The Heroes of the Storm join the Eternal Conflict in Diablo event

It's common knowledge that for a lot of people, the number seven holds special significance - from the simple concept of "lucky sevens" to the regular usage in fantasy stories as particularly magical quantity.  Whatever your thoughts on the superstition however, it looks like the sevens have struck again - or someone at Blizzard subscribes to the belief.  After seven maps centered around the new Nexus setting, Blizzard has decided the time is right to start drawing on its existing universes for battleground inspiration, starting with Diablo.  Ready to pick a side in the Eternal Conflict?    

Promotional art for the Eternal Conflict teasing new heroes and skins.

 Blizzard announced during a livestream yesterday that they would be initiating the "Eternal Conflict" - a Diablo themed event hitting the PTR on June 23 with a hopeful release on June 30.  The event will include the new Battlefield of Eternity map as well as new Diablo heroes, skins and mounts.  The first of the new heroes to be announced is The Butcher, the iconic enemy from Diablo and Diablo III.

A Hell-themed Diablo mount to suit the Butcher and other demonic brawlers in the nexus.

 Even more than new skins (is that an Angelic Diablo, I see there?) mounts and even heroes, what generated the most buzz by far was the new map, Battlefield of Eternity.  First teased through a single piece of concept art at Blizzcon 2014, the two lane battleground is divided between a Heaven and Hell environment, each with their own tile set, minions, buildings and core.  The result is an artistic first for the game and one of their most visually ambitious maps.

The current incarnation of Battlefield of Eternity - a good deal of the fighting will be in the center area.

A little before the two minute mark, the primary mechanic is revealed in the form of the giant angel and demon (the Immortals) fighting in the center.  Each is aligned with one of the teams (I'll leave you to guess which side gets the angel and which gets the demon) and heroes will have to intervene and help defeat the opposing team's Immortal, allowing their own to start pushing down the enemy's strongest lane.

The Immortals boast powerful AOE attacks for both ranged and melee - and they all stun.

The Immortal is obviously a formidable force against all manner of structures, however it isn't restored to full health when entering the lane.  Whatever you had left upon the conclusion of the arena battle is all you get, and while it does have a shield, the amount is dependent on how much health it starts with.  This is actually an interesting strategic element, as players will have to coordinate not just to make sure their Immortal wins but that it's in a state to be any use afterwards.

It also seems that the usual Nexus mercenaries either couldn't make it or don't feel like venturing out of their home turf.  The Battlefield of Eternity has a set of new Diablo specific mercenaries available for "recruitment."  Like the knights and giants, the camps specialize in either absorbing tower fire or destroying buildings respectively, but they go about it quite differently.

The siege camps are populated by the Khazra.  Unlike the siege giants, the Khazra do single target damage but each successive attack does hits harder than the last, meaning the goat-men can swiftly demolish structures if not immediately dealt with.

Khazra impaler concept art.

The knights have been replaced with another standard Diablo enemy - the fallen shaman, accompanied with two of his hounds.  While not as tough as the knights, the shaman will continue to resurrect his hounds until he is killed, fulfilling the same purpose of drawing fire and draining tower ammo.

Concept art of Fallen Shaman and hound.

I don't think I'm alone in saying this is the map I've been most excited for.  While exploring the unique Nexus worlds was fun and I do look forward to seeing more of them, it's great to finally see the inclusion of other Blizzard IPs in the battleground rotation.  Back when we first heard about Heroes of the Storm (then Blizzard DOTA, then Allstars, etc.) fighting at iconic locations from all the Blizzard universes was one of coolest prospects, and I'm glad we can finally experience that.  By the looks of it, Battlefield of Eternity is not only going to deliver, but set the bar for other battlegrounds to come.