This week, Blizzard revealed the most comprehensive update that Heroes of the Storm has ever seen. Aptly dubbed Heroes 2.0, the massive update is slated for official release late April and represents the most evolved version of game since its launch.

At a Blizzard press event, game director Alan Dabiri described the update as “all encompassing”. He went on to explain how “everything” the Heroes team has been working on “since launch has improved” and that Heroes 2.0 is, simply put, “the best Heroes has ever been.”

Heroes 2.0’s biggest changes involve an updated progression, the introduction of loot chests, a new currency system and additional social / customization tools:

▣ Progression System:

• No more level caps on XP.

• Player level is now the total of all Hero levels gained.

• Players get a loot chest every time they level up.

• Leveling milestones offer much bigger rewards.

• Makes player progression more frequent, meaningful, and rewarding.

▣ Loot Chests:

• Basic, rare, epic and Hero-specific loot chests are awarded for different milestones.

• Certain skins are loot chest exclusives, like the new Prime Evil Diablo.

• A loot chest is guaranteed to drop at least one item of that chest’s rarity, or higher.

• Players can reroll loot chest contents using gold. Each re-roll increases this price.

• Loot chest RNG is favored towards players to avoid extreme streaks of bad luck.

▣ New Currency System:

• Gold is still the main currency acquired and is primarily used to unlock heroes.

• Shards are made out of duplicate items received from loot chests and can be used to purchase specific cosmetic options.

• Gems replace real money. You can purchase gems and at player level 5 are awarded 1000 gems. More gems can be earned for free through progression.

▣ Social / Customization:

• Custom announcers replace in-game kill streaks and takedown announcements with your favorite heroes.

• Unlockable voice lines and phrases can be used to taunt enemies and cheer on allies.

• Emojis are a huge collection of Hero-specific faces and stylized icons that are used in chat.

• Unique Banners can be planted all around the battleground to show off dominant plays.

• Straight from Overwatch, sprays can be placed anywhere on the battleground and come in all shapes and sizes.

• New portraits for the loading screen and profile.

▣ When can I play?

Heroes 2.0 is currently available for open beta testing on the PTR which you can download on your Blizzard app launch screen. This current build also includes the newest playable hero, Cassia, the Diablo 2 amazon.

For more information on the massive update, you can visit the official Heroes 2.0 website. This website features a full schedule of upcoming reveals, including a new hero that will be announced on April, 17th and a Reddit developer AMA on April, 5th.