After S2 Games released a preview video for Myrmidon, a new intelligence hero that is due to be patched in tomorrow, Heroes of Newerth fans received another treat.

Worthplaying.com released an exclusive article announcing all the new features included in the long-awaited Heroes of Newerth 2.0 patch/expansion, as well as a release date - December 13th.

Casual mode is a new game mode that is exactly what it sounds like. While not suited for competitive play, it allows the more casual crowd with not as much time on their hands to jump into a game and get right to the action. The casual mode does not have a gold penalty on death nor does denying creeps withhold you of gaining experience and the leveling curve is much faster than in "normal mode". It is still unclear whether "casual mode" will replace "easy mode" or be a supplement to it.

Grimms Crossing is a brand new map for Heroes of Newerth. What makes it different from the currently available maps is that it's made for 3v3 encounters, rather than 5v5. It's designed to be small and narrow, offering little space to turtle or grind. Instead, the size and structure of the map are all about encouraging players to get to fighting as quickly as possible.

Team Matchmaking, the single most awaited feature of Heroes of Newerth is coming with the 2.0 update as well. When performing matching in 2.0, the server aims to not only match the overall performance of the teams, but also the relative performance of the players within a single team.

The UI will get a facelift with a focus on streamlining the interface in order to get where you want and do what you want in as few clicks as possible. The minimap in a game will become interactive and you will now not only be allowed to "ping" to your teammates, but also give more specific commands on where to attack or defend. You will also be able to hover over hero dots on the minimap to see their name, health/mana bars and inventory. You will no longer need to scroll away from your hero just to get basic information about others.

In-game shop is one of the main attractions of Heroes of Newerth 2.0. You will be able to either buy coins to spend in the in-game shop or earn them just by playing the game like you usually do. None of the cash shop items gives you an in-game advantage as they are all purely cosmetical! The cash shop will include country flags and avatars to display beside your name, the color of which you'll be able to change now as well. It will also include attractive alternate hero skins which, for example, turn Succubus into a Schoolgirl, Witch Slayer into a Pimp that throws a pimp cane instead of his dagger and the ever-so-popular Devourer Clown. Another cash shop item that will be available are different announcer packs, like the previewed "Flomboyant pack", which, amongst other things, replaces the "BLOODLUST!" announcement with a "CHERRY POPPER!" one.

The Map Editor is the last of the previewed Heroes of Newerth 2.0 features. It is the same one that S2 used to create Heroes of Newerth and it's maps. Players will be able to submit their best maps to S2 for review and possible inclusion in a community map selection.

While the update has so far received predominantly positive feedback and responses, a part of the community fears that it will turn Heroes of Newerth into too much of a casual game for their taste. Another criticism that it received is that S2 Games' cash shop is going into the direction the cash shop League of Legends uses, which is frowned upon by the Heroes of Newerth community because of the fact that it allows you to buy an actual in-game advantage over your opponents.

This concern was, however, dismissed already 9 months ago by Marc "Maliken" DeForest, CEO of S2 Games:


Thus, you can remain sure that the only thing you'll see in the S2 Games Heroes of Newerth cash shop will be cosmetic stuff & fluff that in no way changes gameplay.

The Heroes of Newerth 2.0 update is completely free of charge for anyone that already owns Heroes of Newerth and will come on December 13th.


Source - Worthplaying.com