A Call For Help

A Call For Help is a Nexus Anomaly introduced in April 2020, which enables Structures to better protect their friendly Heroes.

Gameplay


Call for Help introduced following changes to Structures:

Cannon Towers, Forts, Keeps and Cores

 * A beam is now created from these structures to their targets, making it easier to see what is being attacked at a glance.
 * Allied Heroes of the structures who are being attacked by enemy Heroes will cause the structure to focus the offender until the offender is dead or leaves tower range.
 * Both the attacking and attacked Hero are required to be within the Structure's range to cause it to change focus. The attacked hero is not, however, required to remain the Structure's radius to maintain the aggro.


 * A bright beam indicates that the structure is defending an ally Hero and is focusing on the beam target.
 * Structures reset targeting when the Call for Help target becomes invalid.
 * Structures reset targeting logic when they recover from being disabled.
 * Self-damage and periodic damage over time do not cause Structures to focus Heroes.
 * This mainly encompasses Damage over Time debuffs and Burning Rage type talents.

Cannon Towers, Forts and Keeps

 * Attacks reduce Hero Armor by up to -20.
 * Armor reduction takes place after damage is dealt.


 * Forts and Keeps attacks reduce enemy Hero Armor by 10.
 * Forts and Keeps no longer Slow enemy Heroes.

New Core Abilities
As a part of the update, Cores received unique themed Abilities. Core Abilities only trigger, if there are enemy Heroes within their range.
 * Battlefield of Eternity: Every 12 seconds, the Core will spawn 2 volleys of Frozen Orbs that explode, dealing 5% maximum Health as damage and Rooting enemy Heroes hit for 1.5 seconds.
 * Blackheart’s Bay: Every 4 seconds, the Core will shoot a cannonball at 2 nearby enemy Heroes, dealing 5% maximum Health as damage, slowing them by 70% for 1.5 seconds, and knocking them back.
 * Braxis Holdout: Every 4 seconds, the Core will shoot 5 missiles at a nearby enemy Hero, dealing 5% maximum Health as damage per missile.
 * Cursed Hollow: Every 3 seconds, the Core will spawn a Curse under a nearby enemy Hero. If they are Cursed, they take 5% maximum Health as damage and their Armor is reduced by 75 for 4 seconds.
 * Dragonshire: Every 6 seconds, the Core will throw 2 boulders at a nearby enemy Hero. Heroes hit are turned to stone, damaged for 5% of their maximum Health, and Stunned for 1.75 seconds.
 * Garden of Terror: Every 5 seconds, the Core shoots a seed under a nearby enemy Hero. When the seed explodes, Heroes inside are Polymorphed for 3 seconds.
 * Hanamura: Every 8 seconds, the Core fires 2 volleys of missiles around it, dealing 5% maximum Health to enemy Heroes and slowing them by 70% for 1.25 seconds.
 * Infernal Shrines: Every 12 seconds, the Core will spawn 2 volleys of Frozen Orbs that explode, dealing 5% maximum Health as damage and Rooting enemy Heroes hit for 1.5 seconds.
 * Sky Temple: Every 23 seconds, the Core will spawn 2 sets of 6 tornadoes which swirl around it, dealing 25 damage to enemy Heroes and knocking them back.
 * Tomb of the Spider Queen: Every 5 seconds, the Core will shoot a Death Wave, dealing 5% maximum Health as damage to enemy Heroes and slowing them by 70% for 1.25 seconds.
 * Volskaya Foundry: Every 6 seconds, the Core shoots 3 Rocket Fists at nearby enemy Heroes, dealing 150 damage and knocking them back.
 * Warhead Junction: Every 18 seconds, the Core launches a Nuke at a nearby enemy Hero, dealing 30% maximum health to enemy Heroes hit.

Developer Comments
''"We’ve heard feedback over the years that a lot of you would like to feel more protected by nearby friendly structures. Currently, Minions, Summons, and non-Heroic units can hold a structure’s attention for so long that defending players feel that they’re offered no additional protection when taking refuge under their Cannon Towers, Forts, Keeps and Cores. In order to address this issue, we will be making the following changes to structures."

''"We want fights around the Core to feel like exciting ends to cap off great games, and we feel like we can do more to deliver on that front. To that end, this Seasonal Nexus Anomaly will introduce themed abilities to non-ARAM Battleground Cores."

Development
According to Kevin Gu, the development team has been talking internally about Tower aggro [the process by which Towers select their targets] for a while. Before, when an enemy hero attacked you under your Tower, your Tower would leave you hanging unless you killed everything else around that hero first. Now your Towers will help you out right away, which should translate into them feeling like more productive and smart members of your team. They wanted to give players who defend their structures greater protection without preventing their opponents from being aggressive. They also made sure that they didn’t forget about the aggressors. This is they we removed Slows from Forts and Keeps and introduced quality-of-life improvements like Tower attack beams [which show the unit the Tower is targeting].