It's starting to look like Valve isn't rebooting Artifact, but creating a whole new game. The cards change, the mechanics change, the heroes change: in today's new update, Valve sees heroes as "one of the strengths of the original game, but also one of the missed opportunities," and is making changes to existing heroes and putting together new hero ideas He stated.

The most common complaints about heroes, Valve said, are "underwhelming" signature cards, a lack of hero abilities, and character fiction that does not fit well into the in-game loadout. To make heroes more interesting, Valve has adopted a different approach that focuses on several elements:

In this new design approach, Keefe the Bold becomes a giant tank, with a Stop Hittin' Yourself Active Abilities fits his appearance.

Some of the unit descriptions clearly make more sense to experienced players than casual onlookers, such as "Placing a Prowler Vanguard in slot 2 and a Farvhan in slot 3 is an easy way to put pressure on the lane" but it is clear that Valve is taking a more upfront approach to the updated Artifact Hero. [The Artifact single-player campaign announced last week may also reflect this: while Hearthstone is primarily a PvP game, it offers players the opportunity to build decks and gain experience with cards in the form of missions and solo adventures. It boasts a deep single-player component that gives players the opportunity to build decks and gain experience with cards in the form of missions and solo adventures that take them deep into the game's lore. As Fraser noted last week, the Dota world on which Artifact is based is "packed with character and history."

In response to calls for more heroes, Valve has also prepared several new heroes and is currently seeking feedback on which ones should be added to the beta. Colors and abilities are subject to change depending on testing, but as of now you can choose from the following:

Huskar (red)

Snapfire (green)

Arc Warden (blue)

Nyx Assassin (black)

Voting will be accepted until Thursday, after which Valve will "get to work on the art for the sweet temps."