Top 5 Plays of the Week - December 21th

And FYI, for the Muay Tigermonium Giveaway contest, I apologize for the late announcement because of the holiday. Before that, I know its a little bit late to say Merry Christmas to you guys. And regarding the contest, design and hero guide contest, im going to extend the deadline until the end of January 2013. And if there's still not much contestant I will change the giveaway rule. Thanks, and really apologize about the inconvinience, happy Holiday guys !

HON 3.0 Coming in Early 2013

HoN, LoL, push mid, gank top. If that all sounds like gibberish to you, then you’ve never played a multiplayer online battle arena. Even though these MOBAs trace their origins to a custom map for Warcraft III that let two teams of five heroes attempt to destroy each other’s bases, games like League of Legends and Dota 2 have helped make this one of the fastest growing genres in gaming.
One of the more popular MOBAs is Heroes of Newerth, a PC game launched in 2010 by developer and publisher S2 Games. While a success in its own right, HoN never took off the way its biggest competitors did, but S2 is hardly ready to concede defeat.
GamesBeat talked to S2 Games founder Marc DeForest, who detailed the upcoming changes coming to Heroes of Newerth in early 2013 (known as HoN 3.0), including the addition of computer-controller bots. We also talk about the growth of the MOBA genre, the notoriously newbie-unfriendly community, and the challenges of differentiating HoN from its competitors.


GamesBeat: MOBAs have seen a lot of growth.
Marc DeForest: We’ve been pretty successful ourselves. I know that just in this year alone we’ve seen about 50% increase in our player base. We’ve had solid growth in North America, but we’re actually seeing most of our growth come from southeast Asia. I think our partners there said we’re the number one online game played in Thailand, which is a pretty exciting stat to have. Our partner in southeast Asia, we just signed a deal with them to launch HoN in Taiwan and China as well. The size of our company has doubled this year in terms of personnel. We’re close to 100 people. I just signed a lease on a new office this year which over doubles our current square footage to make room for additional growth. We’re not stopping with what we’re doing with HoN. We’re going to continue to operate it as a service. We’re going to continue to invest in it. We’re going to continue to invest in the company. We’ve got some other tricks up our sleeve, and we’ve got some other things we’ve been working on, which is pretty exciting. We’re almost three years old now and still extremely popular and still growing. I think that’s a testament to not just how good of a game HoN is as it is to the stickiness of this genre.
One of the things we have not spent enough time focusing on is the capability of learning how to play the game better before you play it online. Early next year we’re going to launch HoN 3.0. It’s an extremely solid update. We’ve spent a lot of time working on it. We’ve invested a seven-figure budget just into this update alone. One of the things we’re going to focus on is putting bots in the game. We’ve spent a lot of time making sure our bots feel like real players and not be so challenging that it is exactly the same as playing real players. Also, we’re focusing on easing players into playing their first bot game and teaching them the mechanics of the game in an easier fashion.

Patch 2.6.33 Changelog - Christmas with 10+ New Alt Avts

Version 2.6.33

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== New Content ==

- Added new Early Access Hero: Lodestone preview
* Lodestone is a melee initiator that can dramatically reduce the effectiveness of any well-armored hero. His prowess in battle allows him to increase the damage of his allies as well as his own. However, Lodestone is not without weakness. He can deal massive damage to a single target but damages himself in the process.
* Releases 12/19/2012

- Added a new Lodestone Limited Edition Early Access Alt Avatar: Shrapnel
* Releases 12/19/2012
- Added a new Lodestone Premium Alt Avatar: Heap
* Releases 12/19/2012

  - Added a new GOLD EDITION Moon Queen Alt Avatar: Ether the Moon Prince preview
* The first GOLD COLLECTION avatar in over a year! This avatar is available for one week before it heads back to Merrick's Vaults!
* Releases on 12/26/2012

- Added a new Holiday Edition Maliken Alt Avatar: Mali Klause preview
* This Avatar is exclusively available through the purchase of a $5.00, $50.00, or $100.00 Coin pack! If you have a Mali Klause sitting in your vault, look for him to be already unlocked and available to play! This avatar will not be available for individual purchase this holiday season.
* Releases on 12/19/2012

- Added a new Holiday Edition Ellonia Alt Avatar: Jackson Frost preview
* This Avatar is available with the purchase of a $30.00, $50.00, or $100.00 Coin Pack! This avatar will not be available for individual purchase this holiday season.
* Releases on 12/19/2012

- Added a new Holiday Edition Rampage Alt Avatar: Rudy Rampage preview
* This Avatar is available exclusively with the purchase of a $100.00 coin pack! This avatar will not be available for individual purchase this holiday season.
* Releases on 12/19/2012

- Added a new Holiday Edition Drunken Master Alt Avatar: Eggnog Master preview
* This Avatar is available exclusively with the purchase of a $10.00, $50.00 or $100.00 coin pack. This avatar will not be available for individual purchase this holiday season.
* Releases on 12/19/2012

- Added a new Holiday Edition Glacius Alt Avatar: Frosty the Icemage preview
* This Avatar is available exclusively with the purchase of a $50.00 or $100.00 coin pack. This avatar will not be available for individual purchase this holiday season.
* Releases on 12/19/2012

- Added a new Limited Edition Rhapsody Alt Avatar: DJ Rap City preview
* This special edition avatar is only available at this time through Soundblaster - stay tuned for details on how to get yours!


- Added a new Forsaken Archer Alt Avatar: Pra Ram Archer preview
* Like Muay Tigermonium, this avatar is another winner from our Thailand avatar contest! Complete with new monkey minions!
* Releases on 12/21/2012

- Added a new Rise of Ra Demented Shaman Alt Avatar: Demonic Shaman preview
* The second avatar in the Rise of Ra series!
* Releases on 12/21/2012

- Added a new Hammerstorm Alt Avatar: Bravehurt Hammerstorm preview
* A Hammerstom from the Highlands!
* Releases on 12/24/2012

- Added a new Puppet Master Alt Avatar: Arcsara Puppetmaster preview
* Another winner from Thailand's avatar contest! This ancient demon controls a marionette that will take your soul!
* Releases on 12/28/2012

- Added a new Rise of Ra Torturer Alt Avatar: Cenobite Torturer preview
* The third avatar in the Rise of Ra series!
* Releases on 12/28/2012

- Added a new Taunt: Celebration Taunt preview
* Ring in the New Year with confetti and dropping balls!
* Releases 12/31/2012

- Added a new Flint Beastwood Alt Avatar: Flint Hellwood preview
* From the mean streets of Hell's Keep comes a demon with an attitude and the guns to do something about it!
* Releases on 01/02/2013

- Added a new Keeper of the Forest Alt Avatar: Keeper of the Desert preview
* Complete with new cacti minions!
* Releases on 01/04/2013

- Added a new Rise of Ra Gravekeeper Alt Avatar: Archlich Gravekeeper preview
* The fourth avatar in the Rise of Ra series!
* Releases on 01/04/2013

- Added a new Dark Lady Alt Avatar: Glorious Dark Lady preview
* From community member Glorious!
* Releases on 01/07/2013

- Added a new Emerald Warden Alt Avatar: Topiary Warden preview
* This avatar has gone completly green! With new plant wolves and Gawain!
* Releases on 01/09/2013

Garena - Patch 2.7 Changelog - Lodestone and Christmas Patch

Dear Heroes,

There will be a Game Client Patch v2.7 on 20th December 2012, 0700 hrs - 1159 hrs (GMT +8).
Game Service will be unavailable during this time. Players are advised to logout before this time.
*Downtime may be extended without prior notice due to unforeseen circumstances.*

Please note that the next upcoming scheduled maintenance would be on 16th January 2013, more details will be released when the time is near. However, we \d Friday as scheduled, stay tuned for more updates!

On behalf of HoN team, we wish you guys have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2013!

Version 2.7

== New Content == 

• Added new Early Access Hero: Lodestone preview
  • Scheduled to be released on 20th December 2012

• Added new Limited Edition Early Access Lodestone Alt Avatar: Shrapnel
• Scheduled to be released on 20th December 2012

• Added new Premium Lodestone Alt Avatar: Heap 
• Scheduled to be released on 20th December 2012

• Added a new Rampage Alt Avatar: Rudy Rampage preview
• Scheduled to be released on 20th December 2012

• Added a new Maliken Alt Avatar: Mali Klaus preview
• Scheduled to be released on 22nd December 2012

• Added a new Glacius Alt Avatar: Frosty the Ice Man preview
• Scheduled to be released on 22nd December 2012

Garena - Catch a Snowman Xmas Event

Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul.

With a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal. Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale they say.

He was made of snow but the children know how he came to life one day!

 

Play 25 MM games from 22nd Dec - 25th Dec to receive a FREE

Snow Man Glacius!

 

Someone said it's cold and freezing down here?

Avatar will be granted automatically once you've accomplished the requirement.

Lodestone - Hero Spotlight

HoN Newsletter Vol.33 - Christmas E-Cards Gift

Dont forget to Join the Creative Continuum sponsored by SoundBlaster in :

http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?466709-The-Creative-Continuum-5-Sponsored-by-Sound-Blaster!

Hero Teaser: Lodestone

Dr. Repulsor stood back and looked over the creation in his laboratory. The golem made from magnetized stone and steel was complete and ready to be brought to life. He watched as Hellbringer completed the ritual to summon forth the demon that would power the construct and bring it to life. The Eldritch runes etched into its frame would hold the creature eternally in place. While it may lack the intelligence of Chronos, the new soldier would be the first of many demon powered war machines. Readmore about LodeStone Story here

Lodestone is a melee strength ganker and initiator hero that sacrifices his own defenses and strips enemies of theirs.

                                                                      Abilities Teaser

Top 5 Plays of the Week - December 14th

Patch 2.6.32 Changelog - Christmas Patch

Version 2.6.32

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== New Content ==

- Added Pharaoh Alt Avatar: Anubis Pharaoh preview
* An ancient evil awakens to challenge Maliken for supremacy in the Hellbourne ranks! This avatar starts a brand new chapter in the story of Newerth and is the first of a new collection - Witness the Rise of Pharoah to begin the journey!
* Releases on 12/15/2012

- Added a new Drunken Master Alt Avatar: Drunken Wench preview
* Drunken Master's favorite tavern wench has decided to join him on the battlefield! It can now be Oktoberfest any day you like in Newerth!
* Releases on 12/15/2012

- Added a new Rampage Alt: Primal Rampage preview
* This beast has barely been tamed by the Imp on his back, but with the harpoon launcher and chains that Merrick supplies him, this Primal beast is ready to rampage throughout the battlefield of Newerth!
* Releases on 12/17/2012

- Illithiphelia celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver
- Zeppelin Bombadier celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver
- Frankie Pebbles celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver
- Karrabas Barrabas celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver
- Pirate Gunblade celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver
- Mummy Gauntlet celebrates 60 Days since release. Enjoy the new price of 150 Gold or 750 Silver

Grinex - Hero Guide and Analysis

Grinex The Riftstalker

                -Hero Description

Grinex is an extremely mobile ganker with his skills, and can kill squishy heroes quite easily when paired with another stunner, just as long as you know how to use his stun. But his carrying potential shrinks in comparison to other ganker type carries, like Monkey King, Nomad, and the ever painful Silhouette.

 - Hero Growth

His stats are good early game, although his low 1.8 int gain is disappointing, considering that you have to spam your skills to be able to output decent damage. His agi growth is decent, which gives you a bit of damage, although it’s still low when compared to other carries/gankers out there.  His str growth is horrible, a meagre 1.8, but seeing as you’ll basically be jumping from the shadows every time you gank, it’ll do fine early to mid game, but once you go to the late game clash phases, you’ll be shrinking from the pain magic damage dealers will do to you.

- General Hero Analysis

Grinex is a bit underpowered, like Blitz was before he got buffed. Somehow, all he seems to offer is a ton of invis spells and a lot of movement speed. But, to put it simply, that won’t do in a MOBA, where if all you have is speed, the enemy might not bother trying to outrun you, and just try and get as bulky as they can. Since all you can do to buff up your damage is get a lot of items, you’re pretty much forced to farm for a long time, or kill enemy heroes 24/7, just to get decent damage output, since his spells do little damage on their own.

But, if you try and build him as painful as he can be, you’re going to end up with him being really soft. He doesn’t have much that builds up his bulk, unlike other carries which generally have skills or traits that make them harder to kill, like Pred’s Stone Hide or Arachna’s Harden Carapace.

TL;DR, Grinex is a hero with bad scaling, but can be a monster if your team manages to keep your opponent’s farm down, and you get good farm for most of the game.

Welcome to the Kongor's Den

Today on 12th December 2012 I announced that Kongor's Den is now officially open for all the Heroes of Newerth players all around the world

From now on, this blog will become your no.1 source for your daily HON Needs both for Garena and International HON. Providing the latest and fastest update with more fresh and new contents made by the team and only for the hon players all around the world. Game HON !
*for the old news archive please visit the HonBlog
*We are opening a recruitment for the blog crew, read the post below for the further information

Muay Tigermonium Giveaway

Greetings Newerthians, in order to celebrate the opening of the Kongor's Den, We are going to throw a giveaway of the latest alternative avatar of Pandamonium, the MuayTigermonium, We have 10 Redemption Keys unfortunately this time just for the International Heroes of Newerth players only.

How to win the Muay Tigermonium Keys :

By Following the Blog and Twitter

1. Become the Kongor's Den blog followers*you can find it in the sidebar of this blog and twitter followers @kongorsden

2. When the blog pageviews hits 12.000+, We will send the keys for 2 Lucky Blog followers via email

3. Next batch of keys will be sent via twitter direct message for the 2 Lucky Followers when the followers reach 1200

4. If you are the lucky one, you guys can go redeem the key in : https://www.heroesofnewerth.com/redeem/

Kongor's Den Art Contest

1. There 2 kinds of Art Contest with 2 winners each, so there will be total 4 keys you can win through this contest

2. The 2 kinds of contest are : Twitter Avatar and Logo Design Contest and Twitter Header Design Contest

Vote Now : Avatar Shuffle #3

Vote Your Choice Now !

Welcome to Avatar Shuffle #3!

This contest gives the community a sneak peek at some of the awesome content that we're developing AND gives you a chance to influence when these new alt avatars come to the Goblin Shop!

Below, you will find four pieces of concept art for upcoming alt avatars! It is your job to vote for which one you want to see in the game. At the end of the week, we'll tally up the votes and announce the winning concept art, which will begin it's journey to become a part of HoN.

Once the winner is chosen, it is removed from the pool of concepts and a brand new one replaces it for the next vote. This means that there's always a new piece of art to check out and vote for. Plus, if you're a huge fan of something that doesn't win, it still has a good chance of being voted in next time! This way, all of the pieces of concept art you see here will eventually be added into the game for everyone to enjoy.

As you might have seen, we recently added the winner of Avatar Shuffle #2, Young Maliken, to the HoN Store! Be sure to go check out the new look for the evil king!

The Choices are : Prickly Parasite, Archmage, Humanoid Tempest, and Alchemist

Join the Force Now !

Kongor's Den is now opening a crew recruitment especially for the GarenaHON stuff but also InternationalHON section too.

The available positions :

Blog Updater
Jobdesks:
-Updating the official News from HONInt and HONGarena (patch notes and video preview)
-Hero Spotlight and DevBlog Video
-Official Events

Requirements :
-A very HON Freak, in order to stay and keeping up with the latest updates from IntHON and GarenaHON
-Online everyday, and usually will be very busy around Friday (20.00 GMT+8) and Monday or Tuesday for GarenaHON
-Good writing skill in English(grammar)
-Able to use blogger and have a gmail account

Article Writer
Jobdesks:
-New Patch Analysis
-New Hero Analysis
-Hero Discussion
-Competitive News and Discussion

Requirements :
-Good writing skill in English(grammar)
-An average or pro HON Player in order to provide good point of view and analysis
-A HON Freak, in order to have passion with the job
-Able to use blogger and have a gmail account

Video Maker
Jobdesks:
-Player Spotlight
-TOP Plays of the Week/Month
-HON Montage

Requirements :
-Able to use videomaker program such as Sony Vegas Pro, Adobe AfterEffect, Fraps, Adobe Premier, and etc
-Able to collect replays that are submitted by hon players all over the world
-Good commentating skill should be a plus point
-Able to use blogger and have a gmail account

5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Kongor's Den

1. Providing fastest and latest updates

Since the 2009 closed beta times of International Heroes of Newerth by S2Games. We already provides the daily information of the game, the latest changelogs, devblogs, videos, pictures, and anything about HoN. Also comes up as fast as the contents released, its a full 24/7 place for you about HoN.

2. Acknowledged by the S2Games crews

Acknowledged by the ex S2Games crews, such as S2MsPudding, S2Nome, S2Nigma and the S2Games crews such as S2Maide, S2Idejder, S2Viole, S2MacroHard, S2ElementUser. For the additional info, a partnerships with Clan Milk and NeutralCreeps.

Interviews with S2Nigma - Drunken Masters first appearance

Interviews with S2Viole

Interviews with S2MacroHard

Interviews with S2ElementUser

3. Uniting the HoN Players Communities

This is the place where the International players and Garena South East Asians players gather, we will provide the latest contents only for you, sharing the upcoming patch earlier for the Garena players, and also the events and many more

4. Community Contents

This is the place where you guys can submit your work and show it to the others. Guides, analysis, discussion, artwork, or anything that is HoN related things, just feel free to email us.

5. Goes Public

We are recruiting the new crews from all of the HoN players and also we are opening any forms of partnership, but of course its in a HoN related things.Feeling lucky and good to give your best shots for the community then feel free to tell us via email. 

Top 5 Plays of the Week - December 7th

Patch 2.6.31.1 - 3 New Alt.Avts

Version 2.6.31.1

---

== New Content ==

- Added Pandamonium Alt Avatar: Muay Tigermonium preview
* From deep in Death's Cradle comes a new kind of warrior - a beast whose fists, feet, elbows, and knees have been honed into weapons far more deadly than claw and fang. This unstoppable fighter has entered the fray not to fight the good fight, but simply to keep on fighting for his honor and to prove once and for all that Muay Tigermonium is the greatest there is!
* Releases on 12/07/2012

- Added a new Maliken Alt Avatar: Young Maliken preview
* Winner for the second avatar shuffle! Young Maliken comes to us from a time before he fell to temptation. This is the mighty General of the Legion of Man during the great wars with the Beasts, the one man who could unite the disparate tribes of savages into an army like the world had never before seen - and who would bear the trophies of his conquests for his enemies to fear.
* Releases on 12/10/2012

- Added a new Chipper Alt: Chiprel Strike Squad preview
* When Chipper is not enough to handle your Hellbourne problems, who you gonna call? Chiprel Strike Squad of course! This trio of fearless Chiprels brings their brand new war machine to the battlefield to chop down the competition. These are the Chiprels you need...AND the Chiprels you deserve!
* Releases on 12/12/12

- Witch Hunter celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver
- Hook Madman celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver

HoN Dev Blog - Grinex

HoN Classic Hero Spotlight - Pandamonium

IntHon TOP 5 Plays of the Week

GarenaHON Top 5 Plays of the Week

Patch 2.6.30 Changelog

Version 2.6.30

---

== New Content ==

- Added Cthulhuphant Alt Avatar: Royal Cthulhuphant preview
* In some cultures, the White Elephant is revered as Holy and Royal. This is true within Newerth as well. While Cthuluphant himself is a force of chaos, Royal Cthuluphant takes a more sagely position. Consulting among his three heads to ensure his actions benefit not just himself, but the land as well, this Royal Ctuluphant has allied himself against his brother and joined the Legion forces.
* Releases on 11/30/2012

- Added a new Master of Arms Alt Avatar: Master of Bows preview
* Meet Eagleeye, the Master of Bows. Unlike his brother, Eagleeye does not believe that firearms are the key to the Legion beating the Hellbourne, but instead victory will lie in the hands of the skilled men and beasts and their ability to train themselves to use the tools at hand to defeat the daemonic invasion. With his bows in hand he takes aim at the enemies of the Legion like a true avenging force!
* Releases on 12/05/2012

- Added a new Tremble Skin: Iron Tremble preview
* Knowing that Tremble had been considered weak and outcast, Dr. Repulsor set out to make things right. Encasing both Tremble and Boris in a Crimson and Golden Shell of Iron, the brooding beast has been unleashed back on Newerth!
* Releases on 12/03/2012

- Judge Vindicator celebrates 180 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 250 Gold or 500 Silver
- Futbol Bubbles celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 1500 Silver
- Dark Succibus celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 150 Gold or 750 Silver
- Kurukuru celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 390 Gold or 750 Silver
- Fat Lady Taunt celebrates 60 days since release. Enjoy the new price of 300 Gold or 1500 Silver

About Us

Kongor's Den is the remake version of the previous blog, HonBlog. This blog itself will continue the job to provides latest HoN news and updates for all of the HoN players all around the world, and of course we are going to keep developing and growing the blog more and more with a new contents. The main goal for this blog is to unite the International HoN players with the SEA Garena HoN players in one place.

A Short History about HonBlog

HonBlog was the first unofficial blog of the game titled "Heroes of Newerth" by S2Games. Founded by me itself An2x in 2009. HonBlog provides the latest updates and contents about International HON, including the latest changelog and the old patch notes, and many other stuff. The blog itself has been acknowledged by S2Crews and also by the SEA Garena HoN crews.

Kongor's Den Name Concept 

The name of this blog is actually adopted from the Kongor's Lair itself. In Heroes of Newerth, mostly every 5 v 5 game in Forest of Caldavar map, each team will always try to get the Token of Life by slaining Kongor, the famous Gorilla symbol of S2Games. And which means, that Kongor's Lair or Kongor's Den is a place that you will always visit in your HoN Game or daily life, and thats why I named this blog the Kongor's Den, in order to always provides your daily needs of HoN and claim your victory through it.

Thanks for being our loyal readers, Game HON !