Patch 0.7.15 Notes

• Returning Hero – Deadwood: The classic gauntlet brawler is fully integrated into Reborn with updated VFX, audio, and day-one matchmaking availability.
• In-Client Leaderboard: New tabs for Rank, Monthly Games, Penalty Points, around-you tables, profile deep-links, and rapid 10-second refresh cycles.
• Cosmetics Overhaul: Store navigation, filtering, and previews have been redesigned to make finding cosmetics — including brand-new Kill Effects — faster.
• Matchmaking Stability: Queue integrity upgrades keep parties clean, reconnect logic is tokenized, and dodgers face smarter penalties.
• Store Kill Effects & Ward Skins: Equip or unequip both directly in the client, preview bespoke setups, and enjoy animated looks that persist between games with more variants on the way.

Classic Bruiser, Modern Fidelity

Deadwood finally joins HoN Reborn, complete with his signature lumbering gait and shut-down potential. Models, texture work, and particle passes have all been modernized so every Willowmaker slam and Rotten Grasp feels weighty on today's hardware.

• Hero Pool: Fully selectable in Matchmaking, Public, and Practice modes.
• Ability Parity: Clearcutting, Tree Grab, Rotten Grasp, and Willowmaker ship with their legacy behaviors untouched so veteran players feel right at home on day one.
• Visual Pass: Updated materials and VFX keep the lumbering silhouette readable without overstating what changed.
• Audio: Re-implemented classic voice responses and combat barks from the 4.10 client.

Play Deadwood Right Away

To celebrate the release we have enabled a rotating featured queue that guarantees Deadwood access for at least one player per team. Queue in, plant someone with Willowmaker, and spam the legacy taunts while the servers are buzzing.

Valkyrie

• Arrow (W): Getting max damage is now easier at every level, while securing the max stun duration is harder at higher ranks.

Engineer

• Turret can no longer be self-damaged via reflected hits.

Jeraziah

• Sol's Blessing skips invulnerable towers or units entirely so its effects only apply to allies who can actually receive them.

Miscellaneous

• Monkey King VFX cleanup for staff clones and vault trails.
• Shared root effects now display consistent colors for both teams.

Lightbrand Line

• Magic lifesteal only works when you deal the spell damage. Pets and illusions no longer cheese sustain loops.

Spiked Bola

• Introduced a new 3D projectile, trailing ribbons, and sharper audio to better telegraph the snare.

Flail & Crown Greaves

• Tooltip clarifications detail how magic armor and lifesteal splits are distributed between allied recipients.

Queue Integrity

• Duplicate party members are hard-blocked the moment they appear in queue.
• Avoid lists are enforced on match creation so you do not land with avoided players.
• Rating outliers are smoothed so mid-MMR lobbies stop pairing with top-50 stacks.

Penalty Scaling

• Disconnecting after draft instantly grants a 3-minute cooldown before you can requeue.

Reconnect Reliability

• Unique reconnect tokens ensure only the original account can return to a live game.
• Crash handling scrubs ghost players and ensures dodgers still receive penalties.
• Matchmaking differentiates connecting vs. connected players, reducing reconnect storms.

Service Messaging

• Reconnect prompts no longer appear once a match ends, regardless of the reason.
• Lobby services are now notified on host or server shutdown, maintaining reconnect stability.

In-Client Leaderboard UI

The leaderboard now lives directly inside the client with fast-refreshing tabs:

• Dedicated tabs for Rank, Monthly Games, and Penalty Points.
• Your personal rank is pinned with an around-you table so you can scout nearby players.
• Player rows link straight to profiles for scouting and party invites.

• Corrupted Thunderbringer finally shows the proper portrait, his storms carry cohesive visuals, and his ultimate lands once with a remastered boom.
• Predator's empowered state effects, weapon material, and swing timing are aligned so every claw connects exactly on the damage frame.
• Jeraziah's Staff of the Master blessing ignores invulnerable structures, keeping that protection on allies who can actually receive it.
• Spiked Bola, Flame Belcher, Inquisitor's Flail, Desert Scream, and Frostwolf Skull all carry bespoke materials and effect passes so they stand out mid-fight.
• Monkey King's entire kit, King Klout's Q, Witch Slayer's Graveyard, Forsaken Archer's Smoldered Soul, and Glacius' ice sheen now reference the correct targets without stretching Kongor or Phoenix or miscoloring surfaces.
• Nomad's Q/W cues, Wasteland Flint's alternate callouts, Gambler's emote, the Toxic Barrel emote, and the Plinko board characters all sync animation and audio instead of drifting apart.
• Midwars warding totems sit where players expect, Caldavar's filler buildings behave as props, and the Hellbourne base vents fresh lava for a more dramatic finish.
• Kongor arena announcers now slip in a "Get Juked Son!" shout while Thunderbringer's ultimate impact stays to a single clean sound.

Quick Buy Logic

Quick Buy now hides when empty or when the shop is open, then reappears when needed. Tooltips adopt the same clarity pass as the cosmetics UI.

Chat Improvements

• Player colors (Blue, Pink, etc.) display correctly instead of doubling.
• Pings show both the player color and hero so callouts are always attributable.

Announcer Streaming

• Announcer packs stream asynchronously to keep the UI responsive when swapping voice packs mid-session.

HUD & Buff Tray

• Top-center HUD introduces a rotating dial, time-of-day soundscape, and live K/D/A/CS quick stats.
• Buff/debuff tray now shows clean countdowns and hides invalid timers to reduce clutter.
• Spectator board sync has been tightened so observer info updates in lockstep.