Heroes of the Storm, which plenty of people had long written off, has a new hero. At BlizzCon 2026 Blizzard revealed Xal'atath, the main villain of World of Warcraft: Midnight. She is the first new character in the game since Hogger arrived in December 2020. The test realm opens on 14 September, and the full release is set for 28 September.
Xal'atath: abilities
Xal'atath joins as a ranged assassin who fights with the power of the Void.
- Trait, Void Volley. Basic attacks build Soul Essence, and at full Essence she unleashes a barrage of void bolts at an area while moving freely.
- Q, Shadow Mark. A large Void Orb marks heroes hit by its inner radius, and the Dark Heart moves to the impact point and detonates on them.
- W, Void Step. Blink between three points in a triangle, gaining attack damage at each stop, and cancel early to reposition or escape.
- E, Dark Heart Ritual. The Dark Heart talisman pulses void energy at nearby enemies, then follows and detonates on a marked hero.
- Heroic, Void Eruption. A growing orb that blinds enemies and detonates across a large area.
- Heroic, Void Convergence. A portal that keeps spawning void minions.
Blizzard President Johanna Faries hinted that she will not be the last and another hero may arrive in the near future. For a game that went almost six years without new characters, that sounds close to a second life.
Sources
Xal'atath as the new hero, the test realm opening on 14 September, the 28 September release and the hint at more heroes to come come from Blizzard's official BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony recap. The ranged assassin role, the link to World of Warcraft: Midnight, the descriptions of the Void Volley trait, the Shadow Mark, Void Step and Dark Heart Ritual abilities and the Void Eruption and Void Convergence heroics, and Johanna Faries's remarks come from Game Informer. Hogger in December 2020 being the previous new hero comes from Game Informer and PC Gamer. The video is an official upload from the Heroes of the Storm channel. The image comes from the official Heroes of the Storm website.
