

Spring Season 2016 is here, and with it comes Halcyon Days events, a new hero sent to destroy the Stormguard, the new Battle Royale game mode (beta), Fortress & map skins, unlockable boosts, “Draft mode for all” and more! Read on to discover what the new season brings …

It’s time for the annual Halcyon Days celebration of Spring! Enjoy a full two weeks of special events, including reveals, contests and chances to earn double Fame, triple Glory and legendary cards. Easily follow all the current and upcoming events in the in-game NEWS section so that you don’t miss a thing!

Read all the details about Halcyon Days here.

SPRING SEASON MAP SKIN!

Play on a seasonal version of the Halcyon Fold , complete with a double rainbow in the distance.

, complete with a double rainbow in the distance. Be sure to toggle on “pinch to zoom” in Settings so you can explore all the map’s Spring surprises!

END-OF WINTER PAYOUTS & SPRING RESTART

Collect your guild rewards for a job well done. This will happen automatically in 1.16 and you’ll know it when you see it.

This will happen automatically in 1.16 and you’ll know it when you see it. Your guild tier and rewards will restart from the bottom of the Spring ladder.

from the bottom of the Spring ladder. Your skill tier will restart from the bottom of the Spring ladder, but you’ll continue to match against worthy opponents at your true skill level, helping you rapidly accelerate (and hopefully reach new heights).

ALPHA BACKGROUND & LORE

Difficulty: MEDIUM | Position: JUNGLE | Role: WARRIOR

Alpha hunts and terminates her targets with ruthless precision. No longer bound to the rules of mortality, she engages in battle without fear or caution. Alpha performs well in the jungle and can take down her targets built either weapon or crystal.

Read Alpha’s lore.

ALPHA EARLY-ACCESS PERIOD

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

INFINITE REBOOT (HEROIC PERK)

Instead of dying, Alpha initiates a reboot sequence upon receiving lethal damage, gaining a reserve health (based on level). For the next several seconds, enemies can continue to attack her and deal damage. If her reserve is not destroyed during this time, she will reboot to ample health at the same location. The cooldown for this ability is displayed in place of Alpha’s energy bar. Once this bar is full, Infinite Reboot is available. This bar will slide back to zero during the reboot process, indicating the remaining time left before she is restored to health.



PRIME DIRECTIVE



Alpha scans for enemies along the target path. If she scans an enemy, that enemy is slowed and Alpha instantly dashes behind them, dealing damage to the target and all enemies within 4.5 meters (65% damage to minions). This also removes the negative effects of Core Overload (without removing the positive effects), dealing increased damage based on the number of stacks removed.



CORE CHARGE



Alpha lunges forward, landing a basic attack on her target and fracturing the ground for additional crystal damage in a small area. Each time she uses this ability, she spends a portion of her current health and gains Core Overload for a few seconds, stacking up to 3 times. Basic attacks reduce the cooldown of Core Charge.

Core Overload: Alpha loses a percentage of her current health every second, but also increases the damage of subsequent Core Charges and causes her basic attacks to heal her. Basic attacks refresh the duration.



TERMINATION PROTOCOL



On activation, Alpha begins a self-destruct sequence. At the start of this she gains a burst of move speed as well as a barrier (based on her level). Immediately afterward, she rapidly loses move speed as her Halcyon core approaches critical mass. After a few seconds, or immediately upon her barrier being breached, Alpha explodes. This explosion deals heavy crystal damage to all enemies within the explosion radius and is lethal to herself. This ability can only be activated while Infinite Reboot is available. Upgrading this ability reduces the cooldown of Infinite Reboot.

NEW GAME MODE (BETA): BATTLE ROYALE

“Introducing Vainglory’s newest game mode: Battle Royale — designed to deliver maximum fun in minimum time! This variant on standard play has been hugely popular with the community and has been prominently featured by many Vainglory streamers using self-imposed ‘house rules.’ Now, players can enjoy this as a full, real game mode with all the bells, whistles, enhancements and Super Evil twists impossible for community members to implement themselves.

“Players are assigned a random hero from Vainglory’s entire hero roster (even if you don’t have that hero unlocked) and are limited to the lane. Recalling is prohibited and you cannot reenter the spawning platform, which means the only way to buy new items is to fight to the death! This creates an environment where the combat is plentiful and the strategies are unique, which is what makes it such a Vainglory fan favorite.

“Battle Royale has a few additional changes to make it even more frantic, fast and fun. Things like increased experience gain, more gold on kill bounties and increased energy regeneration all ensure that the games are quick and the action is non-stop.

It isn’t just about fun though, it can help improve your mechanics too! Since team fighting occurs more frequently in Battle Royale you can use it to practice things like stutter stepping, positioning and aiming skill shots. And since your hero is randomly selected from the entire roster, you’ll end up practicing far more heroes in more situations than you otherwise would. Having a blast and sharpening your techniques is a win-win, so be sure to give it a shot in this newest update!” —Super-sub (writer) ShinKaigan

BATTLE ROYALE: RULE CHANGES

GAMEPLAY

Average match length 7-10 mins (original game lasts 18-22 mins)

Can’t recall

Can’t re-enter spawn platform

Turrets do not have barrier

Death clocks are 10-40-50 seconds @ minute 0-8-10>

Death clocks are not reduced by turret destruction

Turrets have 800 less health

Turret XP value up from 0 to 80 (for reference, a lead minion is worth 12)

HEROES

Randomly selected from Vainglory’s entire hero roster, including Alpha!

Start at level 4

XP trickle 1.8 (normally 0.6)

XP rubberbanding is disabled

Start with 2000 gold

Gold trickle 10 (normally 4)

Kill bounty is 400 gold

Energy regeneration at +35%

When out of combat, regenerate 4% of missing health

MINIONS

Kill bounty 2x

XP value 2x

Level up automatically, reaching max level @ 5 minutes

Gain move speed every level, +0.6 by 5 minutes

PLAY PRIVATE MATCHES WHILE IN BETA

Battle Royale is brand-new, and we’re going to see how players respond before putting it fully out front. For now, find and play the game mode as a new option when you go to make a PRIVATE match.

DRAFT MODE FOR ALL!

In Spring season, players at all skill tiers can enjoy Draft Mode in Ranked play. Ban that hero you hate to face. Devise cool draft strategies and comps. Take your Ranked play to the next level and get your highest skill tier ever in Spring. Not sure how Draft Mode works? Check out this video:

‘NETHERWORLD FORTRESS’ TIERS I, II & III!

All three tiers of Fortress skins will be released during Update 1.16.

FORTRESS TIER 1 LORE

The power of the Halcyon Wells originates deep underground in the boiling hot Netherworld. In a time beyond memory, the gate laid open, and those above traveled below if their need was dire. Today, what lives above survives because Fortress guards the Nether Gate.

Past Fortress, none may go.

Read the full story.

NEW BOOSTS IN THE MARKET

Players have been asking for more options in the in-game Market. Now, you can boost your post-match Glory, out-of-game account XP and Guild Fame progress.

GLORY BOOSTER

Increases the Glory earned from matches until expiration.

PERMANENT GLORY BOOSTER

One-time unlock to permanently increase the rate at which you gain Glory.

GUILD FAME BOOSTER

Increases the Guild Fame earned from matches until expiration.

ACCOUNT XP BOOSTER

Coming soon.

Increases the out-of-game account XP earned from matches until expiration. This has no impact on in-game hero level XP!

SKILL TIER NAME CHANGES

More encouraging for new players at low tiers while preserving the iconic high tiers. RIP Decent-ish. GGWP.

Vainglorious

Pinnacle of Awesome

Simply Amazing

The Hotness

Credible Threat

Got Swagger

Worthy Foe

Rock Solid

Getting There

Just Beginning

TUTORIAL REVAMP

New players can learn the game in bite-sized pieces with a more friendly journey through the app.

MINION MINER

Previously, the ideal play would be to wait until the Minion Miner was worth the maximum amount of gold before capturing it, which wasn’t very intuitive for newer players. The new changes encourage players to fight over the miner more frequently, while also making it more threatening if you control both. —Super-sub (writer) ShinKaigan

Gold bounty up from 80 to 150 .

to . No longer grows in bounty when neutral.

Minions push harder when you control both Minion Mines.

ACE BUFF

This should help players secure an objective after an ace and close out the game. —Super-sub (writer) ShinKaigan

Ace-buffed minions move faster and deal more damage to minions.

ACTIVE ITEMS

“Our items are massive teamfight tilts, but they’re “hidden power” to people watching the matches. Their gameplay effects are powerful, but their in-game visuals are invisible, and it’s not just a great learning tool for people watching VG, it’s a great learning tool for people playing it.

“If someone fountains me in solo queue and saves my life, I want to know who made that clutch play and applaud them. I want to know when the effect happens so that I can rally and reengage in battle, and if my opponents trigger a Fountain, I want to know to fall back.

“So all three of those items were in sore need of clear correlation in terms of visuals and cause-effect relationships.” —CaptainNeato

FOUNTAIN OF RENEWAL

A better visual correlation but with reduced heal speed increases the tension around a Fountain rescue. It will take more skill to save lives, but when you do it, it’ll be that much more clutch. —CaptainNeato

Healing is now carried via a projectile traveling to allies. Projectile travel time does impact Fountain heal timing.

FLARE

It’s now clear who is flaring. It also slows down the pace of how fast you and friends are running through the forest, flaring as you go. —CaptainNeato

Now has a projectile traveling to destination. Projectile travel time does impact flare timing.

CRUCIBLE

Despite the visual, there is no change to the split-second timing of activating this item. You can still cancel that Blast Tremor silence if you have Gabevizzle-like reflexes. The key here is making sure players and spectators alike are clear on where that clutch block came from. —PlayoffBeard

Reflex Block is now carried via a projectile traveling to allies. Projectile travel time does not impact block timing.

STORMGUARD



This item was able to store up to 1.3 seconds worth of damage when you first hit someone, because basic attacks have a base cooldown of 1.3 seconds. —Zekent

Damage storage now capped at 1 second.

BROKEN MYTH

The new Broken Myth can now reach max stacks faster but only when the player is the aggressor —Super-sub (writer) ShinKaigan

Now only gains stacks when dealing damage to heroes, not when receiving damage from heroes.

Stack count changed from 7 stacks of 5% to 5 stacks of 7%.

ALTERNATING CURRENT

Making this item focus more on mages who have special properties on their basic attacks — and less about turning CP Vox into a Ringo also. —Zekent

Attack speed up from 40% to 65%.

to Crystal power up from 50 to 60.

to Damage crystal ratio down from 115% to 70%.

ADAGIO

It was too easy to take advantage of Adagio’s powerful buffs. Some of the damage has been shifted out of simply casting Agent of Wrath on an ally in favor of comboing Adagio’s kit together. —Zekent

Base attack speed up from 100% to 100-116%.

GIFT OF FIRE

Energy cost up from 120-132-144-156-168 to 120-135-150-165-180.

AGENT OF WRATH

Damage changed From: 25-40-55-70-115 + 85% CR 50% bonus to base damage from Arcane Fire bonus (effectively 12.5-20-27.5-35-57.5 + 0% CR) 20% bonus to base damage from self-cast bonus (effectively 5-8-11-14-23 + 0% CR) To: 20-40-60-80-120 + 50% CR damage 10-20-30-40-60 + 35% CR Arcane Fire bonus 5-10-15-20-30 + 20% CR self-cast bonus



JOULE

Even with all her fancy rockets and lasers, Joule has been having a tough time on the Fold. We figured it’s about time for a tune-up! —Zekent

ROCKET LEAP

Cooldown down from 22-21-20-19-10 to 22-20-18-16-10.

THUNDER STRIKE

Cooldown down from 3.5-3.4-3.3-3.2-3 seconds to 3 seconds.

seconds to seconds. Energy cost changed from 35-37-39-41-43 to 40.

BIG RED BUTTON

Damage up from 750-1350-1950 to 800-1500-2200.

to Crystal ratio down from 520% to 460%.

CELESTE



While Celeste does fantastically in the back line, it was far too easy for gap-closing heroes to take her down in close-quarters combat. Now, she stands more of a fighting chance.

Base attack speed down from 100-136% to 100-125%.

JULIA’S LIGHT (HEROIC PERK)

Crystal ratio up from 50% to 75%.

HELIOGENESIS

Star duration-on-ground up from 7 to 8 seconds.

PHINN



That’s a big anchor! Phinn now has more utility on Quibble while also adjusting the damage, so that roam is more appealing. — ShinKaigan

QUIBBLE

Radius up from 2.7 to 3.0 meters.

to meters. Crystal ratio down from 200% to 170%.

to Slow/stun duration up from 0.8 to 0.9s.

RONA



We’re fixing two elements of Rona’s kit that didn’t work properly. They’re now ready to go so we’re putting them back in!

BERSERKERS’ FURY

Basic-attack ratio up from 75% to 80%.

INTO THE FRAY

Into the Fray now properly grants Bloodrage upon the first impact. (Grants 20 Bloodrage per hero hit.)

Bloodrage per hero hit.) Regular Bloodrage gains from basic attacks down from 9 to 6.

FOESPLITTER

Weapon ratio of both first and second activation up from 75% to 80%.

to Second activation damage down from 15-30-45-60-105 + 120% CR to 10-20-30-40-70 + 100% CR.

to Second cast drains all bloodrage and deals up to double damage based on % of bloodrage drained.

FORTRESS



33% damage per basic attack x3 basic attacks ≠ 100%.

Fixed a bug where pack wolves sometimes survive more than 3 basic attacks.

BLACKFEATHER



Adding more readability to Blackfeather on top of adding more ability choice diversity. —Zekent

ROSE OFFENSIVE

Hitbox reduced to match Blackfeather’s body width.

Charge time up from 30-25-20 to 40-30-20. RINGO

Pew pew pew! —Zekent TWIRLING SILVER Attack speed boost down from 50-60-70-80-100% to 40-50-60-70-90%. TAKA

Fixing a long-standing bug in Kaku in addition to adding some more skillful elements to Taka’s kit. —Zekent KAKU Fixed a bug where Kaku would end early if he was also basic attacking at the same time as using Kaku.

Reflex Block prevents Taka from getting knocked out of stealth.

Energy cost down from 45-57-69-81-93 to 45-55-65-75-85. PETAL Addressed a small bug where Petal’s munions were not correctly being treated as minions and thus made them easier to kill with certain AOE abilities. —Super-sub (writer) ShinKaigan Fixed a bug where Kestrel’s Glimmershot, Rona’s Into the Fray, and Skye’s Suri Strike dealt full damage to Munions when they should deal reduced damage as they do to lane minions. GLAIVE

Adding a bit more meaningful choice in Glaive’s skill point allocation. —Zekent AFTERBURN Cooldown down from 25-24-23-22-10 to 22-20-18-16-10. TWISTED STROKE Energy cost down from 35-41-47-53-59 to 35-40-45-50-55. BLOODSONG Lifesteal changed from .75% to 0.9% per stack.

to per stack. Gains full stacks whenever Glaive dies. KRUL

The barrier was simply too large to break through! Additionally, slightly reducing Krul’s stacking capabilities. — Zekent Base weapon damage down from 68-154 to 68-140 DEAD MAN’S RUSH Barrier changed from 100-200-300-400-600 to 100-150-200-250-350 SPECTRAL SMITE Damage with zero stacks down from 100-150-200-250-400 to 100-150-200-250-350

KESTREL

We gave her a little boost to her late game scaling, making her a more well-rounded character throughout the match. —Super-sub (writer) ShinKaigan

Base weapon power up from 64-99 to 64-130.

OZO



Fixed an issue where Ozo did not have the standard melee hero minion defense.

ACROBOUNCE

Bounce damage up from 20-40-60-80-100 + 100% CR to 50-80-110-140-200 + 120% CR.

to Final damage changed from 70-105-140-174-245 + 100% CR to 50-80-110-140-200 + 120% CR.

to Additional bounce damage changed from 30-50-70-90-110 + 50% CR to 25-40-55-70-100 + 60% CR.

to Cooldown down from 14-13-12-11-10 to 13-12-11-10-8.

BUG FIXES

Dead heroes no longer earn XP.



Dead heroes no longer earn Ironguard gold.



SAW: Fixed a bug that caused a normal basic attack to fire immediately after using Roadie Run while Mad Cannon was activated.

Fixed a bug that caused a normal basic attack to fire immediately after using Roadie Run while Mad Cannon was activated.

Joule: Fixed a bug where Joule rotates if she gets rooted.

Fixed a bug where Joule rotates if she gets rooted.

Reim: Fixed a bug where Reim’s damage on turrets granted fortified health as if he were hitting a hero.

Fixed a bug where Reim’s damage on turrets granted fortified health as if he were hitting a hero.

Taka: Fixed a bug where Kaku would end early if he was also basic attacking at the same time as using Kaku.

Fixed a bug where Kaku would end early if he was also basic attacking at the same time as using Kaku.

Petal: Addressed a bug where Petal’s munions were not correctly being treated as minions.

Addressed a bug where Petal’s munions were not correctly being treated as minions.

Ozo: Fixed an issue where Ozo did not have the standard melee hero minion defense.

Fixed a bug where the collision of certain abilities didn’t quite match their visual effect. The following abilities have been impacted:

Blackfeather’s Rose Offensive



Celeste’s Solar Storm



Kestrel’s Glimmershot



Krul’s From Hell’s Heart



Phinn’s Forced Accord



Ozo’s Bangarang



Skaarf’s Spitfire



Skye’s Forward Barrage



Vox’s Wait for It …

WHAT’S NEXT: VAINGLORY ROAMERS

Hey, this is Ciderhelm, and I’d like offer a glimpse of our two upcoming roam heroes, Lance and Ayla. Lance is a heavily armored defender with a unique sword-and-board fighting style. Ayla, on the other hand, brings powerful magic to support her allies from a distance. In addition to their primary roam roles, Lance will offer a separate warrior path while Ayla will offer a separate mage path.

As always, please understand that anything can change during development, including the details here. These two heroes are the Hero Design team’s top priorities and we’re looking forward to getting two new roamers into your hands!

It’s a brand-new season, which brings massive improvements and changes. Check out the new hero, new game mode and so much more now … and be sure to follow along in the in-game NEWS section to track all the special Halcyon Days events! —PlayoffBeard