Vainglory Update 2.2 is coming with a new tank hero and a new look for the Halcyon Fold. Spring is here!

NEW HERO: GRUMPJAW

Grumpjaw is a durable fighter, able to last in battles while maintaining stacks of his Living Armor through basic attacks. Grumpjaw can charge headlong into a fight, heavily damaging and slowing enemies at the end of his charge. Once he breaks through enemy lines, Grumpjaw can easily turn the tides of battle by devouring one of his enemies and briefly removing them from the fight.

Read on for Grumpjaw’s abilities…

HERO ABILITIES

Living Armor (Heroic Perk)

Grumpjaw’s hardened carapace grants him increased defenses. Every few seconds and every time he basic attacks, he gains a stack of Living Armor, up to a maximum of 5 stacks. Each stack grants bonus Armor and Shield. Enemies can remove stacks of Living Armor by dealing damage to Grumpjaw. He loses one stack per second while taking damage from basic attacks and abilities.

Grumpy (A)

Grumpjaw charges to a target location, dealing crystal damage and slowing enemies in an area upon reaching his destination. Grumpjaw deals bonus damage for each stack of Living Armor.

Hangry (B)

Grumpjaw leaps toward his target and attacks them. Afterward, he gains bonus weapon damage and attack speed for several seconds.

Stuffed (Ultimate)

Grumpjaw lunges forward, grabbing the first enemy hero in his path and devouring them whole. While the enemy is inside Grumpjaw’s belly, they are unable to move or act and their vision range is reduced to zero. After a few seconds, Grumpjaw will spit the enemy out in the direction he is facing. Grumpjaw can reactivate the ability to spit the enemy out early in a direction of his choice. If Grumpjaw is stunned, killed, or otherwise interrupted while eating, he will release his victim early.

Grumpjaw will be unlockable with ICE only for the first seven days. Afterwards you will be able to unlock Grumpjaw with ICE or Glory.

Grumpjaw Lore 1: Cheesecake

Grumpjaw Lore 2: Out

NEW DEFAULT MAP SKIN

In Update 2.2, the Lead Environment Artist EvilOnTheInside brings a complete visual rework to the Halcyon Fold. Full of lush grass and plant life, the new “Classic” skin is brighter, greener and provides better visual clarity to players. “The new map skin adds life and vibrancy to our gameplay,” explains CaptainNeato. When a seasonal map is not being used, this will be the default map skin.

Players entering the Halcyon Fold in Update 2.2 will notice that the color palette has been completely changed. Before, Vainglory’s default map had a desert aesthetic featuring hard-packed brown earth. The lighting has been cooled down so it looks more like dusk than sunset, thus deepening the shadows in the jungle. In effect, the lane is brighter but the jungle is darker, providing a bigger contrast between geographical features. We wanted to see something as inviting and life-filled as a rainforest.

The creation and implementation of the new default map skin creates opportunities for Vainglory’s art team to focus on creating new map skins for the different game modes. As Vainglory continues to develop and expand its offerings, players should look forward to both updates on the game’s classic features and exciting new content.

NEW HERO SKINS

Introducing the ‘School Days’ Skin Series!

‘SCHOOL DAYS’ LYRA (rare)

‘School Days’ Lyra rules her school, and she’s here to teach you how to be one of the cool kids. Do you make the cut?

Click here to see more about this new Lyra skin.

PHONE WALLPAPERS

‘SCHOOL DAYS’ VOX (epic)

‘School Days’ Vox throws the best parties. Read on to find out how he secured his place in the school’s top squad.

Click here to see more about this new Vox skin.

PHONE WALLPAPERS

‘SCHOOL DAYS’ TAKA (legendary)

‘School Days’ Taka keeps the student body honest. Cheaters beware – that isn’t just a takeout box!

Click here to see more about this new Taka skin.

PHONE WALLPAPERS

Introducing the Epic ‘Gladiator’ Catherine Skin!

A painful reunion with ‘Gladiator’ Ardan turned into a bloody battle with ‘Gladiator’ Lance in the sands of the Gythian arena. This pulse-pounding story ends with the epic ‘Gladiator’ Catherine, fighting to save the life of her enemy.

Read the full story here.

CHECK OUT HER 3D MODEL:

WALLPAPERS

BIG PICTURE

SUNLIGHT REWARDS

Revamped rewards at milestone Sunlight levels and more frequent Daily Chests redesigns how seasons should feel.

Leveling up your seasonal sunlight will result in larger bonuses at milestone levels. You’ll also be able to determine the type of rewards based on the indicator at the level marker.

Daily Chests no longer improve with sunlight level, but occur more frequently and include mini jackpots. More details on Daily Chests can be found in the section below.

Larger rewards every 5 sunlight levels

sunlight levels Sunlight does not affect your Daily Chest

DAILY CHEST

Players will now receive a Daily Chest every 6 hours instead of once per day. Also, players will have two slots to store Daily Chests, so you can save up two chests before you need to start opening them. Once you have at least one Daily Chest available, you can tap to open it and reap the rewards.

A Daily Chest fills up every 6 hours

You can store up to 2 chests

Watch for special jackpot rewards that you’ll find in your Daily Chests!

HERO SELECT SORTING

Quickly find the perfect hero for the game you’re playing. Choose to sort the heroes by the traditional method (English A-Z) or by role. Wondering which role to play this match? Sort by role and quickly find a hero that fits your mood.

Note: sorting options are only available in Blind Pick matches.

DEV API IMPROVEMENTS

Match history, hero win rates and win streaks. Need I say more?

This community has taken our API powered by MadGlory and created things we could only dream of. Match history is just the beginning.

Sites have popped up that serve a multitude of purposes for the players. Want to know how many minions you killed? Your KDA? Your team comp from yesterday’s games? Tired of taking screenshots of every match you want to share with friends? Here are some sites to get you started:

Features:

Match history

Build history

Hero & role performance

Personal win rates

Lifetime stats

Features:

Hero pick & win rates

Guild Fame tracking

Daily top ranks for Kills, Deaths and creep kills in a match

Leaderboards

Features:

Player skill tier

Total account wins

Current win streak

Map side win rate

Hero + skin match history

These are just a few of the many options players have at their fingertips, and we’re just getting started. The Vainglory API Challenge was announced last week, encouraging the community to create awesome applications for everyone to use. It’s not too late to sign up, and the developers of the best app could win a trip to the Lair! Click here to learn more.

UPGRADING MATCHMAKER

When playing Ranked in Update 2.2, you’ll definitely notice a new feature added to the matchmaker; pre-made 3-man teams will only match with other pre-made 3-man teams. This greatly balances matches to empower players who are playing solo. Play with confidence knowing that if you are solo, so is at least one person on the enemy team.

GAMEPLAY CHANGES

BLITZ

The Blitz Beta has been a roaring success. The fast-paced five-minute matches are exciting, but still evolving.

We’ve added a few announcer lines to the Blitz Beta to alert players when time is running out and for other key moments throughout the match.

Objectives around the map now have visual identifiers that represent the number of points they are worth to a team. Now you’ll know how #worth the Gold Mine is when you sacrifice yourself to steal it from the enemy team.

Blitz matches now count towards the first- and third-win bonuses, as well as the Sinister Seven. Win matches seven days in a row for bonus Glory!

ABILITY TOOLTIPS

Players can now quickly learn what an ability does while in a match. Tap and hold on an ability to see how it works.

Because of how Tooltips will be activated, abilities will now be cast when they are released rather than when they are pressed. Players can opt out of tooltips and have abilities cast when pressed by adjusting that option in their Settings.

Tap & hold on an ability to see details

Updated ability descriptions for Rona, Kestrel and Alpha.

CRYSTAL MINER CHANGES

We’re renaming the Crystal Miner to the Crystal Sentry to prevent confusion with Gold Miner and create a more descriptive title for your jungle defender.

Crystal Miner has been renamed to Crystal Sentry.

Crystal Sentry deaths will now include team-specific announcements, including the number of lives remaining.

IMPROVED ANNOUNCEMENTS

A few changes to announcements to let players focus on the match and stay updated with what’s happening on the map.

The announcement for jungle spawning at four minutes has been improved.

First Blood will now include team-specific announcements.

ITEMS & QUICK BUY

We’ve made big improvements to Quick Buy so we’re giving players more options on how they use it.

A majority of the heroes have had their recommended items updated.

Players may now disable Quick Buy while the shop is open.

Brawl modes will remember if you have Quick Buy turned off between games.

BALANCE CHANGES

CATHERINE

MERCILESS PURSUIT

These changes grant Catherine a bit more punch for those early engagements and allow her to opt into that extra stun duration when necessary.

Cooldown changed from 13 to 14.0-13.5-13.0-12.5-12.0

Stun duration up from 0.7-0.8-0.9-1.0-1.2 to 1.0-1.0-1.0-1.0-1.2

Energy cost up from 40-50-60-70-80 to 40-50-60-70-90

Damage up from 10-50-90-130-170 to 35-70-105-140-175

Speed boost duration up from 1.4 to 1.5

STORMGUARD

Taking the overdrive on this ability will still be incredibly powerful against teams with high burst damage. This change makes the overdrive a bit less necessary and allows Catherine a few more options when deciding how she wants to spend her ability points.

Deflected damage boost changed from 0-0-0-0-25% to 0-5-10-15-25%

BLAST TREMOR

These changes give Catherine a few more opportunities to engage early on while empowering her ultimate in the late game. Be sure to take that third point if you need to keep your opponents silenced!

Cooldown down from 100-80-60 to 80-70-60

Damage changed from 375-500-625 to 350-500-650

Silence duration changed from 2.5 to 2.2-2.5-2.8

FORTRESS

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH

Granting Fortress a bit more power early in the game when choosing to put more points in this ability. If you want to lead your team headlong into a battle, be sure to put some points here!

Energy cost changed from 35-45-55-65-75 to 40-45-50-55-60

Cooldown down from 13-12-11-10-8 to 11-10-9-8-7

Bonus damage up from 0-45-90-135-180 to 40-80-120-160-240

ATTACK OF THE PACK

These wolves were particularly tough to deal with early in the game. By cutting down their lifespan and dropping the cooldown, the wolves will be a bit less threatening early while still becoming a significant force later on.

Cooldown down from 90-75-60 to 80-70-60

Attack speed up from 30-50-70% to 50-75-100%

Fortified health and summoned wolves duration down from 15 to 10-12-14 seconds

IDRIS

CHAKRAM

More reason for Idris to take up his Crystal path over Weapon if he is opting to rely on his Chakram for damage.

Weapon ratio down from 125% to 100%

Crystal ratio up from 125% to 130%

Damage up from 70-115-160-205-250 to 75-125-175-225-275

Damage to minions up from 70-95-120-145-170 to 75-100-125-150-175

KRUL

SHADOWS EMPOWER ME

This change grants Krul many more options when he chooses to engage with his perk. He additionally becomes a much larger threat when he catches unsuspecting foes inside a brush.

Basic attacking will no longer consume his perk

Slow duration down from 3 to 2.5 seconds

LANCE

STATS

By tuning down his base damage, Lance takes just a bit longer to whittle down his enemies in the early game, allowing his foes a chance to trade against him more favorably.

Base damage down from 96-179 to 85-179

IMPALE

Combined with the change to Gythian Wall, Lance’s ability to keep an enemy locked down has diminished just a bit.

Root duration changed from 1.0-1.0-1.0-1.0-1.3 + 0.15% CR to 1.0-1.0-1.0-1.0-1.2 + 0.2% CR

GYTHIAN WALL

With a decent amount of Crystal Power, the stun on this ability was lasting too long, allowing Lance to lock someone down almost indefinitely. This should help relieve some of that frustration.

Stun duration crystal ratio down from 0.3% to 0.2%

Maximum stun duration down from 1.6 to 1.4 seconds

OZO

ACROBOUNCE

While a strong offensive tool, Acrobounce still puts Ozo at risk. Properly timing when to use Acrobounce is increasingly important with the reduced cooldown.

Cooldown down from 10-10-10-10-8 to 10.0-9.5-9.0-8.5-7.0

BANGARANG

Increasing Ozo’s options early in the game. With the ability to engage much more frequently, Ozo becomes a much larger threat to unsuspecting foes.

Cooldown down from 90-65-40 to 70-55-40

PETAL

MUNIONS

This change forces Petal to be a bit closer to the fight while still being able to dance around the outskirts.

Leash range down from 9 to 8

Munion attack range down from 1.5 to 0.9

TRAMPOLINE

Crystal will continue to be Petal’s primary path, but we want Weapon to feel a bit more viable.

Weapon power amplification up from 10-15-20-25-30% to 15-20-25-30-40%

RINGO

STATS

Ringo had a few too many options early on in the game and was a bully in the lane. With a bit less energy early on, Ringo players will need to think twice about constantly using their abilities.

Base energy down from 180-422 to 163-416

ACHILLES SHOT

The early levels on Achilles Shot were a bit too punishing for Ringo’s opponents. However, with the the increase in energy cost at overdrive, Weapon builds may need to reconsider using this ability as a tool to constantly harass their foes.

Energy cost up from 30-45-60-75-90 to 40-50-60-70-100

Slow duration down from 1.5-1.75-2.0-2.25-2.5 to 1.5-1.5-1.5-1.5-2.5

SKYE

FORWARD BARRAGE

Though Skye gained some utility on Forward Barrage, it was proving to be a bit too weak. By adding some damage, it is just powerful enough to push enemies away from it.

Weapon ratio up from 50% to 70%

TAKA

HOUSE KAMUHA

While a small change, Taka players will be able to keep Ki stacks up more easily which allows him to conserve his ability usage for more key moments.

Ki stacks duration up from 10 to 12

X-RETSU

A slight increase in the amount of damage Taka can dish out paired with the energy cost reduction will allow him to more efficiently assassinate his targets.

Energy cost down from 85-115-145 to 80-100-120

Damage up from 250-390-530 to 250-400-550

Bleed damage per second down from 40-52-64 to 40-50-60

VOX

PULSE

Reducing the slow duration on this ability allows enemies to keep in step with Vox more easily, helping to reduce the difficulty many heroes have in chasing him down.

Slow duration down from 1.5 to 1.2 seconds

WAIT FOR IT…

Dropping down the burst damage that Vox can deal with his ultimate. Paired with the resonance bounces, a weapon Vox was able to deal a bit too much damage against his opponents at the start of a fight.

Initial shot crystal ratio up from 0% to 20%

Shockwave damage changed from 200-300-400 to 100-150-200 + 40% CR

ITEM CHANGES

POISONED SHIV

Though this item is being picked up in fairly specific use cases, offering a bit more damage to its wielder will allow for it to be viable in more situations.

Weapon Power up from 25 to 35

BUG FIXES