Banning pick is here

Patch 0.1.66 came out today. The patch includes various hero buffs/nerfs, bug fixes and a new mode!

The long awaited “Banning Pick” mode is here. Similar to Captains mode from dota, each captain will get  3 bans per team then each player has 60 seconds to pick a hero from the pool , taking turns alternately.

It might sound similar to banning draft, however, you can pick from the full list of heroes.

With this new mode aimed at competitive play, there have been a few hero changes:
Zephyr has largely been remade (for the umpteenth  time). His ultimate now a Typhoon that reaps destruction to enemies the closer they are to the epicentre. This definitely synergies well with Tempest’s ultimate, making zephyr a useful hero now.

Electrician has been buffed, his ultimate having its cool-down reduced and the ability to jump to multiple targets if in possession of Staff of the Master. Other changes are viewable in the change-log on this site.

Personally, as a dedicated Valkyrie player i was glad to see that her ultimate has been improved(cool-down and mana cost reduced), enabling me to skill prism earlier without concerns about mana consumption.
The sound that Valkyrie’s arrow makes has been quietened, making it harder for enemies to hear that distinctive sound. Although minor, this can mean the difference between winning/loosing a gank/battle.

These are just a few hero changes, other heroes including Pyromancer (new DoT effect on fervor), Jeriziah(repel nerf), devourer, Madman and more have been updated.

Lastly, most heroes with aura’s now gain the ability to toggle them on or off. We think this is a nice idea especially when some aura’s effect lane control, namely pushing the creeps too far into enemy towers making it difficult to farm or gank.