


Fun new social and customization Rewards.As part of the announcement, a new Diablo hero, the Amazon Cassia, was highlighted. The in-game shop was remodeled and retitled "Collection", and two new currencies were added in addition to the existing Gold: Gems (which can be earned in-game or purchased with real money), used to buy heroes, Loot Chests, and featured items, and Shards, awarded from Loot Chests and from duplicate items from Loot Chests. A loadout system for cosmetic additions was also included. In addition to heroes, skins, and mounts, the chests can also include new portraits, banners, custom announcer voices (similar to StarCraft II), hero voice lines, and graffiti sprays (both similar to Overwatch). Another feature was the introduction of Loot Chests which contain cosmetic rewards, similar to the system used in Overwatch. The level caps (40 for players in general, and 20 for individual heroes) were removed, and the uneven experience curve for levelling heroes was smoothed out. A major feature of the patch was a revamp of the player and hero progression systems. On March 29, 2017, game director Alan Dabiri announced Heroes of the Storm 2.0, described as "a culmination of all the ways Blizzard transformed the Nexus since launch, plus plenty of radical additions on their way".
