Category: Latest

At any given time, there are multiple Vainglory heroes in various stages of development. Today, we take a look at Vainglory’s next hero: the archer Kestrel. This is the second hero introduced from the elite fighting force called the Stormguard, with Catherine famously being the first. Kestrel is still in testing and anything or everything could change before her release.

KESTREL ABILITIES (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Kestrel is still in development. During this process, abilities may change slightly — or change dramatically — depending on what the designers learn through the testing process.

HERO DESIGNER CIDERHELM INTRODUCES KESTREL

“With Kestrel, our goal is to deliver on two fantasies: When playing weapon, you’ll become a predator, staying near your targets and using brief bursts of stealth to weave through combat as you line up your arrows. Crystal Kestrel benefits from longer stealth durations, allowing her to lean more heavily into her traps as she sets up long-range sniper shots.”

Kestrel is coming next to Vainglory. Again, all abilities are subject to change based on the testing process.

After much testing and experimentation, Blackfeather is locked and ready to go. Check out his final ability kit below, and read the last installment of his tale with Phinn and Princess Malene. And to see Blackfeather in full-match action, be sure to watch the special Blackfeather Dev Livestream today at 2PM PST/22GMT!

MEET THE ASSASSIN BLACKFEATHER

Blackfeather is a striking duelist who pierces the hearts of his opponents. When building weapon items, he becomes a powerful assassin. Building crystal and utility items instead unlocks powerful effects for himself and his team. He performs well in the lane where he can focus on accumulating gold early in the match.

HEARTTHROB (HEROIC PERK)

Blackfeather’s attacks and abilities apply Heartthrob stacks to enemies. This stacks twice on minions and monsters and up to five times on heroes and objectives. Any time stacks are added or refreshed, Blackfeather also deals bonus crystal damage for each stack of Heartthrob already on the target.

Instead of energy, Blackfeather uses Focus for his abilities. Focus is capped at 100 and naturally regenerates 7.5 per second. Blackfeather also recovers an additional 10 focus for each basic attack he lands.

FEINT OF HEART

Blackfeather lunges to his target and basic attacks. For the next 4 seconds, the target leaves behind a rose trail that grants Blackfeather and his allies move speed when moving through it. When this ability is used against a target with full Heartthrob stacks (shown as broken hearts), it will execute the target for bonus true damage based on the target’s missing health (capped against non-heroes).

Overdrive: The rose trail also makes Blackfeather and allies unslowable. Additionally, the cooldown for Feint of Heart is reset if the target is killed within 0.5 seconds.

ON POINT

Blackfeather pierces all enemies in a line, damaging them and applying a decaying slow for 1 second. The duration of this slow is increased by 0.3 seconds for each stack of Heartthrob on the target. If this hits at least one enemy hero, Blackfeather also gains a barrier that scales with a percentage of his bonus health and recovers focus. The amount of focus recovered is further increased with a percentage of his max energy and a percentage of his energy recharge.

Overdrive: On Point gains increased range.

ROSE OFFENSIVE

Blackfeather cuts through his opponents, basic attacking all enemies along his path. During the dash, Blackfeather is immune to negative effects and takes greatly reduced damage. This ability has 2 charges.

NEW LORE: LOVE’S FAILED KISS

By SugarVenom

Phinn chewed on his pipe while a bobber floated on the still water of a pond. He sat on a rock, half snoozing, jerking awake whenever his fishing pole slipped out of his claws.

On the grass beside him, Blackfeather had surrounded the unconscious princess with plucked flowers. “Look at her,” whispered Blackfeather in awe. “Is she not the most captivating thing you have ever seen? Her hair. Her pale skin. Her delicate fingers, how they clutch her prized mirror! Her eyebrows, arched as if to say… as if to say…”

“…let me sleep,” said Phinn.

“No, that’s not it. There is a… a dare in her expression. ‘Do you dare to do what must be done?’ Yes, your highness, I…”

“I meant, let me sleep,” said Phinn with a sharp-toothed yawn. “You kept me up all night with your princess-stealing.”

“How can you think of slumber when such an adventure is about?” Blackfeather dropped with great drama to his knees beside the princess and tucked her hair behind her ears. “When such a beauty needs aid? Never fear, my lady. Blackfeather is here.” With that, he bent and brushed his lips against hers.

Phinn snored.

Susie, perched comfortably on Phinn’s nose, tweeted a morning song.

A red-whiskered carp poked its head out of the pond to peer with suspicion at the bobber.

Princess Malene did not stir.

“That’s bizarre,” said Blackfeather, startling Phinn awake. “Something went wrong with the kiss.”

“Like as not, it’s your technique,” said Phinn, making eye contact with the carp. “Kissing is an art. It’s all in the incisors.”

“I weep for troll women.”

“I haven’t yet had a complaint,” said Phinn as he casted again, landing the bait closer to the curious carp. “Come on, now. Heeeere my little breakfast. Take the juicy worm, now.”

“Your provinciality would drain the romance out of any but this exquisite moment,” said Blackfeather, and again he lowered himself to press his lips to Princess Malene’s, lingering longer this time.

Susie ate a fly out of Phinn’s ear.

The carp nibbled the bait.

Phinn snorted awake and yanked up his pole, piercing the carp through its coquelicot-mustachioed lip.

Princess Malene did not stir.

“Preposterous!” cried Blackfeather. He pouted with crossed arms while Phinn reeled in the carp. “Something is wrong with her, because I am the best kisser in this land.”

Phinn raised up his wriggling catch, but Blackfeather was too despondent to admire it. “Maybe she needs to be awake to enjoy it,” offered Phinn.

“That is the point of the kiss,” cried Blackfeather, startling Susie. “To wake her up.”

The carp died.

“Kisses don’t wake up princesses. Who told you that nonsense?” Phinn bit the head off his breakfast and chewed while shaking his head at his friend.

“They don’t?”

“Of course not. Only the tickle of a seraphim’s feather will wake a sleeping princess. Blue feathers work best.”

Susie nodded in agreement.

“That … that makes so much sense!” Blackfeather sighed with relief. “Why else would my kisses be ineffective? Now, where do we get this famed azure plume?”

“Beats me. Not as many seraphim about as there used to be. Why do you care anyway? I thought we were her kidnappers, not her heroes.”

“We can’t very well collect a bounty on a princess in a coma.”

“Seems you rather like her.”

“Like her? Dear, sweet Phinneas. The crevasse between heroism and villainy is not wide, but it is deep.”

“Take care not to fall in when you jump over, then.” Phinn swallowed the remainder of the carp and, as was his habit after eating anyway, fell again to napping. Once he was sure that Phinn wasn’t watching, Blackfeather took Princess Malene’s hand.

“I shall be the one to tickle you awake, your highness,” he whispered. “I care not where the adventure takes me.”

To be continued … someday.

READ MORE BLACKFEATHER LORE

• Princess Kidnapped!
• Social Climbers
• ‘No Use Resisting!’
• Ruffians!

At any given time, there are multiple Vainglory heroes in various stages of development. Today, we take a look at Vainglory’s next hero: the assassin Blackfeather. While this hero is likely to release with update 1.11, we make no promises because a hero never hits the Fold until it’s absolutely ready. That means playing AS Blackfeather, playing WITH Blackfeather as an ally and playing AGAINST Blackfeather all feel balanced. Blackfeather is still in testing to make sure we get that right (or die trying). —PlayoffBeard

BLACKFEATHER ABILITIES (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Blackfeather is still in development. During this process, abilities may change slightly — or change dramatically — depending on what the designers learn through the testing process.

HEARTTHROB (HEROIC PERK)

Blackfeather’s attacks and abilities apply Heartthrob stacks to enemies. Any time stacks are added or refreshed, Blackfeather also deals crystal damage for each stack of Heartthrob already on the target. Instead of energy, Blackfeather uses Focus for his abilities. This is capped at 100 and naturally regenerates. Blackfeather also recovers an additional 10 focus for each basic attack he lands.

FEINT OF HEART

Blackfeather lunges to his target and attacks, dealing increased attack damage (+60 crystal power) and applying weapon effects. For the next 4 seconds, the target leaves a rose trail. Blackfeather and his allies gain move speed when moving through this trail. When this ability is used against a target with full Heartthrob stacks (shown as broken hearts) it will execute the target, dealing additional true damage based on the target’s missing health. Overdrive: The rose trail also removes and blocks slows while Blackfeather and his allies move along it. Additionally, Feint of Heart’s cooldown is reset if the target is killed within 0.5 seconds of being struck.

ON POINT

Blackfeather pierces all enemies in a line, damaging them and applying a decaying slow for 1 second. The duration of this slow is increased by 0.3 seconds for each stack of Heartthrob on the target. If this hits at least one enemy hero, Blackfeather also gains a barrier that scales with 15% of his bonus health and recovers 35 focus. The amount of focus recovered is further increased with 2% of his Max Energy and 50% of his energy regeneration. Overdrive: On Point gains increased range.

ROSE OFFENSIVE

Blackfeather cuts through his opponents, landing basic attacks on all enemies along his path. During the dash, Blackfeather is immune to negative effects and takes greatly reduced damage. This ability has 2 charges.

HERO DESIGNER CIDERHELM DISCUSSES BLACKFEATHER:

“Blackfeather is all about decisions. He can be played as a weapon assassin or crystal warrior/roamer, and this is further divided by the specific items he chooses.

Rose Offensive (Ultimate)

Blackfeather cuts through his opponents, landing basic attacks on all enemies along his path. During the dash, Blackfeather is immune to negative effects and takes greatly reduced damage.

 

This ability has two charges.

“This ability is a blank slate. If you want a powerful crowd control ultimate, activate Shiversteel and apply it to every enemy in a single dash. If you want a burst ultimate, build critical chance and critical damage. And if you prefer to use the mobility for closing in on a single target or bypassing enemy crowd controls, keep the two charges ready for the right moment.

“Blackfeather has his bases covered when it comes to overdrives as well. Want a cooldown reset on a successful execute? That’s an overdrive. Want safe long-range harassment when you’re on the defensive? That’s an overdrive. Want to chain both charges of your ultimate together almost instantly? Learn the final rank of your ultimate.

“With Blackfeather, the choice is yours.”

BLACKFEATHER LORE

Blackfeather is coming soon to Vainglory. Again, all abilities are subject to change based on the testing process.

The tankiest hero Vainglory has ever seen is about to hit the Fold. If you missed Phinn’s big TwitchCon reveal, read up on him and watch full matches below.

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.

 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.

Read Phinn’s lore: 

• Part I: Princess Malene Kidnapped!
• Part II: Social Climbers

WATCH FULL PHINN MATCHES FROM TWITCHCON!

Keep an eye on the in-game News section for more Phinn lore and update 1.9 details!

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

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 …

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.

‘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.

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.

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

AUTUMN eSPORTS SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

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

 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

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.

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.

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%.

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%.

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%.

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.

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.

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%.

SKAARF

“BURN ALL THE THINGS!!!” —Zekent

GOOP                                                                          

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

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%.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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%.

PIERCING SPEAR & TENSION BOW

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

• Piercing down from 10% to 8%.

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).

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.

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

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. Let’s take a look at Skye’s abilities and lore, and stay tuned for Vainglory’s newest hero in update 1.8! 

 TARGET LOCK (HEROIC PERK)

Skye locks onto and reveals the target she most recently basic attacked. Basic attacks and Forward Barrage on that locked target grant her bonus move speed. This speed bonus is dramatically reduced while moving backward. Target Lock is lost if the target moves too far away from Skye or if she doesn’t attack her target for too long.

FORWARD BARRAGE

Skye fires her guns while strafing. (She can move freely but cannot change her facing direction.) Reactivating this ability will cancel it. Forward Barrage deals damage to her locked target (but less damage to non-heroes). The duration increases with Skye’s crystal power up to a max.

SURI STRIKE

Passive: Each ability point in Suri Strike increases the amount of time Skye can keep her target locked without attacking it.

Active: Skye dashes to a chosen location near her locked target. While dashing, she fires a volley of missiles that lead her target. This ability can only be activated when Skye has a locked target.

DEATH FROM ABOVE

Passive: Each ability point in Death from Above increases Skye’s target-lock range.

Active: Skye fires a salvo of missiles at a chosen location near her locked target.  After a brief delay, the missiles rain down on that location, stunning enemies. Enemies still in the area afterward are slowed and take crystal damage. Aiming directly on your locked target rains down the missiles in a cluster. Aiming away from your locked target rains them down in a line across the target’s path. This ability can only be activated when Skye has a locked target.

OFFICIAL LORE: ‘SKYE’S PROMISE’ 

by SugarVenom

“You aren’t supposed to be here today.” The general’s long shadow stretched into the hangar from the rolled-up garage door.

Skye peeked out from the cockpit of a mech with half its front armor blown out, metal blackened and curling in from the impact point. With a screwdriver between her teeth, she tossed a charred actuator onto the ground and called out, “I’m glad you’re here, Appa. I want to show you my plans for the decommissioned exosuits.”

“You promised your mother.”

“The engines are okay. The shields cause all the issues.” She hunched down behind what was left of the front armor, only slices of her showing in the blasted-out hole. “Every new generation of these machines, we add more armor, which means more weight, which means bigger engines and more crystal power …”

“…which means more dependence on the crystal mines, which means more war.” The general’s face was hard-lined, but his eyes and voice softened. “This is not the time for this discussion.”

“The mechs take fire because they’re too slow.” Loosened screws tink-tink-tinked to the ground, then Skye kicked at the wrecked armor from the inside. “We’re going about it the wrong way. We need … more… mobility.” A word for every kick with her combat boots, until the front armor crashed to the ground, exposing her in the cockpit. “We should be going lighter on the mechs and heavier on the firepower. I put the 25-millimeter autocannons on this one. With the vectored thrust jet nozzles on an integrated airfoil on the back, it’s light enough for halcyon-tipped rockets. I know it’s a risk, but …”

“Skye. She is coming.”

“Where? Here?”

“Ah. Here she is. Go to work, people.” A dozen clattering footsteps accompanied a shrill voice from the garage door. Two men dragged a full-length mirror to a workbench. A dressmaker and his assistants, pins poking from their pressed lips, set up a mannequin. The manicurist, hairstylist and makeup bot took over the workbench. The voice followed behind, barking out orders; it belonged to a small woman with tall, upknotted hair and black eyes. “Mind the grease. That silk cost more than your monthly wages.”

“Umma, what are you doing here?” Skye whined, slumping in the cockpit.

“Your name will be chosen from the tiles tonight. Get out of that thing.” Skye’s mother stood next to her husband at a stern parade rest.

“I don’t want to be chosen. There’s a war happening.” But Skye obeyed, climbing down to join the crowd, casting a betrayed glance at her father.

He shrugged. “There is always war. You cannot be a soldier forever.”

“I’m a pilot, Appa. And I’m the best pilot you’ve… ow!” She winced as the makeup bot attacked her eyebrows with tweezers. The manicurist sat on a stool beside her and clucked under her breath at the broken nails and calluses. The hairstylist pulled Skye’s hair out of its knot and yanked through the tangles with a comb.

“No black around her eyes,” Skye’s mother said to the makeup bot. “It makes them small. And overdraw her lips; they are too thin.”

The makeup bot bowed and rummaged through its box of powders and creams while Skye scowled. “What happens if you’re lucky tonight, and some high-placed family chooses me for their son? What will he say when he sees me without all this stuff on my face?”

“A fish is not kept the same way it is caught.”

“Great,” grumbled Skye. “So men are fish.”

“Gold rings and orchids for her hair,” mused Skye’s mother, peering down at a velvet-lined box of decorations. “You know, Skye, Baron’s mother will choose a tile tonight.”

Skye went still. “She … she would never choose me. There are many highborn girls in the tiles this year.” The hairstylist stood on a stool behind her and pulled Skye’s hair into braids, weaving in the rings.

“The politics of the choosing are complex. A choice for the general’s daughter would send a message,” replied her mother.

“It would be an overt act of war not to join Baron with one of the marriageable girls of Silk or Tiger House.” The general’s brow wrinkled with worry.

“If it is war they want, my new mech design will win it.” Skye’s flight jacket was removed, and the dress draped around her. The dressmakers knelt, pins sticking out from their mouths, to correct the hem.

“Stand up straight,” barked her mother. “Your overcoat will be hemmed too short.”

To be continued …

WATCH FULL SKYE MATCHES FROM PAX PRIME!

Watch the Vainglory streams live from the Twitch Broadcast Zone daily at 10:30AM PDT from PAX Prime!

Keep an eye on the in-game News section for more Skye lore and update 1.8 reveals!