confident players will even invade the enemy-side jungle for fun and profit.

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ARDAN (ROAM/PROTECTOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Ardan is a powerful protector who dramatically changes the landscape of teamfights. Able to rescue friends from certain death and turn lost battles around with his powerful terrain-changing ultimate, Ardan brings immense utility to the team. Start Ardan in either the lane or jungle, depending on which ally you want to protect most.

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CATHERINE (ROAM/PROTECTOR)

• Hero info & lore
• VaingloryFire guides

Catherine brings the most reliable stun and disruption skills to teamfights and ganks. Hard to kill and great at chasing, she can secure kills and turn around fights that would otherwise be lost. Catherine can soak up damage and strike fear on sight. She is best roaming between jungle and lane. 

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ABOUT THE FREE HERO ROTATION

The free hero rotation unlocks six heroes each week to play as long and as much as you want in the Casual queue. It’s an opportunity to test drive heroes before using ICE or Glory to unlock them.

The free rotation changes every Tuesday and heroes in the rotation usually won’t return for a few weeks or months afterward, so unlocking heroes is always worthwhile. The free rotation does not apply to Ranked play to ensure players are already very familiar with the heroes they play in that try-hard environment with skill tiers at stake.

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Go try Skye now and drop some death from above! 

 

 

Autumn Season 2015 is here, and with it comes a new tank hero, limited-time seasonal content, free hero unlocks, teams, guilds, Autumn eSports and much-anticipated balance changes. Seasonal play is the start of the next big phase in Vainglory’s evolution, and we can’t wait to introduce you to everything we’ve been working on night and day to improve and deepen your play experience. Read on to find out what’s in store for you in update 1.9 …

PHINN BACKGROUND & LORE

Phinn is an unstoppable tank who brings the fight to him. He pairs incredibly well with other heroes who don’t back down from battle. Phinn is strongest with defense and utility items, and he’s able to absorb immense amounts of punishment, protecting teammates while they dish out damage.

Read Phinn’s lore: 

• Princess Malene Kidnapped!
• Social Climbers

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PHINN EARLY-ACCESS PERIOD

Phinn will be unlockable with ICE only for the first 7 days. Afterward, you will be able to unlock Phinn with ICE or Glory.

 UNSTOPPABLE (HEROIC PERK)

Phinn cannot be stopped. All stuns and movement-impairing effects are instead reduced to moderate slows. He even shrugs off most damage through passively gaining additional armor, shield and max health from items and effects.

QUIBBLE

Phinn slams his anchor down on a neighboring location, heavily slowing enemies. Overdrive: This upgrades the slow into a stun!

POLITE COMPANY

Phinn stomps the earth, dealing crystal damage to all enemies in a wide area and launching them toward him. The effect reverberates around allies, granting them a barrier along with bonus armor and shield for the next few seconds. Overdrive: Makes enemies travel farther toward Phinn upon stomp.

FORCED ACCORD

Phinn throws his anchor in a direction. After the anchor reaches its destination he yanks it back, damaging all enemies in its path and pulling them back to him. If Phinn doesn’t pull any enemies, a percentage of the cooldown is refunded.

Seasons in Vainglory matter. Whether it’s grinding for a Ranked Autumn trophy, training to qualify for an Autumn tournament, rallying your guild toward a seasonal reward or grabbing limited-time content, all Vainglory activities  — in-game and out — will turn over with the seasons. Here’s what we’re introducing first, but know we have a lot more tricks up our sleeves …

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SEASONAL MAP SKIN!

“To celebrate the introduction of seasonal play, we’re including a ton of limited-time content. The most immediately noticeable of these will be the seasonal Halcyon Fold map skin. Play Vainglory with haunting ambiance, and enjoy all the changes — big and small — as well as a few easter eggs here and there.” —PlayoffBeard

• Play on a seasonal version of the Halcyon Fold, complete with carved pumpkins, gravestones, altered Minion Mines and more.
• Be sure to toggle on “pinch to zoom” in Settings so you can explore all the map’s secrets!
  

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LIMITED-EDITION SEASONAL SKINS

“Imagine playing Vainglory a year from now (probably while riding a hoverboard and tapping with a stylus, but let’s put that aside for now). You enter the Halcyon Fold and bust out that Autumn 2015 Pumpkin Spice Petal. Players all around you are throwing out triple-smiley pings and your chat explodes after the game. They all want to know where you got that and how they can get it too. And all you can say is ‘sorry, that skin’s long gone.’ Welcome to the world of limited-time, seasonal content. Get them before they’re gone, enjoy incredible model and effects changes and be the envy of many.” —PlayoffBeard

‘BAEWITCHED’ CELESTE

For months and months, players have been pleading for a Celeste skin, chanting ‘she is bae!‘ in chat. The wait is over with an amazing limited-edition skin. Ride a broom, drop cauldrons from the sky and trigger a supernova to watch them bubble and explode! But we won’t stop there. Celeste will also have a full three-tiered skin coming in a future update. —PlayoffBeard

• Unlock the limited-edition Baewitched Celeste in the Market in update 1.9 only. This special skin will be removed from the Market around Halloween and afterward there will be no way to get it!
• Once unlocked, the skin is yours to keep — even after it leaves the Market.
• Limited-edition seasonal skins do not have tiers or cards and must be unlocked with ICE before they’re gone.

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‘PUMPKIN SPICE’ PETAL 

A flesh-eating fruit with watchful eyes for a throne. Tombstone seeds. Skull munions. And that pumpkin head with candlelit eyes! Pumpkin Spice Petal is truly one-of-a-kind, and it’s only available during 1.9. With this skin and the new Petal ability rework, you’ll be that much scarier when invading enemy-side jungle. —PlayoffBeard

• Unlock the limited-edition Pumpkin Spice Petal in the Market in update 1.9 only. This special skin will be removed from the Market around Halloween and afterward there will be no way to get it!
• Once unlocked, the skin is yours to keep — even after it leaves the Market.
• Limited-edition seasonal skins do not have tiers or cards and must be unlocked with ICE before they’re gone.

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AUTUMN 2015 TROPHY & END OF THE PRESEASON

Autumn 2015 is our first season, which will last from now until early January. All players have three months to earn the highest possible skill tier and other achievements to fill their Autumn 2015 trophy room. At the end of the season, the Autumn trophy will be added to your Vainglory profile. But play without fear! The best skill tier you achieve in 1.9 will be immortalized; it doesn’t matter if you drop down during the season.

Below is everything you need to know about these seasonal changes:

SKILL TIER CHANGES

• Your Season 0 (preseason) skill tier trophy has been immortalized in your Trophy Room. Congratulations! That can never be taken away from you.
• Your existing skill tier has been archived. Your starting skill tier for Autumn will be different than where you ended the preseason based on a “compression” of tiers, giving you room to rank up during Autumn 2015.
• Play Ranked matches now to earn your Autumn trophy and prepare for future rewards.

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BENEFITS OF SEASONAL PLAY & SKILL TIER ‘COMPRESSION’

• The compression clears out a lot of noise in the system from players who ranked up when the meta was very different or when Skaarf was OP burning down whole villages, etc.
• If you felt “stuck” before, you’ll have an even playing field and ample room to climb — eventually ideally climbing above your best Season 0 rank.
• Update 1.9 introduces teams and guilds, and getting a fresh start every season will be essential to earning special rewards and accolades — or even for qualifying for big Vainglory events and tournaments.
• Examples: If your team forms late in the year, it can still earn a top rank and tournament qualification for that particular Vainglory season. If this were a yearly structure, a team starting out late could never catch teams that were there from Day One. The same logic holds on the guild side, where any guild — no matter when it forms — will be able to achieve seasonal goals and rewards as more and more are introduced. In school and have more time to play during the summer? Discover a great Vainglory crew in winter? Seasons ensures all players and teams can have their moment of fame and glory, no matter what point in the year they band together. —PlayoffBeard

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AUTUMN eSPORTS SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

Mark your calendars for Autumn Vainglory eSports! Read all the details here and look out for announcements throughout the seasons.

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 AUTUMN HERO UNLOCKS

As an extra seasonal gift, we’re giving all iOS players a free Celeste unlock and all new Android players a free Taka unlock during October!

To get your free unlock(s), all you have to do is log in and play sometime in October. We’ll take care of the rest. From there, pick up a Baewitched Celeste or a Shiro Kage Taka skin and you’ll be looking good with your new, top-tier hero!

GUILDS

“Vainglory is more fun and more rewarding when you play with friends. You can relive epic matches, plan hero comps, discuss strategies and best of all, no AFKs! But not everyone has a go-to group of players they can rely on. That’s why we’re introducing guilds. These are fun, social destinations in-game filled with likeminded players. Together, you’ll play and push for seasonal rewards based entirely on dedication and participation. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re Vainglorious or just learning; anyone can contribute to the guild in meaningful ways, and no type of player will hold you back. In fact, the more the merrier, as the more active players you have, the more likely you’ll be able to hit special guild-only seasonal goals and rewards. Your guild will also have a unique name and guild tag displayed in-game when you play with guildmates.

“You can informally give your guild any focus you like, whether that’s based on locality, skill tier or interests — and you can explicitly set your guild to an open-door policy where everyone is welcome or invite-only to ensure the guild retains your priorities. It costs a small amount of ICE or Glory to create a guild to guarantee they are legitimate and run by dedicated players. In the beginning, guilds can include up to 20 members. By being active, guilds can unlock the ability to add up to 50 members.

“Lastly, we’re soon introducing a real-world Vainglory Community Meets program. You can organize a gathering of your guild and get special support from us for streaming, swag and more!” —PlayoffBeard

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GUILD BASICS

• Create or join one guild, which contains up to 20 players (can expand to 50 players). All members must be in the same server region.
• Guilds will have special rewards based on dedication and participation.
• Earn Guild Fame, which will unlock the ability to add more guild members and do much more over time.
• Each guild has its own in-game overview with art, statistics and other information.
• Each guild has its own dedicated text chat channel that appears above common friends.
• Your Friends and Party lists will prioritize guildmates. Note: You do not need to be in-game friends with a guildmate to see them on your list. 
• This is just the beginning for in-game guilds. We will build on this 1.9 foundation and add much more awesome for guilds to rally around in the future.

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GUILD ROLES

• Leader: Granted to the player that created the guild and recognized by a crown next to the leader’s name. There can only be one. This role is transferred to the longest-serving member if the leader leaves the guild.

• Veteran: Granted to players who are very active and dedicated to the guild. Players obtain the Veteran status after 30 Guild games. Veterans may invite other players to the guild in invite-only guilds.

• Member: Standard rank for all other members. Players obtain member status after 10-30 guild games. 

• Initiate: The rank new members get when joining the guild. Players keep this rank as long as they have played fewer than 10 guild games.

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TEAMS

“The Vainglory competitive scene has advanced far faster than we ever anticipated. From massive March Madness-style 128-team VGL tournaments to the Vainglory International Premier League (VIPL) live in Seoul on Korean TV to big-name organizations forming pro Vainglory teams, this is getting very real, very fast. To support the rapid expansion of Vainglory eSports and give every Vainglory player — regardless of skill tier — a taste of the fame and glory, we’re formalizing teams within the game.

“These teams of up to six players can push for competition-based and win-based rewards no matter what their skill level. That said, the new team skill tier will be used to qualify teams from in-game to actual big tournaments with sizable prize pools, and your team ranking will also help determine your seeding within those tournaments. So, playing and training as a formal team will be essential, whether you’re the world champion GankStars Sirius or a brand-new team with a faint dream of playing under the bright lights.

“Just like guilds, forming a team will require ICE or Glory to prevent spam team creation and make sure players are ready to throw down in Ranked. We’ve deliberately set the team max at six players to ensure that you can run 3v3 scrims within your team. And while you might also independently belong to a guild, being a member of a team means you’re aiming to be the best you can and are playing to win. So, pick teammates wisely, play to unlock win-based rewards and make a name for yourself in the Fold.” —PlayoffBeard

TEAM BASICS

• Create or join one team, which contains up to six players. All team members must be in the same server region.
• Teams will have special rewards based on competition & wins — and your team skill tier will qualify teams for major tournaments and help determine their seeding.
• Each team has its own dedicated text chat channel that appears above common friends for easier communication and strategizing.
• Each team has its own in-game overview with art, statistics and other information.
• Your Friends and Party lists will prioritize teammates. Note: You do not need to be in-game friends with a teammate to see them on your list. 
• This update lays the early foundation for in-game teams, but our competitive vision is too expansive to fit in a single update. It all starts here, but if you have a well-established team in future updates, you will be well rewarded with opportunity and prestige.

“While the limited-edition seasonal skins might steal the 1.9 show, there are more incredible three-tier skins hitting the Fold. Collect cards for Taka Tier II and the long-awaited, much-teased Krul Tier II!” —PlayoffBeard

Three-tier hero skins new in 1.9:

• Shiro Kage Taka Tier II
• Death Metal Krul Tier II

TURRETS (POST-HOTFIX)

“Turrets are now a bit too tanky when minions aren’t around. These changes are aimed to make them more difficult to backdoor but still reasonable to destroy when minions aren’t close — so long as you have enough damage. Now that we have a full client update, we can revisit the emergency hotfix and do what we would have done had we not been restricted to server-side changes.” —Zekent

Revisiting the Hotfix

• Turrets no longer gain 300-520 armor & shield when no minions are nearby.
• Percent max health damage down from 7.5% to 5% (was 4.5%).
• Damage amplification per shot down from 45% to 30% (was 28%).

New: Backdoor Barrier 

• Turrets constantly regenerate a 300 HP barrier per second; max 600 HP.
• However, as soon as a turret is in combat with minions or Kraken, this barrier is disabled for 3 seconds.
• Minions no longer shred turret-defense stats.

Defense adjustments

• From:
  • First turret: 45-145 @ 2:00 – 12:00
  • Second turret: 45-185 @ 2:00 – 16:00
  • Third turret: 45-225 @ 2:00 – 20:00
  • Final 2 turrets: 45-265 @ 2:00 – 24:00
• To:
  • First turret: 45-120 @ 2:00 – 12:00
  • Second turret: 45-150 @ 2:00 – 16:00
  • Third turret: 45-180 @ 2:00 – 20:00
  • Final 2 turrets: 45-210 @ 2:00 – 24:00

Minion Mines

• Maximum-strength minions are ~15% tankier.

“Petal has been out of the picture for a long time. But her moment has finally come! Not only is she getting a limited-edition seasonal skin, she’s getting a full ability reimagining to trampoline her back into viability. Read below, and then try her out of the jungle as part of the 1.9 meta.” —PlayoffBeard

MUNIONS (HEROIC PERK)

Petal controls three ‘munion’ pets. A few moments after Petal plants a seed, it will automatically sprout a munion, up to a maximum of 3 pets. In addition, basic attacks mark enemy heroes with sunlight. If a munion bites a marked target, the sunlight is consumed and Petal gains 10-40% attack speed (level 1-12) for 1.5 seconds.

BRAMBLEBOOM SEEDS

Petal plants a Brambleboom seed directly in front of her. Seeds near Petal will sprout into pets after a brief delay, up to 3 pets. Seeds that remain on the ground provide a small healing and defensive aura to allies. Seeds have a small vision radius and survive for 20 seconds or until Petal leaves the area. If an enemy steps on a seed, the seed explodes and knocks the enemy back. Petal stores up to 6 seeds as charges, gaining a seed every few seconds.

TRAMPOLINE!

Activate when standing on a boom seed to trampoline off it and launch forward in Petal’s facing direction. Using this ability will rally all pets back to Petal’s location.

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION

Petal commands her pets to explode one by one, dealing massive splash damage on. Pets are invincible during channeling. Detonated pets become seeds.

 

BASE STATS

• Basic attack range down from 7.0 to 6.0.
• Weapon power down from 70-140 to 64-134.
• Basic attack speed down from 100-111% to 100% at all levels.

MUNION CHANGES

• Munions now automatically spawn from seeds after a 2.2-second delay (as long as Petal is nearby).
• Munions have 2-2-3-3-4 ticks of health.
• Damage changed from 8-63 + 40% crystal ratio to 7-47 + 50% crystal ratio.
• Gold bounty down from 10 to 2.

SEED CHANGES

• Seeds have 2-2-2-2-3 ticks of health.
• Gold bounty down from 10 to 2.
• Overdrive: Increases minion damage crystal ratio by 10% crystal ratio.

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION CHANGE

• Cooldown accelerated from 96-91-86 to 90-80-70.

RINGO

“Ringo was having a sad.” —Zekent

TWIRLING SILVER

• Duration up from 4-6 seconds to 6 secs at all ranks.
• Attack speed boost up from 55-86% to 55-64-73-82-100%.

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SKYE

“Though Skye is mobile, she was unable to effectively utilize her abilities to maneuver around fights. These should make her feel more responsive in addition to adding tactical options to your gameplay.” —Zekent

BASE STATS

• Basic attack range increased from 5 to 5.5.
• Basic attack speed increased from 100-117% to 100-136%.

TARGET LOCK

• Movement speed bonus triggered upon Target Lock (first application).

 

 

FORWARD BARRAGE

• Cooldown is reset when activating Suri Strike.
• Crystal ratio down from 240% to 210%.
• Maximum duration of barrage down from 4 seconds to 3 secs.
• Cooldown down from 6 to 6-6-6-6-5.
• No longer deals reduced damage to non-heroes.

SURI STRIKE

• Cooldown down from 18-16-14-12-8 to 13-11.5-10-8.5-6.
• Removes animation lock at the end of the ability.
• Missiles no longer lead their target but instead fire in a line from the target’s location to where Skye dashes to.
• Missile AOE increased from 1.7 to 2.2.

DEATH FROM ABOVE

• Damage per second up from 200-300-400 to 275-350-425.
• Crystal ratio up from 150% to 190%.

 

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RONA

“SHE BE STRONG.” -Zekent

FOESPLITTER

• Weapon ratio down from 100% to 70% (both 1st and 2nd hit).
• Second-hit crystal ratio down from 150% to 120%.

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VOX

“Crystal Vox had a bit too much utility in addition to having incredibly short cooldowns. We’re looking to bring crystal and weapon Vox more in line with each other and the rest of the hero roster. ” —Zekent

JULIA’S SONG (HEROIC PERK)

• Resonance bolts do not emit toward targets that are Reflex Blocking.

 

 

SONIC ZOOM

• Overdrive: Vox’s basic attacks gain an additional 20% weapon ratio for 2 seconds after this ability is activated.

 

 

WAIT FOR IT …

• Cooldown increased from 80-55-30 to 90-65-40.
• Silence moved to initial line nuke; duration down from 1.5 to 0.7 seconds.
• Damage split across line nuke and shockwave:
• Line nuke deals 100-150-200.
• Shockwave deals 200-300-400.

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TAKA

“Taka is a little bit too slippery in addition to having too many stats bundled into his House Kamuha perk. These changes are intended to keep his damage about the same while reducing the amount of utility he gains for free. Additionally, we’re shifting him away from lifesteal and into something more signature to his kit.” —Zekent

HOUSE KAMUHA

• No longer grants lifesteal on Mortal Strike.

 

 

KAKU                                                                             

• Heals for 25-30-35-40-70 + 25% crystal ratio health per second during invisibility.
  • Teleporting home will cancel invisibility.

 

X-RETSU

• Ki stacks granted down from 3-3-3 to 1-2-3.

                                                           

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GLAIVE

“Glaive is a reliable hero who had a bit too much burst without needing to build either weapon or crystal for additional damage.” —Zekent

 

TWISTED STROKE

• Energy cost down from 50-58-66-74-82 to 35-41-47-53-59.

 

 

BLOODSONG 

• Base damage down from 225-350-475 to 150-225-300.
  Damage from stacks is unchanged (160-280-400 @ 20 stacks).
• Base damage crystal ratio up from 30% to 110%.
• Crystal ratio per stack up from 1.5% to 2%.

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SKAARF

“BURN ALL THE THINGS!!!” —Zekent

 

 

GOOP                                                                          

• Burning goop pools now ignite nearby non-burning goop pools.

 

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CATHERINE

“Catherine had low counterplay to her stun in addition to having little incentive to put additional points in or overdrive her Stormguard ability.” —Zekent

 

MERCILESS PURSUIT 

• Cooldown down from 13 to 13-13-13-13-12.
• Stun duration changed from 0.75-0.90-1.05-1.20-1.75 to 0.8-0.9-1.0-1.1-1.4.

 

STORMGUARD

• Damage increased from 35-37-39-41-83 to 35-45-55-65-90 + 50% crystal ratio.
• Overdrive: Damage reflected by this ability is increased by 25%.

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WAVE CLEAR (CELESTE & SKAARF)

“Wave clear has been a bit too good for our premier crystal carries.” —Zekent

• Heliogenesis minion damage down from 120-240 + 25% crystal ratio to 120-200 + 20% crystal ratio.
• Goop Pool damage over time deals 50% damage to minions.

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CRYSTAL/WEAPON INFUSIONS

“These are being bought way too early in the game for low risk because of the sheer amount of stats they give. This should put them more in line while still making them worth purchasing in the mid/late game.” —Zekent

Weapon Infusion changed

• FROM  5-60 weapon, 25% speed, 30 defense …
• TO  20-60 weapon,  8-24% speed, 10-30 defense based on your level.

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Crystal Infusion changed

• FROM  5-60 crystal, 35% CDA, 30 defense …
• TO 20-60 crystal, 12-36% CDA, 10-30 defense based on your level.

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STORMGUARD BANNER

“Stormguard was a bit too effective against turrets before the hotfix. Just a teensy weensy bit. However, being able to damage turrets with Stormguard Banner creates interesting strategic options.” —CaptainNeato

• Can damage turrets again.
• No target can take more than one Stormguard Banner’s worth of damage per second, even if multiple players with Stormguard Banner are hitting it.

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FROSTBURN

“This item didn’t clearly indicate how much slow it started with. Additionally, the slow was a bit too effective on late-game crystal carries.” —Zekent

• Fixed a bug where Frostburn was not scaling with crystal (was always at 20%).
• Changed from 20-40% to 10-35% (but 100 CP from Frostburn instantly takes it to 20%).
• Max slow down from 40% to 35%.

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PIERCING SPEAR & TENSION BOW

“Still gave a bit too much power for its cost.” —Zekent

• Piercing down from 10% to 8%.

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BROKEN MYTH

“This item was … REALLY good.”  —Zekent

• Broken Myth only gains stacks on enemy heroes (not Kraken or turrets).
• Damage amplification changed from 30% over 3 seconds to 36% over 6 seconds.

MASSIVE ANDROID IMPROVEMENTS!

“Vainglory is more available than ever. In addition to being free to download on the Amazon Appstore, we’ve DOUBLED the number of Android devices that can play Vainglory and have slashed the requirements. We’ve lowered the memory requirements from 2GB to 1GB and the processor requirement from quad-core to dual-core. iOS-device players will also benefit from this optimization work through higher frame rates and better stability. We now support more than 100 previously unsupported devices!” —EdTheShred

• Only requires 1GB RAM (improved from 2GB).
• Only requires dual-core, 1Ghz devices (instead quad core).

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BUGS FIXES & MORE

• Major performance improvements
• Fixed various UI bugs with Party Mode.
• Fixed co-op dodgers not getting punished.
• Fixed match dodge punishment sometimes not working in Hero Select.
• Fixed issues with Karma being affected by non-public matches and matches with friends. Also now allow friends to give each other thumbs-ups.

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This update is so packed that probably very few of you read this far. But if you did stick it out to the end, please know we poured our hearts into this update and hope you love it. Be sure to give us your feedback in the forums and vainglorygame subreddit so we can do even better. Now go check out Phinn and Vainglory seasonal play! —PlayoffBeard

Vainglory has been cast into darkness by Petal’s eternal enemy, the Bleekos! For a limited time only, Pumpkin Spice Petal and Baewitched Celeste do battle on a haunting Autumn Season map. Use ICE to unlock these two limited-edition, supernatural hero skins in the Market upon update 1.9’s release. By Halloween, they’ll be gone … and then only those who unlocked the special skins will have access to use them! 

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 INTRODUCING ‘PUMPKIN SPICE’ PETAL

A flesh-eating fruit with watchful eyes for a throne. Tombstone seeds. Skull munions. And that pumpkin head with candlelit eyes! Pumpkin Spice Petal is truly one-of-a-kind, and it’s only available during 1.9. With this skin and the new Petal ability rework, you’ll be that much scarier when invading enemy-side jungle. —PlayoffBeard

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INTRODUCING ‘BAEWITCHED’ CELESTE

For months and months, players have been pleading for a Celeste skin, chanting ‘she is bae!’ in chat. The wait is over with an amazing limited-edition skin. Ride a broom, drop cauldrons from the sky and trigger a supernova to watch them bubble and explode! But we won’t stop there. Celeste will also have a full three-tiered skin coming in a future update. —PlayoffBeard

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SEASONAL SKIN LORE

By SugarVenom

Celeste wandered upon Petal on the Halcyon Fold one night, pulling eyes out of newts and dropping them into a cauldron.

“You look strange,” said Celeste. She was eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich with the crusts cut off. “Did you do something with your hair?”

Petal stirred up the stuff in the cauldron with a long spoon, then added three frog legs. The brew inside glowed green and farted. “I don’t have hair,” said Petal. “I look weird because you usually see me with Murgle.”

“Oh. Where is your fancy bouncy vehicle?”

One of the frog legs leaped out of the cauldron and tried to hop away. Petal grabbed it and tossed it back in. “Closed up, like the rest of the flowers. Haven’t you noticed anything different about the sky?”

Celeste looked up. “All the stars are where I left them.”

“It’s noon. Don’t you don’t find it kind of strange that you can see the stars right now?”

After a thoughtful bite of her sandwich, Celeste said in a sticky way. “I guess I don’t usually eat my lunch at night.”

“It’s been night for three days. We’re calling it The Great Eclipse.” Petal unwrapped an itty bitty pouch and upended it over the yawning mouth of the cauldron. Nothing visible came out, but baby laughs echoed from inside the bubbly goop. “The Bleekos did it.”

Celeste peered over the lip of the cauldron and leaped back with a squeak when something inside erupted. She was okay, but her sandwich got toasted. “Bleekos?”

“The Meekos’ mortal enemies. Their king, Gnottingham Catchfly the Third, stopped the world’s spin. Now half of it is always dark.”

“How did he manage that?”

“Magnets. Magic. Or maybe he dug down to the squirrel in the middle of the world who runs on the wheel and fed him a poisoned biscuit. I don’t know how, just that he did it, and the Bleekos invaded my home with their moonlight power. My garden is full of dung beetles and mosquitos and super-annoying cricket songs. The flowers are all closed, including Murgle. The munions are hiding underground. And I can’t fight, ’cause all my power comes from the sun.”

“I like when the stars are out, though.”

“You also like honey. And peanuts.” Petal pointed at Celeste’s sandwich. “There’s no flowers for the bees to dance in, and they’re all napping in their hives. No flowers, no honey. No sun, no peanut plants. No peanuts, no peanut butter.”

“But I quite like peanut butter.”

“So make yourself useful.” Petal tossed a turkey baster over at Celeste, then poured in one grinning clam, one angel feather, a spider with nine legs, a first kiss and a can of orange juice concentrate. “Put a drop of that on this.” She set a watermelon down on the ground before Celeste, then fit a protective pumpkin over her own head.

“Um… okay?” Celeste poked the baster into the burpy fizzy concoction and delivered one drop onto the innocent little melon.

B O O M!

The melon exploded outward. When the green smoke cleared, the watermelon had spooky sharp teeth, googly eyes and bounced around all on its own.

“Perfect,” mused Petal, and hopped onto her new ride.

“Exploding stuff could be useful,” mused Celeste. “Let’s make some more.”

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THOUGHTS ON PETAL FROM SUPER EVIL ARTIST NOXII

“The original inspiration for Petal’s Halloween skin was ‘necromancer with a pumpkin head.’ With Petal, it’s important that everything be super cute, so everything in her design is big and round with no sharp edges, like toys. Even the eye triangles and the gravestones are rounded. The munion skeletons have big, too-heavy heads. I dressed Petal in pumpkin leaves and gave her a big belly from eating too many jelly beans. I wanted her hat to be more than a stem, so I gave her a candle.

“Murgle is an exploded watermelon, but with teeth. I researched succulent plants, bleeding funguses, plants that look like they have eyes, and zombies coming out of the ground.”

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THOUGHTS ON CELESTE FROM SUPER EVIL ART DIRECTOR CHAINSAW

“For Halloween, I thought it would be fun to continue Celeste’s mage theme by making her a witch. She’s our good girl, so I let her have fun with her Halloween costume.

“Baewitched Celeste isn’t in our tier system, but she has Tier III quality. She has unique animations and effects, so she drops cauldrons instead of stars and creates a magic circle for her Core Collapse. When she sprints, she rides a broom. I expect to see a lot of warhorn builds for her!

“These limited edition skins are a badge of honor. In the future, other players will be asking, ‘How did you get that?'”

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Get these special Autumn Season 2015 skins as soon as update 1.9 drops and keep them for good. But remember: When update 1.9 is gone, these skins will be gone from the Market as well!