Core

At the center of their main base, each team has a Structure called Core. To win the match, a team must destroy the enemy team's Core, making it the game's ultimate objective. As such, Players should usually do everything possible to protect their Core, unless they are certain they can destroy the enemy's faster.

Certain maps with two opposing sides can often have thematically different Cores for each team, the two often representing the default announcers of that specific Battleground.

Gameplay
Cores are Structures with a large amounts of Health, and are able to defend themselves with ranged attacks, much like Forts and Keeps, and grant True Sight around them, meaning they reveal and attack nearby Stealthed Heroes. Core's Basic Attacks Splash for 100% of their damage around the target and prioritize targeting enemy Heroes that are attacking allied Heroes in their range. Cores on non-ARAM Battlegrounds have unique Abilities they start casting when enemy Heroes enter their range.

The Cores are Protected until both the Fort and the Keep have been destroyed on at least one lane. In addition to their Health, each Core in non-ARAM Battlegrounds also has a Shield, an additional measure of Hit Points, equal to 50% of the Core's maximum Health. If the Core has not taken damage in the last 8 seconds, the Shield starts to regenerate at the rate of 100 (+2.86 per minute) per second. This means the Shield would be fully regenerated after 70 seconds. While Cores do not regenerate Health over time, this Shield allows them to regain some survivability, if the attackers fail to destroy them outright. The Health and Shields for each team's Core are displayed at the top of the screen throughout the match.

Unlike most other Structures, the Core’s maximum Health - and consequently their Shields - scale, but only from minute 1 to minute 20, capping out at 22,000 life and 11,000 Shields for a total of 33,000 effective Health. Heroes, however, will continue to gain stat increases each level up to 30, allowing them to kill the Core easier later in the game. Minions and Catapults also continue to scale until minute 60, growing able to pressure the Core in the late game and create opportunities to end the game.

Core Abilities
On different maps there are different visually looking Cores. The second Nexus Anomaly of 2019, A Call For Help, also introduced themed Abilities to non-ARAM Battleground Cores:


 * Alterac Pass: The Core is replaced by a General, who can move and fight against attacking enemies. Generals use single target melee attacks and their Abilities allow them to charge at an enemy and deal periodic area damage around them. The Generals also have reduced Health and no Shields, but they gain Armor for each allied Keep remaining, and can quickly regenerate their Health out-of-combat.
 * Battlefield of Eternity, 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.
 * 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 Temple: Every 8 seconds, the Core fires 2 volleys of missiles around it, dealing 5% maximum Health as damage to enemy Heroes and slowing them by 70% for 1.25 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.
 * Towers of Doom: The Core has greatly reduced Health, but it is always Protected. To damage the Core, players need to make use of the map's unique objective and Mercenary Camps.
 * 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 as damage to enemy Heroes hit.

Trivia

 * Two Heroes so far have been designed to be a "Core Replacement": Ragnaros and the Overmind. The Overmind was changed to Abathur. and Ragnaros was redesigned as many problems arose with it.
 * A Singularity is the reward inside every core in the game. They can be seen at the end of each game during the destruction of the core and the subsequent victory screen.